Intersil's ISL12024/25 real-time clocks feature an integrated factory-set 64-bit unique ID that is read-only and tamper-proof for increased security and reduced footprint and BOM cost.

Intersil's ISL12024/25 real-time clocks feature an integrated factory-set 64-bit unique ID that is read-only and tamper-proof for increased security and reduced footprint and BOM cost. In a tiny 8-lead package, the devices integrate a standard clock, calendar and alarm functions and also feature an I2C communication link that provides a reliable communication channel for the unique ID. The I2C communication interface is universal and communicates with all devices on the board, saving design time and simplifying the entire system.

Continuing the trend towards feature integration, Intersil's micropower ISL12024/25 RTCs are suitable for both fixed and portable applications.

This level of integration benefits the customer by reducing design cost and footprint.

The ISL12025 also adds a CPU supervisor and watchdog timer for greater BOM reduction.

With on-chip timing and crystal compensation, the devices allow tuning of the crystal frequency through the microcontroller for accurate timekeeping.

The ISL12024/25 feature automatic battery backup in the event system power is interrupted and are designed to operate with a wide range of supply voltages from 2.7V to 5.5V and in a battery back-up mode down to 1.8V.

Power consumption in either case is quite low, with typical 800nA in battery mode.

This further enhances the security and reliability of the final product by extending operation in battery mode.

The ISL12024/25 also provide 4Kbits of EEPROM with eight modes of Block Lock control.

Block Lock control allows safe, secure memory for critical user and configuration data by preventing accidental corruption of data.

The EEPROM data retention is guaranteed over 2,000,000 write cycles.

The calendar has separate registers for date, month, year and day-of-week.

The calendar is correct through 2099, with automatic leap year correction.

The 64-bit unique ID is written, verified and locked at the factory, and it is only accessible for reading and cannot be altered by the customer.

The ISL12025 has integrated power-on reset (POR) and watchdog timer functions with five selectable VTRIP levels ranging from a default level of 2.63V to 4.64V, and has a single output for RESETb.

The ISL12024 has an IRQb/FOUT pin that is software-selected to provide alarm IRQb or frequency output FOUT .

The FOUT has four frequency settings: disabled, 1Hz, 4096Hz and 32,768Hz.

The alarm can be set to any clock/calendar value for a match (for example: every minute, every Tuesday or at 5:23 AM on March 21).

The alarm status is available by checking the status register, or the ISL12024 device can be configured to provide an interrupt via the IRQ/FOUT pin.

There is a pulse mode for the alarms allowing for repetitive alarm functionality.

Offering high reliability, the devices feature a data retention figure of 50 years, and an endurance of 2,000,000 cycles per Byte.

With two non-volatile alarms and a repeat mode (periodic interrupts), other key features of the devices include internal feedback resistor and compensation capacitors, 64-position digitally controlled trim capacitor, six digital frequency adjustment settings to +/-30ppm, 512x8-bits of EEPROM, 16-Byte page write mode (32 total pages), single byte write capability, and 400kHz data transfer rate.

Target applications for the devices include utility meters, audio video equipment, modems, network routers, hubs, switches and bridges, cellular infrastructure equipment, fixed broadband wireless equipment, pagers/PDAs, POS equipment, test meters/fixtures, office automation (copiers, fax), computer products, and security-related applications.

Recent product introductions are summarised in the latest 'What's new @AVX' catalogue, available from all local AVX sales offices.

Groundbreaking patented technology and intelligent design have allowed passives specialist AVX to develop a number of exciting electronic component devices in 2006 such as FLEXISAFE Ultra Safe capacitors for high protection against mechanical cracking issues; 2-terminal Land Grid Array capacitors that offer Equivalent Series Inductance similar to 8-terminal IDCs; and CoreCap capacitors that deliver Equivalent Series Resistance down to 3mandnumber8486; at 300kHz. The company also introduced the 9175 series Wire-to-Board Strip connector for connecting individual wires to a single row of contacts using IDC technology, radically reducing assembly time thanks to a dedicated single-wire insertion hand tool. Over 60 product families have been added to the company portfolio in 2006 (amounting to 19,500 new part numbers).

These have been summarised in the latest 'What's new @AVX' catalogue, available from all local AVX sales offices.

The company has succeeded in developing a reputation for innovation and reliable technology over the years, winning five major industry technology awards in the last fifteen months, including product of the year awards for its TACmicrochip, FLEXITERM and OxiCap capacitors.

Contax is to exhibit at Nepcon 2007 with fourteen new products covering a full range of processes including: placement, soldering, dispensing, x-ray and inspection, storage and wire processing.

Production automation system specialist, Contax, will be exhibiting at Nepcon 2007 at the NEC, Birmingham from 15-17 May 2007. On its stand, E40, Contax will be demonstrating 14 products covering a full range of processes including: placement, soldering, dispensing, x-ray and inspection, storage and wire processing. Four new products will be launched on the stand.

These are as follows.

Universal Instruments Genesis GX-11S: the latest in the Genesis range of placment machines is the GX-11S, a high performance system designed for high-mix, low volume environments.

The GX-11S is a single beam, overhead gantry, multi-function system configured with a 7-spindle FlexJet3 and 4-spindle InLine4 HF head with 5kg placement force.

Essemtec FLX2010-MK/MKL: a complete production system for all assembly operations.

This includes the dispensing of glue and conductive adhesives together with the placement of LEDs, or other SMD components and metal domes.

Two models are available, FLX2010-MK which has a placement area of 500 x 300mm or FLX2010-MKL for larger board sizes of up to 800 x 600mm.

Speedline Camalot FX-D: aimed at the mid to high-end market, this highly flexible new dispenser can be used as a stand-alone or in-line system and can be supplied with or without a heat facility.

It can also be reconfigured in the field to meet virtually any change in requirement.

Komax Q-Tools: demonstrated by Contax for the first time in the UK, Komax Q-Tools is a suite of instruments that is fully integrated into the Komax machine operating software.

By employing Q-Tools all the defined test parameters are verified before an operator can run production.

This ensures that the correct materials are used, and to the correct parameters, so dramatically reducing the amount of scrap produced.

In all, Contax will be exhibiting 3 placement systems on its stand.

In addition to the new Genesis GX-11S and FLX2010 MK/MKL, the popular Universal Instruments AdVantis system will also be featured.

For soldering applications, Contax will be demonstrating the Pillarhouse Jade selective soldering system for the first time in the UK.

Furthermore, it will be showing the popular ATF wave soldering machine and Essemtec RO300FC convection reflow oven.

Dispensing systems on show include the new Speedline FX-D dispenser, together with the popular Speedline MPM AccuFlex stencil printer.

For x-ray and inspection solutions, Contax will be displaying the the Omron VT-RNS automatic optical inspection (AOI) system and the phoenix/x-ray nanome/x high resolution x-ray system with CT capability.

Storage products include the recently launched Essemtec CSS4050 SMD tower holding over 500 component reels with automatic retreival and return along with the McDry MCU-301 humidity cabinet.

Finally, a new Komax wire processing system will available on Contax's stand.

