News

Avnet Abacus has announced a new supplier agreement with MORNSUN, a leading manufacturer of advanced power products and technologies. The agreement will be showcased as part of the ‘Avnet City’ booth (Hall C2: Stand 101) at the Electronica 2022 trade fair in Munich from 15-18 November.

Founded in 1998, MORNSUN is a leading manufacturer of power supplies and has an enviable record of developing of cutting-edge power technologies, including the design of semiconductors and structures for its transformers and product housings. MORNSUN’s market-leading product ranges are widely use in industrial, medical, and telecoms applications. More recent successes have seen MORNSUN become a leading supplier into the EV charging, photovoltaic and smart home markets.

Over the past two decades, the manufacturer has applied for more than 1600 patents and introduced more than 6000 high-quality products ranging from AC/DC switching power supplies, DC/DC converters, transceivers, signal-conditioning modules, and DC/DC converters for IGBT and LED drivers, as well as developing products based upon the latest SiC and GaN technologies.

“We firmly believe that this partnership with Avnet Abacus is destined to be an exciting journey,” said Tiger Li, Director of Overseas Sales at MORNSUN Power China. “Building upon Avnet Abacus´s strong presence in Europe and highly professional sales and engineering teams, we will work together to provide an excellent service for our customers.”

Rolf Aschhoff, General Manager at MORNSUN Power GmbH, added: “Avnet Abacus is a leading distributor that has long-term experience and excellent technical know-how. This agreement provides us with a significant opportunity to accelerate the sales of our products in the EMEA region.”

“We are delighted to announce at Electronica 2022 this new relationship with one of today’s most innovative manufacturers of power supplies,” said Hagen Götze, Senior Director Marketing at Avnet Abacus. “The company’s commitment to spending a significant percentage of its revenues on R&D, including integrating the latest technologies into its products, in conjunction with its pledge to provide world-class customer support, promises a great future for our partnership.”

The fast and effective performance, safety and diagnostic testing of solar PV installations is provided by the lightweight and compact PV200/210 test instrument, now available from Seaward.

Combining accurate I-V curve analysis with essential electrical testing and using a push button operation, the battery-operated multi-function PV200/210 undertakes all the electrical commissioning tests required by IEC 62446. These include open circuit voltage, short circuit current, maximum power point voltage, current and power, and insulation resistance.  

Alongside the electrical tests, the instrument can also perform I-V curve measurements in accordance with IEC 61829 to determine if the measured curve deviates from the expected profile, highlighting the need for any further analysis or fault finding. The fill factor of PV systems can also be assessed. 

For detailed analysis, measured data can be transferred instantly from the test instrument to an accompanying PV mobile android app using wireless connectivity (NFC) to create high-definition colour displays of the I-V and power curves for individual PV modules or strings. In this way, the accurate visual comparison of curve shapes can be used for the immediate identification of potential problems such as shading, defective cells or poor electrical connections. Data can also be exported instantly to head office for further analysis and investigation.  

Wireless connectivity between the PV200/210 and the Solar Survey 200R meter also enables real-time irradiance to be displayed and measured at the same time as electrical testing is being undertaken. 

Irradiance and temperature data transferred to PVMobile can be used to convert measured electrical data to STC for direct comparison with manufacturers’ published data stored in the PVMobile database. 

Complete I-V curve and electrical test data can be stored in the onboard memory and downloaded to a PC in CSV format via USB connection for full traceability of system data and test records.  

When integrated with the optional SolarCert software program, downloaded data can be quickly and easily organized using a layered tree structure showing string, combiner box and inverter. In addition, professional inspection and test reports can be produced, including IEC 62446 measurements and I-V curve plots.  

The Seaward PV200/210 forms part of a comprehensive range of Seaward solar PV testing equipment and comes as the company marks its 40th anniversary in 2022. More at https://www.seaward.com/gb/products/solar/  

ION Science, a leading global manufacturer of photoionisation detection (PID) sensors for VOC monitoring, further invests in manufacturing technology. Following the recent construction of a purpose-built £4.5 million facility, significant investment continues into building the new ION Technology Centre for future innovation, to maintain ION’s position as an industry leader. This sustainable, environmentally focused facility enhances ION’s vision of protecting lives and preserving the environment.

