Features

In terms of process control in hygienic applications, the tried-and-tested solutions are often preferred, thanks to their proven performance and guarantees they provide. ENILBIO, the National School of the Dairy Industry and Biotechnology in France, has chosen the universal control head Type 8681 from Bürkert to ensure the homogenisation of the control on one of its sites. Harmonisation of the 330 control heads led to simplified commissioning and maintenance, maintaining the long-term relationship between ENILBIO and Bürkert.

ENILBIO has the mission of training professionals and students from the agri-food industry with a major focus on the dairy sector and assuring the production of certain products such as cheese and beer. As such, the equipment employed in the company’s site is essential to the quality of its training and process verification.

As part of the renewal of its fleet of control heads, ENILBIO wanted to ensure the decentralised automation of hygienic valves and improve management of the automated processes by moving from wired communication to ASI (AS-Interface) communications, to better control its production activity.

The tender process was concluded with Bürkert delivering the solution to homogenise control of the entire site, thanks to a single product, the Type 8681 universal head, which offered all the benefits expected by ENILBIO. These include improved automation of hygienic valves with a solution that integrates into the existing system, automatic configuration, instant visual diagnostics and even good cleanability of the product through a hygienic kit that can be adapted to the pneumatic actuator.

Bürkert’s products offer protection class 3 in accordance with DIN EN 61140, an ASI protocol, a robust inductive rod made entirely of stainless steel for longer service life, a visual indicator of the valve status that can be seen from 100 metres and even personalised training for the technical team, as well as for trainees.

For more information contact: sales.uk@bukert.com

ION Science, a leading manufacturer of gas detection equipment and OEM PID (photoionisation detection) gas sensors, have appointed four directors to headline its new board and deliver ION Science’s ambitious plans for further growth. The board will be instrumental in forging and delivering a long-term strategic growth plan and to deliver repeated profitable results.

Duncan Johns has led the company for more than 23 years, but ION Science’s high business performance meant additional capacity was required to ensure the appropriate support was available to deliver pioneering plans for further growth. As such, it was imperative to get the right people on the board to lead the ongoing development and change.

Steve Newcomb joined early last year as an experienced operations director. As a professional engineering business leader, Steve has more than 30 years’ experience within technical manufacturing and engineering sectors, both within multinational corporate and private SME businesses. Steve’s experience is invaluable in operations, supply chain, engineering, and manufacturing. However, Steve has also demonstrated his experience as a senior board member and has been promoted to Deputy Managing Director, supporting all aspects of the business when Duncan is involved elsewhere.

Jason Evans, who joined late last year as Commercial Director, brings a strong background in high performance technologies from both privately owned SMEs and publicly listed global businesses. His previous work has covered markets that include MedTech, consumer electronics, digital imaging, and a variety of high energy RF industries. His solid understanding of global markets will help provide further focus on delivering growth and driving shareholder value.

Garfay Liu has been with the company for three years. Whilst heading up the R&D function for the last three years, he has now been promoted to R&D Director.  Garfay has more than 15 years’ experience in managing technology product developments for commercial, medical, and industrial applications. His leadership style has helped grow high performing technical teams applied to product development, and he will be instrumental in technology research, applications, and new product development.

Nicki Howard joined the company last year as head of Finance and was promoted to Finance Director in April this year. Nicki brings 17 years of finance experience, knowledge of effective financial controls and processes, and a desire to work inclusively across the business. Nicki trained professionally in PwC’s audit practice, where she worked on a variety of SMEs and large listed clients in various industries. More recently, she worked as a Group Financial Controller at a large, global manufacturing company, which provided transferable experience and skills applicable to ION Science.

Managing Director Duncan Johns commented on the appointments: “We have made good progress on developing our product roadmap, and this has led to considerable additional recruitment and changes to the structure of teams, which has itself created further roles. It is exciting bringing in great new talent, as well as internally promoting others, to create this strong strategic board to support ION Science through the next stage of its journey”.

The new strategic board appointments are a fitting development for ION Science. In addition to the new hires, a new research and development building was commissioned late in 2021 and is due for completion in early 2023. The building will support dedicated research and development activity, further strengthening ION Science’s position as an OEM leader for PID technology and gas detection.

