www.elektormagazine.com � Edition 3/2019 � € 9.

75

innovate > launch > trade

Coverstory:

6 34 16

Are We Really Equipped Interview with Lighthouse project

for Industry 4.0 ? Barbara Müller “Go Beyond 4.0”
The beginning of the on productronica 2019
fourth generation of the
industrial revolution
 Development tools
THOUSANDS OF TOOLS FROM HUNDREDS OF TRUSTED MANUFACTURERS

in one Location

Choose from our extensive selection

at mouser.com/dev-tools
Foreword
Bringing high-quality electronic products to market is a diffi-
cult task for start-ups and long-established companies alike.
Challenges abound. Design issues, manufacturing delays, bud-
get constraints, and logistics problems should be anticipated.
They’re all part of the game, right? Fortunately, the more you
prepare, the better you’ll fare. And Elektor is here to help.
The final 2019 edition of Elektor Industry covers the topics
of electronics development and production, which are also
the focus of the upcoming productronica trade fair in Munich,
Germany (November 12-15, 2019). We dive into many of the
subjects and technologies that will be highlighted at the 2019
productronica event, including the future of Industry 4.0, real-
time spectrum analysis, SiC power supplies, high-performance
electronics measurement tools, and much more.
If you are planning to attend productronica 2019, visit Elektor
at Hall B2 Booth 472. Here’s what you can expect:
USB Type-C . TM
24 reasons to
connect with us.
GND TX1+ TX1- +V CC1 D+ D- SBU1 +V RX2- RX2+ GND
GND RX1+ RX1- +V SBU2 D- D+ CC2 +V TX2- TX2+ GND
#USBTYPEC
© eiCan / eiSos
• productronica Fast Forward - the start-up platform
powered by Elektor: Startup competition finalists will
have an opportunity to pitch their companies and products
for a chance to win valuable media packages and interna-
tional recognition. Award winners will be announced at the
event.
• Tech talks, presentations, and discussions: Atten-
dees can listen to technical presentations, meet electro-
nics industry thought leaders, and network. Come learn
and share!
• Meet with Elektor: Visitors can chat with Elektor engi-
neers and editors, learn about our newest products, and
grab copies of our magazines, including ElektorLabs, MagPi
(Dutch or French editions), and Make (Dutch edition)!
I’m confident this edition of Elektor Industry will inspire you
take your products and companies to the next level. Enjoy the
journey and keep us informed about your progress!
Elektor Industry
C.J. Abate, Editor-in-Chief
191114-01
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Production Methods and Components 3
 Contents

6
Elektor Industry
Edition 3/2019,

Focus: productronica 2019

Regulars
Are We Really
32 Infographics
Equipped for

4.0
Facts and figures.

Industry ?
62 Wall of Fame
Elektor’s partners in the electronics
Industry.

64 Elektor Industry Store

Selected products for innovators,
makers, and start-ups.

10
66 Index of Advertisers | Our
Contributors | Next Edition

News pages 9, 14, 15, 19, 25, 29,

36, 37, 59, 60, 61

Lowering the Costs

of Applying Pressure
Sensors by Mitigating
the Risks

Articles
6 Are We Really Equipped for
Industry 4.0?

10 Lowering the Costs of Applying

Pressure Sensors by Mitigating
the Risks

16 Lighthouse project 26 Sensing for safety brings 38 Elektor Review

„Go Beyond 4.0“„ comfort and convenience OWON XDS3064E 4-channel
Industrie 4.0 and then some Oscilloscope with Touch Screen
30 Why Open Source PLCs
20 R&S RTP high-performance Are Here To Stay 44 Elektor Review
oscilloscope from Rohde & From small DIY projects to large Seek ShotPro and Seek Compact
Schwarz doubles maximum industrial applications Thermal Imaging Cameras
bandwidth to 16 GHz
34 Interview with Barbara Müller 46 Interview with Markus Strecker
22 How to Simplify Power Supplies Messe München Teiimo
and Save Cost with SiC

4 Elektor Industry 3/2019

 Colophon
Elektor Industry Printers
Issue 3/2019 Pijper Media, Groningen
productronica Special Edition
Reader Notices
© 2019 Elektor Industry contains
contributed/sponsored content.
www.elektormagazine.com The Publishers acknowledge
all trademarks that may exist
Elektor Industry, English edition, in connection with products,
is published four times a year by services, materials and company
Elektor International Media names that appear in this
PO Box 11 publication.
NL-6114-ZG Susteren The views expressed in Elektor
The Netherlands Industry are not necessarily
Phone: +31 46 4389444 those of the Publisher or the
Fax: +31 46 4370161 Editor.

Editor-in-Chief Copyright Notice

C.J. Abate The content of this magazine
Email: newsdesk@elektor.com is for educational use only. All
drawings, photographs, printed
Deputy Editor circuit board layouts, and
Robert van der Zwan article texts published in this
Email: robert.vanderzwan@ magazine (other than third-party
eimworld.com advertisements) are copy­right
Elektor International Media b.v.
Advertising and may not be reproduced
Margriet Debeij or transmitted in any form
Tel. +49 241 955 09-174 or by any means, including

50
Email: m.debeij@elektor.com photocopying, scanning and
recording, in whole or in part
Layout without prior written permission
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permission must also be obtained
Publisher before any part of this publication
Don Akkermans is stored in a retrieval system of
Email: any nature.
Fast-Forward don.akkermans@elektor.com

Startups Mission
Patent protection may exist
in respect of circuits, devices,

@ productronica 2019 Elektor Industry offers to

electronics engineers, innovators,
components etc. des­cribed in
this magazine. The Publisher
and start-up companies, essential does not accept responsibility for
information and insights into failing to identify such patent(s)
the latest products, research and or other protection. The Publisher
intelligence from the industry. disclaims any responsibility for
the safe and proper function
Distribution and Supply of reader-assembled projects
Elektor Industry appears based upon or from schematics,
synchronously in English and descriptions or information
German and is supplied free published in or in relation with
to selected Elektor Magazine Elektor Industry.
Gold members in print, and to
Elektor Green members as a
pdf download. The magazine
is also on free distribution at © Elektor International Media
selected trade fairs including b.v. 2019
Productronica (Munich),
54 The Origin of IoT OSes
electronica (Munich), and www.elektormagazine.com
Most IoT OSes originate from
embedded world (Nuremberg). Printed in the Netherlands
embedded OSes, whose kernels most
likely come from RTOSes.
Of course, there are IoT OSes that
are original, like Android Things,
Microsoft Windows 10 IoT Core, and
others. Here we present a “A Brief
History of RTOS”!

Production Methods and Components 5

Are We Really Equipped for
Industry ?
Mark Patrick, Mouser Electronics
The beginning of the fourth generation of
the industrial revolution is now upon us.
It has been conceived through the com-
bining of information technology (IT) with
operational technology (OT) to enable a
far higher degree of automation than was
previously possible. Industry 4.0 is based
on the deep-rooted principle of creating
smart infrastructure that optimizes the
manufacturing process and significantly
boosts throughput. This infrastructure
will be heavily dependent on Internet of
Things (IoT) devices, which are powered
and controlled through cyber-physical
systems (CPS) and artificial intelligence
(AI) algorithms.
Smart manufacturing systems are going
to be capable of delivering a clear com-
6 Elektor Industry 3/2019
4.0
petitive edge over traditional manufac-
turing systems, resulting in commercial
advantages for early adopters. As well
as increasing productivity levels, they
can enable the interconnection of vari-
ous cross-functional operations. They
can also enable the benefits of predic-
tive maintenance – monitoring system
health, highlighting potential issues,
thus prolonging the working lifespan
of equipment and reducing the risk of
downtime.
The advent of the Industrial IoT (IIoT)
means that machine-to-machine com-
munication can be implemented right
down to a granular level. In this way
continuous data capture and analyt-
ics can be supported, and appropriate
actions taken in real time – leading to
safer and more efficient production/pro-
cessing facilities. However, the biggest
challenge today is to gather the prereq-
uisites of the IIoT (in particular its net-
working requirements) into some form
of consensus that will reduce complexity,
drive standardisation, and make deploy-
ment more straightforward.
Why So Many Protocols?
A single machine in a factory is usually
connected to many networks for differ-
ent functions or use cases. Each of these
works on its own specific protocol. Over
the years, many different communica-
tion protocols have evolved. Some sup-
port the special needs of legacy systems,
while others are based on new standards.
Considering the pace at which technologi-
cal advances emerge within the manu-
facturing sector, it is somewhat surpris-
ing that the four-decades-old Ethernet
protocol remains prevalent at the core.
Industrial Ethernet provides both deter-
minism and real-time control. There are
many Ethernet-related industrial proto-
cols out there – like Ethernet/IP, Mod-
bus TCP, PROFINET, EtherCAT, Ethernet
Powerlink, BACnet and Sercos III. How-
ever, research shows that Modbus TCP
(which is reliant on a polling mechanism)
is currently considered by most as the
de facto open standard. The optimized
message structure provided by Modbus
at the application layer is well suited to
a high proportion of industrial scenar-
ios. Only a request-response pattern is
required, and if it is necessary to utilize
a publish-subscribe pattern, message
queuing telemetry transport (MQTT) can
serve this purpose.
MQTT is an event-based IoT protocol.
It is extremely lightweight and can be
deployed in low-bandwidth networks and
in remote locations (both of which are
relevant in an Industry 4.0/IIoT context).
MQTT eliminates the need for a gate-
way, but lacks interoperability. One of the
methods for overcoming this issue is to
format the data via the Modbus message
structure, then transfer in the payload of
the MQTT and publish a message, which
uses the format of UTF-8.
Is Security Being Taken Care
Of? Can Isolation Help?
The convergence of OT and IT exposes
machines within production lines to a
heterogeneous environment, and opens
up new vulnerabilities. Having infiltrated
a manufacturing network, cyber-attack-
ers can move laterally across it – jump-
ing between IT/OT systems in order to
carry out malicious activities (like bring-
ing operations to a halt or enabling IP
leakage).
Cybersecurity is a major concern for
manufacturers looking to embrace Indus-
try 4.0. Unsupported operating systems,
unpatched vulnerabilities and exposed
systems will put both physical and digital
manufacturing components at risk. The
IEC 62443 cybersecurity standard pro-
vides key recommendations for manu-
facturing companies in relation to secur-
ing their industrial automation and con-
trol systems (IACS). Some of the basic
security principles include limiting user
access, enforcing domain/subnet restric-
tions, disabling directory lists and remov-
ing unwanted (or no longer applicable)
services.
Studies have shown that the use of old
and outdated software is still common-
place in manufacturing – as machines
work round the clock and, in many cases,
cannot be stopped for much-needed
software upgrades to be implemented.
Sometimes updates are not applied to
avoid the risk of interoperability failures
arising. Unfortunately, this invites old
network viruses to infect machines. An
isolated test environment that replicates
the machines and systems in a produc-
tion setting can help in gaining an under-
standing of the impact of new software
updates/patches. If the test procedure
shows successful results with regard to
non-interference with operations, it can
subsequently be deployed in the produc-
tion environment.
The Need for Time-Sensitive
Networks
Time is a crucial element of industrial
automation. For real-time communica-
tion with non-negotiable time boundar-
ies for end-to-end transmission, all the
devices on the network need to have a
common time reference. This is a manda-
tory requirement so that all the devices
operate in unison and the time-critical
actions are taken within a precise time-
frame. This gives rise to another concept,
called time-sensitive networking (TSN).
One way of achieving time synchroniza-
tion is by a GPS clock or radio; however,
this requires continuous connection with
a satellite signal – which cannot always
be assured. Due to this, the time element
in the TSN system is distributed using a
central time source directly through the
entire network. This is based on the IEEE
1588 precision time protocol, which uti-
lizes Ethernet frames to distribute time
synchronization information.
Wireless Gateways
To deliver maximum value for automated
processes, IP-based homogeneous net-
works must communicate with a diverse
heterogeneous ecosystem around them.
The communication between the inside
and the outside world has to be continu-
ous, compatible, reliable and (of course)
secure. This can be achieved by interop-
erability gateways that act as mediators
to fulfil the baseline requirements for the
IIoT. While new connectivity standards
continue to surface (many of these being
wireless), longstanding legacy infrastruc-
ture on the network side is still depen-
dent on wireline protocols. Leading com-
panies are working toward creating an
Production Methods and Components 7

intermediate wireless gateway solution
that can support a variety of wireline
and wireless protocols (such as Modbus,
Wi-Sun, Fieldbus and IEC 61850, as well
as IEEE 802.11 a/b/g Wi-Fi, 802.15.4,
RS-232 and BASE-T Ethernet).
Wireless interoperability gateways pro-
vide edge computing capability – which
will be vital for IIoT infrastructure in the
years ahead. In the cases where indus-
trial devices lack intelligence, edge com-
puting can enhance security by adding
firewall and virtual private network (VPN)
capabilities at the edge of the network.
The Future of Industry 4.0
Industry 4.0 uses the latest transforma-
tive digital technologies to bring about
connections between the physical world
and the digital world. The constituent
network infrastructure involved in such
activities should be capable of carry-
ing captured data seamlessly across all
applications. In addition, it should be
scalable, flexible and support constant
availability.
Though it is almost 15 years old, PROFI-
NET seems a very strong candidate for
upcoming deployment work, as it pos-
sesses a multitude of attractive attri-
butes. This is an open standard, encom-
passed within the broad-based Industrial
Ethernet protocol family, which fulfils all
the main operational and safety require-
ments of modern production/process
8 Elektor Industry 3/2019
implementation. That is going to take
some time yet, though, as retrofitting it
to legacy hardware will be difficult, so it
will need to be brought in as machinery
comes to the end of its lifespan and is
replaced.
191056-02
automation, with better performance
and heightened cost-effectiveness. It
also services the entire array of drive
technologies – up to and including iso-
chronous motion control applications.
Thanks to its modular range of functions,
PROFINET is an inherently flexible and
versatile solution. It is standardized in
IEC 61158 and IEC 61784, and oper-
ates at data rates of up to 100Mbits/s.
Deterministic operation gives it real-time
support for time-sensitive systems. While
it is universally acknowledged that TSN
was introduced to improve determin- Mark Patrick
ism and tackle latency in “standard”
Mark joined Mouser Electronics
Ethernet networks, the adoption of TSN
in July 2014 having previously
along with PROFINET provides the same
held senior marketing roles at RS
fundamental advantages as PROFINET
Components. Prior to RS, Mark
with isochronous real-time (IRT) – band-
spent 8 years at Texas Instruments
width reservation, high levels of accu-
in Applications Support and
racy, quality of service, diagnostic func-
Technical Sales roles and holds
tions, etc. TSN is limited to layer 2 of the
a first class Honours Degree in
OSI model. Consequently, more power-
Electronic Engineering from Coventry
ful application-layer protocols (located
University.
in layers 5 to 7) like PROFINET are still
needed to complete data delivery.
This, in many people’s opinion, is what
will make PROFINET the backbone of
Industry 4.0 for the short/medium term
at least. Moving farther down the line,
once the technology is finally established,
there is likely to be a shift toward 5G, as
it will offer equivalent (or better) data
rates and latency characteristics along-
side the greater convenience of wireless
The new SPANNFIX 4.0
1 ball joint, 4 clamping pins and there is nothing
you cannot work on

BERNSTEIN has achieved a unique and versatile

development with SPANNFIX 4.0, THE NEXT
GENERATION. At the productronica 2019 trade fair
from 12 to 15 November 2019 in Munich, visitors
will be able to see and try out the multifunctional
vice with ball joint.

