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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.
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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.
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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.

NIST testing tools for wireless 1,000 times bandwidth of today's cell phone systems

Smartphones and tablets are everywhere, which is great for communications but a growing burden on wireless channels. Forecasted huge increases in mobile data traffic call for exponentially more channel capacity. Boosting bandwidth and capacity could speed downloads, improve service quality, and enable new applications like the Internet of Things connecting a multitude of devices.

To help solve the wireless crowding conundrum and support the next generation of mobile technology -- 5G cellular -- researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are developing measurement tools for channels that are new for mobile communications and that could offer more than 1,000 times the bandwidth of today's cell phone systems.

To support wireless communications at higher frequencies offering more channel capacity, NIST engineer Kate Remley led development of this new 94-GHz calibrated signal source for testing receivers and other devices. [Credit: NIST]

 

 

 

 

Like pioneers who found land by going west, telecom researchers can find open spectrum by going up -- to higher frequencies. Mobile devices such as cell phones, consumer WiFi devices, and public safety radios mostly operate below 3 gigahertz (GHz). But some devices are starting to use fast silicon-germanium radio chips operating at millimeter (mm) wavelengths above 10 GHz. Researchers at NIST and elsewhere are eyeing channels up to 100 GHz and even beyond.

The metrology infrastructure for telecommunications at these frequencies is incomplete. NIST's challenge is to develop tools and test methods that are far more precise than today's versions to optimize device performance. Because high-speed digital circuits can easily distort mm wave signals, even tiny errors can result in erroneous bits of information. In addition, mm waves don't travel around corners as well as lower-frequency waves, so channel models will be complex.

Possible solutions include development of complex antenna arrays that may provide novel capabilities such as beam steering -- the capability to transmit in many different directions to point the beam directly at the receiving device, and even track mobile devices. This would strengthen signals and cause less interference to neighboring devices.

"We want to provide U.S. industry with the precision measurement methods needed to develop innovative millimeter-wave wireless technologies and associated standards," NIST project coordinator Kate Remley says. "This work can advance the state of the art in telecommunications and help meet the expected increases in demand for wireless capacity."

So far, Remley and her colleagues have developed a calibrated, modulated signal source to test mm wave instruments such as receivers* and "channel sounders" to support modeling of mm wave communications channels in indoor and outdoor environments. Other NIST researchers have demonstrated a new probe for making the first calibrated measurements of electric fields above 100 GHz** and a new facility for characterizing antennas operating above 100 GHz.***

NIST researchers developed this directional 16-antenna array to support modeling of wireless communications channels at 83 GHz. [Credit: NIST]

 

 

The new calibrated signal source, demonstrated at 44 GHz and 94 GHz, enables measurements of modulated signals to be traced to fundamental physical quantities. The source is based on commercial parts so that companies and other users can easily put together their own systems. The mobile channel sounder, demonstrated at 83 GHz so far, provides calibrated received signal strength and additional data for analysis of signal scattering and reflections, to help researchers develop network protocols that account for distortions.

As part of the same project, NIST researchers are also developing a millimeter-wave instrument to measure the nonlinear characteristics of the transistors and amplifiers that will be used in mm wave receivers, transmitters, and other devices.

All of this research is being done in NIST's new Communications Technology Laboratory. The signal source was funded in part by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

Resources

*K.A. Remley, D.F. Williams, P.D. Hale, C.-M. Wang, J.A. Jargon, and Y. Park. Measurement uncertainty in error vector magnitude at millimeter-wave frequencies. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques. Forthcoming.
**See 2014 NIST Tech Beat article, "NIST Quantum Probe Enhances Electric Field Measurements," at www.nist.gov/ctl/20141007_efield_meter.cfm.
***See J.A. Gordon, D.R. Novotny, M. Francis, R. Wittmann, M. Butler and J. R. Guerrieri,. "The CROMMA Facility at NIST Boulder: A Unified Coordinated Metrology Space for Millimeter-Wave Antenna Characterization"; and D.R. Novotny, J.R. Guerrieri and J.A. Gordon, "Antenna Alignment and Positional Validation of a mm Wave Antenna System Using 6D Coordinate Metrology." Both papers were presented at the Antenna Measurement Techniques Association Conference, Tucson, AZ, Oct. 13-17, 2014.

Source: NIST

Published February 2015

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