News

Smiths Interconnect has recognised its valued distribution partners for their outstanding performance in advancing the company’s business across the world in 2020.

The Global award was offered for the first time and went to TTI Inc. thanks to the prominent worldwide activity of the distributor.

TTI Inc. is used to being among the winners every year thanks to its annual contribution to Smiths Interconnect’s success and to the recognised business collaboration based on a reciprocal appreciation and trust.

The regional awards for 2020 have recorded some new additions to the list of winners with the celebration of key partners in Americas, EMEA and ASIA.

For Americas, Mouser Electronics Inc. was awarded as best performing distributor thanks to its outstanding activity in the sale of board text fixture probes.

The distribution award in EMEA went to CEL S.A., an important partner in the sale and value added services for high reliability connectors in France, whilst the distribution award for Asia went to Wai Tat Electronics Ltd, an established partner with significant design-in activity throughout the year.

Paul Harris, President at Smiths Interconnect said, “Smiths Interconnect places great value in our distribution partners.  Both global and regional approaches are appreciated and are critical to our growth”.

Eric Lakin, VP Finance and Strategy at Smiths Interconnect concluded: “Whilst in-person events during the Covid-19 pandemic are not possible, we did not want to lose the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of our valued partners and to underline their strategic importance in our business growth.”

With Smart Manufacturing continuing to merge the worlds of information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT), the demand for comprehensive security measures to protect OT networks is growing. For a standards-based approach, stakeholders can turn to the IEC 62443 guidelines. David Bean, Solutions Manager at Mitsubishi Electric, looks at the fundamental aspects that need to be considered, including suitable system level design, risk management, system intrusion detection and automation platform vulnerability management.

As the technologies to bridge the divide between the worlds of IT and OT within a plant have become more established, the digitalisation of businesses has accelerated. The goal of this digital transformation is to provide a foundation to boost productivity, optimise asset availability and maximise plant utilisation. That foundation is built upon a rapidly growing network of increasingly sophisticated plant floor devices – the so-called Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).

Addressing cyber security

However, this greater level of integration brings with it an increased onus to consider and improve cyber security. Figures from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) and gov.uk estimate the cost to UK businesses of cyber breaches in excess of £18bn. From a general manufacturing perspective cyber-attack brings the risk of lost production, theft of intellectual property and the negative impact on brand confidence as well as potential environmental damage if safety systems are affected. It is perhaps, then, not a surprise to find that, according to a Make UK report, the threat of cyber-attacks is stopping some 35% of manufacturers from investing in digitalisation.

Further, from the perspective of safety critical infrastructure, asset owners also have to consider the potential cost of being found to be non-compliant with the Network and Information Systems (NIS) Directive. In the UK, the maximum penalty for a breach of the NIS Directive is £17m, enough to give even the biggest businesses pause to think.

Implementing cyber security standards

With all of that said, though, the risk of not investing in digital transformation is enormous, particularly in this era of global competition. From an OT perspective, there are now established standards that provide all of the stakeholders in a deployed industrial automation system – the asset owners, the system designers/integrators and the individual product vendors – with the tools and guidelines that they need to secure an installation against cyber-attack.

Chief among these is IEC 62443, which provides a systematic and practical approach to cyber security for plant OT systems, covering every aspect from initial risk assessment right through to operations. It defines the differing security roles of the key stakeholders, specifying the unique requirements for each security level within the control ecosystem.

IEC 62443 reinforces the accepted ‘defence in depth’ strategy, defining methodologies for implementing OT cyber security measures and outlining procedures as well as policies that can form the methods, for firstly hindering an attack and secondly recovering from an attack.

It is notable that IEC 62443 places some considerable onus on the automation equipment supplier to embed protective features within their products to contribute to system design considerations and lifecycle management, as well as respond to any vulnerabilities that may be discovered.

Defence in depth

This is something Mitsubishi Electric takes very seriously. The company’s products have long offered a number of security features that support the development of a robust cyber security strategy. The ‘defence in depth’ approach that it adopts when advising systems integrators and asset owners on the methodologies that should be used to implement secure networks and control systems are closely aligned with IEC 62443.