With a jaw width of 100 mm, the SPANNFIX 4.0 is the largest
ball joint vice in the market and impresses with its clamping
pins, its exchangeable clamping jaws, its centring eye and its
outstanding ball clamping results in its many unique selling
points. The head of the SPANNFIX can be turned 360° and
inclined up to 90° by the ball joint. Working in every angle
is possible and different shapes can be clamped.

Whether round or square, the user can clamp

everything
The four clamping pins adapt to the product in shape and
size. They are rotatable in the axis and have every object
firmly under control. The centring eye ensures perpendicular
work. The workpiece can be levelled and machined. In addi-
tion to the clamping pins, the SPANNFIX has profiled steel
jaws that have been designed as turning jaws and can be
replaced. They have a smooth side and a side with a stepped
edge and two vertical grooves, which prevent the slippage
of, for example, rods and bolts. An integrated ruler offers
the possibility to read out clamping depths directly on the
vice. The clamping capacity of 10 mm can be used as best
as possible. The innovative base with table clamp allows
the SPANNFIX to be mounted on straight table edges of up
to 80 mm as well as on the corner of the table itself. This is
the optimal position to use the entire working radius of 330
mm of the SPANNFIX 4.0.

BERNSTEIN has been one of the best-known manufacturers

of electronic and precision mechanic hand tools in Remscheid
for more than 50 years. Quality and functionality are the
requirements of the more than 1,000 products, which focus
on ESD tools and ball joint vices.

Further information on the website

www.bernstein-werkzeuge.de

Production Methods and Components 9

Lowering the Costs
of Applying Pressure
Sensors by Mitigating the Risks
A Contribution by Honeywell

Design engineers are frequently challenged with

making real-time, critical, pressure measurements
in many applications while keeping a handle on
solution costs. Electronic trade shows reveal how
willing OEMs can be to buy unmounted, unpackaged
(bare) pressure sense dies rather than opt for
compensated, amplified sensor solutions. OEMs may
want to build their own solution, or believe they can
save money with less costly components. Knowing
the ramifications can help mitigate risks, and provide
a better chance for success.

Unamplified, uncompensated sensors or sense dies can pro-

vide a starting point, but can also cause OEMs to absorbed
costs that can include:

• additional design time;

• requirement for extra board space;
• extra BOM (Bill of Material) costs;
• additional production time;
• production delays to allow sensors to return to spec
following soldering;
• capital expenses.

OEMs may find a quicker and cheaper path to market by

using compensated, amplified sensors like Honeywell’s TruSt-
ability™ Board Mount Pressure Sensors and Amplified Basic
Board Mount Pressure Sensors. These solutions are available
in a wide range of spans, and can be specially calibrated to a
user’s specific pressure range. In addition to options for ana-
logue or digital output, various packages and supply voltages,
these products have some exciting capabilities, such as inter-
nal diagnostics, temperature reading and even the ability to
tolerate liquid media.

10 Elektor Industry 3/2019

Defining a pressure sense die Figure 1:. Cutaway view of a pressure sense die.
A pressure sense die is a classic MEMS (microelectromechanical
system) that uses both the electrical and mechanical proper-
ties of silicon to convert a pressure difference to an electrical
signal. In Figure 1, the grey component represents a cutaway
view of a pressure sense die. An area of the silicon is chemi-
cally etched away until only a thin diaphragm is left. The die
is ultimately mounted so that a differential pressure can be
presented across it. This causes stresses in the diaphragm as
it attempts to flex away from the higher pressure.
Four piezoresistive elements are embedded into the surface of
the diaphragm in a traditional Wheatstone bridge circuit. As a
result, when a bias voltage is applied to the bridge, a differential
pressure across the sense die results in a small difference voltage
between the -Vout and +Vout outputs of the die (see Figure 2).

The difference between a pressure sensor and a

pressure measurement
A pressure sensor is only part of the solution when tasked with
measuring pressure. The ultimate goal in any application that
involves monitoring and controlling pressure is to successfully
implement the right sensors to make the right measurements
real-time. Whether starting with an uncompensated, unam-
plified sensor, or a compensated, amplified sensor, there is Figure 2: Wheatstone bridge circuit
still a long way to go from the sensor to the correct cost-ef-
fective pressure measurement. Failure to take the difference
between a pressure sensor and a pressure measurement into
account can lead to significant problems when trying to build
out the solution with an insufficient sensor. Problems can lead
to delays in launching a product, or launching at higher costs.

Reasons to purchase
unpackaged pressure sense dies
There are certainly some good reasons to buy unpackaged
dies. A company producing pressure sensors may need its own
source of dies. In other cases, an end product may be so small
that there simply isn’t room inside for a larger packaged sensor.
However, it is also likely that pure cost factors are driving the
decision to either start a design with a bare, unmounted die,
or to find the lowest cost packaged pressure sensor possible
and then build up the system from that.

Production Methods and Components 11

Unmounted sense dies may seem like a cost saver, but only
after considering preparation costs first. Capital equipment may
be required to handle, and wire bond, the die. Even seemingly
mundane tasks, such as epoxying the die to a substrate, can
be the source of many sensor performance issues if performed
incorrectly. These considerations aren’t necessary if starting
with a sensor rather than a sense die.

On the other hand, even if unmounted dies aren’t the answer,

there may still be opportunities for low, or lower-cost, pres-
sure sensors rather than sense dies. No need to jump into
higher-cost sensor with capabilities that may not be needed.
Lower-cost sensors may work if engineers are willing to build
the pressure measurement infrastructure to complete the
picture. Several extremely low cost board mount pressure
sensors are available on the market. Uncompensated, uncal-
ibrated, and unamplified sensors have the lowest cost. There
are also more expensive sensors that are still unamplified
but provide some calibration and temperature compensation.
Sometimes these sensors provide the best place to start from,
and sometimes not.

Designing a useful pressure measurement device

Here are some things to consider when weighing the best solu-
tion to help mitigate risks. Even sense dies aren’t all created
equal. Some dies themselves offer unique intellectual prop-
erty (IP) to the design, with enhanced linearity, hysteresis and
repeatability. Even design techniques can provide enhanced
overpressure performance.
Three design attributes required to obtain a usable measure-
ment from the pressure sense die are: signal conditioning,
calibration, and temperature compensation.
• Signal conditioning
The output difference signal of a few tens of millivolts is
superimposed on a much higher common mode voltage.
Notionally, if no pressure is applied across the sensor, the
two outputs will be at a common voltage (e.g. 2.5 V). If a
1 psi pressure difference is applied, the outputs may move
to 2.495 V and 2.505 V. This is a signal of 10 mV on a
common mode voltage of 2.5 V. The user must cancel out
the common mode voltage and amplify the signal voltage.
• Calibration
If an unamplified sensor had very repeatable performance
across a batch and between batches, the problem would
be simpler to solve. However, normal production variation
will cause the values of the piezoresistors to vary one from
the other, leading to offset errors. This means that the sig-
nal voltage will not be zero when the pressure difference is
zero. It is not uncommon for this offset or null error to be
as large as the full scale span of the sense die. Also, vari-
ations in the diaphragm thickness or characteristics of the
piezoresistive material will cause variations in the sensitiv-
ity of the dies across and between wafers.
Figure 3 depicts a common instrumentation amplifier circuit.
This circuit is often used to provide the signal conditioning as
well as the calibration of the sense die. The beauty of this cir-
cuit is that it cancels out the common mode voltage across the
Figure 3: Common instrumentation amplifier circuit.
sense die and allows amplification of the signal (difference)
voltage. Ignoring the variable resistors for the moment, the
output of this amplifier is described mathematically as
2 R2 R4
Vout = 1 + × × ( +Vout − −Vout )
R1 R1
The instrumentation amplifier is well understood and is com-
monly available as a single IC integrated circuit (IC) requiring
only a gain resistor. However, implementation requires addi-
tional design work, as well as additional component costs, and
additional required printed circuit board (PCB) space.
The problem becomes greater when considering the normal
variability of low cost unamplified sensors.
Many amplified, compensated sensors have real-time ways to
maintain accuracy in environments that continually change.
The output signal should always match the pressure applied.
But non-linearity and hysteresis can result from many things
not under user control. Some amplified, compensated sensors
allow for internal calibrations, lookup tables, and best fit vari-
ables to help maintain accuracy in a changing environment.
• Temperature compensation
MEMS-based pressure sensors have a large intrinsic
temperature dependence. Temperature changes cause
mechanical expansion and contraction of the die as well as
affect the sensitivity of the piezoresistive elements. There-
fore, even if the sensor is calibrated at room temperature,
the null and full scan span will change with temperature.
Some sensors contain internal methods to calibrate and main-
tain accuracy even in environments where temperatures contin-

12 Elektor Industry 3/2019

ually change. OEMs have the option to apply static or dynamic
calibrations depending on how accurate the readings need to
be. Smaller sensors can be less susceptible to temperature
changes, shock, and vibration.

Conclusion
Don’t jump to a perceived pressure sensor solution using sense
dies or low cost unamplified, uncompensated sensors just
because it appears low-cost. Many advantages come from com-
pensated, amplified pressure measurement solutions that save
costs by mitigating risks and keep a project on schedule.
191129-01

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Production Methods and Components 13

 Rochester Electronics.
First Aid in the event of discontinuation and supply bottlenecks
When it comes to authorized remanufacturing of discontinued semiconductors or bridging
supply bottlenecks, Rochester is the world‘s first address; since July 2018 we have also been a partner
of Bürklin Elektronik.
The cooperation with Rochester was a milestone for Bürklin
according to Alfred Lipp, Sales Director of Bürklin Elektronik:
„We are continuing to develop our range of semiconductors
and are moving into a new stage of evolution“.
Rochester Electronics is a global distributor and licensed semi-
conductor manufacturer, 100 percent authorized by over 70
semiconductor manufacturers. As an authorized distributor,
Rochester carries over 15 billion products with over 200,000
part numbers and offers an extensive range of end-of-life
semiconductors as well as active semiconductors. Bürklin
customers have also benefited from this since last year:
„The cooperation with Rochester is a very nice expansion
of our business model. This enables us to cover 90 percent
of our needs and the needs of our customers, as Rochester
has more than 70 semiconductor suppliers in its portfolio,“
explains Lipp.
Conversely, Rochester sees Bürklin as an established channel
that not only promises but also actively practices demand
creation. „This really is a partnership with great potential
and I look forward to many more years of collaboration,“
emphasizes Chris Beenie from Rochester on the occasion of
Bürklins 65th anniversary
As a licensed semiconductor manufacturer, Rochester has
a portfolio of more than 12 billion dies, manufactures over
20,000 device types and can produce over 70,000 more.
Increasing supplier authorizations allow the company to man-
ufacture a wide range of semiconductors and provide inven-
tories that are authorized, traceable and guaranteed. Over
10 billion of the products in stock that were produced and
delivered by the original manufacturer are classified as EOL.
The licensed manufacturing solution uses information and
technology transmitted directly from the original equipment
14 Elektor Industry 3/2019
manufacturer to Rochester. In addition, only the original
manufacturer‘s die or manufacturing processes are used.
This enables Rochester to adhere to original designs, assem-
bly and test protocols to provide a comprehensive and tai-
lor-made portfolio. All of these products are 100% certified,
authorized, licensed, and traceable and are sold with full
approval under the part number of the original manufacturer,
without any lengthy redesign or re-qualification by the cus-
tomer. The products are therefore in form, fit and function“
a 1:1 replacement.
„Together with Rochester, we focus on supporting customers
in all aspects of re-design, this means that we advise where
re-design is worthwhile and where it pays to replace the com-
ponents with EOL products,“ says Alfred Lipp. „Of course,
the costs for EOL products are higher than the costs for the
former series products. But a complete re-design, for exam-
ple in the avionics sector, quickly goes into the million-euro
territory for development and certification.“
The partners have identified the aviation sector in partic-
ular as target groups. This includes manufacturers of con-
trol and instrument units and airport equipment as well as
development offices in this sector. But the Rochester range
is also very interesting for other sustainable markets such
as industrial automation and railway technology.
In any case, Rochester‘s processes are secure for the most
demanding markets. They include „Commercial, Industrial,
MIL TEMP, Rochester R and B, MIL STD 883, SMD/QML and
Space-Level S/V“. Rochester also offers a range of indus-
try standard packaging as well as various contact surface
coatings such as Sn, SnPb and RoHs.
191071-01
www.buerklin.com

Reliable Measurement
Boards at
Meilhaus Electronic
With their ’ME’ series, Meilhaus Electronic GmbH offers
an extensive range of PC measurement boards for the
PCI-/PCI-Express bus. In addition to versatile driver sup-
port for Windows (including Microsoft Visual Studio C#,
C++, Visual Basic and LabVIEW or TestManager CE), the
boards can be operated with the ME-PowerLab³ software.
ME-PowerLab³ combines two functions: it is a comfort-
able user interface, with which the boards can be quickly
operated without programming, e.g. for functional tests,
training and simple applications. In addition, there is an
integrated scripting environment. With some programming
experience, automation is possible, up to integration into
other software. ME-PowerLab³ is included free of charge
in the scope of delivery of the DAQ boards. As a distributor
of well-known measurement technology manufacturers,
Meilhaus Electronic also supplies a wide range of oscillo-
scopes, multimeters, spectrum analyzers, signal and power
sources, etc. as well as interface technology.
191047-03
www.meilhaus.de
Effective USB 3.1
Filtering and Protection
Recently, the USB standard was updated to version 3.1.
Data transfer speeds have been increased to 5 GBit/s (Gen
1) and 10 GBit/s (Gen 2). Together with the added conve-
nience of the point-symmetric USB Type C™ connector, this
improvement makes USB even more attractive. However,
the increase in data transfer speed also means higher sensi-
tivity to interference. When integrating a USB 3.1 interface,
developers must pay special attention to EMC.
Würth Elektronik supports developers in the challenge of
attenuating unwanted signals while maintaining the speed
and integrity of the data transfer.
When it comes to effective filtering and protection of USB
3.1 devices, Würth Elektronik is the one-stop shop and
competent partner for design questions regarding EMC test-
ing. Würth Elektronik not only offers a complete product
range of connectors, for example with USB-licensed and
TID-listed TypeC™ connectors (WR-COM), but also the EMC
filters required for USB 3.1, components for ESD overvolt-
age protection and AC/DC to DC/DC power converters. The
products are recommended in the USB-TypeC™ reference
designs of leading IC manufacturers.
191120-02
www.we-online.com
Production Methods and Components 15
Go Beyond 4.0
Industrie 4.0 and then some
While many companies are busy putting Industrie 4.0 concepts into practice in their factories, new challenges
are already knocking at the door. For example, demand for customized products is on the rise. Fraunhofer
researchers have set out to develop technologies to meet these emerging requirements and take Industrie
4.0 to the next level in a lighthouse project called Go Beyond 4.0.

The basics of customized mass produc-

tion are easily explained with a visit
to the pizzeria around the corner. It is
nothing unusual for a diner to order a
Pizza Napoli base and then pile on the
special requests – hold the olives, add
some mushrooms, how about some extra
capers. Ten minutes later, a steaming hot
pizza pie replete with the diner’s favorite
toppings arrives on a plate.