To find out more about ION Science, please visit: https://bit.ly/3z841Jx

The latest technological advances in solid-state cylinder technology enable maintenance or service engineers to solve multiple pneumatic or electric drive issues with a single device, according to industrial automation specialists Festo.

Modern automation machinery uses positional feedback to trigger sequential movements. In pneumatic applications, this takes the form of cylinder sensors that detect the position of the piston within the actuator. Similarly, the sensors act as movement reference points in electric axes and prevent clashes or over-runs.

“Solid-state switches are today’s default technology option,” says Steve Sands, Head of Product Management at Festo GB. “Their absence of moving, mechanical components gives them a long lifespan, with mean time between failure (MTBF) of more than 4000 years. This means solid-state switches are the technology of choice over traditional reed switches in around 90% of pneumatic and electric drive applications.”

Solid-state sensors are typically constructed with four magneto resistive sensors connected in a Wheatstone Bridge. When the cylinder piston magnet reaches the solid-state switch, the individual sensors’ resistance changes, altering the bridge voltage. After amplification and processing, this creates an output signal from the solid-state sensor. As a result, solid-state sensors are protected against overload, reverse polarity and short circuits. They are also immune to wear and tear and insensitive to inductive and capacitive loads. Typically, the maximum current is 100 mA, and the maximum cable length is 30 m.

The latest solid-state sensors from Festo have moved the technology on another step. The Festo SDBT-MSX incorporates Hall Effect sensors and a micro-controller that enable approximate setting of the sensor, with the actual switching point being ‘self-taught’ by cycling the actuator a few times. This means that the actuator is driven to its end positions and the sensor learns the required switching point. Adopting this technology saves set-up and commissioning times and means a person doesn’t have to enter inside the machinery whilst the power is on, reducing risk.

Incorporating a micro-controller also means that the sensor’s functions – NPN or PNP switching, Normally Open or Normally Closed switching, or output signal duration – can be modified easily: meaning maintenance or service engineers can solve multiple issues with a single device.

More information about Festo’s cylinder switch range can be found here: www.festo.co.uk/cylinderswitch

As a result of the UK’s exit from the European Union, Southampton based connector manufacturer PEI-Genesis has expanded its operations by establishing a German legal entity (GmbH) to provide cost savings and support the needs of local customers in Europe, particularly Germany. The company continues to ship electrical connectors from its Southampton warehouse in the UK, but customers in Europe will be able to take advantage of better freight costs by buying locally, paying only local VAT.

PEI-Genesis, which is headquartered in the US and has assembly facilities in North America, Asia and the UK, specialises in connectors for harsh environments including medical, military, aviation and rail.

The Southampton facility, where the connectors are assembled, will continue to be the company’s European base of operations. The facility, which opened in August 2008, measures in at 65,000 square feet and houses assembly operations, offices and warehouse storage space, with stock to the value of £10m.

“We’ve established a German legal entity to provide cost savings to our European customers, particularly those based in Germany,” said Jonathan Parry, Senior Vice President and MD Europe for PEI-Genesis. “By implementing this German entity, our customers will now be able to buy from us through our local distribution presence, including paying local VAT. We will continue to ship from our Southampton warehouse in the UK.”

The new entity, named PEI-Genesis Germany GmbH, will continue to work according to all PEI-Genesis UK Ltd. Standards, especially in terms of quality, the company’s code of ethics and trade compliance.

Despite the challenges of Brexit and the pandemic, demand for industrial connectors has continued to grow. The company has been active throughout the pandemic, supplying connectors into critical areas such as the medical sector.

PEI-Genesis’ business model is based on holding inventory in component form, assembling connectors to order. The company makes many of its own connector ranges, but also assembles on behalf of many of the world’s leading connector brands. As a result of high levels of factory automation, the company is able to offer short lead times with a minimum order quantity of just one.

For more information on PEI-Genesis’ custom engineered connector and cable solutions, visit https://www.peigenesis.com/.

Danfoss Power Solutions, a leading global supplier of mobile and industrial hydraulics as well as electric powertrain systems, has invested in an advanced 3D scanner robot for its joystick manufacturing lines in Nordborg, Denmark. The new device is boosting inspection routines by measuring component dimensions to micron-level precision, providing customers with even higher product quality.

