Electronica Azi International no. 4 - 2018

4/2018

A PAN EUROPEAN MAGAZINE

www.international.electronica-azi.ro

NEWS POWERBOX WINS POWER PRODUCT OF THE YEAR IN RECOGNITION OF ITS TECHNICAL PROWESS IN CORELESS POWER SOLUTION

CONTEST

Win a Microchip STK600 Kit

From left to right: Roy Phillips, Intelliconnect Managing Director; Nick Theodoris, Cosel European Sales Director; Patrick Le Fèvre, Powerbox Chief Marketing and Communication Officer; Sean Collins, Comedian and Master of Ceremony Related link: Power Supply Unit for MRT Systems GB350 https://www.prbx.com/product/gb350

Powerbox, one of Europe’s largest power supply companies with more than four decades as a leading force in optimizing power solutions for demanding applications, has won the Power Product of the Year accolade at the prestigious Electronics Industry Awards. Organized by Datateam Business Media in association with CIE magazine, the Electronics Industry Awards is designed to recognize the many successes in the electronics industry, celebrating outstanding companies, people and products. At a special awards ceremony in Birmingham on September 22, Powerbox’s Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Patrick Le Fèvre accepted the award from Intelliconnect’s Managing Director, Roy Phillips.

Powerbox’s winning entry, the coreless GB350, is a 350W buck converter that is used to power equipment in medical and industrial applications such as MRI scanners and particle accelerators. Faced with the challenge of designing a unit that operates within an MRI scanner with a magnetic field of 6 Tesla, engineers at Powerbox did away with magnetic cores altogether and created a unit with air-cored inductors.

Four-phase switching at 600kHz, a total of 2.4MHz, allows the air-cores to work, and a digital processor manages everything from switching parameters to output voltage characterization.

Amy Wallington, editor at CIE magazine, comments: “I would like to congratulate Powerbox on winning the Power Product of the Year Award.

The company should be very proud of this huge achievement, especially as it was voted the winner by their colleagues in the electronics industry.

We wish them every success in the year ahead with any new products and hope to see them entered again next year."

"It is very apt that Powerbox has won an Electronics Industry Award for a product that is so innovative. It is also a strong sign that the advanced coreless technology developed by our engineers in Bremen is recognized worldwide as leading edge technology to power medical applications," said Martin Sjöstrand, CEO at Powerbox. "It is with great pride and recognition that we receive this award for a product that will contribute to make diagnostic and treatment better and more efficient."

Powerbox | www.prbx.com Cosel | www.coseleurope.eu www.international.electronica-azi.ro

Win a Microchip STK600 Kit (ATSTK600) from Electronica Azi International.

The Microchip STK600 kit is a starter kit and development system for the 8-bit and 32-bit AVR microcontrollers. The kit gives designers a quick start to develop code on the AVR, with advanced features for prototyping and testing new designs.

The system consists of a generic socketcard, on which the AVR device is inserted, and a device specific signal routing card, which routes the signals from the socket pins to the different functions on the STK600 main board dependant on the device. This design simplifies hardware setup when switching from one AVR device to another.

The kit offers access to all device pins, and several useful hardware functions such as pushbuttons, LEDs, and dataflash to create a complete system for prototyping and testing new designs. Free Atmel Studio IDE lets designers write and compile firmware in either assembly or C language and download the code to the target AVR device.

The board also has adjustable voltage supply and adjustable clock to the target AVR device. The VCC level and clock frequency can be adjusted on the fly from Atmel Studio, giving designers the ability to test the performance at different voltage levels and clock frequencies with just the click of a button.

For your chance to win a Microchip STK600 kit, please visit:

http://page.microchip.com/eazi-int-stk600.html and enter your details in the online entry form.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

3 | CONTEST: Win a Microchip STK600 Kit

21 | New Microchip PIC® and AVR® MCUs increase system

6 | Driving Brand Recognition With MCUs

performance in closed-loop control applications

9 | RECOM: Converters for Smart Home & IoT at CODICO

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22 | New Innovations in Data Converter ICs

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28 | Reliable Connectors from TE Connectivity 9 | JALAPENO: Embedded Wi-Fi Module with Quad

32 | INXPECT: Industrial safety with LBK System

Cortex A7 for Linux based Applications 10 | Narrowband IoT and LTE Cat M1 are edging ahead 14 | The silent power of supercapacitors

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33 | Contrinex: Classics Washdown 14

35 | Creative Electron Adds AI to TruView™ Parts Counter 36 | SMT HOUSE - Financial solutions

18 | Embedded System Communications: A Data Centric Approach

38 | SEICA AUTOMATION - Handling systems for the electronic production

® Management Managing Director - Ionela Ganea Editorial Director - Gabriel Neagu Accounting - Ioana Paraschiv Advertisement - Irina Ganea Web design - Eugen Vărzaru

“Electronica Azi” is a registered trademark at OSIM - Romania, Registered position: 124259

Contributing editors Cornel Pazara PhD. Paul Svasta PhD. Norocel Codreanu PhD. Marian Blejan PhD. Bogdan Grămescu

ISSN: 1582-3490 Printed by

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Electronica Azi International is published 6 times per year in 2018 by Euro Standard Press 2000 s.r.l.

It is a free to qualified electronics engineers and managers involved in engineering decisions.

Copyright 2018 by Euro Standard Press 2000 s.r.l.

All rights reserved.

Electronica Azi International | 4/2018

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

DRIVING BRAND RECOGNITION WITH MCUs

By Kurt Parker, Product Marketing Manager for Microchip’s MCU32 Division

Brand is everything when it comes to marketing and selling products that customers will buy and more importantly continue to buy. Anything with a display screen is expected to have a polished look and feel and be easy-to-use. Now, especially with the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT), more and more simple devices are featuring interactive display screens causing design challenges for engineers. Many microcontrollers (MCUs) do not have the advanced features needed to run these applications and switching to a more advanced microprocessor (MPU) comes with added costs and design complexity. A clear transition is happening with hardware manufacturers recognizing the need to have more advanced graphic capabilities for MCUs. IMPORTANCE OF BRAND RECOGNITION The inclusion of a graphical user interface (GUI) in an embedded design serves purposes that are both functional and aesthetic.

Often one of the most overlooked and valuable functions of a graphical interface is the communication of brand identity.

According to Rachel Remington at shuksanweb.com, a brand identity is a set of visual characteristics that represent a brand or company, such as the logo, color usage and fonts. Brand identity is important because it uses graphic elements to convey the personality, mood and/or values of a company.

Not prioritizing a positive user experience 6

with your company’s brand identity by using static, cluttered or antiquated GUI designs causes a disruption that prevents users from being drawn to seek out a repeat positive experience via your product. This persistent search for an expected experience is called preference, and end users that have preferences for specific brands will generally be willing to pay a premium for access to that brand, which in turn increases profit for the sought-after brand. Brand recognition combined with positive user experience drives profit. Chances are your company’s marketing department spends considerable resources educating your customers about

their products and the type of experience that they should expect from them. There are several different methods that they would use for this: advertisements in trade publications both in print and online, social media, emails, radio, television commercials and more. Companies who get the most benefit from excellent brand identity pay special attention to how the brand is communicated in product design, especially in the human-machine interface.

In the extreme, creative and accurate branding on your User Interface (UI) can be like a billboard for your company located on every product your company sells.

Electronica Azi International | 4/2018

MCUs

MCUs FOR ADVANCED GRAPHICS Traditionally, MCU applications that needed to include graphical user interfaces used either external graphics controllers or a static direct-drive DMA-based graphics scheme to push full frames out to displays up to WVGA (800Ă—480). External graphics controllers are an additional component in the embedded design leading to undesirable additional cost, board size and design complexity.

Graphics needs such as large color depth, color format conversion, alpha blending and animation can drive embedded designers toward a microprocessor (MPU). MPUs generally come with higher performance than MCUs in addition to a higher level of complexity. Switching from an MCU design to an MPU design also entails knowledge of new software and hardware paradigms that might not be readily available within your design team.

relatively rough way to describe image size, as the same resolution could be fit into many different physical display dimensions. Frame rate is the rate at which the whole picture on the display is redrawn. The higher the frame rate, the smoother the transitions of the image appear to the end user. Smoother transitions driven by choices in frame rate at or above 15 frames per second make the product appear to be of higher quality adding to the user experience portion of our profit equation above.

Limitations of typical MCUs such as pixel clock and memory availability will often cause trade-offs in the choices among these

describe a color, the more subtle the differences in the colors from one value to the next. New advancements in the amount of memory available in MCUs are enabling regular usage of 32 bits of color depth. This translates to approximately 16.7 million different colors. Deep color is important to customer experience and branding in two very significant ways.

three elements. For example a rich, vibrant color depth may require the choice of a smaller than desired display in order to fit the application into the memory space available to the MCU. Recent advancements in design and manufacturing technology have driven a major increase in available in-package memory which has significantly increased the capabilities of graphics MCUs. In order to appreciate the importance of large amounts of integrated memory, we need to discuss color depth.

your end users will judge the quality of your device based on how closely the image being presented matches the object being represented visually or in memory.

The first reason rich colors are important correlates with how you want your end user to interpret the image that is being presented. If your application relies upon realistic representations of photographs or art, then

Fortunately, recent advancements in graphics technology have enabled graphics designs to gain some of the sophistication that would have otherwise only been supplied by MPUs without having to invest in new hardware and software design methodologies. While certain applications absolutely require the use of an MPU, many design engineers can benefit greatly from new advancements in graphics capabilities now available with MCUs. The rest of this article will discuss how some of these advancements can be used to drive brand identification into your next GUI-based embedded design.

INTEGRATED GRAPHICS CONTROLLERS Perhaps the most central component of a graphics-enabled microcontroller is the integrated graphics controller peripheral. In its basic form it is the peripheral responsible for taking image data from memory and putting it out on the display. This function would be assigned to a Direct Memory Access, or DMA unit inside of the microcontroller.

In truly enabled MCUs, however, an integrated graphics controller will do this job more efficiently and effectively with more features and options to help make the application look as attractive as possible. There are three main parameters used to describe the capabilities of a graphics controller in an MCU: Color depth, image size and frame rate. We will dive into color depth below, as choices surrounding this aspect have major implications into brand recognition. Image size is simply the height times the length of the display in pixels. Note that inches is a www.international.electronica-azi.ro

COLOR DEPTH Color depth is defined as the number of bits used to indicate the color of a single pixel in a bitmapped image. The more bits used to

The second reason has to do with brand recognition. Colors play an extremely important role in helping customers identify a brand. Not only are they very specific (PantoneŽ color and others have built an entire industry on this concept), but they also help end customers identify whether a product is real of fake. Also, not being able to accurately represent a brand through color representation could also have a damaging effect on the user’s perception of the quality of the device they are using.

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EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

Using 32-bits of color (which includes 24-bits of actual color description and 8-bits of transparency level, also known as alpha channel) carries a heavy price on memory usage in an application. For a WVGA (800×480) display, 32-bits of color translates to approximately 1.5 MB of memory needed just for one buffer, or representing what is being displayed stored in memory.

As mentioned above, there are very reasonable cases where this amount of color depth is important. This includes representation of photographs or artwork and applications that provide web access where color presentation from a third party is unpredictable and varied (think maps, images and video).

Because microcontrollers typically contain no more than 512KB of on-chip memory to hold image buffers, external memory would be required for such applications.

As mentioned previously, new advancements in die design, packaging and manufacturing have led to huge gains in on-chip memory. The PIC32MZ DA from Microchip, for example has 32MB of DDR2 DRAM in a single package with a fully-enabled graphics MCU. There is no need for external buffer memory to be added to the application.

This reduces cost, complexity and the over-

all size of the design. When combined with a 3-layer graphics controller and a fully featured 2-D graphics processor, the PIC32MZ DA is one example of the advancements in highly integrated graphics controllers available to embedded designers for GUIbased applications.

GRAPHICS DEVELOPMENT TOOL BASICS Finally, the importance of a good set of design tools tightly integrating automation with flexibility should not be overlooked. In order to hit the proper tone while creating user interfaces that delight and drive preference, it is important to be able to have tools that enable the designer to spend their time on content creation instead of mundane code debug and needlessly iterative programming. One approach to GUI design that can propel embedded coders to UX experts is called “What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get”, or WYSIWYG for short. The intent of this approach is for the tool to enable the designer to create an image in the design space within their tool that will look exactly like it will when pushed to the hardware platform.

