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Machine vision enforces zero-defect manufacturing of engine fans

Engine cooling fan failure in commercial vehicle applications can result in power unit overheating and catastrophic engine damage. To mitigate these risks, a leading manufacturer of engine components has deployed an advanced machine vision system based on SVS-Vistek cameras to enforce zero-defect quality standards. The implementation presented substantial technical challenges.
Read the full article.

Do-it-yourself board-level EMI shielding

ProtoShield sheets from Tech-Etch are depth-etched with a checkerboard pattern for folding, so they can be easily formed into many diverse configurations. In the product-development stage, fully functional shields can be created in minutes with just a pair of scissors and a straight edge for folding. Offered in two sizes: standard (.25-in. squares) and metric (5-mm squares). Both versions are solderable and corrosion resistant due to nickel silver material. Shield prototypes can be directly soldered to the board, or shield clips can be used for easy mounting. Samples available.
Learn more.

New angle sensors designed for rugged applications

Novotechnik's new Vert-X 26 Series of non-contacting magnetic angle sensors use the Hall effect to track the position of the shaft and are designed for rugged applications like automotive and off-highway equipment where high humidity, dampness, dust, and/or vibrations are expected. They are plug-in sensors using an AMP MQ5 6-pole connector, with a measurement range from 0 to 360 degrees. Both single and fully redundant versions are available.
Learn more.

Cool Tools: Mobile surface measuring solution

With its lightweight, compact design and the smallest skidless probe system available on the market, the MarSurf M 510 Series is an ideal solution for precise surface measurement across a wide range of applications. The series offers convenient mobile testing of P, R, and W parameters with just one instrument, and users can create up to 1,000 measuring programs. This instrument can cover a broad spectrum of applications in sectors such as mechanical engineering, automotive, medical, and aerospace.
Learn more from Mahr.

Code-free LIN LED driver rewrites the rules of automotive LED design

Melexis has unveiled the MLX80124, a highly configurable, code-free LIN LED driver. It is designed to radically simplify the development of dynamic RGB-LED automotive ambient lighting applications for engineers of all backgrounds. The MLX80124's unique innovation enables engineers to configure behavior without writing or compiling a single line of code. Instead, a GUI provides access to configurable parameters, delivering the full lighting functionality expected by tier 1 suppliers and OEMs.
Learn more.

EMI filters -- the first line of defense in military/aerospace electronics

When failure is not an option, high-reliability EMI filters deliver superior high-frequency EMI suppression for mission-critical applications in aerospace and defense. The experts at Johanson Technology run through your options and what makes each type beneficial for specific applications.
Read the full article.

Fastest workstation for SOLIDWORKS?

What's the fastest new workstation for SOLIDWORKS users? The experts at TriMech Group have done their testing and made their decision. It's the Dell Pro Max Tower T2. Dell's Precision Brand top-range PCs have a new name -- Pro Max -- and they are the only units certified for professional applications such as SOLIDWORKS and CATIA. Learn why TriMech thinks this PC, which replaces the best-selling Dell Precision 3680 model, is a winner.
View the video.

Cool Tools: HandySCAN BLACK Elite handheld 3D scanner

Optimized to meet the needs of design, manufacturing, and metrology professionals, FARO's HandySCAN BLACK Elite provides an effective and reliable way to acquire accurate 3D measurements of physical objects anywhere.
Read the full article.

Rotary sensor counts to 44 turns -- even when you lose power!

Novotechnik, U.S. introduces the MC-1 2800 Series of 44-Turn multi-turn sensors with several new output interfaces. These sensors feature patented, non-volatile technology that retains turn count even when power is lost and reports correct count when power is restored. In addition to the IO-Link interface, the MC-1 now features an analog ratiometric, CANopen, and CAN SAE J1939 interface options. Mechanical life is more than 50 million movements. Applications include automotive and off-highway vehicle steering and driveline, agricultural and construction machinery, medical equipment, and gate drives.
Learn more.

How to cut EMI gasket costs for military projects

Specialty Silicone Products (SSP) says it is enabling defense contractors to reduce EMI gasket costs without compromising quality or performance. In addition to cost-effective nickel-graphite materials, SSP provides molded or bonded EMI frame gaskets that maximize yields and reduce waste. SSP also makes continuous rolls that are less expensive to produce and faster to fabricate into finished parts.
Read the SSP blog.

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).

Real-World Applications: Automating escape room experiences

"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain," the Wizard famously said in The Wizard of Oz. See how industrial automation products from AutomationDirect can be applied to unique applications, such as the advanced control needed to make a sophisticated escape room run.
Read the full article.

