Pickering Interfaces’ 60-191 LXI Switching Series Simplifies High-Current Automated Test Applications
August 06, 2026
News
Pickering Interfaces released its highest-current switching products to date, the 60-191 LXI high current and sense SPST switching family. The series can switch signals up to 80 A and 300 V while simplifying distribution, sequencing, and management of multiple high-current power supplies in automated test systems.
"High-current switching in automated test systems is often implemented as a custom assembly using contactors and digital output modules," said Steven Edwards, Head of Product Management at Pickering. "The 60-191 family provides fully tested, easily maintainable LXI alternatives in standard 4U enclosures, with the switching capacity, control features, and software support needed to integrate high-current supplies more quickly."
Available in four standard variants, the 60-191 family combines up to twenty 40 A and four 80 A hermetically sealed SPST-NO contactors with a complementary number of 1 A SPST relays for sense lines. The high-current and sense-line connections are standard front-panel screw-terminal connections. Options for relay combinations and alternative connectors can be made available upon request.
Per the press release, installed between multiple high-current power supply units (PSUs) and a device or system under test, each unit can programmatically connect and disconnect each PSU’s positive and negative outputs and their associated high- and low-sense lines. It enables engineers to control every relay independently or operate two high-current and two low-current relays as a group with a single command, simplifying the switching of the four connections commonly used by a PSU.
Devices are controlled via LXI 1.5-compliant 1000Base-T Ethernet interfaces utilizing an API or built-in soft front panel. IVI and direct I/O drivers support Windows and Linux and common development environments, including LabVIEW, Python, C/C++, C#, MATLAB, and Simulink.
The solutions include a sequencing service that can store up to 5,000 predefined switching sequences and execute them through software or configurable hardware triggers. By storing sequences within the LXI controller, the units can decrease host transactions and system latency. To simplify programming and debugging, front-panel LEDs indicate switch status as relay cycle counting supports preventive maintenance and balances usage across existing lines.
Ideal Applications:
- EV battery and high-drain automotive electronics testing
- Fuel-cell and hydrogen-electrolysis research
- Solar inverter and energy-storage testing
- Aerospace development
- Functional or production testing of high-current power supplies
For more information, visit pickeringtest.com.
Chad Cox is the Production Editor at Embedded Computing Design. His responsibilities are centered around content creation, writing and editing, and article research and development. Chad covers industry news and events and is known to interact with various industrial leaders via on-premise visits and online interviews. He is responsible for the digital footprint and dissemination of news via social media posts, advertising creation and the production of newsletters including the Embedded Computing Design’s Daily.
He is well versed in many facets of industrial computing including Edge AI, IoT, Processing, Security, Open Source, and more.
Chad graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a B.A. in Cultural and Analytical Literature and holds a master’s in education.
