News

Pickering Interfaces, the leading supplier of modular signal switching & simulation solutions for use in electronic test & verification, today announced a new range of PXI/PXIe microwave relay modules capable of switching the 110 GHz signals associated with demanding RF & communications applications, including emerging technologies such as automotive radar. Launching at IMS, this extension to Pickering’s family of terminated SPDT microwave switches is the first to be offered in 110 GHz, delivering the highest RF switching performance available within a Pickering switching system. As operating frequencies evolve to ever higher levels, more of Pickering’s RF & microwave switching solutions will support 110 GHz to address the latest RF testing requirements.

The 40-781A-92x (PXI) and 42-781A-92x (PXIe) modules consist of either a single or dual microwave changeover switch payload, capable of switching up to 110 GHz in 50 Ω. They are available with external terminations, and connections are via front panel mounted high quality SMA 1.0 connectors. Externally terminated switches offer the advantage that the user-accessible terminations can be removed and replaced with higher-power RF loads for increased signal levels. This switch topology flexibility also allows alternative configurations to alter the switching functionality, such as terminated 4-port bypass (1 termination removed) and 5-port DP3T (both terminations removed).

The 40/42-781A-92x range features latching relays, minimizing the heating effects when the switches are energized (compared to failsafe switches), as only a pulsed signal is required for operation (since latching relay contacts retain their last set state when the power is removed). LED indication is provided, allowing a clear visual confirmation of the switch status – a useful feature for verifying system operation.

Steve Edwards, Switching Product Manager at Pickering, commented: “These new 40/42-781A-92x modules are particularly applicable to emerging microwave technologies, such as automotive radar – in addition to radar and satellite or short-range land-based secure communication testing applications. Although designed for microwave applications, the modules also have many uses across the RF spectrum, where extremely low insertion loss and ultra-high isolation are critical. They can also be used at lower frequencies, where power handling to 35 W (without termination) is required.”

An onboard relay cycle counting feature enables proactive “health” monitoring of modules for test system predictive maintenance. The number of operations per contact is stored on the module and can be used to determine if a relay is approaching EOL. This information could allow system connections to be revised so that signals applied to heavily used contacts are swapped with lightly used contacts to prolong the working life of the relay(s).

The 40/42-781A-92x range is supplied with drivers that allow support in all popular software programming environments. In terms of operating systems, all Microsoft-supported Windows versions and popular varieties of Linux are supported, as well as other real-time hardware-in-the-loop (HiL) tools.

Alphasense, the UK-based manufacturer of sensors for air quality monitoring and safety gas detection, has launched a compact new sensor format for portable devices.

The smaller, thinner, and lighter H-Series sensor is compatible with 1-Series sensors from other manufacturers and is available for 9 target gases. The introduction of the H-series from Alphasense gives OEMs greater flexibility in instrument design and increased choice in sensor selection.

Nine sensor variants cover both common and exotic gases, taking the suitability of H-Series beyond just compliance devices. The dual CO/H₂S sensor allows for the integration of a fifth sensor in a four-gas enclosure, while the H₂cross-sensitivity CO sensor gives OEMs the option of incorporating hydrogen immunity as standard in compliance devices.

With its four-gas configuration, the H-series presents a 43% space saving vs the A-series/4-series, equivalent to 13cm³ of volume within the housing. Using surface mount spring contacts instead of pins creates flexibility, reduces the need for sockets on PCBs, saves space, and eliminates a common point of failure in traditional sensors.

Whilst the H-Series is a new physical format for Alphasense, the sensors are based upon the field-proven Alphasense D-Series, giving customers peace of mind and insulating them from the teething problems often associated with new formats.

Will Parrett, Sales & Marketing Director EMEA at Alphasense said: “We are really excited to bring this format to market. We know customers like this compact form factor and with Alphasense now adopting it, customers can benefit from more choice, better service and higher-quality sensors. Those OEMs who are already using similar sensors have greater choice right away and those who are considering it have more options for sourcing. The size reduction H-series provides gives instrument manufacturers the opportunity to completely rethink their device designs and we look forward to seeing this platform develop over the coming years.”

For more information visit https://www.alphasense.com/h-series/.