When combined with other tools that automate the creation of drivers for non-standard graphics panels, they truly enable a high-end design experience while eliminat-

ing time spent on coding and debugging for the user interface. These tools are available today, with one such free example being the MPLAB Harmony v2 Software Framework from Microchip. MPLAB harmony brings industry leading capabilities, including design entry, memory management, events and display drivers that are tightly coupled to existing tools including code generation, debugger, MPLAB X and MPLAB Harmony Configurator.

CONCLUSION Special attention to the way that embedded user interfaces drive positive experiences and draw users to return again and again will reap profitable rewards. Fortunately, recent advancements in MCU graphics and memory technologies are enabling embedded designers to up their GUI development game without having to learn new and complex software and hardware design paradigms often associated with MPUs. Making the right choices in architecture and tool set can make driving brand preference and positive user impressions easier than it has ever been before.

Microchip Technology www.microchip.com

AVR® MICROCONTROLLERS NOW BETA SUPPORTED IN MPLAB® X INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT Microchip announces the release of MPLAB X Integrated Development Environment (IDE) version 5.05 which beta supports the majority of AVR microcontrollers (MCUs). This release will allow designers who traditionally used PIC® microcontrollers (MCUs) and developed with the MPLAB ecosystem to easily evaluate and incorporate AVR MCUs into their applications. Support for additional AVR MCUs and enhancements will be added in future MPLAB versions. AVR support will continue to be added to Atmel Studio 7 and Atmel START for current and future AVR devices.

MPLAB X IDE version 5.05 provides a unified development experience that is both cross-platform and scalable with compatibility on Windows®, MacOS® and Linux® operating systems, allowing designers to develop with AVR MCUs on their hardware system of choice. The tool chain has been enhanced with support for Microchip’s code configuration tool, MPLAB Code Configurator (MCC), making it easy for developers to configure software components and device settings such as clocks, peripherals and pin layout with the tool’s menu-driven interface. MCC can also generate code for specific development boards, such as Microchip’s Curiosity ATMega4809 Nano (DM320115) development board and existing AVR Xplained development boards.

More compiler choices and debugger/programmer options are also available when compiling and programming AVR MCUs using 8

MPLAB X IDE 5.05. Compiler choices include the AVR MCU GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) or the MPLAB XC8 C Compiler, providing developers additional advanced software optimization techniques to reduce code size. Designers can also accelerate debugging and programming using MPLAB PICkit™ 4 programmer/ debugger tool or the newly released MPLAB Snap programmer/ debugger tool.

Microchip Technology | www.microchip.com

For more information visit: www.microchip.com/AVRandMPLAB Electronica Azi International | 4/2018

RECOM: Converters for Smart Home & IoT at CODICO Modern smart homes, as well as IoT systems require a high number of low power nodes, actuators and sensors to process information intelligently. To efficiently power these applications, RECOM once again steps forward and extends its low-power RAC-series with new 3W and 4W converters with EN60335 household certification. These new low cost additions to the RAC family represent a value for money proposition, which is unique in the marketplace.

RECOM’s new RAC03-G and RAC04-G series were specially designed to supply smart building infrastructures continuously and efficiently. Their high efficiency and noload power consumption of only 75mW make them exceptional energysaving solutions, which are needed in energy critical systems.

Their standard 3.3, 5, 12, 15 and 24VDC outputs are suitable to power relays, gateways and building automation nodes. A universal input voltage range from 85VAC to 305VAC allows for worldwide use.

These series operate over a wide temperature range from -40°C to +85°C, are overcurrent and shortcircuit protected. They are EN55022 Class A (RAC-GA) or Class B (RAC-GB) certified without the need of any additional components. The RACxx-GA series is also certified to the EN60335

JALAPENO

Embedded Wi-Fi Module with Quad Cortex A7 for Linux based Applications

household norm. All modules are also certified to EN60950 and EN62368 and come with a three-year warranty. Samples are available from CODICO now.

If you wish to receive more information in the product, please get in touch with your CODICO contact or Mr. Ivan Mitic, Regional Sales Manager at CODICO. Ivan Mitic | ivan.mitic@codico.com +43 1 86 305-194 | www.codico.com

The new Wi-Fi module Jalapeno from 8DEVICES supports DB/DC (Dual Band Dual Concurrency) 802.11a/b/g/n/ac in MU-MIMO 2×2 and provides 2×1000 Base-T and USB3.0 high-speed interfaces for high performance IoT-Hubs, Gateways, Routers und Access Points. Development Kits are available at our Sample Shop.

Jalapeno is based on the new SoC IPQ-4018 from QUALCOMM, which provides the special capability of serving two frequency bands 2.4GHz and 5GHz at the same time.

This results in a maximum antenna data rate of 1.166Gbps; 866Mbps at 11ac 2×2 @ 5 GHz and 300Mbps for 11n 2×2 @ 2.4 GHz. To process the high data throughput, two Cortex-A7 CPUs are available as network

processors and two more are available as application-processors.

All 4 CPUs are running at 700 MHz clock rate, each providing a NEON MPE (Media Processor Engine), one FPU (Floating Point Unit) as well as a number of high-end security features like secure boot and crypto engines. Also the memory configuration of 256MB DDR3 @ 667MHz, 128MB NAND and 8MB NOR FLASH will meet your hardest requirements.

In addition to USB3.0 and 2 Gigabit Ethernet ports, Jalapeno offers numerous other interfaces like USB2.0, I2C, I2S, UART and GPIOs. OpenWRT linux distribution source code is available on GitHub (https://github.com/8DEVICES) and is sup-

ported on the growing community forum (http://www.8DEVICES.com/community).

If you wish to receive more information in the product, please get in touch with your CODICO contact or Mr. Ivan Mitic, Regional Sales Manager at CODICO. Ivan Mitic | ivan.mitic@codico.com +43 1 86 305-194 | www.codico.com

Development Kits are now available at CODICO’s Sample Shop (www.codico.com/shop).

Further information is available here: http://downloads.codico.com/misc/AEH/8DEVICES www.international.electronica-azi.ro

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Narrowband IoT and LTE Cat M1 ARE EDGING AHEAD Low-power wide-area networks

Author: Anja Schaal, Product Sales Manager

According to Machina Research, there will be 1.4 billion LPWA connections by the year 2022. Deutsche Telekom quotes analysts who even predict some three billion such connections by 2023. There is one thing all the analyses agree on: LPWA technologies will take the lead in terms of connectivity for the Internet of Things. The various LPWA technologies differ in their network coverage, data rates, power consumption, security, scalability, and interoperability. None of them top-scores in every aspect, and some of the criteria also directly contradict each other. So it is essential to analyze the requirements of the specific application in advance in order to provide a sound decision-making basis for choosing the optimum technology.

LICENSE-FREE VARIANTS A basic distinction is made between licensed and license-free technologies.

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Choosing the right connectivity technology is one of the most critical decisions when developing an IoT system. If it does not optimally fit the application, performance loss or unnecessarily high operating costs may result.

Long-term scalability may be limited – in the worst case scenario entailing a cost- and labor-intensive change. Anja Schaal, Product Sales Manager and Wireless expert, explains the advantages and disadvantages of the various technologies.

The best known license-free examples are SigFox and LoRa. They are above all more cost-effective than licensed technologies: The modules are cheaper, and do not need SIM cards, so there is no cost of managing and exchanging them either. Their major failing is the less than comprehensive infrastructure. It is currently being established, but that is going to take some time yet. So only licensed technologies come into question for applications that require reliable, full-coverage wireless connections.

NARROWBAND IoT (NBIoT or Cat-NB1) The technologies in the licensed spectrum offer better scalability, service quality and security features thanks to their use of the mobile communications network.

Of the two licensed LPWAN standards NBIoT and Cat-M1, NBIoT has the slowest transfer rates: less than 250 kbps for downloads,

and less than 20 kbps for uploads. The bandwidth is 200 kHz. Consequently, NBIoT is primarily suitable for stationary applications with particularly high demands in terms of energy efficiency.

Network providers in Europe and Asia (especially China and South Korea) are driving the NBIoT standard, while the USA has opted for Cat-M1. In Canada and Australia, both standards are currently supported. Deutsche Telekom is rapidly advancing full-area network coverage in Germany and elsewhere in Europe.

In mid-2017 it launched two NBIoT starter packs onto the market. It completed its setup operations in the Netherlands in May 2017, meaning the country has become the first in the world to have a full-coverage NBIoT network. In the USA, T-Mobile will be starting support for NBIoT in 2018.

Electronica Azi International | 4/2018

IoT

Thanks to its xE910 form factor (28 × 28mm2), it can quite easily replace other modules of the same form factor in existing applications. Telit's NE866B1 module offers quite similar features. With an even smaller xE866 form factor (19 × 15 mm2), it is ideal for use in very small devices.

Modules on offer for NBIoT applications include the Telit NE910C1. It combines maximum energy efficiency with highly reliable network coverage, including inside buildings. That makes it suitable for smart metering, security, point of sale, and medical applications.

www.international.electronica-azi.ro

LTE CATEGORY M1, Cat M1 OR LTE-M FOR SHORT Compared to NBIoT, the Cat M1 standard features higher data transfer rates of up to 1 Mbps. Also as opposed to NBIoT, Cat M1 supports Voice Over LTE (VoLTE) for applications involving voice transmission.

Cat M1 also enables handover from one wireless cell to the next, making it suitable for mobile and moving applications such as telematics and fleet management, provided the data volume is within the transfer rate.

Telit also has IoT modules in its portfolio for Cat M1. The ME910C1 and the ME866A1 have the same form factors as the NBIoT modules. This means the right module can be installed in a device depending on the country and supported wireless technology without need for any costly redesign. The special thing about the ME910C1 is that it is a combined Cat M1 and NBIoT solution. It is available as a worldwide version or as a single version for Europe, Australia and Japan.

Rutronik | www.rutronik.com

The Telit family concept Unified design, global applicability – that is the concept behind all the modules in the xE910 and xE866 series from Telit.

The members of the xE910 family support different technologies, data rates and mobile communications standards such as GSM/GPRS, UMTS/HSPA+, 1xRTT, EV-DO, as well as LTE for various categories (Cat. 1,3,4, NB1 or M1). This provides users with the necessary flexibility for M2M products, as well as easy migration from 2G to 3G and to 4G. All the models are based on an identical Land Grid Array (LGA) form factor with dimensions of just 28.2 × 28.2mm2.

The highly compact modules of the xE866 family in the dimensions 19 × 15mm2 cover the GSM/GPRS, UMTS/HSDPA, LTE and LoRa standards in combination with Bluetooth Low Energy.

LPWAN basics Low-power wide-area networks (LPWAN) are wireless communications networks which were developed in order to close the gap between cellular technologies and short-range networks such as Bluetooth and WiFi. Because for IoT applications the former are too expensive, and the latter are too energy-intensive and too restricted in transmission, especially inside buildings.

By contrast, LPWAN networks carry low bit rates over long distances. This makes them ideal for applications such as smart metering, industrial monitoring and control, and smart cities. As their data rate is limited, they need significantly less power than other wireless wide-area networks (WWAN), and are also suitable for batterypowered applications. Licensed (Narrowband IoT, Cat-M1) and unlicensed (LoRa, SigFox etc.) LPWAN technologies are available.

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COMPANIES

MAXIM UNVEILS FIRST WRIST-WORN PLATFORM FOR MONITORING ECG, HEART RATE AND TEMPERATURE Designers seeking to enable continuous monitoring of various health parameters can now quickly create unique, highly accurate wearable solutions using Health Sensor Platform 2.0 (HSP 2.0) from Maxim Integrated Products, Inc.. This next-generation rapid prototyping, evaluation and development platform, also known as MAXREFDES101#, brings the ability to monitor electrocardiogram (ECG), heart rate and body temperature to a wrist-worn wearable, saving up to six months in development time.

When it comes to wearables, a wrist-based device is convenient for users to wear daily. However, it has been challenging to derive precise ECG monitoring from the wrist (most alternatives require a wearable chest strap). In addition, getting accurate body temperature typically requires using a thermometer at another location. Through its proprietary sensor and health monitoring technology, Maxim has overcome these challenges in the HSP 2.0.

Enclosed in a watch casing, the wrist-based form factor enables HSP 2.0 to provide basic functionality out of the box, with bodymonitoring measurements starting immediately. Data can be stored on the platform for patient evaluation or streamed to a PC for analysis later. Unlike other wearables, the data measurements collected by the HSP 2.0 can be owned by the wearer, alleviating data privacy concerns and allowing users to conduct their own data analysis. Also, because HSP 2.0 is an open platform, designers can evaluate their own algorithms on the board. In addition, the modular format is future proof to quickly accommodate new sensors over time.

