Electronics News August 2013

EN0813_001.pdf

Page

1

1/08/13,

8:36:33

AM

AEST

ne ws Australia’s Premier Electronics Magazine

www.electronicsnews.com.au INSIDE

AUGUST 13

Page 7 News 4

Water chip for desalination A small voltage is applied to a plastic chip filled with seawater Technology 6

Robust microcontrollers MCU incorporates EMC and ESD protection for compliance with industrial-grade reliability Application 7

Water-cooled inverter Users of power control equipment need much tighter control of all the elements in the system

Post Print Approved PP255003/00319

Super Cap Me As the automotive sector looks to improve efficiency and cut emissions Sydney-based CAP-XX sees an opportunity for its supercapacitor technology Page 18

Design | Communications | Environmental | Industrial | Research | Medical | Consumer

Feature 10

Taitronics

Flexibility is allowing manufacturers in Taiwan to transition to new growth areas ElectroneX 14

Electronics Design & Assembly Expo Event will showcase technologies for systems integration and production electronics Profile 23

David Keightley The founder of ecoSpectral shares his views on the industry

EN0813_000_STM

-

1

2013-07-30T16:05:41+10:00

EN0813_003.pdf

Page

3

1/08/13,

10:27:19

AM

AEST

NEWS

EDITOR’S MESSAGE

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Martin Sinclair martin.sinclair@cirrusmedia.com.au EDITOR Kevin Gomez Tel: (02) 8484 0976 kevin.gomez@cirrusmedia.com.au

There is no option but to move up the value chain

KEY ACCOUNT MANAGER Tim Richards Tel: (02) 8484 0829 Fax: (02) 8484 0915 tim.richards@cirrusmedia.com.au

LAST month, Electronics News was fortunate to be invited to the Taitronics pre-show event in Taiwan. The event QLD SALES MANAGER will be held in October this year and will Sharon R. Amos Kevin Gomez PO Box 3136, Bracken Ridge QLD 4017 focus on e-mobility and smart living. That Tel: (07) 3261 8857 Fax: (07) 3261 8347 Editor country faces many of the same obstacles sharon.amos@cirrusmedia.com.au facing mature economies but is tackling PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Tracy Engle them with innovative solutions.

Tel: (02) 8484 0707 It was not too long ago that Taiwan tracy.engle@cirrusmedia.com.au GRAPHIC DESIGNER was known for umbrellas and soft toys.

Louis Santos Today, electronics technology contributes louis.santos@cirrusmedia.com.au one-third of its GDP. It all started in the SUBSCRIPTIONS Customer Service 1970s with the setting up of the Industrial Tel: 1300 360 126. Fax: (02) 8484 0633.

Technology Research Institute (ITRI) customerservice@reedbusiness.com.au Subs: Australia $99 incl GST which was tasked with building the New Zealand A$109.00 country’s tech industry.

Overseas A$119.00 While much of the world’s attention has been focused on China, Taiwan has been quietly building its electronics Published five times a year empire. Forty years back, ITRI built an Cirrus Media IBM PC clone – a first for Taiwan. Today, Tower 2, Level 3, 475 Victoria Avenue Chatswood NSW 2067, Australia companies in Taiwan make close to Locked Bag 4700 90 percent of the world’s notebooks and Chatswood Delivery Centre, NSW 2067, Australia Tel: (02) 8484 0888 Fax: (02) 8484 0633 over 45 percent of all desktop PCs. ABN 80 132 719 861 What’s interesting is that over www.cirrusmedia.com.au © Copyright Cirrus Media, 2013 90 percent of the hardware is produced in www.electronicsnews.com.au China but Taiwan holds the IP. Perhaps this offers some options for Australian IP-focused companies seeking a way into Average Net Distribution Period ending Mar 2013 higher volume electronics manufacture.

6,378 Although many Taiwan companies Printed by Bluestar Print 83 Derby Street, Silverwater, NSW 2128 started off with low-level manufacture, Ph: (02) 9748 3411 they have quickly moved up the chain.

Audio-Technica started by making Next Issue headphones and microphones in a rural area. Today, the company ships three • Medical Electronics containers of high end audio products • Systems Design E N 0 8 1 FACEBOOK.COM/electronicsnews 3 _ 0 0 0 _ M A R . p d f • Test P a& Measurement g e 1 1 6 / 0 5 / 1each 3 , week.

1 : 4 E5 N: 03 66 1 3P _M0 2A 4E _S CT O M One reason for Taiwan’s success is the • EDA Software Modelling

heavy investment in R&D. At Good Will Instruments, for instance, 32 percent of its workforce is made up of R&D staff.

The company manufactures test and measurement instruments that are sold around the world.

Australia cannot replicate Taiwan’s success in this area but we can learn from them. Industry can incorporate some aspects, for instance a focus on R&D and a culture of valuing IP. The biggest challenge perhaps is to get the government to recognise the relatively small but key role our industry plays.

One local outfit, featured in this magazine, seems to have it all worked out. CAP-XX has developed a range of supercapacitors based on activated carbon technology. The Sydney-based company has licenced its technology to a Japanese company for mass manufacture and will become a pure IP company.

- Perhaps, 1 2 0a1path 3 - for 0 5others - 3 0toT consider.

1 1 : 0 1 : 4 1 + 1 0 : 0 0 kevin.gomez@cirrusmedia.com.au

www.electronicsnews.com.au AUGUST 2013 3

EN0813_004.pdf

Page

4

31/07/13,

2:27:57

PM

AEST

NEWS

IN BRIEF

IEEE 1149.1-2013 to slash ElEctronIcs Industry costs IEEE has announced the IEEE 1149.12013 “Standard for Test Access Port and Boundary-Scan Architecture.”

IEEE 1149.1-2013—commonly known in the industry as “JTAG,” for “Joint Test Action Group”—is intended to dramatically lower electronics industry costs by enabling test re-use across all phases of the IC lifecycle via vendor-independent, hierarchical test languages.

The revision of IEEE 1149.1, the first for the standard since 2001, allows critical domain expertise for IP—how to configure a serialiser/ deserialiser (SERDES) for loopback testing, for example—to be transferred in a computer-readable format from the IP designer to IC designers and, in turn, to designers of PCBs and to test engineers, gradually magnifying industry cost savings along the supply chain.

The cost savings for the electronics industry that IEEE 1149.1-2013 is intended to unlock are estimated to be in the billions of dollars. IEEE 1149.12013 specifies a new hierarchical Procedural Definition Language (PDL)—a standard test language based on Tcl, and hierarchical extensions to the original Boundary Scan Description Language (BSDL)—to describe on-chip IP test data registers.

Eight new optional IC instructions provide a foundation for configuring I/Os for board test, mitigating false failures when re-testing the IC at the board level and correlating the results back to wafer level test through an Electronic Chip ID. IEEE 1149.1-2013 is poised to have a major impact on how business is done across the electronics industry— from IP providers to silicon vendors to system integrators—as it is designed to eliminate inefficient engineering.

The IP provider can document the IP test interface and how to operate the IP in an English-like language—just once, for all ICs. Software tools then retarget this documentation at the IC and board level for tests. In revising IEEE 1149.1, the working group focused on two things: lowering industry costs through the new PDL language and enabling test re-use over the lifecycle of an integrated circuit. IEEE 1149.12013 provides synergy with two other important industry standards.

4 AUGUST 2013 www.electronicsnews.com.au

RESEARCH

Record set for ultrafast electrical switch RESEARCHERS have clocked the fastest-possible electrical switching in magnetite, a naturally magnetic mineral. Their results could drive innovations in the tiny transistors that control the flow of electricity across silicon chips, enabling faster, more powerful computing devices.

The researchers were working on the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at Stanford University.

Scientists using SLAC’s Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray laser found that it takes only 1 trillionth of a second to flip the on-off electrical switch in samples of magnetite, which is thousands of times faster than in transistors now in use.

