Features

Pickering Electronics, the leading name in reed relays for over 50 years, is all set to unveil its latest reed relay at the Electronica China show in Shanghai. Introducing the 104 series high voltage single-in-line reed relay, designed to withstand higher temperatures. Join us at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai from July 11-13. Visit our booth to learn more about miniaturized and high-performance relays and don’t miss a chance to connect and speak to our technical experts.

 The new 104HT relay can operate at up to 125°C and is part of a family of miniature high voltage reed relays from Pickering in the SIL package. Available in 1 Form A configuration, up to 4kV stand-off voltage and 5V, 12V and 24V coils. Up to 3000 Ω coil resistance. Applications are wide but include mixed signal semiconductor testers, high-end cable testers, backplane testers, medical electronics, electric vehicles, solar energy, and high voltage instrumentation.

Comments Kevin Mallett, Technical Specialist at Pickering Electronics: “Pickering is continuously developing its product offering, and we are excited to show our new developments – including this high temperature device – to attendees at the prestigious Electronica show in Shanghai. Today, Pickering’s SIL/SIP range is by far the most developed in the relay industry with some devices measuring just one quarter the size of many competitors. These small reed relays are sold in high volumes to large ATE and Semiconductor companies throughout the world.”

Draw-wire displacement sensors from Micro-Epsilon are used successfully in many different industries, one of the most important being mobile machinery, where the sensors need to be compact, provide large measuring ranges (typically 6 m to 8 m) and offer an attractive price/performance ratio.

A common application for draw-wire sensors in mobile machinery is the measurement of boom and support positions. Telescopic loaders, for example, often require a measuring range of 8 m. In addition to analogue outputs, the demand for digital interfaces is also increasing, particularly for CANopen. 

To better serve these applications, Micro-Epsilon has expanded its wireSENSOR WPS-MK88 and wireSENSOR WPS-K100 series of draw-wire sensors with larger measuring ranges and CANopen interface.  

The wireSENSOR K100 series of draw-wire displacement sensors measure distance and position precisely, combining high performance for outdoor use with an excellent price/performance ratio. The series now offers a larger measuring range of up to 8 m, as well as a CANopen interface for all measuring ranges up to 8 m, making the sensors ideal for off-highway vehicles, mobile machinery, mobile cranes and lifting technology. The compact K100 series is protected by a glass fibre-reinforced plastic housing, as well as separate drum and spring spaces, making the sensors extremely robust (IP69K) against external influences.  

The MK88 series of draw-wire sensors has also been expanded with a larger measuring range of up to 6 m, as well as a CANopen interface for all measuring ranges up to 6 m. The MK88 is specially designed for mobile applications in series such as mobile cranes and mobile working platforms. The combination of compact size, robustness and price makes the sensors unique, offering new potential in design and cost optimisation.  

Ever-expanding portfolio 

Draw-wire displacement sensors from Micro-Epsilon are extremely robust and flexible. They measure positions and distances between 50 mm and 50 m. Robust housings protect against external influences. Due to their compact design, the sensors can also be integrated in narrow installation spaces. Measurements are performed in a simple way, quickly and with a long sensor service life. Output of measurement values is either analogue or digital, depending on the sensor model. For customer applications, various adaptations can also be implemented at any time. For example, the measuring wire can be guided over deflection pulleys to achieve an ideal measuring situation. Micro-Epsilon’s portfolio of draw-wire displacement sensors includes more than 120 models in different designs and measuring ranges. 

Bowers Group is delighted to announce a new partnership with ASH, allowing the group to offer an exciting and innovative range of digital inspection solutions.

Headquartered in Ireland, ASH is renowned for designing and building a highly sophisticated range of inspection systems for a wide range of industries. The innovative range of products is now available and supported by Bowers Group as part of its third-party operations, with the dedicated and knowledgeable sales team committed to delivering the world’s most advanced inspection technology solutions to UK-based businesses.

UK Sales Manager at Bowers Group, Ryan Kingswell, said: “ASH has already assisted many manufacturers around the world to protect quality, minimise risk and advance their capabilities. We are confident that these advanced products will complement our product portfolio and I’m sure it will also prove to be extremely popular within the UK metrology and manufacturing market. We’re thrilled to be able to offer the intelligent, award-winning technology of ASH to our customers and look forward to a long and successful relationship.”