Danfoss Power Solutions’ Nordborg facility manufactures thousands of joystick variants for off-highway vehicles, such as forestry machines, harvesters, cranes, tractors and more. With the new 3D scanner robot, operators can tell immediately if a joystick component is within specifications. This capability has eliminated the need to outsource time-critical metrology requirements to a third-party coordinate measuring machine technology provider. The investment is thus saving considerable time and providing greater in-house control over the manufacturing process.

Abel Dukai, mechanical engineer in the company’s Connect & Controls Solutions business unit in Nordborg, is leading the 3D scanner project alongside his colleague, production technician Grzegorz Leonhard.

“The scanner is so fast and easy to use that we can literally verify component dimensions while we manufacture, which is not possible with CMM technology,” states Dukai. “We now know immediately whether part dimensions are 100% identical to the computer-generated design files, so the 3D scanner has taken our quality testing capability to a new level.”

Dukai adds that he was not dissatisfied with the third-party metrology specialist and will continue to use the company for tasks where speed is less critical.

The innovative GOM 3D scanner robot uses narrow-band blue light to measure up to 12 million points on the component surface within a few seconds, subsequently creating a 3D image. Colleagues at Danfoss Power Solutions then compare this image to the original CAD file.

According to Leonhard, the scanner offers micron-level precision, down to 0.007 millimeters.

“We are talking extreme accuracy,” he says. “And it can even scan highly complex shapes and forms. It’s incredible technology that’s already gaining prevalence in the automotive industry. I’m glad we now have it on board, too.”

Visit the Danfoss joysticks webpage to learn more about the products benefitting from 3D scanning technology.

80 years ago ODU became known through electrical contacts and then through connectors. Comparatively a newcomer in the product portfolio are the Mass Interconnect interfaces, which are now presented on their own website www.odu-interconnect.com.

User friendly and everything in one place

Making things as easy as possible for the user was not only the primary goal in the development of the ODU-MAC^® Black-Line mass interconnect interface. The same applies to the new website: anyone who wants information will get the results quickly and compactly.

How it all began

The mass interconnect systems are mainly used for testing printed circuit boards and electronically assembled components. What is decisive there? Reliable measurements and great flexibility. Not surprisingly, ODU’s contact technology is convincing here due to its high reliability. Equally important is the individual configuration of interfaces, for which the modular connectors are ideally suited. “It was the next logical step to offer our own mass interconnect interface,” said Tobias Eder, product manager at ODU.

Continuous product enhancements

In order to meet the requirements of as many applications as possible, the ODU-MAC^® Black-Line portfolio is constantly being expanded. The latest extension is a so-called electronics housing, which can be used as an alternative to the adapter. It allows connectors to be attached to the rear panel for individual test requirements. At the same time, the housing protects electronic components and cables.

A complete package

In addition to the expertise of the employees, the enormous vertical range of manufacture is outstanding at ODU. It makes it possible to ensure consistent quality and offer customers a customised total solution. If desired, you can get everything from a single source, including cable assembly.

Find out more at www.odu-interconnect.com.

German measurement instrument manufacturer, wekomm, has announced its new sales channel agreement with UK head-quartered measurement specialists, Evolution Measurement.

Evolution Measurement will become Wekomm’s channel partner with an exclusive agreement reaching Albania, Algeria, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Herzegovina, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, UK and USA.  The Evolution Measurement group will also cover the DACH region on a non-exclusive basis.

Wekomm, who manufacture complex electronics components and high precision metrology products, produces a comprehensive range of precision resistors and supporting accessories has recently launched the EM5010A environment monitor; a unique and versatile instrument, delivering long-term accuracy, through monitoring, surveillance and recording a range of key laboratory data.

Guido Weckwerth, CEO of Wekomm enthused, “We are thrilled to partner with Evolution Measurement. Having watched how they work with their customers, delivering real, high impact solutions and marketing their sales partners to maximum effect, we knew this was a company who could add value to our customers.”

Paul Crowhurst, Managing Director of Evolution Measurement added, “We are delighted that Guido and the team at wekomm recognise the value we bring.  Assigning a territory which covers most of Europe and the USA, demonstrates the confidence they have in our team.”

