News

A century full of passion for technology and innovation: In the past 100 years, the family-run company Phoenix Contact has evolved from a commercial agency for industrial products founded in Essen, Germany, into a global manufacturing company. With products and solutions for the electrification, networking, and automation of all sectors of the economy and infrastructure – and with a passion for innovation and technology. Phoenix Contact continues to drive all of this forward – together with a commitment to the sustainable development of habitats and economic spaces on our planet.

“We have achieved a great deal over the years together, remaining true to the values and culture of our family business even as we have grown and evolved. This anniversary is a special moment for us. We have built the foundation upon which we can now continue on our path into the future. Together with our customers and business partners, we will drive forward solutions for the energy revolution that are the basis for a sustainable world,” said Phoenix Contact CEO Frank Stührenberg, describing the significance of the 100th anniversary.

Connections between people and technologies

Good connections are more than just an elementary feature of Phoenix Contact products. They were also the basis for transforming the idea of businessman Hugo Knümann into a globally active industrial company. With the founding of Phönix Elektro- und Industrie-Bedarfsgesellschaft in Essen in 1923, the company initially started out as a pure sales company. In 1928, the business connection to RWE led to the invention of the first terminal block on a DIN rail. This gave Knümann the idea of separating the blocks and arranging them individually to form terminal blocks on a DIN rail. Another far-reaching personal and entrepreneurial connection was established in 1949. Knümann met Josef Eisert, a development engineer at Siemens, who took over the company in 1953 after Knümann passed away.

From Blomberg to the world

With the arrival of Eisert, the company underwent a fundamental change. The pure sales company became a company with its own production. At the Blomberg location, where the company had to be relocated during the war, a tool shop, plastics production, screw turning shop, assembly facilities, metalworking shop, warehouse, and logistics were soon established.

After the relocation, many new products were being developed and the portfolio increasingly expanded in the direction of electronics. With the innovative Interbus fieldbus system, the basis for industrial networking followed in 1987. The decisive step towards automation was taken. After the establishment of the first foreign subsidiary in the USA in 1981, further subsidiaries followed. Today, the sales markets are not just in Germany, but all over the world.

Together for the future

Today, Phoenix Contact employs around 22,000 people and generated revenues of €3.6 billion in 2022. “In recent years in particular, we have experienced especially dynamic growth, which shows us that we can provide answers to the key questions of our times with our solutions,” stated Stührenberg as he assessed the revenue growth. Worldwide, Phoenix Contact manufactures in a production network spanning 11 countries in which the level of vertical integration varies. More than 50 international subsidiaries are part of the Phoenix Contact Group. In this way, the company is always close to the markets and customers.

Together with customers and partners, Phoenix Contact develops solutions for the world of tomorrow using pioneering connection and automation technology. The integrated concepts, which include engineering and services, are applied in transportation infrastructure, e-mobility, for clean water, renewable energy and intelligent supply networks, and in energy-efficient machine building and systems manufacturing.

Social responsibility

With its integrated actions, Phoenix Contact is committed to empowering the “All Electric Society,” a future in which energy from renewable resources is provided in sufficient quantities and in an economically sustainable manner throughout the world. In addition to the consistent generation and use of renewable energies, reducing primary energy demand through efficiency measures and applying sector coupling in order to create intelligent and networked systems are key to this sustainable future.

Sensor solutions provider HENSOLDT is expanding its production space for high-precision measuring devices at its Oberkochen site. In order to accommodate the growing civilian business in the area of subcontracting for the market leader of EUV machines for the production of semiconductors from the Netherlands, the space for the production of Final Focus Metrology (FFM for short) units has been doubled. Since the current space situation does not allow for further expansion, it was possible to fall back on an area in the immediate vicinity at the company YG-1 Technology Center.

“Through a strategic partnership between the two companies and an investment of approximately four million euros, we are not only strengthening our own civilian business, but also the Ostwürttemberg region,” explains Andreas Hülle, Division Manager Optronics & Land Solutions and Managing Director of HENSOLDT Optronics GmbH. “This additional capacity will enable us to equip our customers even better and expand our presence in the civilian market.”

The partnership has also opened up future-oriented business areas for the YG-1 Technology Center. With a wide variety of components in terms of production structures and materials, innovative tooling technologies and concepts can be developed and tested and produced directly in prototype manufacturing on the new machines in the in-house test centre. “This allows us to make further investments and establish ourselves in new market segments,” says Heiko Schild, CTO & Vice President at YG-1 Technology Center.

