Industrial

Power management is integral to business strategy at Texas Instruments (TI), and the company is pushing significant investment towards GaN technology (gallium nitride), which has huge potential to make a difference to how industrial and other applications are going to function in the future.

I have always been interested and somewhat fascinated by machines, especially the ones that are used to build other machines. I have good memories of my visits to an enormous foundry or a ship factory. This dates back 30 years when I was working in a machine shop as a high school senior. I loved the industrial saws used to cut 2” thick sheets of mica or the G-code programmed CNCs. Enough of this and back to the topic of the Fourth Industria...

EnOcean Alliance, an international association of leading companies in the building and IT industries, has announced a major focus on supporting businesses and public sector organisations around the world to safely reopen following the widespread COVID-19 lockdown, using flexible, connected energy harvesting sensors to create safe and smart spaces. Initiatives will include webinars and training, as well as a pilot ‘Smart...

For all the benefits they offer, smart materials are not always a viable option for manufacturers. This is because they often rely on technologies that are still in their infancy or suffer from issues such as poor reliability and longevity. Here Neil Ballinger, head of EMEA at automation parts supplier EU Automation, looks at some of the barriers to smart material commercialisation.

The PCIM Europe advisory board, led by Professor Dr. Leo Lorenz, ECPE, Germany, has selected this year’s winning entries from over 370 papers submitted. The Young Engineer Awards have been granted to exceptional contributions by young professionals. The Best Paper Award was presented to the best paper overall. For the first time, these presentations can be experienced free of charge during the virtual format of the PCIM Europe.

Amass has a wide portfolio of high-current DC power connectors and accessories which are compatible with various types of batteries. The fact that the company’s headquarters are located in the same area where many Li-Ion and Li-Po battery manufacturers are seated is no doubt an asset here. During 18 years of its operation, Amass has become one of the leading manufacturers of connectors. 

Eco, which came to the nation’s aid by delivering one million items of PPE to UK care homes in seven days, is focused on how to allow access to stadiums when lockdown eases. The English Premier League and the Championship are due to restart on June 17th and June 20th respectively - but all matches will be behind closed doors. Scottish football is hoping to start the 2020/21 season in August.

Wenco International Mining Systems and Oxbotica have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop an Open Autonomy solution for mining. Initial trials are underway, and the companies are actively recruiting mining partners with appropriate testing grounds.

If you’re into cars you’ll be able to run-off a list of classic, iconic vehicles that were pivotal in automotive history. The same goes for aviation, with quintessential designs being memorable for their shape, role or performance. Compared to these sectors, semiconductors are a fledgling industry, having only really got started back in the 1950s. Some 70 years into its history, now is a good time to reflect on our history in order th...

The Arm architecture now dominates the embedded processing and computing space. It has come a long way over the last few decades – starting out in the 1980s as a processor for home computers, then becoming the foundation for cellular handsets in the 1990s. Mark Patrick, Mouser Electronics, explains.