Key Advantages for Designers • Fast Time to Market: Fully working hardware and firmware with companion watch casing cuts design and validation time by up to six months • High Accuracy: Only available solution to integrate clinicalgrade ECG along with heart-rate and body-temperature measurements into a wrist-worn format • Arm® Mbed™ Support: For efficient evaluation and rapid application prototyping, the Mbed environment provides a high level of abstraction to eliminate maintenance of software tools and provide an extensive library of open-source software Maxim Integrated | www.maximintegrated.com

BRAINCHIP ACQUIRES LICENSE TO CYBERSECURITY TECHNOLOGY Company enters into an agreement with Democritus University of Thrace BrainChip Holdings Ltd. (“BrainChip” or the “Company”), the leading neuromorphic computing company, today announced that it has entered into an agreement with the Democritus University of Thrace, located in Greece. The agreement consists of a license to their cybersecurity technology and their researcher’s support in porting the technology to the Akida™ Development Environment.

The cybersecurity technology includes data-to-spike convertors and is specifically designed for network intrusion and anomaly detection using a spiking neural network (SNN) that can be accelerated by the Akida Neuromorphic System-on-Chip (NSoC).

Peter van der Made, BrainChip Founder and CTO added, “Working with the exceptional team at the Democritus University of Thrace will serve to increase our expertise and knowledge in the area of Cybersecurity and widen the reach of our low power and low latency Akida™ NSoC device.”

The transaction consideration will be incurred over several quarters and will not have a material impact on the Company’s cash position.

BrainChip Holdings Ltd. | www.brainchip.com

Professor Lazaros Iliadis, PhD, Professor of the Department of Civil Engineering, Lab of Mathematics and Informatics, School of Engineering at the Democritus University of Thrace is responsible for the program. He commented, “We have been working with spiking neural networks for several years and our cybersecurity technology has proven highly accurate in detecting threats. The Akida NSoC is an ideal platform to accelerate our SNNs.” Robert Beachler, BrainChip SVP of Marketing and Business Development commented: “As the Akida NSoC design progresses, it is important that we have proven examples of SNN models and data to spike convertors for our target markets. According to MarketsandMarkets, the artificial intelligence cybersecurity market is estimated to be US$35B by 2025 and this technology acquisition will jump-start our solutions in this lucrative application space.”

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Electronica Azi International | 4/2018

PRODUCT NEWS

4D SYSTEMS COLLABORATES WITH MIKROELEKTRONIKA ON NEW CLICK BOARD™ FOR 8-BIT MCU APPLICATIONS 4D Systems announced it has partnered with MikroElektronika, a producer and retailer of hardware and software tools for developing embedded systems, to introduce the 4D-display click, an adapter board with a mikroBUS™ interface that connects to any of 4D Systems’ gen4 series of intelligent display modules. Suitable for use with any of the growing number of microcontroller development boards that incorporate MikroElektronika’s 8-pin mikroBUS™ interface, such as the Microchip Curiosity board or those from MikroElektronika, the 4D-display click significantly simplifies the integration complexity of adding a display to a host.

This approach not only eases the application design process but also does not impose any processing load onto the host MCU, this being handled by the 4D Systems display module. In this way, a full colour touch control display can be added to virtually any design that has a mikroBUS™ interface. Most notable is that a display can be interfaced to a slower, less resource-capable device such a an 8-bit microcontroller, without the need for the designer having to over specify the microcontroller used in the application purely to accommodate a display.

The gen4 series of intelligent displays integrate a 4D System’s Diablo graphic processor and communicate with the host MCU over a UART interface. Elaborate graphic touch screen interfaces can be quickly designed using the 4D Systems Workshop 4 IDE. For the host development, the 4D-display click board is supported within the MikroElektronika mikroSDK, allowing for the rapid

addition of a display to a design using preconfigured settings with mikroC, mikroBasic and mikroPascal compilers. The board will also be supported within Microchip’s MPLABS integrated programming environment and Atmel START. The 4D-display click adapter board measures 42.9 x 25.4 mm and features a 30-pin ZIF FFC socket for the display connection and a 2pole SMD terminal block for connecting an external power supply in situations that warrant a separate supply.

4D Systems | www.4dsystems.com.au

VARIABLE SHAPES POSSIBLE NEW FREE-FORM TOUCH DISPLAYS With the introduction of electronics into a growing number of areas of daily life, the demand for innovative interaction possibilities between human and machine has also been growing. The touch display has largely established itself as an intuitive medium.

But not every display has to be rectangular. At electronica 2018, display specialist Tianma is going to present new prototypes and process technologies with which developers and designers can now design displays in line with their individual ideas, following the classic design motto "form follows function".

Up to now, these displays have been generally rectangular in shape. Tianma has been constantly developing new technologies to be able to manufacture such displays in almost any shape in the future. These technology advances are highly appreciated by manufacturers of consumer devices and wearables. In addition, numerous industrial applications are conceivable where the choice of free-form displays follows a technical ratio, for example in case of ergonomically shaped products or medical devices.

To demonstrate the possibilities for producing such new and unconventionally shaped displays, Tianma presented a round display with a hole in the middle. Until now, it has been difficult to create comparable shapes because of the matrix-shaped arrangement of the pixel elements required. With individually embedded gate drivers as Virtual Gate Inline Pixel Array (VGIA), the desired degrees of design freedom are achieved when designing the display.

To meet customer demand for free-form displays, Tianma has www.international.electronica-azi.ro

solved several problems in the manufacturing process. These include the low cutting accuracy and the limited range of shapes that have hitherto precluded any free design options. Laser-assisted material processing offers the possibility of high-precision cuts in the 100 micrometer range. For example, very fine holes can be created by gentle laser ablation. This production technique enables classic and analog clock hands in combination with a background display. Applications include "smart" wristwatches and cockpit instruments in the automotive sector.

Tianma Europe GmbH | www.tianma.eu

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POWER DESIGN

The silenT power of supercapaciTors Author: Patrick Le Fèvre, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Powerbox FROM HOWARD BECKER TO ELON MUSK In the early fifties when capacitors were made out of impregnated paper and mica, General Electric researched ways to increase their capacity to store and release higher energy levels, and to be able to absorb voltage distortions in electronics and in top secret military applications. Research was conducted by Howard I. Becker and his team who on 14th April 1954 filed a patent for a ‘Low voltage electrolytic capacitor’ using a porous carbon electrode. On 23rd July 1957 14

From harvesting energy through to power plants, the use of power electronics is everywhere and there isn’t an application that doesn’t require power. The power electronics industry is very dynamic and many new technologies have made the impossible, now possible. In the unceasing quest to increase performance levels, reliability and sustainability, new components and technologies such as Wide Bandgap Semiconductors and Digital power management are receiving the hype, getting a lot of attention and coverage. However, hiding in the shadows there is a component that is very important and intrinsically involved in many vital applications; The Supercapacitor.

Supercapacitors are almost everywhere, although perhaps because they are seen as passive components with a low-tech connotation, they are seldom on stage front. It is time to bring them back into the spotlight, so let’s review the amazing story and technology behind the silent power of supercapacitors. the US2800616A patent was granted, opening the road for further innovation. Becker’s invention was the beginning of a race between laboratories to convert the invention into a component capable of being mass manufactured (e.g. in 1958, Philips NV patented a process for the production of electrodes for electrolytic capacitors) with higher performance levels. The electrolytic capacitor was born. Although the invention of the electrolytic capacitor was an important step forwards for the electronics industry, the capacity was still not enough to store

higher levels of energy such as is required to stabilize an electricity network or to deliver extremely high energy levels as required by certain applications in the defense industry.

It took another six year of research after Becker’s patent for the Standard Oil Company’s engineer Robert A. Rightmire to be granted on 29th of November 1966, the US3288641A patent for an ‘Electrical energy storage apparatus’ described as: “An electrical energy storage device for storing energy in electrostatic condition as double layers of electronions and proton-ions at co-acting interfaces...”

Electronica Azi International | 4/2018

POWER APPLICATIONS

tors intensified, and the number of inventions and patents sky-rocketed. The foremost application in EVs was to store the energy generated when decelerating and braking in order to re-use that energy to power the engine when accelerating. The potential of the supercapacitor awakened attention in March 2011 at the Cleantech Forum in San Francisco when regarding the future of electric vehicles Elon Musk said, “If I were to make a prediction, I’d think there’s a good chance that it is not batteries, but supercapacitors that will power the future of EV.” Just to remind ourselves, Musk originally came to California to study high-energy-density capacitor physics at Stanford. His speech started a lot of speculation about the potential of supercapacitors, with the perception that they would be the solution to mass energy storage, eventually replacing batteries.

The reality is a bit different though, from the timing of Becker and Rightmire’s original patents up to the present day, supercapacitor technology has progressed in a fair degree of ‘behind the scenes’ silence.

Source of the picture: PRBX/Shutterstock/Sakkmesterke

The supercapacitor was born…

Interestingly, it then took another 10 years for the invention to become a market reality.

Because of their capacity to store and release high amounts of energy in a very short time period, Electrical Vehicle (EV) research on high performance supercapaci-

HOW DOES IT WORK? As we all remember from school, a capacitor consists of two metal plates or conductors separated by an insulator such as air or a film made of plastic or ceramic. During charging, electrons accumulate on one conductor and depart from the other. Using normal manufacturing practices a conventional capacitor’s energy storage is limited by the laws of physics and that is where Robert A. Rightmire’s invention opened new avenues for high energy storage.

Figure 1: Supercapacitor cell basically consists of two electrodes, a separator, and an electrolyte.

Source of the picture: PRBX www.international.electronica-azi.ro

A supercapacitor cell basically consists of two electrodes, a separator, and an electrolyte. The electrodes are made up of a metallic collector that is the high conducting part, and of an active material (metal oxides, carbon and graphite are the most commonly used) that is the high surface area part. The two electrodes are separated by a membrane that allows mobility of the charged ions, but forbids electrical conductance. The system is impregnated with an electrolyte (Figure 1). The geometrical size of the two carbon sheets and of the separators are designed in such a way that they have a very high surface area. Due to its structure, the highly porous carbon can store more energy than any other electrolytic capacitor.

When a voltage is applied to the positive plate, it attracts negative ions from the electrolyte, and when a voltage is applied to negative plate, it attracts positive ions from electrolyte. As a result, ion layers form on both sides of the plate in what is called a ‘double layer’ formation, resulting in the ions being stored near the surface of the carbon. This mechanism gives supercapacitors the ability to store and restore high energy within a very short time period.

The surface of the active part is the key to the supercapacitor’s capacity and from what we know, increasing the surface area increases the capacity. What is particularly interesting and exciting in supercapacitor technology are the possibilities offered by the introduction of nanotechnologies. One example is to replace the conventional active carbon layer with a thin layer of billions of nanotubes.

Figure 2: Energy vs power density for different types of energy-storage devices.

Source of the picture: PRBX 15

POWER DESIGN

Each nanotube is like a uniform hollow cylinder 5nm diameter and 100um long, vertically grown over the conducting electrodes, and by using billions of them it is possible to reach extremely high density levels of capacity.

a defined, much shorter life cycle.

Ageing is also in favor of supercapacitors.

Under normal conditions, from an original 100 percent capacity they only lose 20% in 10 years, which is way above the levels achieved by any battery. For systems designers having to power systems in harsh environments, supercapacitors will operate in very low to high temperatures without degradation, which we know is not the case for batteries. On the downside supercapacitors discharge from 100 to 50 percent in

mental risks. This is where research is very interesting and the disclosure as presented by the Universities of Surrey and Bristol in February 2018 on the development of polymer materials is appealing. They achieved practical capacitance values of up to 4F/cm2 when the industry standard is 0.3F/cm2, and they are expecting to reach 11-20F/cm2 in the near future. When such levels of capacity are achieved we will be able to talk about 180Wh/kg, which is similar to lithium ion batteries.

WILL SUPERCAPACITORS SUPERSEDE BATTERIES? Following Elon Musk’s speech at Cleantech Forum 2011, there has been a lot of interest in supercapacitors and for sure the potential offered by nanotechnologies is keeping high hopes that at some point in the future, supercapacitors might reach a point where they equal the performance of batteries. As can be seen in Figure 2 that portrays energy vs power density for different types of energy-storage devices, at the present time the performance levels of fuel-cells, batteries, ultracapacitors and conventional capacitors do not overlap. However, they are complimentary, and recent technological advancements are reducing the gap between batteries and supercapacitors.

Figure 4: PRBX 29F supercapacitor energy peak and backup unit replacing battery However, recent technological advancein demanding applications.