Since 2014, the U.S. magazine Vision Systems Design grants the Vision Systems Design Innovators Awards annually. This year, Advantech’s ARK-1250L DIN-rail edge computer has received a bronze honouree award in the robotics category. The prize recognises companies for making significant contributions to the vision and imaging industry. A panel of esteemed experts from system integrators and end-user companies judged submissions on originality, innovation, its impact on designers, systems integrators or users, and whether it fulfilled a new market need, leveraged a novel technology, and/or increased productivity. The honorees were announced on May 22, 2023 at Automate show in Detroit, USA.

Powered by 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5/i3 processors, the ARK-1250L delivers responsive, high-performance computing power with AI/deep learning capabilities and low power consumption. The ARK-1250L supports versatile I/O connectivity and over 10 selected iDoor I/O expansion modules, providing high flexibility for a diverse range of robotics and industrial equipment control applications. Likewise, the ARK-1250L features four RS-232/422/485 ports for motor and radar sensors, an optional CANbus for robotic arms, three USB 3.2 ports for peripherals such as vision cameras, and three GbE ports for connectivity. Its internal expansion slots, including mPCIe, M.2 E key (for Wi-Fi), and B key (for 5G), help users enhance the functionality of their solutions. Built with Advantech’s DeviceOn/iEdge and ROS2 Suite, the ARK-1250L supports standard industrial protocols including Modbus, OPC-UA, and other PLC-based protocols and ROS utilities such as RVIZ, MoveIt, and Gazebo, providing the ideal foundation for factory automation and robotics applications.

“It is an honour to receive this award,” stated Aaron Su, Vice President of Embedded IoT Group at Advantech. “Advantech is committed to developing versatile edge computing solutions with advanced visual analytics capabilities to address machine vision and robotics market needs. This recognition from Vision Systems Design is a testament of our innovative designs and the value of our products.”

“The Vision Systems Design team would like to congratulate Advantech for their score in the 2023 Innovators Awards program,” said Linda Wilson, Editor in Chief at Vision Systems Design. “Each year, this unbiased and increasingly competitive program aims to celebrate the most innovative products and systems in machine vision. The Advantech team should be very proud.”

For customers requiring this product in a custom variant, Advantech’s European DMS team offers a wide range of local design and manufacturing services. For more information, please visit http://bit.ly/AdvantechDMS.

A new study from the University of Bath has shown that graphene-based biosensors, designed by Integrated Graphene, have the potential to play a major role in detecting increased levels of lactate, an important biomarker for the treatment of critically ill patients.

The research, published in Sensor and Actuators: B.Chemical, shows that Integrated Graphene’s Gii-Sens electrochemical sensor can improve accuracy in the diagnosis of hyperlactatemia, a common complication in intensive care units.

Hyperlactatemia results from a lack of oxygen reaching tissues or as a result of an underlying condition, such as advanced liver disease. Untreated hyperlactatemia can lead to lactate acidosis, which causes severe illness and can be fatal. Reliable real-time lactate detection through single-point or continuous monitoring could help to improve the outcomes of patients in critical care and could hasten the diagnosis of sepsis in critically ill patients. 

Based in Stirling, Integrated Graphene’s flagship product, Gii-Sens is a biosensing electrode for diagnostics which outperforms traditional sensing materials by 10-100 times, allowing for cost effective, lab precision testing within minutes at the point of need. Other applications of the technology include quality control in the food production industry, and wearable lactate sensors which can be used to monitor an athlete’s performance in real time.

Dr Marco Caffio, Integrated Graphene’s Co-Founder and CSO, said: “Lactate is a naturally occurring biomarker which everyone produces as a byproduct of exercising. For most people it is easily processed by the body and will cause no major harm, apart from a little cramp if you overexert yourself.

“However, for some critically ill patients and those with underlying conditions it can be a sign of a range of other issues, some of which, like sepsis, can be fatal. Having a robust way of monitoring lactate levels is important in ensuring the best possible outcomes for these patients. The findings of this study demonstrate Gii’s reliable performance and potential to save lives.”

For further information on Integrated Graphene, please visit: https://www.integratedgraphene.com/

Global automotive and industrial supplier Schaeffler has supplied a fruit processing company with its ProLink condition monitoring system to monitor the condition of trolley bearings on stacker cranes, which operate in cold and frozen storage areas.