“This investment is a good example of the advantages that can be gained from being a privately owned, independent company. We are free from corporate requirements dictating what should be in our technology portfolio, and we are able to invest in our own resources for the benefit of our customers,” explains Duncan Johns, Managing Director.

The expansion of ION’s facilities will further optimise and automate critical processes in sensor manufacturing. “This will enable us to fulfil our commitment to enhance the repeatability and stability of our products; quality measures for which our sensors are already world-renowned. We strongly believe that the freedom to focus on quality and standards allows us to offer the world’s best PID sensors, and with the largest global market share, it would appear that our customers agree.” continues Duncan Johns, Managing Director.

There are several key factors that underpin the levels of sensor quality that ION is able to deliver as an independent company. These are: 1) the widest range of PIDs in the world; 2) the only fail-safe PIDs on the market; 3) the best available temperature stability; 4) the best available humidity stability; and 5) the most sensitive PIDs on the market.

ION Science is able to assert that it offers the world’s widest range of PIDs because, unlike those companies that adopt a ‘one-lamp-fits-all’ policy, ION designs, develops and manufactures 10.0, 10.6 and 11.7 eV lamps. This is crucially important for OEMs because it means that their measurement capabilities are not restricted to compounds with an ionisation energy lower than 10.6 eV, for example. Therefore, ION’s customers are able to choose the best lamps for their applications, which improves sensitivity and widens the range of VOCs that can be measured.

Uniquely, ION’s PIDs (MiniPIDs) incorporate an ASIC chip, which continuously monitors lamp and sensor performance, providing fail-safe assurance of sensor health. The ASIC manages the sensor to give exceptional temperature stability to deliver a stable signal from -40 to +65 ^oC.

Humidity is a major challenge for many PID manufacturers, however, all of ION’s MiniPIDs have a patent protected design with a third electrode that overcomes this challenge, delivering a stable signal from 0 – 99% RH.

The sensitivity of PID sensors is extremely important in many applications; particularly where the sensors are deployed in the measurement of trace VOCs. Again, ION leads the field, offering MiniPIDs with ten times the sensitivity of other PID manufacturers.

Integration support is crucially important for OEM customers, especially in the early days of their partnership with ION, so this is a key focus for the company. As the developer and manufacturer of the world’s leading PIDs, ION is able to offer support at any level, but to avoid complacency, customers are also surveyed to check that ION is meeting, and exceeding expectations.

Product cost is of course a major consideration for PID customers, and the MiniPID lamps and stacks are fully serviceable in the field. This reduces lifetime cost, which also benefits end-users.

Summarising, Duncan Johns says: “As a private company, our independence means that we are free to continuously invest in our market-leading technologies. When OEMs integrate a PID Sensor in their products, it is their brand reputation that is at stake, so ION’s customers benefit from the assurance that every MiniPID provides high quality, reliable results. For that reason, we know that when it comes to PID sensors, ION is the only sensible choice.”

https://bit.ly/3AnGNR3

Drawing upon an extensive library of proven lens designs, nuclear industry specialists – Resolve Optics can quickly design and produce a custom radiation tolerant lens to exactly match your camera / sensor and application.

Over the last 20 years, Resolve Optics has supplied many hundreds of radiation tolerant camera and sensor lenses for monitoring radioactive processes in nuclear power, reprocessing and waste storage plants.

Mark Pontin, Managing Director of Resolve Optics said “Producing clear, sharp images free of a strong yellow tint has always been a drawback when using radiation tolerant lenses on colour sensors. Tasked by a leading nuclear systems integrator to provide a solution to this problem we custom developed a 10x zoom lens able to provide High Definition (HD) images and still maintain high radiation tolerance.   Whilst the yellow tint of cerium-doped glasses cannot be completely eliminated, through careful selection of specialist materials we have managed to minimise the yellow tint. This radiation tolerant 10x zoom lens provides 1080-pixel resolution and can be used on both 1/3rd and 2/3rd-inch format colour sensors. The lens can also be supplied with a motorising package that will drive zoom, iris and focus movements. Benefiting from a tracking zoom design, once you have set this lens up on your colour sensor it will remain in sharp focus”.