Paul added, “The wekomm product range perfectly aligns with our high accuracy, precision metrology range and will bring further and significant benefits to our customers.”

For more information on the wekomm product range please visit: evolutionmeasurement.com

Anritsu Corporation and its authorised Swiss distributor YOTAVIS AG have launched the Swiss Communication Competence Center (SCCC), an open telecommunication test laboratory that allows companies and engineers to test new products and innovations for quality, performance, and compatibility. The laboratory, located in the Switzerland Innovation Park in Biel/Bienne, offers an extensive range of measurement equipment, as well as a team of telecommunications technology specialists. These facilities allow to conduct a wide variety of measurement tasks within the neutral and confidential confines of the SCCC.

The SCCC is a creative space that will accelerate the use of the best new modern communication technologies in rapidly developing products such as autonomous cars, drones, wearable devices, smart IoT devices and much more.

As Riccardo Rossetti, the General Manager of Anritsu EMEA GmbH says: “Testing is at the core of ensuring quality, so we decided to bring our best Anritsu technologies to the SCCC to help the entire ecosystem with product development and enable faster time to market for their new innovative solutions. We want to establish strong cooperation with other key stakeholders to make sure the centre of excellence becomes an open environment where everyone – students, start-ups, our customers, and other organisations – can use the best testing technologies and Anritsu expertise in the latest communication technologies to build state of the art products.”

At every stage, from blueprint to a high performing and reliable product, engineers and companies from Switzerland and Europe need a variety of test methods to verify the performance of their devices. Thanks to the SCCC, which is fully equipped with an extensive range of ‘ready to use’ instruments, these tests can be done faster and at lower costs.

The on-demand equipment in the SCCC can emulate 3G, 4G, and 5G, as well as WLAN and Bluetooth or IoT wireless networks. For wired LAN and WAN networks, the SCCC allows the measurement of high-speed links, providing data on error performance, quality of fibre links, and much more.

Explaining the idea behind the SCCC, Stefan Junker, CEO of YOTAVIS AG, says: “This unique lab is created with a mission to establish easy access to high quality test and measurement solutions based on a concept of a ‘sharing community’ – engineers from industries such as electronics, healthcare, education, or research will have access to modern technologies without the need to invest in sometimes expensive equipment.”

The idea of an innovative test lab is also supported by ASUT, the independent association of the telecommunications industry in Switzerland. Its CEO Christian Grasse states: “It is remarkable that a globally active company like Anritsu is committed to establishing a centre of excellence in the communications sector. This commitment underlines the importance of Switzerland as a business location for the telecommunications industry.”

Renesas has completed the acquisition of Reality Analytics, Inc. (Reality AI), a leading provider of embedded AI solutions.

Headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, U.S., Reality AI offers a wide range of embedded AI and Tiny Machine Learning (TinyML) solutions for advanced non-visual sensing in automotive, industrial and commercial products. Combining Reality AI’s best-in-class AI inference technologies with Renesas’ extensive MCU and MPU product portfolios will enable seamless implementation of machine learning and signal processing. The acquisition will allow Renesas to expand its tool suite and software offerings for AI applications and increase its in-house capability to provide highly optimised endpoint solutions that combine both hardware and software.    

Renesas will continue to accelerate the delivery of end-point intelligence in a vast array of IIoT (Industrial IoT), consumer and automotive applications. Renesas’ MCU/MPU platforms with machine-learning algorithms will significantly enhance system development, providing customers with unmatched developer experience to make their applications AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things) ready and help them get to market faster.

Real-time sensor data is enabling smart factories to better understand their own processes, allowing more efficient operations. One of the most diverse and widely deployed type of sensor in the industrial internet of things (IIoT) is the pressure sensor. Here, Richard Mount, Director of Sales at ASIC design and supply company Swindon Silicon Systems, explores how integrating ASIC technology with a MEMS pressure sensor keeps smart factories operating safely and efficiently.

Smart factories use connected devices, machinery and production systems to continuously collect and share data. This data is used to inform decisions, improve processes and address any issues that arise — ultimately improving manufacturing efficiency.

According to the 2021 State of Manufacturing Report from Fictiv, 95 per cent of manufacturers agree that digital transformation is essential to their company’s future success. To collect the data necessary to enable digital transformation, smart factories use sensors to monitor a range of variables, such as the temperature of machinery, energy consumption, humidity and operating time. One such example of this is a pressure sensor.