Zentis GmbH & Co. KG, with its headquarters in Aachen, Germany, is one of Europe’s leading fruit processing companies, producing jams and fruit preparations for the baking, confectionery and dairy industries.  

The Aachen site uses large stacker cranes for storage, transfer and retrieval. In order to monitor the large and difficult-to-access moving components in the cold and frozen storage areas and to avoid unplanned downtime, the logistics team at Zentis was looking for a predictive maintenance solution. 

Previous CM success 

Zentis had previously implemented Schaeffler’s SmartCheck condition monitoring devices on gearboxes and cable reels to monitor the health of a critical pallet lifter. The devices have helped to prevent unplanned downtime and optimise production. If the pallet lifter fails, the first production stoppages occur around two hours later. The SmartCheck devices measure the vibration, speed, temperature and imbalance of various rolling bearings in the gearbox, as well as the gear teeth/mesh. The CM solution has enabled an early warning period of several weeks which allows Zentis to carry out repairs and remedial action as part of planned maintenance work, thereby avoiding costly unplanned downtime.

A cold challenge 

In the cold and frozen storage areas at Aachen, a different kind of CM solution was required. The stacker cranes constantly move around the 30-metre tall racks in different directions. The trolley bearings, in particular the non-driven bearings, are highly stressed. The fact that constant measuring conditions do not exist during regular operation posed an even greater challenge. In addition, temperatures in the frozen storage area are as low as -20°C, which presented yet another challenge for the new measuring system, for example, how to attach the sensors to the measuring points.  

Michael de Ben, Head of Internal Logistics at the Aachen site, comments: “We were looking for a monitoring solution for our stacker cranes that could reliably take measurements despite inconsistent measuring conditions and ultra-low temperatures in order to protect us from unplanned downtimes.” 

A smart solution 

After approaching one of Schaeffler’s local authorised sales partners the Schaeffler ProLink condition monitoring system (CMS) was chosen. This intelligent measuring concept was adapted to suit Zentis’ unique requirements.  

To monitor the stacker cranes, a Schaeffler ProLink CMS and five sensors (bearing guards) were installed on each stacker crane unit. In order to perform meaningful vibration monitoring, the original measurement concept had to be changed in the multi-channel CMS. Schaeffler achieved this by breaking down the short, slow travel times into many short measurements. Any extreme impacts could then be determined from these measurements. 

To solve the temperature challenge in the cold storage area, the ProLink CMS was installed in the switch cabinet. In the frozen storage area, the ProLink system was placed in heated control cabinets that escort each stacker crane run. The sensors were attached to the measuring points using a special, cold-resistant adhesive compound. 

Permanent benefits 

The implementation of the ProLink CMS, has benefitted Zentis in several ways. With early warnings of any change in the condition of the stacker crane trolley bearings, the site has also seen an improvement in the planning of maintenance activities, as well as improved safety and transparency. The ProLink CMS is also fully integrated into the sites own control system. 

As Michael de Ben states: “The ProLink CMS monitors heavily strained moving components on the stacker cranes that, due to their size or mounting position, cannot be repaired promptly in the event of an unplanned malfunction. By using bearing guards, the vibration pattern of this equipment can be permanently observed and any deviation can be detected at an early stage. In this way, the ProLink CMS makes a crucial contribution to safeguarding the production supply at Zentis KG Aachen.” 

ProLink is part of the Schaeffler Lifetime Solutions portfolio, which offers a comprehensive range of products, services and solutions for industrial maintenance. It is designed to support maintenance engineers over the entire lifetime of a machine. 

Visitor registration is now open for Advanced Engineering, the UK’s largest annual gathering of engineering and manufacturing professionals. Now in its 14^th year, this year’s show comes with a fresh and future-focused rebrand, removing the previous show zones from its exhibition floor and introducing a main stage for the event’s well-attended forums.

Advanced Engineering, taking place on November 1 and 2 at the NEC, Birmingham, was previously divided into several zones. However, in order to meet the future demands of the engineering and manufacturing sectors, the show has been re-engineered to encourage even more cross-industry collaboration.

