Anton/Bauer Battery Lab Testing

Leading by DesignAt Anton/Bauer we pride ourselves on producing batteries for cameras, monitors, lights and more designed to always deliver consistently high performance. Anton/Bauer battery owners know they can focus their attention on creating digital, television and cinematic content with confidence that their batteries will keep their stories moving. The camera operators mantra never lose a shot' is one that our engineering team take to heart. To ensure this, the team perform a significant amount of battery cycle testing so, unlike other battery manufacturers, we don't say that each battery should last a certain number of cycles, we can verify that it will do so.

To achieve our aim, we use a sophisticated set of automated test equipment that takes a battery and simulates customer usage of repeated charge and discharge. We record and review the data to predict the performance of a battery from the production line to end-of-life years down the road. The test equipment records everything from temperature to current, voltage, power, capacity and predictions of the data for years, in a single test. The team might have more than 100 different individual tests running at any one time looking at everything from current production to competitive products or future research and development. These tests may run for a duration of just a few hours all the way through to the full life-cycle simulation tests which might last for more than a year. This data obtained is invaluable not only for the engineers but also for the end-user, who can feel confident that the batteries they buy haves already been tested for thousands of hours in the worst possible conditions. We produce quality batteries, and the investment in equipment and methods to ensure this is second to none.

Pictured here are the five machines that the Anton/Bauer engineering team uses to thoroughly test different batteries for various charge/discharge/temperature situations against performance.

Not only does this test equipment strain and measure every aspect of the battery's performance, but it can also simulate some of the harshest environments in which the batteries will operate. By using computer-controlled humidity and temperature chambers the engineering team can expose the batteries to simulated extreme climate conditions, ranging from the intense heat of a desert day, the severe chill of a polar night, to the thick humidity found in the rainforest. Our batteries will operate in all foreseeable circumstances and the team has the unique capability to test and verify this, which is not commonly found in the battery manufacturing market.

Expansion into V-Mount Batteries

While historically known as the pioneer of the Gold-Mount battery mounting system, we joined the V-Mount battery market in 2013. Since then, we have released all 14.4V battery models in both Gold-mount and V-Mount configurations. This allows us to provide advanced power solutions for the widest range of equipment, regardless of the operator's chosen battery mount.

Increased cross-compatibility

At the same time as the introduction of the V-Mount battery lineup, we expanded the level of compatibility with other brands operating in the same sector. Many customers have existing fleets of chargers and may need a battery that can work with their current chargers. Our batteries fit this brief as the entire battery lineup works on all major brand chargers. As a safeguard, the intelligence within the batteries allows them to protect themselves if mishandled by an inappropriate charging situation.

Charging a battery-operated device has become a simple process that we habitually do daily. Looking at this process in a detailed way allows you to better understand just how Anton/Bauer technology ensures each battery is charged exactly the way it should be in order to maintain performance.Batteries come in many sizes and chemistries; with the new release of the Titon Micro Series, the capacity of our batteries ranges from 45Wh for the Micros to 240Wh for the Titon 240. Lithium-ion batteries have a specific way in which they prefer to charge, while Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries, such as the Hytron 140, also have their own preferences. To handle these sizes and chemistries, we use a smart communication system where the battery and charger discuss exactly how the charging should happen. During the handshake' process, the charger asks the battery a series of questions to determine the optimum method; questions such as:

What type of battery are you?

What charge voltage would you like?

What charge current would you like?

The battery will respond, and the charging process begins. This process makes sure that every battery gets exactly the charge profile it requires. Charging each battery to a customized profile instead of a one size fits all approach means it will handle the battery in the best way to extend its life to the maximum potential.

This graph shows that DIONIC XT lasts for more cycles than competitors over the course of the batteries lifetime.

Development of the Gold Mount Plus system

Building on the success of the traditional Gold Mount system developed by Anton Wilson and George Bauer an impressive 50 years earlier, the engineering team thought it right to draw on this legacy when developing the new 26V mounting system. The result was the Gold Mount Plus. Aptly named, the Gold Mount Plus uses the same 3-point mounting system as its predecessor but adds more in terms of communication and compatibility. The team completed the design in such a way that a Gold Mount Plus bracket will accept either a traditional Gold-Mount battery rated at a nominal 14.4V or a new 26V battery at the nominal 25.2V. This allows: either system to power bi-voltage equipment; the 26V charging system to accept and charge both battery types; and enables additio

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