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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.
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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.
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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.

Phononic filter could revolutionize signal processing systems

A unique filtering technology that combines light and sound waves on a single chip is expected to detect radar and communications frequencies better.

"We have developed a powerful signal filtering technology that could revolutionize signal processing systems that rely solely on conventional electronics," said Patrick Chu, manager of applied photonic microsystems for Sandia National Laboratories.

In the upper image, two green silicon optical waveguides are shown embedded in a gray photonic crystal membrane. In the bottom image, the violet and blue curves represent optical input and output signals; the yellow curves represent transduced phonon waves. [Image courtesy: Sandia National Laboratories]

 

 

 

 

The radio frequency (RF) filters, which promise both high bandwidth and wide functional flexibility, would form the basis for spectrometers that would let users "see" energies placed in various frequency bands across a wide spectral range.

The novel, very thin filter structures are in the laboratory stage. A system demonstration -- complete with lasers, modulators, detectors, and battery -- should be a bit larger than a computer hard drive, weigh only a few pounds, and become available within three to five years.

Photon-to-phonon conversion
The filter uses a relatively new concept called photon/phonon coupling. This technique lets the hybrid device temporarily change RF signals propagating as photons (light) into phonons (sound), enabling efficient analog manipulation of those slower-moving signals.

With this hybrid approach, also known as nano-optomechanical coupling, the researchers were able to combine the high bandwidth offered by light -- demonstrated at frequencies up to 20 GHz and easily extended to 100 GHz -- with the linearity and sharp resonances provided by phononic filters. The energy cost of this photon-to-phonon conversion is offset by the high-resolution filter responses that exhibit very little signal distortion over a wide frequency range, says Charles Reinke, who leads the Sandia effort.

Sandia National Laboratories researcher Charles Reinke studies a tiny phononic/photonic filter nestled among test equipment on a green, stamp-size substrate toward the picture's bottom right. [Photo by Randy Montoya]

 

 

 

 

Like a tin can telephone
A simple analogy for the photon-phonon information transfer is the tin can telephone: two cans connected by a string that transmits sound between a speaker and listener. The speaker's cup is like the emitter waveguide; it converts audible sound to vibration in the string. The cup by the ear is the receiver waveguide, which converts the vibration back into sound. The string, representing an engineered material called a phononic crystal, not only carries the message but changes its tone by filtering out high-pitch sounds, a kind of signal processing.

Creating a phononic crystal requires taking a thin film of material, in this case silicon nitride, and modifying its mechanical properties by creating patterns on it. The resultant crystal exhibits propagation properties not normally found in nature for mechanical waves like sound, and is dependent on the geometry and pattern of the film.

For the filtering system, two materials are key: silicon nitride to form membranes in which the acoustic signals propagate, and silicon to create waveguides that confine the optical signals. The dual system optimizes the acoustic and optical properties of the device independent of each other.

The photonic-phononic devices also could be incorporated with on-chip photodetectors and other electronics.

A paper published in March in Nature Communications, "Control of coherent information via on-chip photonic-phononic emitter-receivers," describes the work, initiated by Sandia's Laboratory Directed Research and Development office and currently funded for almost $5 million by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Lead researcher Peter Rakich, now a professor at Yale University, began the work at Sandia, and the collaboration continues to evolve with research partners at the University of Texas at Austin and the industrial firm Rockwell Collins. First author Heedeuk Shin, who was a postdoctoral employee at Sandia under Rakich's mentorship, is a professor at Pohang University of Science and Technology in South Korea.

Source: Sandia

Published May 2016

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