What has long been the norm in cater-
ing – a standard product tailored to the
buyer’s taste – is now sweeping the
manufacturing industry. The challenge
for manufacturers is to find a way of
customizing on the fly in highly flexible,
connected Industrie 4.0 factories. This is
akin to asking for bespoke products off
the rack, delivered with assembly-line
speed and reliability.
Digital printing and laser
sintering for Industrie 4.0
plants
The Go Beyond 4.0 initiative aims to
make that happen with two technolo-
gies not normally associated with indus-
trial-scale manufacturing – the first using
digital inkjet, dispensing and aerosol jet
printing techniques, and the second by
means of laser sintering. Fraunhofer
researchers want to harness the pow-
Components like these are used in the additive inkjet printing process, for example, for lab-on-a-
chip systems.© Fraunhofer IOF
ers of these technologies to add func-
tions to any component during produc-
tion. This initiative was sparked by an
idea that Prof. Reinhard Baumann and Dr.
Ralf Zichner had at the Fraunhofer Insti-
tute for Electronic Nano Systems ENAS in
2014. Now they are pursuing that notion
with their research in the eponymous
lighthouse project.
At first, it sounds paradoxical to pro-
duce unique products in mass produc-
tion lines. However, if the digital manu-
facturing technologies of inkjet printing
and laser processing are clever integrated
into mass production environments, the
respective products can be individual-
ized in-line«, explains Prof. Reinhard
Baumann of Fraunhofer ENAS, project
coordinator of the Fraunhofer lighthouse
project Go Beyond 4.0.
Prof. Thomas Otto, acting director
of Fraunhofer ENAS, heads up the
Go Beyond 4.0 lighthouse project. It
is a joint effort of six institutes, the
Fraunhofer Institutes for Laser Technol-
ogy ILT, for Applied Optics and Precision
Engineering IOF, for Silicate Research
ISC, for Machine Tools and Forming
Technology IWU, and for Manufactur-
ing Technology and Applied Materials
Research IFAM.

16 Elektor Industry 3/2019

Subprojects in aviation,
automotive engineering and
lighting
The researchers opted to go with three
marketable applications. The Smart Wing
subproject targets the aviation industry,
Smart Luminaire the lighting technology
sector, and Smart Door the automotive
industry.
Subproject Smart Door
The object of the latter, a car door, viv-
idly illustrates how the people in the Go
Beyond 4.0 project are putting digital
printing technology to work. Andre Bucht,
head of Adaptronics at the Institute for
Machine Tools and Forming Technology
IWU, says, “Car doors have many elec-
tronic modules and mechatronic functions
built in. Fraunhofer printing technology
can be used to add components such as
sensors, switches, LEDs and conductor
pathways.”
To install a conductor track, engineers
first print an insulation layer made of
polymers onto the component, followed
by the conductive silver paste and then
another insulation layer. A printer applies
all these layers that a laser then cures
with high spatial resolution. Robot arms
guide a dispenser or an inkjet system
and a laser over the component. On a
conventional assembly line, workers have
to crawl into the car and install cable har-
nesses by hand.
Smart Luminaire –
it’s all about light
Exciting innovations also figure promi-
nently in the Smart Luminaire subproj-
ect. Dr. Erik Beckert, project manager
at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied
Optics and Precision Engineering IOF in
Jena, says, “I had had the basic idea
of producing optical components using
inkjet processes back at the IOF.” The
Go Beyond 4.0 lighthouse project pro-

Structures printed on glass fiber fabric serve to Fraunhofer IFAM integrates printed Various functions can be integrated into the
integrate heating into the fiber composite. functionalizations into fiber-reinforced process chain for aircraft components made of
© Kay Michalak / Fotoetage plastics.© Kay Michalak / Fotoetage fiber-reinforced composites.
© Kay Michalak / Fotoetage

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Production Methods and Components 17


Current Fraunhofer
lead projects
Quantum Methods for Advanced
Imaging Solutions (QUILT):
QUILT is working on new imaging
and detection techniques in the field
of quantum imaging.
Rare Earths:
The project “Criticality of Rare
Earths” aims to ensure the supply of
critical raw materials, especially rare
earths, to industry.
Sensor systems for extremely
harsh environments (eHarsh):
The lead project is working on
a technology platform that will
make it possible to develop sensor
systems for use in extremely harsh
environments.
Electricity as a raw material:
The lead project develops and
optimizes processes with which
low-CO2 electricity can be used
to synthesize important basic
chemicals.
Theranostic implants:
Fraunhofer researchers are working
on intelligent implants that combine
diagnostics and therapy in a single
medical device.
s.fhg.de/leading projects
vided the perfect opportunity to explore
it further. This subproject aims to make
polymer optical components in an additive
process. Inkjet printers serve to custom-
ize and add functions to existing opti-
cal components such as plastic lenses.
18 Elektor Industry 3/2019
For their ink, Beckert and his team are
using ORMOCER®, an optical hybrid poly-
mer developed by the ISC at Würzburg.
The optical properties of this material
come very close to those of good optical
glass and can be adapted to the given
application.
Smart Wing: Wired for warmth
A truck with a big tank arriving to spray
deicing fluid over the wings is a familiar
wintertime sight for passengers looking
out the window of an airplane, longing
for it to taxi out for take-off. Dr. Volker
Zöllmer and his team expect that that
truck could be soon be obsolete if the
Smart Wing subproject gets off the
ground and soars. Dr. Zöllmer heads
up the Smart Systems department at
the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufac-
turing Technology and Applied Materi-
als Research IFAM. Its researchers have One of the main goals of the Go Beyond
succeeded in integrating heating lines to 4.0 lighthouse project is to transfer digital
defrost wings from the inside out. This manufacturing processes from the lab to robot-
handy capability also comes courtesy of assisted production lines.
© Steve Leisner / Fraunhofer IWU
printers. They apply silver paste to print
current-carrying conductor tracks into
the wing’s fiber composite material. a much faster rate and more efficiently,
This built-in defroster is just one of the even for highly customized products.”
applications on the team’s R&D agenda. The key enabler here is the pairing of
The Smart Wing can be also equipped with conventional manufacturing processes
sensors to measure temperature or pres- with digitally controlled manufacturing
sure in the wing or fuselage of an aircraft. methods. The equation is simple: assem-
These functions are deeply embedded in bly line plus robot plus printer equals
the composite material, which in aircraft fast, effective customizing.
construction typically consists of plas-
tics reinforced with glass or carbon fiber. The team is the star
Sensors could also detect damage to the The management team’s constructive
aircraft fuselage caused by bird strikes. collaboration has helped steer the Go
Beyond 4.0 project to success. Empha-
The ties that bind sizing this point, Deputy Project Coordi-
Although these applications are quite nator Ralf Zichner says, “This was never
diverse, the three subprojects have much about one institute striving for a certain
in common. The object of each is not result. Instead, the participating insti-
just to make products; they all go to tutes are interacting as equals, which
demonstrate the possibilities of technol- is the key to success.” All stakeholders
ogy. The ability to print conductor path- are confident that the objectives will be
ways into car doors may be put to good achieved by the time the project wraps
use elsewhere – in the interior or on the up in November 2019. Baumann expects
dashboard, to stick with the automotive that the technologies “will be established
example. Much the same holds true for in German companies in three to five
the Smart Wing. The techniques out- years at the latest.” Consumers are sure
lined above would also work for civilian to be delighted with the outcome – mass-
drones, wind turbines, and automotive manufactured products that are person-
and mechanical engineering applications. alized to suit their tastes, just like that
pie at the pizzeria round the corner.
Zöllmer is quick to point out another 191110-02
aspect: “For the Go Beyond 4.0 proj-
ect, we also set ourselves the goal of
developing manufacturing process chains The paper has been published in volume
further so they can then be executed at 1/19 of the Fraunhofer magazine.
 Almit‘s worldwide innovation:
MR-NH
Small area ratio, big performance

In the automotive sector, electronics is more frequently
directly placed at the power unit, forcing downsizing of the
control units. Moreover, in module design, a high mix of mod-
ule sizes can be found more and more frequently. To guaran-
tee a sufficient amount of solder paste for bigger modules,
metal stencils with a thickness of up to 150 µm are used for
these applications. This often causes difficulties regarding
the release properties of smaller modules, as for example,
of 0201-chip modules. In IPC guidelines, the area ratio value
is recommended to be higher than 0,66 to maintain good
release properties. The experience shows that an area ratio
smaller than 0,66 leads to a worse soldering paste printing
or worse release properties. However, there are many appli-
cation examples where the area ratio is already now out of
the recommended range, whereby deficient release proper-
ties occur. How can this issue be solved?
regarding the release properties, MR-NH convinces with uni-
form, equally formed solder deposits. During the printing
process with MR-NH, remarkably less solder paste remains
stuck to the stencil than with a standard solder paste.
Also in comparison of the printing contours and the printing
characteristics, MR-NH is ahead. MR-NH shows more equal,
firmer contours than the standard product and provides even
at a stencil thickness of t = 150 µm an outstanding high
volume rate.
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191045-02
www.almit.de

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area ratio smaller 0,66 - regarding the print image as well
as the release properties. Down to an area ratio of 0,43,
the MR-NH solder paste is compatible and so enables an
application for nearly all stencils and module combinations.
Different tests in comparison with a standard solder paste
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Production Methods and Components 19

R&S RTP high-performance oscilloscope
fromRohde & Schwarz doubles
maximum bandwidth to 16 GHz
With new 13 GHz and 16 GHz models, the R&S RTP
high-performance oscilloscope family, the most
compact multi-purpose lab instrument available,
is now scalable from the 4 GHz minimum up to the
full 16 GHz bandwidth. Additional new highlights are
powerful debugging functionssuch as the high-speed
serial pattern trigger usinghardware-basedclock-
data-recovery (CDR) up to 16 Gbps, or the DDR4
signal integrity and compliance test.
The R&SRTP oscilloscope now also provides time
domain reflection (TDR) and transmission (TDT)
analysis to characterize and debug signal paths.
20 Elektor Industry 3/2019
Rohde & Schwarz expands its high-performance R&S RTP oscil-
loscope family in terms of both bandwidth, and functions for
debugging and analysis.The new R&S RTP134 with 13 GHz, and
R&SRTP164 with 16 GHz bandwidth, support four channels to
8 GHz, or two channels interleaved for the respective higher
frequencies. For all R&S RTP models, update options support
bandwidth increases right up to 16 GHz.
The new R&SRTP models support all functions already intro-
duced for models up to 8 GHz, including the high acquisi-
tion and processing rate, and the realtime deembedding. The
bandwidth of the industry-leading digital trigger is extended
to 16 GHz to provide the highest precision for detecting very
small and intermittent signals. The R&S RTP triggers on realtime
deembedded signals and supports all trigger types including
pulse width, setup and hold, or runt, up to the full instrument
bandwidth.
Ideal for debugging high-speed differential signals and avail-
able for both data acquisition and trigger functions, the new
math module introduced directly after the realtime deem-
bedding block supports addition or subtraction for any two
signals, plus signal inversion and common mode operations.
R&SRTP users can now analyze high-speed serial signals at
data rates up to 16 Gbps with the serial pattern trigger options
R&S RTP-K140/K141, which include hardware-based clock data
recovery for extracting the embedded clock signal as trigger
reference. The trigger supports bit patterns up to 160 bits in
length, plus decoding schemes such as 8B/10B, or 128B/132B.
Eye diagrams for signal integrity debug, based on the embed-
ded clock, for at-a-glance analysis with the fastest mask test
or histogram function provide results within seconds.
The R&S RTP supports debugand compliance test on DRAM
memory interfaces using DDR4, DDR4L, and LPDDR4 with
the new option R&SRTP-K93. It combines multiple functions
such as READ/WRITE decoding, up to four DDR eye displays
and automated compliance testing in line with the appropriate
JEDEC standards.
The new I/Q mode option R&SRTP-K11 converts modulated
signals to I/Q data for analysis, saving acquisition memory,
and extending the maximum acquisition time. The R&S VSE
vector signal explorer is the right tool for in-depth analysis of
wideband radar signals, or demodulating wireless communi-
cation signals including 5G NR. The I/Q data can also be used
with any suitable external tool for proprietary signal analysis. Rohde & Schwarz
The R&SRTP now also provides all the functions required as a
time domain reflection (TDR) and transmission (TDT) analysis
The Rohde & Schwarz technology group develops,
system to characterize and debug signal paths, such as PCB
produces and markets innovative communications,
traces, cables and connectors. The new option R&SRTP-K130
information and security products for professional
combines the highly symmetrical differential pulse signals from
users. The group’s test and measurement, broadcast
the R&SRTP-B7 pulse source with the analog input channels
and media, aerospace | defense | security,
to provide TDT/TDR analysis for both single-ended and differ-
networks and cybersecurity business fields
ential signals. The software guides the user through setup,
address many different industry and government-
calibration and measurement.
sector market segments. On June 30, 2018,
No oscilloscope is complete without suitable probes. The R&S
Rohde & Schwarz had approximately
RT-ZM family of modular probes featuring interchangeable prob-
11,500 employees. The independent group achieved
ing tips and instantaneous mode switching, as well as excellent
a net revenue of approximately EUR 2 billion in the
RF performance, is extended to include the R&S RT-ZM130
2017/2018 fiscal year (July to June).
with 13 GHz bandwidth, and the R&S RT-ZM160 with 16 GHz
The company has its headquarters in Munich,
bandwidth.
Germany. Internationally, it has subsidiaries in more
The R&SRTP high-performance oscilloscope from Rohde & Schwarz
than 70 countries, with regional hubs in Asia and
addresses electronics developers in many industries and mar-
America.
ket sectors, particularly in the fields of automotive,aerospace
and defense,industrial and telecommunications. It is ideal for
debugging embedded electronic designs including high-speed
buses (such as USB, PCI Express, MIPI or DDR memory inter-
faces), multichannel RF interfaces (radio or radar), complex
power management units, and even simple control and pro-
gramming buses such as I2C, and SPI.It is the only instrument
on the market that compensates for transmission loss from
the signal source to the oscilloscope in real time, so it remains
extremely fast even with signal correction activated.
The R&SRTP is the most compact high-performance oscillo-
scope on the market, with a footprint up to 40 percent smaller
than competitor products. It is also the quietest, due to the
sophisticated cooling concept and silent fans.

The R&S RTP high-performance oscilloscope is now available

from Rohde & Schwarz as 4 GHz, 6 GHz, 8 GHz, 13 GHz, and
16 GHz model. For more information, visit:
www.rohde-schwarz.com/ad/press/rtp
191057-02

Production Methods and Components 21

How to Simplify
Power Supplies and
Save Cost with
Silicon carbide technology can
offer many advantages besides
greater efficiency, enabling
designers to increase power
density, enhance reliability,
and economise on the overall bill
of materials, even in a
relatively simple circuit such as
a flyback converter
More Accessible Than You
Might Think
Silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconduc-
tors are understood to enable greater
efficiency in power-conversion applica-
tions where energy is extremely precious,
such as solar generators and electric
vehicles.
In fact, they have many more advan-
tages to offer, including increasing
power density and reliability due to their
increased temperature capability, sim-
plifying circuit design, reducing reliance
on external components, and allowing
smaller and lower-cost passive compo-
nents. We can see how these benefits
can be unleashed in ordinary applica-
tions by comparing several designs for
the flyback converter of an auxiliary
power supply using both SiC and sili-
con technologies.
Recap: The Root of SiC’s
Advantage
In the form used for fabricating power
semiconductors, SiC has a bandgap of
22 Elektor Industry 3/2019
SiC
3.2 eV between the valence and conduc-
tion bands, which is about three times
that of ordinary silicon. In addition, its
dielectric breakdown field strength is
about 10 times that of silicon. Together,
these two characteristics endow SiC
devices with superior properties, includ-
ing faster switching, higher efficiency,
greater stability over temperature, and
higher maximum operating temperature.
For equipment designers, this can relieve
demand for thermal management without
compromising device reliability.
SiC’s higher breakdown field strength
allows MOSFETs to be designed with
a much thinner drift layer, resulting in
lower on-resistance, RDS(ON) relative
to the die area, for a given breakdown
voltage. To achieve high breakdown volt-
age in ordinary silicon, the MOSFET has
higher RDS(ON) leading to greater con-
duction losses. SiC also permits lower
MOSFET gate charge, Qg, enabling faster
switching with lower energy loss, concur-
rently with low RDS(ON) and high break-
down voltage.
By Aly Mashaly,
ROHM Semiconductor GmbH
Auxiliary Power Supply Design
Challenges
Equipment such as solar inverters, indus-
trial DC/DC converters, battery chargers,
and others often contain an auxiliary
power unit running off the main input to
supply subsystems such as sensor mod-
ules, a display, and other control units
or drivers (figure 1).
For simplicity a flyback converter is
typically used. The main power switch
must be able to withstand the worst-case
drain-source voltage due to the reflected
voltage from the secondary side, maxi-
mum turn-off overshoot, and DC input
voltage (figure 2). The sum of these volt-
ages can exceed 1300 V.
A variety of design approaches can be
considered to ensure the power transis-
tor is able to withstand worst-case volt-
age applied across the drain and source
terminals. Each has its own advantages
and disadvantages.
One approach is to choose a power tran-
sistor that has high breakdown voltage,
say 1500 V. However, ordinary silicon
high-voltage transistors come with rel-
atively high on-resistance (RDS(ON)),
thereby incurring in undesirable con-
duction loss and heat dissipation. They
also tend to have high gate charge (Qg),
which causes high driving losses, as well
as high leakage current, especially at
high temperatures.