Source of the picture: PRBX ments are reducing the gap between batteries and supercapacitors.

30 to 40 days, whereas lead and lithium- The level of research in supercapacitors is Each of those technologies has their advan- based batteries self-discharge about 5 per- really impressive and the gap is closing. tages and disadvantages, ones that power cent during the same period, but technolo- How fast that will happen remains designers take into consideration when gy is improving daily and supercapacitors unknown, but considering the number of patents filed, papers presented and levels developing power systems. In Figure 3 we are becoming better and better. compare the key parameters of Li-ion bat- With the growing demand for renewable industry interest, it shouldn’t take too long. teries and supercapacitors, and it is obvi- energy and issues relating to energy storage, ous that one of the key benefits of the there is a rising question about the reasoning IN SILENCE THEY DO THE JOB supercapacitor is its extremely high cycla- behind building huge banks of Lithium Ion Supercapacitors are almost everywhere bility, meaning that it can be charged and batteries. We all know that those batteries and it is almost impossible to draw up an discharged virtually an unlimited number have a limited lifetime, but as well as consum- exhaustive list of applications. From the of times, which is unlikely ever to be the ing precious raw materials they’re not easy to Shanghai bus experiment to run a fleet of case for the electrochemical battery having recycle and there’s the associated environ- buses powered only by supercapacitors to smart meters and harvesting energy, they Feature Li-ion Battery Supercapacitor are everywhere.

Gravimetric energy (Wh/kg) 100 – 265 4 - 10 Volumetric energy (Wh/L) 220 – 400 4 - 14 For sure it is their ability to sustain high Power density (W/kg) 1,500 3,000 - 40,000 charge and discharge cycles that makes Voltage of a cell (V) 3.6 2.7 - 3 them ideal for private and public electrical ESR (mΩ) 500 40 - 300 vehicles and machinery such as port-cranes Efficiency (%) 75 – 90 98 to accumulate and re-use energy. But in Cyclability (nb recharges) 500 - 1,000 500,000 - 20,000,000 Life 5 - 10 years 10 - 15 years many applications, when designers need Self-discharge (% per month) 2 40 - 50 peak power, they are there.

Charge temperature 0 to 45°C -40 to 65°C If you are an audiophile your audio ampliDischarge temperature -20 to 60°C -40 to 65°C fier might contain a supercapacitor bank Deep discharge pb yes no able to deliver kilowatts of peak power to Overload pb yes no Risk of thermal runaway yes no your bass loudspeaker when Ferruccio Risk of explosion yes no Furlanetto bellows out the deep notes in Charging 1 cell complex easy Don Quichotte. If you have a smart meter Charging cells in series complex complex at home, it most probably contains a Voltage on discharge stable decreasing supercapacitor able to deliver peak power Cost per kWh 200 - 1,000 € 10,000 € when transmitting stored data via the GPRS Figure 3 (Table) : Comparison of the key parameters between Li-ion batteries and supercapacitors.

Source: PRBX module. And again, if you are a technology 16

Electronica Azi International | 4/2018

POWER APPLICATIONS

geek following the Lamborghini ‘Terzo Millennio’ project, you will have noticed how important a role supercapacitors play in the motorization of this very special, electric powered sport car.

Safety is another benefit of supercapacitors and that is the reason why they are the first choice when backup or peak power is required in a restricted environment. Critical applications operating in hostile or confined environments are strictly regulated in terms of chemical and other hazardous risks, reducing or forbidding certain type of batteries such as Lithium Ion. For safety reasons, those applications must have a power backup long enough to run alarms and safety shutdown processes. In such arduous conditions, conventional batteries are replaced by

supercapacitor banks whose values could be from a few Farads to 200 Farads for general applications (Figure 4).

WHAT’S COMING NEXT? As we have seen, supercapacitor technology is moving extremely fast. The challenges posed by the energy storage issue is most probably the area where we will see the more immediate benefits of nanotechnologies being implemented in supercapacitors.

One example to close this article is the very interesting research conducted by the University of Central Florida on combining distribution cable with the capacity of supercapacitors. Assistant professor Jayan Thomas of the NanoScience Technology Center has found a way to improve a regular copper

wire to transform it into a supercapacitor cable. Based on nanowhisker technology it could transform the standard copper wire into a supercapacitor capable of storing and delivering large amounts of power.

So in some degree of silence supercapacitors are becoming the most promising component for the future. Many power designers are already implementing power solutions based on supercapacitors but considering how fast research takes place and the huge challenges that humanity faces due to climate change, one day in the not too distant future, supercapacitors will be the heart of modern power solutions.

Powerbox (PRBX) www.prbx.com

References: Powerbox (PRBX) | www.prbx.com Howard I. Becker “Low voltage electrolytic capacitor” US Patent US2800616A | https://patents.google.com/patent/US2800616A/en Robert A. Rightmire “Electrical energy storage apparatus” US Patent US3288641A https://patents.google.com/patent/US3288641A/en?oq=US3288641A University of Bristol | www.bristol.ac.uk University of Central Florida | www.ucf.edu Elon Musk speech at Cleantech 2011 in San Francisco | https://youtu.be/hTBZGWEzR_E

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

EMBEDDED SYSTEM COMMUNICATIONS: A DATA CENTRIC APPROACH Finding a low cost reliable and secure way for embedded systems to exchange data is one of the key problems that has to be addressed by electronic system designers, says NICK PRIDHAM, managing director of Hamersham.

Designing a solution that is only able to support point to point data links would severely inhibit the connectivity capability of a device. A data centric approach is now a prerequisite for any new electronic design. Data centric means that the exchange of data can take place: • Locally on the device: This means electronic sub systems on the same PCB can exchange data locally; • Device to device: Different device types can exchange data on a local domain level; • Device to external: Devices can exchange data across different domains.

If the design solution addresses all of these data exchange scenarios then system stove piping problems are eliminated and many to many data exchange architectures can be realised.

THE CASE FOR MIDDLEWARE One of the mature and field-proven approaches to solving this problem is with a middleware solution called DDS (Data Distribution Service). Middleware is a class of software that exists between an application and the Operating System.

In deeply embedded environments, middleware exists between the functional software and a network stack of the device. It provides useful capabilities that are above and beyond those found in standard Operating Systems.

In the case of DDS, the middleware provides a facility for both publish-subscribe and client-server communications. Figure 1 illustrates where middleware components fit in the application, and how they logically bridge across multiple operating systems and hardware architectures.

Figure 1 UTOPIAN APPROACH If a truly data centric design is to be realised then there are a number of practical problems to consider when selecting the most appropriate middleware: • How do I eliminate the requirement for a message broker?

• How can the selected middleware work with a very wide range of architectures and operating systems?

• Can the middleware work in truly embedded operating system environments such as FreeRTOS/Baremetal?

• Is the middleware equally at home on enterprise operating systems such as Windows and Linux?

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EXCHANGE DATA

• What happens if I have very limited memory and processing capability?

• Is data messaging highly flexible and configurable?

• Can I get good, experienced embedded integration support?

• Is DDS an open standard?

• Can I eliminate vendor lock-in for this middleware?

• Can I trial the middleware for free and still get application support?

• Is there European technical support for this middleware?

• Will choosing DDS allow me to scale my system network to many thousands of devices?

• Will it handle control and near real time applications?

• Will it handle data logging applications?

Figure 2 illustrates the DDS Publish Subscribe architecture where multiple Publishers and Subscribers exchange strongly typed data through a common Topic. The communications are controlled by a Quality of Service model.

In this example, the darker blue boxes represent applications communicating over a DDS network.

These applications might be running together on one host, or they might be distributed over multiple hosts.

Figure 2

Getting to YES with all of these questions quickly is very easy once DDS is looked into a little. Hamersham offers a DDS implementation manufactured by Twin Oaks Computing and can quickly convince you to say “Yes to DDS”. Hereafter we look into DDS a little give you some technical overview insights.

DDS – THE CASE FOR PUBLISH SUBSCRIBE Elimination of the requirement for a message broker is achieved by deploying a publish/subscribe methodology.

Many communication middleware technologies are available. Most are based on a functional model. For example, RPC (Remote Procedure Call) and CORBA (Object Request Broker) are two examples of middleware that allow function calls to be distributed across the network between a client and a server. However, these architectures lead to tight coupling between the client and the server; this makes these systems difficult to extend.

The client-server architecture is appropriate for centralised data processing and works well in some systems and some use cases. In some client-server technologies, the drawbacks are increased integration costs for new capabilities and potential single point of failure.

An alternative to this approach is the Publish-Subscribe architecture embodied in DDS. This architecture promotes a loose coupling between data producers and data consumers.

The architecture is flexible and dynamic; it is easy to adapt and extend systems to changing environments and requirements. www.international.electronica-azi.ro

Figure 3 Figure 3 is an example of how DDS might be applied in a system. This example has several sources of “raw data”, a data processor that performs some processing on the raw data to produce “processed data”, several end users working with the processed data, and an administrative user performing analysis, maintenance, or auditing functions.

A DDS application simply publishes or subscribes to their data, without concern for what, if anything, might be on the other end of its communications.

Any of the applications can be dynamically removed (and new applications may be added) without impacting the existing network.

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EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

DDS IS MORE THAN COMMUNICATIONS MIDDLEWARE The DDS standards specify the mechanism for moving data – a typical communications middleware technology standard. However, DDS is so much more. In addition to communications, DDS provides advanced data management, storage, organization, filtering, redundancy, extensibility, and security.

With a rich set of features, interoperability across languages, operating systems, hardware platforms, and implementations, DDS provides a robust, secure infrastructure foundation for your small-scale, large-scale, enterprise, embedded, and everything in between software system.

DDS IS FLEXIBLE AND SCALEABLE Applications communicating with DDS might be running together on one host or they might be distributed over multiple hosts, each with different architectures and operating systems. Applications using DDS for communications do not need to know the details of where their other applica-

tions are residing, or even if they exist.

The discovery mechanism built into DDS allows applications to come and go from a DDS network without requiring any changes to the applications or the network.

This means a new system can be brought into the network, and start sending or receiving data, without any changes to existing applications.

DDS IS FAST The Twin Oaks DDS Implementation was built from the ground up with performance in mind. The engineering staff at Twin Oaks Computing have a long history of writing and maintaining real-time and near realtime software, and this expertise was used in creating CoreDX DDS. CoreDX DDS is written in ‘C’ (with additional application language bindings available) for low overhead and memory savings. The CoreDX DDS baseline is tested and enhanced for performance at every step of the development process. The result is a quality DDS implementation with extremely

low latency and high throughput capacity.

CoreDX DDS data aggregation, multi-core data pipeline and low latency event notification provide for throughput in the +900Mbps range and latencies below 75 usec over a 1Gbps ETHERNET network.

But don’t take our word for it. The CoreDX DDS release includes source code for example benchmarking applications. Use these examples to compile your own benchmark tests and see how CoreDX DDS performs in your environment, with your data.

FREE EVALUATIONS AND FREE SUPPORT Hamersham is offering FOC DDS evaluations that will enable you to thoroughly test DDS on your hardware platform. Hamersham will also provide technical support to your test process. We are looking getting to you saying “Yes To DDS”. To find out more, go to the website www.hamersham.com.

Hamersham | www.hamersham.com

RENESAS SYNERGY™ AE-CLOUD2 KIT SPEEDS GLOBAL LTE IOT CONNECTIVITY DEVELOPMENT Renesas Electronics Corporation announced the Renesas Synergy™ AE-CLOUD2 kit, a complete hardware and software reference design that allows embedded developers to quickly evaluate cellular connectivity options and build Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) cellular Internet of Things (IoT) applications. The AE-CLOUD2 kit together with the new Synergy Software Package (SSP) version 1.5.0 simplifies connecting IoT sensor devices to enterprise cloud services using 4G/LTE Cat-M1 and Cat-NB1, also called NB-IoT, with fallback to 2G/EGPRS cellular networks. The kit’s rich functionality accelerates prototyping cellular-enabled IoT devices for asset tracking, retail and agriculture monitoring, smart cities/utilities, mobile healthcare, and industrial automation.

Each AE-CLOUD2 hardware kit includes a Synergy S5D9 microcontroller (MCU) baseboard, tri-mode cellular modem with cellular and GPS antennas, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and various sensors such as lighting, microphone, temperature, humidity, pressure, air quality, geomagnetic, accelerometer, and gyroscope. For cellular access, developers simply insert a SIM card with data plan purchased from a local cellular carrier. The hardware kit’s software allows developers to provision the kit to connect to a 4G/LTE IoT cellular network and their preferred cloud service provider: Amazon Web Services™, Google Cloud Platform™, Microsoft Azure™ or Medium One Cloud. Users can visualize their sensor data on a customizable, password-protected dashboard.

