News

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.

Farnell has announced a new sponsorship and element14 Community design challenge to launch to electronica in partnership with nearBees, an online platform designed to assist beekeepers in Germany to follow their passion for establishing and maintaining local honeybee colonies.

Starting this month, Farnell will sponsor five honeybee colonies in Germany for a minimum of one year to provide individual havens for up to a quarter of a million honeybees. A single colony can protect more than 50,000 honeybees as they play a critical role in maintaining the baseline of the food chain.

Almost 80 per cent of all plants, and around one third of food production, depends on cross-pollination by honeybees and, according to the United Nations Environment Programme, every one in three spoonful’s of food consumed globally originated as a result of bee pollination.

In addition to the sponsorship, Farnell is launching a ‘Save the Bees’ design challenge on Tuesday, November 15 from Stand 101, Hall C2 within the Avnet Village at electronica. Members of the element14 Community are invited to design new applications, using Ardunio’s MKR1310 and Arduino Pro Nicla vision boards, to help solve current issues facing global bee populations.

Dirk Lammers, Regional Sales Manager for Farnell DACH, says: “Today, one in four species of bees are at risk of extinction and we want to get the element14 Community involved in helping to solve this crisis. With more than 800,000 global members, our element14 Community has the strength and design engineering talent to create new solutions that may support the welfare of honeybees and maintain global bee populations. We want to encourage everyone in our community from professional design engineers through to electronics enthusiasts, teachers and students to take part in this challenge.”

The design challenge will be officially launched by Mayer Makes, the video content partner for the element14 Community. Throughout the duration of electronica, MayerMakes will be showcasing regular live presentations featuring a prototype project to help combat Braulidae (bee lice) from Farnell’s Stand 101, Hall C2 in the Avnet Village.

Viktoria Schmidt, Co-founder of nearBees, said: “With nearBees we support beekeepers throughout Germany by connecting them with honey lovers. This way, we can offer a convenient and timesaving opportunity to market honey and arrange bee sponsorships. Our vision: rising bee populations in Germany. We are very pleased to be involved with Farnell’s ‘Save the Bees’ project and look forward to seeing many innovative solutions to help us achieve our goals.”

Designers of the top applications will receive one of 50 major product prizes, including:

• Arduino Pro Nicla Vision board – Featuring an ultra-compact 2MP colour camera, the board combines artificial intelligence and industry grade sensors with advanced connectivity. The Nicla Vision board is supported by a powerful STMicroelectronics STM32H747AII6 Dual ARM Cortex processor, combining a M7 core up to 480 Mhz and a M4 core up to 240 Mhz. Despite its industrial strength, energy consumption is low and can be powered by battery for standalone applications.
• Arduino MKR1310 development board – The open source MKR1310 board is a practical and cost-effective solution for adding LoRa connectivity to projects requiring low power. The board can connect to the Ardunio IoT Cloud, a separate LoRa network using the Arduino LoRa PRO Gateway, existing LoRaWAN infrastructure such as The Things Network, and other boards using the direct connectivity mode.

Challengers have 11 weeks to build their project to Help Save the Bees and, to qualify; they are required to blog five times within the Challenge Space located in the element14 Community. The winners will be announced by the end of March 2023.

For more information about the ‘Save the Bees’ design challenge and to review the full Terms & Conditions, please visit the element14 Design Challenge page.

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.

COPA-DATA, a developer of industrial automation software based in Salzburg, Austria, is expanding its global distributor network and strengthening its presence in Latin America. With Chilean automation professional Fabelec, the provider of the zenon software platform has found the perfect partner to serve customers locally.

The COPA-DATA distributor network, which covers five continents, previously consisted of sixteen companies. With distributor number seventeen, Fabelec from Chile, the Salzburg software developers have now succeeded in bringing on board a company that, like COPA-DATA, has been able to build up more than 35 years of experience in the automation of industrial production plants.

Chile as an important growth market

For Stefan Reuther, Chief Sales and Services Officer, the cooperation is another milestone in COPA-DATA’s growth strategy: “Chile is one of our focus markets in Latin America. Initially, the focus will be on inspiring the existing network of system integrators with zenon, organising joint marketing activities such as trade fairs, and supporting sales and customer service in the already established core industries. At the same time, the goal is to develop new customers and markets.”

Scalability needs independence.

For Robert Bauerschmitt, CEO of Fabelec, COPA-DATA’s philosophy fits perfectly with his company’s strategy: “We offer our customers scalable products that guarantee a long-term solution. With this in mind, the independence of COPA-DATA is a strong selling point. With zenon, we have a powerful software platform that fully meets our customers’ requirements. Our initial experiences with COPA-DATA have been very positive. This makes us confident that the collaboration will be extremely successful.”

Fabelec is an established player in the field of electronic power and control equipment with a well-developed network of system integrators and decades of experience in direct sales of automation software to integrators and end users. The company offers a range of products including soft starters, variable frequency drives, control devices (PLCs) and sensors – right up to turnkey projects.

Arthur Shetko, International Sales Manager at COPA-DATA responsible for Latin America, sees significant potential for automation and digitalisation in Chile: “Chile is one of the leading countries in Latin America for renewable energy. Solar and wind energy are taking up an increasingly large share of the overall power generation mix.”

zenon offers a promising proposition for the Chilean market – for example, through functions for monitoring large-scale battery plants for rapid fault clearance. In addition, zenon’s automation  and digitalisation capabilities are well-established in serving energy-specific use cases. “With Fabelec, we have found a distributor that has an extensive network of partners and integrators and deep expertise in different industries,” Shetko said.