With the help of the expansion, HENSOLDT will be able to increase the production of the FFM unit by 20 per cent, and in the following year it will be another twelve per cent. Overall, the customer of the FFM units is planning a 30 percent increase over the next five years. As a result, HENSOLDT also expects to recruit more skilled workers in the optics and optronics sector.

In March, HENSOLDT recorded a milestone with the delivery of the 333rd FFM for the chip industry. Since 2012, these control systems have been produced at HENSOLDT Optronics in Oberkochen and continuously developed further.

FFM is a high-precision measuring device in the wavelength range of ten µm. By means of high-speed position sensors, energy sensors and specially developed wavefront sensors, performance-critical process parameters of a high-energy laser, as well as shapes and positions of approx. 30µm tin droplets in a vacuum chamber are determined. On the basis of the data determined by the FFM, a control loop is closed and the performance and accuracy of a laser beam, which has to hit the tin droplets twice each to produce the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light, is optimised, thus decisively influencing the efficiency of the light generation. The FFM functions as the decisive optoelectronic control unit, 50,000 times every second. Without EUV light, the production of today’s most powerful computer chips would not be possible.

Alphasense, the UK-based manufacturer of sensors for air quality monitoring and gas detection, has increased its production capacity, automated elements of calibration and upgraded software for its Optical Particle Counter (OPC) products to meet rising industry demand.

Since the launch of the latest iterations of its OPC-N3 and OPC-R2 products in 2021, Alphasense has seen demand grow significantly as air quality moves up the global agenda.

Extensive growth in the use of Alphasense OPCs in an increasing number of instruments, plus the success of a number of field trials leading to further adoption has led to Alphasense investing heavily in the supply chain, training and infrastructure required to meet capacity and satisfy future demand.

In parallel, the company has enhanced its bespoke software capabilities to enable a higher volume of concurrent calibrations. As a result of these improvements, customers will soon be experiencing significantly reduced lead times as OPC stock builds.

Additionally, Alphasense has refreshed its software offering, both improving the customer interface and giving users access to a range of features which were previously only available in-house. As the breadth of applications for particulate monitoring grows, this new feature will allow customers to configure devices to suit their specific applications more closely.

Unlike most low-cost particle sensors which measure particle count in a single size category and use that to estimate the volumes of others, Alphasense OPCs measure the full range from PM1 to PM10, giving end users reliable and repeatable data, not simply extrapolated values.

Will Parrett, Sales & Marketing Director EMEA at Alphasense, said: “Alphasense’s range of OPCs has been developed hand in hand with aerosol scientists and engineered to deliver the accuracy expected from industrial-grade monitors in more workable size formats, and at a fraction of the price. Going forward, customers can expect the same high-quality standard of product but delivered much faster.”

Both the wide-ranging OPC-N3 and the smaller footprint OPC-R2 provide digital outputs of PM1, PM2.5 and PM10 (and optionally PM4.25) along with a histogram of particle count for each of up to 24 user-configured size categories. Alphasense’s proprietary flow correction technology ensures stable readings, even in high-dust environments; this is a key factor in several universities and research organisations independently verifying Alphasense OPCs as providing best-in-class performance.

For more information about Alphasense OPCs, visit https://www.alphasense.com/opc.

The future of validating and improving aerospace and autonomous vehicle design relies on hardware in the loop (HWIL or HIL) testing. This approach involves connecting a control module—for example, a missile guidance, navigation, and control—to software that generates a simulated environment that “tricks” the control module into acting as though it’s engaging with a real environment. This allows R&D teams to run hundreds or thousands of varying test scenarios without the costs, time, or potential risks associated with field testing. HWIL testing as it is applied to hypersonics research applications requires bleeding edge technology, and Chip Design Systems is leading improvements in the area of infrared scene projectors for these tests.

Chip Design Systems (CDS for short) designs IR projectors that produce scenes made of IR light to run simulations for IR sensors—sort of like a VR headset for machines. CDS’s primary clients are government agencies; the projectors they create for these contracts must reach an astounding level of accuracy to meet their customers’ needs, often having to produce simulations for targets moving at supersonic speeds. To give a comparison, the average consumer monitor projects an image around 60 to 120 hertz while CDS’s projectors can display scenes at a rate of 50,000 hertz. On top of the high framerate, CDS can simulate temperatures exceeding 1000 Kelvin and at a resolution up to 2000 × 2000.

The capabilities of CDS’s IR projection are clear but testing them poses a challenge: neither the human eye nor non-military grade cameras can capture all the data the projectors emit. To make sure the projectors work properly, CDS needed something capable of capturing as much IR information as their projectors can emit. Their solution was high speed, high-definition infrared science cameras from Teledyne FLIR (i.e., X-Series models).

