Designfax weekly eMagazine

Subscribe Today!

Archives

View Archives

Partners

Manufacturing Center
Product Spotlight

Modern Applications News
Metalworking Ideas For
Today's Job Shops

Tooling and Production
Strategies for large
metalworking plants

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.
Learn more.

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.

New lensless camera creates detailed 3D images from a single 2D image

Berkeley researchers have developed an easy-to-build camera that produces 3D images from a single 2D image without any lenses. In an initial application of the technology, the researchers plan to use the new camera, which they call DiffuserCam, to watch microscopic neuron activity in living mice without a microscope. Ultimately, it could prove useful for a wide range of applications involving 3D capture.

The camera is compact and inexpensive to construct because it consists of only a diffuser -- essentially a bumpy piece of plastic -- placed on top of an image sensor. Although the hardware is simple, the software it uses to reconstruct high-resolution 3D images is very complex.

"The DiffuserCam can, in a single shot, capture 3D information in a large volume with high resolution," said the research team leader Laura Waller, University of California, Berkeley. "We think the camera could be useful for self-driving cars, where the 3D information can offer a sense of scale, or it could be used with machine learning algorithms to perform face detection, track people, or automatically classify objects."

In Optica, The Optical Society's journal for high-impact research, the researchers show that the DiffuserCam can be used to reconstruct 100 million voxels, or 3D pixels, from a 1.3-megapixel (1.3 million pixels) image without any scanning. For comparison, the iPhone X camera takes 12-megapixel photos. The researchers used the camera to capture the 3D structure of leaves from a small plant.

The lensless DiffuserCam consists of a diffuser placed in front of a sensor (bumps on the diffuser are exaggerated for illustration). The system turns a 3D scene into a 2D image on the sensor. After a one-time calibration, an algorithm is used to reconstruct 3D images computationally. The result is a 3D image reconstructed from a single 2D measurement. [Image Credit: Laura Waller, University of California, Berkeley]

 

 

 

 

"Our new camera is a great example of what can be accomplished with computational imaging -- an approach that examines how hardware and software can be used together to design imaging systems," said Waller. "We made a concerted effort to keep the hardware extremely simple and inexpensive. Although the software is very complicated, it can also be easily replicated or distributed, allowing others to create this type of camera at home."

A DiffuserCam can be created using any type of image sensor and can image objects that range from microscopic in scale all the way up to the size of a person. It offers a resolution in the tens of microns range when imaging objects close to the sensor. Although the resolution decreases when imaging a scene farther away from the sensor, it is still high enough to distinguish that one person is standing several feet closer to the camera than another person, for example.

A simple approach to complex imaging
The DiffuserCam is a relative of the light field camera, which captures how much light is striking a pixel on the image sensor as well as the angle from which the light hits that pixel. In a typical light field camera, an array of tiny lenses placed in front of the sensor is used to capture the direction of the incoming light, allowing computational approaches to refocus the image and create 3D images without the scanning steps typically required to obtain 3D information.

Until now, light field cameras have been limited in spatial resolution because some spatial information is lost while collecting the directional information. Another drawback of these cameras is that the microlens arrays are expensive and must be customized for a particular camera or optical components used for imaging. "I wanted to see if we could achieve the same imaging capabilities using simple and cheap hardware," said Waller. "If we have better algorithms, could the carefully designed, expensive microlens arrays be replaced with a plastic surface with a random pattern such as a bumpy piece of plastic?"

After experimenting with various types of diffusers and developing the complex algorithms, Nick Antipa and Grace Kuo, students in Waller's lab, discovered that Waller's idea for a simple light field camera was possible. In fact, using random bumps in privacy glass stickers, Scotch tape, or plastic conference badge holders allowed the researchers to improve on traditional light field camera capabilities by using compressed sensing to avoid the typical loss of resolution that comes with microlens arrays.

Although other light field cameras use lens arrays that are precisely designed and aligned, the exact size and shape of the bumps in the new camera's diffuser are unknown. This means that a few images of a moving point of light must be acquired to calibrate the software prior to imaging. The researchers are working on a way to eliminate this calibration step by using the raw data for calibration. They also want to improve the accuracy of the software and make the 3D reconstruction faster.

No microscope required
The new camera will be used in a project at the University of California Berkeley that aims to watch a million individual neurons while stimulating 1,000 of them with single-cell accuracy. The project is funded by DARPA's Neural Engineering System Design program -- part of the federal government's BRAIN Initiative -- to develop implantable, biocompatible neural interfaces that could eventually compensate for visual or hearing deficits.

As a first step, the researchers want to create what they call a cortical modem that will "read" and "write" to the brains of animal models, much like the input-output activity of internet modems. The DiffuserCam will be the heart of the reading device for this project, which will also use special proteins that allow scientists to control neuronal activity with light.

"Using this to watch neurons fire in a mouse brain could in the future help us understand more about sensory perception and provide knowledge that could be used to cure diseases like Alzheimer's or mental disorders," said Waller. Although newly developed imaging techniques can capture hundreds of neurons firing, how the brain works on larger scales is not fully understood. The DiffuserCam has the potential to provide that insight by imaging millions of neurons in one shot. Because the camera is lightweight and requires no microscope or objective lens, it can be attached to a transparent window in a mouse's skull, allowing neuronal activity to be linked with behavior. Several arrays with overlying diffusers could be tiled to image large areas.

A need for interdisciplinary designers
"Our work shows that computational imaging can be a creative process that examines all parts of the optical design and algorithm design to create optical systems that accomplish things that couldn't be done before or to use a simpler approach to something that could be done before," Waller said. "This is a very powerful direction for imaging, but requires designers with optical and physics expertise as well as computational knowledge."

The new Berkeley Center for Computational Imaging, headed by Waller, is working to train more scientists in this interdisciplinary field. Scientists from the center also meet weekly with bioengineers, physicists, and electrical engineers as well as experts in signal processing and machine learning to exchange ideas and to better understand the imaging needs of other fields.

The open source software for the DiffuserCam is available on the project page: DiffuserCam -- Lensless Single-exposure 3D Imaging.

Paper: N. Antipa, G. Kuo, R. Heckel, B. Mildenhall, E. Bostan, R. Ng, L. Waller, "DiffuserCam: Lensless Single-Exposure 3D Imaging," Optica, Volume 5, Issue 1, 1-9 (2018).
DOI: 10.1364/OPTICA.5.000001

Source: The Optical Society

Published January 2018

Rate this article