News: Product Release: ALD1120 120W DC Electronic Load
Aim-TTi has introduced the ALD1120 120W DC Electronic Load, the latest addition to its new A Series "Essential Bench" compact bench instruments. Designed for electronics design, test and education applications, the ALD1120 combines flexible operating modes, comprehensive test functions and precision measurement in a compact, cost-effective instrument.
Capable of handling up to 120V, 24A or 120W, the ALD1120 provides the flexibility required for testing a wide range of DC power sources, including power supplies, batteries, converters and other electronic power systems. It supports constant current (CC), constant voltage (CV), constant resistance (CR) and constant power (CP) operating modes, allowing engineers to configure the load to suit different test requirements.
Advanced testing functions
The ALD1120 goes beyond basic electronic load operation with integrated pulse and sweep capabilities. Pulse operation is available in all four load modes, with independently defined high and low levels and pulse widths from 100µs to 1000 seconds in most modes. Flexible triggering supports single, continuous and toggle operation, either from the front panel or through the remote interface.
For automated characterisation, the sweep function provides linear or logarithmic sweeps with single or dual slopes, supporting up to 1000 steps. Step times can be set from 1ms to 1000 seconds, enabling detailed evaluation of source behaviour across a defined operating range.
Three selectable slew-rate settings – Fast, Medium and Slow – allow the user to optimise the load response for the application. Fast provides the fastest possible response, while Medium and Slow settings introduce controlled slew-rate limiting to help reduce overshoot, ringing or instability in demanding source/load combinations.
Integrated battery discharge and capacity measurement
The ALD1120 also provides dedicated battery evaluation functions. Battery discharge testing can be performed in CC, CP and CR modes, with user-defined cut-off voltage and test time. During discharge, the instrument simultaneously displays accumulated amp-hours and watt-hours, providing a convenient way to characterise battery capacity.
Precision measurement and protection
The instrument combines load control with high-resolution measurement, providing 1mV voltage resolution and current resolution down to 100µA on the 2A range. Voltage measurement accuracy is specified at ±(0.05% + 0.01% FS), while current accuracy is ±(0.1% + 0.05% of range).
A comprehensive set of protection functions helps protect both the load and the equipment under test. These include user-settable over-voltage (OVP), over-current (OCP) and over-power (OPP) limits, together with over-temperature protection, reverse-polarity detection and external-sense protection.
External voltage sensing is provided to compensate for voltage drops in the load connections, while the load can operate down to 700mV at 24A, supporting demanding low-voltage, high-current applications.
USB connectivity and free Test Bridge software
For automated test and system integration, the ALD1120 provides a USB 2.0 interface with SCPI-compatible remote commands. The instrument can be controlled using Aim-TTi's Test Bridge PC software, which is available as a free download and can control up to four Aim-TTi instruments simultaneously.
This provides engineers with a straightforward route from manual bench testing to PC-controlled measurement, data collection and test sequencing without requiring additional proprietary control software.
Compact A Series design
The ALD1120 occupies a compact 213.3 × 227.6 × 98.2mm footprint and weighs just 1.7kg. A 2.8-inch colour IPS TFT touchscreen provides instrument control and measurement display, complemented by a rotary control and direct numeric entry. Up to six complete instrument configurations can also be stored in non-volatile memory. The instrument is housed in a robust aluminium case and incorporates a Kensington security lock, making it suitable for both individual engineering workstations and shared laboratory or educational environments.
Designed and manufactured in the UK
The ALD1120 is designed and built in Europe by Thurlby Thandar Instruments Ltd. (Aim-TTi) . Aim-TTi has more than 30 years' experience in the design and manufacture of test and measurement instruments and power supplies and operates an ISO 9001:2015 registered quality system covering processes from design through to final calibration.
The Aim-TTi ALD1120 120W DC Electronic Load is now part of the company's A Series of bench instruments, providing engineers, designers, test engineers and educators with a versatile electronic load combining advanced test functions, precision measurement, remote control and compact bench-top operation.
Advanced testing functions
The ALD1120 goes beyond basic electronic load operation with integrated pulse and sweep capabilities. Pulse operation is available in all four load modes, with independently defined high and low levels and pulse widths from 100µs to 1000 seconds in most modes. Flexible triggering supports single, continuous and toggle operation, either from the front panel or through the remote interface.
For automated characterisation, the sweep function provides linear or logarithmic sweeps with single or dual slopes, supporting up to 1000 steps. Step times can be set from 1ms to 1000 seconds, enabling detailed evaluation of source behaviour across a defined operating range.
Three selectable slew-rate settings – Fast, Medium and Slow – allow the user to optimise the load response for the application. Fast provides the fastest possible response, while Medium and Slow settings introduce controlled slew-rate limiting to help reduce overshoot, ringing or instability in demanding source/load combinations.
Integrated battery discharge and capacity measurement
The ALD1120 also provides dedicated battery evaluation functions. Battery discharge testing can be performed in CC, CP and CR modes, with user-defined cut-off voltage and test time. During discharge, the instrument simultaneously displays accumulated amp-hours and watt-hours, providing a convenient way to characterise battery capacity.
Precision measurement and protection
The instrument combines load control with high-resolution measurement, providing 1mV voltage resolution and current resolution down to 100µA on the 2A range. Voltage measurement accuracy is specified at ±(0.05% + 0.01% FS), while current accuracy is ±(0.1% + 0.05% of range).
A comprehensive set of protection functions helps protect both the load and the equipment under test. These include user-settable over-voltage (OVP), over-current (OCP) and over-power (OPP) limits, together with over-temperature protection, reverse-polarity detection and external-sense protection.
External voltage sensing is provided to compensate for voltage drops in the load connections, while the load can operate down to 700mV at 24A, supporting demanding low-voltage, high-current applications.
USB connectivity and free Test Bridge software
For automated test and system integration, the ALD1120 provides a USB 2.0 interface with SCPI-compatible remote commands. The instrument can be controlled using Aim-TTi's Test Bridge PC software, which is available as a free download and can control up to four Aim-TTi instruments simultaneously.
This provides engineers with a straightforward route from manual bench testing to PC-controlled measurement, data collection and test sequencing without requiring additional proprietary control software.
Compact A Series design
The ALD1120 occupies a compact 213.3 × 227.6 × 98.2mm footprint and weighs just 1.7kg. A 2.8-inch colour IPS TFT touchscreen provides instrument control and measurement display, complemented by a rotary control and direct numeric entry. Up to six complete instrument configurations can also be stored in non-volatile memory. The instrument is housed in a robust aluminium case and incorporates a Kensington security lock, making it suitable for both individual engineering workstations and shared laboratory or educational environments.
Designed and manufactured in the UK
The ALD1120 is designed and built in Europe by Thurlby Thandar Instruments Ltd. (Aim-TTi) . Aim-TTi has more than 30 years' experience in the design and manufacture of test and measurement instruments and power supplies and operates an ISO 9001:2015 registered quality system covering processes from design through to final calibration.
The Aim-TTi ALD1120 120W DC Electronic Load is now part of the company's A Series of bench instruments, providing engineers, designers, test engineers and educators with a versatile electronic load combining advanced test functions, precision measurement, remote control and compact bench-top operation.