Martin Cahill, COO of ASH, said: “The partnership between Bowers Group and ASH is truly a testament to our shared vision of innovation and excellence. As an esteemed leader in the field of metrology, Bowers Group has built an extensive network owing to its industry expertise and exceptional customer service. We are delighted to add our inspection solutions to Bowers’ comprehensive suite of quality products, expanding our reach in the UK and collectively helping a wide range of industries to unlock new levels of efficiency and precision in their manufacturing processes. We are certain that the synergy between our companies’ culture and values will ensure an enduring and prosperous collaboration.”

To discover the full range of ASH products, find out more information, or to book a demo, contact the Bowers group sales team at sales@bowersgroup.co.uk or visit the website www.bowersgroup.co.uk

Samotics, a leading provider of real-time actionable insights to eliminate industrial energy waste and unplanned downtime, has partnered with Partners in Performance, a leading global player in driving operational excellence for complex organisations, to deliver enhanced condition monitoring and energy efficiency services to key global industries, enabling digital transformation and improved performance.

As Samotics expands its global operations and helps more organisations access the benefits of predictive maintenance, this partnership with Partners in Performance marks a significant milestone for its growth strategy. The focus of this partnership will be delivering asset health and energy efficiency insights to a broader audience of industrial players. Its initial target industries are oil and gas and water and wastewater sectors in key global markets, including the US and Australia.

Samotics’ SAM4 technology supports global industrial players to monitor the performance and efficiency of critical assets. SAM4 is a proven, scalable solution, already helping over 100 customers in five continents to make data-driven decisions and improve performance. It solves a significant challenge for industrial organisations, including those in water, steel and chemicals, by enabling the remote capture of high-quality performance and efficiency data for assets in hard-to-reach, submerged and hazardous locations. This makes it an attractive offering for Partners in Performance industrial client base, who are looking for an end-to-end solution to support their digital transformation and energy transition efforts.

Peter Mann, Director at Partners in Performance said, “Our partnership with Samotics will allow us to help our global clients improve asset performance while accelerating their energy transitions since they have a safe and effective way of identifying energy inefficient equipment. With their machine learning algorithms in our arsenal, we can help increase operational efficiency, reduce maintenance costs, all the while creating safer working environments for people by identifying potential issues before they can become a hazard.”  

Jasper Hoogeweegen, CEO at Samotics said: “Our SAM4 technology is already delivering significant value to industries, helping to identify developing faults and meet carbon reduction goals. With our joint commitment to solving reliability and energy efficiency challenges, Partners in Performance is a great partner to help scale global adoption of our proven technology and bring these benefits to more organisations around the world.”

The SAM4 system offers two unique solutions. SAM4 Health, the company’s flagship offering, analyses current and voltage signals of electric-driven equipment such as motors and pumps to detect electrical and mechanical faults. Using electrical signature analysis (ESA) and machine learning, SAM4 Health offers superior fault detection accuracy, detecting over 90% of failures up to five months in advance. SAM4 Energy, the world’s first continuous monitoring system for industrial equipment efficiency, provides detailed performance and efficiency insights to identify where energy consumption, cost and efficiency losses are largest and implement data-driven recommendations.

Fluidized beds is a technology used in a variety of industries and plays an important role in the transition to green energy and the production of food and drugs. However, the process that occurs inside a fluidized bed is extremely complex and – due to a lack of effective measurement techniques – has remained largely unknown. Now, researchers from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have developed a high-frequency radar technique that can measure exactly what is happening inside a fluidized bed with unrivalled precision. This breakthrough could lead to completely new and more efficient processes in several industries, including energy conversion.

Fluidized bed combustion is one of the leading technologies used in the world’s thermal power plants. This technology converts solid fuels, such as biomass and waste, into district heating and electricity. Fluidization technology is also fundamental to many other processes that are expected to play an important role globally in the transition of energy systems, and in circular resource flows – such as in carbon capture, energy storage and the production of hydrogen and other fossil-free fuels*.   

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology have now developed a radar technique able to provide a detailed characterisation of the flow of solids in fluidized beds, the lack of which has been holding back the development of these processes.

Fluidized beds is already the most effective technology for converting solid biofuels into energy. This technology results in an efficient and consistent rate of combustion because the solid particles assume a liquid-like state which helps to distribute the heat homogeneously in the combustion chamber. In brief, fluidization technology is based on a gas being blown through a bed of small sand-like particles in a reactor, so that these solid particles, the fuel and the gas become thoroughly mixed.

