Features

Volex, the global integrated manufacturing specialists today announces the acquisition of Review Display Systems (RDS).

Founded in 1982, RDS is a UK based supplier of electronic displays, embedded and IOT solutions, with customers in a broad range of market sectors, including medical, military, industrial and smart buildings. The company has extensive in-house engineering expertise and specialises in providing bespoke designs for OEM customers.

RDS will be integrated within GTK UK and will retain its existing brand identity and management structure, and will continue to operate from its offices in the UK and USA. This integration will strengthen the group’s engineering capabilities and market opportunities for customised electronic solutions. Both GTK and RDS have a strong presence in the UK display market. 

John Morath, Managing Director of GTK UK, stated, “The integration of Review Display Systems will strengthen our combined design and engineering capabilities, increase our share in the display marketplace and advance our position in the IOT solutions space. Both our organisations pride ourselves on our engineering expertise, ability to provide custom solutions for OEMs and excellent customer service.”

Russell Gilbert, Managing Director of Review Display Systems, said, “GTK and Review Display Systems have a remarkably similar approach to business. We are both strongly engineering led organisations. Becoming part of GTK and the Volex group provides a sound financial platform to accelerate market growth.”

 For further information, please contact John Morath on +44 (0)7801 693032.

Anritsu and CIG Photonics (CIG) are jointly demonstrating an 800G optical transceiver PAM4 test solution in the Anritsu booth (#7B33) at CIOE 2022 to be held from December 7 to 9, 2022 in the World Exhibition and Convention Center, Shenzhen, China.

The test setup will input an 8-lane optical signal from a CIG QSFP-DD800 2xFR4 800G optical transceiver to Anritsu’s MP2110A Sampling Oscilloscope to demonstrate measurement of key test parameters, including TDECQ.

With the explosive increase in network traffic levels due to the spread of services such as 5G, IoT, etc., optical connections, including optical transceivers, within and between data centres (DCI) are being upgraded to 400GbE. Additionally, to support expected rapid traffic increases caused by new future applications such as AI and machine learning, 800G optical transceivers are being developed, and first-generation 8-lane 100 Gbps PAM4 optical transceivers are now under test.

With a built-in CRU, the MP2110A 4ch sampling oscilloscope is the ideal all-in-one solution for analysing NRZ and PAM4 Eye patterns of 10G-800G optical transceivers and devices. Combining a sampling oscilloscope and CRU in one tester facilitates easy and space-saving operation. This demonstration uses two MP2110A units to measure and analyse 800G optical transceiver 8-lane optical signals in parallel and cuts evaluation times by 50%. Anritsu hopes this test solution will help revolutionise data-centre networks.

The 800G transceiver under test is a CIG QSFP-DD800 2x400G-FR4 module. The optical interface conforms to 400GBASE-FR4 interface using dual 53.125 Gbaud PAM4 CWDM. The electrical interface conforms to 400GAUI-4 using 8-lane 53.125 Gbaud PAM4. The transmission distance is 2 km, and the max. power consumption is 16 W.

CIG Photonics Japan Vice President and Chief Technical Officer Koichi Tamura says, “The demand on 800G optical transceivers is strengthening due to rapidly increasing traffic in hyper-scale data centres and it is expected to be in mass-production for 25.6 Tbps switch applications in CY2023. At this time, we are very pleased to be cooperating with Anritsu with our high-quality and low-cost 800G optical transceivers based on our long-term experience in high-speed and high-density design and packaging technologies”.

Kohei Ota, General Manager of Anritsu’s Service Infrastructure Solutions Division says, “Anritsu is continuing to develop unique test solutions supporting improved optical transceiver development and mass-production efficiency. I am very proud of this joint demonstration with CIG of their leading-edge 800G optical transceiver. In addition to these solutions, we will continue to contribute to the realisation of next-generation networks with increasing speed and capacity by providing device and network test solutions”.

