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Intro to reed switches, magnets, magnetic fields

This brief introductory video on the DigiKey site offers tips for engineers designing with reed switches. Dr. Stephen Day, Ph.D. from Coto Technology gives a solid overview on reed switches -- complete with real-world application examples -- and a detailed explanation of how they react to magnetic fields.
View the video.

Bi-color LEDs to light up your designs

Created with engineers and OEMs in mind, SpectraBright Series SMD RGB and Bi-Color LEDs from Visual Communi-cations Company (VCC) deliver efficiency, design flexibility, and control for devices in a range of industries, including mil-aero, automated guided vehicles, EV charging stations, industrial, telecom, IoT/smart home, and medical. These 50,000-hr bi-color and RGB options save money and space on the HMI, communicating two or three operating modes in a single component.
Learn more.

All about slip rings: How they work and their uses

Rotary Systems has put together a really nice basic primer on slip rings -- electrical collectors that carry a current from a stationary wire into a rotating device. Common uses are for power, proximity switches, strain gauges, video, and Ethernet signal transmission. This introduction also covers how to specify, assembly types, and interface requirements. Rotary Systems also manufactures rotary unions for fluid applications.
Read the overview.

Seifert thermoelectric coolers from AutomationDirect

Automation-Direct has added new high-quality and efficient stainless steel Seifert 340 BTU/H thermoelectric coolers with 120-V and 230-V power options. Thermoelectric coolers from Seifert use the Peltier Effect to create a temperature difference between the internal and ambient heat sinks, making internal air cooler while dissipating heat into the external environment. Fans assist the convective heat transfer from the heat sinks, which are optimized for maximum flow.
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EMI shielding honeycomb air vent panel design

Learn from the engineering experts at Parker how honeycomb air vent panels are used to help cool electronics with airflow while maintaining electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding. Topics include: design features, cell size and thickness, platings and coatings, and a stacked design called OMNI CELL construction. These vents can be incorporated into enclosures where EMI radiation and susceptibility is a concern or where heat dissipation is necessary. Lots of good info.
Read the Parker blog.

What is 3D-MID? Molded parts with integrated electronics from HARTING

3D-MID (three-dimensional mechatronic integrated devices) technology combines electronic and mechanical functionalities into a single, 3D component. It replaces the traditional printed circuit board and opens up many new opportunities. It takes injection-molded parts and uses laser-direct structuring to etch areas of conductor structures, which are filled with a copper plating process to create very precise electronic circuits. HARTING, the technology's developer, says it's "Like a PCB, but 3D." Tons of possibilities.
View the video.

Loss-free conversion of 3D/CAD data

CT CoreTech-nologie has further developed its state-of-the-art CAD converter 3D_Evolution and is now introducing native interfaces for reading Solidedge and writing Nx and Solidworks files. It supports a wide range of formats such as Catia, Nx, Creo, Solidworks, Solidedge, Inventor, Step, and Jt, facilitating smooth interoperability between different systems and collaboration for engineers and designers in development environments with different CAD systems.
Learn more.

Top 5 reasons for solder joint failure

Solder joint reliability is often a pain point in the design of an electronic system. According to Tyler Ferris at ANSYS, a wide variety of factors affect joint reliability, and any one of them can drastically reduce joint lifetime. Properly identifying and mitigating potential causes during the design and manufacturing process can prevent costly and difficult-to-solve problems later in a product lifecycle.
Read this informative ANSYS blog.

Advanced overtemp detection for EV battery packs

Littelfuse has introduced TTape, a ground-breaking over-temperature detection platform designed to transform the management of Li-ion battery systems. TTape helps vehicle systems monitor and manage premature cell aging effectively while reducing the risks associated with thermal runaway incidents. This solution is ideally suited for a wide range of applications, including automotive EV/HEVs, commercial vehicles, and energy storage systems.
Learn more.

Benchtop ionizer for hands-free static elimination

EXAIR's Varistat Benchtop Ionizer is the latest solution for neutralizing static on charged surfaces in industrial settings. Using ionizing technology, the Varistat provides a hands-free solution that requires no compressed air. Easily mounted on benchtops or machines, it is manually adjustable and perfect for processes needing comprehensive coverage such as part assembly, web cleaning, printing, and more.
Learn more.

LED light bars from AutomationDirect

Automation-Direct adds CCEA TRACK-ALPHA-PRO series LED light bars to expand their offering of industrial LED fixtures. Their rugged industrial-grade anodized aluminum construction makes TRACKALPHA-PRO ideal for use with medium to large-size industrial machine tools and for use in wet environments. These 120 VAC-rated, high-power LED lights provide intense, uniform lighting, with up to a 4,600-lumen output (100 lumens per watt). They come with a standard bracket mount that allows for angle adjustments. Optional TACLIP mounts (sold separately) provide for extra sturdy, vibration-resistant installations.
Learn more.

World's first metalens fisheye camera

2Pi Optics has begun commercial-ization of the first fisheye camera based on the company's proprietary metalens technology -- a breakthrough for electronics design engineers and product managers striving to miniaturize the tiny digital cameras used in advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), AR/VR, UAVs, robotics, and other industrial applications. This camera can operate at different wavelengths -- from visible, to near IR, to longer IR -- and is claimed to "outperform conventional refractive, wide-FOV optics in all areas: size, weight, performance, and cost."
Learn more.