An alternative is to connect a pair of

800 V silicon MOSFETs in series. This
calls for more complex gate-driving cir-
cuitry, and a voltage-balancing circuit is
also needed. In addition, both devices
require a heatsink which adds to the
space consumed. Figure 1. Positioning and purpose of auxiliary power supply.
Another solution is to use a two-switch
flyback topology (figure 3), at the
expense of greater circuit complexity.
An isolated gate driver and power sup-
ply is needed to control the high-side
switch and, again, a heatsink is required
for each device. Each switch still needs
to be able to block the full dc-voltage, as
this topology only limits the overvoltage
at the device.

Instead, a single SiC MOSFET such as the

SCT2H12NZ, which has 1700 V break-
down voltage and 3.7 A current rating,
can be used. This device combines high
breakdown voltage with RDS(ON) rang-
ing up to 1/8 that of comparable 1500 V
silicon MOSFETs. In addition, Qg and
input capacitance are greatly reduced,
hence permitting higher switching fre-
quency and so, in turn, allowing for
smaller external components. Moreover,
SiC’s ability to withstand higher oper-
ating temperature relieves heatsinking
requirements.
By allowing a single-FET flyback circuit
to achieve the required breakdown volt-
age with minimal conduction losses, and
operate at higher switching frequency,
turning to SiC can yield BOM savings
that result in a more economical solu-
tion overall.
A dedicated flyback controller IC, the
BD7682FJ,is featured for driving SiC
MOSFETs. In addition to generating a
gate-drive signal in the recommended
14V-22 V range for SiC devices (typi-
cally about 18 V), it incorporates a 14 V
Under-Voltage Lockout (UVLO) to avoid
thermal problems as well as an output
clamp to prevent over-voltage on the SiC
gate. The controller implements quasi-
Figure 2. Analysing worst-case VDS in the flyback converter.
resonant switching to minimise dynamic
losses and achieve low noise, and fea-
tures a burst mode to enhance light-load
efficiency. Protection functions, such as
soft-start, over-current limiter per cycle,
over-voltage protection function, and
overload protection are also built-in.
Performance Evaluation
Rohm has built a 100 W auxiliary power Figure 3. Conventional silicon MOSFETs in a
supply evaluation board featuring the two-switch flyback converter can provide the
SCT2H12NZ and BD7682FJ, which is able required voltage-capability.
to operate with input voltage from 210-
480 V AC or 300-900 V DC. before turning the MOSFET on, result-
ing in a lower operating frequency than
Figure 4 shows the transistor VGS and the nominal 90-120 kHz range. As the
VDS waveforms at light load (left), output power increases the delay time
50 % load (centre) and nominal load is reduced and operating frequency
(right). The light-load waveforms show increases. At nominal power, turn on
how the controller waits several valleys occurs in the first valley. Measurements

Production Methods and Components 23

taken across the load range have shown
that efficiency rises to 88-92% at the
nominal power output, for input voltages
from 300-900 V DC.
By creating this auxiliary power supply
evaluation board, Rohm demonstrated
that system-level cost savings can be
achieved if the advantages of SiC devices
are fully utilised.

Full Integration for Maximum

Advantage
Rohm has now taken things a step further
by creating the BM2SCQ121T-LBZ quasi-
resonant AC/DC converter that combines
an integrated 4A 1700 V SiC MOSFET
with the functionality of the BD7682FJ
including UVLO, voltage clamping, and
burst mode. Conveniently packaged in
TO-220-6M, the converter makes it easier
than ever to design with SiC and maxi-
mises savings in part-count and board
real-estate.

Conclusion
By enabling a combination of high break-
down voltage rating with low RDS(ON),
as well as high switching speed, low
switching loss, and high temperature
capability, silicon carbide MOSFETs
enable designers to simplify circuit design
and lower bill of materials costs in a wide
range of applications including simple fly-
back converters.
A new, fully integrated, flyback converter
IC containing gate-driving and control
circuitry with a 1700 V SiC MOSFET built
in now encapsulates these advantages in
an easy-to-use industry-standard power
package.
191052-02

Figure 4. MOSFET switching waveforms at light, mid, and full load.

24 Elektor Industry 3/2019

Arkite‘s Breakthrough
in Europe and Beyond
The Belgian company Arkite is breaking through both within and outside Europe. After a recent capital
increase, the company is ready for a new step, which will double its turnover and create ten extra positions.
Arkite, based in the C-Mine Crib in Genk, launched the Human
Interface Mate in 2016. The HIM is a kind of virtual super-
visor for operators in the manufacturing industry. Using a
3D sensor and a projector, the employee is guided step by
step through the production process. „Thanks to the HIM,
an employee in a production company can perform complex
operations with the same precision and certainty as a robot,“
states founder and CEO Johan Smeyers.
The Human Interface Mate is best compared to a GPS device.
Just like a GPS, the HIM shows step by step what needs to
be done, but also which parts are needed and which tools
need to be used. „The HIM guides the employee step by step
and when the operator is about to err, feedback is given
immediately and the system itself pushes the pause but-
ton,“ explains Channel Manager Hanne Neyens. „After all,
our customers expect a flawless route. This is particularly
crucial in the aviation and automotive industries.“
Consultancy
Johan Smeyers made his mark in process innovation for
the manufacturing industry, where he guided clients in the
improvement and modernisation of production processes.
However, he also often received questions about the inter-
action between man and machine and, above all, how that
interaction can be improved. The actions that an operator
sometimes has to perform are so complex that a little help
is no superfluous luxury. The result was a virtual assistant
presented to the public in 2016.
There was a lot of interest right away, not only from custo-
mers, but also from investors. Arkite surrounded itself with
a number of reputable investors and the venture capital fund
Capricorn also came on board.
Worldwide
Since then, Arkite has been doing well, with a fast-growing
turnover and workforce. Its customer base is doubling every
year, with strong names in various sectors: car manufacturers
such as Volvo and Ford, suppliers such as Alro and Benteler,
machine builder Atlas Copco, aerospace company Thales and
the pharmaceutical company Terumo. The international net-
work of partners is also growing rapidly, for example with SAP.
Arkite also recently launched a project in collaboration with
the Belgian custom-made company Bewel and two students.
This enables the employees in the custom-order company to
take on more complex tasks as well as integrate them more
quickly into the regular employment circuit. Custom-order
companies also work with this technology in the Netherlands.
According to Johan Smeyers, the HIM makes people and
machines perfectly complementary. „We mainly see appli-
cations in the production of large volumes that cannot be
automated and in the production of parts with a lot of varia-
tion and high complexity.“ In the short term, ten new emp-
loyees will be sought.
Arkite is now looking beyond the realms of Europe. „Arkite
has customers in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Italy,
Germany and China“, says Johan Smeyers. „But there is also
interest from companies in other European and Asian count-
ries. In order to achieve this growth, the Limburg investment
company LRM recently came on board as part of a new capi-
tal injection. „But the way Arkite is currently growing, that‘s
probably not the last one.“
191053-02
www.arkite.be
Production Methods and Components 25
Sensing for Safety Brings
Comfort and Convenience
By Gualtiero Bagnuoli – Marketing Manager Optical Sensors, Melexis B. V.

As vehicles become more sophisticated, they rely on effective sensing to allow the automated systems
to assist drivers and, ultimately, to fully control them. While many different types of sensor are being
deployed, non-contact sensing is one of the most important as it allows sensing of the vehicle’s environment,
facilitating object avoidance and more. However, a recent focus has been put on in-cabin sensing of vehicle
occupants for safety reasons.

In this technical article, Melexis will look at one of the leading

technologies being deployed in this area and how it can not
only increase safety but also improve comfort and convenience.
Principles of Time-of-Flight sensing in the
vehicle cabin
Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensing allows objects to be detected and
provides information about their position and movement within
a 3D space. It also supports object identification by detecting
object shape, size and orientation. The technology relies upon
light being reflected by the object being detected with a light
source such as an LED array or VCSEL device being used in
conjunction with beam-forming optics to produce a light source
that illuminates the scene. An advanced sensing IC detects
Melexis has developed ToF solutions for more than a decade
and its second-generation solution delivers improved
performance, lower power operation and reduced system
cost which will significantly ease the challenges that
designers face.
and measures the light reflected from any object in range.
Light travels very rapidly at a known speed; by measuring the
time taken for reflected light to reach the sensor (the ‘time
of flight’ for the light), the distance of the object can be cal-
culated. This approach is known as ‘direct ToF’ (dToF) as the

26 Elektor Industry 3/2019

time is calculated directly from a very accurate timebase and
is preferred for applications where long distances are involved,
such as LIDAR. dToF is generally considered a low-resolution
technology, requiring complex (and expensive) mechanical
scanning to achieve high resolutions.
Instead of using absolute time, indirect ToF (iToF) calculates
distance based on a phase shift to a known reference signal.
This technique is far better suited to high-resolution applica-
Figure 1: Block diagram of a typical ToF sensing system showing the light
source, sensor and companion chip
tions and, with modern CMOS pixel arrays, can generate real-
time 3D video at QVGA resolutions, and higher.
iToF uniquely combines medium / high resolution depth and
amplitude (greyscale) mapping allowing complex identifica-
tions to be performed (such as people or objects), even with
no color contrast between the object and its surroundings.
These benefits make iToF very useful in many forward-looking
applications where other technologies have limitations.
In relatively close proximity (around 5m) ToF allows objects
and free spaces to be identified, meaning that ADAS systems
can intelligently predict how an object may move (if at all)
and take the appropriate avoiding action. As Melexis iToF is
relatively unaffected by changes in temperature and light it is
ideal for external applications such as these.
191007_Ersa_Anzeige_Elektor_Productronica-2019_185x59mm.indd 1
In-cabin applications for Time-of-Flight sensing
One of the main drivers for achieving the ultimate goal of fully
autonomous vehicles is to increase road safety. A recent report
by the NHTSA estimated that over 90% of all accidents are due
to driver errors, so eliminating these will make for much safer
roads. While mass-produced fully automated vehicles remain
some way in the future, iToF can make a significant contribution
to road safety by monitoring the driver and his / her behavior.
Driver fatigue is a significant issue and the high resolution
attainable with iToF is able to see if the driver has their eyes
on the road ahead, whether they are yawning excessively, or
even struggling to keep their eyes open. Detecting each of
these and suggesting (or even enforcing) a break can poten-
tially avoid accidents and save lives. Other driver behaviors
such as not holding the steering wheel properly, eating while
driving or using a mobile device in a non-hands-free manner
can also be identified and a warning issued or action taken,
ultimately bringing the vehicle to a safe stop if needs be.
Airbags have saved many, many lives and are a valuable fea-
ture in almost all vehicles these days. However, there have
been some cases, especially with infants or the elderly where
they have caused injury or worse. ToF is able to detect the
size of and estimate the weight of passengers, modifying the
airbag deployment as necessary. In the event that there is no
passenger in the seat, ToF can prevent unnecessary airbag
deployment.
Many modern hybrid vehicles will start and run the internal
combustion engine to charge the batteries when they are almost
depleted. As it is easy to leave a vehicle with the ignition ‘on’
as the old-fashioned ignition key is a thing of the past, vehicle
can automatically start when unattended. This is potentially
dangerous, especially in a confined space, but can easily be
prevented by ToF-based occupant detection.
Alongside the improvements in vehicle safety, the same ToF
system is also able to add a whole range of comfort and con-
venience inside the cabin for the benefit of drivers and pas-
sengers. For example, seats could be moved and seat belts
could be brought closer when a passenger gets into the vehi-
cle, storage compartments could be illuminated when a hand
reaches in that direction or the operation of the infotainment
Advertisement
www.driven-by-kurtzersa.com
09.10.2019 13:00:13
Production Methods and Components 27
Figure 2: Major functional elements of Melexis’ 2nd generation ToF solution
system could be modified based upon the number and location
of vehicle occupants.
As vehicles become more sophisticated, so the human-machine
interfaces (HMI) in the cockpit become more complex. A ToF
sensor in conjunction with a light projector could provide a
control panel on any available surface, providing greater con-
venience and flexibility.
  
Clearly, ToF is set to make a step change to in-vehicle sensing,
delivering increased sophistication to vehicles, thereby elevat-
ing both safety and comfort.
Latest ToF technology
Melexis’ second-generation chipset comprises a dedicated ToF
sensor and a companion chip that controls the system and
interfaces with the external microcontroller or serializer.
Figure 3: An improved signal-to-noise ratio improved performance and
reduces illumination requirements
28 Elektor Industry 3/2019
While retaining the same compact 5.5 mm x 6.5 mm package
and optical format as previous generations, the new chipset
offers double the sensitivity and pixel-level gain selection that
improves low light performance. 940 nm illumination support
allows the system to work invisibly to humans, which is invalu-
able for night time operation in vehicle cabins and take advan-
tages of the lower sunlight emission at this wavelength.
The new sensor is more efficient than before, requiring 30% less
power, which generates less heat and saves cost in the power
supply. An improved signal-to-noise ratio allows the system to
work over a 65% greater distance with the same illumination
level, or over the same distance as previous generations with
less illumination. This reduces the cost associated with light
sources such as LED or VCSELs. Dual head camera can now
be built with a single companion chip.
A new feature, pixel binning, allows for four (2x2) or sixteen
(4x4) pixels to be merged where less resolution is required,
reducing data throughput and allowing a lower cost host pro-
cessor to be used.
Summary
In-cabin ToF sensing will allow vehicle manufacturers meet
forthcoming legislation including the NCAP 2025 proposals relat-
ing to occupant detection and also, improve the experience of
vehicle occupants at the same time.
www.pinnaclecrc.com/PR%5FPICTURES/Melexis/MLXA043/
More information: www.melexis.com/elektor/tof
Connecting the future of soldering
Besigheim/Germany, September 2019 – Weller Tools, the world’s No.1 brand in hand solde-
ring solutions debut a number of its latest product innovations at the Productronica trade fair
– in hall A4 on stand 241.

Get in touch with the future of soldering

The digital transformation is in full swing. Mobile and
cloud computing, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence
and machine learning are transforming our work environ-
ment enormously. Weller takes the opportunity to give an
insight into numerous new soldering solutions on current
topics such as digitalization, automation, connectivity and
robotics which will be shown on show. Get in touch with the
future of soldering and experience the connected soldering
solutions from Weller.