The results were published in Nature Materials. “This breakthrough research reveals for the first time the ‘speed limit’ for electrical switching in this material,” said Roopali Kukreja, a materials science researcher at SLAC and Stanford University who is a lead author of the study.

The LCLS experiment also showed researchers how the electronic structure of the sample rearranged into non-conducting “islands” surrounded by electrically conducting regions, which began to form just hundreds of quadrillionths of a second after a laser pulse struck the sample. The study shows how such conducting and non-conducting states can coexist and create electrical pathways in next-generation transistors.

Scientists first hit each sample with a visible-light laser, which fragmented the material’s electronic structure at an atomic scale, rearranging it to form the islands.

The laser blast was followed closely by an ultrabright, ultrashort X-ray pulse that allowed researchers to study, for the first time, the timing and details of changes in the sample excited by the initial laser strike. By slightly adjusting the interval of the X-ray pulses, they precisely measured how long it took the material to shift from a non-conducting to an electrically

An optical laser pulse (red streak from upper right) shatters the ordered electronic structure (blue) in an insulating sample of magnetite, switching the material to electrically conducting (red) in one trillionth of a second. (Image: Greg Stewart/SLAC) conducting state, and observed the structural changes during this switch.

The next step is to study more complex materials and roomtemperature applications. www.slac.stanford.edu

ENVIRONMENT

BluGlass wins $2.99m technology grant AUSTRALIAN clean technology innovator, BluGlass has has been awarded $2,999,255 in Federal Government funding. This grant is for the company’s ‘Versatile prototype deposition machine for higher efficiency, energy saving, lower cost LEDs on various substrates including silicon’ project by the Australian Federal Government as part of the Clean Technology Innovation Program.

BluGlass CEO Giles Bourne said “This represents an enormous commitment from

the Commonwealth Government and demonstrates their continued belief in our ability to bring our breakthrough technology to market”.

The project aims to significantly reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions generated in the production of these energy saving LED devices.

BluGlass’ low temperature Remote Plasma Chemical Vapour Deposition (RPCVD) technology offers performance and cost advantages to device manufacturers.

It is estimated that for

each RPCVD tool put into production there could be a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of more than 39,000t CO2 equivalent per RPCVD unit (based on 3.5 million LED lamps per annum).

This funding will allow BluGlass to expedite research and development into GaN on silicon substrates. Silicon is a low cost, large diameter substrate that is currently limited in its application for LED semiconductor material growth. This is because the high temperatures of MOCVD growth

generally lead to bowing of the substrate, which leads to poor manufacturing yields.

RPCVD is a low temperature process that is potentially better suited for the growth of GaN on silicon substrates. It is anticipated that this will result in a revenue stream for the company as presently GaN on silicon is not competitive with the industry standard substrate, sapphire despite its huge commercial appeal as a low cost solution for LEDs. www.bluglass.com.au

EN0813_005.pdf

Page

5

31/07/13,

2:27:57

PM

AEST

NEWS

IN BRIEF

RESEARCH

Water chip for desalination

BY CREATING a small electrical field that removes salts from seawater, chemists at The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Marburg in Germany have introduced a new method for the desalination of seawater that consumes less energy and is dramatically simpler than conventional techniques.

The new method requires so little energy that it can run on a store-bought battery. The process evades the problems confronting current desalination methods by eliminating the need for a membrane and by separating salt from water at a microscale.

“The availability of water for drinking and crop irrigation is one of the most basic requirements for maintaining and improving human health,” said Richard Crooks of The University of Texas at Austin. “Seawater desalination is one way to address this need, but most current methods for desalinating water rely on expensive and easily contaminated membranes.

The membrane-free method we’ve developed still needs to be refined and scaled up, but if we can succeed at that, then one day it might be possible to provide fresh water on a massive scale using a simple, even portable, system.”

This promise EN0 8 1 3new _ 0method 0 0 _ Eholds L E particular 1 2 0 1 3 -for0 7 the water-stressed areas in which about a third of the

To achieve desalination the researchers apply a small voltage to a plastic chip filled with seawater. planet’s inhabitants live.

Many of these regions have access to abundant seawater but not to the energy infrastructure or money necessary to desalt water using conventional technology.

As a result, millions of deaths per year in these regions to :water-related 3are 1 attributed T1 0 : 2 5 5 3 + 1 0 : causes.

0 0

www.okeanostech.com

EthErcat tEchnology group’s nEw standard for sEmIconductor Industry THE EtherCAT Technology Group has released the ETG.5003-1 device standard for the semiconductor industry. With the ETG.5003-1 standard and its corresponding nine specific device profiles, the ETG now provides a suitable starting point for a new generation of tools in the semiconductor industry, breaking ground for dramatic new developments within the industry as a result.

The release of the new device profiles ensures that EtherCAT will be used for more than just motion control, I/O, sensors and gateways in semiconductor manufacturing machines. From now on industry specific devices such as mass flow controllers or vacuum valves can be implemented directly into the EtherCAT system. The new profile, ETG.5003-1 describes the general requirements for devices that are published within the specification series ETG.5003.

www.electronicsnews.com.au AUGUST 2013 5

EN0813_006.pdf

Page

6

1/08/13,

10:32:12

AM

AEST

TECHNOLOGY

INDUSTRIAL

Microcontrollers for harsh electromagnetic environments and business development for ments. Leveraging the devices’ TO MEET demand for more robust Freescale’s MCU business. “Kinetis robust design and 32-bit processing and highly efficient microcontrollers E series MCUs break new ground by capabilities, systems designers can (MCUs) for white goods and induscombining low cost and high perforuse a single device instead of the trial applications, Freescale has mance with advanced electromagmultiple MCUs previously required. introduced the Kinetis E series. It netic compatibility (EMC) and elecIn addition, large-pitch packaging is the first 5V, 32-bit MCUs built on trostatic discharge (ESD) protection options and high electrostatic the ARM Cortex-M0+ processor. The features designed to support complidischarge protection performance new MCUs feature rugged electroance with industrial-grade reliability can enable single-layer board designs magnetic noise immunity for systems and temperature requirements.” and reduce the need for additional historically limited to 8- and 16-bit Freescale offers both hardware circuit protection components, MCUs, while providing high effifeatures (built into Kinetis E series leading to lower system cost. ciency and optimal code density.

MCUs) and pre-certified, fault“Historically, 32-bit MCUs have The new Kinetis E series products tolerant software routines engibeen associated with lower voltage are suitable for applications such neered to help customers meet the operation and considered unreliable as dishwashers, refrigerators, home IEC 60730 Class B safety standard in electromagnetically harsh enviand building control systems, motor for household appliances. ronments such as factories or even control fans, industrial converters MCUs feature many households,” said Brandon andE other equipment commonly N0 8 1 3 _ 0 0 0 _ SEM 1 2 0 1 3 - 0 7 - 1 1 T 1 4 : 4 8 : 4 9 +Kinetis 1 0 : E0 series 0 a range of development support, Tolany, vice president of marketing operating in high-noise environ-

SKAI

Kinetis KE02 MCU incorporates EMC and ESD protection features for robust noise immunity and compliance with industrial-grade reliability and temperature requirements. including the FRDM-KE02Z Freescale Freedom development platform, Processor Expert software, as well as a software development kit providing easy access to sample software libraries. www.freescale.com

POWER

® IGBT

Most Compact Power Electronics System: 20 kVA/l

For electric and hybrid drive trains

V battery: 150 V - 800 V 3-phase IGBT inverter EMI compliant Sintered chips

+61 3- 85 61 56 00 6 AUGUST 2013 www.electronicsnews.com.au

sales.skaus @ semikron.com

www.semikron.com

EN0813_007.pdf

Page

7

31/07/13,

2:32:02

PM

AEST

TECHNOLOGY

INDUSTRIAL

High currents under control USERS of power control equipment have used third-party systems for many years, because they offer the benefits of reduced development costs, shorter time to market and ease of meeting qualification standards. As specifications have become more demanding, it has become necessary to use higher levels of integration, with much tighter control of all the elements in the system.

