Designed to meet growing demands for optimal energy savings, the launch of the new GU10 LED lamps reinforces Ovia’s commitment to providing innovative and sustainable lighting solutions for a wide range of applications.

Four new GU10 LED lamps have been added to the Ovia range, offering Class A and Class B energy ratings:

• 2W Energy Class A, non-dimmable lamp with a 360 lumen output and 3000k colour temperature.
• 2W Energy Class A, non-dimmable lamp with a 360 lumen output and 4000k colour temperature.

• 2.6W Energy Class B, dimmable lamp with a 410 lumen output and 2700K colour temperature.
• 2.6W Energy Class B, dimmable lamp with a 430 lumen output and 4000K colour temperature.

These lamps offer installers superior energy efficiency, long-lasting performance, and exceptional brightness, making them an ideal solution for both residential and commercial environments.

More information on these products can be found on the Ovia website – www.oviauk.com.  

John Harrison, Managing Director Industrial UK said, “Nearly three-quarters of the respondents to our survey who believe they will be impacted, said that they estimate it could take up to two years to ensure their new and existing products comply, so they want to be able to take action now.”

Nearly 90 percent of respondents acknowledged their belief that the phased-in extension down to 9 kHz will have at least some direct impact on their business. There is less certainty, however, about exactly how the legislation will affect current design projects, and what can be done now to accommodate the new design requirements the legislation required.

The uncertainty is largely due to a lack of comprehensive information, and differing levels of understanding of what is currently known about the changes. The survey encompasses professionals from machinery and robotics; automotive; energy management; lighting and many other industries across the spectrum.

The lowering of the required testing and compliance range is being implemented because an increasing number of devices are causing potentially disruptive electromagnetic interference at the low end of the frequency spectrum. The regulatory move is expected to help ensure that all electronic devices can operate freely, harmoniously and with little to no interference, which has become increasingly difficult in recent years with the exponential increase in the number of potential interference signals generated by devices such as LED lighting, switching power supplies, and small motors that have not previously been regulated.

To achieve compliance, the majority of survey respondents feel that they might need active filtering. However, 86 percent of them currently only use passive filtering techniques thatthey believe will be largely inadequate, and only half have access to facilities capable of testing to 9 kHz.

To address the need, Schaffner has drawn from its extensive repository of electrical engineering knowledge and compliance data to develop and offer “Active Filter Technology”, designed to take the guesswork out of compliance and accelerate the ability to achieve it.

“We are very conscious of the need for these new regulations to help ensure a seamless experience for electronic device users, which is practically everyone,” added John Harrison, Managing Director Industrial UK. “That need has become particularly acute in recent years, so we applied our expertise to deliver a solution that will help our customers make the transition to those new frequency testing requirements. We are delighted with what Active Filter Technology can do and encourage everyone to come and discuss what it can do during SPS 2023.”

“The remainder of 2023 and the whole of 2024 is set to mark a watershed in ECI regulation,” added John Harrison, Managing Director Industrial UK, “And, once again, Schaffner is proud to lead from the front, as we will demonstrate at SPS 2023.”

“Through this strategic partnership with Samsung Display for the dedicated development of bespoke OLED technology display solutions, we will make a significant step forwards in the digital environment of our next-generation models,” said Benedetto Vigna, CEO of Ferrari.

“We are certain that our collaboration with Ferrari will provide an exciting opportunity to apply our strengths to the supercar field and reinforce our position in the automotive OLED market, enabling us to reach ever new heights,” said JS Choi, President and CEO of Samsung Display.

Over the past decade, Samsung Display has been leading the technology transition in the premium smartphone market from LCD to OLED. As an industry leader in the premium display market and pioneer of revolutionary OLED technology since 2007, Samsung Display is now actively targeting the automotive display market which is an important technology and business platform.

At CES 2023, Samsung Display unveiled its New Digital Cockpit with a 34-inch slim bezel display and bendable technology that creates 700R curvature during the driving mode.

The lightweight, slim structure and the thin bezel of OLED panels allow for high levels of design freedom and its true black and high-contrast capabilities satisfy the design needs of leading automakers. Moreover, OLED’s low power consumption offers even greater benefits, since every watt saved improves the car’s efficiency and sustainability.

UK-based Hanover Displays manufactures and designs passenger information systems for the public transport industry, placing great emphasis on providing very high quality products.