The recently announced Alpha 455 'swivel' style crimp-to-crimp machine will be on show for the first time in the UK, and will incorporate the new Komax Q-Tools.

'This will be our best Nepcon ever,' said Mike Rapson, Managing Director at Contax .

'We have a wide ranging selection of products from the world's most innovative and successful suppliers, such as Universal Instruments, Speedline and Komax.

'We are now able to design and provide a full production line for any manufacturer - from small CEMs to large OEMs.

At our stand at Nepcon, we will be presenting a small snapshot of offerings, but will have our consultants available to provide information on all our systems, or advice on any specific production issue,' he said.

A drop-in replacement for common low insertion force connectors makes mis-mating impossible, says Hypertec of its HDL Series of low insertion force (ZIF) connectors.

Hypertac's HDL Series of low insertion force (ZIF) connectors combine high reliability and ease of assembly with mating cycle performance. Designed for use in exacting applications that require a high-quality electrical connection with frequent mating and unmating, the HDL series is a drop-in replacement for commonly used ZIF connectors. Environments such as military and industrial test and measurement, medical, transportation and telecommunications testing are highly intolerant of component and assembly failure, requiring the excellent levels of reliability and repeatability provided by the HDL Series.

The connectors can withstand 10,000 mating cycles, a performance increase of 50% more than standard contact technology.

Rapid mating and unmating is ensured by Hypertac's 180deg half-turn positive locking system and the provision of an extra guide pin eliminates any possible mis-mating.

Two Polarisation keying options allow users to create up to 36 unique keying options, preventing damage to pins and connectors, and hence reducing downtime and enhancing system reliability.

The HDL Series uses Hypertac's proprietary Hyperboloid contact system to achieve a high current rating of up to 4A, low contact resistance of 7m, and low insertion force of just 0.28N.

These self-cleaning contacts also ensure excellent performance under vibration.

Connectors are available with 156, 96 and 60 positions, at a pin pitch of 2.54mm and a contact diameter of 0.6mm.

They are rated for use across the -55 to +125degC temperature range.

As well as providing a dramatic increase in product performance when compared to existing alternatives, Hypertac also offers a flexible and responsive supply chain solution that can guarantee customers access to products when and where they are required.

The HDL Series is available immediately ex-stock via Hypertac's distribution partner Charcroft Electronics.

A shielded version of the modular HyperMod connector from Hypertac meets the emerging needs for high-speed signal interconnections in railway applications.

Hypertac has announced a shielded version of its modular HyperMod connector to meet the emerging needs for high-speed signal interconnections in railway applications, such as the communication networks made available to passengers within coaches. Its shielding effectiveness meets the exacting EMC requirements of railway environments. The HyperMod shielded modular connector was designed to respond to the growing need to protect signals against electromagnetic interference, driven by the growing use of electronic devices in mass transportation.

The continuous increase in transmission frequencies makes equipment more susceptible to such effects.

The shock-proof aluminium shell of the shielded HyperMod is protected by an environmentally-friendly (RoHS-compliant) conductive plating of trivalent chromium.

The sealing gasket, made of conductive elastomer, ensures shell-to-shell continuity.

The two locking devices available, either with a double lever or with screws, compress the seal to establish perfect grounding.

The encapsulation of ignition distributors requires special materials and a dispensing system with precision temperature controls and exact material metering.

The encapsulation of ignition distributors requires special materials and a dispensing system with precision temperature controls and exact material metering. Manufacturers of sensitive electronic components often use an encapsulating compound to guard against dust, moisture and vibration. This under-hood application involves the protection of an ignition module against environmental factors and the high voltage output of the ignition system.

As vehicles become dependant on computer chips and electronics, it become important to protect these components against the constant heat, moisture, oil, dirt, vibration and in this case - high voltage.

The requirements are very demanding: the encapsulating compound that fills the distributor modules must act as a high quality insulator protecting the electronics from continuous high voltage.

The material must not contain any air inclusions (bubbles).

Bubbles lead to sparking which destroys the printed circuit board in the distributor.

This encapsulating compound consists of two parts; one is filled with a glass fiber.

Kern-Liebers Dispensing Technology developed a solution for this very difficult application in cooperation with the automotive component supplier.

During system development, attention is focused on temperature monitoring since acceptable results can only be obtained when specified temperatures are stringently maintained.

System temperature is continuously monitored at twenty measuring points and corrected if necessary.

Both material reservoirs are temperature-controlled, one at 80 degrees, the other at 60 degrees Celsius preventing the formation of bubbles and allowing the material reach the required fluidity.

A vacuum system used in the reservoirs reduces the pressure to 3 millibars removing trapped air bubbles.

The parts are pre-heated to 60 degrees Celsius, ensuring the mixed material retains it fluidity during dispensing.

The material is fed to the mixing unit by a reliable and proven media transfer system.

This system and all transfer hoses are temperature-controlled, keeping the material flowing properly.

A material ratio of 1:1 is precisely mixed with Kern-Liebers metering pumps ensuring an accurately mixed final compound.

Curing takes place in two, five-meter continuous furnaces, the first at 80 degrees and the second at 120 degrees.

Overly high temperatures are also not permitted since the module electronics are temperature sensitive and can be ruined by excessively high temperatures.

The system controller has the temperature indicators along with pressure sensors for the material reservoirs.

The operator keeps all system data in sight because it is displayed on a monitor at the loading and unloading position.

Kern-Liebers is a manufacturer or precision dispensing equipment with corporate offices in Schramberg, Germany employing more than 2700 employees in 21 operating companies on all continents.

Assembleon is launching a new semiconductor component placement machine which delivers high speed and accuracy for applications involving tight tolerances and critical handling restrictions

Assembleon is launching a new semiconductor component placement machine which delivers an unbeatable speed/accuracy combination for applications involving tight tolerances and critical handling restrictions. One of foremost players in SMT component placement, Assembleon has seen component dimensions rapidly reduce as cost considerations have driven the electronics manufacturing industry towards assembly of flip chips, bare dies and chip-scale packages. Because parallel trends in the semiconductor industry now see manufacturers here assembling a variety of GaAs, optical, silicon and chip components on a common substrate, Assembleon is able to introduce the D-9 component mounter for this sector based on technology already proven in the SMT marketintroduces a new version of its Advanced Component Mounter (ACM) specifically dedicated to this sector.

A combination of accuracy, speed and versatility makes the ACM D-9 Semicon the platform of choice for a wide range of applications including stacked die, multi-chip modules, multi-chip packages, flip chip in package, flip chip on foil, flip chip on board, and high-accuracy optical component placement.

Based on state-of-the-art linear motor technology, touchscreen display, and modular design, Assembleon's technology the ACM has proved a strong contender in the SMT market and is now making a natural progression to the semicon industry, where it provides verified placement throughput of 2700 flip chips per hour with 9 micron accuracy at 3 sigma, delivering performance which is unprecedented in this sector.

With capability for handling a wide range of hybrid fabrication applications combining flip chips and bare dies with passive components, the ACM SemiconD-9 is ideal for the packaging and module markets.