Manufactured to the highest quality standards from cerium doped glass, Resolve Optics radiation tolerant lenses can withstand radiation exposure of up to 100 kGy (100,000,000 rads) and temperatures up to 55 degrees centigrade without discolouration.

To discuss development of a radiation tolerant lens optimised for your camera/sensor and application please contact Resolve Optics on +44-1494-777100 or sales@resolveoptics.com. For further information on radiation tolerant lenses please visit www.resolveoptics.com/nuclear/.

Resolve Optics offers an extensive range of non-browning (radiation tolerant) fixed format and zoom lenses for use in environments subject to radiation. All these lenses are manufactured to the highest standards of quality and performance. 

Farnell has released the sixth and final episode in the second season of its global podcast series, The Innovation Experts. The podcast interview features Red Lion Controls, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of technology solutions for communication, industrial automation and networking.

In this new podcast episode, Red Lion Controls showcases how companies can leverage edge intelligence and integrated systems to access valuable process and automation data to improve operations. Red Lion’s Technical Business Development Manager, Barry Turner shares his views on the key requirements to build an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) framework and highlights the critical need for convergence of Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT).

Dave Beck, Global Director E-mech & Passives at Farnell said: “Red Lion Controls is experiencing growing demand from customers seeking to digitise brown-field sites and enhance existing applications by establishing an IIoT framework. One of the major challenges customers face is breaking down barriers between their information technology and operational technology departments, which have historically not always been compatible co-existents. In our final episode, we find out how Red Lion Controls helps customers identify a common goal clearly, integrate their respective systems and use each other’s expertise to successfully transition to Industry 4.0.”

Series 2: Industry 4.0 and the Future of Manufacturing shares the opinions of leading industry experts, uncovering the trends, challenges, products, and solutions that enable the global transition to Industry 4.0 principles and accelerate innovation in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Each episode in the series provides valuable insights for buyers, design engineers, and other industry professionals wanting to stay up to date with the latest trends, challenges, products, tools and applications.

All previous podcast episodes in Series 2 are now available on Farnell’s Technical Resources Hub, including:

• Episode 1: Upgrading to Industry 4.0 using new and existing measurements – The debut episode of the series focuses on how process and manufacturing companies can adopt Industry 4.0 principles by embracing digitisation. Omega Engineering’s Kevin Goohs discusses innovative ways to upgrade existing facility systems with critical solutions, such as sensors and new digital smart probes, to capture real-time information on the factory floor. Companies will understand edge monitoring and control, how to identify new mechanisms to deliver and analyse big data and why it’s important to run critical pilot project evaluations before committing to full system installation.
• Episode 2: Aligning sustainability, business strategy and partnerships with Industry 4.0 – Schneider Electric provides an exclusive overview of the company’s innovative approach to developing new technology solutions for the IIoT, including how key learnings are passed directly onto customers. According to Mark Yeeles, Vice President Industrial Automation, UK & Ireland, the secret to advancing the adoption of Industry 4.0 is to engage strategic partners who can help create fully optimised facilities. Engineers and facility managers will be empowered to make smarter and often autonomous decisions that can streamline processes and accelerate the transformation to digital success.
• Episode 3: Integration is the gateway to unlock Industry 4.0 – Advantech explains why integration is the gateway to unlocking the core principles of Industry 4.0 technology. Matt Dentino, Industrial Internet of Things Channel Manager for North America, explains how a long-standing policy of embracing open architecture has influenced the company’s approach to asset integration, energy management, digital transformation and real-time monitoring and analysis. Listeners will learn about the need for strategic business partnerships and the importance of embracing a new generation of engineers to maintain a competitive edge as Industry 4.0 supercharges the industrial world.
• Episode 4: Achieving process automation with design and analytics – Eaton showcases how companies can achieve process optimisation with innovative design and big data analytics to predict needs, inform smarter decision-making and generate new efficiencies. Alexandra Rangel, National PowerXpert Application Engineer for Eaton, uncovers the challenges and benefits for companies seeking to embrace Industry 4.0 principles and build digital factories for optimal performance. With the advancement of new technologies, Alexandra highlights the importance of having a digitisation strategy to support an organisation’s Industry 4.0 journey.
• Episode 5: Harnessing Industry 4.0 to build a better future – ABB provides detailed insights on their comprehensive digitisation program designed to increase end-to-end transparency and visibility. ABB’s Massimiliano Cifalitti and Fabio Monachesi share their perspectives on how Industry 4.0 is driving a technology revolution and provide real-world examples to showcase how significant improvements in safety, productivity and cost reductions can be achieved. However, they agree that Industry 4.0 is not just about technology. Companies must partner with the right people who share a common goal to increase productivity in a way that is safe and environmentally sustainable, with corporate responsibility becoming a key pillar of the new industrial era.