The AE-CLOUD2 hardware kit ensures excellent EMC performance, having passed global RF emissions tests. In addition, the AECLOUD2 kit complies with global regulatory certifications for 20

FCC, CE, RoHs, WEEE and Japan MIC. The kit’s fully optimized hardware/software saves developers months of design time and resources creating a scalable, energy efficient and secure end-toend LPWA cellular IoT application that can be used anywhere in the world.

“Renesas is the first MCU supplier to deliver a 4G/LTE Cat-M1/CatNB1-based reference design kit that is certified to operate globally, uses Wi-Fi and Ethernet, and offers cloud service example projects.

The kit’s wide array of sensors, global cellular modem, and GPS capability opens the door to countless IoT monitoring and control applications for deployment on a broad scale,” said Daryl Khoo, Vice President Product Marketing, IoT Platform Business Division, Renesas.

Renesas Electronics | www.renesas.com

Electronica Azi International | 4/2018

COMPANIES

PRODUCT NEWS

NEW MICROCHIP PIC® AND AVR® MCUS INCREASE SYSTEM PERFORMANCE IN CLOSED-LOOP CONTROL APPLICATIONS • • • •

Key Facts: Core Independent Peripherals enable the creation of more efficient systems Up to 5V operation increases noise immunity and compatibility to analogue or digital sensors ATtiny1607 enables deterministic system response with fewer external components PIC18 Q10 executes advanced calculations and data filtering without CPU intervention

Microchip announces the introduction of new PIC18 Q10 and ATtiny1607 families of 8-bit microcontrollers (MCUs), featuring multiple intelligent Core Independent Peripherals (CIPs) that simplify development and enable a quick response time to system events.

Advancements in the architecture of PIC® and AVR® MCUs have optimised these devices for implementing closed-loop control, enabling systems to offload the Central Processing Unit (CPU) to manage more tasks and save power.

A key advantage of the PIC18 Q10 and ATtiny1607 MCUs are the CIPs that independently manage tasks and reduce the amount of processing required from the CPU. System designers can also save time and simplify design efforts with the hardware-based CIPs, which significantly reduce the amount of software that needs to be written and validated. Both families have features for functional safety and operate up to 5V, increasing noise immunity and providing compatibility with the majority of analogue output and digital sensors.

Offered in a compact 3 × 3 mm 20-pin QFN package, the new ATtiny1607 family is optimised for space-constrained closedloop control systems such as hand-held power tools and remote controls. In addition to the integrated high-speed Analogue-toDigital Converter (ADC) that provides faster conversion of analogue signals resulting in deterministic system response, the devices provide improved oscillator accuracy, allowing designers to reduce external components and save costs.

Among the CIPs in the PIC18 Q10 family are the Complementary Waveform Generator (CWG), which simplifies complex switching designs, and an integrated Analogue-to-Digital Converter with Computation (ADC2) that performs advanced calculations and filtering of data in hardware without any intervention from the core.

CIPs such as these allow the CPU to execute more complex tasks, such as Human Machine Interface (HMI) controls, and remain in a low-power mode to conserve power until processing is required.

All PIC18 Q10 products are supported by MPLAB® Code Configurator (MCC), a free software plug-in that provides a graphical interface to easily configure peripherals and functions. MCC is incorporated into Microchip’s downloadable MPLAB X Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and the cloud-based MPLAB Xpress IDE which eliminates the need to download software. The Curiosity High Pin Count (HPC) development board (DM164136), a fully-integrated, feature-rich rapid prototyping board, can also be used to start development with these MCUs. Rapid prototyping with the ATtiny1607 family is supported by the ATmega4809 Xplained Pro (ATmega4809-XPRO) evaluation kit. The USB-powered kit features touch buttons, LEDs and extension headers for quick setup as well as an on-board programmer/debugger that seamlessly integrates with the Atmel www.international.electronica-azi.ro

Studio 7 Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and Atmel START, a free online tool to configure peripherals and software that accelerates development.

The PIC18 Q10 and ATtiny1607 are available today for sampling and in volume production. For additional information, visit: ATtiny1607 family or PIC18 Q10 family Microchip Technology | www.microchip.com 21

New Innovations in Data Converter ICs Author: Mark Patrick, Mouser Electronics

While analogue and digital signals may behave quite differently, they often have to work alongside one another in electronic systems. Signals originate in the real world and they need to move back into it for humans to perceive and interact with them.

This is where data converters − either analogue to digital converters (ADCs) and digital to analogue converters (DACs) − come in, often accompanied signal conditioning to prepare signals for the next stage of processing.

Analogue waveforms vary continuously in frequency and amplitude over time, represented by a potentially infinite set of values.

The sounds we hear and the words vocalised when we speak are analogue. Images and video are analogue at their source too, translated into vision by the sophisticated analogue sensors that are our eyes. Measuring 22

The modern world we live in is increasingly swamped in huge amounts of data − made up of signals in both analogue and digital form. Analogue values are characteristic of natural phenomena, such as temperature, light, sound and pressure. Meanwhile, electronic technology relies on the receiving, processing and subsequent transmitting of digital signals. our heartbeat or tracking our movement both entail capturing analogue signals and subsequently processing them.

In contrast, digital information is represented by discrete time and amplitude quantized signals using digital bits in the binary format. This digital language lends itself to efficient processing and long-term storage of data. It is, as a consequence, used extensively in computing and telecommunications systems.

Electronic hardware will always require interfaces that translate signals from the analogue domain into the digital domain, and vice versa. ADCs and DACs are thus fundamental components for engineers to make use of. Consider designing a smart climate control system for a vehicle.

Engineering teams faced with this task will need to read multiple analogue tempera-

tures from sensors in different passenger zones throughout the cabin, as well as from external sensors. ADCs will be employed to convert these analogue values into a binary representation − with discrete steps that can then be processed by the system microcontroller unit (MCU). The MCU will combine this data with commands and settings entered by occupants via a human machine interface (HMI). The analogue temperature values derived from the vehicle occupants (as well as the physical HMI commands) will again be converted to digital signals by an ADC. The digital signal data that has been amassed will then be utilised by the MCU in order to maintain a stable environment. DACs may be used to convert digital signals back to analogue ones to provide feedback to the HMI. The binary code would be completely unintelligible to the vehicle occupants otherwise.

Electronica Azi International | 4/2018

DATA CONVERSION

TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESSION WITHIN THE DATA CONVERTER ARENA Incremental innovations in data conversion over the past few decades have not only enabled performance advances (benefiting everything from cellular communications and medical imaging to consumer audio and video), they have also helped to spawn entirely new applications. Ever rising demand for broadband communications (both wireline and wireless), high performance imaging applications (from medical/scientific imaging to industrial inspection), plus the emergence of AR/VR, facial recognition, etc., have resulted in increased focus on high-speed data conversion.

Figure 1

Texas Instruments’ ADC12DJ3200 ADC Converter ICs that are capable of handling signal bandwidths beyond 1GHz are becoming more and more commonplace.

A range of different mixed signal architectures have been employed to achieve these cutting-edge speeds, each with particular operational advantages. The greater processing power and data throughput enabled by shrinking process technologies, delivering smaller transistors that can switch faster (and at lower power), leads naturally to faster conversion. As a result, broadband signals expand their bandwidths (often to the spectrum limits set by physical laws), imaging systems look to handle more pixels/s − so as to render higher resolution image content faster. As systems are re-architected to take advantage of this extreme processing horsepower, there is an emerging trend toward multi-channel data converters, and even softwaredefined systems.

Rather than the conventional approach of doing much of the signal conditioning work in the analogue domain when identifying, filtering and amplifying a radio station signal of interest (before taking the signal into the digital domain), a multicarrier architecwww.international.electronica-azi.ro

ture approach might digitise the entire spectrum, and then use digital processing to identify, select and recover signals of interest. This requires more sophisticated circuitry, but offers important advantages, enabling simultaneous recovery of multiple stations. Effectively, a wideband digitiser combined with a powerful processor, plus a data converter with heightened speed and performance, forms a softwaredefined radio that can recover any kind of signal - the signal processing equivalent of virtualisation.

Analog Devices (ADI) recently introduced the first in a new line of RF converters designed for elevated bandwidth applications, such as 4G/5G multi-band wireless communications base stations, multi-standard production test systems and defence electronics. Based on 28nm CMOS technology, the AD9213 provides a strong combination of speed, bandwidth and dynamic range. Featuring higher parametric performance, greater Nyquist bandwidth and RF sampling capabilities at higher analogue input frequencies than conventional RF ADCs, it allows digitisation of RF signals up to 7GHz. Designed to enable the next generation of software-defined systems in avionics, instrumentation and communications, it drives greater system integration and reduced power consumption.

Figure 2

constraints too. The wideband ADC12DJ 3200 ADC from Texas Instruments delivers an ultra-fast sampling rate of 6.4GSPS at 12-bit resolution. Thanks to its high analogue input frequency range, with direct RF sampling up to 10GHz (covering the L, S and C-bands and extending into the Xband), it enables simplified system architectures and provides enhanced frequency agility, while reducing filter complexity − which in turn saves board space and keeps component count low.

For engineers designing continuous monitoring solutions for wearable health and fitness applications, Maxim offers a complete electrocardiogram (ECG) and bio-impedance (BioZ) analogue front-end (AFE).

Measuring heart rate, respiration and arrhythmias, the MAX30001 is small and power efficient enough to be incorporated into bio-sensing clothing to monitor and track health metrics 24/7. This clinicalgrade device features high-resolution data converters, delivering 15.9-bits effective number of bits with 3.1μVPP (typical) noise for ECG measurements and 17-bits effective number of bits with 1.1μVPP (typical) noise for BioZ measurements.

Designed specifically for the demands of mains line monitoring, Silicon Labs has introduced the industry’s first isolated 10bit ADCs. The devices in the Si890x family employ the company’s patented CMOSbased digital isolation technology.

Integrating both ADC and isolation functions provides a much smaller and thinner footprint solution than conventional transformers would be able to. Each ADC input features a 3-channel analogue multiplexer, which enables a single Si890x to monitor up to three different signals (typically AC mains voltage and current, along with the third channel serving as a spare).

Mouser Electronics | www.mouser.com

Silicon Labs’ Si890x ADC The AD9213 provides aerospace and defence engineers with the ability to process larger sections of spectrum in electronic surveillance applications, as well as increased resolution and longer range in radar systems.

High-density phased-array radar systems, 5G test systems and satellite communications all demand increased data throughput, ramped-up bandwidth and lower power, while often having PCB footprint

About the author: Mark joined Mouser Electronics in July 2014 having previously held senior marketing roles at RS Components. Prior to RS, Mark spent 8 years at Texas Instruments in Applications Support and Technical Sales roles and holds a first class Honours Degree in Electronic Engineering from Coventry University.

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COMPANIES

HIGHEST-PRECISION REINFORCED ISOLATED AMPLIFIER ENABLES LONGEST LIFETIMES IN INDUSTRIAL VOLTAGE SENSING APPLICATIONS Texas Instruments (TI) introduced a new reinforced isolated amplifier that features the industry’s highest precision and working voltages, and longest lifetime reliability. With exceptional performance that includes better nonlinearity, lower offset and gain error, and higher temperature stability, the ISO224 allows engineers to overcome performance limitations and design high-precision systems. The new amplifier is designed for isolated voltage sensing in factory automation and control, grid infrastructure, rail transport and motor drive applications. For more information, see www.TI.com/ISO224-pr-eu.

tion to an analog-to-digital converter with 5-V input. The ISO224 also features a single, high-side supply with integrated voltage detection that simplifies the design and system-level diagnostics.

Designers can download the TINA-TI™ SPICE model and then simulate and analyze their circuit behavior with the ISO224 isolated amplifier by downloading the SIM TINA-TI reference design, the ISO224 TINA-TI SPICE model, or by using the ISO224 evaluation module.

Texas Instruments | www.TI.com

Key features and benefits of the ISO224 reinforced isolated amplifier • Highest reliability: TI’s capacitive isolation technology enables the longest lifetimes and 50 percent higher working voltages than required by isolation industry standards, common-mode transient immunity (CMTI) of up to 80 kV/μs and robust operation over an extended industrial temperature range of -55°C to +125°.