CDS frequently runs tests in their lab to make sure the emitters are working correctly and push performance further. These tests involve aligning the FLIR camera with the emitter to capture the light and then, using FLIR research application software (ex. Research Studio), controlling the camera settings to optimise the capture and display the resulting imagery. To guarantee repeatability, CDS has also developed their own code by leveraging the FLIR Science Camera SDK to automate the testing process and avoid human error from camera operation.

“With the help of FLIR products, we are able to demonstrate HD resolutions, hypersonic frames rates, and hot apparent temperature of our IR projector system to our end users and customers,” says Fouad Kiamilev, CTO of Chip Design Systems.

One feature that particularly stood out to CDS was the camera’s ability to perform non-uniformity correction, NUC for short, on the images from their projectors. Performing NUC in the FLIR camera help CDS catch the occasional blemish in a scene or a faulty emitter. With the combination of the camera’s high resolution and non-uniformity correction, CDS can check every pixel in a scenes image to verify their projector is emitting accurately.

A Teledyne FLIR customer since 2010, Chip Design Systems currently owns four IR cameras in their lab with plans to implement more in the future. Kiamilev says that CDS is aiming to drive projector performance even further in the future with higher resolutions, faster frame rates, and lower costs.

Find out more: https://www.flir.eu/discover/professional-tools/what-is-a-non-uniformity-correction-nuc/

Leading industrial enclosure manufacturer, Spelsberg els UK Ltd, a subsidiary of Gunther Spelsberg, has reached a key milestone as its core operations team achieves its tenth anniversary. In total, Spelsberg UK has provided in-house CNC customised and fully assembled enclosures for over 20 years. Now, each of Spelsberg’s current departmental lead roles in customer support, CNC machining, and assembly operations, has been in place for excess of 10 years. This landmark ensures enclosure design excellence and service reliability. Spelsberg UK’s in-house CNC machining and assembly operation can provide completed bespoke enclosures in less than a week.

The first step is guiding the customer on the enclosure most suited to their requirements. Enclosures are typically used to safely house electrical junctions, and they are also vital to provide electrical devices with additional protection from dust and moisture ingress, impact, as well as environmental conditions. Environments where enclosures are installed can range from farms or factories to hospitals or rail terminals, each with their own specific needs.

In-house CNC design 

The customer journey begins with the sales and support team. With over 11 years in industrial enclosure specification, the team is led by Clare McCusker, Spelsberg UK’s National Sales Manager. Supporting OEMs and end users, as well as distributors, Clare specifies enclosures across commercial and industrial installations, guided by her prior experience in industry at Schneider Electric and Weidmuller.

Bespoke enclosure design, including custom CNC machining to enable exacting component installation and cable routing, is a key Spelsberg offering. Clare guides the initial design, ahead of engaging with Michael Jones, Spelsberg UK’s CNC Operator & Programmer. Michael leads Spelsberg UK’s CNC workshop and has been in place with the company for over 10 years, following an engineering apprenticeship, backed up by an HNC in General Engineering.

Michael creates enclosure designs from scratch, but also works from provided technical customer drawings, or even physical models. Design prototypes can be created within 24 hours, and orders of multiple, bespoke designed, enclosures can be provided within five days. Spelsberg UK’s CNC service ensures an exacting design thanks to direct communication with the on-site team. The in-house service also protects enclosure integrity, which can be a challenge if CNC design and machining is carried out by a third-party. The all-under-one-roof approach also ensures a much faster speed of service.

In-house assembly

In addition to the in-house CNC machining facility, Spelsberg UK’s operation also comprises enclosure assembly. This service typically includes the installation of electrical terminals and wiring, but it can also include virtually any customer-specified item that needs enclosure protection. Also available is enclosure printing of information such as brand details or user safety information. Large orders can extend into the assembly of 1,000-plus enclosure units.

Spelsberg UK’s assembly service is managed by Dave Mills, Spelsberg UK’s Operations Supervisor. Managing the assembly operation involves confirmation of the bill of materials, as well as implementation of the actual assembly process. Thanks to the ease of use of Spelsberg’s enclosures, most of the assembly tasks can be quickly achieved tool-free, or with simple hand tools.

The Operations Supervisor role also covers a variety of key areas within the operations spectrum. Supporting the sales team specifying requirements at customer sites, Dave also plays an in-house role assisting with enclosure specification, backed up by his own prior experience in an external sales role. 

“Customers rely on us to provide quality, durable designs, but also to provide speed of project delivery,” says Spelsberg UK’s Managing Director, Chris Lloyd. “Thanks to our in-house operations, this enables us to achieve these objectives.”