Like a sandstorm and a wildfire in one

In order to achieve even greater efficiencies in this process, you need to be able to understand and control how the solid particles behave in the mixture. But the reactor environment is often hot, dirty and corrosive – like a sandstorm and a wildfire in one – effectively preventing any type of measurement and thus limiting our understanding of what is actually happening inside the reactor. 

The Chalmers researchers’ new solution to this problem is an extremely high-frequency radar technique that can measure the flows of solid particles in fluidized beds with unrivalled precision. Inspired by the pulse-Doppler radar used to track weather phenomena such as rain or snow, this is the first time the technique has been demonstrated in the context of a fluidized bed. This breakthrough is now expected to pave the way for new and more efficient processes in a number of industries.

“The use of the high-frequency terahertz radar instrument demonstrated in our study has the potential to revolutionise how fluidized bed technology can be designed and used in many different industrial sectors – from energy conversion to the food industry and drug production. This is one of very few demonstrations of the use of pulse-Doppler radar technique at submillimetre wave frequencies, and it is the first time ever that it has been used for making measurements in a fluidized bed,” says Diana Carolina Guнo Pйrez, researcher in energy technology at Chalmers.

Unrivalled measurement accuracy

While the measurement techniques used in fluidized beds are normally low-resolution, produce results that are difficult to interpret, or cause disturbances in the flow, the Chalmers researchers’ high-frequency terahertz radar technique can penetrate the reactor from the outside and measure the behaviour of the particles inside it without disturbing the flow. The radar technique can also measure the velocity and concentration of the solid particles simultaneously with great precision and high resolution in time and space. This means that even minimal changes in the flow can be detected in real-time, which is important when monitoring and controlling industrial processes. 

In the researchers’ study, the technique was demonstrated in practice, for the first time ever, in a three-metre high circulating fluidized bed boiler. Their findings showed a measurement quality that exceeded the quality achieved by the methods previously used in the field by a big margin.

“We have been able to show that pulse-Doppler radar technique at frequencies up to 340 GHz can measure both the distribution of particles and their velocity inside a process reactor at a much higher resolution than other technologies can. This is information that has long been lacking in the field and will make it possible to improve and scale up process reactors and – in the case of energy conversion – reduce emissions of unwanted residual products,” says Marlene Bonmann, post-doc at the Terahertz and Millimetre Wave Laboratory at Chalmers University of Technology. 

“The knowledge that can be acquired with our high-frequency terahertz radar technique has the potential to break new ground in our understanding of solids flows in fluidized bed reactors and other solids handling units. For example, it can lead to improved operation and design of the reactors needed in existing and completely new fluidized bed-based conversion processes, such as carbon capture and storage, energy storage and thermal cycling,” says Diana Carolina Guнo Pйrez.

OMC, the pioneer in optoelectronics design & manufacture, announces a new family of four Keyed SMA fibre optic connectors with “clockface” keys in four different positions. Originally designed in response to a customer request for a keyed connector for a four-channel installation, the new family of four Keyed SMA connectors overcomes installation errors by effectively engineering them out.

The usual way of connecting multiple fibre optic cables in a system is to tag each cable with an identity tag and match them up, but this method is by no means foolproof, and time-consuming errors are quite easy to make.  Each of the four OMC Keyed SMA family housings features a key in a different position, rather like a clockface with keys at the 12, 3. 6 and 9 positions.  Using the separate keyways, it is impossible to connect the wrong fibre optic cable to the wrong slot.  Connectors and device housings with custom keyway positions for greater numbers of channels can also be produced on request.

As an additional benefit, the keyway eliminates rotational variation in the SMA connector mating, enhancing performance consistency and link reliability.

Widely recognised as one of the world’s leading manufacturers of fibre optic systems, OMC’s connectors and housed fibre optic transmitters and receivers are produced primarily to all-metal designs and are used in industrial and other environments such as mass-transit systems, where longevity, reliability and durability is essential. For other critical applications, such as MRI scanners, life-support equipment, power grid equipment and secure, interference-free communications for defence and banking systems, standard off-the-shelf fibre optic components cannot meet the optical performance window.  OMC’s proprietary Active Alignment Technology optimises each device and is relied on by its global end customer base, which includes such names as National Grid, CERN, the NHS and the Ministry of Defence. 

Rohde & Schwarz has partnered with MediaTek to verify the first NTN NB-IoT protocol conformance test cases according to 3GPP 36.523-1 on MediaTek’s NTN IoT capable MT6825 chipset. This achievement sets the course for NTN device conformity approval – a significant step in bringing next-generation IoT devices based on non-terrestrial networks (NTN) to the market and enabling ubiquitous connectivity on land, at sea, and in the air.