• Industry’s highest performance: The high-precision ISO224 enables more accurate measurements of ±10-V signals, which are widely used in industrial applications with 25 percent better nonlinearity, eight times lower gain error, lower offset drift and faster system response than similar competitive devices.

• Small size: Engineers can reduce board space with the ISO224’s 60 percent smaller package than the previous-generation ISO12x amplifiers as well as its output that supports direct connec-

INDUSTRY’S FIRST 200-W AND 100-W USB TYPE-C™ & USB POWER DELIVERY CONTROLLERS WITH FULLY INTEGRATED POWER PATHS SIMPLIFY DESIGNS Texas Instruments (TI) introduced two new USB Type-C™ and USB Power Delivery (PD) controllers, with fully integrated power paths to simplify designs, minimize solution size and speed time to market. The TPS65987D and TPS65988 offer system designers the industry’s highest level of integration which can reduce design complexity and overall cost. For more information, see www.ti.com/TPS65987D-pr-eu and www.ti.com/TPS65988-pr-eu.

The devices are the industry’s first USB PD controllers to source 100 W and 200 W of power, respectively, to support computing applications and enable the benefits of USB Type-C in additional applications such as cordless power tools, gaming and virtual reality headsets. The TPS65987D, a single-port device designed to source 100 W of power, integrates independent 20-V, 5-A source and sink load switches. Low RDS(on) (25mΩ) and reverse current protection in the TPS65987D provide a comprehensive solution for managing a port’s charging needs. The dual-port TPS65988 can source 200 W of power, and offers two integrated 5-A bidirectional load switches and external power-path control to enable simultaneous 5-A source capability.

The devices are USB PD 3.0-certified, UL Recognized, and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) safety-certified, and come preprogrammed to support several of the most common use cases including DisplayPort™ and Thunderbolt™ applications. Additional use cases are supported through an easy-to-use configuration tool.

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Key features and benefits of the TPS65987D and TPS65988 • Fewer components, simpler designs • Industry’s highest power level • Easily configured Texas Instruments | www.TI.com

Electronica Azi International | 4/2018

PRODUCT NEWS

NEW DIGITAL SIGNAL CONTROLLER (DSC) ACCELERATES DSP PERFORMANCE FOR TIME-CRITICAL CONTROL APPLICATIONS Microchip announces a new family of dsPIC33CK 16-bit Digital Signal Controllers (DSC) which provides system designers with Digital Signal Processing (DSP) power combined with the design simplicity of a microcontroller (MCU). Designed to deliver faster deterministic performance in time-critical control applications, the dsPIC33CK have expanded context selected registers to reduce interrupt latency and new, faster instruction execution to accelerate Digital Signal Processor (DSP) routines. The dsPIC33CK singlecore family complements the recently announced dsPIC33CH dual-core family based on the same core.

With 100 MIPS performance, the core of the dsPIC33CK delivers almost double the performance of previous single-core dsPIC® DSCs, making it ideally suited for motor control, digital power and other applications requiring sophisticated algorithms such as automotive sensors and industrial automation. It has been designed specifically for controlling multiple sensorless, brushless motors running field-oriented control algorithms and power factor correction.

The devices include integrated functional safety features for safetycritical designs such as: RAM Built-In Self-Test (BIST) for checking RAM health and functionality; Deadman Timer for monitoring the health of application software through periodic timer interrupts within a specified timing window; Dual Watchdog Timers (WDT); Flash Error Correction Code (ECC); Brown Out Reset (BOR); Power On Reset (POR); and Fail Safe Clock Monitor (FSCM). The dsPIC33CK family features a CAN-FD communication bus to support new auto-

motive communication standards. It comes with a high level of analogue integration including high-speed ADCs (3.5 Msps), analogue comparators with DACs, and operational amplifiers, enabling motorcontrol applications with smaller footprints and lower bill of material costs. The DSCs include a 250 ps resolution PWM which is ideal for advanced digital power topologies. Live Update of firmware (with up to 2x128 KB blocks) is also offered to support high-availability systems, especially important for digital power supplies.

Microchip Technology | www.microchip.com

RENESAS INTRODUCES TRUE BIDIRECTIONAL SYNCHRONOUS BUCK-BOOST CONTROLLERS FOR INDUSTRIAL BATTERY-POWERED APPLICATIONS Renesas Electronics Corporation announced an innovative new family of bidirectional four-switch synchronous buck-boost controllers.

The ISL81601 and ISL81401 are the industry’s only true bidirectional controllers that sense peak current at both ends and provide cycleby-cycle current limit in both directions while in buck or boost mode.

The controllers generate point-of-load (POL) and voltage rail conversions with peak efficiency up to 99 percent. The ISL81601 has a wide input range of 4.5V to 60V and produces a 0.8V to 60V output to support most industrial batteries: 12V, 24V, 36V and 48V. Also available is the ISL81401, a 4.5V to 40V input and 0.8V to 40V output version, and its unidirectional counterpart, the ISL81401A. The new controllers are well suited for DC power backup and batterypowered medical, industrial and telecommunication systems.

The ISL81601 and ISL81401’s bidirectional peak current sensing capability eliminates complex external circuitry required for charging and discharging a battery to supply power to the loads. Their proprietary algorithm provides smooth mode transitions between buck, boost and buck-boost, while reducing low frequency ripple at Vout, ensuring minimal disturbances during line or load transients. The algorithm also ensures predictable ripple voltage under all conditions. The addition of multilayer overcurrent protection and a precision control algorithm delivers constant current down to 0.1V at Vout for reliable operation. Designers can easily expand system power by paralleling an unlimited number of controllers.

The ISL81601 and ISL81401 operate two switches at a time to www.international.electronica-azi.ro

minimize power loss and achieve higher efficiency.

The ISL81601 and ISL81401/A can be combined with a Renesas RL78 microcontroller (MCU), or other MCUs, to program the voltages, battery charge/discharge function, and on-the-fly bidirectional power flow. Designers can also use the PowerCompass™ tool to help them quickly identify other power supply parts that match their specific system requirements. Multiple power rails can be set up and designers can perform high-level system analysis and generate custom reference design files in minutes.

Renesas Electronics | www.renesas.com

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COMPANIES

MAGEWELL INTRODUCES NEW DUAL-CHANNEL 4K CAPTURE CARD WITH WORKFLOW-SIMPLIFYING LOOP-THROUGH CONNECTIVITY Combining full 60fps 4K support with dual-channel density and the workflow convenience of signal loop-through connectivity, Magewell today introduced the Pro Capture Dual HDMI 4K Plus LT, the newest member of its renowned Pro Capture family of PCI Express video capture hardware. The company will showcase the new card in booth N1119 at NAB Show New York, taking place October 17-18 in New York City.

The quality, reliability and cost-effectiveness of Magewell's Pro Capture cards have made them the preferred choice of end-users, systems integrators and OEMs for bringing professional video and audio signals into popular Windows, Mac and Linux software. The Pro Capture Dual HDMI 4K Plus LT continues these hallmarks, capturing two channels of Ultra HD video with embedded audio on each single card while reducing workflow costs and complexity with HDMI loop-through. The loop-through connections enable each source signal to be sent simultaneously to additional displays or equipment without the need for external HDMI splitters.

rate and video processing settings for each program. FPGA-based video processing provides high-quality up/down/cross-conversion, graphic overlay and more without taking valuable host system CPU cycles away from third-party software -- particularly significant because of the high computational requirements of processing two 4K sources at once.

The Pro Capture Dual HDMI 4K Plus LT leverages a high-speed PCIe 2.0 x8 bus interface and is compatible with Magewell's comprehensive SDK, helping third-party developers take full advantage of the card's advanced features in their own custom software applications and turnkey systems.

Magewell | www.magewell.com

The Pro Capture Dual HDMI 4K Plus LT features HDMI 2.0 input interfaces and supports two discrete channels of video at resolutions up to 4096x2160 at 60 frames per second. Both inputs can be used simultaneously with independent control of capture resolution, frame rate and processing settings.

Input video and audio can be routed to multiple software applications simultaneously, with separate control of resolution, frame

THE NEW 3U CP3005-SA CPU BOARD IS KONTRON'S LATEST EDITION TO ITS COMPACTPCI FAMILY Kontron is introducing CP3005-SA, a new generation of 3U CompactPCI CPU boards. The blade features 4-core or 6-core 8thgen Intel® processors or an Intel® Xeon® E-2176 processor. The Intel® Xeon® processor is specifically suitable for server applications and applications requiring error correcting code (ECC) memory.

Thanks to the integrated Intel® UHD Graphics P630 graphics controller, the CP3005-SA CPU board ensures powerful display performance in graphics-intensive applications. Beyond these features, the latest member of the CompactPCI family presents a robust design according to VITA47 EAC3 and works even in the extended temperature range of -40° to +70°C. Based on the guaranteed product availability of at least ten years, the CP3005-SA CPU board is devised for long-term use.

The new blade delivers optimized energy efficiency: 4-core or 6core 8th-gen Intel® processors achieve higher performance-per-watt values than their predecessors. Depending on the ambient temperature and CPU load, they dynamically adjust their thermal design power to avoid exceeding the maximum permissible temperature.

The enhanced graphics performance of the new CP3005-SA is a unique feature. The integrated graphics controller Intel® UHD Graphics P630 provides sufficient performance to support three independent graphics outputs. The Intel® UHD Graphics P630 graphics card specifically supports the COM-based programming interfaces DirectX® 12 for multimedia-intensive applications and the OpenGL 4.5 standard. 4K video facilitates UHD streaming and is the 26

perfect solution for video applications like digital signage and monitoring systems. Up to 32 GigaByte SDRAM at speeds of 2666 DDR4 provide enough capacity even for applications with high storage requirements. Error Correcting Code (ECC) is supported in conjunction with the Intel® Xeon® processor. A SATA flash memory module can be used as a memory unit for onboard and operating system data. Usually, 32 GByte are sufficient for this purpose, however, based on the new form factor M.2, 42 mm modules provide higher flash capacities of up to 1 terabyte. The flash modules can also be used as mass storage devices.

Kontron | www.kontron.com

Electronica Azi International | 4/2018

PRODUCT NEWS

NEW COST EFFICIENT ENTRY-LEVEL PLATFORM FOR HIGH-END EMBEDDED COMPUTING congatec introduces a brand new price-breaking Computer-onModule for the entry-level of high-end embedded computing based on Intel's latest Core i3-8100H processor platform. The new highperformance platform convinces with its optimized cost and performance-per-watt quad-core processor as well as support for lowpower high-bandwidth DDR4 RAM. Its fast 16 PCIe Gen 3.0 lanes make it a perfect candidate for all the new artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning applications requiring multiple GPUs for massive parallel processing. The integrated Intel HD graphics UHD 630 is optimized in terms of clock rate and driver, which provides additional TDP headroom for even more GPGPU performance or 4k UHD graphics. All this makes the new COM Express Basic Computeron-Module the performance-per-watt champion for price sensitive high-performance applications, that comes on demand with sophisticated passive or active cooling solutions from a single source.

Typical use cases range from all the manifold connected embedded, industrial, and IoT applications up to the brand new systems with embedded artificial intelligence that all require the latest high-end embedded performance with even greater energy and cost efficiency than the previously launched high-end Gen 8 Intel Core i5 and Core i7 variants can provide.

The new conga-TS370 COM Express Basic Type 6 Computer-onModule with quad-core Intel Core i3 8100H processor offers a 45 watt TDP configurable to 35 W, supports 6 MB cache and provides up to 32 GB dual-channel DDR4 2400 memory. Compared to the

preceding 7th generation of Intel Core processors, the improved memory bandwidth also helps to increase the graphics and GPGPU performance of the integrated new Intel UHD630 graphics, which additionally features an increased maximum dynamic frequency of up to 1.0 GHz for its 24 execution units. It supports up to three independent 4K displays with up to 60 Hz via DP 1.4, HDMI, eDP and LVDS. For the first time, designers can now switch from eDP to LVDS purely by modifying the software without any hardware changes. congatec | www.congatec.com

KONTRON BOOSTS THE PERFORMANCE OF VPX COMPUTING MODULE BY SUPPORTING THE 12-CORE INTEL® XEON®-D PROCESSOR Kontron announces the successful design and test of an upgraded industry-leading 3U VPX single-board computer, and the start of evaluation unit deliveries to its key customers. Based on the inproduction VX3058, the upgraded VX305C integrates the 12core version of the Intel® Xeon®-D processor architecture (Broadwell DE), which further boosts the performance of the highly integrated Kontron VX3058 and brings a new level of performance to battlefield server-class computing and digital signal processing (DSP) performance.