The organisers understood that this layout felt limiting for exhibitors, and that visitors in general walked the entire show floor, regardless of their specific industry. This year, the long-established composite zone will remain, but the automotive, aerospace and connected manufacturing zones will be removed. However, these sectors will still have a strong presence at the event, with the industry-specific forums remaining. There will also be a main, central stage on this year’s floor plan where discussions about key challenges in the industry will be discussed.

“Making these changes wasn’t an easy or a quick decision,” explained Alison Willis, director of Easyfairs, the organiser of Advanced Engineering. We spoke to over 200 exhibitors, visitors and speakers to make sure that any changes made were future-proof and reflective of all stakeholders. We realised that many of the issues that our exhibitors and visitors are facing align, no matter what sector they’re from. Take sustainability as an example — we wanted to make sure that our floor plan gave attendees the best opportunity of sharing ideas and solutions to challenges like this.

“Advanced Engineering has expanded greatly over the years, starting as a specific aerospace event 14 years ago. 2023 felt like the right time to break down the walls that separated our exhibitors to fully encourage collaboration across industries and to prepare the show for a new era of manufacturing and engineering,” concluded Willis.

To ensure that visitors and exhibitors can still easily find relevant contacts, Advanced Engineering exhibitors will now be categorised by the services, products and solutions offered. They will have the opportunity to highlight all of the sectors they work in, removing any limitations created by the specific show zones. As well as encouraging visitors from the show’s established sectors like aerospace, space, automotive and composites to attend, Advanced Engineering hopes to attracted visitors from newer sectors, like marine, security, rail, energy, sports and leisure, and medical.

It’s clear to see why this year’s expanded floor plan is quickly filling up. One of last year’s exhibitors, George Chetwood, Business Development Manager at Cognitiv Spark, said, “The show has been great — we’ve met so many new people and had great conversations. We’ve met clients that we’ve already been in talks with and have advanced those conversations. Our director has secured a spot next year, so we’ll be back then.”

Another, Lee Brent, Sales Manager for Southwest Fabrications, commented, “This is our first year exhibiting at Advanced Engineering but it will not be our last. After a friendly and helpful team helped us decide on our stand in the most appropriate location, we have seen a tremendous amount of visitors flow through our stand, with over 100 individual companies interested in the products and services we offer. We have been so pleased with our experience and look forward to exhibiting for many years to come.”

In 2023, Advanced Engineering will welcome back a full speaker programme with representatives from some of the leading companies in UK manufacturing. Last year, attendees were treated to talks from leading industry figures from companies like Siemens, Ford, Jaguar Land Rover, Make UK, Rolls-Royce and Airbus. As always, attendees will be able to access all of these talks free of charge, totaling around 50 hours of free CPD accredited learning.

To secure your visitor pass, see a current exhibitor list and check out the growing list of confirmed speakers, visit the Advanced Engineering website — advancedengineeringuk.com.

ABB has inaugurated a process flowmeter calibration facility in its Minden factory in Germany. The new calibration hall, which houses water and air calibration rigs, will strengthen the company’s calibration capabilities and provide customers with high levels of quality and accuracy in process flowmeters.

The new capabilities will enable plant operators across industries such as chemical, oil & gas, battery, hydrogen and power, to accurately measure in and outflow as well as raw and produced materials, thus controlling their processes in a more precise and efficient way. The new facility will also significantly reduce time to market and streamline production.

In a ceremony in Minden, ABB CEO Björn Rosengren cut the ribbon to the new calibration hall in the presence of ABB’s Peter Terwiesch, Business Area President, Process Automation; Reiner Seecker, Factory Manager, Minden; Jacques Mulbert, Division President, Measurement & Analytics, and Amina Hamidi, Business Line Manager Instrumentation.

“This is an important milestone for us. We are trusted by our customers to make some of the toughest measurement challenges easy,” said Jacques Mulbert, Division President, ABB Measurement & Analytics. “The new calibration hall is a great example of how we streamline our manufacturing capabilities to deliver the best products at the best price to our customers.”

The new hall houses two water calibration rigs for various process flowmeters, such as Coriolis, Swirl and Vortex flowmeters with a calibration accuracy of less than 0.1 percent. It also includes a density calibration rig for Coriolis flowmeters and air calibration rigs for the thermal mass flowmeter series. In the 1200 m² hall, 375 m² are available for air calibration and 525 m² for water calibration.