To meet these requirements for the broad automotive electronics market – ranging from fork-lift trucks, to hybrid and electric vehicles, to large agricultural and construction vehicles – Semikron EN0 8 1 3 _ 0 0 has 0 _ HKW established its Systems Group, to

bring all the necessary expertise into one organisation.

The Group works closely with customers to develop power systems, which are then marketed under the SKAI brand. The SKAI systems are supplied as standard platforms with low-voltage

The high-voltage SKAI 2 is available as a water-cooled 600/1200V IGBT inverter system.

1

2 0 1 3 - 0 7 - 0 9 T1 0 : 4 6 : 0 6 + 1 0 : 0 0

100 95 75

25 5 0

www.electronicsnews.com.au AUGUST 2013 7

EN0813_008.pdf

Page

8

31/07/13,

2:32:02

PM

AEST

TECHNOLOGY

INDUSTRIAL

system, which is used mainly in MOSFETS or high-voltage IGBTs as forklift trucks and other materials the silicon base. handling applications. These The high-voltage SKAI 2 systems are suitable for a motor is available as a water-cooled output of up to 40kW. They 600/1200V IGBT inverter system, incorporate many of the same and has been optimised for use in features as the IGBT-based systems applications such as full-electric cars, plug-in hybrid cars and electric buses.

“Further advances in This system is based on the versatility increase sintered, solder-free SKiM93 IGBT modules, features a polypropylene market acceptance film DC-link capacitor, driver of integrated power electronics, a latest-generation DSP controller, EMC filters, and systems.” current, voltage and temperature and behave in the same way, use sensors, and is supplied in an IP67 the same core control system and module case. Communication with I/O connections, and the same the vehicle master controller is master controller via a CAN bus. The system structure. via a CAN bus. These systems are signal interface features analogue The third type of SKAI 2 designed for outputs of up to 150kW. and digital I/Os to allow for the platform is a multi-converter box.

The low-voltage version is connection of a wide variety of These systems are also housed in available as an air-cooled or water-cooled, IP67-protected cases water-cooled 50/100/150/200V EN0 8 1 3 _ 0 0 0 _ T EN 1 2 0 1 3 - 0 7 - 3 1 T 1 0 : 3 7 : 1 sensors, 1 + 1 0such : 0 as 0 temperature sensors and resolver inputs. A typical multiand communicate with the vehicle MOSFET single and dual inverter

converter system would include a three-phase 40kVA active front-end converter, a three-phase 20kVA drive inverter, a three-phase 10kVA drive inverter, and a 14V/300A or 28V/165A DC/DC converter.

For consistency, quality & reliability.

LEDs: SMD,T/H’s, dispays, opto’s & sensors

8 AUGUST 2013 www.electronicsnews.com.au

EN0813_009.pdf

Page

9

31/07/13,

2:32:02

PM

AEST

TECHNOLOGY

INDUSTRIAL

One type of SKAI 2 platform is a multi-converter box housed in water-cooled IP67-protected cases.

All SKAI 2 modules are qualified using analysis such as highlyaccelerated life testing (HALT) and end of component-life testing, with fullEfailure-mode N 0 8 1 3 _ effect 0 0 0 analysis _ AEE studies conducted at all critical

technology, which boasts extended points of the design cycle, to ensure service life and high load cycling that they are in line with relevant capability. The systems and automotive standards. semiconductor components are Thermal and electrical contact of the power semiconductors is 1 2 0 1 3 - 0 7 - 1 2 T 0 9 : 1 5 : 0 manufactured 6 + 1 0 : 0 0in production processes that include end-of-line established by pressure contact

function tests and, if required, 100% burn-in tests.

Many advances in the drive for higher integration of power systems have been made. However, further advances in reliability, efficiency, size and versatility will be needed to increase the market acceptance of integrated power systems.

By offering system-wide expertise in one organisation, Semikron’s Systems Group states it is able to develop higher levels of integration, improved cooling technologies, higher silicon operating temperatures, higher performance from ASICs and novel packaging techniques. New insulation systems, new methods of silicon attach and, in time, the total removal of wire bonds, will further improve efficiency and reliability.

[This article was written by Jaison Jacob of Semikron.] www.semikron.com.au

electronics design & assembly expo Australia’s largest dedicated electronics industry event Design, Develop, Manufacture with the Latest Solutions!

In association with

Supporting Publication Register Online Now

www.electronex.com.au +61 3 9676 2133

electronics design & assembly expo Melbourne Park Function Centre 11-12 September 2013 www.electronicsnews.com.au AUGUST 2013 9

EN0813_010.pdf

Page

10

31/07/13,

2:36:05

PM

AEST

FEATURE

INDUSTRIAL

Automated warehouse system at Good Will Instrument.

Flexibility and focus

In a period of change, efficiency improvements, active R&D, and astute flexibility will allow manufacturers to not just survive, but thrive. Isaac Leung looks at how manufacturers in Taiwan are transitioning to new growth areas.

10 AUGUST 2013 www.electronicsnews.com.au

bring success T

HE global market is in flux, as changes in China prompt a shift of low-cost manufacturing to countries like Vietnam and India. And while China’s demand for Australia’s natural resources slows, a burgeoning new market of upwardly mobile consumers presents new opportunities.

Australian companies, whether they are seeking engineering and manufacturing partners, or looking to enter the Asian market, may do well to turn their focus on the island state of Taiwan.

Like Australia, Taiwan has an IP-centric industry. It is known as a hub of electronics hardware development, having successfully captured a big chunk of the ICT,

semiconductor and smartphone manufacturing market.

While manufacturing around the world continues to be suppressed by economic conditions, Taiwan’s

Taiwan is now in a state of transition as it looks to continue reducing costs.

Ministry of Economic Affairs reported in June 2013 that among the major manufacturing industries, sectors with high IP, such as ICT and electronic components and parts, maintain mild growth and continue to play a key role in the country’s economic development.

Even so, while Taiwanese manufacturers have successfully leveraged their balance of low-cost labour and R&D capabilities, the country is now in a state of transition as it looks to continue reducing costs, while focusing on new growth areas, such as automotive and connected mobile technologies, in order to revitalise its manufacturing sector.

Open new markets Audio equipment manufacturer Audio-Technica Taiwan, whose facility is located in a rural area of Taoyuan, started off as a manufacturing plant, but quickly gained R&D capabilities.

Today, the majority of AudioTechnica’s consumer-grade mid-to-

EN0813_011.pdf

Page

11

31/07/13,

2:36:05

PM

AEST

P A 0 8 1 3 _ 0 0 0 _ P O W_ R

-

1

2 0 1 3 - 0 7 - 2 5 T1 2 : 1 2 : 3 8 + 1 0 : 0

Custom switch assembly line at Diptronics.

CHECK OUT THE SERIES

NEW High Quality Delta Power Supplies

Volts In Volts Out

Power Guide

AC/DC Power Supplies Laboratory Power Supplies DC/AC Inverters

high end headphones and microphones are developed primarily by the Taiwanese team, while high-end professional R&D is carried out in Japan and the US. Most of the raw material and internal electronics are sourced locally.

With nine production lines, around three shipping containers worth of headphones and microphones are exported from the facility every week.

However, unlike Sydneybased RODE Microphones, which emphasises automation for consistent and cost-effective production, Audio-Technica Taiwan retains a lot of manual work in its short assembly lines.

According to Director and

General Manager Kazuhisa Kondo, the decision to eschew automation is due largely to the rapid R&D environment, which seems AudioTechnica Taiwan pushing out new products in short runs. This means re-tooling costs eclipse any savings enabled by automation.

Cost advantage Test and measurement instruments maker Good Will Instrument (GW Instek) has made inroads into the educational, enthusiast and value-conscious markets. Today, its products are sold in 86 countries through over 400 distributors, and are used by the US Airforce, the Chinese PLA, as well as Taiwan Rail.