Red Lion Controls has delivered innovative solutions for key sectors including communication, monitoring and control for industrial automation and networking since 1972. The company’s technologies enable customers worldwide to gain real-time data visibility that drives enhanced productivity. Red Lion is part of Spectris plc, the productivity-enhancing instrumentation and controls company.

The Innovation Experts podcast is freely available from major podcast providers including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

The final podcast episode of Series 2: Industry 40 and the Future of Manufacturing featuring Red Lion Controls is available now on Farnell’s Technical Resources Hub.

Emerson has signed a five-year framework agreement with Equinor to provide operational support services to ensure continued safe and optimised oil and gas production from its pioneering Martin Linge platform in the Norwegian North Sea. The service agreement, which includes options for three additional five-year periods, covers maintenance and upgrades of the control technology, software and instrumentation. These technologies are helping to accelerate carbon-efficient production and empower remote operation from onshore for increased worker safety and reduced operating costs.

Martin Linge is a significant development for Norwegian oil and gas production, with expected recoverable resources of around 260 million barrels of oil equivalent. Emerson’s technology, project expertise and global resources were crucial in helping achieve first oil safely, and with the award of this service contract, Equinor gains continued support to optimise production, reduce energy consumption and emissions, and maximise the potential of the Martin Linge development.

Martin Linge, situated 42 kilometres west of Oseberg, was the first platform on the Norwegian continental shelf to be started up from shore. The 63 billion Norwegian krone (USD 7.3 billion) mega-project includes a production platform and a permanently anchored floating storage and offloading (FSO) vessel. These facilities are powered from onshore via the world’s longest alternating-current sea cable, helping to reduce CO₂ emissions by 200,000 tonnes per year. Oil is processed on the FSO vessel before being transported in shuttle tankers to the global market, while gas is transported via pipeline to St. Fergus, Scotland.

“With proven automation technologies, collaborative work practices and extensive experience, Emerson is the ideal choice for a trusted partner on energy industry projects of this scale and magnitude,” said Mark Bulanda, executive president of Emerson’s Automation Solutions business. “With this service agreement, we look forward to helping Equinor achieve continued safe and carbon efficient production.”

The award of the service agreement follows Emerson’s implementation of a complete automation solution for the project, which incorporates the company’s DeltaV distributed control system; advanced wired and wireless measurement instrumentation; critical control, emergency shutdown and isolation valves; metering technology and asset management software. This technology enables both the platform and the FSO vessel to be mainly operated from an onshore control room in Stavanger, with offshore operators able to access the control system interface via mobile handheld devices, resulting in increased worker flexibility and efficiency. Controlling the production facilities in this manner enables three shifts of operators to work from onshore rather than offshore, reducing risk to personnel and minimising costs.

Emerson’s cloud engineering services and digital twin technology, played a crucial role in the successful delivery of the project and first oil being safely achieved. The company’s Remote Virtual Office (RVO) platform enabled project personnel around the world to collaborate securely in a virtual engineering, commissioning and testing environment, regardless of their location. This not only reduced travel requirements – which was vital due to COVID-19 restrictions – but also had a significant impact on project schedule, risk and costs. Emerson’s digital twin technology also enabled significant project and operational benefits such as streamlining commissioning of the control system, helping Equinor train its operators to experience real-life scenarios before the control system went live, and make continued improvements that help to optimise production, and reduce energy consumption and emissions.

