Many of the big consumer electronics companies are now investing heavily in printed and potentially printed electronics. Dr Peter Harrop explores the potential. Raytek has introduced the RaytekXR infrared (IR) thermometer. Designed to optimise continuous temperature monitoring in a broad range of manufacturing processes, this advanced sensor is a rugged, NEMA4 sealed single-piece system with the flexibility to handle almost any application. Nick Flaherty reports on a wafer fab built to take on the rest of the world in flash memory. Aspecialist company in the field of polymer electronics has introduced the world’s first fully functioning polymer-based eight-bit radio frequency identification (RFID) tag that operates at the industry standard radio frequency of 13.56MHz. NASA scientists have used a modified infrared camera system for carrying out maintenance inspection of the Discovery space shuttle during its mission in July 2006 Towards the end of 2003, IMS Research reported that 42.7percent of respondents to its survey of automation product users were expecting to be utilising wireless networks for industrial applications within three years. The world of video is seen as the next great challenge in the industry, and new players are coming through with come innovative architectures. Arange of precision high voltage power supplies has been introduced by Applied Kilovolts. The new LS range makes use of proprietary techniques to minimise component stress and enable unprecedented reductions in output ripple, noise and drift. The market for power electronics is developing rapidly in Asia. Not only because of relocation of production lines to lower cost countries, but also and more importantly because of the vast number of railway and metro projects currently underway in countries such as China, Taiwan, Korea, and India. The latest evolution for web-based processes is the creation of systems that combine a process imager with industry-specific software. Marv Maddox reports. Silicon oscillators can give significant advantages to the designer. Greg Zimmer
explains. Accurate, reliable, cost-effective flow measurement is more important today than it has ever been before. The challenge with any predictive maintenance (PdM) technology (thermal imaging, vibration, ultrasound, motor circuit testing, power quality, etc) is that the initial investment is substantial; typically measured in thousands or tens of thousands of dollars. You would think that, as an industry, we would learn from the past and would not want to raise the spectre of a repeat of the war between VHS and Betamax from more than 20 years ago. But that is what is happening over the specification of the next generation of DVD disks. Raytek Corporation's new enhancements to the ThermoView Ti30 thermal imager make it easier for beginners to achieve professional results. This powerful, easy-to-use inspection solution is designed specifically for predictive and preventive maintenance. next