Instrumentation Monthly Test | Measurement | Control
Southern Manufacturing & Electronics makes a welcome return to Farnborough from February 8th to 10th 2022.
Southern Manufacturing 2020 was one of the last trade shows to occur before the arrival of the pandemic and the subsequent 20 months of turmoil. For many, the show’s reappearance is a positive sign of a revival of fortunes for the south’s engineering sector, and this seems borne out by the show’s organisers who report a strong uptake in stand bookings from companies eager to return to face-to-face business. Already close to being fully booked, the 2022 show will once again assemble an incredibly wide range of enterprises covering an equally wide range of activities, from high-tech machine tools and automation to mechanical and electronics components, electronics production, business and subcontract services. Despite its regional title, the show is very much an international event with firms from all over the UK, Europe and Asia taking part.
Instrumentation and associated components such as sensors are well represented at this year’s show, with numerous leading vendors from both the UK and Europe taking part. Some of the larger names with a presence at the show include Transfer Multisort Elektronik (TME), one of Europe’s largest distributors of electronic, electromechanical and industrial automatic components, as well as workplace equipment. With its headquarters in Poland, the firm has subsidiaries in 11 countries and offers 500,000 products from more than 1,200 leading manufacturers. The product range includes semiconductors, embedded and IoT systems, optoelectronics and all manner of passive and electromechanical components. Also joing this year is Turkey’s Ozdisan Elektronik, the region’s largest electronic component distributor. Its $35m product portfolio spans semi-conductors, passive components and electro-mechanical parts from over 200 named brands.
Some of the more specialist sensor vendors exhibiting this year include ESI Technology, which showcases pressure transducers and transmitters designed for the aerospace, defence, oil and gas, sub-sea, medical, automotive, marine, process and general industrial markets. Recent innovations that will be highlighted at this year’s show include live demonstrations of the GS4400 pressure transmitter with RS-485 interface. This range also includes a high pressure and sub-sea variant. Demonstrated on the stand will be a USB transducer specifically designed for the monitoring and recording of pressure data. There is also the HI6000 pressure transmitter which is capable of withstanding a consistent compensated temperature range of -25 to +135°C.
Sensors and monitoring instruments for measuring pressure, temperature and gas density exhibited by Trafag UK will include the new CMP 8271. It extends the range of the CMP 8270 CANopen pressure transmitter and is attractive for price-sensitive customers with high quantities in mobile hydraulics and similar applications. The company claims its thin-film-on-steel technology and ASICs developed in-house offer high accuracy and long-term stability even in the dusty heat of deserts, to the icy cold of sub-arctic forests. Tailor-made solutions can be developed for OEM-clients, and the company has sales and service networks in over 40 countries.
RF Solutions will be displaying additions to its range of LoRa radio modules launched back in 2019 together with its latest HIRK modules launched this year. Examples include the Lambda 62 RF module, an 868/915Mhz LoRa transceiver, a class leading, cost effective radio module; featuring the Semtech SX1262 LoRa providing ultra-long range of 20KM+. The Lambda 80 will also be available to view which is a long range LoRa RF module operating at 2.4GHz, the only world-wide Licence exempt fband, featuring the Semtech SX1280 LoRa spread spectrum. These highly efficient, affordable modules are said to be ideal for developing new applications.
The show also features a wide range of test and analysis instruments, from optical inspection to advanced metrology from firms such as Faro, Nikon Metrology and Vision Engineering. Broadband Technology 2000 will highlight its recently launched GFlex RF telecom scanning receiver, which operates at 10MHz to 8GHz and 24 to 48GHz and can collect all the mmWave and sub-8GHz data needed for drive test, walk test, and government applications in one pass, with one unit.
The ever-popular free seminar programme also returns for 2022 in a socially-distanced format. With UK business now operating in a very different world to that which prevailed pre-pandemic, keeping abreast of the latest legislation and management strategies has never been more important. This year, among the topics discussed, Tim Scurlock of Applied Lean Consulting gives some ideas on how to drive continuous improvement in your business; Graham Cooper offers tips on energy usage reduction in manufacturing and Nick Aitken and Dr Alex Martin give advice on how to handle a product safety incident. Sessions run over all three days and a full list is available on the show’s website at www.industrysouth.co.uk
Farnborough International Exhibition Centre is among Europe’s most up-to-date exhibition sites, with extensive infection control measures in place to help ensure as low-risk an environment as possible. There’s free onsite car parking for 3,500 vehicles, as well as a dedicated free bus service between Farnborough’s train stations straight to the show. The venue itself delivers a very good standard of services including a free WiFi service and on-site catering.
Southern Manufacturing & Electronics 2022 opens from February 8th to 10th. Admission to the exhibition is free. More information and tickets are available from www.industrysouth.co.uk