Most of the test instrument

Product Quick Selection Wheel

DC/DC Converters

Battery Chargers

Key Fetures

Mechanical Form

Outputs

Visit our new interactive website with “Quick Product Selector� and the convenience of on-line purchasing.

www.powerbox.com.au sales@powerbox.com.au

www.electronicsnews.com.au AUGUST 2013 11

EN0813_012.pdf

Page

12

31/07/13,

2:36:05

PM

AEST

FEATURE

INDUSTRIAL

maker’s R&D takes place in Taiwan, where 117 engineers (or 32 percent of its local workforce) design the outer casing of its products, and develop the interface and electrical engineering inside as well.

Like most Taiwanese manufacturers, Good Will Instrument has expanded across the Taiwan strait and established operations in China in order to benefit from its cheap labour.

However, its Chinese plants are focused on high volume products, with low-volume, high value work retained in Taiwan.

The price edge is maintained via a combination of relatively cheap labour and automation of processes.

In the global market, GW Instek is positioned as a value brand which provides equivalent or better-featured instruments for the budget conscious. This price edge is maintained via a combination of relatively cheap labour, automation of processes, and keeping as much work in-house as possible.

The Taiwanese production facility is highly automated: 90 percent of the electronic guts of GW Instek machines are completed via SMT lines, while 10 percent remains through-hole and must be done by hand.

In recent years, Good Will Instrument has also automated its testing by sourcing computerdriven test equipment, which can test the electrical function of its products, 10 at a time.

Selected units are also tested for resistance to humidity, temperature changes, vibration, drops and angle impacts – in all, 40 standardsrelated items are tested for.

In 2005, Good Will Instrument automated its warehouse system with the help of Taiwanese automation company Mirle.

Its computerised warehouse currently holds four months 12 AUGUST 2013 www.electronicsnews.com.au

ECE is increasing its emphasis on its line of relays. worth of inventory, all retrieved automatically via a control panel.

Illuminated trends The global trend towards cloud services means that for the last few years, the Taiwanese industry has been attempting to transition from pure hardware development and manufacturing to solutions based on integrated hardware, software and services.

Government-established industry associations like the Cloud Computing Association in Taiwan are hoping to duplicate its success in semiconductors within the cloud computing space. To do so, Taiwanese companies need to start playing in the infrastructure software, application software and service operations spaces.

In the short term, however, demand for cloud computing services means existing players like Amazon, Facebook and Google are bolstering their data centres by sourcing server hardware directly from manufacturers in Taiwan.

Taiwan currently accounts for more than 80 percent of worldwide

Manual assembly line at Audio-Technica Taiwan.

EN0813_013.pdf

Page

13

31/07/13,

2:36:05

PM

AEST

FEATURE

server production, and the increased demand is having trickle-down benefits to players like Diptronics.

Diptronics can be considered a niche manufacturer, specialising in the production of switches used on circuit boards. Its products are used by Siemens, Bosch, Omron, Fujitsu, NEC, Mitsubishi and other big players.

Diptronics is responding to the cloud trend by diversifying its product offering to focus on LED-illuminated tactile switches, which are commonly used on server boards.

At its factory in the Wugu District of New Taipei City, Diptronics runs a complete production line turning raw materials into finished products.

Product development, metal plating and punching, plastic moulding and injection are all done in-house.

Diptronics is also the only switch manufacturer which also produces its own LEDs. Due to the cleanroom and labour requirements, the LEDs are manufactured in the company’s production line in Suzhou, China, then integrated into the switches in Taiwan using Diptronics-designed proprietary production equipment.

Post-assembly, the switches are run through testing equipment, including operational force testers which assess the resistance, stroke and return forces of the switches; and contact resistance testers which check the electrical properties of the switches when in the off state.

Xrays allow non-destructive inspection of metal parts within the switches, while a 3D measurement system checks the switches’ dimensions from multiple sides simultaneously. Selected parts are also put through a reflow oven to ensure the switches remain operational after surface mounting processes.

Green automotive As global regulations continue to drive automotive manufacturers to reduce emissions and boost the energy efficiency of their vehicles, manufacturers in Taiwan like K.S. Terminals and Excel Cell Electronic (ECE) are pivoting towards this growing market.

ECE is increasing its emphasis on

its line of relays, which are deployed in the electronic control modules used in the automotive industry.

Unlike mass production factories in China which only deal in large quantities, ECE is focusing on growing its market by directly providing small sample scale products to automotive design houses in the US and Europe.

With its self-designed production machines, ECE is able to quickly reconfigure its capabilities and produce small runs of highly customised products.

It is now working to improve the specifications of its products to meet the more stringent requirements of the automotive sector.

K.S. Terminals, which makes terminals and connectors, has made in-roads into the electrical vehicle space, having developed connectors for electrical car trials in cooperation with other Taiwanese companies, as well as Nissan and Toyota.

Directly stamping out the metal connector components from reels of copper, brass and steel, the

Integrated quality control and inspection at Diptronics production line.

Broadband Taiwan and the Taiwan International Cloud Technology and Internet of Things Show.

This event will host 750 exhibitors over 1,400 booths, and is expected to attract 45,000 visitors both from Taiwan E Nand 0 8 internationally.

1 3 _ 0 1 3 _ NPA The three shows will serve as a

platform for exhibitors and visitors to explore business opportunities, and also discover the latest technology and innovation. The organisers (TAITRA) will also host procurement meetings for trade and government 1 2 0 1 3 buyers.

- 0 7 - 3 0 T1 6 : 1 7 : 1 2 + 1 0 : 0 0 www.taitronics.org

The factory requires just one worker to tend to four machines due to the high degree of automation. company’s factory requires just one worker to tend to four machines, due to the high degree of automation.

Waste metal from the stamping process is collected in big bags and sent back to the raw materials supplier for recycling.

Finished products are checked in a test lab specially built for automotive terminal testing, with machines that imitate driving conditions with wind, dust and moisture tests, as well as ozone aging, high pressure water spray and bending stress tests.

Technology access The 39th Taipei International Electronics Show (TAITRONICS) will run from 8 to 11 October at the TWTC Nangang Exhibition Hall in Taipei. It will be co-hosted with the www.electronicsnews.com.au AUGUST 2013 13

EN0813_014.pdf

Page

14

31/07/13,

3:18:03

PM

AEST

FEATURE

INDUSTRIAL

ElectroneX preview The event will showcase the forthcoming technologies for systems integration and production electronics. development tools and industry NOW in its 4th year, Electronex – knowledge base. The competitive The Electronics Design & Assembly future of practically every Australian Expo is being staged in Melbourne industry sector is increasingly on 11 - 12 September at Melbourne dependent on the utilisation and Park Function Centre. The event will integration of the latest electronics showcase the future path and techinto all aspects of production, nologies for systems integration and assembly, systems development, production electronics. maintenance and service.

The expo alternates annually Design, electronics and electrical between Sydney and Melbourne and technology showcase and conference engineers, OEM, scientific, IT and this will be the second time it will be in Australasia. communications professionals will held in Melbourne.

More than 100 companies will be find new technologies that will Improvements in design, system represented at the show. The SMCBA drive future product and system development and manufacturing – Electronics Design & Manufacture developments. This specialised trade assembly can be more easily E N 0 8by1 keeping 3 _ 0 0 up 0 _toCdate O Nwith 1 event 2 0continues 1 3 - 0 7to- enjoy 3 0 Tgrowth 1 6 : 0 5 : 4Conference 7 + 1 0 : 0 is 0 being held in conjuncachieved tion with the exhibition. This year’s and is the pre-eminent electronics the latest technologies, products,

Your Specialist for Computer-On-Modules Technology Leader: COM Express | Qseven Industry Leading Experience Excellent Customer Support ƚŚƌŽƵŐŚ ŽƵƌ ƵƐƚƌĂůŝĂŶ KĸĐĞ congatec AG is a worldwide leading supplier of industrial computer modules using the standard form factors Qseven, COM Express, XTX and ETX. We are the number one choice for making your embedded ideas happen. Ăůů ŶŽǁ ƚŽ ĮŶĚ ŽƵƚ ŵŽƌĞ͘

congatec Australia Pty. Ltd | Phone +61 755200841 www.congatec.com.au | sales-asia@congatec.com

14 AUGUST 2013 www.electronicsnews.com.au

Untitled-1 1

18.01.2013 14:17:50

conference will feature several international presenters and deliver information on electronics design and manufacture as well as new streams on Embedded Systems and New Product Development. www.electronex.com.au

SMCBA Electronics

Design & Manufacture Conference 2013 THIS conference is staged in conjunction with the ElectroneX trade show in the conference facility alongside the exhibition hall.