Farnell, has signed a global distribution agreement with Seeed Studio, a leading provider of innovative open-source hardware and software products. The entire Seeed product range has been added to Farnell’s portfolio, offering customers access to cutting-edge technologies that will enable them to see their Internet of Things (IoT) ideas rapidly become productive real-world applications.

California-based Seeed Studio is an innovative IoT technology company which specialises in hardware research, production and sales for edge computing, network communication and smart sensing applications. Farnell customers will benefit from flexible customisation options and low minimum order quantity (MOQ) requirements, enabling them to tailor Seeed products to precisely match their specific requirements.

Seeed Studio is known for collaborating with its partners such as Raspberry Pi and Nvidia to offer innovative solutions to its customers. Farnell customers will now have access to a wide array of ground-breaking products from Seeed Studio, including the Nvidia Jetson-powered reComputer; Raspberry Pi CM4 powered reTerminal; and Edgebox industrial controllers. Farnell will also supply XIAO MCUs and the popular Grove range of modular, standardised connector prototyping systems, further expanding the choice and versatility available to their global customer base.

Key Seeed Studio products now available from Farnell include:

• reComputer for Jetson series compact edge computers built with NVIDIA® Jetson™ advanced AI embedded systems with rich extension interfaces, thermal management, pre-installed Jetpack, all combined with decades of Seeed’s hardware expertise, helping to deliver seamless AI integration.
• Raspberry Pi CM4 powered reTerminal is a modular Human-Machine-Interface (HMI) facility, offering multiple interfaces and components. It is a hand-sized powerful, Raspberry Pi-based all-in-one board, helping designers to develop individual IoT and AI projects for use in industrial applications.
• Edgebox Industrial Controllers are a lightweight industrial edge controller series defined as an OT-IT Bridge in industrial automation scenarios, integrating PLC/PAC, IPC, IIOT gateway, OPC UA Server and HMI (Edgelogix-RPi-1000), functioning as one. Edge series devices can be used from compact industrial edge controllers to modular versions.
• Seeed Studio XIAO is a thumb-sized, yet powerful development board empowered by powerful and popular chips such as SAMD21, nRF52840, and ESP32C3 making it possible to address a wide range of applications. XIAO boards are compact with all SMD components placed on the same side of the board offering simple integration into customer’s designs and reducing time to market.
• The Grove System is a standardised modular connector prototyping system that simplifies the process of connecting, experimenting and building electronic projects by using standardised connectors and can be connected to platforms like Raspberry Pi or Arduino using a cable converter, providing a more accessible and convenient way to prototype and build real electronic systems.

Romain Soreau, Head of Single Board Computing at Farnell, said, “This new partnership with Seeed Studio is an exciting milestone for Farnell signalling the continued expansion of our product offering. Seeed is renowned for innovation, and we are thrilled to add their entire range to our product portfolio. This collaboration enables us to better serve our customers by increasing our inventory to provide them with a variety of the advanced tools they need to turn their innovative ideas into reality.”

Eric Pan, Founder and CEO at Seeed Studio, commented on the collaboration, “We’re excited to partner with Farnell, a renowned leader in the electronics industry, to bring our advanced perception system to more industrial users. This collaboration aligns perfectly with Seeed Studio’s mission to empower innovators with open technologies!”

Seeed supports global developers to employ IoT solutions in industrial settings for very diverse uses such as vineyards, packaging, retail, tea plantations, healthcare, husbandry, and research.

The entire Seeed Studio product range is now available from stock at Farnell in EMEA.

Now available through Powell Electronics, the supplier of connectors and more for high-rel applications including defence, aerospace and industrial, are 2^nd generation GBB board to board connectors from Gigalane. Very cost-effective and reliable, the devices benefit from a weight reduction of 25% thanks to a new material and manufacturing method and offer an excellent mechanical and electric performance. The main target applications are board-to-board and board-to-module RF interconnections.

Technical details of 2^nd generation GBB connectors include a frequency from DC up to 8.5 GHz, impedance of 50 Ω, insulation resistance of 5000 MΩ and a dielectric withstand voltage of 1,000 Vrms. VSWR is 1.20:1 at 3.0 GHz, 1.25:1 at 6.0 GHz and 1.30:1 at 8.5 GHz.

For further information please visit: https://www.powell.com/e2wItemAdvanceSearch.aspx?ManufacturerName=GigaLane