The printed circuit boards (PCBs) in its display panels were originally produced in the Far East until recently, when Hanover decided to start manufacturing them in-house.

“We invested in high-speed production equipment to make the PCBs, a decision that gave us greater flexibility in our production control, but also enabled us to continue with product development,” said Reece Mills, the company’s Production Control Manager.

Automating the testing and inspection processes

However, moving production in-house presented Hanover Displays with a new set of challenges. It had to be able to both test and inspect the boards itself. Initially, this was a very manual process; even though it involved automated test equipment (ATE), the process was very hands-on and depended on complete operator concentration. Since the company processes some 240,000 printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs) each year, there is a very high risk of the operators suffering from repetitive strain injury.

Hanover therefore took the decision to automate these processes more comprehensively, which required a new system for testing PCBAs. It chose Omron TM’s cobots for the tasks, supplied and installed by Absolute Robotics, a small robot integrator based in Bristol.

“As well as addressing the health and safety issue of our employees, we also wanted to guarantee a consistent cycle time. Unmanned running was really important to us, so we wanted to ensure that the cobots could run at night time, too, for more throughput, yet with less effort,” said Hanover Displays’s Operations Director, Sean Winter.

Omron TM cobots feature simple programming along with integrated vision capability. There are several models, offering different levels of payload and reach.

“One of the key drivers was that Hanover wanted the cobots to interact with the existing manual test equipment. The cobots therefore have special tooling that allows them to open and shut the manual testing equipment,” said Geoff Ferguson, Managing Director of Absolute Robotics.

Relying on cobots

Hanover wanted to use the cobots with both its processing and display boards, which meant exploiting their full potential. This included using the built-in vision systems, particularly for the display boards, to ensure that the LEDs were lighting up in correct sequence. Subsequently, the company invested in six more Omron TM cobots, installed in two production lines. These take the LED display boards from a standard storage rack and test them.

One of the challenges that Absolute Robotics faced was that Hanover Displays produces a wide variety of sizes and shapes of circuit boards for its display panels. The cobots needed to be able to handle these different types of boards, so Absolute Robotics built flexible tooling that can self-adjust, to successfully handle all of them. The programme can also handle any number of LEDs, from hundreds to tens of thousands.

“We realised the benefits of the cobots quite quickly, after implementing the first system,” said Hanover’s Mills. “What we’d planned and hoped for was that we’d be able to run unmanned and this happened quite quickly. The return on investment for the whole system was just two years. The tests involve very repetitive processes, and I think the biggest thing for me is being able to redeploy and upskill our staff.”

Winter added: “From a quality assurance point of view, we have full traceability of our PCBAs. This means every time we inspect a PCBA, we get a record that tells us if it’s passed or failed. We’ve also benefited from an additional 1,100 hours per year of unmanned running. At Hanover, we always want to invest in our future. It’s about looking at technology, how it’s moved forward and how we can apply it to our business.”

By Omron field application engineers

A Glance at Our Presence

ASC hosted our own 350 square-meter booth, complete with a balcony, café seating, and a coffee and snack bar fully staffed with a barista and service team. Over the four days of the event, we invited visitors to enjoy free food and drinks and the opportunity to meet with members of the ASC team. At ASC, we believe the customer always comes first and strive to provide the best service and benefits in the international electronics industry. Electronica 2022 gave us the perfect opportunity to put that philosophy into practice for potential customers. Before leaving, everyone who stopped by got to spin our wheel of fortune for a prize. Free cocktails and vouchers for free shipping are just some examples of the items one was able to win. On the last day of electronica 2022, a professional violinist performed at the booth and enchanted the ears of every visitor in Hall B4 for several hours.

Supply & Demand Dilemma

One of the main topics of conversation at electronica 2022 was the distribution challenges many manufacturers and suppliers are facing. Like many other industries, the international electronics industry has suffered from shipping delays, supply chain bottlenecks, and shortages of both raw materials and skilled workers.

ASC’s Global Solution

At our booth, visitors from around the world got the opportunity to see electronic component distribution in a new light. Without the proper components, electronics manufacturers cannot meet global demand for a wide variety of products. Their options are to scale down production and lose profit or replace their usual materials with inferior ones, potentially hurting their reputation and leading to future revenue loss. ASC has over 5 million semiconductors, passives, and electromechanical components in stock from over a thousand name-brand suppliers. We can deliver anywhere in the world within 24 to 48 hours, helping to keep production lines moving. We also offer free quality testing, so our customers know that when we say, “quality is non-negotiable,” we really mean it.