In addition, Mitsubishi Electric has established a Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) as defined in IEC 62443. Further, Mitsubishi Electric offers a risk audit service that helps asset owners understand the risks in terms of criticality and consequence of a potential cyber breach. The service provides a written report on the status of the networked industrial control systems and offers recommendations for any remediation that is required to meet the standards set out in IEC 62443.

Most recently, Mitsubishi Electric has built a collaboration with Radiflow, whose intrusion detection and analytical tools for generating risk reports and remediation measures meet all the requirements of IEC 62443. These tools can provide ongoing passive status monitoring of networked assets, highlighting any associated vulnerabilities – for example in access control methods – and flagging up any suspicious network traffic.

Evolving cyber threat

In essence, an OT cyber security solution is an insurance policy and as with so many things in life, the more comprehensive the policy, the greater the level of protection. Implementing a robust solution is part of a successful digital transformation strategy and ensures that companies can boost productivity and enhance their competitiveness.

Mitsubishi Electric strives to help businesses leverage state-of-the-art industrial automation solutions within a secure framework, while also providing a single point of contact to create smart manufacturing solutions with secure OT networks. All of this provides the foundation for a strong security platform for industrial automation systems, in accordance with IEC 62443 and meeting the requirements of the NIS Directive.

RS Components (RS) has announced its support for the GR MotoSport team at this year’s Bennetts British Superbike (BSB) championships. RS PRO has tool partnership status, demonstrating RS’s commitment to helping young people fulfil their potential: the aim of the GR MotoSport team is to promote young riders through to title glory.

The Bennetts BSB Championship was founded in 1988 and is the leading road racing superbike championship in the UK. Storm Stacey joined the team last year, and at the age of 16, was the youngest rider in the championship. RS will be supporting the team throughout this season – at race events including Oulton Park, Snetterton, Brands Hatch and Silverstone – and providing quality RS PRO mechanical tools, to keep the bikes in race-ready condition.

RS Managing Director UK & Ireland, Emma Botfield, said: “Having supported the GR MotoSport team in last year’s Bennetts BSB championship, we decided we’d love to do so again, to support the young talent coming through and help them fulfil their potential. Storm is a great young rider with a long racing career ahead of him, and we know our RS PRO range of high quality mechanical tools will be more than up to the job of helping the maintenance team keep the bikes up to scratch, and on winning form.”

The RS PRO range of tools available to the GR MotoSport team is from the selection of more than 60,000 quality products which are tested, inspected and certified to international quality standards before receiving the RS PRO seal of approval.

Brent Gladwin, Managing Director for the GR MotoSport team, added: “We are delighted to continue our superb partnership with RS PRO, supporting us with, among other things, a fantastic range of mechanical tools that aid us in our challenging race environment. We are dealing with superbikes that are capable of reaching speeds of more than 200mph within a matter of seconds, so safety is everything.”

RS will be running a competition to give away a Kawasaki Ninja 650 motorbike, in addition to further competitions to give away prizes including VIP race day tickets, exclusive merchandise and RS PRO bundles. For full details of when these are and how to enter visit the RS website: https://uk.rs-online.com/web/.

Emerson will host a series of Green Innovation Days to provide industrial companies with valuable insights about transforming their operations to achieve environmental sustainability and decarbonisation targets. The free of charge events, which will be held virtually in various languages including English, French, Italian, German and Turkish, will demonstrate how innovative automation solutions can help companies reduce greenhouse gas emissions, become more energy efficient and make the transition to renewable power sources.

“A range of pressures are forcing companies to make a strategic shift in environmental sustainability, with an increasing number setting net zero emissions targets and demanding more efficient energy management,” said Roel Van Doren, group president of global sales at Emerson. “Consequently, they are seeking to implement solutions that enable the use of alternative fuels and low-carbon power sources, the reduction of energy and material use in production systems, and the management and removal of emissions.”

The Green Innovation Days event will feature presentations and demonstrations from Emerson industry experts that explain some of the ways in which companies can benefit from adopting innovative automation technology solutions. This includes changing the way they measure, monitor and control emissions; drive energy and reliability performance through improved control; and improve energy use by optimising unit and equipment performance with real-time monitoring. The event will also discuss how automation can ensure the supply and purity of hydrogen to fulfil downstream requirements; maximise the use of lower-cost waste and alternative fuel sources by mitigating process issues; and reduce outages and extend maintenance cycles through improved control for biomass energy.

