News

As ever-more demands are place on our IT systems, so there is a pressing need for upgrading existing infrastructure and for these installations to be done in the shortest possible time to allow businesses to remain competitive.

Customers are increasingly demanding racks that can accommodate the future requirements of server and network gear as these needs evolve.

This places huge pressure on IT and clearly increases the need to employ flexible, easy-to-install rack systems that can be used for many different applications. Meanwhile, the process of ordering and configuring racks also needs to be made as easy as possible. To this end, Rittal has created RittalXpress, which offers rapid distribution of a specially selected range of its most popular TS IT racks and accessories.

Rittal’s TS IT Data Centre Solutions gives IT users unrivalled structure and support through its flexible design and wide array of accessories.

Its TS IT racks offer an efficient internal space, variable widths and depths, and baying versatility. Their standard parts allow users to configure solutions that are tailored to individual data centres and allow for efficient cabling and thermal management (to protect sensitive electrical equipment from rising temperatures as the number of internal components increases).

Meanwhile, the RittalXpress delivery service ensures that solutions arrive on-site quickly.

“We’re making express delivery of the TS IT Rack as simple as ABC,” says Emma Ryde, Rittal Product Manager for IT and Industrial Enclosures.

“A: Choose your rack, B: Choose your accessories and C: Choose your delivery.

“The RittalXpress service offers a carefully selected range of TS IT network/server rack options, plus accessories. These items are available either for 24-hour despatch for unassembled units, or seven working days for configured units,” adds Emma.

The global demand for sensors for ventilators keeps increasing. As a leading sensor technology manufacturer, Sensirion has made a giant development leap and is now introducing the new flow sensor SFM3019 to the market. The sensor has been optimised for respiratory applications and is available in high volumes.

A dedicated team of developers has been working very hard in recent weeks to develop a new sensor for respiratory devices that allows easy integration into ventilators due to its very high scalability. Thanks to the tireless efforts of numerous employees, the flow sensor SFM3019 is now for sale after its successful market introduction and will help respirator manufacturers to realise new devices and cover the high demand.

“Sensirion’s DNA is a mix of innovation and incredible team spirit. Especially in times like these, we can experience the pronounced solidarity throughout the company. Promoting health has always been a big driving force at Sensirion. This is why we not only aim to maintain the production of existing sensors for respiratory devices under observation of the highest safety and hygiene measures, but also to realise innovations at the same time so that we can provide even more sensor technology for life-saving respirators,” says Marc von Waldkirch, CEO of Sensirion.

The flow sensor SFM3019 is available in a digital and an analogue version. Like all other sensors in medical technology, the SFM3019 is based on Sensirion’s established CMOSens technology. In addition, it was developed on the basis of existing components that have been tried and tested for years and guarantee the highest reliability and precise measuring.

The digital version can measure both oxygen and air and a mixture of both elements with the highest accuracy.

Engineers at the Coventry-based Manufacturing Technology Centre have developed a fast-make protective shield for front line NHS staff involved in the intubation procedure for COVID-19 patients needing linked up to ventilators.

The shields, developed in collaboration with medical experts and industrial partners Rolls-Royce PLc, Aston Martin and Multimatic, with wider support from Innovate UK, have been developed from prototype to manufacture in less than a week.

The MTC and associated partners are in the process of manufacturing the first batch of 1,000 units and is also working with the manufacturing supply chain to ramp up immediate capacity to at least 200 units a day to meet expected NHS demand.

MTC chief executive Dr Clive Hickman said, “The acrylic shields with access panels for medical staff are manufactured as complete units or can be produced as flat-pack self-assembly kits. The shield has undergone several design changes during its rapid development following trials in three hospitals and extended trials at a further seven hospitals. Feedback from medical professionals suggests that the shields can be used during the intubation and extubation processes, and may also be useful for other medical procedures beyond COVID-19 treatment.”

“It is anticipated that the NHS may need several thousand of these shields and we are delighted to be playing our part in protecting frontline NHS staff during this challenging time,” he added.

Neil Mantle, Rolls-Royce director, manufacturing technology, added, “The team has been working at full speed, motivated by the demand from anaesthetists and hospitals across the UK. We have transformed an important idea into manufacture in such a short space of time and I would like to thank all my colleagues.”

Aston Martin Lagonda president and group chief executive Andy Palmer said, “Times of crisis are also times of great innovation and we are delighted to be working with Multimatic and the MTC to produce the intubation shield for the intensive care staff.”

A technical pack for the flat-pack intubation shield and a video demonstrating the use of the shield are available via the MTC web site here: http://www.the-mtc.org/news-items/intubation-shield-supporting-our-frontline-nhs-workers.