As PCB design perfection starts in the CAD library, a two day workshop (CAD Library Management for Electronics Design) will present a practical guide to the many issues facing a design team in establishing and maintaining an effective library structure. The structure must be expandable and flexible, yet ensure a discipline of process for establishing procedures, standards, and methods of working that are accepted and adopted by all concerned for achieving consistent and reliable results.

Electronic design starts with CAD libraries, and if part numbers, footprints, symbols and models are not correct then almost certain project failure will result, and that usually leads to delays and extra expense for redesigns to get new boards made and have them assembled with new components. Tom

Hausherr from PCB Libraries will deliver this workshop.

Martin O’Hara, EMC expert and author of EMC at Component and PCB Level will present his “Circuit Board & Layout Issues for EMC Compliance”. O’Hara will provide essential background knowledge and best design practices for improving the EMC performance of any circuit design.

Other presentations include a Statistical Process Control workshop, an IPC Certification Course and a specially designed program for new or soon to be graduates and technicians entering the electronics industry. This covers SMT, ESD, DFM and will provide attendees with everything they need to know when starting work in the electronics industry. www.smcba.asn.au

EN0813_000_ROH

-

1

2013-04-23T10:11:21+10:00

Baseband & RF MIMO & Fading Rohde & Schwarz SMW 200A The new vector signal generator for wideband communications systems Unique generator with baseband, signal calculation, fading, MIMO, AWGN and RF generation in a single box. Two paths up to 6 GHz. Full modularity.

Convenient touch operation for confident control of the most complex signals.

In 3G and 4G scenarios as well as in aerospace & defense applications. Ɗ Ɗ Ɗ Ɗ Ɗ

160 MHz I/Q modulation bandwidth with internal baseband All key MIMO modes, including 3x3, 4x4 and 8x2 All key communications standards Comprehensive help for efficient working Outstanding modulation and RF characteristics

¸SMW 200A. The fine art of signal generation. www.rohde-schwarz.com.au

Watch the video

EN0813_016.pdf

Page

16

31/07/13,

2:58:39

PM

AEST

FEATURE

INDUSTRIAL

ElectroneX: Product Showcase Some of the new products and technologies that will be at the show.

Agilent The Agilent 34461A DMM is a direct replacement for the Agilent 34401A DMM, with expanded capabilities and features. The new Truevolt Series of DMMs offers several advantages whilst maintaining the same interface as the 34401A. The 34461A helps engineers see their measurement data in new ways, get actionable information faster, and document their results more easily.

Truevolt technology reduces extraneous factors such as noise, injected current and input bias current for increased measurement confidence.

Clarke & Severn Electronics

Copper Mountain Technologies introduces the 5048 Vector Network Analyzer The 5048 Vector Network Analyzer compact size test equipment features a wide frequency range of 20 kHz to 4.8 GHz and high accuracy. It runs on an external PC and may be transported between work stations. It offers a suitable solution for magnitude and phase measurements. The 5048 has time domain and gating conversion included, plus fixture simulation, frequency offset mode, including vector mixer calibration measurements and multiple precision calibration methods.

Emona Instruments Rigol Technologies, represented in Australia by Emona Instruments since 2004, are launching the DS1000Z series oscilloscopes which are the latest in Rigol’s popular range of oscilloscopes. The DS1000Z series offer 4 channels, with choice 16 AUGUST 2013 www.electronicsnews.com.au

of 70MHz and 100MHz bandwidth.

Sampling rate is 1GS/s and units come with 12Mpts standard memory with optional 24Mpts. Typical of Rigol oscilloscopes, the DS1000Z series provide a fast 30,000wfms/s waveform capture rate and an optional 60,000 frames real-time waveform record and play-back, as well as the UltraVision technology that provides multi-level intensity grading display. The DS1000Z series offer a variety of trigger and serial bus decoding functions (RS232, I2C and SPI), wider vertical range (1mV/div~10V/div), lower noise floor which makes it suitable for small signal capturing. There is also an optional in-built 25MHz dual channel Function/Arbitrary waveform generator. All units offer a range of inter-

faces USB Host, USB Device, LAN (LXI), AUX and include a 7-inch TFT (800X480) WVGA with multi-intensity waveform display.

The Rigol MSO4000 series mixed signal oscilloscopes range extend from 50MHz 1GS/s models up to 1GHz bandwidth models with 5GS/s sampling rates. The MSO4000 series offer 100MHz, 200MHz, 350MHz, 500MHz bandwidth models with 4G Sa/s sample rate in analog channels and 1GS/s sample rate in digital channels (MSO). Memory depth is 140Mpts in analog channels and 28Mpts in digital channels (MSO). Units are available in 2 or 4 analog channels and 16 digital channels. The MSO4000 series offer a 110,000wfms/s capture rate and a 200,000 frames real-time waveform record and analyzer as well as Rigol’s UltraVision Technology providing multi-level intensity grading display. The MSO4000 series also offer a variety of trigger and serial bus decoding functions (RS232,I2C,SPI,CAN,FlexRay), lower noise floor, minimum vertical scales is 1mV/div, a wide variety of interfaces USB Host, USB Device, LAN(LXI), AUX, VGA,

USB-GPIB (Opt.) and large 9 inch TFT(800X480) WVGA with multiintensity display.

PicoScope 9300 Series 20GHz sampling oscilloscopes with PicoSample 3 software offer fast waveform building, low noise and jitter, and an advanced set of measurement and display features.

With prices from under $17,000, these scopes can perform analysis and signal integrity validation of high-performance RF components and high-speed serial designs at a fraction of the cost of conventional real-time or sampling oscilloscopes.

PicoScope 9300 Series oscilloscopes use sequential sampling technology to measure fast repetitive signals without the need for expensive realtime sampling hardware. With 20 GHz bandwidth they can acquire signals with rise times down to 17.5 ps. Precise timebase stability and accuracy combined with timing resolution as low as 64 fs allow these instruments to characterise clock timing and jitter in demanding applications. The 16-bit ADC provides resolution down to 40 µV, giving insight into the effects of noise and crosstalk on the device under test.

Mornsun Traditional transceivers can only receive and dispatch a signal, which also requires an external isolation chip/ optocoupler and DC/DC isolation power supply to give the required isolation. Mornsun’s integrated Isolated CAN/RS485/RS232 transceiver module is a combination of transceiver chip, isolation chip, optocoupler and isolated power supply. These are used in motor drivers, railway systems, control systems and smart meters.

They are suitable to replace traditional optocoupler designs and simplify customer’s designs.

Mornsun has also released th SMD 3W DC-DC converter. One of the design features of the WRB_ MT-3W series is its compact SMD package being only 19.2x12.9x8.75mm making it one of the smallest in its class. The product can operate under full load conditions across a temperature range of -40 to +85C with an efficiency up to 82% and a low no-load power consumption, continuous short circuit protection coupled with

Isolated CAN/RS485/RS232 Transceiver and DC-DC converter auto-recovery. WRB_MT-3W series is used in industries such as industrial controls, electric power controls, instrumentation isolation and telecommunications. It is particularly suitable for use in products or equipment where there is minimal board space, a variable input voltage and requires isolation between the input and output, which also lowers the failure cost in design processes and other costs in human resources such as in time, design and maintenance.

