Artidor developed Gifas' TorchLED-Ex

Artidor developed the explosion-safe FlashLED-Ex inspection light for the German company Gifas Electric GmbH in 2011. The success of this robust flashlight did not go unnoticed by its Swiss sister company. In 2016, the question was raised if Artidor would be able to develop an explosion-safe version of the TorchLED flashlight. Our development team grabbed that challenge with both hands.

The customer preferred to maintain the existing housing so that the look and feel of the light would remain the same. The functionality of the light was also to remain unchanged. In a preliminary study lasting some 40 hours, Artidor researched all critical parts in order to arrive at the most suitable concept. The result was that the sole solution appeared to be the design of new, intrinsically safe electronics. Based on these insights, Artidor estimated the entire refinement of the light and even specified a fixed price for the explosion-safe end product. This gave Gifas Electric so much confidence that the decision to develop the new TorchLED-Ex was quickly made.

In addition to developing the new electronics, Artidor was confronted with the choice of new batteries. The Penlite batteries used did not meet the requirements so an alternative had to be found that would fit in the housing, satisfy the technical requirements, and also offer the greatest possible capacity. Lithium polymer cells were chosen for this purpose.

To be able to charge the flashlight, a suitable charger also had to be developed – one that made use of the existing housing and could also charge the non-ATEX flashlights that were already delivered. The new explosion-safe light has a different polarity and lower charging voltage than the original version. Due to a smart feature, the new charger is able to distinguish among the various lights. Despite the difference in polarity and charging voltage, the chargers and lights can be used interchangeably, providing customers the freedom they seek.

After a process of a little more than a year, the EU Type Examination Certificate was obtained for the explosion-safe TorchLED Ex flashlight and the design was deemed safe for use in Zone 1 (II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4 Gb) and in Zone 21 (II 2 D Ex ib IIIC T130C Db). The first deliveries took place within 13 months of the start of the project. Meanwhile, the Swiss army is a now customer of Gifas Electric and the TorchLED is a trusted part of their offering.

The TorchLED is produced by Artidor exclusively for Gifas Electric GmbH and is marketed under the Gifas brand.

Are you interested in the development of an explosion-safe product, and would you like to sell it under your own brand name? That is possible. Feel free to contact us for more information. You can find more examples of our brand label products here: FlashLED-Ex, Patlite and Ultra 1.