Further open-source technical packs including drawings and assembly instructions will be published by the MTC in the next day or two, ensuring other manufacturers have access to the designs.

The Analog Devices Foundation is helping to combat the global fight against COVID-19. The Foundation is the Analog Devices‘ platform for engineering a better future with its mission to address many of the complex societal issues that impact the communities in which ADI lives and works.

The Analog Devices Foundation has announced its support of the World Health Organization (WHO) COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund powered by the UN Foundation and a partnership with Global Citizen on its televised and streamed special “One World: Together At Home”. The WHO is leading the global effort to prevent, detect and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Fund was created to implement the COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan to track and contain the spread of the virus, ensure patients and frontline workers get the resources they need, and accelerate efforts to develop vaccines, tests and treatments. In addition, ADI and the Analog Devices Foundation will provide an accelerated match of ADI employee donations made to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for WHO.

“We are all affected by the growing COVID-19 pandemic. It is our moral obligation and duty to support the essential work of organisations making a difference in combating this fight,” said Vincent Roche, president and CEO of ADI. “We can all make a difference and that’s why we are especially pleased to partner with Global Citizen and support their Together At Home initiative, which will be a source of inspiration and encouragement during this challenging period.”

The Analog Devices Foundation is supporting Global Citizen’s effort “One World: Together At Home”, the global televised and streamed special that will air on 18 April 2020 at 8pm EDT on ABC, NBC, ViacomCBS Networks, iHeart Media and Bell Media networks and platforms in Canada. BBC One will run the programme on Sunday 19 April 2020. Additional broadcasters include MultiChoice and RTE. It will also stream online via Amazon Prime Video, Apple, Facebook, iHeartRadio, Instagram, Tencent, Tidal, TuneIn, Twitch, Twitter, Yahoo, YouTube and TKTK.

“One World: Together At Home” will include stories from healthcare heroes battling the spread of COVID-19, as well as messages of gratitude and appreciation from those that they have helped. It will include segments from WHO and UN global health experts, with appearances and performances curated in collaboration with Lady Gaga. Broadcast to include Alanis Morissette, Andrea Bocelli, Billie Eilish, Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day, Burna Boy, Chris Martin, David Beckham, Eddie Vedder, Elton John, FINNEAS, Idris and Sabrina Elba, J Balvin, John Legend, Kacey Musgraves, Keith Urban, Kerry Washington, Lang Lang, Lizzo, Maluma, Paul McCartney, Priyanka Chopra Jonas,  Shah Rukh Khan and Stevie Wonder.

“As we honour and support the heroic efforts of community health workers, ‘One World: Together At Home’ aims to serve as a source of unity and encouragement in the global fight to end COVID-19,” said Hugh Evans, co-founder and CEO of Global Citizen. Through music, entertainment and impact, the global live-cast will celebrate those who risk their own health to safeguard everyone else’s.

Endress+Hauser has been placed in the top ranking of companies in the EcoVadis sustainability audit for the fourth time in a row. The Group again improved its overall result: with 72 points, Endress+Hauser is now among the leading two per cent of all suppliers in the comparison group.

Since 2013 Endress+Hauser has been evaluated annually by EcoVadis with regards to sustainability; since 2016 the Group has regularly achieved Gold Recognition Level ratings. The company again scored well or very well in the areas examined, namely environmental protection, fair business practices, sustainable procurement, working conditions and human rights. This makes Endress+Hauser one of the best rated companies in the comparison group.

Valuable contribution to sustainable development

“The challenges of the future demand that we and our customers manage our businesses sustainably,” emphasized Matthias Altendorf, CEO of the Endress+Hauser Group. “We help our customers to increase their resource efficiency, reduce CO2 emissions, avoid waste and improve the circular economy through outstanding measurement technology and automation solutions.”

The company also makes its own contribution to keeping its ecological footprint as small as possible. For example, Endress+Hauser increasingly supplies buildings and infrastructure with sustainably generated energy or reduces travel, for example through virtual meetings. The EcoVadis report also highlights progress at management level, especially in dealing with issues such as environmental protection, working conditions and human rights and fair business practices.

Analysis based on global comparisons

EcoVadis uses 21 environmental, social and ethical criteria to evaluate companies worldwide in terms of their sustainability. In addition to an industry comparison, companies also receive suggestions for improvement. They can also use an internet platform to assess their own suppliers accordingly. According to EcoVadis, this network now encompasses 60,000 companies worldwide.

Endress+Hauser publishes detailed information on the EcoVadis report and the sustainability audit at www.endress.com/ecovadis

The Rittal Wire Station 540 mobile wiring table is a fully ergonomic, modular and flexible working platform.