Advanced automation technology has a key role to play in helping companies achieve their sustainability goals. The deployment of measurement technologies and monitoring systems helps manufacturers to monitor environmental impact, with real-time energy management information systems automating the process of mapping and managing energy consumption across a site. Implementing tools and services to optimise processes and increase the performance of control loops directly impacts energy efficiency and consumption. The application of digital twin technology helps providers of new technologies to scale up their designs and validate optimised control and safety schemes to meet the increasing demand for clean fuels, such as green hydrogen.

“There is no time to lose when it comes to driving environmental sustainability,” Van Doren explained. “Green Innovation Days attendees will gain a deeper understanding of how to reach their environmental sustainability goals, get expert advice on regulatory requirements and solutions optimised for their specific applications, and develop strategies to create a real step-change in their operational improvements.”

The next Green Innovation Day is scheduled on May 27, 2021. For a complete calendar of events and to pre-register, visit Emerson.com/green-innovation-day.

Displaylite, a leading UK touchscreen and displays specialist, has entered an exciting new partnership with Philips monitors to supply their new range of touch monitors in the UK.

The agreement covers Touch Glass, In Cell and Open Frame Monitors. The range currently includes the B9T series of 15.6”, 17”, 21.5” and 23.8” PCAP Touch Glass Monitors, with a new range of In Cell and Open Frame Monitors to be launched in late May 2021.

Philips Touch Glass PCAP monitors support up to 10-point touch and are IP65 rated from the front, making them ideal for use in demanding touch applications. Key features include; SmoothTouch technology, a sturdy articulating stand and an optional bracket enabling a mini-PC to be secured.

Paul Butler, UK and Ireland Regional Sales Director at Philips monitors, said: “We are excited to be partnering with Displaylite as we look to expand into new markets. Our portfolio of touch solutions offers a multitude of benefits including 70,000 MTBF, 3 years warranty and a 48 hour onsite swap out warranty service.”

Commenting on the announcement, Simon Perry, Director at Displaylite said: “We are delighted to be working with Philips Monitors to promote their new range of touch monitors. We feel it is ideal for a wide variety of applications including Industrial Control Rooms, Point of Information, Point of Sale and Kiosks.”

Since its inception in 2013, the Graphene Flagship has focused on technological innovation and bringing new graphene-enabled solutions to the market. To this end, it has pioneered the creation of several spin-off companies in industries ranging from energy and materials discovery to biotech and optoelectronics.

The newest member of this family is Qurv Technologies, launched from Graphene Flagship partner ICFO in Barcelona, Spain and established in 2020 by Antonios Oikonomou, Stijn Goossens, Gerasimos Konstantatos and Frank Koppens.

Qurv was founded to develop graphene-enabled wide-spectrum image sensor technologies for next-generation computer vision applications, bringing unprecedented intelligence to products and services.

Combining the unique electronic properties of graphene with suitable quantum nanoparticles as light sensitisers allows for efficient detection of a broad range of wavelengths – from ultraviolet to infrared light – all concentrated into one simple device. Importantly, the production and transfer process of graphene leverages existing scalable Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) manufacturing processes.

Furthermore, this graphene-based sensor replaces traditional costly alternatives based on indium gallium arsenide, paving the way to SWIR imagers up to 1000 times cheaper. This could significantly expand their market.

Graphene-based wide-spectrum sensors will give machines the gift of sight and boost their decision-making capabilities. Computer vision applications are useful in a variety of fields, from autonomous cars – capable of detecting obstacles around them – to intelligent machinery such as service and industrial robots. Qurv has created a ‘plug-and-play’ manufacturing approach, making it more widely compatible and accessible than current alternatives.

Qurv recently joined the Graphene Flagship ecosystem as a Partner and Industrial Advisor of the 2D-EPL Board while undertaking the challenge of leading our Spearhead Project AUTOVISION. This project will produce image sensors based on graphene and quantum-dots, and make them ready for evaluation by the automotive industry. The project still has two more years ahead, during which researchers and innovators within partner institutions will further develop the technology towards industrialisation.