The machine accommodates up to 75 different components simultaneously, with dimensions ranging from 0.3 to 44mm square and with a vision system which can recognise ball sizes down to 70 micron.

Advanced closed-loop z-axis design provides controlled placement forces from 0.9 to 40N, or fixed placement forces from 0.06N, ideal for fragile GaAs products.

The ACM SemiconD-9 accepts numerous feeder options, including tape and reel, surftape, waffle pack, direct wafer and gel pack, and supports a wide variety of substrates including FR4, flexfoils, boats, ceramics, leadframes, carriers, and so on.

An integrated flux dipping unit, depositing a flux layer from 20 to 120 micron in thickness, is an option.

Also optional is direct wafer feeding capability handling wafer sizes from 100 to 300mm (four to 12 inches), and die sizes from 0.5 to 25mm square.

This facility accommodates up to 25 unique part numbers, with automatic wafer change and wafer expansion, adjustable anvil, and further options such as a die flipping unit, barcode reader and wafer mapping.

In order to address the semiconductor market, the ACM SemiconD-9 is Assembleon's first venture into cleanroom compatibility, with Class 1000 and SEMI S2/S8 compliance.

The machine features a Windows NT-based GUI for ease of use, and is compatible with the SECS/GEM production management system interface.

The ACM SemiconD-9 is backed by comprehensive line engineering, set-up, ramp-up and production support worldwide.

A multi-tool soldering system allows up to five different bench top tools to be connected simultaneously such as soldering irons, hot tweezers and desoldering irons.

Soldering systems specialist JBC has introduced the MS 9000 multi-tool system that allows up to five different bench top tools to be connected simultaneously. This can be up to five soldering irons, five hot tweezers, two desoldering irons, or a combination of these. The system has four main components; control unit, tools stand block, electric desoldering pump and low voltage power supply.

The tools stand block, which accepts the quickly interchangeable tool modules, also has a connector for a second desoldering pump module.

The control unit monitors the complete system, enables the temperature of each tool in the stand to be set independently, displays the parameters for each tool and provides operational history such as total hours, sleep cycles and iron changes.

Features of the JBC Advanced range, including low temperature soldering and lightweight hand pieces, are incorporated in the multi-tool system.

Furthermore JBC soldering systems are not only fast, reaching working temperature in only two seconds, but new technology, it is claimed, enables tips to last up to four times longer than those of conventional systems.

Designed to precisely meter, mix and dispense potting compounds for electronics applications, a programmable servo-driven dispensing system is quick, clean and cost-effective.

The programmable servo-driven Servo-Flo 302 dispensing system is designed to facilitate quick, clean and cost-effective potting operations. The state-of-the-art meter/mix/dispense system precisely dispenses metered shots or beads of a single- or two-component epoxy, silicone, urethane or other potting compound used to protect electronics from harsh operating environments, including high temperatures and moisture. Servo-Flo's servo-motor drive with high-resolution, absolute encoder feedback delivers accurate and reliable performance for the most demanding applications.

The system dispenses programmable, profiled volumetric metered shots or beads at either a selectable pre-set speed or a variable analog-input speed for integration with X-Y-Z automation.

Servo-Flo 302 produces consistent, repeatable, accurate volumetric shot sizes for flow rate profiles programmed for filling the electronic module.

The Servo-Flo 302 system also features a full-color touch-screen operator interface, positive-displacement, precision metering pumps to ensure exact mix-ratio control, Snuf-Bak No-Drip dispense valve, No-Flush disposable static mixer and many more standard features.

The dispensing system offers advanced dispensing technology fully backed by an experienced technical support team and a two-year warranty, the best in the industry.

The system is available in two models, one for single-component materials, and a second model for two-component materials.

Sealant Equipment and Engineering is a leading manufacturer of precision meter/mix/dispense equipment and valves.

Palm-sized high performance vision sensor identifies and tracks wafers through the semiconductor manufacturing process.

Cognex, the world's leading supplier of machine vision systems to the semiconductor industry, today introduced a new high performance vision sensor for identifying and tracking wafers through the semiconductor manufacturing process. The palm-sized In-Sight 1701 is an enhanced version of Cognex's industry-leading In-Sight 1700 wafer reader, offering the most advanced optics technology ever available for reading identification scribes on wafers. 'As the need to identify wafers at virtually every step of the manufacturing process becomes essential, wafer readers must offer a high degree of mounting flexibility without any compromise in reading performance,' said Peter Neve, Director of Marketing, International Operations for Cognex.

'With its revolutionary new optical system, the 1701 delivers the best wafer images possible, regardless of how close or far away the reader is positioned from the wafer.

This makes it the ideal choice for those who need the reliability of Cognex wafer ID technology in a package that can be easily integrated with a variety of process equipment types, including handlers, probers, and other tools.' With its unique optical system, the 1701 is able to provide the largest area of illumination ever available in a wafer reader.

This enables the 1701 to image heavily degraded marks on wafers, even if the wafers are misaligned due to mechanical pre-alignment errors.

Like the In-Sight 1700, the 1701 wafer reader offers robust, reliable reading performance, utilising advanced OCR, 2D matrix, and bar code recognition algorithms to read soft-marked, super-soft-marked, or hard-marked SEMI standard codes on the front or back side of a wafer.

These algorithms also provide exceptionally high read rates on wafer marks that have been affected by CMP, edge beads, copper metalisation, blue nitride coating, and other process effects.

The 1701 also features an intuitive graphical user interface for easy set up and modfication, image 'tuning' capabilities that automatically balance lighting and image filters for optimal read settings, and built-in network and serial communications for connectivity to other process tools and/or the fab network.

Rework station has four modules, hot air, desoldering, pick and place and soldering, to cover the main tasks for rework and repair of through-hole and SMT printed circuit boards.

JBC's AM 6000 rework station has four modules, hot air, desoldering, pick and place and soldering, to cover the main tasks for rework and repair of through-hole and SMT printed circuit boards. The hot air system will desolder any size of surface mount component and, with the help of a range of special protectors that surround the rework component, it concentrates the heat on the IC while also protecting the remainder of the circuit. Vacuum extractors are either integral with the protectors or, in the case of the smaller protector, mounted on miniature adjustable tripods.

A medium-sized surface mount device can be desoldered in less than 20 seconds.

Furthermore when the micro hot tweezers are specified even very small 0201 components can be soldered and desoldered.

Through-hole components and pads can be cleaned with the system's desoldering iron that has an integrated vacuum pump.

A pick-and-place suction pencil is provided for component positioning and a JBC Advanced 50W general-purpose soldering iron performs the soldering.

Other hand pieces from the Advanced range are compatible with the new AM 6000.

The stands for the soldering iron and desoldering iron detect when the tool is resting and switch the tool to a sleep mode, reducing the tip temperature to extend tip life by up to five times while preventing the tip's tin plating from oxidising.

The stands also have inserters/ extractors for the tip/ cartridge units so that users can change tips quickly and without burned fingers.

Companies supplying the semiconductor industry have been busy developing new products during the current downturn, and enquiries are on the way up, says company opening new office in Dublin.