Created with engineers and OEMs in mind, these innovative LEDs deliver efficiency, design flexibility, and control for devices in a range of industries, including mil-aero, automated guided vehicles, EV charging stations, industrial, telecom, IoT/smart home, and medical.

• Streamlined design possibilities – Bi-color and RGB options save money and space on the HMI, communicating two or three operating modes in a single component.
• Popular color combinations – The SpectraBright LEDs are available in RGB as well as frequently used bi-colour variations: red/green, yellow/green, and amber/green.
• Greater control over light intensity – High and low brightness options with luminous intensities ranging from 15 to 160 mcd ensure each device provides the ideal light level for the device and application.
• Wide viewing angle for enhanced visibility – A clear lens and 120-degree viewing angle ensure high visibility for a host of applications, day or night.
• Perfect for standalone, array, and interface light source applications – The SpectraBright LEDs are even more powerful when used with VCC’s best-in-class rigid light pipe series, including 7511, 7512, LMC, LPC, LFC, and LFB. They’re also ideal as an efficient and durable light source for custom PMI and array designs.
• Reliable, long-lasting operation – With RoHS, REACH certifications, MIL-STD-750 D:1026 and MIL-STD-883 D:1005 standards, and an average LED life of 50,000 hours — more than double that of incandescents — the SpectraBright Series is made for the long haul.
• Available in popular sizes – Designed to make engineers’ lives easier, the LEDs are available in the following standard packages: 0603, 0606, 1204, and 1210.

“We’re excited to launch our new SpectraBright Series SMD LEDs, which will help our clients achieve sleeker designs while reducing costs and having great control over light intensity,” said VCC Product Manager, Mario Davila. “These multi-function indicators can perform as standalone lighting units, as well as being an ideal solution for use with light pipes and HMIs.”

The innovative SpectraBright Series will be available through VCC’s robust distribution network in late December 2022. T

Participants can enter to win Digi-Key products of their choice during the DigiWish social media giveaway Dec. 1-24, 2022. To enter, participants must select one in-stock Digi-Key product valued up to $100 and comment or post their “wish” on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #DigiWish. One name will be drawn from the list of eligible candidates each day of the contest, with a total of 24 lucky winners. All participants will also be entered in the grand prize drawing for a $500 Digi-Key shopping spree.

For those shopping for the engineers and designers in their lives, or sharing gift ideas with others, Digi-Key has also published a 2022 Holiday Gift Guide. The gift guide features something for everyone, from the child exploring engineering, to the well-versed tinkerer, to the Fortune 500 engineer.

The 2022 DigiWish Giveaway is open from Dec.1-24, 2022.

“We are excited to kick-off our 14^th annual DigiWish Giveaway this holiday season,” said Brooks Vigen, director of global strategic marketing for Digi-Key. “The giveaway is another way Digi-Key supports engineers, designers and makers around the world, and we look forward to seeing how winners will fuel innovation with their prizes.”

There is no purchase necessary for the DigiWish Giveaway and the promotion is void where restricted and prohibited by law. Entrants are reminded that Digi-Key cannot grant wishes for products that are export restricted in their respective countries. Entrants’ DigiWish social media posts must be public in order for entries to be collected.

Visit the Digi-Key website for the complete rules and terms and conditions of the 2022 DigiWish Giveaway and to browse the 2022 Holiday Gift Guide.

The new low-profile power relay – ideal for controlling fluorescent and LED lamps – has an innovative single contact structure, making it a highly competitive solution.

The new 16A G5RL-K-EL latching type relay is approved to IEC60669-1, and has a high inrush current capability up to 255A, making it ideal for demanding switching environments where loads vary enormously. The device is also compatible with the International Safety Standard for Electrical/ Electronic Household Appliances (IEC60335-1). The latching design saves energy as there is no hold current to keep the relay open.