PFC capacitors for consumer electronics

TDK introduces the B3270xP, a series of ultra-small, metallized polypropylene (MKP) film capacitors tailored for power factor correction (PFC) stages in power supplies for consumer electronics. With their compact design and self-healing properties, these components are engineered for use in high-density circuit designs for devices such as laptops and gaming consoles.
Learn more.

Raspberry Pi releases 1-TB SSD for 70 bucks!

Raspberry Pi, the incredibly popular and affordable single-board computer system, is getting a big bump up in the memory department. A 1-TB solid-state drive is now available for the Raspberry Pi 5 and other devices. Besides the huge storage space, it boasts super-fast startup and fast data transfer. Available directly from Raspberry Pi for right now. Should be hitting U.S. resellers soon. Requires Raspberry Pi 5-compatible M.2 adapter.
Read the Raspberry Pi blog with more specs. Other new add-ons available.

Advanced metrology accelerates performance for American race team

In motorsports, where aerodynamic efficiency and mechanical accuracy can mean the difference between a podium finish and a mid-pack result, precision isn't a luxury -- it's a necessity. As Brian Winters, Product Manager at Hexagon - Manufacturing Intelligence division, writes, Minnesota-based JDC-Miller MotorSports understands this better than most.
Read the full article.

New kind of superconductivity discovered

Superconductivity is a phenomenon where an electric circuit loses its resistance and becomes extremely efficient under certain conditions. There are different ways in which this can happen that were thought to be incompatible. For the first time, researchers have discovered a bridge between two of these methods to achieve superconductivity. This new knowledge could lead to a more general understanding of the phenomena, and one day to real-world applications.

If you're like most people, there are three states of matter in your everyday life: solid, liquid, and gas. You might be familiar with a fourth state of matter called plasma, which is like a gas that got so hot all its constituent atoms came apart, leaving behind a super hot mess of subatomic particles.

But did you know about a so-called fifth state of matter at the complete opposite end of the thermometer? It's known as a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC).

"A BEC is a unique state of matter as it is not made from particles, but rather waves," said Associate Professor Kozo Okazaki from the Institute for Solid State Physics at the University of Tokyo. "As they cool down to near absolute zero, the atoms of certain materials become smeared out over space. This smearing increases until the atoms -- now more like waves than particles -- overlap, becoming indistinguishable from one another.

"The resulting matter behaves like it's one single entity with new properties the preceding solid, liquid, or gas states lacked, such as superconduction. Until recently, superconducting BECs were purely theoretical, but we have now demonstrated this in the lab with a novel material based on iron and selenium (a nonmetallic element)."

Polarized light images show researchers how electrons, represented by red crosses, behave under different circumstances in their test samples. [Credit: © 2020 Okazaki et al.]

 

 

This is the first time a BEC has been experimentally verified to work as a superconductor; however, other manifestations of matter, or regimes, can also give rise to superconduction. The Bardeen-Cooper-Shrieffer (BCS) regime is an arrangement of matter such that when cooled to near absolute zero, the constituent atoms slow down and line up, which allows electrons to pass through more easily. This effectively brings the electrical resistance of such materials to zero.

Both BCS and BEC require freezing-cold conditions, and both involve atoms slowing down. But these regimes are otherwise quite different. For a long time, researchers have believed that a more general understanding of superconduction could be reached if these regimes could be found to overlap in some way.

"Demonstrating the superconductivity of BECs was a means to an end; we were really hoping to explore the overlap between BECs and BCSs," said Okazaki. "It was extremely challenging, but our unique apparatus and method of observation has verified it -- there is a smooth transition between these regimes. And this hints at a more general underlying theory behind superconduction. It is an exciting time to be working in this field."

Okazaki and his team used the method of ultra-low-temperature and high-energy-resolution laser-based photoemission spectroscopy to observe the way electrons behaved during a material's transition from BCS to BEC. Electrons behave differently in the two regimes, and the change between them helps fill some gaps in the bigger picture of superconduction.

Superconduction is not just a laboratory curiosity, though; superconducting devices such as electromagnets are used in applications already, such as the Large Hadron Collider, the world's largest particle accelerator. However, as explained above, these require ultra-cold temperatures that prohibit the development of superconducting devices we might expect to see every day. So it's no surprise there is great interest in finding ways to form superconductors at higher temperatures, perhaps one day even at room temperature.

"With conclusive evidence of superconducting BECs, I think it will prompt other researchers to explore superconduction at higher and higher temperatures," said Okazaki. "It may sound like science fiction for now, but if superconduction can occur near room temperature, our ability to produce energy would greatly increase."

Source: University of Tokyo

Published November 2020

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