Semiconductor market changes into upturn mode Companies supplying the semiconductor industry have been busy developing new products during the current downturn. The increased number of enquiries received by TUV International recently for SEMI S2 assessment suggests that companies are looking to have new models ready for the middle of next year by which time it is expected that the market will be picking up again. TUV International are able to offer Assessment to the requirements of many SEMI guidelines including Semi S2 and SEMI S8, the ergonomics guideline, from our UK office in Birmingham and our new office in Dublin.

We are able to do this in cooperation with our extensive worldwide office network covering Europe, The USA, Far East and Eastern Europe.

Clear acrylic visual placement inspection boards enable alignment checks of surface mount components such as BGAs, micro BGAs, CSPs and flip chips to be made without X-ray or camera systems.

ind out how to register for your free copy now.

The TopLine clear acrylic visual placement inspection boards from Kaisertech enable alignment checks of surface mount components such as BGAs, micro BGAs, CSPs and flip chips to be made without X-ray or placement camera systems. The 100 x 140mm boards are 1.6mm thick and have a sticky surface, with peel-off protective cover, so that components can be temporarily placed without soldering. Turning the board over shows the accuracy of the component placement and if all the solder balls are aligned on the pads.

The components can then be removed for re-use and any adjustments required can be made to the placer and the process repeated if necessary.

These new test boards are part of the TopLine range that includes over 1000 different dummy components that can be used in set-up and prototyping to save the cost of costly real components.

There are also 75 types of practice kits to enable manufacturers to optimise SMD assembly processes.

Typical applications include machine evaluation, acceptance testing, solder training, temperature profiling, re-certification, prototype designs and demonstrations.

Clear acrylic visual placement inspection boards enable alignment checks of surface mount components such as BGAs, micro BGAs, CSPs and flip chips to be made without X-ray or camera systems.

The TopLine clear acrylic visual placement inspection boards from Kaisertech enable alignment checks of surface mount components such as BGAs, micro BGAs, CSPs and flip chips to be made without X-ray or placement camera systems. The 100 x 140mm boards are 1.6mm thick and have a sticky surface, with peel-off protective cover, so that components can be temporarily placed without soldering. Turning the board over shows the accuracy of the component placement and if all the solder balls are aligned on the pads.

The components can then be removed for re-use and any adjustments required can be made to the placer and the process repeated if necessary.

These new test boards are part of the TopLine range that includes over 1000 different dummy components that can be used in set-up and prototyping to save the cost of costly real components.

There are also 75 types of practice kits to enable manufacturers to optimise SMD assembly processes.

Typical applications include machine evaluation, acceptance testing, solder training, temperature profiling, re-certification, prototype designs and demonstrations.

DIN rail mounting supports with a 107mm wide Eurocard size offer integral DIN rail mounting foot elements for easy snap-fit assembly while also reducing the number of parts for assembly.

Camden Electronics has extended its range of din rail mounting supports with a 107mm wide Eurocard size that offers integral DIN rail mounting foot elements for easy snap-fit assembly while also reducing the number of parts required during assembly. These features yield significant savings on production costs compared with previous generation and competitive products. The new CIME/E DIN rail mounting supports offer modular construction, easy snap-fit assembly and are suitable for mounting standard Eurocard 107mm wide PCBs.

The range has side elements of 8.25mm and centre elements of 18.5 and 35mm.

These components can be combined to make up interface supports in a wide range of widths including 16.5, 35mm, 51.5 and 53.5mm.

Larger sizes are made up by simply adding more elements.

Compared with competitive products, Camden's new CIME/E DIN rail mounting supports offer significant benefits.

For example, they do not require any brass pins for joining elements together being moulded with strong plastic pins that locate in corresponding holes on adjacent elements.

This reduces the number of components required for assembly and eliminates the need to stock brass pins.

Camden's new 107mm DIN rail supports also feature snap-fit modular construction to enable a strong assembly to be achieved no matter how many elements are used.

Competitive products often rely on friction-fit only which results in an inferior assembly.

The DIN rail mounting supports offer a further time-saving enhancement with elements that incorporate a DIN rail mounting foot in the same moulding, again reducing the number of parts required to make up a complete assembly.

The new CIME/E supports are moulded in self-extinguishing UL94-V0 industry standard green polyamide 66 and are available in grey or black on request.

They are ideal for use in any application where a PCB assembly needs to be din rail mounted including control panels, power supplies, transformers, PLC/photoelectric interfaces, safety and monitoring modules, alarm monitoring, overvoltage protection, data recording, lightning protection, fuseholders, relay modules and optocouplers to name just a few.

Besides saving assembly time and costs, the innovative design of the supports has enabled Camden to reduce the prices of its DIN rail mouldings by around 10 to 15%.

The combination of lower piece part costs, moulded pins and integral foot elements allows customers to make significant savings in production costs.

Camden Electronics' new DIN rail mounting supports are available from the company and its franchised distributors including CPC, Rapid, Arrow Electronics, JPR Electronics and Azcon Component Solutions.

Camden Electronics, based at St.

Albans, Hertfordshire, UK, is a leading manufacturer and supplier of PCB terminal blocks, fuses and fuseholders, sealed lead acid batteries, LEDs, miniature switches, interface modules, enclosures, IC and PLCC sockets and relay bases for the electronics, telecommunications, lighting, and electrical industries.

A robotised cellular sealing system has been developed for sealing three gaskets onto an electronic control module.

Changes in the economy and uncertainty in some markets change how manufacturers view the capital equipment purchase decision. lean manufacturing practices and cellular plant layouts produce these trends in plant design : * Manufacturers are using smaller, less expensive machines. * Existing machines are sometimes rebuilt or reprogrammed.

* Flexible tooling instead of dedicated tooling enables part changes without capital expenditure.

* Higher volumes can be ramped up by adding machines as needed instead of purchasing larger machines with production capabilities not required.

* Prototyping is accomplished quickly without disrupting current production.

Kern-Liebers recently developed this cellular approach to dispensing for a Tier I electronics supplier.

The connectors in the electronic control module are sealed with three gaskets to protect against dust and moisture.

The gaskets, three millimeters wide and two millimeters thick, are made of single-component silicone.

A KUKA KR 3 robot was chosen for this highly compact system due to its small dimensions and was teamed with the Kern-Liebers DG-M01 modular dispensing system.

The robot controller is linked directly to the Kern-Liebers DG-M01 PLC system.

All dispensing and robotic parameters are entered directly and monitored continuously using a single teach pendant.

A ceramic sealing nozzle makes the system practically wear-free and eliminates the need for cleaning shots during operation.

The double-sliding shuttle table is loaded and unloaded manually.

The UV curing oven is just one meter long and cures the gaskets in only two minutes.

The system was designed by Kern-Liebers USA Dispensing Technology, built in Schramberg, Germany, and commissioned in just one day at the customer's plant in Mexico.

The DG-M01, because of its modular design and control integration capability, simplified the system design process.

Programming the robot to act as the dispensing arm of the DG-M01 was accomplished quickly and accurately.