The new capabilities will allow the Minden factory to increase its capacity by up to 30 percent, while increasing accuracy and enabling ABB to serve its global customer base even better and reducing lead times.

Using ABB’s reliable and highly accurate process flowmeters increases operational productivity as well as energy and resource efficiency across industries.

In 2022, ABB opened a new production hall for traction converters and energy storage systems for the railway industry at the Minden site.

A global energy player, with significant UK investments in renewable energy and storage, has used a ‘digital twin’ to help make a significant breakthrough in its Net Zero journey.

ENGIE, which is Headquartered in Leeds and employs over 1000 people across the country, is committed to optimising the operation of industrial assets on their conversion to hydrogen and required support for an exciting project at its corporate R&D Centre in Paris.

ENGIE Lab CRIGEN created a digital twin based on a 3D multiphysics simulation of an industrial furnace that it wanted to convert to a hydrogen-based cleaner fuel to prove that it was possible and could still deliver the same level of energy performance.

Generating millions of data, this digital twin operated in real time, was physically accurate and led to a perfect synchronised interaction using Mixed Reality technology.

The project was supported by three strategic partners – ANSYS for the real-time simulation, SYNERGIZ for the development of a dedicated software based on Mixed Reality technology and the use of HoloLens 2 and PTC, who focused on the management of all information and live connections with the industrial facility through its ThingWorx platform.

This industry leading IIoT solution was chosen due to its ability to collect, centralise, standardise, and make full use of data from multiple sources, with its connectivity and hybrid cloud ‘offer’ providing greater agility with data recovery and ensuring ENGIE Lab CRIGEN retains internal control.

“In order to attain carbon neutrality, industrial assets must adapt to the different energy sources, while maintaining performance and efficiency,” explained Guy-Alexandre Grandin, the Deputy Head of the R&D Lab dedicated to Industrial Energy-Challenges.

“Based on the notion that an industrial furnace could provide a first-rate experimental basis for digitally reproducing the hydrogen conversion of industrial facilities whose core process is combustion, our Lab took the decision to study its real-time physical and dynamic behaviours through 3D multiphysics digital simulation.”

He continued: “The ambition of this project lies first and foremost in our ability to embed a technology, to demonstrate the relevance of IT/OT convergence and its benefits for those working in the field, such as operators and maintenance personnel. An ambition that has been achieved!

“This is at the very heart of our technological innovation mission and, in the present context, it is a huge plus to be able to chart the path ahead for revised energy consumption, thanks to the enhanced management of industrial assets.”

PTC’s Elliot Clarke, UKi Director at PTC, added his support: “ThingWorx is one of the world’s leading Industrial Internet of Thing platforms, working across tens of different industries.

“It’s work with ENGIE is helping the company prove the feasibility of hydrogen energy sources, a vital step forward in cutting emissions and helping the world move to Net Zero.

“This project in the ENGIE Lab CRIGEN has been a huge success. Everything is ready, the value chain is operating, and the collection of digital twin data through 3D simulation is meeting expectations. The user in the field – donning the Microsoft HoloLens headset – now has access to real-time information from the digital twin.

“And since what has been done for a furnace can also be done for other energy assets, ENGIE Lab CRIGEN is right on target in its role of thinking ahead and delivering proposals that the company can implement in the real world.”

Presented by Advantech, Adey Electronics and Poynting Antennas

Tuesday 20^th June 2023, 10:00 BST

Click here https://bit.ly/45D57MI to attend

Advantech, a global leader in Industrial IoT, AIoT and Embedded solutions is joining with their channel partner Adey Electronics and key supplier Poynting Antennas to present a webinar demonstrating a simple, all-in-one, low-cost, secure cellular solution that provides a reliable and robust connection from enterprises to their remote devices.

Introduced by systems integrators Adey Electronics, Advantech will present their routers and wireless connectivity solutions and Poynting Antennas will discuss ways to improve communication over 5G networks.

The webinar will be of particular interest to systems integrators, mobile network operators, wireless internet service providers, IT and networking companies, security companies, providers of content management systems (CMS), TV/CCTV/electrical/telecommunications installers, networking components distributors and resellers. The webinar will of use to anyone working in transportation, infrastructure, energy/utilities, enterprise internet (Primary and Back Up) or retail.