ABB Measurement & Analytics has been announced as the sponsor of the Calibration Product of the Year category at the 2023 Instrumentation Excellence Awards.

ABB is a leading global technology company that energises the transformation of society and industry to achieve a more productive, sustainable future. By connecting software to its electrification, robotics, automation and motion portfolio, ABB pushes the boundaries of technology to drive performance to new levels. With a history of excellence stretching back more than 130 years, ABB’s success is driven by about 105,000 talented employees in over 100 countries.

The 2023 Instrumentation Excellence Awards ceremony will take place on 19th October 2023 at the Grand Connaught Rooms and will once again take place alongside the Electronics Industry Awards making it the night of the year for networking. The 2022 ceremony was a huge success and has cemented it as a must attend event; an Instrumentation Excellence Awards trophy now represents a truly unique stamp of approval, opening up doors for new business opportunities. Calibration Product of the Year, sponsored by ABB Measurement & Analytics, is one of the many categories in the Instrumentation Excellence Awards that celebrate the best products in the instrumentation sector. The other categories are detailed below:

Categories for the 2023 Instrumentation Excellence Awards

Product Categories 

• Cables and Connectors Product of the Year
• Calibration Product of the Year
• Cases and Enclosures Product of the Year
• DAQ Product of the Year
• Flow, Level and Control Product of the Year
• Gas Detection Product of the Year
• IIoT product of the year
• Monitoring and Metering Product of the Year
• Sensor Product of the Year
• Signal Conditioning Product of the Year
• Software Solution of the Year 
• Test and Measurement Product of the Year
• Thermal Imaging and Vision Systems Product of the Year

Business Categories 

• Digital Transformation Award
• Distributor of the Year
• Excellence in Innovation
• Manufacturer of the Year
• Best Marketing Campaign
• PR Agency of the Year Award
• Sustainability Award 

Individual Award 

• Industry Personality of the Year

Nominations for the 2023 Instrumentation Excellence Awards are open via the online portal, www.instrumentationawards.co.uk. You’ve only got a few weeks to go before nominations close so now is the time to make your entry count.

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

Contrinex has combined two of factory automation’s key communication standards into its innovative IO-Link RFID Read/Write units to offer simple installation and integration, for example in Industry 4.0 systems.

Contrinex’s ISO15693 RFID standard transponder tags and Read/Write modules, available from PLUS Automation, are mechanically robust, being designed to cope with shocks, hot water, corrosive chemicals and high-pressure jetting, to provide ultra-high reliability.

The ConIdent passive transponders tags require no internal power source, so maintenance is minimised as there are no batteries to monitor and replace.

Contrinex’s IO-Link RFID system can provide an accurate and highly reliable part identification system. The IO-Link versions simplify the connection to any PLC system and the IO-Link communications protocol removes the need for costly protocol converters.

The Read/Write modules can also be configured to act as stand-alone ‘SIO’ (Single Input or Output) sensors, acting as discrete sensors providing binary switching. In the ‘SIO’ mode, tag presence detection or data block comparison is used to provide a conditional output, much like a sensor. The Read module switches in reaction to certain transponder tag codes, for example, routing tags to specific processes. Setting up this ‘SIO’ mode is even simpler to achieve using Contrinex’s new Smartphone app and IO-Link interface, the PocketCodr.

The PocketCodr’s graphical user interface, includes ‘Action Widgets’ enabling users to interact directly with these RFID modules. PocketCodr also works with IO-Link sensors and other IO-Link devices, to see real-time parametric changes on live data charts, and store, and retrieve settings. 

The PocketCodr not only simplifies configuration and commissioning, but it also allows engineers to set up and interrogate any IO-Link-enabled device from numerous manufacturers.

Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) has been announced as the latest sponsor of the Instrumentation Excellence Awards.

ADI is a global semiconductor leader that bridges the physical and digital worlds to enable breakthroughs at the Intelligent Edge. ADI combines analogue, digital, and software technologies into solutions that help drive advancements in digitised factories, mobility, and digital healthcare, combat climate change, and reliably connect humans and the world. With revenue of more than $12 billion in FY22 and approximately 25,000 people globally working alongside 125,000 global customers, ADI ensures today’s innovators stay Ahead of What’s Possible.

Celebrating the innovators in the instrumentation sector, the 2023 Instrumentation Excellence Awards ceremony will take place on 19th October 2023 at the Grand Connaught Rooms and will once again take place alongside the Electronics Industry Awards making it the night of the year for networking. The 2022 ceremony was a huge success and has cemented it as a must attend event; an Instrumentation Excellence Awards trophy now represents a truly unique stamp of approval, opening up doors for new business opportunities.