Antonios Oikonomou, co-founder and CEO of Qurv, says: “We are thrilled to announce this new spin-off that aims to fill a significant, ever expanding gap in the imaging market. The capabilities of these sensors are common in defence and aerospace applications, but are inaccessible to most people. We strongly believe that, thanks to our unique combination of advanced quantum materials, we can reduce the cost of SWIR sensors and bring them down to earth, enabling industry uptake. Imaging applications are moving from ‘pretty pictures’ to sensing, and wide-spectrum brings numerous advantages in both performance and function.”

Frank Koppens, co-founder of Qurv and research group leader at Graphene Flagship partner ICFO, adds: “This new company builds upon years of research and development within ICFO and the Graphene Flagship. We are convinced it will become a commercial success, proven by the awards and investments we have already received. We aim to further expand our network within the project, and look forward to the applications and outcomes from AUTOVISION, which will bolster the wider adoption of autonomous driving technologies.”

Kari Hjelt, Head of Innovation at the Graphene Flagship, says: “We have supported spin-offs since the very beginning, and it is fantastic to see new members joining our family of innovators. Qurv’s technology demonstrates that graphene offers cheap, sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions for real industry demands. In addition, this highlights Europe’s advantageous position in the field of graphene and layered materials, facilitated and accelerated by the Graphene Flagship’s multidisciplinary, collaborative ecosystem.”

Anritsu Corporation has announced an upgraded synchronous measurement function for the company’s Network Master Pro MT1000A, the industry’s smallest- in-class tester supporting mobile networks up to 100 Gbps. Fifth generation (5G) networks are expected to support increasing future numbers of applications and services, such as hi-definition video streaming, autonomous driving, IoT sensing, smart factories, etc. By upgrading this MT1000A test function, Anritsu hopes to facilitate construction of time-synchronous infrastructure, a key technology supporting 5G networks.

New Product Outline

The MU100090B is a GNSS disciplined oscillator supporting GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, Beidou and QZSS. It receives signals from each of these GNSS to output a UTC-traceable reference time signal as well as 10-MHz signals as a time-synchronous, high-accuracy reference timing supplied to the portable MT1000A, supporting SyncE Wander and PTP tests up to 25 Gbps for measuring network time synchronization.

Furthermore, multiple MT1000A testers at various remote sites can be operated and monitored from the central office using the Site Over Remote Access MX109020A (SORA) software to help quickly pinpoint synchronization problems.

Development Background

Deployment of 5G communications networks is spreading due to the advantages of ultra-high speeds, high reliability, low latency, and multiple simultaneous connections in various scenarios. The millimeter-wave (mmWave) band used by 5G technology employs the TDD time-division duplexing technology for managing timing of uplink and downlink signals.

This technology requires that the time at all base stations is precisely synchronized, otherwise interference will cause degraded communications quality. Moreover, achieving a “smart” IoT-based society will require cooperation between devices exchanging position information acquired using OTDOA positioning technology, which is ideal for IoT applications, but high-accuracy position measurement is impossible without high-accuracy time synchronization between base stations.

Base stations can be synchronized using wired-network technologies called SyncE and PTP, which require both measurement of the network time-synchronization performance when installing and maintaining a cell site, along with guaranteed network performance by the network operator.

Moreover, the O-RAN Alliance, which is a mainstream promoter of base-station multivendor, increasingly requires tests of overall mobile network time-synchronization performance to assure interconnectivity.

Time-synchronization quality is indicated by drift from coordinated universal time (UTC), so precise time-synchronization measurement requires expensive infrastructure to acquire UTC with high accuracy. This can be a challenge at installation and maintenance of many cell sites.

Anritsu has developed many test instruments for measuring the jitter and wander of transport networks since the SDH/SONET era. Adding this new High Performance GNSS Disciplined Oscillator MU100090B to the line of modules for the portable, battery-operated MT1000A will help simplify on-site I&M time-synchronization tests.

Advanced ceramic heaters offer numerous benefits in the design of analytical equipment. Many of the heaters used in industry today are metal sheathed, a long-standing technology that has been available for over 30 years. While such heaters are excellent for a wide variety of complex thermal applications, today’s newer and more advanced analytical equipment requires higher performance and precision. Here, Andy Selvy Chief System Designer at industrial technology company Watlow, explores the benefits of advanced ceramic heaters.

Analytical equipment, such as gas-chromatograph mass spectrometers (GC-MS), is used to determine the presence of trace chemicals, alcohols and hormones and separate complex mixtures in a number of research, industrial and clinical applications. For example, GC-MS detect concentrations of drugs in blood, as well as contaminants in air, water and soil, and can help to develop new pharmaceutical products.

