ICAR DC Link Capacitor Alternatives

Following the sad news regarding ICAR's liquidation, DMTL explore the options available to customers looking to replace ICAR capacitors for existing equipment repair or for new equipment manufacture.

DMTL is a fully franchised, authorised Cornell Dubilier (CDE) distributor and, as Design Distributors, are especially positioned to address the confusion and answer the questions.

It is always a challenge when a manufacturer is no longer able to supply.  The knock on effect can be enormous, with customers, projects and applications being left in limbo.  The demise of ICAR has left just such a void in the supply of Film capacitors, causing confusion and questions. 

A Little About ICAR

ICAR was one of the leading manufacturers of electrical capacitors and systems in low and medium voltage. DMTL have helped customers source capacitor alternatives for many years with a broad offering in this sector. 

Within this article, we will look exclusively at the ICAR alternatives available from Cornell Dubilier.

A Little About Cornell Dubilier 

Based in Liberty, SC, USA,  Cornell Dubilier specialise in AC Power Film Capacitors and DC Film Capacitors, amongst other capacitor technologies. DMTL were appointed Cornell Dubilier (CDE) UK Design Distributors back in 2015.

With almost 700 employees and 720,000 sq ft of factory floor space, CDE Cornell Dubilier offer a broad portfolio of standard capacitor products for Power Electronics.  

They really excel with applications and custom capacitor designs for critical applications.  Their access to CDE engineers, their global logistics, sales and distribution network all lend support to a customer’s decision to approve a CDE Device.

Film Capacitor Replacements

Film capacitors can come in a very wide set of parameters, with ranges of capacitance from microfarads to millifarads and voltages often running into kilovolts.

Unfortunately, the physical layout, from cylindrical to square box, means that a direct drop in replacement may not be immediately apparent.  However, CDE is at the leading edge of film capacitor technology and is willing to work alongside DMTL to support customers with existing ICAR applications.

ICAR Alternatives

The below table outlines the ‘cross over’ already established. DMTL are also working hand in hand with all of the technical team at CDE, to handle devices that may not be covered by this ‘first pass’ list.