The right cable clamp. - Integration of electrical and electronic systems always involves wiring issues regarding such matters as strain relief, accessibility, routing, security and similar, so this new “Guide to choosing the right cable clamp” from Essentra Components (Ireland) is likely to be of interest to all relevant assembly and installation engineers.

Nothing fishy about these awards! - Seeq Corporation has ranked 76 on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500™. It has been chosen as a 2020 Red Herring Top 100 North America Winner. Earlier this year, Seeq landed at No. 261 on the Inc. 5000 list.

Analogue-to-digital converter. - Analog Devices (ADI) has introduced the AD7134 alias-free analogue-to-digital converter (ADC) that significantly simplifies front-end design and speeds up time to market for precision DC-350kHz applications. Traditional precision data-acquisition signal chain design is a time-consuming activity as designers balance anti-alias filter requirements, passive component tolerances, phase and gain errors, as well as high-speed ADC drive requirements.

Marine power supply and battery charger. - Delta has announced the successful completion of a joint development project with WhisperPower, a leading Netherlands-based manufacturer of ultra-quiet off-grid power electronics, on the new WP-BC Supreme Pro battery charger. Combining the expertise of both companies, led to the successful development of the premium marine power supply and battery charger, which is ideal for systems in commercial shipping, industrial applications and the leisure marine markets.

How integrators can help IIoT applications - End users may find the variety of IIoT devices and connectivity technology to be intimidating. A system integrator can minimize risks and costs by implementing proven specification and implementation methods and architectures. (Control Engineering).

Signal Group has announced the appointment of Stephane Canadas as Sales and Marketing Manager.

Electronic definition for CAN-FD devices. - The CAN in Automation association has released the CiA 1311-1 specification. The document provides the XML schema Definition for CANopen FD profiles. Technically, an XML schema is an abstract collection of metadata, consisting of a set of schema components: mainly element and attribute declarations and complex and simple type definitions.

MES/MOM Digital Transformation Adoption Survey 2020 - ​​​​​​​Modern manufacturing execution systems/ manufacturing operations systems (MES/MOM) are changing because of the digital transformation adoption and the integration of new technologies and applications. (Janice Abel ARC Advisory)

The Design-Build Institute of America has named WDBC Executive Director Mark Alpert, PE, for the 2020 Class of DBIA Fellows.

Air quality data and connectivity and information recogntion. - South Coast Science has been shortlisted in the Information, Data and Connectivity category for its partnership with Ricardo Energy & Environment. The company operates on the principle that air quality data must be validated in the field, not in the lab.

Drones! - Now that drones are being used more, either experimentally or more generally, in delivery services and other applications we thought this item might be of interest to our visitors. IDTechEx’s recent market research report on Drones and their associated technologies predicts the drone market to be over $22Bn (€19bn) by 2041.

Camera is particularly affordable, particularly compact and particularly powerful. - The new uEye XLE camera family from IDS has been specially developed for high-volume and price-sensitive projects. The industrial cameras can be easily integrated into any machine vision system. Customers can choose between single-board cameras with or without C-/CS-mount or S-mount as well as variants with coated plastic housing.

Swiss army knife for CAN. - The Ixxat® CANnector, a flexible solution for logging, bridging and extending CAN networks has been introduced by HMS Networks. Complementing the existing CAN@net NT and CANbridge NT series, CANnector offers additional interfaces and functions, as well as data logging functionality. Since it is compatible with CAN@net NT and CANbridge NT, CANnector enables easy expansion of existing installations.

High performance probe for strict humidity monitoring and control. - The new HMP1 probe from Vaisala, provides the best performance for measurements in critical production and storage facilities as well as in locations such as data centers where measurement accuracy, easy maintenance, and robustness are crucial.

Wearable connectivity. - Fischer Connectors is enhancing the integration capability of its versatile plug & use Fischer Freedom™ Series. The product line has been extended with new products and accessories allowing design engineers to further optimize cable management in line with their SWaP (size, weight and power) requirements, and integrate low-profile connectors, cable assemblies and active devices easily into all sorts of materials, even the most flexible of fabrics

Videoscope for underground utility vaults. - FLIR Systems has announced the FLIR VS290-32™, an industry-first, videoscope that combines thermal imaging and a visible camera specifically designed for safer and more efficient inspections of hard-to-reach underground utility vaults. The VS290-32 is the company’s first industrial-grade, electrical safety-rated, flexible dual-sensor videoscope on a replaceable, two-meter-long camera probe.