Going with the flow

Differential pressure sensors measure the difference in pressure at two points and provide a comparative measurement between the two. They are frequently applied in industry to monitor processes where the medium is compared at two different points, for example the input and output of a filter.

If under normal conditions, the pressure between the influent pressure and the effluent pressure should be kept to a minimum, then by measuring the differential between the two, the data can show either a good operating condition or the onset of a failure. A failure such as a filter becoming blocked with contaminants would be detected due to the effluent pressure dropping, which would result in an increase in pressure difference.

If the pressure differential is detected, then this data can be used to alert factory employees of the issue so it can be rectified in a timely fashion. Where low power, size and performance is important, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology is now widely used for pressure sensors, which provide high-pressure resolution in ultra-compact and thin packages.

HVAC systems

In industry, HVAC systems are vital to maintain air quality, employee health and quality assurance benchmarks. Accurate pressure measurement is essential for optimal HVAC system performance. Sensors play a major role in improving the efficiency of these systems by monitoring various parts of the system and confirming that all parts are functioning properly.

MEMS pressure sensors can measure air flow and pressure throughout the system for effective air distribution, optimising a factory’s heating and cooling, as well as reducing energy consumption. The MEMS sensor measures pressure, be it absolute or differential, to provide real time analysis of the physical environment. This data is used to determine conditions and to make decisions accordingly, for example by alerting the system when maintenance and filter replacement is required, helping to keep the machinery and factory running efficiently.

The benefits of custom design

To enable a smart sensor, the MEMS pressure sensor requires additional functionality so the data can be conditioned, processed and communicated to the user. This can be achieved with a mixed signal ASIC that comprises signal conditioning circuitry,  microcontroller and programmable software along with wired or wireless communications. The ASIC delivers optimised performance that cannot be achieved with off the shelf components. The MEMS sensor can either be integrated into the ASIC or as a separate die that’s co-packaged with the ASIC in a System in Chip (SiP) configuration. In the case of pressure sensing and measurement, each sensor and ASIC can then be calibrated across variable pressures and temperatures to provide high performance accuracy.

Because ASICs are designed specifically for their intended application, they will deliver an optimised performance to the manufacturer’s specific requirements. An experienced ASIC partner will be able to understand the system and identify where ASIC design can unlock improvements, to optimise the entire signal path down to the finest detail.

Robust and reliable

Industrial pressure sensors tend to be located in challenging environments but are expected to perform accurately for many years. When designing an ASIC, the developers integrate as much of the circuitry as possible into a single package, thus reducing component count, which in turn increases robustness and reliability.

Standard IC components will inevitably go obsolete when either the component supplier develops a new part or if the sales volume or revenue drops below a certain level, meaning that supplying the part is seen as no longer financially viable. Even if the new part is an upgrade of an existing version, it will likely be incompatible with the system and design engineers will have to constantly redesign to accommodate the new component.

In contrast, ASICs are designed to ensure obsolescence should never become an issue. Fabless ASIC suppliers, such as Swindon, design their ASICs with product longevity as part of the development planning process and will provide assurances of lifetime support. If in the unlikely event of a process obsolescence, Swindon will work closely with the customer to develop a non-obsolescence plan if required.

This plan uses techniques such as storing wafers in on-site dry nitrogen cupboards, which in effect provides a die bank, where silicon is available for in excess of 30 years. ASIC technology, with the correct partner, ensures your pressure sensor can continue to be supplied for the lifetime of your product, without the need for costly system redesign and requalification.

Keeping your IP safe

Intellectual Property (IP) protection is a key ASIC strength, and a reliable ASIC supplier provides its customers with full ownership of the completed system design, to ensure their system IP is for their benefit and their benefit only. Choosing an ASIC partner that does not sell standard parts will also alleviate the risk of IP potentially being used at a future date in an in-house standard product.

Industrial pressure sensors are fundamental in monitoring processes for many applications, such as maintaining optimised HVAC performance, and ensuring a factory operates efficiently. Integrating an ASIC with the pressure sensor provides both commercial and technical advantages and ensures that it will continue to function and be available for many years.