EN0813_017.pdf

Page

17

1/08/13,

9:53:17

AM

AEST

FEATURE

Glyn Distributors E-Paper display panel manufacturer Pervasive Displays has partnered with Glyn High-Tech Distribution to be its distributor in Australia and New Zealand. Electronic paper is often considered to be more comfortable to read than conventional displays. This is due to the stable image, which does not need to be refreshed constantly, the wider viewing angle, and the fact that it reflects ambient light rather than emitting its own light. Pervasive Displays provides ultra-low-power, active-matrix E-Paper displays and reference designs for applications requiring high resolution, high contrast, wide viewing angle, sunlight readability and especially low energy consumption. The company provides a standard line of e-paper display (EPD) modules ranging in size from 1.44� to 10.2�.

The latest version of NI Veristand can be used to perform high-speed data acquisition and logging and to find useful data faster during post-processing with additional data logging flexibility.

The NI PXIe-5644R/5645R vector signal transceivers are part of a new class of instrumentation that EN0 8 1 3 _ 0 0 0 _ NAT combines a vector signal generator

and vector signal analyzer with FPGA-based real-time signal processing and control. A VST features the flexibility of a software defined radio architecture with RF instrument class performance. The vector signal transceiver adds a differential or single-ended VeriStand; Vector signal I/Q interface to test both the transceiver; PXI programmable 1 2 0 1 3 - 0 7 - 1 1 T1 4 : 5 2 : 2 7 + 1 0 : 0 0 RF and baseband signals. power supplies

Unrivaled Performance, Flexibility, and Value for Automated Test

National Instruments NI Veristand is a software environment for configuring real-time testing applications. Out of the box, NI VeriStand helps users configure a multicore-ready real-time engine to execute tasks such as real-time stimulus generation, data acquisition for high-speed and conditioned measurements, and calculated channels and custom channel scaling.

NI VeriStand can also import control algorithms, simulation models, and other tasks from NI LabVIEW software and third-party environments. Users can monitor and interact with these tasks using a run-time editable user interface that includes tools for value forcing, alarm monitoring, I/O calibration, and stimulus profile editing. Although no programming knowledge is required to use NI VeriStand, users can customise and extend it with a variety of software environments such as LabVIEW, ANSI C/C++, and others for modeling and programming.

NI PXI hardware, combined with NI LabVIEW system design software, delivers increased performance, flexibility, and value. Using this combination of modular hardware and productive software, engineers have dramatically reduced costs, realized faster test execution, improved throughput, and increased scalability. With more than 500 PXI products, over 200 global locations, and 700+ Alliance Partners, NI offers the only complete solution for your ever-changing automated test needs. >> Accelerate your productivity at ni.com/ automated-test-platform

Freecall: 1800 300 800 Š 2 0 12 Nat ional Ins t rumen t s . A ll r igh t s reser ved. L abV IE W, Na t ional Ins t rumen t s , NI, and ni .com are t rademar ks of Nat ional Ins t rumen t s . O t her produc t and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. A National Instruments Alliance Partner is a business entity independent from National Instruments and has no agency, partnership, or joint-venture relationship with National Instruments. 07926

www.electronicsnews.com.au AUGUST 2013 17

EN0813_018.pdf

Page

18

31/07/13,

3:02:21

PM

AEST

FEATURE

ENVIRONMENT

Super Cap Me As the automotive sector looks to improve efficiency and cut emissions, Sydney-based CAP-XX sees an opportunity for its supercapacitor technology, Isaac Leung writes.

S

ECRETED away in an industrial park in Lane Cove, Sydney, a team of materials scientists and engineers coat an aluminium substrate with a special sauce of activated carbon.

Down the corridor, technicians disassemble a Kindle ebook reader, and replace its internal battery with a flat prismatic supercapacitor in a flat silver packet, allowing it to run off the power generated by a solar panel.

And soon, the same supercapacitors made by CAP-XX (pronounced with one “X”), scaled up and connected in parallel, may be found in micro-hybrid and hybrid electrical vehicles from major international automotive makers.

Electronics News talked to Pierre Mars, Vice President for Quality and Applications Engineering at CAP-XX, to find out how Australian innovation could soon make drivers’ lives a whole lot easier.

Automotive pivot CAP-XX’s core IP was first developed by the CSIRO in the mid-to-late 90s. Anthony Kongats, who was then involved in electrolytic manufacturing at Plessey Ducon in Meadowbank, started working with CSIRO to integrate their activated carbon technology into supercapacitors.

“CSIRO was being asked to get external funding for some of their research work, as their budget was being tightened,” explained Mars.

“So Anthony funded some of that work, and got the rights to the IP for the carbon coating in return for that 18 AUGUST 2013 www.electronicsnews.com.au

funding, and that was the start of what was then energy storage systems.”

Early supercapacitors from CAP-XX retained the cylindrical form factor of regular capacitors, but were much larger, and could deliver a few thousand farads of capacitance.

“The party trick was that you could charge it up, go into a meeting, whack a paper clip across and you’d melt it,” Mars said.

After raising some seed funding for the startup, CAP-XX surveyed the market to find the prime focus

Early supercapacitors from CAP-XX retained the cylindrical form factor of regular capacitors but were much larger. for its technology, and decided to start making small and slim supercapacitors in a prismatic form factor for consumer electronics such as wireless modems and LED camera flashes.

“Back in 2000…as a startup company we recognised that the automotive industry would be too slow moving for us to succeed,” Mars explained.

“It has only been in the last couple of years as global warming, reduce emissions, improved fuel economy, price of gas, all that sort of stuff, has now driven people into looking at what we would call microhybrid, and to hybrid solutions.”

The positive foil layers are joined together to construct the positive and negative terminals, then ultrasonically weld them together.

This prompted a decision in late 2011 to enter the automotive market.

“Market acceptance has just come now. People now have a genuine need because they are being pushed on fuel economy and emissions reduction.”

Cranking it up Micro-hybrid vehicles use the startstop system, which automatically shuts down and restarts the engine during stops. By reducing idling time, the system helps cut fuel consumption and emissions.

However, the start-stop system places a lot of strain on the battery, and current implementations require the use of expensive heavy duty batteries such as absorbed glass

material (AGM) variants in order to cater for the required load.

“Instead of starting your car three or four times a day, you are now starting it forty, fifty, hundred times a day,” Mars pointed out.

“Particularly in city traffic.”

The solution is to pair up a supercapacitor system with a smaller battery, and use the supercapacitor to provide the repeated high power cranking current required to start the engine.

Since the battery no longer experiences the cranking current, it can be smaller and lighter, which, together with the light weight of supercapacitors, would provide further fuel efficiencies.

Additionally, since

EN0813_019.pdf

Page

19

31/07/13,

3:02:21

PM

AEST

FEATURE

supercapacitors can accept extremely high currents, such a system could also be connected to regenerative braking in order to recover even more power.

“Stop-start systems started with higher end cars and are coming along in the last two or three years.

So we started looking at it, and we also started getting interest in it,” Mars said.

“People were making enquiries, and we could see the opportunities, so we made some prototype large cells. We now have a low volume production line here to make those, to meet sample needs for evaluation.”

While the current coating allows an impressive power density of around 90kW per kg, to cater for the automotive systems, CAP-XX looked to alter its proprietary coated foil technology E N 0 8 1to3be_ higher 0 0 0 _energy.

MI C In May 2013, CAP-XX announced

its GC1 EDLC supercapacitor cells which provide 1400 Farads and Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR) of around 0.26 milliohms. The low ESR means it is possible to draw amperes out of the supercapacitor, and only experience a low voltage drop.

How to make supercapacitors To make supercapacitors, create the coated electrode foil, and cut Standard supercapacitors cannot pass through a reflow oven, because they it out. The positive foil layers are have liquid electrolyte absorbed into the pores of the activated carbon. joined together to construct the positive and negative terminals, then the manufacturing process and test Malaysia for volume assembly into ultrasonically weld them together. results. supercapacitors.