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.

The Sacramento Region Innovation Awards recognised Blaize, the AI computing innovator revolutionising Edge and automotive compute solutions, as the winner of the 2022 Hardware & Electronics Innovator of the Year for the Blaize Pathfinder P1600 Embedded System on Module (SoM).

The Pathfinder P1600 Embedded SoM brings the programmability and efficiency benefits of the Blaize Graph Streaming Processor (GSP) architecture to embedded systems. The P1600 is a small form factor SoM ideal for rugged and challenging environments and embedded systems that need an extended temperature range. The GSP architecture enables new levels of processing power with energy efficiency ideal for AI inferencing workloads at the Edge and is designed to easily plug into a custom carrier board and run autonomously or integrated within a more extensive system.

“On behalf of Blaize, we’re honoured to receive the 2022 Sacramento Region Innovation Award in the Hardware & Electronics category,” said Dinakar Munagala, Co-founder and CEO of Blaize. “Our Pathfinder P1600 Embedded System on Module is a software-defined AI inference accelerator based on the Blaize Graph Streaming Processor architecture with low power, low latency, and energy efficiency ideal for AI inferencing workloads at the Edge. We are thrilled to celebrate this accomplishment with the Regional Innovation ecosystem and congratulate the nominees and winners for their pioneering innovations.”

The honour was presented at the Innovation Awards program on November 1 at The Sofia Theatre in Downtown Sacramento, California.

Siemens Smart Infrastructure and Eplan have signed a strategic partnership to strengthen collaboration in the area of software solutions for the industry and infrastructure market segments. As part of this agreement, Siemens’ Electrical Products business unit will join the Eplan Partner Network as a strategic partner. The objective is to coordinate the products of both companies in a more targeted manner in order to offer optimised solutions for switchgear manufacturers and electrical planners. Sebastian Seitz, CEO of Eplan, and Andreas Matthé, CEO of Electrical Products at Siemens Smart Infrastructure, signed the agreement to this effect on September 26, 2022.

“The overall goal of our collaboration is to create a plug-and-play structure for electrical planners. We want to open our tools bidirectionally for both sides and thus simplify and accelerate workflows,” said Andreas Matthé.

Sebastian Seitz of Eplan has also emphasised the benefits for joint customers: “In switchgear construction, we can use Eplan Pro Panel to optimise processes and automate them to a greater extent. In addition, we will more specifically address the growing area of power distribution and work with Siemens to create end-to-end solutions for integrative, more efficient workflows.”

The industry segment comprises offerings and products for control panel building, while the infrastructure segment includes switchgear construction for power distribution. In the industry market segment, Siemens and Eplan will intensify the excellent cooperation that has existed for many years, for example, to provide Eplan data across all configured Siemens products. For the infrastructure market, Eplan and Siemens have decided to jointly optimize and automate customer processes, for instance in the Sivacon and Alpha environment (power distribution systems) by integrating Simaris (planning tools) and the Eplan platform.

Both parties will contribute their expertise to the benefit of their joint customers to enable more efficient workflows in switchgear construction and power distribution.

Eplan offers engineering software and services in the fields of electrical engineering, automation, and mechatronics. The company develops one of the world’s leading software solutions for machine, switchgear, and control panel builders. In addition, it helps customers simplify challenging engineering processes.

Siemens’ Electrical Products offers products for a safe and efficient electrical infrastructure at the low-voltage level in buildings and industrial environments, including safety and control products, measuring and monitoring devices, switches, and sockets. Furthermore, the business unit’s portfolio includes communication-enabled software tools that can be used to connect power distribution products to building and industrial automation, as well as to open cloud-based IoT systems.

A change is occurring within the Executive Board of the Endress+Hauser Group. Chief Sales Officer Nikolaus Krüger is retiring at the age of 63 at the end of the year. He will be succeeded effective 1 January 2023 by 54-year-old Laurent Mulley, to date the managing director of Endress+Hauser France. “Nikolaus Krüger has shaped our sales and service organization over a long period of time and as a result contributed significantly to Endress+Hauser’s market success,” says Matthias Altendorf, CEO of the Group. “We thank him for his loyalty and commitment.”

Nikolaus Krüger, a trained industrial mechanic, started his career at Endress+Hauser Germany in 1988. While working, he acquired several important skills in marketing and sales and successfully completed management trainings in Germany and abroad. He moved to the holding company in Reinach in 1999 and assumed responsibility for marketing. He has been a member of the Executive Board responsible for the worldwide sales and service organization since 2008. Nikolaus Krüger is married and has two sons. He devotes his leisure time to family, friends, sports and magic.

Internal succession plan

Laurent Mulley will assume responsibility for the sales and service organization and its more than 6,000 employees around the world effective January 2023. In this role he reports to Chief Operating Officer Dr Andreas Mayr. “Laurent Mulley possesses a broad professional background, a strong sales orientation and is extremely familiar with the world of Endress+Hauser,” says Dr Andreas Mayr. “As Chief Sales Officer he will provide new impulses while ensuring continuity.”

Laurent Mulley holds degrees in physics, as well as marketing and sales. He also completed MBA programs at the ICN Business School Nancy and the EM Strasbourg Business School while working. He joined Endress+Hauser France in 2012 and took over as managing director in 2016 where he successfully developed the Sales Center. Laurent Mulley is married and has four children. He devotes his free time to sports and is interested in culture and the arts.

Information regarding Laurent Mulley’s successor at Endress+Hauser France will be available at a later time.