Lane Motorsport continues to support a number of UK University based teams of budding car designers with exclusive pricing on connectors and free technical advice to support their joint goal of participating in the Formula Student UK (FSUK) challenge. To meet the challenge teams are tasked to design a single seat racing car to compete in the FSUK competition which culminates in a competitive event at the Silverstone racing circuit. These student designed and built racing cars may also be entered into similar races around Europe for international competitions.

 FSUK is Europe’s most established educational engineering competition celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2023 and is a testing ground for the next generation of world-class engineers. Intended to encourage more young people to take up a career in engineering, there are now over one hundred university teams taking part every year.

The project usually forms part of a degree-level project and is viewed by the motorsport industry as the standard for engineering graduates to meet, transitioning them from university to the workplace. It is a gold standard for real-world engineering experience, combining practical engineering experience with soft skills including business planning and project management.

One entrant into the challenge supported by Lane Motorsport is the Loughborough University Formula Student Team (LUMotorsport). They report that overall, 2022 has been a successful year and that issues with the manufacturability of the previous car had led to a large design change at the beginning of the year, which the team took in their stride. Attendance at FSUK had been the first in-person event for many members of the team due to earlier covid restrictions. The aims of the team going into FSUK were to gain knowledge of EV scrutineering, verify the design is legal and transfer as much knowledge to younger members as possible.

Due to the fundamental design changes during the development of the current LFS22 racing car, the team prioritised preparing the new sections of the vehicle for FSUK scrutineering and therefore sadly fell short of target in other areas. This did however give the team great experience of design, cost management and business static events. The new crop of students is now hard at work making sure the new LFS23 car is very competitive for the 2023 competition season.

Lane Motorsport is a specialist division of Lane Electronics and was set up eight years ago with the aspiration to become one of the leading names in the support and supply of electrical connectors and accessories to the Motorsport industry in all its forms.

Peter Costin, Business Development Manager for Lane Motorsport, says, “Lane Electronics is a family run electrical connector distributor established for 60 years and it is part of our ethos to support both our local community as well as the next generation of engineers, vital to the continued growth of our economy. Having received several requests for sponsorship from universities participating in the annual Formula Student competition we made the decision to support all the FSUK teams with our best pricing for connectors and accessories and offer access to our knowledge base of connector technologies to ensure all applicants had the same resources.”

Lane Motorsport provides the latest high-performance connectors and accessories and is committed to having the right product available from stock or with very short lead-times through a portfolio of franchised suppliers which now includes Eaton Souriau, Hellermann Tyton, Weald Motorsport, Lemo and Nicomatic.

IndySoft, a leader in calibration and asset management software, has been announced as a sponsor of the 2023 Instrumentation Excellence Awards.

IndySoft is recognised as supplying the best ‘commercially available’ Enterprise-wide range of Gauge Management, Instrument Calibration Software and Tool Management Software Tools on the market today.

Founded in 1998, IndySoft has been transforming the way enterprise manufacturing and commercial calibration labs have managed their systems for over two decades. As perpetual innovators, IndySoft has introduced multiple technologies which are now staple requests by any organisation seeking a professional asset management solution, and we continue looking towards the future to new technologies that will save you time and money. The company’s focus is on calibration, tooling, automation, maintenance, and repair.

The 2023 awards ceremony will return to the Grand Connaught Rooms on 19th October 2023 and will once again take place alongside the Electronics Industry Awards, making it the night of the year for networking.

To find out more about other sponsorship opportunities for the event, please contact Louise Tiller by emailing ltiller@datateam.co.uk or calling 01622 699104.

The global energy crisis is hitting homes and businesses hard across the UK and Europe, with many people feeling their energy costs are spiralling out of control. According to the Department for Energy, Business and Industrial Strategy, domestic fuel prices in the UK have increased by 60% compared to 2021. And the recent Business Energy Tracker report from Npower Business Solutions shows that 80% of organisations consider energy to be their biggest threat.

So to keep energy costs as low as possible, residents, homeowners and businesses alike need to improve their energy efficiency. But where to start? Many sources of heat and energy leaks are invisible to the naked eye. While you might notice a cold spot, it’s tough to know whether it’s caused by compromised window seals, plumbing leaks, poor insulation, or something else entirely.