Streamlining these design considerations reduces the payback time of the system and builds in flexibility to ease any future changes in part design or sealing material.

As the program ramps up, additional dispensing cells can be added.

Model changes are accomplished by changing programs which is not difficult since the Kern-Liebers DG-M01 holds up to 99 programs in memory.

Luminary Micro's Stellaris LM3S811 Evaluation Kit, paired with the IAR Embedded Workbench KickStart Edition development tools, has been launched by the company.

Luminary Micro, a semiconductor company that designs, markets, and sells ARM Cortex-M3 processor-based microcontrollers, announced the immediate availability of its Stellaris LM3S811 Evaluation Kit paired with the IAR Embedded Workbench KickStart Edition development tools. The IAR Embedded Workbench is a powerful set of essential build and debug tools for embedded projects using both C and C++. The KickStart Edition allows projects of up to 32KB code size, enabling users to take advantage of the power of the Stellaris LM3S811 ARM Cortex-M3-based microcontroller.

'The KickStart Edition of IAR's Embedded Workbench - with its generous 32KB evaluation limit for code - combined with one of Luminary Micro's most popular hardware evaluation platforms provides a powerful platform for users to put the kit to full use doing real work,' said Luminary Micro Chief Marketing Officer Jean Anne stand.

Measuring just 3.5' by 1.5', the Stellaris LM3S811 Evaluation Kit is exceptional for its compactness and versatility, spanning the design spectrum from evaluation to prototyping to application-specific design by functioning as both an evaluation platform for the Stellaris LM3S811 microcontroller and a serial in-circuit debug interface for any Stellaris microcontroller-based target board.

The kit features: 50 MHz Stellaris LM3S811 ARM Cortex-M3-based microcontroller, 96x16 pixel OLED display, User-programmable push button and LED, Convenient reset push button and power indicator LED, Thumbwheel potentiometer input to the on-chip ADC Serial in-circuit debug interface over USB, Stellaris Peripheral Driver Library, which provides a convenient, no-hassle method of initializing, programming, and controlling peripherals on Stellaris microcontrollers, The KickStart Edition of the IAR Embedded Workbench for ARM supporting up to 32KB code size, Port and example application using FreeRTOS.org small footprint real time operating system, Stellaris CD packed with datasheets, schematics, applications notes, and programming examples.

In addition, the IAR KickStart Edition Evaluation Kit also supports demonstration applications available for download and trial on-line.

Demonstrations include: FreeRTOS.org from FreeRTOS.org, uC/OS-II from from Micrium, CMX-RTX from CMX, EmbOS RTOS from SEGGER Microcontroller Systeme.

The board is powered over USB (cable included) and contains silk-screened through-hole-mount pin headers that can be user populated with pin stake headers for use in hardware prototyping.

utilising a standard 20-pin ARM JTAG debug cable (also included), the Stellaris LM3S811 Evaluation Kit can be used as a serial in-circuit emulator for the user's application-specific target board.

'The LM3S811 microcontroller at the heart of the kit is a representative example of how Luminary Micro has put ARM's groundbreaking Cortex-M3 processor core to use in a highly cost-effective way,' said Mats Ullstrom, Product Director at IAR Systems.

Forge Europa, a leading UK based manufacturer of LED components, displays and LED assemblies will be showing new products .

Forge Europa, a leading UK based manufacturer of LED components, displays and LED assemblies will be exhibiting at ICE 2007. At the exhibition, Forge Europa will be launching a new range of standard and custom designed LED assemblies along with new product developments such as aLED high power LED lighting assemblies, high intensity LEDs and long life LED technology. These aLEDs consist of a high power LED mounted onto a thermally optimised substrate complete with a connector or solder pads.

This takes the headaches of thermal design away and gives an easy to use sub-assembly.

The standard aLED range consists of 1w hexagonal shaped assembly, 1w triple cluster assembly, 1w lighting strip in single colour and in red, green, blue for colour mixing, and 1w double and triple LED lighting strips.

Additionally a diverse range of standard optics giving wide, medium and narrow beam patterns in a variety of sizes can also be supplied to fit the aLED devices, thus giving the lighting or gaming and casino designer a complete solution.

Also on show for the first time will be a new 6 pin surface mount RGB device with dazzling intensities of: red 275mcd, green 580mcd and blue 190mcd.

This is a versatile LED allowing users to mix colours and create specific colours including white.

As each chip can be controlled individually this makes it possible to produce light sources that are fully dimmable with no colour shift.

This item can be supplied binned for RGB or alternatively binned for white balance for those applications where consistency of white is critical.

This part is supplied in a top LED format but has a low profile design so only measures 3.2x1.8x1.45 making it ideal for situations where space is critical such as decorative edge lighting.

These LEDs are perfect for full colour displays, full colour backlighting, and attention grabbing lighting for gaming or casino equipment.

If you have a specific LED assembly requirement, customised solutions can readily be provided to meet specific applications.

Forge Europa can design tailor made assemblies to individual specifications.

As well as new products and services, the full range of Forge Europa LED Lamps and Displays will be on show so that visitors will have the chance to see the variety of ISO 9001 quality assured optoelectronics products.

Specialists have noticed that being RoHS compliant and lead-free brings all sorts of new issues - so they believe that now is the time to look at manual soldering, - such as solder/desolder tips.

Has moving to lead-free caused soldering or desoldering tip problems? The specialists at Intertronics have noticed that being RoHS compliant and lead-free brings all sorts of new issues - so if you have sorted out your machine soldering changes they believe that now is the time to look at your hand soldering, either as part of your normal assembly process, or during rework and repair. Peter Swanson, managing director at Intertronics, suggested that: 'First check that your soldering iron tips are themselves RoHS compliant.

All Plato Soldering Tips manufactured since January 2004 are tinned with lead-free solder.' Swanson also believes that higher temperatures and high tin content solders, common in lead-free soldering processes, place additional strain on soldering iron tips.

He said that: 'many of our customers report that the tip life of our competitors' product has been badly affected when going 'lead-free'.

The long life of a Plato Soldering Tip reduces tip changes, decreasing the total number of tips used and decreasing production time - and saves money.

Some have reported five times the life of their previous tip.' It has been found that it can be even worse for desoldering tips, where there is extra abrasion during use.

Plato is the one of the largest manufacturers of soldering iron tips in the world, producing tips to fit the most popular soldering irons and soldering stations.

The long life and fast heat recovery of Plato Soldering Tips increases user effectiveness and decreases production times.

This is because Plato Soldering Tips are constructed from highly conductive premium grade copper to transmit heat to the work more quickly than other brands of soldering tips.

This quick heat recovery enables more joints to be soldered per minute, thus reducing manufacturing time and costs.

Intertronics supply replacement soldering and desoldering tips for: Weller, Pace, Ersa, Hakko and Edsyn and their experience shows that using a high quality Plato Soldering Tip increases soldering speed and decreases the total cost of manufacture.

Lead-free is mandatory but ever since the earlier introduction of lead-free solder paste there has been the question of how advanced a reflow oven should be.