Explore the new Active tip range

Weller expands its Active RT soldering tip program. Whether
in the electronics field, medical technology or aerospace field,
the industry is moving faster and the components are steadily chain and electrical soldering products for industrial, commer-
becoming smaller, more complex and more powerful. The sol- cial and demanding do-it-yourself applications. ATG designs,
dering industry is no different and Weller meets these increas- manufactures, markets, and sells proprietary brands, includ-
ing demands. “As always, Weller makes No Compromise: we’re ing GEARWRENCH®, Crescent®, SATA®, Cleco®, Weller®,
offering maximum performance, power and precision with our and APEX® and also designs and manufactures a number
new RT Lines of tips. They also provide maximum protection of private label tool brands for retailers. ATG sells its prod-
to the PCBs and the components you are soldering, improv- ucts through direct, retail, professional and trade channels
ing yield and ultimately reducing cost”, says Philippe Buidin, to customers in over 115 countries, and serves a multitude
VP Marketing, Weller & General Manager, Weller Tools GmbH. of global markets, including automotive, aerospace, elec-
Weller has and will continue to offer the widest range of high- tronics, energy, hardware, industrial, and consumer retail.
end active soldering tips. The extended Active RT soldering tips Learn more at www.apextoolgroup.com .
underlines Wellers holistic, innovative approach by providing a 191111-02
consistent solution for all high-end applications in combination
with five different WX soldering irons and WX soldering stations.
Weller Tools GmbH
About Weller Tools
Diana Zimmermann
The Weller name stands for pioneering solutions in solder-
Carl-Benz-Str. 2
ing technology. Founded in 1945, the company quickly grew
74354 Besigheim, Germany
to become the market leader in manual soldering technol-
Tel.: +49 (0) 7143/580-135
ogy. Weller’s extensive range of products includes innova-
Fax: +49 (0) 7143/580-169
tive solutions for industry and trade. The company’s areas
marketing@weller-tools.com
of expertise include conventional soldering technology such
www.weller-tools.com
as extraction systems, precision tools and solutions involv-
ing screws, bolts and robots as well as many other benchtop
products and services.
Weller Tools is part of the umbrella company Apex Tool Group,
LLC. Apex Tool Group, LLC, headquartered in Sparks, Mary-
land, is a leading global manufacturer and supplier of high
performance hand and power tools, tool storage, drill chucks,

Production Methods and Components 29

Why Open Source PLCs
Are Here To Stay
By Ivan Ducic, Controllino

From small DIY projects to large industrial applications – PLCs that work on an open source software base
changed the way how tech professionals do their control and automation.
They don’t fully lock you in to a specific vendor and enable you to customize the control and automation
process of your specific application possible.

One company has mastered the skill of producing software
open source PLCs exceptionally well. You may have heard of
CONTROLLINO — the bestselling PLC with an open source soft-
ware base on the market. Not even five years ago we laun-
ched our first CONTROLLINO. Since then, we had an amazing
journey and rose from a small startup to a full-blown company
with high-ranking customers and their fields of applications:
• transportation: Volkswagen, Hyperloop (Elon Musk),
Boeing;
• pharmaceuticals: BIOHUB (Chan Zuckerberg), Novartis;
• education: Massachusetts Institute of Technology;
• science: Max Planck Institute, Fraunhofer Institute;
• production: Oculus, Flextronics.
applications, like 0-10 V analogue I/O, 12-V or 24-V digital
I/O, relays with up to 16 amps rating and more, it’s more than
suitable for any professional application.
But what CONTROLLINOs are actually available on the market
right now and what will be the next products to launch soon?
Let’s explore the topic a bit deeper. First of all, let’s start with
the available products. We currently have five model ranges,
each available with or without 5-V pin headers. From smallest
to largest:

But CONTROLLINO’s prestigious status doesn’t come as a sur-

prise: this one-of-a-kind PLC is used so often because it offers
a perfect mix of safety, flexibility and power, making it an
ideal solution for all controlling and automation needs in all
environments.

With the simplicity and flexibility of open source ecosystems

like Arduino, users can drastically decrease project develop-
ment time and cost, and focus on what’s most important: the
project. But of course, you wouldn’t use an Arduino in your
industrial plant. That’s where CONTROLLINO comes in — it’s
like an Arduino that’s specifically tailored for industrial use.
With CE and IEC61131 certifications, rugged DIN-rail mounta-
ble case and lots of options specifically designed for industrial

30 Elektor Industry 3/2019

CONTROLLINO MINI
The MINI is the smallest child in our CONTROLLINO family.
But no worries – it’s still a big boy when it comes to the num-
ber of inputs and outputs (8 each). The incredible size to I/O
ratio makes the MINI one of the most compact and versatile
PLCs on the market.
CONTROLLINO MAXI
The MAXI is the bestselling model in our CONTROLLINO range.
It is the perfect compromise between compact size and input
and output availability. The core competence is its flexibility.
CONTROLLINO MAXI Automation
The MAXI Automation is the version of CONTROLLINO MAXI
specifically tailored to the needs of automation specialists! It
offers 0-10 V analogue I/O, for example.
CONTROLLINO MAXI Power
The MAXI Power is the latest in the CONTROLLINO MAXI family,
specifically for those who need strong 16 amps relays! As the
other MAXIs, it is the perfect compromise between compact
size and a huge number of inputs and outputs.
CONTROLLINO MEGA
The MEGA is the giant in our CONTROLLINO range. If you are
doing big and complex projects, the CONTROLLINO MEGA is
the perfect fit. With its countless input and output channels
and high maximum current of 30 A, you can handle any auto-
mation and controlling project with ease.
As you can see, there is a perfect CONTROLLINO for every
project size and type. But now, let’s look a bit more into the
near future. What if you need even more flexibility than already
offered? What if you even want to create your own PLC based
on your exact requirements and specifications? Well, look no
further. Introducing CONTROLLINO myPLC — a whole new type
of CONTROLLINO, fully customizable to any extent.
First things first: other PLCs on the market often don’t have
all the I/O channels you need. To solve this problem, you need
to buy expensive modules – and even then, you have to live
with a fixed number of inputs and outputs. How can we solve
this problem?
With CONTROLLINO myPLC you can only put the components
into your CONTROLLINO that you really need and want. You
can choose between different I/O types, voltage levels, spe-
cialized drivers and more — directly from our myPLC Online
Customizer. That’s a whole new level of customization and
never seen before in the PLC market.
The online customizer is available right now for testing purpo-
ses, so you can get a feel of the power and flexibility of such a
solution. The product itself will launch early 2020 – be sure to
subscribe to our newsletter on www.controllino.biz to get the
latest updates and notification as soon as myPLC launches.
191130-01
Production Methods and Components 31
 Where Do the Printed Circuit Boards
(Still) Come From?
When combining the markets for PCB manufacturing and PCB assembly, the figures are very telling: 50% of
all PCBs manufactured and assembled come from China. That is not all: two other APAC countries account for
a further 24.2% of global PCB and PCBA output (PCBA = Printed Circuit Board Assembly). These are Taiwan with
12.6% and South Korea with 11.6%. What’s more: in total 90% of all PCB and PCBA output comes from APAC countries,
leaving the rest of the world a meagre 10%. It is not all doom and gloom for North America and Europe though. Both are
bouncing back somewhat, mainly due to a lowering of the production costs in these regions. (Source: Beroe)

PCB and PCBA markets combined

Taiwan 12.6%

South Korea 11.6%

China 50%
Rest of APAC countries 15.8%

Rest of World 10%

By Robert van der Zwan

What New Kind of PCBs Will be Around?

Formaspace is a vendor known for manufacturing advanced industrial furniture to fabricate, assemble and test PCBs.
The American company, listening to its customers over the past years, has developed its own take on the future of PCBs.
According to Formaspace, there are 5 trends that will define the future of PCBs.

Trend 1. P
 CB substrates that have built-in Electrostatic Discharge Protection in order to prevent
ESD problems during assembly and testing.
Trend 2. PCBs that are protected against
hacking, for example, by embedding
cryptographic keys into the substrate
of PCBs.
Trend 3. PCBs that can endure higher voltages,
if only because fully electric cars bring
with them a much higher voltage
standard (48 V, not 12 V).
Trend 4. PCBs with unconventional substrates
so that you can fold them, roll them or
bend them (“Despite the apparent lack
of progress […], they are becoming
big business behind the scenes”).
Trend 5. More sustainable PCBs, not only in
terms of material use (doing away with
lead), but also in terms of contributing to
a lower power consumption
of its components.

32 Elektor Industry 3/2019

What Does the Market for Passive What Does the Market for Active
Components look like? Components look like?

According to research company Market Research Future, the
market for passive components will show a compound average
growth rate (CAGR) of about 6% in the period 2018-2022. Passive
components do not only include resistors, inductors, diodes and
the like, but also the PCBs itself. As it turns out, the PCB market
alone falls pretty much in line with this growth rate of about 6%,
according to market research consultant Technavio. (Sources:
Market Research Future; Technavio)
The market for active components such as semiconductor devices
and optoelectronic devices will be growing faster than the market
for passive components during the years 2018-2022: ≈10% versus
≈6%. This all has to do with miniaturisation: it is hard to avoid
MEMS technology these days, simply because these miniature
sensors and actuators are in high demand. The main drivers in
the market for active components are: smartphones, automotive,
industrial machinery and IoT. (Source: Market Research Future)

Market for passive components Market for active components

USD 211 Billion USD 330 Billion

USD Billion
USD Billion
CAGR~6%
CAGR~10%

2021 2022 2021 2022

2020 2019 2020
2018 2019 2018

What New Kind of PCB Production Methods are Promising?

 ormaspace also is in the position to comment on new production methods for PCBs. Here is the company’s take on how
F
PCB production lines may differ from our current ways of manufacturing PCBs.

Trend 1. Not surprisingly giving our smartphone era and the emergence of wearables,
PCBs will become even more tightly packed.
Trend 2. Since microcontrollers will become self-learning (when is an object on the road a brick and when
a small cardboard box?), PCBs should accommodate this type of machine learning and facilitate new
ways of compliance testing.
Trend 3. Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) could be used when training personnel how to
assemble and/or test new PCBs.
Trend 4. Yes, the abbreviation ‘PCB’ already stands for ‘Printed Circuit Board’, but nevertheless 3D
printing of PCBs can be very promising, for example, for printing in one go the substrate,
the sensor components and the processing circuitry.
Trend 5. Hand assembly may still happen, but the trend is towards even more machine
assembly, even for small runs: it saves time. Also, miniaturisation makes hand
assembly close to impossible.

Production Methods and Components 33

 Interview
with Barbara Müller
Exhibition Group Director electronica – productronica

Automation, digitization and customer

orienting are driving electronics manufacturing

productronica 2017 was a very successful fair with

more than 1,500 exhibitors from 43 countries. Your
trade fair – which attracted approximately 45,000
visitors from 96 countries – focused on the IoT, big
data, and smart technologies. What trends can we
expect to see this year at productronica?

Barbara Müller: The dominant topic at this year’s productron-

ica is not a classic industry phenomenon or a special technolog-
ical development. The focus will be on the demand for young
staff and skilled employees. This is currently also a problem
in many other industries, which is why we decided to create a
separate exhibition area at productronica that we have named
“Accelerating Talents.” This platform will encourage communica-
tion between exhibitors and the skilled employees of the future,
in other words, students, graduates, and young professionals.
However, this does not mean that we are losing sight of cur-
rent trends. The other focuses at productronica 2019 are smart
factory and smart maintenance.
Elektor: Tell us more about your Accelerating
Talents program.
Barbara Müller: The concept in Hall B2 includes various things,
such as the Talent Gateway – a recruiting platform. This con-
sists of three main building blocks: First, a trail with enter-
taining features such as an escape truck to raise awareness
of electronics production. Second, a career café for meetings
between the exhibitors’ HR staff and visitors. Third, the Accel-
erating Talents Stage, where companies will present a brief
description of what they do – but there will also be specialist
presentations and tech slams. Other components include Hack-
athon@productronica, which will take place for the first time
this year, the Career Center, and the Education Path.
Elektor: By organizing this globally leading
trade fair, you come into direct contact with
global decision makers and opinion leaders who
revolutionize electronics production. Based on your
interaction and research, where was the electronics
manufacturing industry a decade ago?
Barbara Müller: Around ten years ago, automation and digi-
tization were still in their infancy in electronics production. To
realize this, all you have to do is take a look at the changes that
have taken place in our private lives. In 2009, smartphones,
tablets, and other digital devices were not so widespread.
Social developments over the last years have also been largely
responsible for many of the changes that have taken place in
electronics production.
Elektor: What do you think will be the trends of
the future? In which direction is the electronics
manufacturing industry heading?
What technologies do you believe will play a major
role in the electronics manufacturing industry in 2020?

34 Elektor Industry 3/2019

Barbara Müller: We are in very close contact with our exhibi-
tors and also regularly share our opinions about developments
in the market. One statement that I have heard frequently at
many meetings is: Automation, digitization, and customer focus
are the drivers in electronics production and will play a crucial
role in the industry in coming years. I therefore assume that
these topics will also be very important at productronica 2021.
Elektor: productronica invites trade visitors and
customers to experience innovations up close at a
very early stage of their development. In 2019, two
important trends are smart maintenance and smart
factory. Why did you especially focus on these two
trends?
Barbara Müller: As a result of the communication with our
exhibitors, which I mentioned earlier, we know in good time
before the event what topics are important in the industry. The
increasing digitization and automation that I talked about are
already enabling the first smart factories and will make it even
easier to implement concepts such as these in the future. With
our focus on the smart factory, we want to show the oppor-
tunities and possibilities, but also the requirements and chal-
lenges. And it is not possible to imagine a smart factory without
smart maintenance. Because of this, for the first time at this
year’s productronica there will be a Smart Maintenance Pavilion,
where exhibitors will show various approaches and products
for predictive and digital maintenance of production plants.
Elektor: As opposed to other tech events, you
encourage trade visitors to participate actively
at productronica. You offer the guests many
opportunities to take part in practical discussions,
to assess new technologies, to share information,
and to participate in live demonstrations. What can
visitors expect?
Barbara Müller: Live demonstrations have a long history at
productronica. One of the main highlights for visitors is the IPC
Hand Soldering Competition. I am fascinated by each participant
who is able to solder a functioning assembly by hand within 60
minutes. This year, in the area of live demonstrations we also
have a 3D arena for automated optical inspection, the smart
maintenance pavilion I mentioned earlier, and, also popular with
visitors, a clean room that can be entered via virtual reality.
Elektor: productronica Fast Forward, the startup
platform powered by Elektor, is an exciting aspect
of the fair. Startups and innovators from all around
the globe have an opportunity to present their
innovations in order to win marketing packages
and industry-wide recognition. What are your
expectations with regard to this event?
Barbara Müller: At electronica, we have already had very
good experiences with the Fast Forward format. The startup
platform has been staged there twice already, with a great deal
of success. This is why we are very pleased to be cooperating
with Elektor and implementing the format within the scope of
productronica. We look forward to a promising premiere with
innovative startups and achieving a similar level in the coming
years as at electronica.
191105-02
Production Methods and Components 35
Apply a New Level of
Flexibility to Analyze
Thermal Effects
Infrared camera series ImageIR® from InfraTec
Using infrared thermography in electronics and electrical indus-
try, there are a number ofqualities that you can expect from
a modern infrared camera. Flexibility is undoubtedly one of
them. InfraTec takes different paths to fulfil such requirements
in terms of its high-end camera series ImageIR®. One fea-
ture, that provides a corresponding level of versatility, is the
choice between two speed modes for the same camera. In
standard mode, the familiar frame rates for full frame, half
frame and sub-frame are available with full spatial resolution.
In high-speed mode, images can be taken with the identical
FOV – while the frame rates increase to more than three times
the previous value.
In addition to the speed, the signal-to-noise ratio improves in
high-speed mode by a factor of approximately 2 due to the
larger effective pixel area. This increase in thermal resolu-
tion ensures that even smaller temperature differences can
be detected reliably.
36 Elektor Industry 3/2019
Increase the geometrical resolution significantly
Another camera feature called MicroScan allows to quadruple
the image format. For models of the ImageIR® camera series,
this means that images can be recorded with up to (2,560 ×
2,048) IR pixels (5.2 Megapixels). Each pixel in the image
represents a genuine temperature measured value and not an
interpolated image point. Users profit from a greatly improved
resolution of fine structures in the thermogram.
Thermographic Systems Meeting Highest Standards
MicroScan and high-speed mode are two examples that prove,
how convenient ImageIR® cameras can be adaptedto inspect
electronic components and assemblies for failure detection and
quality management. The basis for this lies in their modular
design incorporatingoptical-, detector- and interface modu-
les. Offering such an extremely flexible camera technology
with a maximum of sensitivity, accuracy, geometricalresolution
and speed, ImageIR® is the perfect solution meeting highest