In August 2022, Google Cloud announced that it will shut down its Internet of Things (IoT) Core services by August 2023. The services are relied-upon by businesses around the world to support data analytics, machine learning, predictive maintenance and more. As these companies now face a decision on which replacement platform to choose, this is the ideal time to reevaluate your IoT needs. Here, Stefan Reuther, chief sales officer at automation supplier COPA-DATA, discusses why when it comes to IoT platforms, independence might be the best choice.

The announcement that Google will be shutting down its Google IoT Core services will inevitably impact those who use the service as an integral part of their IoT systems. The platform currently acts as a connection between customer devices and IoT applications, and supports companies’ data analytics, machine learning, predictive maintenance and more. Without it, businesses will no longer be able to access their devices or exchange data and will lose access to the service’s application programming interface (API).

The news means that companies that have already invested money, time, and staff into implementing the system will now need to revise their efforts, or determine the most effective new system for their operations.

What lessons can be learned from this? One is that, while Google is undoubtedly one of the largest and most successful IT companies, the closure of its platform highlights that the size of a provider shouldn’t necessarily be a deciding factor. Larger companies have a wider range of services in their portfolio, but this also means they can cancel any of these services at any point.

Indeed, using IoT hub services from large companies has other limitations, too. Customers are dependent on IT infrastructures and applications from the company and its partners, and must ensure their business’s own IT and operational technology (OT) components are compatible with the platform.

Companies that have built their IoT architecture around Google IoT core now face the decision of which alternative solution to choose, whether to start a new system with a new provider, or to migrate their data to another platform. Although some Google partners or public platforms offer migration services, which allow the customer to move their data from one platform to another, depending on the compatibility of the data with the new platform this process can be even more complex than starting from scratch.

Going OT

Another option is to switch to a cloud-agnostic IoT solution, which allows the user to remain vendor-independent. That’s where using platforms from the OT field can be beneficial. Compatibility, interoperability and communication are already fundamental for OT companies working in industrial automation, which means they already understand the needs of the customer and how to meet them. In the automation industry there are hundreds of important historical and current protocols and systems in existence for commercial reasons already. IT systems in the automation industry also have long life cycles, which means that large amounts of data are often stored in them.

Understanding all these different systems and how to work across them to meet the requirements of IoT users is key, and using the services of established OT companies that know exactly what customers need from a platform can be hugely beneficial. That’s why OT companies, such as automation supplier COPA-DATA, already have the knowledge and experience at the field level, and the capability to help their customers to extract important data.

Future proofing

COPA-DATA understands this, meaning that its IoT customers can expect a holistic and vendor-independent solution that is compatible with all their existing systems, both internal and external.

COPA-DATA has developed its zenon IoT service as an extension of its zenon automation software, to link with cloud architecture. The service allows users to exchange data between their assets and IoT applications, and to access and integrate all field data easily with other zenon or third-party applications. Its web-based management tool allows easier, centralised management for superior security and integrity.

The zenon IoT service is also easy-to-implement out of the box, with edge and cloud integration capabilities through Representational State Transfer (REST) application programming interface (API), an interface that allows interaction with REST web services. REST is a set of constraints that dictate how web applications communicate via the internet which confer speed and flexibility advantages for communication and software integration. With the process simplified, customers can focus on the applications they need, and zenon will keep the services maintained and fully up-to-date.

The platform is especially useful because it’s possible to integrate any third-party applications on the market, or for companies to develop their own applications that are compatible with zenon IoT services, for exceptional flexibility and operational agility.

Embracing IoT systems can help to optimise industrial operations while ensuring maximum flexibility and productivity. When deciding on a platform, it’s important to consider your current architecture and compatibility, and which system will best work with these to meet your requirements.