The assembly is then put into In the case of the automotive Its Malaysian manufacturers a silver pouch package, filled with supercapacitors, as they are utilise production equipment from electrolyte, sealed, and tested. currently being provided in sample CAP-XX, which was shipped over Since the key intellectual quantities, they require small runs, along with work instructions. A property for CAP-XX is in the which can be done in Australia. data acquisition management coating of the electrodes, it Showing off one of the sample system allows the Australian manufactures its coated foils Pa ge 1 2 0 1 3 - 0 7 - 0 9 T1 0 : 4 4 : 2 0 + 1 0 : 0 0 units, Mars said the form factor, company to have oversight over in Australia, and sends them to

www.electronicsnews.com.au AUGUST 2013 19

EN0813_020.pdf

Page

20

31/07/13,

3:02:21

PM

AEST

FEATURE

ENVIRONMENT

similar to that of a large prismatic lithium-ion battery, allows for easier system designs, and is easier to pack into a smaller space compared to cylindrical cans.

“This has been made by off-theshelf production equipment that was designed to make lithium-ion batteries,” Mars said.

“That is why we can set up a low-volume line here cost-effectively, because we can buy some of the key equipment at reasonable prices from China. That’s what makes the automotive market attractive. The capital cost to set it up is reasonable considering the potential returns.”

When asked about the potential for competitors to reverse engineer their products, Mars said the ultrasonic welding made it impossible to do so with the coated foil.

“Assembly-wise, anyone can cut it up and see how it’s put together, but making the production equipment to do it effectively is non-trivial,” he said.

“It’s quite a high barrier to entry. You have to have the right coated foil that will work with the electrolyte, the right separator…it’s a system. If you don’t get all the bits right, then you will have short life, or other problems.”

A powerful future Much of CAP-XX’s business is in export – while there are a few small-

The key intellectual property for CAPXX is in the coating of the electrodes. scale design houses in Australia who buy supercapacitors, most of the volume comes from overseas.

“Often we would work with the design team, help the distributor win the design by giving application support to the customer, and then the customer will get the unit made in China or Singapore or Malaysia themselves, and we drop-ship our parts to the manufacturing location,” Mars explained.

CAP-XX is still supplying supercapacitors for electronic systems, and is working on a surface-

mountable supercapacitor.

At the moment, all supercapacitors have to be mounted on a circuit board as a secondary operation in production, after the reflow process.

Standard supercapacitors cannot pass through a reflow oven, because they have liquid electrolyte absorbed into the pores of the activated carbon. The vapour pressure inside can cause the package to rupture when the unit is subjected to the temperatures (260°C) inside a reflow oven.

To make a surface mountable supercapacitor, CAP-XX will need to develop fundamentally different materials that do not exert vapour pressure. By making a surfacemountable supercapacitor, CAP-XX hopes to make the creation of products bearing supercapacitors more cost-effective and better suited for high-volume applications.

On the automotive front, CAP-XX has already had a number of top tier suppliers sampling its supercapacitors, and is hopeful of a mass-market breakthrough within the next two to four years.

The company is also speaking to racing companies, for possible inclusion of supercapacitors in Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS), a variant of regenerative braking used by racing cars.

“When the racers go around the corner, they capture that energy,

P Find

20 AUGUST 2013 www.electronicsnews.com.au

Evaluate

Select

then push that energy out when they accelerate out of the corner. They get an extra one or two hundred horse power on top of what their engine gives them, in a short burst,” said Mars. The light-weight nature of supercapacitors is a point of special interest for racers looking to minimise their vehicle weight.

In the manufacturing process itself, CAP-XX continues to work on streamlining production, reducing costs by 25 to 50 percent, and improve materials utilisation and yield. With the company also looking to explore applications in energy harvesting and wireless sensors, CAP-XX is also hoping to improve its supercapacitors’ life, allowing them to last longer in set-and-forget type applications.

CAP-XX has licensed its technology to Murata, a Japanese manufacturer, and will be looking for more licensing agreements with large players who can effectively scale up the production and distribution of the supercapacitors.

And while it is possible that CAP-XX will eventually become a pure IP company, Mars is keen to keep manufacturing its own parts, and be directly in the market, since it allows the company to engage directly with its user-customers, explore new applications, and get feedback. www.cap-xx.com

EN0813_021.pdf

Page

21

31/07/13,

3:02:21

PM

AEST

NEW PRODUCTS

Email your product news to editor@electronicsnews.com.au SPOTLIGHT

power. APP is a provider of high power interconnect solutions. Their products are distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Soanar.

Soanar info@soanar.com www.soanar.com

Dual-802.11ac-radio access point 3-pole mini PL Spec connector ANDERSON Power Products (APP) has introduced the 3 Position Mini PL SPEC Pa connector. This compact, environmentally sealed (IP68) connector is capable of 22 amps at 600 volts (UL). The connector features a manual release latch to prevent accidental unmating and is touch safe on both sides (per UL 1977 section 10.2). Its rugged shell is fire resistant (UL94 V0) and weather resistant (UL746C F1). The connector leverages PowerMod pin and socket contact technology. These 30 micron gold plated contacts will accommodate wire sizes from 24 to 14 AWG (0.50 to 2.50 mm²). The pins are available in three lengths providing sequencing capabilities for design flexibility. The typical markets in harsh environments include: marine; wind power; lighting; transportation; pumps; industrial automation; solar

THE Meru AP832 claims to be the market’s fastest 802.11ac access point. Meru’s 802.11ac speed is attributable to the Virtual Cell, a single-channel option provided by the MobileFLEX architecture and its support for the use of 80MHz channels as outlined in the IEEE 802.11ac draft specification.

The Meru 802.11ac solution is able the use of three spatial streams over two 802.11ac radios on standard 802.3af power. This eliminates the need for customers to upgrade their entire Ethernet switching infrastructure, as currently required by many Meru competitors when deploying their 802.11ac solutions.

Meru’s new AP832 access points feature a two-radio and three spatial stream design that can tap the full potential of 802.11ac with high bandwidth and capacity to meet the challenges of high density environments and multi-media rich applications.

Real-world scenarios for instrument developers STARTING in the lab, developers must perform extensive tests on the receivers and components used in satellite-based navigation systems, such as testing location based services on smartphones, car navigation units and aircraft control systems. The R&S SMBV100A from Rohde & Schwarz now offers support. New options expand the range of functions of its GNSS simulator by adding a series of realistic scenarios.

Rohde & Schwarz provides developers of satellite-based navigation instruments with a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) simulator, which runs on the R&S SMBV100A vector signal generator.

The new R&S SMBV-K101 option allows developers in the automotive and wireless communications industries, for example, to test GNSS receivers for specific effects such as obscuration and multipath propagation. Buildings, tunnels and bridges as well as reflections from concrete and glass surfaces affect the GNSS signal, regardless of whether the receiver is stationary or in motion. This option makes it easy to configure these kinds of scenarios.If the GNSS receiver of a navigation instrument or smartphone is located inside a vehicle, testing must also take into account the obscuring effect of the vehicle’s metal body.

Rohde & Schwarz 02 8874 5100 www.rohde-schwarz.com.au

Meru Networks 1300 148 000 www.merunetworks.com

The easiest way to find products and suppliers

Manufacturing | Mining | Industrial

askferret on 1300 156 836

www.electronicsnews.com.au AUGUST 2013 21

EN0813_022.pdf

Page

22

31/07/13,

3:02:21

PM

AEST

NEW PRODUCTS

Email your product news to editor@electronicsnews.com.au SPOTLIGHT

Fast differential amplifiers

Smoother functionality STMicroelectronics has leveraged its investment in advanced MEMS technology to create the world’s smallest eCompass combining a 3-axis accelerometer and 3-axis magnetometer in a single package. Measuring 2mm x 2mm, the tiny chip, used for advanced navigation and motionsensitive features in products such as smartphones, is nearly 20% smaller than similar devices. Even the smallest space savings can be precious inside a smartphone, activity-monitoring bracelet or smart watch, and ST’s new LSM303C eCompass saves almost 1mm2 of pc-board space compared to the closest competing device. This helps designers to optimise their component layout and minimise Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and cellular radio interference thereby improving the performance of applications like indoor navigation or advanced motion tracking.