That’s why Teledyne FLIR has developed a wide range of thermal imaging cameras that reveal hidden sources of energy loss. These tools empower you to proactively detect and resolve energy leaks, which can all add up to help you lower bills and increase energy efficiency.

How Teledyne FLIR’s Thermal Imaging Cameras Help You

Home use

FLIR’s personal thermal cameras are designed to be affordable and convenient. That means you can easily find significant areas of heat loss in your home that you otherwise might never have noticed:

• FLIR ONE® – This small thermal camera connects to your smartphone, giving you powerful thermal vision in the palm of your hand. It’s supported by the user-friendly FLIR Home Inspect app, which also offers guidance on what you can do once you’ve identified an issue.
• C5 – This rugged, pocket-sized thermal imager can help you identify overheating fuses, find air leaks around windows and doors, track plumbing leaks, and more. It connects automatically to the FLIR IgniteTM cloud for handy and secure image storage.
  Not only are FLIR’s personal thermal cameras small, cost-effective, and easy to use, they’re also handy to have around the house. There are lots of other applications for FLIR’s cameras in the home, some of which may surprise you! (For example, did you know they can find a dog in the dark, check electronics (before the warranty expires!), and even monitor the temperature in a beehive?)

Home inspection professionals

With millions of homeowners and residents struggling with their bills, people are increasingly looking for ways to find and resolve energy loss in their homes. Home inspection professionals can visit your home to diagnose and report problems, allowing you to fix issues and improve energy efficiency. FLIR offers a range of products that combine outstanding functionality with swift reporting software to enable inspectors to reach more customers and deliver real impact. These products allow inspectors to provide the best service, using the best products, to deliver the best results for their customers:

• FLIR E8-XT –  The perfect tool for diagnosing electrical, mechanical and building problems. It connects to the FLIR Tools app so you can easily share images and findings.
• FLIR E52 –  Suitable for professional home inspection, this 240 x 180 pixel thermal detector features streamlined reporting via integration with FLIR routing software, a built-in mic for voice annotation, and is fully compatible with FLIR Thermal Studio reporting software, meaning less time spent crunching images and more time inspecting.

Businesses

When it comes to business, maximising operational efficiency is vital for controlling energy consumption and avoiding unexpected downtime. FLIR’s condition monitoring tools help businesses of all sizes and sectors to not only identify energy leaks, but even pinpoint invisible performance issues before they become problems, allowing maintenance teams to proactively optimise their business’s energy efficiency:

• FLIR Ex-Series – Powerful troubleshooting tools for building, electrical, and mechanical applications. With resolution options up to 320 × 240 infrared pixels and the ability to accurately measure temperatures from -20°C to 550°C, the Ex-Series has models to fit your target size, working distance, visual detail needs, and budget.
• FLIR Exx-Series – Exceptional thermal imaging with onboard inspection routing to speed up surveys and simplify reporting.
• FLIR Si124 – Acoustic imaging that allows accurate identification of pressurised leaks in compressed air systems or partial discharge from high-voltage electrical systems.

Specifically designed for industrial use, FLIR’s acoustic cameras are heroes in the detection of invisible issues, enabling condition monitoring teams to resolve issues quickly, keep their day-to-day business moving and see off future problems ahead of time.

Acoustic imaging that allows accurate identification of pressurised leaks in compressed air systems or partial discharge from high-voltage electrical systems.

Specifically designed for industrial use, FLIR’s acoustic cameras are heroes in the detection of invisible issues, enabling condition monitoring teams to resolve issues quickly, keep their day-to-day business moving and see off future problems ahead of time.

What to Do Once You’ve Found an Energy Leak

Detecting heat and energy loss is the first key step in combatting rising energy costs. The next is fixing it to improve your energy efficiency. Therefore, the sooner you identify and resolve your energy loss issues, the more money you’ll save (while reducing your carbon footprint at the same time). FLIR’s thermal cameras take the guesswork out of identifying issues. Our range of market-leading products allows individuals, inspection professionals and businesses to be confident about where they need to solve energy problems, meaning you can focus your budget in the best way, to bring your energy costs down and increase energy efficiency now and into the future.