Kaisertech, supplier of the Dima range of ovens, says the success of a reflow oven is not measured by size or the amount of heating zones but by the ability to create every possible reflow profile. A simple calculation will help to explain what is needed. For most lead-free reflow profiles the board needs about three to five minutes in the process chambers.

For manufacturers that produce only small batches of boards the speed of the conveyor is not really important.

If the oven runs at 20cm per minute a tunnel length maximum of 100cm (20cm x 5min) is required, or if the oven runs at 40cm per minute a tunnel length maximum of 200cm (40cm x 5min) is required.

The number of zones needed is a similar story.

High throughput ovens are using several zones, but in practice these zones are set at the same temperature.

Dividing one long zone into several smaller zones makes it easier to keep the temperature uniform over a longer distance.

In theory only three zones plus one cooling zone are required (ramp-soak-peak), but in practice it is easier to create an ideal profile when adding one extra heating zone.

Both the Dima Breeze and Solano ovens have been developed to provide powerful convection heating irrespective of the size and mass of the components.

Additionally an unlimited variation of temperature profiles is achieved by tunnel designs that include four top four bottom heating zones.

Forced hot air heating maintains consistent edge-to-edge temperatures, regardless of component size or density.

To eliminate the possibility of damage caused by static both have as standard equipment an air ioniser in the cool down zone.

An upgrade for hybrid pick and place systems make them capable of handling 0201 components utilising a new feeder which has much better and more accurate index steps.

Striving to have to most flexible and accurate Pick and Place machine available in its range, DIMA is proud to announce the successful upgrade for their Hybrid Pick and Place Systems making it capable to handle 0201 components. Being able to handle as many different components shapes and sizes available in today's market has always been the challenge for the DIMA Hybrid Pick and Place machines. Especially for those companies that have small to medium production series of many different kind of PCBs a flexible Pick and Place machine is a must.

Not only short changeover times but also the capability to handle almost every available component is important.

The Hybrid Pick and Place machine could already handle components ranging as small as 0402 up to 42 x 42mm large components.

Even 16mm high components and 0.4mm fine pitch components are being handled without problems.

By introducing a special feeder and pick up tool the Hybrid Pick and Place is now capable of accurately handling 0201 components.

Handling the 0201 component introduces a few new issues into a pick and place machine.

The smaller dimension and lower mass of an 0201-device compared even to its 0402-cousin hold the key to the likely increase in defect rates.

Because the nozzle is almost the same size as the component, there is a higher probability of miss-picking the component from the paper tape.

Moreover, the components can also move significantly, relative to their size, in the tape, unless the tolerance between the pocket dimensions and part dimensions are tightened.

Also, electrostatic effects resulting from separating the cover foil from the paper tape have a greater tendency to displace the lightweight components before it can be picked.

Finally since the smaller component dimensions allow closer spacing on the PCB, placement resolution must be almost twice as high for 0201s as for 0402s.

DIMA has succeeded in overcoming all these points of attention for the Hybrid Pick and Place machine utilising a new feeder that uses the same body as a standard 8mm feeder but with much better and more accurate index steps.

Compared to the standard 8mm feeder this new feeder uses 6 times more micro steps with a step repeatability of 30 micron.

Furthermore a special pick up tool has been developed to accurately pick up and place the 0201 component allowing interspacing of 150 micron.

Integration of this new feeder and tool will be possible not only on a new Hybrid Pick and Place machine, but DIMA also offers the possibility to upgrade all the Hybrid Pick and Place machine of their existing customers.

During Nepcon 2006 in Birmingham, UK (May 9 - 11) and during SMT 2006 in Nuernberg (Nuremberg), Germany (May 30 - June 1), DIMA SMT Systems will live demonstrate the new Hybrid Pick and Place capabilities.

DIMA SMT Systems also manufactures a full range of stand-alone and in-line systems for the SMT industry like stencil printers, reflow, curing and drying ovens, selective Conformal coating systems and dispensing systems.

Manufacturer of advanced passive components AVX has developed a new software product library for use with Agilent's Advanced Design System (ADS).

Leading manufacturer of advanced passive components AVX has developed a new software product library for use with Agilent's Advanced Design System (ADS). This enables customers to perform diagnostics on circuit designs before the manufacturing process, saving time and money. ADS is a powerful electronic design automation software tool that offers complete design integration to designers of RF products such as cellular and portable phones, pagers, wireless networks, and radar and satellite communication systems.

ADS features design links for RF architecture applications to generate complex, high-frequency systems and circuit designs faster.

'This library of AVX parts works in conjunction with Agilent's ADS software to assist design engineers and ultimately simplify and speed up the design process' said Larry Eisenberger, AVX senior field applications engineer.

With a complete set of simulation technologies ranging from frequency- and time-domain circuits to electromagnetic fields, ADS lets designers fully characterize and optimise designs.

The single, integrated design environment provides system and circuit simulators, along with schematic capture, layout, verification capability - eliminating the stops and starts associated with changing design tools mid-cycle.

AVX's ADS library includes 0402 to 1210 Accu-P capacitors, 0402 to 0805 Accu-L capacitors, 0402 and 0603 LGA couplers, 0603 and 0805 surface mount couplers, 0603 and 0805 low pass filters, and 0805 3dB couplers.

Contax has supplied PCB assembly equipment to the Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL), a department of University College London, and the UK's largest university space research group.

Production automation system specialist, Contax , has supplied PCB assembly equipment to the Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL), a department of University College London, and the UK's largest university space research group. MSSL has installed an Essemtec FLX2010V placement machine, Essemtec SP003 stencil printer and McDry humidity cabinet. These will be used in the manufacture of instrumentation for use in space.

Gary Davison, Head of Electronic Construction and Inspection at MSSL explained, 'We had been trying to get funding for this equipment for some time, and when we finally received it, we went to Nepcon to review our options.

'There is a demand for components that are used in space instrumentation to get smaller and lighter, so that the cost of the launch is reduced.

This meant that we needed to upgrade our equipment to meet this demand.

Previously everything was hand soldered, but with the new smaller components, such as the 0805 and 0603, it was getting harder to do this'.

He continued, 'Our equipment is very specialised and it can take up to a couple of weeks to build one board as all the components have to be repeatedly tested, verified and examined under a microscope.

There is no room for error when you are building instruments for use in space.

It is expected that the instrument will be up there for 10 years or more and we can't just go up and replace a component if it goes wrong.

Consequently, each component can cost up to GBP10,000, and we don't keep spares'.

MSSL were therefore looking for a tried and tested system that could offer total accuracy and repeatability.

Vision was an important feature for the placement machine, as MSSL needed to calibrate it to very precise measurements.

The FLX2010V relies on a combination of laser and vision centreing systems, with an integrated feeder management system automatically recognising the feeders and pickup position.

The final criteria was that the machine had a small footprint.

MSSL is based in a converted victorian mansion and space was a critical factor in the selection of their equipment.

'We chose the FLX2010V because it offered everything we needed,' said Gary Davison.

'It has all the functionality and features that we wanted - and room for future proofing,' he added.

In addition, MSSL purchased the Essemtec SP003 stencil printer and McDry humidity cabinet.