Moving to an OT Cloud-agnostic system like zenon is simple to implement and fully interoperable, without the limitations of being tied to a specific vendor. Though the cancellation of any widely used Cloud service is bound to be inconvenient for users, the closure of Google IoT Core will give users a chance to reevaluate their needs when it comes to automation and digitalisation. With automation on the rise, industrial operations need a system that’s flexible and agile and will evolve with their business — that’s why independence could be the way forward.

Still undecided about what your IIoT solution of tomorrow should look like? Visit the COPA-DATA website for more information.

The UK’s largest annual gathering of engineering and manufacturing professionals, Advanced Engineering, returned to the NEC, Birmingham on November 2 and 3 for its 13^th edition. Here, companies at the forefront of the UK’s engineering and manufacturing industry showcased their most cutting edge technology, and experts united to discover the latestinnovations. Attendees were also treated to talks from leading industry figures, including representatives from Siemens, Ford, Jaguar Land Rover, Make UK, Rolls-Royce and Airbus.

 409 exhibitors attended Advanced Engineering this year, with 85 per cent rebooking for next year. Once again, the show was co-located with Lab Innovations, which also achieved record breaking rebooking rates.

This year, over 8,800 people attended Advanced Engineering — 27 per cent more than in 2021. This included representatives from Aston Martin, BAE Systems, Boeing, McLaren, Microsoft, Nissan and Toyota. Daniel Chambers, Lead Quality Engineer at Lotus Cars commented, “The show allowed me to make connections with people I would have never otherwise spoken to. I found lots of solutions to problems from networking and discussing the industry with other attendees.”

Jeremy Cowle, Business Development and UK Sales Manager, Testia, An Airbus Company said, “Out of the five shows we have exhibited at this year, this was by far the best. With varied talks and a great layout there was more foot traffic and a far more diverse range of enquiries. Great show — Testia is booked for next year already.”

Advanced Engineering’s dedicated innovation areas proved popular again this year, with the spaces across the show floor given to the University of Manchester, two Formula Student teams, Crover, Bcomp, Plastron and Attentional Machines. Here, visitors got to see the latest innovations in graphene, electric vehicles, composites, drone technology, spacecraft propulsion and robotics, from companies right at the forefront of their respective fields.

Across the two days, visitors had access to over 50 hours of free CPD accredited learning, courtesy of the four forums across the show floor. These were sponsored by Hexagon, Aerospace Manufacturing, The University of Strathclyde, DER Industrialisation Centres, Manufacturing and Engineering Magazine, GRP Solutions, Cristex, HP, Ripley Solutions and RS Components.

This year, the show launched its official app, which helped the event reduce its impact on the environment as a result of reduced paper show guides. With so many groundbreaking talks and innovative product launches across the show floor, many relied on the app to pre-arrange meetings, ensuring that everyone had a successful and productive visit without missing out on what was on offer. Further meetings took place as part of the ADS and SMMT Meet the Buyer programme, which matched buyers from leading aerospace and automotive manufacturers with suppliers and partners from the wider industry. This was the inaugural year for Meet the Buyer and it was a huge success, with 125 meetings arranged by ADS and 139 arranged by the SMMT. Buyers included Nissan, BMW, Rolls-Royce, Airbus and QinetiQ.

The Enabling Innovation competition was once again a big hit, with nine start-ups selected to present their innovation in front of an audience and judging panel on day two of the show. Crowds gathered to see the chosen companies showcase their achievements, before the judging panel, comprising of competition sponsor, SETSquared and representatives from InnovationDB and Advanced Engineering selected aerogel manufacturing pioneer, Dragonfly Insulation as this year’s winner.  The innovative start-up have won a stand at next year’s exhibition for free, which will act as a stepping stone for the business to achieve further success by meeting future customers. SMDR and Lineat Composites were awarded second and third place respectively.

Jeremy Whittingham, consultant for science, engineering and technology organisations, and part of this year’s judging panel said, “Dragonfly Insulation’s presentation was very much geared towards investors, who might have been in the audience, which we thought was a very clever move. It talked specifically about the benefit of using its specific materials and brought out the uniqueness of the product extremely well.”

Despite being a year away, the high level of rebooking means that there are already limited stands available for Advanced Engineering 2023. It’s already shaping up to be an excellent event, full of innovation. To enquire, visit the Advanced Engineering website.