Orbex offers two fiber optic rotary joint solutions

Orbex Group announces its 700 Series of fiber optic rotary joint (FORJ) assemblies, supporting either single or multi-mode operation ideal for high-speed digital transmission over long distances. Wavelengths available are 1,310 or 1,550 nm. Applications include marine cable reels, wind turbines, robotics, and high-def video transmission. Both options feature an outer diameter of 7 mm for installation in tight spaces. Construction includes a stainless steel housing.
Learn more.

Mini tunnel magneto-resistance effect sensors

Littelfuse has released its highly anticipated 54100 and 54140 mini Tunnel Magneto-Resistance (TMR) effect sensors, offering unmatched sensitivity and power efficiency. The key differentiator is their remarkable sensitivity and 100x improvement in power efficiency compared to Hall Effect sensors. They are well suited for applications in position and limit sensing, RPM measurement, brushless DC motor commutation, and more in various markets including appliances, home and building automation, and the industrial sectors.
Learn more.

Panasonic solar and EV components available from Newark

Newark has added Panasonic Industry's solar inverters and EV charging system components to their power portfolio. These best-in-class products help designers meet the growing global demand for sustainable and renewable energy mobility systems. Offerings include film capacitors, power inductors, anti-surge thick film chip resistors, graphite thermal interface materials, power relays, capacitors, and wireless modules.
Learn more.

IBM and SAP announce new offerings to help companies -- including manufacturers -- transform to the intelligent enterprise

IBM and SAP SE recently announced their partnership's next evolution, with plans to develop several new offerings designed to create a more predictable journey for businesses to become data-driven intelligent enterprises.

Over 400 businesses have modernized their enterprise systems and business processes through IBM and SAP's digital transformation partnership. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact many industries across the globe significantly, organizations are realizing they need the agility to seamlessly adapt to changing market conditions and customer demand.

"Organizations' short- and long-term futures are being defined by their ability to proactively respond to today's challenging, unprecedented market conditions," said Adaire Fox-Martin, Member of the Executive Board of SAP SE. "Companies gain competitive advantage by unlocking data up and down their value chain, uncovering new revenue opportunities, and creating exceptional experiences for their customers and employees, while also demanding faster time to value. SAP's partnership with IBM brings together the power of world-leading intelligent applications and technology expertise to realize value more quickly, which in turn fuels the transformations that will support businesses today and into the future. This partnership will serve our customers in the marketplace and on their balance sheets."

The next evolution of the IBM and SAP partnership aims to help drive faster business transformation time to value, accelerate industry innovation through industry-specific data value offerings, turbocharge customer and employee experiences, and provide ultimate flexibility and choice to run their workloads in hybrid cloud environments.

Solutions are designed to unlock new value for clients in these areas:

• Reinvent Workflows with Intelligent Industry End-to-End Processes: The first offering will focus on lead-to-order and plan-to-manufacture business processes for the industrial machinery and components (IM&C) industry to help industrial manufacturers reinvent workflow processes to increase productivity and customer satisfaction. IBM and SAP teamed up with leading IM&C companies to design and build out future capabilities.
• Flexibility with Hybrid Cloud Solutions: To help empower clients with the flexibility to run workloads in the most optimal cloud environment, IBM, Red Hat, and SAP will collaborate to bring managed services from SAP on premise by validating private deployments of SAP Cloud Platform and related backing services on Red Hat OpenShift. Currently with select early adopter clients, this solution, when available, is planned to enable customers to build side-by-side extensions with the desired security -- a critical requirement for customers in regulated industries.
• Reimagine Customer and Employee Experiences: With the internet, smartphones, and social media, it has never been easier for customers and employees to share their feedback on the quality of experiences they have with companies, products, managers, or shared services. To help companies increase value from data, IBM and SAP plan to provide technology and services leveraging the SAP Customer Experience portfolio and Experience Management solutions from SAP (Qualtrics) to enable clients to deliver a next-generation omnichannel experience and measure and improve the effectiveness of stakeholder experiences. This collaboration is designed to help drive customer loyalty, customer and employee engagement, and brand and product quality across multiple industries.
• Automating Processes to Accelerate Transformation: IBM and SAP are working together to establish the IBM Accelerated Move Center, a next-gen migration factory designed to further automate and accelerate the journey to the intelligent enterprise and give clients more predictability on their path to SAP S/4HANA. This new offering will be a prepackaged integration approach that utilizes preconfigured baseline industry templates and leverages automation and configuration tools built in conjunction with IBM Research.

These new offerings will be based on SAP's intelligent suite and industry cloud solutions, and will enable clients to benefit from SAP and IBM technologies such as AI, machine learning, automation, and analytics. The offerings will be built on IBM's new evolution platform, which provides a single view of IBM solutions, including preconfigured Industry Impact Solutions, and interoperates with SAP's Business Technology Platform.

For more information about IBM's SAP services, visit www.ibm.com/services/sap.

Source: IBM

Published November 2020

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