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Cool Tools: MetraSCAN BLACK2 -- Next-gen shop-floor 3D inspection

You'll gain some superhero powers when you brandish FARO CREAFORM's new MetraSCAN BLACK2, a next-gen portable metrology-grade optical 3D scanner engineered to deliver total inspection flexibility on the shop floor. This unit boasts a 3-in-1 architecture that combines C-Track scanning, stand-alone scanning, and probing in a single metrology-grade system.
Read the full article.

Compact, touchless position sensors: Wear-free operation in tight spaces

Novotechnik's TFD-4000 Series of touchless linear position sensors delivers wear-free measurement in tight spaces. Featuring ranges up to 50 mm, IP67 protection, 12-bit resolution, and analog outputs, these reliable sensors operate from -40 C to 125 C across diverse industrial, mobile, and medical applications such as short-stroke linear valve positioning, solenoid valves, off-highway brake actuation, and more.
Learn more.

World's first 10-m safety laser scanner: See farther, protect more

Datasensing, Datalogic's Sensor & Safety and Machine Vision business unit, has launched the SLS10 Safety Laser Scanner, the world's first 10-meter safety laser scanner. Delivering a 275-degree scanning angle, 240-m² of coverage, and an 84-msec response time, the SLS10 protects larger workspaces with fewer devices. It features best-in-class angular resolution for precise AGV navigation, SIL-2/PLd compliance, dust immunity, and the new ONEGUI platform for simplified configuration.
Learn more and see it in action.

Accelerate AI-driven machine vision systems

BitFlow has announced full production of its Claxon CXP-12 frame grabbers, designed for NVIDIA GPU-accelerated machine vision. Across five models, the CoaXPress 2.0 lineup delivers up to 50 Gbps -- five times 10 GigE Vision -- eliminating data bottlenecks. The full CXP-12 specification ensures deterministic, high-bandwidth streaming to unleash modern AI inference models.
Learn more.

Millimeter-wave imaging inspection in real time

With its new quality and inspection R&S IMAGER millimeter-wave scanner, Rohde & Schwarz aims to simplify the industrial inspection of packaged products. The system sees through common packaging materials at production speed without using X-rays, protecting both products and operators. The high-contrast 3D images are used as digital twins and can be automatically integrated into AI-powered fault-detection systems. Sees through plastics, cardboard, and composites. Applications include food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, logistics.
Learn more.

What are single-loop process controllers?

PLCs are powerful, but complex control isn't always necessary. For standalone processes requiring single-variable monitoring -- like temperature, pressure, or flow -- a single-loop controller is ideal. See how single-loop controllers can streamline your next project.
Read the AutomationDirect tech tip.

Great Resources: Flexible circuit design guide

Tech-Etch uses advanced techniques to manufacture flex and rigid-flex circuits to exacting customer specs. Special processes include selective plating a single circuit with two different finishes, contoured circuits with variable metal thickness, semi-additive and subtractive techniques, open window or cantilevered contact leads, plus SMT for component assembly. Tech-Etch specializes in flexible circuits for medical, telecommunications, aerospace, semiconductor, and other high-reliability electronic applications.
Learn about flex circuits and get the guide (no registration required).

EMI Investigations: New immunity development system

Saelig Company announces the Langer E1 Immunity Development System for EMI investigations. This compact, affordable kit simulates burst and ESD interference to pinpoint layout weak spots down to IC pins. By eliminating "black box" guesswork early in development, engineers can efficiently identify coupling mechanisms, test measures, and resolve immunity issues before compliance failure.
Learn more and see it in action.

Battery packs for unmanned aerial vehicles

Re:Build Manufacturing has launched U.S.-assembled, NDAA-compliant lithium-ion battery packs for commercial, public safety, and defense UAV applications. Available in Core, Power, and Performance series, the packs use non-FEOC cells and are produced at Re:Build's advanced facility in New Kensington, PA. Re:Build also offers custom pack and battery management system development.
Learn more.

Easy-to-use precision measurement system

Optical Gaging Products has announced the StarLite S1, a compact, semi-automatic 3-axis video measurement system. It combines fully automatic video measurements with manual stage motion and features an IntelliCentric-S optical system for high-resolution images. Powered by Measure-X software, this system delivers fast, repeatable, high-accuracy results, making it ideal for both shop-floor and quality-control applications.
Learn more.

Why a soccer kick bends the ball path: SOLIDWORKS simulation

With SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation, you can virtually test a ball's flight path and see the science behind its amazing trajectory. Visualize anything you want to test, including the physics that make a ball curve and dip, to optimize performance and reduce physical testing. See the SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation study setup and learn about the Magnus effect where a spinning object moving through a fluid curves away from its straight path. [Credit: Screenshot courtesy of SOLIDWORKS]
View the video.