demands in research and science, non-destructive testing as
well as process control.
• Cooled photon detectors with (320 × 256) to
(1,920 × 1,536) IR pixels
• Thermal resolutionupto< 0.015 K
• Measurement accuracy ± 1 °C; ± 1 %
• High-speed data storage with a frame rate up to
105,000 Hz
• Fast infrared microscopic lenses with a pixel size of up to
1.3 μm
Fully scalable software and lock-in testing
In combination with the thermography software family
IRBIS® 3, developed by InfraTec, for digital real-time data
acquisition and evaluation, the ImageIR® as an efficient
high-performancetool sets new standards for demanding ther-
mographic analysis.IRBIS® 3 active, which is spezialized in
lock-in thermography, offers numerous analysis modes and
features:
• Detection of temperature differences of a few µ-Kelvin to
detect even smallest defects/anomalies
• Complex evaluation algorithms to gain robust results
especially in critical environment or test conditions
• Various lock-in modes for analysing amplitude images and
phase images or complex value results
• Optional undersampling feature for enhanced precision
• Pulse-Phase-Thermography with many parameters to
analyze multiple frequencies
• Powerful presentation and handling of the results with
flexible export of the data
191062-02
Ersa Rework
Systems
The new Ersa HR 500
- professional rework of
QFP, QFN and BGA
for budget focused users.
For more than 20 years, Ersa has been successful in assem-
bly repair with its rework systems. In the meantime, a few
thousand rework systems and stations have been installed
worldwide. Today, Ersa rework systems are used in elec-
tronics manufacturing, product engineering, testing and
analysis. Wherever they are used, they save added value
for the customer.
The so far best-selling Ersa IR 550 and the hybrid rework
stations HR 100 and HR 200 have a large fan base and
have been on the market for many years. The first auto-
mated rework system, the HR 600/2, and the HR 550 are
also established products in the industry. At productonica
2019, Ersa will present three brand new systems for assem-
bly repair, expanding the successful rework product line.
The youngest members of the family inspire with their inter-
esting technological features in the field of heating and place-
ment technology and expand the variety of options for users.
• With the HR 550 XL, Ersa provides a semi-automatic sys-
tem for large assemblies (up to approx. 530 x 530 mm).
A real performance package with eight bottom radiator
heating zones and motorized X/Y fine adjustment and
component rotation. The system is suitable for industrial
and power electronics as well as large-format printed
circuit boards and is particularly attractive for repair
service providers.
• If you are looking for a system with the highest precision
requirements, the HR 600/3P will automatically repair
fine pitch components such as µBGA and the smallest
chip components (01005). The high-precision axis system
and 5-MPix cameras offer the most precise desoldering
and placement technology in rework available today.
• Finally, the new HR 500 presents the full Ersa Hybrid
Rework technology for budget oriented users. The HR
550’s little brother allows flexible repair of standard
assemblies up to 380 x 300 mm and 50 x 50 mm com-
ponent sizes.
Learn more under: www.ersa.com
Production Methods and Components 37
Reviewed: OWON XDS3064E
4-channel Oscilloscope with
Touch Screen
By Harry Baggen
The XDS series oscilloscopes from
the Chinese brand OWON has
several features that you do not
(yet) find on comparable models
from other brands, and all that
for a very sharp pricing. In this
review I take a closer look
at the affordable 4-channel
XDS3064E, which has a whole
lot to offer for less than €400.
Unboxing
While unpacking this oscilloscope, its large display immediately
catches the eye, namely an 8-inch LCD with a resolution of
800×600 pixels (the competition usually has a 7-inch display)
plus touch screen functionality. I have not seen this before in
this price category. After switching the instrument on, this first
impression is not diminished: Wow, what a beautiful screen
with a wide viewing angle!
Now back to the scope itself. For under €400 euros you will
have a 4-channel model with a touch screen, an input band-
width of 60 MHz and a sampling rate of 1 GSamples/s. While
it is true that this sample rate drops to a half or a quarter
when multiple channels are used, this is typical for this price
category. The instrument has a robust appearance and has a
nice finish. The only thing that I’m not fond of are the rotary
knobs because these have a soft rubber finish.
The instrument is supplied with four probes, a mains power
cable, a USB cable and a brief getting-started manual. A com-
prehensive manual is available as a PDF document.
Trying it out
The Owon XDS3064E is provided with a convenient touch
screen. Becoming familiar with the operation of the XDS3064E
goes quite quickly. However, a few of the functions require some
further explanation and it is then a good idea to consult the
full manual. The majority of the screen is used for the scope
display with a maximum of four simultaneous signals, at the
38 Elektor Industry 3/2019
bottom the most important measurements are continuously
visible. When pressing one of the function buttons there also
appears a selection menu on the right side. All menu items
can be selected with buttons along the bottom and right of the
screen, but you can also touch the screen. Decoding functions
for RS232, I²C, SPI and CAN are built in as standard.
The activation of the four channels is achieved with four buttons
CH1-CH4. When a channel is active the corresponding button
is lit up. To see which channel is selected for the operation
(there is, after all, only one set of buttons for the horizontal
and vertical settings), you have to look at the bottom left of
the screen: the selected channel is shown with a yellow frame.
This takes a little getting used to. But otherwise the operation
and the menu structure are quite obvious.
In addition to the operation using the push and rotary buttons
(there is also a multi-purpose rotary knob), the touch screen
also offers the option of selecting the various settings directly
from the screen by simply touching it. Using two fingers you can
also change the time base or the sensitivity or move the signal
trace. The sensitivity of the (capacitive) touch screen is excel-
lent. Only don’t make the movement too fast when moving the
signal traces otherwise there is a kind of delayed-response effect.
Features
Various measurement results can be displayed. We will now
take a look at a few of the features of the XDS3064E. Here I
only mention the things that caught my eye.
The first thing I noticed is the sensitivity of the input channels.
These can be set down to 1 mV/div (but bandwidth is limited).
The noise of the input stages remains quite small with this,
otherwise such a high sensitivity would make no sense.
With the Auto-set button you can automatically search for
the appropriate settings for a clear display of the input sig-
nal. Most scopes have this function, but with this OWON the
function is very comprehensive. Here more than 25 settings
are automatically performed and with all signals that I tried,
it operated flawlessly. In addition, there is an Auto-scale but-
ton, which changes the horizontal and/or vertical scale auto-
matically, also when the input signal changes. There are, of Even a formula editor is available.
course, also many manual trigger options. Even a formula
editor is available.
The Math button does not only allow operations to be per-
formed on the signals, but it is also possible to enter equa-
tions. With these even integration, differentiation and square
root are available. The XDS3064E also has an FFT function.
In this case two windows appear vertically, with the top one
displaying the measured signals and the bottom one the FFT
analysis. This works well, but reading the FFT signal magnitude
is not so easy. You will be counting squares frequently... The
countless measurement options do, however, offer a way out.
For example, the FFT peak-detection is a very useful feature.
Looking through all the samples in the 40 Mpoints of memory
is also very conveniently implemented. Again, two windows
appear vertically, after which you use the horizontal rotary
buttons to scroll through the memory and zoom in.

Conclusion
Via a USB connection you can control the scope from a PC. I Through a USB connection you can control the ’scope from a PC.
very much enjoyed working with the XDS3064E during this test
period. It is responsive, is easy to use and doesn’t really drop
the ball anywhere. Some operating procedures require a bit of
getting used to, but that is true for any new oscilloscope that
you start to work with. The feature set is very extensive, and
the touch screen is a nice (and sometimes handy) bonus. And
did I mention that the built-in fan is barely audible?
For an amount well under €400 with the XDS3064E you will
have a robust and versatile 4-channel scope, where perhaps
the only shortcoming is the somewhat limited bandwidth of
60 MHz. But if that is enough for you, then this instrument is
an excellent purchase that you will certainly not regret.
191133-01

Anzeige

Production Methods and Components 39

Distrelec
– Powering the Future.
Education is the foundation for innovation,
and innovation needs advocates.

A contribution by Steve Herd, CEO at Distrelec.

Igniting the internal fire that propels solution seekers

towards the latest technological breakthrough is
fundamental to Distrelec’s core proposition.
Distrelec endeavours to act as the link between
interesting concepts and ground-breaking
developments, championing ideas and innovations
from start to finish. By connecting innovators of all
skillsets, and at all stages in their development, with
the products, tools and resources that they need
to design, create and invent, Distrelec is actively
shaping the future of technology.

Every single piece of revolutionary technology started with
a problem that needed to be solved. When you think of the
inventions changing our very existence, such as the new 5G
rollout, the Internet of Things (IoT), wearable technology and
renewable energy solutions, it is often hard to fathom how
such disruptive innovations were conceptualised. With techno-
logy powerful enough to completely alter human behaviours,
often instantaneously, many are asking the question; is the
next technological breakthrough only attainable by experts
in their field?
At the core of every Distrelec initiative is the desire to champion
the technological advances that are transforming our world,
to understand the challenges faced by those bold enough to
tackle problems, and to provide the knowledge, resources and
products they need to overcome obstacles. Every notable indi-
vidual in the industry had to start somewhere, and at Distrelec,
we want to be the next generations’ springboard into success.
So, what does Distrelec do differently?
For Distrelec, it is about avoiding the prescriptive and being
daring enough to use customer observations to inform innova-
tion – to apply ‘the new’. Now, as one of Europe’s leading dis-
tributors of electronics, automation and measurement techno-
logy, Distrelec has surfaced many opportunities for motivated
individuals searching for new challenges within the industry.
One of the company’s most recent collaborations is with small,
UK-based tech start-up T3chFlicks. T3chFlicks was founded on
the opinion that a key stumbling block to making tech accessi-
ble to the masses is a lack of clear instruction. By developing
simple, step-by-step solutions to seemingly complex problems,
they endeavour to bridge the gap towards achieving what is
considered out-of-reach knowledge by those at beginner’s level.
We at Distrelec see a lot of potential in T3chFlicks’ business
concept, as their DIY projects can so easily be replicated
at home, and then applied to larger industrial problems. At
the core of our partnership is the desire to connect Distre-
lec’s vast network of industry-leading suppliers, complex
products and industry specialists with the engineering stu-
dents, knowledge seekers and technological beginners that
T3chFlicks attracts.

40 Elektor Industry 3/2019

You may be wondering: how does Distrelec know what custo-
mers need to inspire technological developments?
By fostering a wide network of industry professionals and sup-
pliers, Distrelec remains at the forefront of technological advan-
ces and industry trends. This enables our sales representatives,
customer support team and key stakeholders to be a valuable
knowledge hub for our clients and customers. Bridging the
gap between beginner and professional and encouraging the
free sharing of knowledge within our community is central to
everything that Distrelec does.
In harbouring a network dedicated to propelling the future of
technology, our team is closely attuned to what the industry
needs, and who can provide it. This is how the Arduino IoT
Prime Bundle, launched in collaboration with Distrelec, was
conceptualised. By keeping one ear pressed to the ground, and
the other listening closely to the expert opinions of Arduino,
industry-leading supplier of single board computing techno-
logy, Distrelec was first to market with a product designed for
beginners at the start of their career in technological innova-
tion, all the way through to industry-leading professionals on
the cusp of a breakthrough. It is because of Distrelec’s colla-
borative approach to business that this, as well as many other
exclusive opportunities, surfaced. Central to this project, and
every business opportunity presented, are the needs of our
community – and it is with this approach that Distrelec has
become the distributor of choice in Europe.
Alongside the broad range of technologies and products that
Distrelec seeks to connect our network with, stands an outstan-
ding array of digital resources on a platform called KnowHow.
Designed for engineers, young and old, industry professionals
and leading manufacturers, KnowHow enables anyone to find
insights, resources and a wealth of knowledge about the tech-
nologies affecting our world. This is a space where our network
can hear from the companies behind cutting-edge technologies
and discover innovative applications used to design the future
of production in different fields. The knowledge hub seeks to
uncover opportunities and inspire possibilities, no matter what
your project may be.
As a dedicated advocate for innovation, we understand that
with great project potential comes great expense. This is why
Distrelec goes the extra mile and offers a high-quality, low-
cost range of products from our own brand, RND. RND’s entire
proposition centres around a promise to provide our network
with a cost-effective, quality product assortment that enables
the expansion of development and maintenance possibilities.
Students, developers, businesses and aspiring solution see-
kers benefit from RND products both in the production phase
as well as when refilling workshops for research, development
and prototyping.
Driven by a goal to make the latest technologies completely
accessible to all skillsets, Distrelec actively demonstrates a
dedication to advocating for the latest and greatest in tech-
nological innovation. By empowering the next generation of
solution seekers, innovators and industry experts, these indi-
viduals, alongside Distrelec, can radically alter the future of
technology. .
191107-02
The Author
Driven by the opportunity to transform and develop
business operations, Steve Herd has been fundamental to
the delivery of Distrelec’s customer and product proposition
since 2015. With over 19 years’ experience in the
electronics industry, Steve is a results driven leader, and
has a sound understanding of how to best serve the needs
of engineers.
Production Methods and Components 41
Economically 3D-Printed
Cooling for Power Electronics
By Jonas Galle, Cofounder and CEO, ValCUN
Everywhere in our daily live we are confronted with
the need for smaller device with higher powers
and capabilities such as your smartphone, electric
transportation and elegant household devices. This
demand requests a lot of effort to improve the
system efficiency, heat extraction and improved
manufacturing methods…
Big opportunities for more efficient
cooling elements
Electricity is indispensable in today’s society. The demands and
requirements for the products design, performance and price
are increasing even more, not only due to customer desires
but also due to regulations and ecological restrictions.
Cooling elements for power electronics, lighting, etc. are tra-
ditionally extrusions or molded parts. In the earlier days and
for low power applications, these cooling elements were suffi-
cient enough. Modern power electronics have a higher power
density and heat dissipation which is a struggle for the con-
ventional cooling elements.
There is a need for more efficient heat exchangers that can
evacuate more heat in a smaller space. The efficiency of
42 Elektor Industry 3/2019
heat exchangers is in most cases limited due to the com-
plexity that can be handled by the manufacturing method.
Traditional extrusion, milling, molding, etc. can only produce
simple geometries and don’t allow internal cooling chan-
nels with a complex geometry and fins optimized for heat
extraction. These complex geometries can be produced by
metal 3D printing. The reason that metal 3D printing is not
widely adopted in serial production is because the current
state of the art is not yet cost effective compared to tradi-
tional production techniques.
ValCUN, Making metal 3D printing competitive
‘Economic and ecologic competitive metal 3D printing for serial
production’. This is the ambitious mission of ValCUN, a Bel-
gian technology startup established in 2016. Co-founders dr.
Jonas Galle and dr. Jan De Pauw are developing a disruptive
technique that is more affordable and faster compared to tra-
ditional metal 3D printing.
Current metal 3D printing technologies mainly use metal pow-
ders as a feedstock material and high power lasers to build
up the part. ValCUN isn’t using any of these as such making
it possible to reduce the operating and investment costs sig-
nificantly. Their adaptive resolution technology increases build
rates tenfold. The disruptive technology is baptized Molten
Metal Deposition (MMD) and is patent pending.
Design light fixture are ideal for metal 3D printing: low volumes, unique Power density keeps on increasing which puts strong demand on the
touch and efficient heat removal design and manufacturability of heat exchangers