The MS component breaks each separated compound coming from the GC into ionized fragments, which requires a high energy beam of electrons to pass through the sample molecule to produce electrically charged particles or ions.

The equipment requires the ionization of the sample and inert gas, and so a heating element that can reach a precise temperature quickly is a vital component. However, many legacy heating technologies that have exerted their performance and reliability and now must be designed to reflect the smaller, higher throughput analytical equipment that is taking over the market. This means heaters must also be smaller to enable miniaturization and optimize performance.

Today’s heaters

Modern advanced ceramic heaters can achieve higher performance and precision criteria, while allowing for greater design flexibility and faster time to market.

To appreciate the recent innovation in heating technology, it helps to understand some of the limitations faced by more traditional metal heaters. These heaters must be inserted into another block of metal inside the equipment in order to perform their thermal job. As the heater sheath and the block are made of metal, they cannot meet the ion source and often require additional electrical isolation.

These design tradeoffs require a larger carbon footprint, as well as a more complex assembly procedure. Metal-sheathed heaters also typically require longer heat-up and cool-down times, given that there is more mass in the heater and holder. This results in slower system startup and changes between set points.

Advances in ceramic heater technology overcome many of these issues and offer greater design flexibility and performance. Advanced ceramic heaters allow equipment designers to create room for new components, reduce a machine’s overall footprint, improve accuracy and performance, all while simplifying the manufacturing and assembly process.

The benefits of advanced heaters

To allow for more innovative designs, Watlow has developed ULTRAMIC, an advanced, high-performance ceramic heater. ULTRAMIC advanced ceramic heaters are designed for optimal performance in thermal applications where rapid thermal cycling and more precise control is needed.

ULTRAMIC heaters are constructed from aluminum nitride (AIN) and incorporate a thermally matched, proprietary heating element. AlN is especially suitable for applications requiring a clean, non-contaminating heat source. Additionally, excellent geometric stability ensures consistent part-to-part thermal contact during heating cycles.

These components, used together in the right circumstances, give rise to a number of unique properties including high electrical isolation, with low-leakage current, superior chemical resistance, high thermal conductivity and temperature uniformity across the heater surface, plus high durability.

Today’s analytical equipment has surpassed the innovation of heaters designed 30 years ago. To ensure design innovation is not limited, equipment designers must consider more advanced heaters in their equipment.

Advanced ceramic heaters are smaller, respond faster and can be more resistant to environmental contamination compared to conventional heaters. In particular, Watlow’s ULTRAMIC advanced ceramic heaters can help analytical equipment manufacturers improve product performance and design, as well as accelerate their time to market.

One year into the company’s 2030 One Connected World strategy, TE Connectivity, a world leader in connectivity and sensors, has continued to improve how it designs, manufactures and ships its products in its first steps toward meeting sustainability goals announced last year.

Over the past year, TE’s efforts have put the company on-track to meet several 2030 sustainability goals by beginning to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, energy use and water withdrawal. TE also has impacted more than 650,000 people through STEM grants from TE and the TE Connectivity Foundation to inspire the next generation of sustainable engineers, well toward its goal of 3 million people by 2030.

“TE collaborates closely with our customers to create sustainable technology like electric vehicles and more efficient data centers, as well as solutions to ensure renewable energy sources like wind turbines and solar panels get connected to the grid,” said CEO Terrence Curtin. “Since our products empower technologies that reduce humanity’s impact on the planet, it is important to TE that they are created in a sustainable way. I’m pleased that our employees, customers and owners have responded to our One Connected World strategy with an incredible show of support and excitement and I’m confident in our ability to deliver on our commitments.”

In order to meet the 2030 goals, sustainability is a part of every TE initiative, large and small. In TE’s facilities, two manufacturing sites in Germany achieved a net zero carbon footprint in 2020 by generating their own solar energy and supporting climate protecting projects. On the product side, TE innovated upon one of its core manufacturing processes–plating–to save energy with a new surface technology for automotive parts that consumes a fraction of the water and reduces energy consumption by 35%. Working to improve upon shipping practices, TE piloted the use of a more sustainable way to package products for shipment that requires 30% less wrapping material and is 100% recyclable.