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High-capacity benchtop video measurement system

Optical Gaging Products has introduced the SmartScope^® E18, a compact, benchtop video measurement system. Featuring a 12" x 12" stage, IntelliCentric™-E fixed-lens optics, and VIRTUAL ZOOM™ technology, it offers fully automatic 3-axis performance without taking up floor space. Standard LED lighting, a rigid fixed-bridge design, optional touch probes, and advanced metrology software ensure accurate, repeatable inspection.
Learn more.

Tech Tip: Fan selection - Why airflow is not just CFM

For many engineers, fan selection starts and ends with a single number: CFM (cubic feet per minute). Higher CFM feels like a clear win. More air moved must mean better cooling. However, in practice, this assumption is one of the most common causes of thermal problems, excess noise, and late-stage redesigns. Find out why.
Read this Orion Fans technical article.

Useful! Snap-together LED enclosure lighting

Seifert StripLite SL 4000 Series LED enclosure lighting provides bright illumination to 700 lumens. On/off switch and motion sensor models are available. Easily daisy chain up to 16 light strips. Magnetic or clip mounting. See video/info on website or contact Bristol Instruments for more information.
Learn about snap-together lighting.

The hidden hardware helping AI's heat problem: PCHEs

Across AI infrastructure, thermal constraints now connect semiconductor design with power and cooling systems. More compact, lighter, and efficient than conventional shell-and-tube models, printed circuit heat exchangers save floor space, reduce energy costs, and improve overall efficiency in dense, hyperscale environments.
Read the full article.

Nearly 1,000 parts: Industrial enclosure range expanded

Altech Corp. has expanded its industrial enclosure lineup to 10 unique series with nearly 1,000 parts! Designed for control, junction, and terminal applications, these plastic and aluminum housings offer up to IP69 protection. They mount directly to walls or panels, resisting chemicals, corrosion, flames, impacts, and severe outdoor conditions without sacrificing aesthetics.
Find your perfect enclosure today.

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.

Solar mobile phone charging comes to rural Africa

Personal solar cell phone charging has come to rural Africa, and it's come in the form of rent-to-own equipment.

[Image: Azuri Technologies Ltd.]

 

 

ESCATEC, a Swiss product design, development, and manufacturing firm, has helped commercialize a novel solar power charging station design for its U.K.-based client, Azuri Technologies.

Called "Indigo," the system consists of a solar panel, two LED lamps, and a control unit with a charging point for a mobile phone. It has already won several major awards and is now in mass production in ESCATEC's Malaysian production facilities.

[Image: Azuri Technologies Ltd.]

 

 

[Image: Azuri Technologies Ltd.]

 

 

Reliable, quality illumination can change people's lives. Children can study at home, and their grades can improve. Shops can stay open past dusk. People can work in the evening to earn more money and improve the quality of their lives. Having a reliable source of electricity is similarly transformational -- especially as mobile phones are now a vital tool for communications, information, entertainment, and banking.

But in rural Africa, the typical source of light is a kerosene lamp, which is unhealthy, dangerous, and expensive. It is not uncommon for people to spend $2 a week on kerosene and a further $1 on mobile phone charging at a local (although sometimes quite far away) village charging station.

Since most homes do not have electricity, solar energy seems a prime contender for generating electricity for home use. But the challenge has been the upfront capital expense of a solar lighting system.

This is the problem Azuri aimed to solve by creating a pay-as-you-go business model for users. Customers pay a one-time install fee of around $10 and then purchase a weekly scratchcard for around $1.50, cutting their weekly energy spend by as much as 50 percent and benefitting from better quality illumination. The customer tops up their system with an Indigo scratchcard just as they would their mobile phone. A one-time top-up code is texted back and then input into the device's keypad, enabling it to be used as much as required for a week. After around 18 months, the unit is completely paid for and can be permanently unlocked.

"The vast distances and costs of installing traditional infrastructure in Africa have meant that mobile telephones have leapfrogged over the stage of landlines," says Nigel Preston, VP product management at Azuri. "Indigo provides the same leap for electricity over hardwired mains, using a mobile, solar-powered unit. Six hundred million Africans currently lack mains electricity, so whilst almost everyone has a mobile phone, they typically have to travel several kilometers to pay to get it charged. We needed a product that could withstand the extremes of temperature, be rugged and reliable, but, above all else, it had to be affordable. The build cost had to be as low as possible without compromising the quality, which is why we went to ESCATEC with our product. They offer a rare combination of top-notch design and development backed up with a high-volume manufacturing capability. Doing both means that they really do understand how to design for manufacture. They were able to view the entire project holistically, turning our prototype design into a commercial device, through component sourcing to mass production."

Gerhard Klauser, general manager at ESCATEC Switzerland, explains, "Our location in Switzerland enables us to have a close working relationship with Azuri, who are based in the U.K. Face-to-face meetings are easy to arrange, so they were able to be really 'hands on' at every stage as we optimized their design for manufacture. The initial low-volume production run was done in our facility here and then transferred to our factory in Malaysia for volume runs. As we deliberately use the same production equipment, this is a simple and very reliable transfer process that we have done many times for customers. This gives them a gateway to the high-volume, low labor-cost benefits of production in Asia but with a local contact to ensure that everything always runs smoothly."

"Indigo is a simple and effective way to transform the life of millions of people, and we are very proud to be making this happen," says Preston.

Source: ESCATEC

Published June 2013

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