ValCUN has defined several business cases in the electronics
industry, ranging from cooling elements in data centers over
light fixtures designs to high-end mechatronic devices. As an
example, Barco demands very accurate cooling of their projec-
tors since the thermal management severely affects the image
quality. This requires designs that are at the limiting edge of
current production capabilities. Metal 3D printing can enable
new and more efficient designs.
The endless range for applications
The type of applications is not limited to heat exchanger for
power electronics. According to Jonas there is an endless range
of application which can even be taken literally! Jan explains:
‘Since the molten material is controlled at all times, we are
not limited by gravity to print objects. This means that print-
ing in space belongs to one of the possibilities. We can even
go one step further: the technology does not rely on a certain
shape of feedstock material. This allows us to handle wire,
granulates, powder and even recycled, broken or previously
printed parts. This opens up an even broader range of appli-
cations and sectors.’
The definition of recycled metals can be broad, going from
giving metal components a second life in which cleaning and
sorting might be a challenge (secondary waste stream) to
perfectly defined waste streams in productions processes such
as punching, molding and (laser) cutting, with no required
treatment (primary waste streams). These are opportunities
for companies such as Google and Amazon with their gigantic
datacenters, that are aiming for 100% green label.
Additionally, they are building win-win relationships with sup-
pliers, research institutes and early adopters because according
to Jonas, ‘the only way to reach your targets fast is to attract
knowledge that you don’t have and to work in an environment
that makes sure that all parties gain from’.
ValCUN is raising funds to realize their first revenue, expected
for Q2 2021. Their first market target are cooling elements
for power electronics and lighting in which additive manufac-
turing - and in particular the ValCUN technology - can provide
added value.
191128-01
The Author
Jonas Galle, cofounder and CEO of ValCUN obtained a PhD
degree in electro-mechanical engineering in 2013 at Ghent
University, Belgium.
He worked as an applied physics engineer in a technical
innovation consultancy company where he obtained
knowledge and skill in a broad range of domains, ranging
from simulations, mechanics, electronics and embedded
software.

ValCUN in numbers
ValCUN was granted a feasibility study from ESA (2016) and the
Flemish government VLAIO (2017). They got a couple of LOIs,
of which one from the Belgian listed company Barco. Recently,
a VLAIO development project of about 1M€ was granted for
the development of their prototype. In august this year Jan
and Jonas said goodbye to the garage environment and are
now sharing an industrial building with two other companies.
The team has expanded to 3FTE’s and aims to double by the
end of 2020.

Production Methods and Components 43

Reviewed: Seek ShotPro and
Seek Compact
Thermal Imaging Cameras
By Harry Baggen

Infrared cameras are very convenient for tracking

insulation leaks in rooms, blockages in drains
and hotspots in electrical installations. But such
a camera can also offer the electronics engineer a
solution to tracking down heat problems in circuits. In
this article we compare two IR cameras from the American
manufacturer Seek, which have sensors with a much higher
resolution than those in other devices in the same price category.

We probably don’t need to explain to most electronics engi-
neers what such a thermal imaging camera does. In contrast
to a normal camera, this one is not sensitive to the visible light
spectrum but is only sensitive to infrared radiation. And this
radiation is a measure of the temperature of the objects that
are observed. These temperatures are usually represented on
the screen using different colours.
Large and small
Here we look at two products from Seek that are in very dif-
ferent price segments. On one side we have the semi-profes-
sional Seek ShotPro with a price tag of €850 and on the other
side there is the Seek Compact, a plug-in module for smart-
phones for some €300, which is available as an Android and
an iPhone version. Nevertheless, these two have one thing in
common: They provide a very detailed image that shows an
accurate distribution of the heat. To compare: an IR camera
in the price category up to €1000 has a sensor with at most
160×120 pixels, while the Seek ShotPro has 320×240 pixels.
Even the relatively cheap Seek Compact already has a sensor
with 206×156 pixels.
Seek ShotPro
The ShotPro is an standalone IR camera in the format of a
smartphone. The entire housing is covered with a tough rub-
ber covering and the thing looks like it could handle the odd
bump. On the front is the lens with a lens cover, on the other
side is a 3.5” touch screen. The camera can make a wireless
connection to a PC using WiFi.
When touching the image on the screen, a bar appears at the
top and bottom for the various settings. The top bar leads to
the preference settings including the choice of temperature
unit, setting the clock and the emissivity. The bottom bar gives
access to the image settings. Here different colour patterns
for the display of the image are available, which spot-tem-
peratures are shown in the image and there is access to the
stored screen shots.

44 Elektor Industry 3/2019

A very important little icon is the “eye”, that offers the option
of combining the thermal image with an image from the nor-
mal camera that is also built in. This results in a mixed image
where it is much easier to see what you are measuring. You can
adjust the amount that each image is displayed. There is also
the option of shifting the IR image with respect to the visible
one, so that they align with each other as accurately as poss-
ible. This feature can also be found on professional IR cameras.

Seek Compact
T
​ his is the smallest camera in the Seek family and it isn’t quite
4.5×2×2 cm in size; nevertheless, it contains a sensor with
206×156 pixels. The Seek Compact is implemented as a plug-in
module for a smartphone and exists in two versions: with a
micro-USB connector (Android phones) and with a Lightning
connector (iPhones/iPads). The little camera is supplied with The camera is supplied in a sturdy storage case.
a sturdy storage case so that you can carry it around safely.
After installing the accompanying app, the Seek Compact is
ready for use. The features of the app look very much like
those of the ShotPro. There is a range of colour palettes to
choose from, there are various options for displaying spot
temperatures in the image, of course there is also a screen-
shot function and there is a settings menu. Compared to the
ShotPro there is here no option for setting the emissivity, but
the average user will not likely miss that much.
Just as with the ShotPro, it is here also possible to combine the
thermal image with the image from the smartphone camera.
The result is however somewhat different, one part of the dis-
play will show the thermal image and the other part the image
from the normal camera. The images are therefore not projected Photo: Seek Thermal.
over each other, as is the case with the ShotPro. While there
are various settings for adjusting the size and position of the
Advertisement

images, I didn’t find the result quite as convincing because of

the differences in the view angles and positions of the cameras.

Side by side
I have tested these two cameras side by side and measured
many objects.
In practice, the Seek ShotPro turns out to be a very conve-
nient and robust device, with a very good image quality. The
resolution is excellent and especially with the overlaid visible/
IR image you will have a great deal of information. The battery
life, according to the manufacturer, is 4 hours. That is quite
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long. Of course, there is quite a substantial price tag attached

to this device but considering the quality and performance it
is certainly worth it.
With the Seek Compact the contours in the image are a not as
easy to see. I have experimented quite a bit with the different
palettes to get things to show up somewhat clearer. While the
resolution is visibly less than that of the ShotPro, this disad-
vantage can be mitigated by going closer. Also, the solution
of the double image is not as elegant, but that is just simply
the disadvantage of a plug-in module that does not have two
cameras on board itself. But with all this we must, however,
not forget that the price is considerably different at €300.
In any case, both solutions are eminently suited for measuring
the temperatures in electronic circuits, for example, but you November 12 – 15, 2019,
Messe München

can do much more than that. Walk around your lab or home hall A4, stand 241
and point the camera at all kinds of devices, windows and walls.
Learn more at:
You will be surprised with the things that you will “see”. weller-tools.com/nocompromise/
191131-01

Production Methods and Components 45

 Smart Garments
Improve People’s
Quality of Life

In 2018 Teiimo, a Munich based start-up, won

the prestigious Elektor “FastForward”-Award at
electronica 2018. The company’s products improve
people‘s quality of life. Teiimo designs conformable
textile-integrated solutions for capturing and
transmitting biometric data in real-time and via
Cloud. The novel technology is fully compatible with
standard textile manufacturing techniques. After a
start in sport, the company expanded in B2B market
segments during last year. Elektor Industry Magazine
spoke with CEO & Founder Markus Strecker about his
strategy and technology as well as opportunities.

EIM: Markus, please be so kind and introduce

your company.
MS: Teiimo improves the people’s quality of Life. We develop
conformable systems which can be integrated into textiles to
capture biometric data. We bridge the gap between research
and production. Our focus is on an active second skin that cap-
tures valuable biometric data. The wearer barely feels the dif-
ference between the new garment and his normal underwear.
The company was founded end of 2014 and we are today a
small but powerful team with a great track record. For ambiti-
ous sports athletes we developed the „iinMotion“ sports shirt.
The integrated system provides athletes important data, e.g.
heart rate, heart rate variability, speed as well as balance and
motion information and many more parameters. Based on the
data, athletes optimize their training program, align themsel-
ves for the competition schedule and take care of their body
to stay healthy and fit. During last year we strengthened our
technology and expanded into B2B market segments, focused
on Healthcare, Active Assisted Living (AAL) and Work Safety.
We have strong customers in these fields and thus set the
course for growth.

EIM: Before focusing on opportunities for the MS: Our conformable systems consists sensors, conductors and
Industry sector, please explain your technology in electronic units. Today we have a suite of technology blocks
greater detail and exactly what you are offering to that enable us to place sensor freely in a garment and even
customers? in a base layer. We can respond to diverse needs for electro-

46 Elektor Industry 3/2019

nic functionalities. Our sensors are smart and we aim for soft,
stretchable and washable implementations. Miniaturized high
density electronic nodes collect the signals, store the data and
calculate live information to provide information to the user
and feeds an associated secured cloud system that enhan-
ces the reach and the power of extracting information for the
user. We apply newest wireless technologies for data transfer
while complying with new data protection requirements. Teii-
mo’s current range of services includes the demand-oriented
development of subsystems and complete systems as well as
service components (including algorithms, sensors, transmis-
sion technology (with a range of several kilometres), cloud
infrastructure, automatic alert system, the production of these
systems (including prototypes, pre-production, field tests) and
the convenient integration (including electrodes and intercon-
nect technologies) in all types of textiles.
EIM: Could you give some examples? What kind of
products are we talking about?
MS: Our newest product is a biometric monitoring system,
which gathers data from patients or people with a medical
condition in daily life. New is not only the comfort for the user
and the ease of use — you simply wear a base layer, but also
the new sensing possibilities it opens. There are many specific
use cases in Healthcare industry. The hard of the system is a
washable shirt that is worn as underwear. The wearer will not
feel the functional sensors and electronics. He has the full free-
dom of movement. The functionality can go far, for example a
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12 Channel medical Electrocardiogram (ECG) can be recorded
and transmitted in real time. People know this kind of system
from the doctors’ lab where an ECG is recorded with glued
electrodes, long wires and a stationary electronics box. Many
other biometric parameters as for example breathing rate or
3-dimensional motion patterns can be captured. For medical
purpose measurements of inner Body temperature, Oxygen
Saturation (SPO2) and blood pressure can be added.
EIM: How would you be able to handle the specific
requirements of different industries using your
technology? Especially for the Healthcare, AAL and
Work Safety segments you entered last year.
MS: Teiimo has continuously developed and improved its tech-
nology. We have a powerful suite of technologies that allows
in many cases a fast proof of concept. We map the customer
requirements and elaborate on how the particular problem can
be addressed. The ability to develop adopted algorithms and
the use artificial intelligence enhances the view on the data.
There are main advantages for the customer: First, the system
is highly comfortable to wear, it can be integrated into stan-
dard textile products, and sensors can be positioned where
they need to be. The user does not “port” devices — he simply
wears a garment. Second, the system gathers high quality data
in a high resolution. The combination with a powerful cloud
system allows for very efficient data analytics while providing
the privacy and security of the data. And Third: We develop a
full solution for our customers or complement their expertise.
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Production Methods and Components 47
Some of the core technologies we have developed can be used
in other industry segments, as for example soft and stretchable
sensor components. Thus our system and sensors can also be
integrated into moving parts (e.g. into the gripper arms of a
robot).I will give you an example for use in the field of work
safety: we developed a biometric shirt for firefighters to get live
information about their biometric data during a firefight and
to record their position where they are in the field, for exam-
ple in a building. This can save lives, especially when it comes
to save important seconds in case of an emergency. Overall,
the main point for choosing Teiimo is that we can develop the
customized solution from the garment with integrated sensors
through the electronics, data storage, analysis to the informa-
tion display or reaction. This will be closely co-integrated with
the customer’s existing infrastructure or matched to his com-
Markus Strecker
Markus Strecker is the CEO and Founder of Teiimo GmbH
(headquartered in Germering near Munich, Germany) and
a renowned expert in the fields of wearable electronics and
smart textiles.
As an international executive he worked for big
corporations, as well as in start-up environments. Before
starting Teiimo Markus Strecker was Director for Electrical
Engineering at adidas where he lead the concept- and
electronics development of the miCoach Elite Team System
for professional soccer clubs. He also worked for Interactive
Wear AG, Infineon AG, Motorola GmbH and Autoliv France.
His expertise is in semiconductor technologies, automotive
electronics and sensors.
As one of the pioneers in the wearable technologies market,
ten years ago he developed “the Hub” the first mass
produced wearable electronics jacket for O’Neill. It was the
first communication and entertainment jacket worldwide.
48 Elektor Industry 3/2019
petence. One success story is a cooperation with a customer
that monitors accidents for people who work with electricity.
The system will be available on the market within next year.
EIM: Regarding the capturing and transmitting of
data, what about data quality and security?
MS: The captured data are stored inside of miniaturized Elect-
ronic Units and immediately encrypted. The embedded electro-
nics calculates relevant information that can be transferred in
real-time to the wearer or to relevant persons who require the
information. The cloud system can use Artificial Intelligence to
enhance the view on the data. For data security we use newest
wireless technologies for data transfer and fulfill data protection
requirements and privacy needs of the users with the secured
cloud system. Our current setup takes medical data security
rules into account. The quality of the acquired data is high as
we choose or develop the sensors to measure the data accor-
ding to the needs within the application and apply filters or
intelligence to clean and interpret the signals from the sensors.
EIM: In terms of opportunities, which types of
industries could you support with your technology in
the future?
MS: The opportunities we encounter with our technology suite
are numerous. We open customers new opportunities and make
new fields of applications possible. The technology is a game
changer and disrupts the “usual approaches” in so many ways
and different fields. We focus currently on healthcare and work
safety but have identified business opportunities in the medi-
cal, para-medical and manufacturing industries where our pro-
ven technology and know-how base adds enormous value.
The advances in Artificial Intelligence enable further functional
improvements and promises novel insights on daily challenges.
EIM: In 2018 you won the Elektor “FastForward”-
Award at the electronica trade show. How did you
benefit from the award and what next steps will
come?
MS: First of all, it was a great experience and it is a pleasure
to work with the Elektor team. The “FastForward”-Award is a
reward for all the energy the Teiimo team has put towards our
technology development and it feels good to get such a posi-
tive feedback. Through the award we got a better visibility in
several industries and made people aware of new possibilities
that are open with the new approach. The award together with
our focus on healthcare and work safety industry segments
lays the foundation for growth. We will expand the activities.
The order situation shows a positive trend and we start wor-
king with a first customer from the USA. Up to now we are
self-funded and therefore we will intensify our search for a
strong financial partner. We plan to grow our team in Munich
to fulfil our vision: „Improving people’s quality of life“.
191124-01
MicroTech Medical Expressing
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Medical devices call for extreme reliability and accuracy due to their special application requirement and
medical care has been one of PCBCart’s leading business scopes since its establishment in 2005.
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Medical that expresses great satisfaction towards the performance of assembled PCBs.