At this year’s NI Connect in Munich, customers will join NI to celebrate the 25th anniversary of PXI, a core technology that revolutionized test and measurement engineering. First introduced in 1997, PXI is the leading standard for automated test and was the first product to simulate the signals necessary for solutions across many industries including Automotive, Semiconductor, Lifesciences, Energy, Aerospace, Electronics, and many others.

PXI changed the test lab and production floor by combining multiple box instruments into a form factor a fraction of the size without losing performance. Today, test engineers around the world rely on PXI to improve product quality, throughput, and efficiency of complex electronic designs. PXI’s combination of performance, an open standard, and a software-connected approach is critical to delivering increased value across industries known for constant innovation.

“Celebrating PXI’s 25th anniversary is a testament to the standard’s scalability and performance, as well as NI’s ability to constantly evolve the technology to simplify customers’ test systems,” explained Josh Mueller, SVP and GM of NI’s Portfolio Business Unit. “Over the past 25 years, PXI has stood the test of time because it’s an open industry standard for automated testing, connecting with specialty modules from over 60 vendors. PXI enables customers to get to automation faster and become more agile. The result is better, safer, and more reliable products across a wide range of industries.”

PXI continues to define purpose-built solutions for key industries. ADAS, EV and Next-Generation Wireless customers are modernizing their test labs and standards to stay at pace with the ever-evolving challenges they are facing. To learn more about PXI, please visit NI.com/PXI or check out the new, simplified PXI instrument bundles for SMUs, Oscilloscopes, and LCR Meters.

Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) will present world-class technology and solutions which help empower the intelligent edge for smart and sustainable manufacturing at the SPS 2022 exhibition from November 8-10 in Nuremberg, Germany. See how ADI helps customers to sustainably increase productivity by improving system flexibility and efficiencies.

Visit ADI’s stand in Hall 5, booth 110 to experience the full range of ADI solutions for the digital factory, including:

ADI’s Open-Source Complete Autonomous Mobile Robot showcases how ADI’s interoperable technology platforms and ROS software drivers reduce development overhead, accelerating time to market. Precise robot navigation and accurate obstacle avoidance is enabled by high accuracy depth sensing, intelligent AI processing and mapping. The ADBMS6948 battery monitor and ADI Trinamic™ solutions for efficient wheel drives are designed to enable a complete AMR system to be easily architected and optimised for industrial environments.

Experience a Seamlessly Connected Edge to Enterprise industrial automation environment, with ADI Chronous™, Ethernet-APL for IP-addressable field devices, IO-Link® connected factory sensors and actuators, and software configurable control systems. See how key measurement data and auxiliary diagnostic information is aggregated in real time to capture new insights, reducing waste and increasing overall production efficiency. ADI’s interoperable, Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) technology showcases how both standard Ethernet traffic and time-critical traffic can coexist in a converged network, facilitating seamless factory upgrades and flexible manufacturing.

ADI will showcase Motion Control Solutions that optimise performance for reduced energy consumption through precision position sensing and control, efficient power quality monitoring, and predictive asset health management for reduced system downtime. Watch the insights live, as the power quality of the motor drive is monitored with the ADE9430 and associated software solution. Other highlights include ADI Trinamic™ low power, low resonance motion control technology, ADI MagIC+ multiturn position sensor capable of tracking movement even when power is removed, and ADI OtoSense™ artificial edge intelligence and MEMS vibration technology for real-time condition monitoring.

Conference Presentations

Analog Devices experts are making technical presentations at the Exhibition Forum in Hall 5. The speakers will provide guidance on intelligent edge sensor design for asset health monitoring, describe the state of the art in industrial connectivity, and explain how ADI technology for empowering the intelligent edge can help industrial companies achieve sustainable smart manufacturing.

Visit the ADI SPS 2022 website for more information on the conference presentations and for details about the demonstrations at the ADI stand.