'We needed a good, sound system that offers repeatability.

We felt that the Essemtec could provide that and more,' continued Gary.

'And the humidity cabinet ensures that we can store semi-conductor flight components in a safe environment.

They are far too valuable to damage,' he explained.

Summing up, Gary Davison said, 'The equipment is now in use and we have been very happy with it.

Contax sorted out initial teething problems promptly and we would definitely use them again.

Now available from Quadrant is a range of high performance, high temperature silicone cables from German company HEW, a leading manufacturer of cables and wires for high temperature applications.

Now available in the UK from Quadrant is a range of high performance, high temperature silicone cables from German company HEW, one of Europe's leading manufacturers of cables and wires for high temperature applications. HEW carries out its own silicone compounding allowing them to offer a wide range of cables designed to meet specific customer requirements in terms of resistance to high temperatures, notches, tearing, flame, high voltage and hot steam sterilisation. Silicone rubber cables are highly resistant to extremes of temperature; retaining their physical properties over a temperature range of -50C to +180C and for short periods up to 250C.

The HEW range offers single core or stranded conductors manufactured from either bare copper or tin, nickel or silver plated copper.

Screened and unscreened single, multicore and twin-flat versions are available as are armoured, glass fibre versions and halogen free and flame retardant types.

These cables will find application in domestic appliances, lighting, shipbuilding, the automotive industry, mechanical engineering, medical equipment, heating equipment, nuclear power plants and as high voltage and fire security cables.

A new UV/visible light curing adhesive for vehicle lighting assemblies is now available to bond an expanded variety of engineering plastics.

A new UV/visible light curing adhesive for vehicle lighting assemblies is now available to bond an expanded variety of engineering plastics. Intertronics have introduced the DYMAX 3-20469 which features fast cure speeds and the ability to cure through clear, UV blocked plastic and offers advanced features for a variety of vehicle lighting assembly applications. It cures through large gaps and forms excellent bonds and seals on assemblies with unusual shapes and less than perfect fitting joints.

In addition to headlamp assembly, other vehicle lighting applications for which UV cure adhesives have been used successfully include tail lights, fog lights, and side lighting.

DYMAX 3-20469 passes Ford's Headlamp Performance Tests (Ford WSS-M11P28-B2).

Structural adhesion to plastics and other construction materials means that a smaller amount of 3-20469 adhesive may be used than with some other types of adhesives and sealants, such that some manufacturers have reported this allows for a larger reflective area and consequent increased lamp brightness.

3-20469 cures in seconds upon exposure to a high intensity UV/Visible light.

Fast cures, ease of dispensing and in-line quality control capabilities allow for fast parts processing, ease of automation, JIT assembly, reduced work in progress, lowered energy costs and increased throughput, while avoiding off-ratio rejects and reducing the manufacturing footprint.

The one part 'cure on demand' approach to adhesive technology eliminates pot life and hazardous waste concerns.

Also available from Intertronics are adhesives for lens bonding, vent-hole sealing, lead tacking, bulb positioning and fixturing and various associated electronic coating applications.

High temperature grades are offered that withstand the heat generated in close proximity to bulbs for positioning and fixturing applications.

Some of the physical properties of these vehicle lighting adhesives include a wide range of viscosities, elongation from 20 to 300%, excellent thermal and mechanical shock, vibration, and moisture resistance characteristics.

The products have shown superior durability during extensive road testing under harsh environmental conditions.

Switchtec has reported record trading figures.

Switchtec has reported record trading figures for 2006. The specialist distributor of relays, switching and indication components' turnover has increased by 20% compared to the previous year. Sales Director Jeremy Lester said, 2006 has been an excellent year for the company.

In fairness, it started slowly but by mid year the situation had improved greatly.

August is usually a relatively quiet period for us, as a number of our suppliers are based in Italy and historically they shut down during August.

That can create a situation where we are without deliveries, so we have to pre-empt requirements and order in advance, but we can still loose out.

However, one of our overseas European suppliers Telergon, did not close this year, and Euroclamp, a major supplier to us, will not close during 2007.

So August was busier than normal, and order levels in September and October were very good.

November was our best month for five years, more than 25% over target.

Switchtec changed its relay supplier three years ago, deciding to take relays from the mighty Hongfa in China.

Continues Lester, Although we have never been bound to one supplier for relays, basically we had been using our biggest relay supplier for over 15 years.

So although we were very confident in the Hongfa product, taking it to market after a long term relationship with another supplier was a little daunting at first.

We have worked very hard marketing the Hongfa brand in the UK and I'm very pleased that the relationship is now bearing fruit, the range has been well accepted, and as our biggest franchise it is still maturing nicely.

Buyers now ask for the Hongfa product by name, and we have won several new customers in this key product area for Switchtec.

As well as the success of Hongfa relays, other new business areas are contributing to our success such as our own SCL timers and LED indicators.

Those ranges contributing to complete most project packages that our customers may require.

Switchtec has also increased its turnover in certain business areas.

Continues Lester, In particular, we have noticed an increase in orders from panel builders as opposed to straightforward OEM business.

Thales Technical Unit Control and Display Systems (CDS) uses electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) simulation to reduce testing costs on each new cockpit instrument.

Thales Technical Unit Control and Display Systems (CDS) uses electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) simulation to reduce testing costs on each new cockpit instrument. EMC is a major design challenge in cockpit instruments because they have a clear face which makes them difficult to shield. FLO/EMC electromagnetic simulation software from Flomerics enables Thales engineers to evaluate its products' radiated emissions and susceptibility during the early design stages.

'We use FLO/EMC to identify and fix EMC problems prior to the prototype stage, usually by improving the shielding,' said Julien Blanc, EMC Specialist for Thales CDS.

'As a result, this eliminates the need for late-stage design changes which in turn saves money by avoiding the need for modification of prototypes and additional testing.' Thales is a leading international electronics and systems group that employs 60,000 people in 50 countries.

Thales makes a wide range of cockpit and display systems for military and commercial aircraft.

EMC is usually a major concern in the design of these systems.

For example, engineers need to ensure that emissions from the display do not interfere with radio communications or radar-based collision detection systems.

In the past, these concerns were addressed by building prototypes and testing them for EMC compliance.

This often required expensive fixes on the existing design.

In any case, the prototype had to be modified or re-built from scratch and the testing process had to be repeated.

This was expensive and in some cases had an impact on the product launch date.

To improve the design process, Thales evaluated several different electromagnetic simulation methods.

'We evaluated the major calculation methods and the leading software packages,' Blanc said.

'We selected FLO/EMC because its predictions consistently matched our physical testing results and it is easy to use.' For example, in a recent experimental study, FLO/EMC predicted that radiated emissions at 160 MHz would be 33dBuV/m in the far field and 95dBuV in the near field.

Actual measurements were 35dBuV/m in the far field and 92dBuV in the near field.

FLO/EMC uses the Transmission Line Matrix (TLM) method for solving Maxwell's equations, which solves for all frequencies of interest in a single calculation and therefore captures the full broadband response of the system in one simulation cycle.