Lightning-fast in-line verification, high-performance barcode reading

The Omron VHV5 Barcode Reader now combines high-performance barcode reading and calibrated ISO verification in one device. Replacing offline sample checks, it delivers 100% inline verification at production speeds up to 1,200 parts per minute. With flexible lighting, the VHV5 easily inspects labels and Direct Part Marks, even on challenging curved or irregular surfaces.
Learn more.

How to choose the right industrial Ethernet switch

Antaira Technologies breaks down 10 mission-critical capabilities separating industrial-grade switches from commercial compromises. Even if you aren't in IT engineering, you will find valuable networking knowledge in this guide to protect vital infrastructure.
Read the full article.

New CAM software cuts robotic machining deployment

At Automate (Booth #4476), RoboDK will showcase RoboDK CAM, which generates robotic machining programs directly from CAD files. Designed for easy deployment, it cuts setup time by up to 40%. Live demonstrations will show users how to create collision-free robot motion straight from CAD data, eliminating manual line-by-line coding.
Learn more about RoboDK CAM.

AI Tools You Can Use: What is OpenClaw? How do I get it and use it?

OpenClaw is trending big time right now, but what is it? The YouTubers over at Create a Pro Website run through the basics of what you need to know and how to implement it. Basically, OpenClaw is a next-gen 24/7 AI assistant that lives on your computer and can perform actions for you. You talk to it through a chat app. You can set it up to do real work such as alert you to important emails, answer emails for you, manage your calendar and travel, and so much more. There is a great intro video here and also a longer, very thorough step-by-step video to setting up OpenClaw.
View the OpenClaw intro video.
View the OpenClaw setup video.

New invention could make particle accelerators 10 times smaller

SLAC scientists have invented a copper accelerator structure that could make future X-ray lasers and accelerators for radiation therapy more compact. It feeds terahertz radiation into a tiny cavity to boost particles to tremendous energies. Shown is one half of the structure with the cavity in the circled area. Inset: Scanning electron microscope image of a section of the cavity, which is 3.5-mm long and 280 microns wide at its narrowest point. [Credit: Chris Pearson/Emilio Nanni/SLAC NAL]

 

 

 

 

Particle accelerators generate high-energy beams of electrons, protons, and ions for a wide range of applications, including particle colliders that shed light on nature's subatomic components, X-ray lasers that film atoms and molecules during chemical reactions, and medical devices for treating cancer.

As a rule of thumb, the longer the accelerator, the more powerful it is. Now, a team led by scientists at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory has invented a new type of accelerator structure that delivers a 10 times larger energy gain over a given distance than conventional ones. This could make accelerators used for a given application 10 times shorter.

The key idea behind the technology, described in a recent article in Applied Physics Letters, is to use terahertz radiation to boost particle energies.

In today's accelerators, particles draw energy from a radio-frequency (RF) field fed into specifically shaped accelerator structures, or cavities. Each cavity can deliver only a limited energy boost over a given distance, so very long strings of cavities are needed to produce high-energy beams.

Terahertz and radio waves are both electromagnetic radiation, but they differ in their respective wavelengths. Because terahertz waves are 10 times shorter than radio waves, cavities in a terahertz accelerator can also be much smaller. In fact, the one invented in this study was only 0.2-in. long.

One major challenge to building these tiny-cavity structures is to machine them very precisely. Over the past few years, SLAC teams developed a way to do just that. Instead of using the traditional process of stacking many layers of copper on top of each other, they built the minute structure by machining two halves and bonding them together.

The new structure also produces particle pulses a thousand times shorter than those coming out of conventional copper structures, which could be used to produce beams that pulse at a higher rate and unleash more power over a given time period.

Next, the researchers are planning to turn the invention into an electron gun -- a device that could produce incredibly bright beams of electrons for discovery science, including next-generation X-ray lasers and electron microscopes that would allow us to see in real time how nature works on the atomic level. These beams could also be used for cancer treatment.

Delivering on this potential also requires further development of sources of terahertz radiation and their integration with advanced accelerators, such as the one described in this study. Because terahertz radiation has such a short wavelength, its sources are particularly challenging to develop, and there is little technology available at present. SLAC researchers are pursuing both electron beam and laser-based terahertz generation to provide the high peak powers needed to turn their accelerator research into future real-world applications.

The project was led by SLAC's Mohamed Othman and Emilio Nanni. The accelerator structure was designed and built at SLAC and tested using a special terahertz radiation source from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Other contributions came from the National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN) in Italy. The project was funded by DOE's Office of Science, including a DOE Office of Science Early Career Research Program award to Nanni, and the National Science Foundation.

Source: DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Published October 2020

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