Key areas of wireless connectivity to be covered include:

• Connectivity in remote and rural areas.
• Challenges on urban RF environments.
• Maximise data throughput.
• Time and cost during installation.
• How to manage wireless network.

Attendees of the webinar will take away an overview of the almost limitless applications of wireless connectivity and the advantages of a co-located radio and antenna (Remote Radio Head or Tower Top LNS in cellular worlds) which are common across all markets. It will be of particular interest to users that have, or foresee, connectivity problems due to remote rural location of assets or even urban assets located in particularly challenging environments.

These applications may include:

• Remote rural connectivity.
• Overcoming challenging RF environments.
• Maximising data throughput.
• National coverage.
• Low-cost secure LAN extension.
• Mobile connectivity.

This webinar is a must-attend event where the audience will discover how the latest cutting-edge technology can revolutionise the connectivity experience.

The speakers will be:

• Lewis Harvey Adey Electronics Business Development Manager
• Stephen Mooney Advantech Industrial Wireless Product Sales Manager
• Hugo Carvalho Poynting Antennas Sales Account Manager 

To join Advantech, Adey and Poynting Antennas for this exciting webinar where the latest innovations in cellular connectivity will be unveiled, and discover be an all-in-one, affordable, and highly secure solution that ensures a dependable and strong connection for remote devices click https://bit.ly/45D57MI or for more information please contact your local sales support team, visit Advantech, at www.advantech.com/en-eu

PowTechnology are delighted to have been nominated for the ‘Digital Transformation Award’ at this years’ Instrumentation Excellence Awards!

These awards celebrate the very best professionals, products, projects & companies from across the test, measurement, sensing & control sectors.

Last year, at the inaugural event, PowTechnology was a finalist in the ‘IIoT Product of the Year’ category, showcasing its ground-breaking range of Metron4 4G-enabled GSM/GPRS telemetry hardware.

This year the company is being recognised in a broader sense, for over 30 years of expertise and practical experience in instrumentation and digitalisation, demonstrably driving efficiencies and informing management strategy across diverse sectors and applications globally.

Dave Oakes, PowTechnology CEO, told us: “I’m delighted that PowTechnology has been recognised once again with this third-party nomination!

“PowTechnology’s digital transformation solutions help customers lower operational costs, monitor the condition of essential kit to prevent breakdown, maximise resource, comply with legislation, introduce new revenue streams, improve service and differentiate themselves to win contracts.

 “Covid highlighted the benefits of remote monitoring to many new industrial sectors, our experience has shown some reluctance to embrace the IIoT due to perceived entry costs and payback time. As a business, PowTechnology counter these concerns with user-friendly, proven, affordable, modular digital transformation solutions.

“PowTechnology’s kit is designed as highly scalable, modular IIoT building blocks. This means we can often offer off-the-shelf, ‘plug n play’ solutions.

“Equally, our agility allows us to design bespoke solutions, with minimal development costs, creating proofs of concept within a few months, where others may take years.”

PowTechnology invests heavily in R&D, collaborating with academia to embrace cutting-edge technologies and enjoying the diverse skill set of an experienced, rapidly expanding internal Development Team

Over 100,000 IoT devices have been manufactured and supplied by PowTechnology. The company delivers data on level, flow, temperature, pressure, vibration, humidity and more.

Data … which creates knowledge … used for process improvement and strategic decision-making.

The company’s technology is exceptionally versatile, and offers benefits to almost any business, including: chemical, cryogas, pharmaceuticals, fuels, Adblue, waste, recycling, agriculture, the environment, utilities, pumping, rail, construction and security.

The PowTechnology Case Studies page bears testament to the company’s wealth of sector and application knowledge, with over thirty case studies. They include household names and multinationals, such as GreenChem, United Utilities, Royal Mail, RSPB, Cemex, Fuchs Lubricants and Speedy.

If you would like to vote for PowTechnology, please click here.  (Our category is at the top of Page 2.)

To read PowTechnology’s Supporting Statement and Documents, please click here.

What can PowTechnology do for you?

We welcome your enquiries. Please come to us with your application ideas and we will do our very best to help!

Please browse the PowTechnology web site and get in touch with any queries you have or applications you would like to discuss. +44 1827 310 666 sales@PowTechnology.com or use this contact form.