The new VX305C keeps the feature set of its predecessor including its Dual 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE), high bandwidth PCI Express (PCIe) 3.0, and high speed DDR4 memory, is ruggedized for harsh environments, and is size, weight, power and cost (SWaP-C) optimized. These features and benefits make it ideal for demanding military server and other high performance embedded computing (HPEC) applications. This holds true especially for virtual machine architectures that can take advantage of the extensive capital and operational efficiencies provided by isolated workloads configured to dynamically share common resources.

Ethernet or other interfaces. The Kontron VX305C is pin compatible

with the company's popular and previous generation VX3058 and VX3044 3U VPX boards, which already deploys 10 gigabit (G) Ethernet and PCIe gen3 on the OpenVPX backplane.

Options include a shelf manager for centralized health management, sequenced system power-up and Temperature/Power/ Performance management as well as Power-On Built-in Test (PBIT) that give designers a comprehensive package for board and system diagnosis.

Kontron | www.kontron.com

The Kontron VX305C leverages the 12-core Intel® Xeon®-D 1559 processor to provide two 10 GBASE-KR ports and 8 lanes of Gen3 PCI Express to the backplane. Providing more capabilities in a 3U footprint, the VX305C also offers versatile mezzanine options for XMC, storage, and graphics. One M.2 interface can be used for storage or for integration of customized personality modules, while a second can be used to add 2D HDMI graphics. Front I/O module options are selectable for DVI/HDMI, www.international.electronica-azi.ro

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COMPANY NEWS

Reliable Connectors from Headquartered in Berwyn, Pennsylvania and as a 14 billion USD technology leader globally, TE Connectivity employs 80,000 people in 50 countries across EMEA, Asia Pacific and the Americas. Recognized by Thomson Reuters as a Top 100 Innovator for the fourth year running, TE invests 5 percent of its sales into Research and Development and has over 18,000 patents awarded or pending.

The primary market segments served by TE Connectivity include transportation, network, industrial and consumer solutions. The vast array of products includes: • Connectors • Heat shrink tubing • Passive components • Terminals and splices • Cable assemblies • Lighting assemblies • Relays, contactors and switches • Cable and wire RS Components has over 25,000 TE Connectivity products available from stock for next day delivery.

Industrial connectors RJ45 Cat6A 135-5489 135-6052

Quick and Easy Field Installation Automatic wire cut-off function.

TE Connectivity’s latest Industrial IP20 RJ45 Cat. 6A plug is based upon common core technology, a platform technology used in the entire industrial RJ45 product family.

This RJ45 Cat. 6A plug is extending the family of Field Installable Cat5e common core designs with a connector that can be terminated tool-less with Cat6A cables in the field. This solution includes an automatic wire cut-off function, which provides an error-free installation and optimal performance in the field. Upon closing the core housing, the excess wire is cut off at the same time the wires are connected to the plug contacts. This TE solution is capable of terminating the most commonly used wire variant Cat6A and can handle 10 Gbps bit rates, supporting bandwidths of up to 500 MHz. 28

RJ45Cat 6A plug 135-5489 135-6052 Electronica Azi International | 4/2018

COMPANIES

“Due to its rugged design, including easy, error-free installation and optimal performance from the wire cut-off function, the RJ45 Cat 6A plug is particularly suited for demanding industrial cable applications such as control cabinets, motor/motor controls, machinery, robotics and more.” - Ruud van den Brink, Product Manager at TE Connectivity.

1 Min IP67

− Maximum installation time

− Optional performance

22-26 − AWG covered

Cat6A common core ...

How to get connected Step 1 − Remove the cable jacket and insert wires into the cable managers.

Step 2 − Close covers by pressing with a common tool or by thumb until it is locked together and wires are automatically cut off .

Step 3 − Remove the separated wires …

READY!

Features • Single Piece Common Core Cat. 6A plug with tool-less installation • Automatic Wire cut-off function provides error-free installation and optimal performance • Optional sealed housing guarantee IP65/67 performance • Supports minimum 750 mating cycles

Benefits • Error-free assembly in under 1 minute and optimal performance will be obtained with integrated automatic wire cut-off function • Rugged design and special features (e.g. metal latch) makes the plug extremely suited for demanding Industrial applications • Broad range of wires (AWG 26 to AWG 22, solid and stranded) can be terminated without the use of tools Applications • Control cabinets • Robotics • Motor/Motor Controls • Machinery • and Industrial Cable Installations in many other applications

Examples: TE Connectivity Cat6a 8 Way Straight Cable Mount Shielded RJ45 Connector Female Industrial RJ45 push-pull Variant 14 RJ45 jack connectors with a metal shell, an IEC standardized interface and an RJ45 4/8 position jack. These industrial RJ45 connectors have an IP rating of IP65/IP67 and can withstand harsh environments such as shock, vibration and temperature. The nickel-plated zinc diecast shell also has good chemical, oil and spark resistance. The high IP rating makes these metal RJ45 connectors ideal for a reliable and safe connection. The robust termination technology of these industrial RJ45 connectors does not require any special tooling resulting in time savings and flexible field installation. The push-pull mechanism provides a secure sealed connection that can terminate all common cable diameters. These Industrial RJ45 jack connectors have the option of a 90° 180° or pass through variant.

• Stock No.: 135-5489 • Mfr. Part No.: 1-2120871-1

TE Connectivity Cat6a 8-Way Male RJ45 Connector Straight Cable Mount Shielded These industrial RJ45 Variant 14 plug connectors are compliant to IEC 61076-3-117 and are ideal for use in the automation production industry. Other applications include welding machines, motors and motor controls, machinery and robotics.

• Stock No.: 135-6052 • Mfr. Part No.: 1-2120864-1

Author: Bogdan Grămescu www.rsromania.com www.international.electronica-azi.ro

Aurocon COMPEC distribuitor autorizat RS Components 29

COMPANIES

INNOVATIVE OMNIMATE HYBRID CONNECTORS FROM WEIDMÜLLER REPLACING THREE INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS NOW AT TTI, INC. Now available in Europe through TTI, Inc., a world leading specialist distributor of electronic components, are OMNIMATE hybrid connectors from Weidmüller. The components replace three individual components and reduce three separate operations to one - with the signal contacts integrated directly in the power connector, the pluggable cable shielding and the one-handed safety lock.

Hybrid cables provide the connection between frequency convertors or servo controllers and the motor itself. Previously, to connect the cable, three plug-in connectors were required: a power connector for the motor connection, a signal connector for capturing the motor feedback and shielding to protect data traffic from electromagnetic disturbance.

OMNIMATE hybrid connectors combine all three connectors in an application-specific way resulting in an innovative and complete solution. The products enable simultaneous, safe and "blind“ connection of power and signal cabling as well as the shielding.

Examples are the pluggable shielding or one-handed safety interlock with automatic snapping into place. The integration of these functions enables intuitive and tool-free operation, as well as permanent secure contact, even under difficult installation conditions.

The hybrid connectors fulfil touch-safe protection according to IEC

(UL) 61800-5-1 of 3 or 5.5 mm. The devices are available as an option with openable and adjustable "pushers" and contact points.

TTI, Inc. | www.ttieurope.com

LIGHTWEIGHT, SPACE-SAVING, HIGH-REL SCREW-LOK CONNECTOR NOW FEATURES REVERSE FIX OPTIONS PLUS CABLE ASSEMBLIES Continuing to push forward with further technological innovations, Harwin has significantly extended the scope of its awardwinning Gecko Screw-Lok (Gecko-SL) 1.25mm pitch connector solutions – which are mainly targeted at avionics, space, military and autosport deployment. To present engineers with greater design flexibility, and ensure that mating procedures are made as straightforward as possible, a reverse fix orientation has now been made available for the robust and reliable stainless steel screwloks incorporated into each Gecko-SL. Here it is the male connectors that serve as the floating fixings and screw into the female connectors – as opposed to conventional Gecko-SL systems, where it is the female connectors that have the floating fixings.

The Gecko-SL Reverse Fix is available on both male and female cable housings. For this version, the female connectors can be used in a panel-mount arrangement, with a threaded stud positioned on the rear of the screw-lok. Slotted nuts and hexagonal nuts are both available separately. Surface mount and throughboard PCB versions of both male and female connectors are also available, with the threaded stud on the female connectors for board mount strain relief. In addition, Gecko-SL products are now supported by a range of ready-to-use cable assemblies – covering a broad spectrum of customer requirements. Both male and female single-ended versions are offered, and double-ended male-to-male, male-tofemale and female-to-female arrangements, with the possibility for numerous different pin counts and cable lengths to be specified.

Finally, to fill out the existing range of Gecko-SL, there are additional screw-lok options being added for the male cable connectors (now with panel mount) and male PCB connectors – surface mount and throughboard – now without board mount studs.

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As Ben Green, Head of New Business Development at Harwin, explains, “The incredibly positive reception that we’ve had from the market for Gecko-SL over the last 18 months has driven us to further expand the portfolio, so that we can address even more opportunities for this compact, highly resilient connectivity solution. By providing Gecko-SL connectors with cable assemblies, customers won’t have to concern themselves with the engineering challenges of adding the accompanying cabling themselves – such as tooling, training staff, testing, establishing processes and suchlike – as it is all done for them,” he continues. “Furthermore, the reverse fix versions also added mean that engineers can specify the mating characteristics that best suits their application demands.”

Harwin | www.harwin.com

Electronica Azi International | 4/2018

INXPECT: Industrial safety with LBK System Volumetric Linear Safety Barrier The LBK System has been designed for use around hazardous machinery and robot automated areas providing perimeter or area access detection. An affordable SIL2 Volumetric Linear Safety Barrier, the LBK System is built around FMCW radar smart sensors, with dynamically configurable presence sensing areas (warning +danger). Suited for application where smoke, dust, shavings, machining waste, splashes, usually lead optical detectors to generate false alarm, the LBK System can be easily configured through the provided PC Software application. The LBK System is proudly engineered, designed and made in Italy by Inxpect.

A new Safety Barrier technology that offers superior safety protection without compromising productivity and efficiency, even in harsh industrial environments The LBK System provides an Industrial Safety Barrier , and is based on the LBK-S01, an innovative radar-based motion sensor device that, together with the appropriate LBK Control unit, ensures that automated machines or robots enter in safe mode when operators enter or are present in a dangerous area. The LBK System consists of at least an LBKS01 smart motion sensor that operates in combination with an LBK-C22 Control unit, realizing an active protective system, SIL2, in accordance with IEC 61508.

Immunity to visible objects like smoke, dust, shavings, machining waste, splashes A perfect alignment between sensors is not required Configuration, e.g. the depth of the warning and danger areas, can be made quickly and easily through the provided PC application The system can detect the presence of humans and can give pre-alarms in order to avoid the sudden stop of the machinery The system detects which part of the danger area has been entered: different actions can be configured depending on the accessed zone

Main features: ■ Two dynamically configurable depths: warning and danger ■ Configurable EDM and Restart Interlock I/O ■ Configurable non-safe relay output for Pre-alarm, Muting or Ready condition signalling ■ No additional mounting hardware required Operator protection, robust to dust and smoke The use of safety devices for personnel, workplace protection and in machine safety can vary depending on the individual manufacturing markets. However, there are plenty of industrial applications that may require safety barriers where traditional optical or pressuresensitive- based solutions cannot be applied.

Where light curtains, laser barriers, or safety mats fail, the LBK Safety Linear Barrier system is the solution.

The Inxpect LBK-C22 is the Safety barrier control unit used to monitor up to 6 LBK-S01 smart detectors. Intervention of any single detector results in deactivation of the safety output.

The LBK-C22 control unit can be configured through a provided application, connecting a PC with a USB cable.

Sensibility adjustment, depth of the warning and danger areas can be easily configured as well as auxiliary output relay functions. The configuration parameters also allow to set the system in order to work with an external EDM and manage Muting requests or Restart Interlock functions.

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Electronica Azi International | 4/2018

The Inxpect LBK-S01 smart motion detectors are based on FMCW radar technology, a proven technique that guarantees best in class performance at detecting and tracking motion.

Unlike traditional motion sensors based on infra-red, laser or microwaves, thanks to its advanced architecture and to Inxpect ’s proprietary system design, LBK-S01 can compute in real time the distance of the moving personnel reaching unsafe areas.

The LBK-S01 is undisturbed by smoke, dust, shavings, machining waste, splashes, resulting in a dramatic reduction of false alarms, and significantly increasing the efficiency and productivity of the plant without compromising safety.