Cherwell Laboratories, specialists in cleanroom microbiology solutions for the pharmaceutical, healthcare and related industries, will be leading an open discussion on environmental monitoring (EM) in line with EU GMP Annex 1 at the forthcoming Pharmig 30^th Annual Conference. The annual event to be held at the Nottingham Belfry, 30 November – 1 December, will focus on the ongoing challenges of microbiological contamination control compliance.

In the open discussion session focusing on ‘Environmental Monitoring – let’s settle the debate’, delegates at Pharmig 2022 can join Cherwell for an informative interactive debate considering if settle plates are the right solution for continuous monitoring. Attendees will have the opportunity to challenge industry experts about their theory and hear first-hand about the solutions to reduce risk and monitor environments appropriately in line with Annex 1. This and other open sessions aim to encourage discussion, share issues, solutions and experiences in a smaller, more informal environment to help delegates/companies to benchmark themselves against others.

In addition to offering expert input on contamination risk reduction and EM in line with Annex 1 at Pharmig, Cherwell will be available for discussion on this subject at a forthcoming Society for Contamination Control (S2C2) event where they will also be exhibiting. At the society’s Learning & Networking Day, 16-17 November, at Camfil Ltd, Haslingden, delegates will be able to learn more about ‘The implications of the new Annex 1 GMP Guide’. At both events Cherwell will demonstrate its comprehensive range of specialist environmental monitoring and process validation products specifically developed for the management of controlled environments and processes.

The new Annex 1 is a key topic of discussion at both events, but for those unable to attend, Cherwell is also providing via its website further background and insight on this latest regulatory update governing the manufacture of sterile medicinal products. Its new online EU GMP and Annex 1 resources pages aim to support preparation for the transition to the new Annex 1 version by bringing together all Cherwell’s latest relevant information into one easy to find place. This includes comparison of differences between the two versions, as well as an infographic highlighting the changes and some key areas of focus around environmental monitoring. 

“EM in pharmaceutical manufacturing already plays a vital role in ensuring the safety of patients and the efficacy of drugs. The much-heralded publication of the new version of EU GMP Annex 1 will now further shape EM programs to mitigate risk of contamination during the manufacture of sterile products moving forward,” said Cherwell Laboratories’ Microbiology Product Specialist, Hamish Hogg, who will be attending both events.

He added, “All manufacturing facilities are different, so every facility must review, develop and adopt a holistic EM program that is specific to their individual risks in line with the revised regulations. We hold a lot of in-house expertise in this area and we look forward to supporting our customers in ensuring they can fully establish and demonstrate the contamination control necessary to ensure the microbiological safety of their final product.”

Cherwell experts will be on hand at both Pharmig and S2C2 events to offer practical advice and demonstrate solutions that can be tailored to meet individual customers’ specific microbiological monitoring and validation requirements. These include the Redipor prepared media range, incorporating agar plates, bottled media, vials, broth bags and ampoules; plus ImpactAir continuous viable air monitoring solutions and SAS microbial air samplers for active environmental monitoring.

For more information about Cherwell Laboratories, please visit www.cherwell-labs.co.uk, follow @CherwellLabs on Twitter or follow us on LinkedIn.

FDT Group, an international standard association supporting the evolution of FDT technology, has announced that KSR KUEBLER, a manufacturer of industrial instrumentation providing tailored solutions for level measurement in the process markets is its newest member. The company is developing FDT-based Device Type Managers (DTMs) for its level measurement transmitters for integration in FDT-enabled engineering workstation environments to meet customer application demands.

With over 60 years of industry experience, KSR KUEBLER’s is part of the WIKA Group headquartered in Zwingenberg, Germany. The company offers a worldwide network of production locations in Germany, China, India, France, UK, Brazil, Russia, and South Africa. Serving the oil & gas, power / nuclear, hygienic, pharmaceutic, and industrial machines, KSR KUEBLER level solutions offer the versatility and flexibility focused on reliable liquid measurements in tanks, storage, and process vessels, reactors, and boilers.