STMicroelectronics 02 8338 1172 www.st.com

Wireless power chokes WURTH Elektronik has joined the Wireless Power Consortium and has released a series of wireless power chokes. The wireless power charging coil series WE-WPC includes two different components.

One in size 3737 and one in size 5555. Both are Qi compliant and evaluated and released by several IC manufacturers. Characteristics are low DCR, litzwire and highest Q value on the market.

The aim of the Wireless Power Consortium is to work on the development of the so-called QI standard. Ninety countries from around the world are contributing in this consortium towards a pioneering charging technology.

The QI standard is a worldwide standard for wireless charging 22 AUGUST 2013 www.electronicsnews.com.au

TEXAS Instruments has expanded its high-speed amplifier portfolio with two new differential amplifiers that claim to offer the industry’s best power-to-performance ratio.

The single-channel THS4531A and dual THS4532 achieve seven times the bandwidth with one-fourth of the input referred noise while also reducing power consumption by 80 percent, compared to the nearest competitor.

The devices are designed for low-power data acquisition systems and high-density applications where power consumption and dissipation is critical, such as test and measurement equipment, and digital and ultrasonic water flow meters.

The THS4531A and THS4532 offer low quiescent current of 0.25 mA per channel, gain bandwidth of 36 MHz, power consumption of only 250 (uA), noise of 10 nV/root Hz , maximum offset voltage of 0.4 mV, and slew rate of 200 volts per micro-second (V/us) provide unmatched power, distortion and noise performance.

Texas Instruments 1 800 999 084 www.ti.com

stations of mobile electronic devices such as mobile telephones or mobile cameras. The innovation lies in the idea that charging through wired power chargers is replaced by a QI charging surface. By simply placing the device onto the charging surface it is charged through magnetic induction. The QI interface guarantees the compatibility of the devices so that every device, independent of manufacturer or brand, can be charged on the charging surface.

Würth Elektronik eiSos-australia@we-online.com www.we-online.com

High energy resistors OHMITE Manufacturing is offering the TP Series of thick film, high energy resistors which offer the benefits of non-inductive performance and high power density. They also provide the impulse energy capability normally associated with wirewound or composition resistors.

Double‐sided screen printing of pulse tolerant thick film ink, coupled with a laser trimming process, maximise the energy withstanding capabilities of the TP Series.

Occupying very little PCB real estate, the easy-to-install TP810 (10 watt) is the first of a platform of high energy thick film resistors that Ohmite will be introducing. TP810 resistors are offered in 8 off‐the‐ shelf resistance values ranging from 10‐10K ohms at 5% tolerance.

The TP810 resistors are suitable for surge protection in high power electrical devices and have been tested at 100 Joules (watt/seconds) over a 100 millisecond pulse.

Ohmite Manufacturing 02 9644 7898 au.element14.com/ohmite

COM Express module CONGATEC has released the conga-TS87, a Type 6 COM Express module featuring 4th Generation Intel Core processors. The COM Express module offers improved vector processing, more efficient floating point calculation and enhanced graphics without an increase in power consumption.

Improvements to the previous architecture have led to efficiency gains that also boost performance.

This is particularly evident in the embedded graphics, where the number of integrated graphics units (execution units) has been increased, resulting in higher 3D performance in the range of 28-60% compared to previous generations.

A new feature is the Intel Advanced Vector Extensions (Intel AVX) 2.0, which improves performance of floating point instructions.

In 4th Generation processors, Intel AVX 2.0 helps enable higher performance in applications like signal and image processing for market segments like medical and avionics. congatec Australia 07 5520 1578 www.congatec.com

EN0813_023.pdf

Page

23

31/07/13,

3:02:21

PM

AEST

Up close

5minutes with...

David Keightley – founder of ecoSpectral

Why did you choose this industry?

My father is an engineer, and a computer programmer, and he taught me how to program at an early age, and I had a knack and enjoyed it. R&D is where I am allowed the most creativity in terms of developing new things and also staying at the leading edge. I thought I was going to be doing graphics, but I got a job involved in communications and I found the development very challenging – it was with a parallel computing architecture, and I enjoyed the challenge.

difficult to maintain extensive manufacturing here in the large scale.

But definitely for prototyping, small-scale manufacturing and design and services, no doubt, there are opportunities here.

I would say that there are a couple of areas of opportunity. I would definitely look very closely at 3D printing, pick and place robotics and small scale manufacturing for cost-effective, very targeted electronics development. That’s very interesting to me, and Australia should be looking at this area.

What excites you the most about the local electronics industry?

I think the people. There are some people with a lot of skills and a lot of creativity and a lot of drive, so I enjoy it quite a bit. I am dealing with a company near Melbourne, and I am very impressed with their ability, and some of the control theory people out of ANU are very good too.

What can the government do to ensure a healthy electronics industry?

From my experience, some of the areas that are encouraging are IP protection.

Thinking of where the government can be effective is a challenging. The key areas are training, and working to grow the opportunities in high-tech electronics industries, in the areas that I mentioned.

The important thing for me is, say a coalition government gets in, that they pursue supporting high-tech industries strongly rather than say dropping

What is the future of the electronics industry here in Australia?

As we move to production, it’s very

them for mining or resource intensive industries. That would be my concern, and I would value the government continuing to look at high tech industries, intellectual property and high-tech services as critical areas of growth for the future of Australia.

What opportunities are the Australian electronics industry missing out on?

In general, where Australia seems to repeatedly miss the boat is, when there is a new industry. For electronics, for example, avionics, or smart sensors. We definitely missed the boat in computers and computer design.

Probably various types of automation and smart sensing is what I am worried about now. We’re working pretty hard on robotics; it remains to be seen if we missed the boat there. In electronics we have the ideas, and the intellectual capabilities, but it seems so hard to bring it to market here. I am not sure why we have so much trouble bringing it to market. www.ecospectral.com.au

SPOTLIGHT

Upgraded PAC3760 Plus II portable appliance and RCD tester

Sealed in-line cable joiner Bulgin has launched 4, 6, and 8 pole versions of its PX0777 3 pole environmentally sealed in-line cable joiner.

The new variants of the PX0777 use a specially designed circular terminal block – rated at 10A, 250V per pole – allowing safe, secure connection of up to eight 1.5 mm2 cores using the same compact moulded plastic body as the 3-pole version.

Available with a variety of sealing glands to suit 3.5 to 9 mm cables, the PX0777 can be assembled without the need for special tools, making it suited to on-site installation of mains power or signal connections, either planned or unplanned. The PX0777 are rated to IP66, IP68 and IP68K. Walcom 02 4362 3477 www.walcom.com.au

EMONA Instruments has released the PAC3760 Plus II portable appliance and RCD tester. The Plus II is based on the PAC3760 series of portable appliance testers used in testing and tagging Australia-wide for almost 10 years.

The Plus II version builds on the range’s features to now include an inbuilt isolation transformer.

This feature not only saves users around $260 by eliminating the need to purchase a separate isolation transformer when testing portable RCDs and but it also reduces equipment weight by eliminating the need to carry an isolation transformer, which typically weighs in at several kilograms.

The PAC3760 conducts earth bond, insulation and

polarity tests, as well as leakage current tests for Class I and Class II appliances and leads, and carries out trip time tests of 10mA and 30mA portable RCDs. When used in conjunction with the optional PAC-TPL 3 phase adaptor, the Plus II can also carry out threephase leakage testing of 10A, 16A, 20A and 32A three phase appliances.

The Plus II operates under mains or battery power. The unit is designed with six-button operation: Class I, Class II, Leakage, 10mA RCD, 30mA RCD and three-phase test buttons.

Results are displayed as a Pass or Fail as well as actual readings. Once the user selects the required test, the PAC3760 tester conducts an automatic sequence of tests, elimi-

nating the need for complicated on-screen menus.

Emona Instruments 02 9519 3933 www.emona.com.au

www.electronicsnews.com.au AUGUST 2013 23

EN0813_000_CHI

-

1

2013-07-09T10:42:50+10:00