The Wire Station offers many benefits for workstations across panel building, switchgear manufacturing and in electro-mechanical workshops.  For example, thanks to its modularity, the table can be tailored to suit a company’s assembly process.  It also allows workshops to take a further step towards automation when used alongside Rittal’s automatic Wire Terminal wire processing machine and the EPLAN Smart Wiring software tool.

Wiring components in panel building and switchgear manufacturing is still a very manual process.  Even workshops using the Rittal Wire Terminal still need to install wires by hand, either within the enclosure or on the mounting plate. The same is true of assembling cables with larger cross-sections as well as connectors.

Fully Customisable Wire Workstation

Rittal’s new Wire Station 540 is based on a work table that can be adjusted to suit both the person and their working situation.

Optional accessories include a powerful, dimmable LED light, socket strips and a multi-functional monitor holder. There is also a drawer for storing hand-held tools, cable reels, wire packs and storage trays.

Furthermore, semi-automatic hardware for wire processing – including automatic cut-to-length, insulation stripping and crimping machines – can be easily integrated.

The workstation – which can be fitted with an optional screen – can be used in conjunction with the EPLAN Smart Wiring software.  It includes a holder into which can be attached wire rail magazines from a wire terminal wire processing machine.

In addition, work on wires with larger cross-sections as well as special wire-end treatment, can be carried out efficiently and easily on the wiring workstation.

Wire with Ease

The Wire Station is mounted on casters, meaning it is fully mobile, while the (manually or automatically assembled) wires, plus all the tools and semi-automatic machines, as well as the additionally required material, are always at hand.

It means that panel builders no longer need to waste time shuttling backwards and forwards between the enclosure and their workbench.

Thanks to the ingenuity and hard work of its production team, HWM is able to support local hospitals by donating life-saving PPE equipment that it has designed and manufactured in South Wales.

Having learned that his local hospital was short of visors, HWM’s production engineer Marc quickly designed a visor using a 3D printed headband, an elastic cord, some foam tape and an acetate A4 file divider!

Marc’s design allows for the acetate to be easily sanitised for re-use or quickly replaced should this be preferred.

So far HWM have been able to produce around 30 of these visors, but with a small redesign the company has been able to cut the production time in half. HWM now have capacity to produce up to 90 a week which it will continue to donate to hospitals in Bridgend, Cardiff, Swansea and the new Nightingale Hospital being opened at the Principality Stadium.

As part of the Halma Group, HWM has been able to share the design and 3D printing details with group members in the hope that they will be able to help their local hospitals also.

Due to the high demand for medical technology, LASER COMPONENTS Detector Group has switched its production of IR detectors to multi-shift operation. The components manufactured in Arizona are important key elements in the examination of the CO2 level in breath gas analysis. Due to the current situation, production capacities in the medical technology sector must be increased significantly to provide urgently needed equipment.

In spectroscopic breath gas analysis, PbSe detectors can quickly detect the smallest fluctuations in CO2 concentration even without additional cooling. They can therefore be integrated into medical devices in a space-saving manner. In ventilators, the carbon dioxide content of exhaled air is measured to check whether the patient has absorbed the oxygen provided.

LASER COMPONENTS Detector Group’s portfolio includes all common IR technologies. The production facility in the U.S. state of Arizona primarily manufactures (x-)InGaAs-PIN photodiodes, pyroelectric DLaTGS and LiTaO3 detectors, and PbS and PbSe detectors. With many years of experience and employees who are known in the industry as proven experts, LASER COMPONENTS Detector Group has established itself as the global market leader for PbSe technology. In the E.U., LASER COMPONENTS is leading the campaign to extend RoHS exemptions to continue use of this technology in such important industries as medical technology.

LASER COMPONENTS’ IR detectors are supplied to well-known medical technology manufacturers. Coordination with these customers currently determines the international day-to-day business in order to ensure rapid delivery of critical components.

Global engineering company, Renishaw, has started mass-producing critical components for medical ventilators, as part of a nationwide effort to support the NHS in the fight against Covid-19.  The company has dedicated a significant part of its manufacturing sites in Gloucestershire and South Wales to produce precision-machined components for two different ventilators manufactured by the VentilatorChallengeUK consortium, with production at the sites now running seven days a week. This follows a huge effort from the project, manufacturing engineering and production teams over the last two weeks.

Like many companies across the UK, Renishaw reacted to the UK government’s call to radically increase ventilator production to treat coronavirus patients suffering with respiratory complications.  Tens of thousands of these complex machines are needed in just a few weeks.