Customer requests for FDT DTM-based devices are common in the market. Today, millions of DTM-enabled devices are serviced by FDT-enabled engineering environments around the globe. The open architecture solution simplifies device integration, configuration and monitoring providing a unified environment for data access to all connected assets, supporting reliable operations and predictive maintenance strategies. The standard has evolved to support a platform agnostic service-oriented architecture using the FDT3 specification. The new IIoT architecture extends data access to IT/OT authenticated OPC UA, FDT, and mobile clients/device independent of the topology – protocols, networks, and device solutions simplifying asset management for the process, hybrid and discrete markets.

“A sensor is not just hardware anymore,” commented Thomas Gerling, ceo for KSR KUEBLER. “FDT Group paves the path to the IIoT future. We are thrilled to extend DTM support for our Magnetostrictive Level Transmitters that will provide near real-time level measurement used for high-accuracy continuous level detection of liquids. Requests for DTM support and certification from our customers was a driving factor in our decision to become an FDT member. We look forward to evolving our solution to meet the latest FDT3 standard to deliver mobility services with newer webUI-based DTMs.”

“Modernization to maximize production uptime is critical to meeting industry demands,” Steve Biegacki, FDT managing director said. “FDT enables vendors with standardized software-based device DTM solutions that deliver predictive data intelligence to engineering workstations, IT/OT clients/mobile devices and other higher level applications providing operators with a comprehensive diagnostic view of the health of the device, network, and process. We are pleased to welcome KSR KUEBLER to the FDT family of leading manufacturers thriving in the market with FDT-enabled devices.”

For more information, please visit www.fdtgroup.org

Analog Devices, Inc. has announced that AUO Corporation will use ADI’s matrix LED display driver technology in their market-leading automotive widescreen display portfolio. This industry-first technology enables local dimming, significantly improving power consumption by a minimum of 50% and supporting functional safety requirements.

To deliver a more immersive experience, vehicles are incorporating widescreen displays throughout the cabin. Increased automation and autonomy are pushing the requirements of these displays from a typical infotainment hub to a safety centre with visuals surrounding the vehicle. Furthermore, the automotive industry is accelerating the transition to electric vehicles, where power consumption is increasingly important.

To meet these requirements, ADI has developed a unique approach called local dimming that drives LEDs behind the screen in the car display unit. Developed through a proprietary power process technology, the driver integrates all external switching positive channel field effect transistors (PFETs), enables high resolution and high contrast ratio for large automotive displays, provides improved diagnostics of LEDs, and reduces ghost images. The system reduces power consumption by a minimum of 50% compared to the traditional edge lit display. ADI’s power portfolio is ASIL-B to D rated, a critical consideration for many automotive manufacturers that require functional safety features to ensure reliable operation within the vehicle.

ADI aims to enhance the in-cabin experience by enabling energy-efficient widescreens capable of local dimming through proprietary power management and processing solutions, as well as high resolution displays through Gigabit Multimedia Serial Link™ (GMSL) serialiser and deserialiser (SerDes) connectivity solutions.

“To help us maintain our leadership position in the market as one of the world’s top automotive display manufacturers catering to some of the largest OEMs, ADI’s local dimming automotive display drivers deliver the power efficiency consistent with the quality standard of the AUO brand,” said Simon Hsu, Head of Automotive Business Unit at AUO. “AUO AmLED displays feature power savings, excellent sunlight readability and high contrast ratio, which greatly upgrade driving safety and in-cabin entertainment experience. In response to the trend of smart mobility, AUO continues to advance display technology, and we look forward to further collaborations with the ADI team.”

“The future of the automotive experience is to bring consumer features into the vehicle,” said Patrick Morgan, Corporate Vice President of Automotive Electrification and Sustainable Energy at Analog Devices. “Through this collaboration, our technology and leadership for high performance automotive power enables bringing the next wave of widescreen displays into the market with significantly improved power consumption and full functional safety capabilities.”

AUO uses the MAX25500 4 x 24 automotive LED matrix driver for its local-dimming automotive displays. It is available now and is part of ADI’s family of automotive local dimming display drivers.

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