The device is a timely addition to the company’s popular G5RL relay family, explained Andries de Bruin, Senior European Product Marketing Manager at Omron: “Smart building systems can reduce the need to touch shared surfaces – an important safety measure as we return to working life after COVID-19. So facilities managers are increasingly turning to automated lighting to increase safety as well as save energy. But the highly variable loads typical of these systems demand specialist components. The new G5RL-K-EL is a smart solution to this growing challenge.”

Anticipating continued advances in autonomous driving and Mobility as a Service (MaaS), Kyocera focused on the importance of the car’s interior space to develop a futuristic cockpit that offers fresh innovations in a completely original vehicle design.

Through a collaboration with Prof. Masahiko Inami from University of Tokyo’s Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, Kyocera applied the unique optical camouflage technology to widen the passenger’s field of vision by making part of the cockpit functionally transparent.

In addition, the Moeye concept is equipped with Kyocera’s latest technologies to enhance both safety and comfort, two key automotive design priorities.

A high-performance liquid crystal display projects images clearly. In addition, the original character “Mobisuke” realistically emerges from the space above the dashboard and to explain navigation instructions, etc. to passengers.

The passenger sees a virtual 3D image of the road ahead projected onto the dashboard, rendering it functionally transparent via optical camouflage technology.

Overhead and door lights provide biologically friendly illumination using Kyocera’s original CERAPHIC LED lighting, which allows better spectrum customisation and more subtle color expression than conventional LED technology. CERAPHIC can closely match the spectrum of natural sunlight and freely adjusts light in the morning and evening for a more comfortable mobility experience.To expand the visual environment with beauty and elegance, Kyocera’s proprietary Kyoto Opal is used in the interior door panels and a lab-grown gemstone is used in center console.

The instrument panel and center console are equipped with Kyocera’s patented HAPTIVITY tactile feedback technology. When you touch the panel, your fingertip pressure generates a tiny vibration simulating the tactile feeling of a physical button. HAPTIVITY revolutionises the human-machine interface by allowing passengers to operate touch-panel instruments in a natural and intuitive manner that conventional touch-panel displays cannot emulate.

The car features a vibration speaker using piezo elements which radiates sound throughout the cabin, creating a comfortable listening environment enjoyable to the ears. The headrest is also equipped with a vibration speaker to provide clear sound directly to the passenger.

“Through Moeye, Kyocera has developed a surprising, exciting, and priceless new transportation experience with a futuristic cockpit and original vehicle design,” said Masahiro Inagaki, Kyocera Corporation Senior Executive Officer, General Manager, Corporate R&D Group.

“From styling to status indicators and dynamic operator alerts, we’re seeing incredible design creativity and high value solutions for users. Lighting is a prominent feature in over 95% of our customers’ IMSE solutions,” said Dave Rice, SVP Marketing and Business Development at TactoTek.

In TactoTek IMSE solutions LEDs and the circuitry that drives them are molded inside of the plastic that is part of the structure. The result is very thin, seamless components that can conform to complex shapes and are efficiently mass produced.

“The huge benefit of IMSE is the technology’s fusion of dynamic lighting with highly decorative surfaces and HMI functionality in 3D structures as thin as 2mm. We can enhance many of our illumination package designs with IMSE elements,” said Michael Höfgen, founder and CEO of Lightworks.

The Alliance has now grown from initial five members in autumn 2016 to 30 companies and institutions. The entire value chain is covered, in order to establish ISELED as a standard system solution.

“Covering a broad range of different industry segments the Alliance members give ISELED technology ever greater dynamism and enormously expand its potential range of applications – far beyond the original idea of automotive interior lighting,” stated Robert Kraus, CEO of Inova Semiconductors and one of the founders of the ISELED Alliance.

ISELED is a technology based on true “digital LED”. It is supported by several leading LED manufactures, microcontroller vendors and Tier 1 automotive system suppliers. Expanding the originally ISELED protocol with the development of the ILaS bus concept (ISELED Light and Sensor network) will further broaden the applications which will benefit from the innovative and cost-efficient technology. With ILaS not only LED elements, but also other components such as matrix LED lights, sensors and actuators can in future be controlled in large numbers via a simple two-wire connection.

“ISELED with its innovative bus system offers a high potential to be the future light source standard, especially for dynamic lighting designs in interior and exterior automotive applications.  Cemm Thome as supplier for innovative automotive lighting solutions and high closeness to its customers will help to further form this development, “says Dr. Michael Olbrich, Senior Optical Expert at Cemm Thome.