RS Group has announced the winner of its Air Quality Project, which began at the end of last year and is part of RS’ DesignSpark #ActivistEngineering programme.

The initiative was created to engage and inspire design engineers across the globe to create new ideas and technology to help deal with the vast challenges presented by climate change. Specifically, the Air Quality Project competition called upon the DesignSpark community of engineers to become beta testers to help deploy RS’ Environmental Sensor Development Kit (ESDK) and then share their projects and experiences.

The winning entry announced by the competition judges is Air Quality as Art, which was created by DesignSpark user Mike Sheldon. The project essentially creates an engaging way to monitor current environmental conditions by using artificial intelligence (AI) to draw an artistic picture representing the output of the ESDK’s air quality sensors.

Some of the images generated by the project can be seen on Twitter by following @airqualityart. In addition to his entry, RS commented that Mike also showed great community spirit in helping to develop the ESDK’s user interface, which was published on GitHub and thereby providing access to the information for all DesignSpark users.

In addition to the winner, the judges also made special recommendations for two other entries. The first was for Air Quality Monitoring in a Community Workshop, where Andrew Lindsay installed an ESDK within a community workshop to monitor conditions and detect increases in particulate matter, for example, when using the CNC router, and provide a red/amber/green visual indication of air quality. The second special recommendation was for Electrosync for using the ESDK to measure The Effects of Different 3D Printing Resins on Air Quality in a Workshop Environment.

“Our judges would like to thank everyone who entered into the competition,” said Pete Wood, Head of DesignSpark Experience at RS. “We had an amazing response, and we received many highly innovative entries from projects that monitor environmental conditions around the home or at work to those that created light and sound.”

“The Air Quality Project is a great initiative, and I learnt a lot from the DesignSpark team and also from the other entries,” said Mike Sheldon, winner of the Air Quality Project competition. “I hope that my project can help people connect with air quality on an emotional level beyond raw sensor readings, making the monitoring of the local environment an engaging and ever-changing process. I plan to use the prize money to help create more projects at the intersection of art and technology, focusing on both environmentalism and assistive technologies.”

Optical Components are manufactured from a wide range of substrates, and the very materials they’re fabricated from dictate their suitability for specific tasks. Here, Knight Optical – the leading supplier of metrology-tested, custom-made optics – explores some of the most common substrates that are used for IR applications in its books and lists some of their typical uses.

Check out our custom-made infrared optics, here!

Sapphire (Al2O3)

When thinking of sapphire, many may summon images of the delicate, precious deep-blue tones of elegant rings, earrings, and necklaces. However, when it comes to optical components, Sapphire, also known as Al2O3, substrates really pack a punch.

Produced synthetically for optical purposes, Sapphire is tough, boasts chemical resistance and features high transmission and thermal conductivity. It’s also the second hardest crystal available (after diamond) and is, therefore, a sought-after substrate for many engineers, designers, and manufacturers looking for durable optics for their applications.

What are Sapphire Optical Components Used For?

Sapphire can be used to make a wide range of optics. These include Windows, Lightguides, Lenses, Prisms, and many more. Thanks to its durability and resistance to scratches, the substrate is commonly specified for today’s luxury watch faces. You can also find Sapphire in the form of Windows in everything from laser-based medical devices to underwater cameras.

Find out more about the advantages of opting for Sapphire here.

Germanium (Ge)

With the same crystal structure as diamond, Germanium is highly popular for products that operate in the infrared (IR) region. As a high-density substrate, it’s often used in applications that aren’t concerned with the weight of components. As well as its load considerations, it’s also worth bearing in mind that Germanium is unsuitable for use in systems that operate above 100ºC.

What are Germanium (Ge) Optical Components Used For?

As stated, you can typically find Germanium in applications that make use of the IR wavelength. It usually takes shape in the form of Longpass Filters, due to its visible and UV band-blocking abilities, as Prisms for FTIR spectroscopy, and as Windows and Lenses for forward-looking infrared (FLIR) systems and thermal imaging applications.

Check out the advantages of opting for Germanium optics here.

