OMRON Solid State Relays

[ChicagoKeri]

Hi everyone!

added: The Formbot-supplied OMRON SSR appears to be well made, adequate for its purpose and is most likely a genuine OMRON product. 

So, I've got my Formbot V2.4 going pretty well.  I have done a fair number of very long prints, and I was thinking: Do I have a legit OMRON SSR or a clone?  The supplied SSR has been working perfectly well, by the way.

You see, the Formbot kit is quite a lot less expensive than say an LDO kit. One of the obvious places to cut costs is the SSR.  So, I went to Digkey, a reputable supplier, and looked up the OMRON that was included with the Formbot.  They did not have the exact G3NB-210B-1, but had the G3NA-210B-UTU.   The price? At Digikey, about $32usd individually plus shipping or as low as $25usd each in lots of 100.   Over at Aliexpress, anywhere from $7usd to $36usd.

So, obviously, the SSD in my printer is likely possibly a Clone. As I do not like taking on undue risk with high-power heating equipment, I ordered the "legit" OMRON from Digikey. Upon arrival, I removed the "suspect" Formbot supplied one for comparison.

Initial inspection shows the two parts appear almost identical except for the part number. The legit SSR is on the right.  The plastics appear identical, as does the heat spreader and the connectors. Note the Suspect SSR is labeled "Earth the mounting rail" (electrically connect the heat spreader to ground/earth)  while the Legit one is not.

A little research uncovered the following quote from a datasheet:

"The reliability of the output device of the G3NA-240B is better than that of the G3NB.
The output device of the G3NB is different from that of the G3NA-240B.

If you need higher reliability, we recommend using the G3NA- 240B."

 

 

 

 

Pop off the cover and there are some differences:  The legit SSR has a wider isolation slot at the optoisolator, and two fuses instead of just one.  The Legit board has a clearly visible UR marking, the Suspect board has a much more difficult to see one, but it is there.

 

Peering through the isolation slot reveals a much larger Triac retainer on the Legit SSR.

 

Not wanting to risk my new, legit $32 SSR, I put it back together and into the printer.    But the "Suspect" one.....  let's look at that apparently smaller Triac! 

The Triac has a name, TOABO  TB16A6Y.   I am not sure if this is a supplier that OMRON would use. 

 

 

Here's a shot of the suspect board, backlit so the data is visible:

 

 

 

So is this a legit OMRON product?

I can't say for certain, but apparently Yes.  

Considering the above-mentioned quote from a data sheet, I think it's a legit but cheaper OMRON SSR than my Digikey-supplied known-Legit OMRON SSR.    

Can I say that it is obviously inferior or dangerous?  No, I can't say that, though maybe someone else can.  The datasheet I found indicates that the G3NB series is inferior to the G3NA series.  A different datasheet, likely fraudulent, indicates the G3NA was discontinued in 2013 and that the G3NB is the recommended replacement.

The plastics and heat spreader are dead ringers for the Legit parts, and some of the components appear very similar.  If this is a Clone, it is a very good one.  Also, the critical Triac and Optocoupler are marked with manufacturer names or logos, with no scraped off names or no-name parts.

 

 

Edited July 26, 2023 by ChicagoKeri
Clarification

[mvdveer]

Interesting write up - thank you. Some food for thought as I have now build 3 x Formbot kits - all still running well with the supplied SSR's.

Now - down this rabbit hole I go...