Marc Saunders, Director of Group Strategic Development, who is leading Renishaw’s response, explains, “When the government called, we scrambled to respond, and immediately realised the daunting scale of the challenge.  Ventilators are sophisticated medical devices and we felt that our capabilities would be best applied to helping scale up the production of designs with existing technologies. We soon realised that many other industrial companies were thinking the same way and that we would need our combined capacity and capabilities to achieve this enormous endeavour.”

Within a few days, Renishaw joined with leading companies in the aerospace, automotive, medical devices and motorsport sectors to form the VentilatorChallengeUK consortium, under the leadership of Dick Elsy, CEO of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult.  This diverse team is working non-stop to boost production of two proven ventilators, selected by the NHS and manufactured in the UK by Penlon and Smiths Medical.

Dick Elsy explains, “Penlon and Smiths ordinarily have combined capacity of between 50 and 60 ventilators per week. However, thanks to the scale and resources of the wider consortium, we are targeting production of at least 1,500 units a week of the Penlon and Smiths models combined within a matter of weeks. Ventilators are intricate and highly complex pieces of medical equipment and it is vital that we balance the twin imperatives of speed of delivery with the absolute adherence to regulatory standards that is needed to ensure patient safety.”

Within this context, Renishaw’s manufacturing activities form part of a complex network of suppliers that the consortium is coordinating, many of whom, like Renishaw, are making ventilator components for the first time.  Mass-production of ventilators, each of which comprises hundreds of diverse components, requires millions of parts to come together for assembly, a huge logistical operation.

“To prepare for the important work that we are undertaking, both for the ventilator project and our global customers in critical supply chains, we temporarily closed our UK manufacturing facilities last week to introduce additional measures to protect the welfare of our employees”, explains Gareth Hankins, Director of Group Manufacturing Services at Renishaw.

He continues, “We have reorganised our factories to increase spacing, as well as zoning areas to restrict movement around the sites.  Hygiene regimes have also been enhanced to minimise the potential risk of the spread of infection.  Our staff have responded magnificently to this challenging situation and it is wonderful to see the factories back up and running and for us to be playing our part in the national Ventilator Challenge.”

Marc Saunders reflects, “It has been an extraordinary few weeks, with so many companies from different fields aligning on a single goal and pulling together so effectively and so quickly.  The VentilatorChallengeUK consortium is working together with incredible determination and energy to scale up production of much-needed ventilators and combat a virus that is affecting people around the world.”

He concludes, “The consortium’s key message is that ‘Every ventilator produced is a life saved’ and Renishaw is proud to be playing its part in this vital endeavour.”

FLIR Systems has launched the FLIR A400/A700 Thermal Smart Sensor and Thermal Image Streaming fixed camera solutions for monitoring equipment, production lines, critical infrastructure, and screening for elevated skin temperatures.

These highly configurable smart camera systems provide accurate, non-contact temperature monitoring across a wide range of disciplines: manufacturing process control, product development, emissions monitoring, waste management, facilities maintenance, and Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) improvements. The FLIR A400/A700 Thermal Smart Sensor solution initially will be prioritised for those responding to COVID-19. For all applications, the series offers multi-image streaming, edge computing, and Wi-Fi connectivity to help speed data flow and enable faster decisions, improving productivity and safety for professionals.

FLIR designed the A400/A700 cameras with two configurations to better meet application-specific needs. The Thermal Smart Sensor configuration, recommended for measuring elevated skin temperatures, incorporates advanced measurement tools and alarms with edge computing to enable faster critical decisions. The Image Streaming configuration provides multiple thermal streaming capabilities to help optimise process control, improve quality assurance, or identify potential failures that could shut down a production line.

Users design their systems by choosing either the Smart Sensor or Imaging Streaming configurations, selecting either the A400 or A700 camera body based on the resolutions they need, and then adding lenses and a range of optional features to fit their application.

“For more than 40 years, FLIR thermal imaging has provided technologies for professionals to improve not only their capabilities, but also their safety on the job,” says Jim Cannon, President and CEO at FLIR. “As the world works together to face the global COVID-19 pandemic, given the need for this technology, FLIR will prioritise initial deliveries of this new A-series camera to professionals using it in elevated skin temperature screening as an adjunct to other elevated body temperature screening tools to help to fight the spread of the virus.”

Also, FLIR currently is in beta testing for an automated elevated skin temperature screening software solution that is fully integrated with its United States Food and Drug Administration-certified thermal cameras. The solution is designed to rapidly increase the accuracy, ease-of-use, and speed of existing screening procedures. FLIR will share an announcement about its solution in Q2 2020.

FLIR A400/A700 Thermal Smart Sensor and Thermal Image Streaming cameras are available for purchase today globally from FLIR distributor partners. To learn more, please visit www.flir.co.uk/A400-A700-Series.