Nominations for the 2023 Instrumentation Excellence Awards are open via the online portal, www.instrumentationawards.co.uk. You’ve only got a few weeks to go before nominations close so now is the time to make your entry count.

To find out more about sponsorship opportunities for the event, please contact Louise Tiller by emailing ltiller@datateam.co.uk. To make your nomination for the 2023 awards or to find out more about the event, please visit: www.instrumentationawards.co.uk.

Bürkert Fluid Control Systems, a world-leading manufacturer of measurement and control systems for liquids and gases, is excited to announce its participation in ChemUK2023, the UK’s largest trade show for the chemical, laboratory, and process industries. The exhibition will take place on May 10^th -11^th, 2023 at the NEC Birmingham, and Bürkert will be showcasing its innovative products and solutions on stand F24.

As a leading player in the industry, Bürkert’s presence at ChemUK2023 provides a prime opportunity for professionals to explore the latest trends and advancements in measurement and control systems for liquids and gases. With a proven track record of developing high-quality, innovative solutions that increase efficiency and productivity, Bürkert’s team of experts will be on hand to provide insights and solutions to visitors interested in its products and services, including its Decentralised Automation and Dosing exhibits.

The Decentralised exhibit is more than a showcase of Bürkert’s cutting-edge technology. It offers visitors the chance to witness the benefits of a hygienic design and in-house welded system first-hand. The exhibit highlights the Top Control Heads, integrated with Bürkert valves, which use IO-Link technology for complete control via a Siemens HMI.

These control heads enable precise control over fluid processing, ensuring even the most delicate products are handled with care. They are also energy-efficient, saving compressed air and reducing overall energy consumption. Being hygienically designed, they meet the highest standards of cleanliness required by industries such as healthcare, pharmaceutical, as well as food and beverage.

The Dosing exhibit proves the precision and reliability of Bürkert’s miniature time pressure dosing system, featuring a supply unit consisting of three tanks pressurised by micro pressure regulators and customised dosing heads. The system ensures exact dosing volumes, even during changing pressure set points, making it an ideal solution for industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemical processing, food and beverage, and healthcare.

The system’s precise control and analysis of dosing processes leads to improved efficiency, productivity, and consistent product quality. The dosed liquid is efficiently and reliably transferred from tubes into acrylic manifolds. With its compact size and innovative features, the dosing system is versatile and adaptable to various industries.

With their cutting-edge technology and unparalleled precision, Bürkert’s exhibits promise to provide visitors with a comprehensive understanding of its fluid control systems’ capabilities.

Bürkert’s collaborations with end users, installers, and Tier 1 contractors reflect its commitment to delivering optimised process control and monitoring systems across a wide range of industries. With decades of industry expertise and a comprehensive line-up of cutting-edge products, Bürkert offers reliable and innovative solutions for process control and monitoring. Trust Bürkert to deliver performance that meets and exceeds your expectations.

Discover the innovative solutions and products Bürkert has to offer by checking out their virtual application centre. This is an excellent opportunity for professionals to gain insights into the latest advancements and trends in measurement and control systems for liquids and gases and learn how Bürkert can help them to increase efficiency and productivity.

Anritsu has announced that the eCall Tester MX703330E software has successfully conducted the independent certification as a PSAP Simulator by NavCert, an EU-accredited test body.

eCall is a pan-European emergency-call system for sending information about road accidents to a PSAP. The mandatory fitting of 112-based eCall in-vehicle systems (IVS) on all new M1- and N1-category vehicles started from 31 March 2018.

The European eCall system vehicle certification specifies use of an EN16454-compliant PSAP simulator. Anritsu has gained annual certification since 2018 to offer an eCall test solution supporting high-safety IVS modules. Anritsu successfully finished the re-certification to NavCert’s accredited PPP80025 certification scheme (www.navcert.com/ppp80025), which confirms the usage of the MX703330E as an EN16454 conform PSAP simulator. As a result, the MX703330E can continue to be used as a PSAP simulator for European eCall vehicle certification.

Anritsu continues development of future national eCall test solutions to support car manufactures’ certification testing.

Product Outline

The eCall Tester MX703330E software emulates the communications sequence between the eCall IVS and PSAP. The Signalling Tester MD8475B functions as a base station for configuring the virtual mobile network used by eCall.

Combining the MX703330E and MD8475B facilitates both EN16454-compliant tests as well as use as a European eCall vehicle certification system.

Visit www.navcert.de/en/home/ to learn more about NavCert.