Zinc Selenide (ZnSe)

A polycrystalline substrate, Zinc Selenide (ZnSe) readily transmits from 600nm to 21µm, with around 70% transmission between 1 and 15µm. Although a hazardous material, ZnSe is insoluble in water, high in purity, chemically inert and has a high damage threshold.

What Are Zinc Selenide (ZnSe) Optical Components Used For?

Highly popular in CO₂ laser systems – especially in the form of laser-grade IR Lenses and Beam Combiners – Zinc Selenide (ZnSe) is employed in a wide range of optic varieties. These include Resonator and Optical Windows – used to separate the gas medium from the resonator optics and protect in both FLIR and thermal imaging applications, retrospectively – and Prisms.

Find out more about the advantages of opting for ZnSe optics here.

Zinc Sulphide (ZnS)

Softer than ZnSe, Zinc Sulphide (ZnS) is a widely-used IR-transmitting material that is normally used to form a range of optics – from Lenses and Prisms to Windows and Blanks. With a pale yellow to clear appearance, it transmits at about 50% between 0.4 and 12μm, dropping off to zero near 15μm.

What Are Zinc Sulphide (ZnS) Optical Components Used For?

Much like ZnSe, this substrate is highly desirable for CO₂ lasers in the form of Resonator Windows, thanks to its low absorbance in the IR spectrum, as well as for FLIR systems.

Read more about the advantages of opting for ZnS optics here.

Silicon (Si)

One of the hardest minerals and optical materials available for use in the near-infrared (NIR) [1µm] to about 6µm, Silicon (Si) is often used as a lighter weight substitute for Germanium, thanks to its lower density. It also has a lower refractive index than Germanium.

What are Silicon (Si) Optical Components Used For?

In the form of Windows and Lenses, Silicon is often used as a more lightweight, cost-effective alternative for NIR and medium-wave infrared (MWIR) thermal imaging applications.

Interested in learning more about the advantages of opting for Si optics? Click here.

Crystalline Quartz (SiO2)

A naturally occurring birefringent material, Crystalline Quartz (SiO2) transmits at 90% between 0.18 and 3.5µm. Therefore, you can use it for applications that work in the ultraviolet (UV) to near-infrared (NIR) regions. Amongst its known properties, SiO2 is birefringent, high in purity and insoluble in water.

What are Crystalline Quartz (SiO2) Optical Components Used For?

Used at temperatures below 490°C, SiO2 substrates can be found in the shape of windows, prisms, beamsplitters and waveplates, the latter of which is used for applications that comprise a laser or IR light source as it has a high damage threshold.

Take a look at the advantages of opting for SiO2 optics here.

Gallium Arsenide (GaAs)

A tough IR-transmitting material, Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) shares many mechanical properties with Germanium (Ge). Alongside its hardness of HK750, it is also chemically stable and non-hygroscopic. Transmitting at around 40% between 2 and 15µm, with a low absorbance, a broadband antireflective (BBAR) coating can be applied to increase GaAs’ spectral performance.

What are Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) Optical Components Used For?

Coupled with its durability and transmission in both the medium-wave infrared (MWIR) [3 and 5µm] and long-wave infrared (LWIR) [8 and 12µm] wavebands, GaAs Lenses and Windows are also an ideal substrate for FLIR systems. What’s more, it is currently the most efficient material for converting solar energy to electricity, so it’s commonly used as high-efficiency solar cells.

Learn more about the advantages of opting for GaAs optics here.

The above are just a select few substrates that are typically used in IR-operating systems.

For a full list of our IR substrates, please click here.

Why Choose Knight Optical for your Application?

Discerning customers rely on Knight Optical not only for the premium quality of our output and in-house state-of-the-art Metrology Laboratory and QA Department’s capabilities but because – as well as a range of Stock Optics (available for next-day dispatch) – we also offer our optics as Custom-Made Components.

With over three decades of experience under our belt and a host of long-standing world-renowned customers on our books, we are proud to have worked on some of the most ground-breaking innovations.

If you are looking for premium-quality, bespoke optical components, please do not hesitate to get in touch with a member of the Technical Sales Team here.