Process instrumentation tips and tricks - Advances in process instrumentation extend beyond sensor accuracy. Computing, algorithms and networking capabilities have added functionality. For new and existing process instrumentation, learn these tips and tricks.(Control Engineering).

Sensing solutions for Europe. - EBV Elektronik has signed a distribution agreement with ACEINNA, the worldwide leader in the development of innovative Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and current sensing technologies that are essential to next generation cars, robots and other autonomous applications. EBV will offer ACEINNA’s complete range of MEMS based sensing solutions and technologies to its customers.

The most disruptive technology of the next decade. - Virtual reality has already had a major impact in a range of different industries. IDTechEx predicts in its recent market research report that this technology will grow to $8Bn (€6.75Bn) by 2030. One way that virtual reality has been used is in planning. VR technologies have recently been shown by an article in the Financial Times to be used by the City of London Corporation to help with planning decisions for future office areas. Virtual reality will be a key technology of the next decade, with IDTechEx predicting that the augmented and virtual reality market will grow to over $30Bn (€25.3Bn) by 2030.

IT and OT - beyond convergence. - The International Society of Automation (ISA) has announced the release of its latest whitepaper, "Information Technology and Operations Technology: Beyond Convergence." The whitepaper begins by addressing the different approaches and priorities of security for information technology (IT) and operations technology (OT). It also explores why IT and OT can no longer be considered separately—especially when it comes to security—and it outlines the steps necessary for organizations to advance their IT/OT integration efforts.

Taking a selfie on Mars with Perseverance! - On July 30th, NASA successfully launched their Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission, scheduled to land on the Red Planet on February 18th, 2021. The primary mission is to search for signs of ancient microscopic life and collect the first ever Martian soil samples to bring back to Earth. But the NASA team is also preparing this trip for another first: footage of a spacecraft landing on another planet. For the first-ever filming of a spacecraft landing, the engineers included 6 FLIR RGB machine vision cameras.

Technology is just part of the equation - Companies are finally beginning to understand that they need to focus on their most pressing business problems, instead of just buying the newest shiny technology. Industry leaders realize that transformation is an exercise in gaining the biggest competitive advantage they can achieve. Those leaders understand that technology isn’t going to provide that edge on its own. Technology is just an enabler.

CNC system donation. - The Taiwan subsidiary of NUM has donated a complete CNC hardware and software package to the National Formosa University in Huwei. The package forms part of a major control upgrade to one of two precision tool grinding machines in the university’s College of Engineering.

Simplify the mounting of sensors. - Harting has developed a component carrier that can be mounted directly with electronic components allowing previous manual assembly processes to be automated. Flexible circuit boards can also be replaced, increasing precision and reducing assembly costs.

Strategic alliance expanded and extended. - PTC and Rockwell Automation have announced the expansion and early extension of their strategic alliance. This extension will ensure continuity in both companies’ sales and product development efforts and expand the agreement to include PTC’s product lifecycle management and software as a service (SaaS) products. This expansion will streamline both companies’ commercial efforts to extend a comprehensive digital thread solution, from upfront design through the operate, maintain and optimize-lifecycle stages.

Biogas innovation wins. - Vaisala's MGP261 biogas instrument is a winner in the Finnish Quality Innovation competition, where it won the Circular economy and carbon neutrality innovations category. After being recognized as an outstanding example of innovation in the field of sustainable technologies, the instrument now advances to the finals of the global Quality Innovation Award competition.

Long life disc pumps. - As part of its exclusive agreement with TTP Ventus to distribute the award-winning Disc Pump, ION Science has introduced the long-life LT Series. These latest pumps offer in excess of 5,000 hours continuous operation under the most demanding conditions, with the potential to run up to 10,000 hours for other applications.

For the well equipped enclosure! - A new guide from Essentra Components acknowledges the extensive array of cabinet and other mounting hardware that specialist panel builders need to assemble in producing a complete package. Their downloadable guide highlights the particular industrial components such as fasteners and hinges, levelling feet and gasket, cable glands and card slides, while providing help as to which builders should use.