In a recent application, calculated resonant frequencies for a cockpit instrument perfectly matched the test results for the same polarization.

This insight quickly led to the design change of putting conductive material on vertical slits in the side cover of the cockpit instrument.

Re-running the simulation showed that this solved the problem.

The result was that the very first prototype met EMC specifications.

'We have used FLO/EMC to simulate seven recent products and in each case we have found and fixed EMC problems in the qualification stage,' Blanc said.

'Fixing problems in the early stages of the project is much less expensive because it avoids the need for building and testing additional prototypes to evaluate potential fixes.'

Intertronics will be showing how to solve adhesives problems at the Southern Manufacturing Show at Thorpe Park.

If you specify or use adhesives then you really need to meet the adhere people at Intertronics - and the Southern Manufacturing Show at Thorpe Park on February 7th and 8th is a great place to do just that. New products from Intertronics include low cost robotic dispensing and single process mixing/degassing equipment. The IandJ7100 bench top Cartesian dispensing robot is an ideal choice when cost and bench space are important considerations.

With prices starting at circa GBP4K this brings robotic dispensing within reach of small assembly shops, specialist manufacturers and dedicated project cells within larger companies - ideal for subcon production.

It will be of interest to producers of all kinds from instrumentation, electronics, sound systems to decorative and display industries where flexibility and cost are vital factors.

The IandJ7100 handles a dispensing area of 200mm x 150mm and is capable of storing up to 100 different programs, but takes up less than 1/2 metre on the bench.

It is ideal for dispensing adhesives, coatings, gaskets, potting, filling and shielding materials to a resolution of 0.02mm.

The IandJ7100 offers 3 axis continuous path or point to point operation using dots, lines, arcs and circles, with full step and repeat copy functions and automatic offset calculations.

Implementation is simple, as is 24/7 operation with 'quick fluid' purge function and 100 program capacity - each with up to 4000 points.

Mixing and degassing of materials such as precious metal pastes, pharmaceuticals or optical adhesives is generally a two-part process taking a very significant amount of time, especially when product pot life can be measured in minutes - Intertronics have changed all that with the introduction of their Thinky ARE-250.

This patented benchtop planetary mixer is proven in Japan and the US with many thousands installed in laboratories and electronics manufacturing facilities.

The Thinky technology is now available CE marked - says Peter Swanson, MD at Intertronics - 'the ARE-250 mixes, disperses and degasses down to micron level without a vacuum and in the customer's own pot.

It is ideal for expensive material mixes such as filled epoxies for die attach and for materials of variable viscosities.' Indeed, the ARE-250 may be used to formulate and mix adhesives, sealants, molding compounds, lubricants, slurries, coatings, inks, paints, abrasives, bio chemicals, cements, medical compounds, cosmetics/personal care materials, detergents, conductive pastes, dental materials, foods, construction materials or any other materials which are hard-to-mix, hard-to-degass, or hard-to-wet.

Typical applications include epoxies and polyurethanes, especially where optical clarity or thermal conductivity must be maintained (by eliminating bubbles).

The benefits of the ARE-250 can especially be seen in time critical situations such as two-part polyurethane with an isocyarate component and a pot life of around 10 minutes - single process mix and degassing relieves the pressure on the operative and the process by ensuring the adhesive is workable for maximum possible time.

The whole mixing/degassing can be done in a much reduced time frame of seconds to minutes dependant on materials.

ARE-250 also mixes gold leaf particles, glass micro-spheres, aluminium oxides and nano-particles and provides 5 program memories, each with 5 process profiles available.

These are operator determined and programmed in for instant access.

It is found for example that some materials benefit from multiple mixing/degassing/mixing/degassing cycles with different timing and spin speeds at each stage.

Available from specialist distributor Switchtec, Euroclamp's SVR vertical reversed connector block enables quick, efficient isolation of equipments and circuitry by way of the connector's design.

Available from specialist distributor Switchtec, Euroclamp's SVR vertical reversed connector block enables quick, efficient isolation of equipments and circuitry by way of the connector's clever design that utilises push-in female connections for power and signal terminations. Ideal for electronic housing manufacturers and PCB manufacturers/assemblers, the connectors will also find favour with OEMs, panel builders, CEMs, kitters, and the building automation industry. In lengths from 2 to 24 poles, the Euroclamp SVR connector blocks are available in a standard flangeless design, or with a flange at each end for surface mounting - for example to a PCB.

Although lots of niche applications require it, this latter type of connector is not so readily available from other manufacturers.

When mounted in the base part of an electronic housing, the SVR connector block takes all incoming power and signals wires, so that when the top half of the equipment (the electronics) is lifted off, the male connecting strip is totally isolated.

The SVR connector blocks accept standard 5mm pitch male connecting strips, either the vertical or horizontal PCB connector PV/H**-5.00, or the vertical pin strip PVS**-5.00.

With an insulation resistance of 100Mohms, a test voltage of 2kVrms/60s, the connectors are rated at 16A/250V according to EN60998, or 12A/250V to EN61984.

The SVR connector is available as standard in green, but as with all Euroclamp terminal blocks they are also available in red, yellow, blue, orange and black, and other special colours are available upon request.

Euroclamp's SVR series are CE marked and are fully RoHS compliant while UL CSA and VDE approvals are pending.

Along with all Euroclamp products, Switchtec is able to offer the SVR connectors ex stock.

Euroclamp's MPT OEthrough panel terminals offer ease of installation and wiring in applications where there is a need to interconnect internal components, particularly in sectionalised housings.

Aimed at OEMs, panel builders, CEMs, equipment manufacturers, and filter manufacturers, Euroclamp's MPT OEthrough panel terminals offer ease of installation and wiring in applications where there is a need to interconnect internal components, particularly in sectionalised housings. They also offer good insulation properties and help to reduce stray capacitance problems by maintaining wiring in a more regulated, consistent fashion. Ideal for use in filters and control panels, there are twelve versions of the MPT series currently available based on the following models; the MTP275 rated at 24A, MPT410 (32A), MPT610 (41A), MPT1010 (57A), MPT1612 (76A), MPT2515 (101A) and the latest addition to the range, the 150A rated MPT5018.

Available from specialist distributor Switchtec, the MPT series is supplied as standard in grey plastic, however Euroclamp is able to produce the terminals to order in many colours including black, green, orange, blue, red, etc.

To suit a wide range of applications, most of the MPT series are available with different termination types.

The options available are solder tag, hook, blade or screw.

Offering versatility and convenience, there are two methods of fixing the MPT series terminals to the panel; wedge comb is fast, easy and secure, alternatively a locknut style provides a more secure fixing whilst taking a little longer to fit.

Most of the MPT series have UL/CSA, VDE, IMQ and CE approvals and Euroclamp are constantly adding to or improving the range.

Euroclamp identified that there were a small number of manufacturers for this type of terminal and that demand was strong.

As a manufacturer of terminal blocks and connectors, Euroclamp used its in-house expertise to design and manufacture a range of through panel terminal blocks.

Competitively priced, Euroclamp MPT series through panel terminals are fully RoHS compliant and available ex stock from Switchtec.