Fields of application ■ Robot automated areas ■ Food and beverage industry ■ Hazardous machinery ■ Material handling equipment ■ Packaging machinery ■ Special machine construction www.oboyle.ro

Contrinex: Classics Washdown Washdown sensors now available in classical housing type with IP69K protection Contrinex has added a classical housing type (series 600) to its Washdown range of food industry approved inductive sensors. The range now includes not only Full Inox one-piece stainless-steel sensors in sizes M12, M18 and M30, but also the new Classics type in a standard M12 size.

The new inductive sensor has a food grade housing in V4A/AISI 316L stainless steel with PPS * (polyphenylene sulfide) sensing face. It offers an operating distance of two millimeters and is IO-Link enabled in the PNP NO version. The Classics Washdown sensor is embeddable and connection is via an S12 connector. www.international.electronica-azi.ro

Like Full Inox (series 700) Washdown sensors, the new Classics (series 600) Washdown types are certified for continuous use under harsh conditions. Both housing variants have an IP68/IP69K protection rating and are corrosion resistant. These robust and efficient sensors are therefore highly suitable for position and presence monitoring in the manufacture of food, beverages and pharmaceuticals.

The new housing type meets the strict hygiene standards of the dairy industry. During round-the-clock production of milk products, Classics Washdown sensors can typically be used for permanent position sensing on rotary valve actuators. For dairy industry applications that expose sensors to even greater stresses due to aggressive chemicals or mechanical impacts, the Full Inox Washdown types are available. These particularly robust, Ecolab-certified sensors in one-piece stainless steel housings are characterized by long operating distances and factor 1 on steel and aluminum.

Classics Washdown – technical data Max. switching frequency: 1700 Hz Operating voltage range: 10 … 30 VDC Ambient temperature range: -40 … + 120°C Output current: ≤ 200 mA IO-Link: integrated www.oboyle.ro 33

O’BOYLE: Optical fibers

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www.oboyle.ro

Electronica Azi International | 4/2018

COMPANIES

SMT – INFO

MICROCARE ADDRESSES PCB CLEANING WITH NEW PRODUCTS AT SMTAi The industry’s leading manufacturer of critical cleaning, coating and lubrication products, MicroCare Corp. has extended its portfolio even further with the launch of new and progressive products which will be showcased at this year’s SMTA International in Chicago, Illinois, USA from 14 – 18th October, which includes a new series of flux remover pens.

Now presented in convenient pen-style packaging are three popular MicroCare flux removing chemistries including; the RMA Flux Remover, No-Clean Flux Remover and the Water-Soluble Flux Remover Pens. Each has been specifically designed to successfully remove flux quickly and safely from PCBs. The No-Clean Flux Remover Pen is based on the popular MicroCare cleaner, No-Clean Flux Remover - VeriClean™ which is already available in a variety of sizes from an aerosol canister to drum. The new ‘pen’ package gives technicians another option to easily clean flux and pastes quickly, leaving no residue. It also has the advantage of cleaning other contaminants like adhesives, oil and grease. It is an exceptional degreaser and general-purpose cleaner and is exempt from VOC regulations in most areas.

The new RMA Flux Remover Pen, which contains a high-purity extra-

strength formulation, helps to clean aged and baked-on flux which can prove difficult to remove. It easily penetrates and dissolves excess flux and removes ionic and non-ionic activators effortlessly. The final of the new trio of flux cleaners is the Water-Soluble (OA) Flux Remover Pen, an economical cleaner for rosin, water-based and no-clean fluxes. Because of its slower evaporation rate, the cleaning time can be increased when removing baked-on flux residue leaving equipment residue-free.

Also new to the portfolio, and featured at SMTAi, is the ESD Presaturated Cleaning Wipes. The static-dissipative, lint-free wipes successfully remove flux residues, oils, fingerprints, dirt and debris from ESD mats, tools, bins, tool racks, workbenches and other surfaces in a PCB manufacturing facility, making it the perfect choice for a variety of cleaning jobs.

A further addition to the MicroCare family of cleaning products, and new this year, is the economy size flux remover aerosols, including the Heavy Duty Flux Remover - SuprClean™, the Alcohol-Enhanced Flux Remover - ProClean™ and No-Clean Flux Remover - VeriClean™.

MicroCare Corp. | www.microcare.com

CREATIVE ELECTRON ADDS AI TO TRUVIEW™ PARTS COUNTER With all the talk of industry 4.0 and smart factory over recent years and the recent hype around artificial intelligence it’s exciting to finally see a product that delivers on the promise of these digital building blocks.

The software team at Creative Electron, led by CTO Anh Nguyen, has developed a custom AI engine that adds features like incorrect label, missing components and counterfeit detection making the “TruView™ Parts Counter AI” not only the fastest and most accurate, but now the smartest!

Creative Electron CEO, Dr. Bill Cardoso says “We are delighted to have built an AI platform that will really add value in the inspection process. The TruView Parts Counter has always led the market in speed and accuracy and now it’s ready to take inventory and materials management to the next level”. CTO, Anh Nguyen adds “We immediately saw the potential www.international.electronica-azi.ro

of artificial intelligence in the SMT process and with our domain knowledge in x-ray inspection we were quick to develop a solution that proves our leadership in this area. Expect more from Creative Electron’s custom AI engine in the future.”

The USA developed and manufactured TruView™ Parts Counter AI is ready to be integrated into any ERP/MRP system and is Industry 4.0 ready, delivering the ability to: • • • • •

Find counterfeit components Find mislabeled reels Find missing components in the reel Count four reels at a time Inspect printed circuit boards

The TruView™ Parts Counter AI is also the only battery-powered and portable x-ray based parts counter.

Check out www.creativeelectron.com/truview-parts-counter-AI for more details.

Creative Electron www.creativeelectron.com 35

Rent Your SMT Line Not having to spend a lot of money upfront can help your business manage its cash flow more effectively. Whether you’re starting out or expanding, renting is the smart option for your business.

Staying Ahead of the Game We live in a time of constant changes where every day we have to adapt to our customers’ needs. Either because of the new technological challenges, a focus on ROI “return on investment” or better productivity against new competition. The reasons can be many, and we believe we can help in providing the right solution.

Keeping up with the pace and always being a step ahead of your competitors is what we are all striving to. Today you can rent almost everything starting from airplanes and properties to cars and machines.

So, why not rent your next SMT equipment?

Advantages of Renting 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

It’s the right to use the equipment, and not the ownership, that creates revenue and profit for the company.

Rentals can be customized from 18 months, and to customer's needs: monthly, quarterly or annually.

Renting allows your company to “protect” your normal bank relationship.

Renting allows you to minimize your risk on big asset depreciation.

Renting does not affect a take away from the balance sheet as debt-financed assets; it has a positive effect on a number of key figures.

Cash Flow; payments are allocated over the period during which the equipment is used and generates profit. (When you have bought the equipment your cash is locked away) Renting strengthens the company’s competitiveness; use your cash where your returns are the greatest. (Production companies often choose to use their cash on new development, salaries or purchase of raw materials which equals the highest return on investment) Flexibility – you are not “stuck” with your SMD-Line. Renting provides you the possibility to change your equipment depending on your customer's demands and market requirements!

What equipment fits your business best?

To give you a choice in our rental concept, we have created two different product production lines. The first one is called the “PREMIUM SMT CONCEPT” and the second one is called “ECONOMIC SMT CONCEPT”.

PREMIUM SMT CONCEPT It contains all the premium brands you know such as Assembléon, DEK, Vitronics-Soltec, and others. Everything to make you feel secure with the machines that will deliver your client's products. Scalable from 9,000 to 165,000+ CPH.

ECONOMIC SMT CONCEPT Here we have selected the equipment that is of high quality and proven reliability and that gives you a competent and powerful alternative, that maintains a lower price image without compromising on quality and reliability, and with access to good service and support. Scalable from 8,000 to 80,000+ CPH. LTHD Corporation S.R.L. Head Office: Timișoara - ROMÂNIA, 300153, 70 Ardealul Str., lthd@lthd.com, www.lthd.com Tel.: +40 256 201273, +40 356 401266, Fax: +40 256 490813

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Electronica Azi International | 4/2018

FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS FOR ELECTRONIC MANUFACTURING Standard leasing solutions are restricted to any improvement / changes.

The financial solution of SMTHOUSE is tailored to the needs of electronic production environments and includes the following additional advantages. n n n n n n n

Choose your manufacturing equipment based on today’s and future need from market leading suppliers.

Total SMT line solutions or single machines Best competitive monthly rates based on contracts between 18-72 months Fixed rates including service, maintenance and spares SMTH Technology Guarantee allows you to swap your installed equipment during the contract period Additional options can be added into the running contract at any time Flexible options after the end of the contract based on your needs

Configure your SMT Lines upon your demands from world known manufacturers like KNS/Assembleon, Hanwa/Samsung, Mirae, DEK, Reprint, Vitronics Soltec, MEK, TRI and others.

Adapt it to your changing demands during the rental agreement and get your full flexibility regarding changing production demands.

PREMIUM LINE / 70 - 175.000 cph (IPC) Renting instead of buying from 13.995,- EUR per month Scalable output without the need to exchange machines COMPETITIVE LINE / 36.000 Bt/Std. (IPC) Highly flexible SMT Production line

Renting instead of buying from

4.995,-

EUR per month

ENTRY LINE / 15.000 Bt/Std. (IPC) Renting instead of buying from 2.495.- EUR per month Complete SMT Production Line for low volume and NPI

LTHD Corporation S.R.L. Head Office: Timișoara - ROMÂNIA, 300153, 70 Ardealul Str., lthd@lthd.com, www.lthd.com Tel.: +40 256 201273, +40 356 401266, Fax: +40 256 490813

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SEICA AUTOMATION was founded to fulfill customer needs of handling systems for the electronic production.

The company can supply every kind of automation systems to complete production lines, from the easiest to the most elaborate ones.

Thanks to its engineering department, which uses themost advances tools for development and 3D design, SEICA AUTOMATION can offer high quality standards, fast conceiving times and a wide customization of the modules.

The internal production department assures the possibility to put on trial every single machine in its entire working cycle; systems development and later upgrades can be also available.

People with more of 20 years of experience in board handling gives Seica Automation team the necessary know-how to find always the most efficient solution and to solve any production issue.

SEICA AUTOMATION manufactures loaders, unloaders, conveyors, buffers, shuttles, and has a wide range of standard handling systems as well as an infinite number of other customized solutions.

An experience of more than 20 years gives to SEICA AUTOMATION the necessary know-how to find the efficient solution for customer board handling,traceability and custom automated solution, we propose to our customer the complete realization of turnkey assembly system.

SEICA AUTOMATION product portfolio include Board Handling, Traceability product like label applicators and laser marking, soldering line, press fit cell and many other custom products. The whole production flow is “MADE IN ITALY”, under the control of SEICA AUTOMATION R&D and quality dept, all European rules and laws are fully respected.

BOARD HANDLING Create your PCB line flow process with our proven, flexible and reliable handling system. Seica Automation is organized to design and manufacture our product lines and accessories to ensure the rapid response times needed to meet the demands of SMT manufacturers, providing solutions that are high performance, flexible and that have an optimum price/quality ratio. Each unit is equipped with its own control PLC and is fully SMEMA compliant. Our two different product lines, Flo and Flex, have been designed to satisfy every customer requirement.

FLO SERIES® Has a great price/performance ratio, and is the ideal solution for standard lines handling small to medium size PCBs. FLEX SERIES® Guarantees maximum performance for every handling requirement, thanks to its high level of flexibility and customization. We provide standardized solutions designed for your specific applications, such as traceability, testing, curing, cutting, and dispensing. High performance robots are equipped with specific tools to fulfill each application.

TRACEABILITY The traceability system enables the user to locate boards requiring verification or modifications. It is therefore possible to track, for each assembled PCB, every component used, as well as the operator responsible. Seica Automation has a wide range of both laser marking machines and labeling machines.

SOLDERING LINES Soldering lines can solve every PCB manufacturing cycle requirement involving manual assembly, by optimizing carrier logistics as well as handling of single boards.

The information made available through barcode readers and pin codes, enables carriers to be sent to specific areas, as well as the automatic selection of soldering programs and the implementation of customized assembly cycles. This structure enables the operators to work either in-line (sequential assembly) or in work areas of varied complexity. We can implement your project, whether it be a simple or very complex soldering line.

LTHD Corporation S.R.L. Head Office: Timișoara - ROMÂNIA, 300153, 70 Ardealul Str., lthd@lthd.com, www.lthd.com Tel.: +40 256 201273, +40 356 401266, Fax: +40 256 490813

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Electronica Azi International | 4/2018