Communication between industrial automation devices and energy networks. - Ixxat® SG-gateways enable communication between industrial automation devices and energy networks. HMS Networks is now extending the Ixxat SG-gateway line with new versions including a 4G/LTE modem for cellular connectivity as well as 4-port Ethernet switching capabilities, giving users additional energy networking options for substations and power plants.

CO2 Gas Sensors assess COVID-19 transmission risk. - While electrochemical gas sensors and metal oxide semiconductor gas sensors are cheaper and smaller, NDIR gas sensors are more reliable and sensitive for CO2 monitoring. The IDTechEx report “Environmental Gas Sensors 2020-2030”, benchmarks the performance, cost and manufacturing maturity for various gas sensing technologies. Infineon launched new CO2 environmental sensors based on photoacoustic technology. This new product is believed to perform at a similar level as NDIR gas sensors at a significantly lower cost.

Speeding automotive and industrial designs. - Anglia is now supporting the accelerated design of automotive systems and similar projects in robotics, automation and other industrial applications with a comprehensive suite of development boards from STMicroelectronics.

Solderless connectors. - Intelliconnect has extended its popular range of 2.9mm and SMA connectors with the addition of a solderless version which offers customers faster assembly time and field replaceable connectivity.

Faster smoke detector prototypes. - Analog Devices has introduced a reference design and algorithm that enables small form factor, low power, smoke detector designs to be rapidly prototyped and brought to market faster at a reduced cost.

Pure platinum: Seventy five years of automation. - The current (Sept/Oct 2020) issue of InTech, the official periodical of the International Society of Automation is not only a veritable storehouse of nostalgia for automation professionals but also focusses on the next chapter in the discipline.

Cost-effective method for aspirating and dispensing liquids. - A free webinar that explains how pressure-controlled liquid handling systems can be used to deliver precise, accurate and cost-effective throughput in laboratory applications will be delivered by Festo on Tuesday 1st December at 10am GMT.

EMC line filters. - Schaffner has released a complete range of their popular FN3280H 4-Line filter series featuring higher insulation resistances. This is a compact and lightweight filter design with a “cubic“ shape requiring minimum mounting space, simplifying the power entry design of enclosures and control panels for machine builders.

Responsive approach to water utility on-site support during the COVID-19 pandemic. - In the autumn of 2019, Anglian Water wanted to upgrade the data networks for one of their sites and enlisted the help of Westermo. The network connected ten remote pumps back to a main water plant near Kings Lynn using a series of RS485 cables. One option was to simply replace the existing ageing data communications equipment with similar devices, but that would not satisfy the requirement for network redundancy and modernisation. In addition, the company wanted to use the existing cables to minimise the cost of the project and to implement a 4G network to provide communication redundancy.

Why Aren't Industry Standards Free? - In the world of engineering and technical standards, one of the perennial challenges is determining how to best promote their acceptance and application in industry. Some standards seem to catch on and take off almost immediately, while others languish with little acceptance – or even understanding. (Eric Cosman with ARC Advisory)

On-line safety seminar. - CAN in Automation (CiA) has scheduled web-based CAN and CANopen seminars to increase attendee's safety in times of the coronavirus. A seminar with the topic "CANopen safety" takes place on December 03, 2020.

Fast-response, extended-range flow measurement. - Those responsible for the extraction, processing, storage, industrial plant distribution, consumption or sub metering of natural gas will find the latest advances in thermal mass flow measurement with Adaptive Sensing Technology™ (AST) from Fluid Components International (FCI) can help them achieve higher efficiencies at lower costs while reducing their carbon footprint to protect the planet and boost profits.

Inspection and test socket. - OMRON Electronics Components Europe is supporting the roll-out of consumer electronics based on the USB-C type of I/O connector with the release of a new long-life, easy to use inspection and test socket.

Monitoring facility remotely. - The RemoteVPN is a service offered by Contemporary Controls that allows systems integrators remote access to systems from the convenience of the systems integrator's home or office. A cloud-based VPN server hosted by Contemporary Controls provides the critical connection between two VPN clients-one installed on the systems integrator's PC and the other permanently installed on Contemporary Controls' VPN router located at the remote location.