The assembled PCB in this project is

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wizard to initialize patch insulin pump,
display user’s data concerning blood glu-
cose, calculate bolus and basal incre-
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proper amount of insulin at right time.
To implement the above functions, dou-
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surface finish. To minimize product, this
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smallest package is 0201. Click here to
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Production Methods and Components 49

Fast-Forward
Startups
@ productronica 2019
The short and firm byline of this year’s productronica
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which Elektor is grateful to exploit for putting seven
fantastic start-ups in the spotlight. Give them a
warm welcome, critical feedback and a warm cheer
— they deserve it.

50 Elektor Industry 3/2019

 Arkite
The Human Interface Mate provides the employee with real­
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Production Methods and Components 51

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52 Elektor Industry 3/2019

Elektor / productronica Fast Forward Award 2019 Stage Programm.
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Production Methods and Components 53

The Origin of IoT OSes
Research and thoughts on the Internet of Things
Operating Systems
By Allan He, Embedded Systems Specialist

Most IoT OSes originate from embedded OSes, whose kernels most
likely come from RTOSes. Of course, there are IoT OSes that are
original, like Android Things, Microsoft Windows 10 IoT Core, and and Nuttx are among the newer open-
source embedded OSes; they both fall
others. Here we present a „A Brief History of RTOS“! into the category of RTOS.
It is worth noting that there are a few
good RTOSes in China as well; these
The history of RTOS dates back four companies that service and support include Mr. Puxiang Xiong’s RT-Thread
decades ago to 1970s in North Amer- them), ranked by their original release and SylixOS that is more recent and is
ica. At the peak, there were as many as time. Many of them have changed hands active in military projects.
a few hundred different RTOSes. Even before, for example, Wind River was
now there are dozens of RTOSes, with a acquired by Intel in 2009 [1]; however,
few in China. Wind River has kept all its products. The evolution of
There are also cases where a product embedded OSes
Figure 1 lists a dozen RTOSes that are is not available anymore, like VRTX and Embedded OSes (also called device
still active today (meaning there are pSoS (acquired by Wind River). Zephyr OSes) have gone through several stages

54 Elektor Industry 3/2019

RTOS Company / Author Website Status

VRTX Ready System/Microtec Acquired by Mentor Graphics

pSoS ISI Acquired by Wind River

OS-9 Microware http://www.microware.com/ Acquired by Metrowork

SMX Micro Digital http://www.smxrtos.com/

VxWorks Wind River https://www.windriver.com/products/vxworks/ Acquired by Intel39

LynxOS Lynx Software http://www.lynx.com/products/

real-time-operating-systems/lynxos-rtos/

QNX QNX https://blackberry.qnx.com/en Acquired by Blackberry

CMX CMX System http://www.cmx.com/rtos.htm

ThreadX Express Logic https://rtos.com/solutions/threadx/ Microsoft acquired Express

real-time-operating-system/ Logic in April 2019.

µC/OS Micrium https://www.micrium.com/ Acquired by Silicon Labs

Integrity Green Hills Software https://ghs.com/products/rtos/integrity.html

OSE Enea https://www.enea.com/products/

operating-systems/enea-ose/

Zephyr The Linux Foundation https://www.zephyrproject.org/

Nuttx Gregory Nutt (2007, BSD licensed) http://www.nuttx.org/ Used in drones

Figure 1: A list of active RTOSes.

Time Revolutionary Development Signature Product(s)

1980s Tools and RTOSes RTOS kernels

1990s IDE and OS platform RTOSes

2000s Open-source platform Linux

2010s Application solution Android

2020s Security and connectivity IoT OSes

ppeger

Figure 2: The evolution of embedded OSes.

Advertisement

Production Methods and Components 55

of evolutions since the 1980s; the indus-
try sees a stage of development roughly
each decade. Figure 2 shows the stages
of embedded OSes. In every stage, there
will be a few landmark OSes. The 1980s
saw RTOS kernels like µc/OS and FreeR-
TOS. In the 1990s, VxWorks, which inte-
grates an RTOS kernel with file system,
networking, shell, and IDE, was very
popular partly due to its ease of use.
In the 2000s, general-purpose OSes like
Linux entered the embedded system
area. Many of them are open-source, but
there are also proprietary OSes like Win-
dows (e.g. Windows 10 IoT Core). After
2010, Android became the representa-
tive of mobile OSes. The earliest design
of Android came from Andy Rubin, which
originated from the existing idea of using
Linux on mobile phones. There have been
many Linux phones before Android; they
ran on OSes made by MontaVista and
other companies. It wasn’t easy for these
companies to make Linux phones, and
the same held true for Android in its
early days. However, Android managed
to become the top mobile phone OS with
more than 80% market share.
The newest members in the evolution of
embedded OS are IoT OSes. By 2020,
we might be able to see a few popular
and widely-adopted IoT OSes.
Why do we need IoT OSes?
Both traditional embedded OSes and
general-purpose OSes cannot satisfy the
requirements of IoT due to its complex-
ity. End-to-end complete solutions will
be much better suited.
In 2016, WindRiver pointed out in a
keynote session that there are 8 major
requirements from IoT devices: a mod-
ulated and upgradeable architecture,
flexibility on device software of differ-
ent grades, device security and safety,
virtualization, performance and reliability,
connectivity, a feature-rich UI, and that
it should pass industrial certifications.
These requirements mean a new type
of OS, or a significantly modified current
OS, is needed by IoT.
Most of the current market offerings can
partially satisfy these 8 requirements.
While traditional embedded OSes cannot
provide modulated upgradeable architec-
tures, many OS products in China have
not passed internationally recognized
certifications and thus cannot be used
in many industrial setups. As for UI, only
56 Elektor Industry 3/2019
Figure 3: Top IoT Technologies as analyzed by Gartner. [2]
a small number of OSes offer a good one, mbed OS. In October 2014, a handful of
like RT-Thread. smaller companies also announced their
The concept of IoT OS first emerged in products, like Micrium’s Spectrum (based
2014. But it was not until 2016/2017 on µC/OS) and MxChip’s MiCO OS. There
when the concept started to receive wide are many other products that simply add
attention. According to the industry ana- some functional modules and cloud con-
lyst firm Gartner, the top 10 IoT tech- nectivity (e.g. AWS and Azure) to exist-
nologies for 2017-2018 include IoT OSes. ing RTOSes and present themselves as
This indicates that the industry does hold new IoT software solutions.
a consensus that IoT OSes need to be In 2015 Huawei released LiteOS but
worked on. with a limited initial splash. Brillo OS,
which Google announced in its 2015 I/O
event, was the major announcement of
The origin and development of the year. Brillo OS can be traced back to
IoT OS Nest that Google acquired shortly before
The concept of IoT OS started from two the announcement. Google has since
sensor network open-source OSes, Tin- renamed Brillo OS to Android Things.
yOS and Contiki; today’s IoT shares quite With these developments, the indus-
some similarities with a sensor network. try started to think IoT OS as the next
The Contiki project is still very active “thing” and many companies followed
today. Contiki’s author is Dr. Dam Dun- suit: Alibaba announced YunOS [3] (later
kels who used to work in the computer
science department of KTH Royal Insti-
tute of Technology in Sweden; he also
founded Thingsquare and is the author
and maintainer of the LWIP/uIP project.
Universities in Europe still offer classes
that use Contiki. TinyOS is a project of
the University of California Berkeley; it
is not being maintained anymore.
In 2010, RIOT, an OS that is designed for
IoT, emerged in Europe; unfortunately,
it has not impacted the market much.
In 2014, the area of IoT OS became much
more lively. Wired journal and IEEE’s
Spectrum both reported on IoT OSes in
this year. The question is, why was 2014
the year? The answer lies partly in the
fact that there were two major compa-
nies released their IoT offerings: Micro-
soft’s Windows 10 IoT Core and ARM’s Figure 4: Categorization of IoT OSes.
renamed to AliOS) for IoT at its cloud conference in October

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2017, the Linux Foundation released Zephyr in 2016, and Haier
showcased its UIhome OS-based refrigerator (which has a big 1.5+ million articles from
screen on it) with a big board saying “Your Home OS” at CES
2017 in the USA. 500+ renowned
manufacturers
Different types of IoT OSes
IoT OSes cover a wide area from network gateways, servers
to endpoints. Among the building blocks of IoT, embedded OS
claims several parts, open-source Linux covers connectivity
nodes, and the rest goes to Android and iOS (smartphones).
According to the 2018 IoT Developers Survey [4], Linux claimed
more than 71.8% of the market share; there were a few note-
worthy smaller OSes as well. We also have products that do
not use an OS at all. As most IoT devices will be running on an
MCU that cannot run a full-blown Linux OS, there can be three
times as many devices that run RTOSes compared to Linux.
In summary, the world of IoT has many different types of OSes.

What is an IoT OS?

It is hard to find a formal definition of IoT OS. In Elsevier press’s
call for paper for an IoT special issue of Next Generation Com-
puting System journal, it laid out key characteristics of an IoT
OS on protocol design, verification, modulation, power con-
sumption, scheduling (based on power consumption), hardware
support, architecture, networking, protocol stack, dependability,
interoperability, API, real-time characteristic, etc.

While Microsoft advertises its product as “The operating sys- Our services:
tem built for the Internet of Things” [5], Google describes the
mission of Android Things as “Build connected devices for a n 75,000+ articles in stock in Munich, Germany

wide variety of consumer, retail and industrial applications”
[6]. ARM, on the other hand, thinks an IoT OS should be open-
source and designed for embedded systems (“things”) — to
them, “things” typically have ARM Cortex-M inside.
An IoT OS generally should provide a real-time-enabled, low-
power and secure platform that offers sensing capacity, con-
nectivity, and cloud management ability. While the platform
is built on technologies
related to real-time computing, power management, and secu-
rity, it needs an end-to-end solution to connect the cloud to
a device.
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out than a mature business model.
There are two major types of IoT OSes. At one side we have
OSes that are designed for IoT and do not exist before, like YEARS
mbed OS, MiCO OS, and Android Things. Figure 4 shows the
categorization of IoT OSes; they can be divided according to
their support of MCU and MPU.
At the other side, we have Oses that are based on embedded
OSes; Linux and Android are the two biggest players in this
category. After modification and strengthening, FreeRTOS can
also be used in IoT applications; Amazon has recently released

Production Methods and Components 57

its own modified version of FreeRTOS.
Similarly, µC/OS and ThreadX can also be
used; Renesas ARM MCU platform Syn-
ergy is based on ThreadX. Some variants
of VxWorks, Nucleus and RT-Thread 3.0
are suitable as IoT OSes as well.
There are more than a dozen IoT OSes;
unfortunately, they are all at their initial
stages. ARM mbed OS has released 1.0,
2.0, 3.0, and 5.0 versions; however, the
OS is very much still in an exploration
phase with changes happening all the
time. If you browse the official Chinese
website of mbed, you can still find a note
mentioning that mbed OS is under active
development.
MxChip’s MiCO OS has changed its mar-
keting position. Now it is being adver-
tised as companion software of MiCO’s
WiFi modules. The reason is that, as the
SDK does not support smart hardware
other than MxChip’s own, it cannot be
called an IoT OS. It is a basic fact that
an OS should work with multiple hard-
ware platforms.
Microsoft’s Windows 10 IoT Core is mak-
ing its way to the cloud. After attend-
ing a few conferences, I personally feel
that Microsoft focuses more on the cloud
management, i.e. how can IoT devices be
managed from the cloud, rather than the
role/functionality of the OS itself.
AliOS has been seeking to make a for-
mal entrance into the IoT market; it has
formed partnerships with NXP and ST.
After 2015, MCU vendors have not inter-
acted much with IoT OSes. ST has not
said much on mbed support, but have
recently indicated that it wants to partner
with AliOS. Huawei LiteOS has organized
hackathons, but it currently has a small
user/partner base and only one simple
strategy to develop on NB-IoT.
We seldom hear companies in China or
abroad advertising their partnerships
with IoT OSes (we are referring to native
new IoT OSes like mbed, rather than
embedded OSes that have already accu-
mulated users, e.g. RT-Thread). Tradi-
tional RTOSes and Linux are still main-
stream among IoT devices. Admittedly,
getting accepted by users is a lengthy
process. Once we went through the
process, we would have a positive feed-
back loop around these new OSes that
advance them further.
Conclusions
58 Elektor Industry 3/2019
First, any OS, including an IoT OS, needs
a long time to popularize and adapt
to the market. While users would not
make up their minds in a short period
of time, they are also unlikely to switch
once decided. In other words, the loy-
alty of the user base is often quite high
when it comes to OSes. In fact, it is more
possible and easier for a user to switch
between different chips.
Second, the characteristics and appear-
ances of IoT OSes are not that clear.
There is a trend where many compa-
nies want to go large on their products.
For smaller competitors, this means they
should rank feature works from small
to big, and from simple to complicated;
attempting to accomplish everything
in one go would not be a wise choice.
For example, according to RT-Thread’s
founder Puxiang Xiong, they have not yet
to work on security features. As security
is a completely different area, it would
be smart to accumulate more technical
expertise before attempting. Before that
happens, external security technologies
and products can be used.
Third, resources should be dedicated to
security researches on IoT OSes. Security
is an essential part of IoT; a product with
security solutions can be more attractive
to the users. For instance, FreeRTOS has
security features built in; they certainly
have added more value to the OS.
Fourth, higher education institutions
should invest more in IoT OS research
and education. In 2017 I introduced
IoT OSes in a few IoT education confer-
ences, but with limited impact. We are
now in a period where it is ideal to inno-
vate on the existing traditional embed-
ded system OS courses. Some schools
have already started to consider RTOS
classes. Institutions and companies that
work closely with them (higher education
projects) should actively seek to intro-
duce IoT OSes to their curriculums; this
is necessary to improve the influence of
these OSes.
Last but not least, there are two points
which companies should consider to
advance the usage of IoT OSes:
1. they should carefully draw a bound-
ary for IoT OSes; obviously, IoT OSes
cannot be used anywhere.
2. p ersistence is the key to success.
There are many companies that have
previously been active in open-source
or ecosystem, and then quit because
they are unsatisfied about the slow
return of investment; in many cases,
they simply go back to please their
major customers.
As applications of IoT grow and mature,
IoT OSes are starting to make an entry
into the industry. However, patience
is needed to see them become more
mature.
191125-01
Editor’s Note: This article is an extract
from the book Embedded Operating Sys-
tems, available shortly from the Elektor
Store, www.elektor.com.
Notes
[1] Wind River was bought by TPG from
Intel in 2018.
[2] Summarized on Argus Technologies
blog, http://www.tekargus.com/
blog/top-10-internet-of-things-
technologies-2017-and-2018/.
[3] YunOS is not specifically designed
for IoT. It was initially released for
smartphone, and later it started to
target automobile.
[4] Eclipse Foundation, Inc. 2018 IoT
Developer Survey. April 2018.
Available on https://iot.eclipse.org/
resources/iot-developer-survey/iot-
developer-survey-2018.pdf.
[5] According to the page summary on
https://developer.microsoft.com/
en-us/windows/iot.
[6] While Google no longer write this on
its website, it is quoted on https://
medium.com/@iskerrett/microsoft-
and-googles-iot-strategy-tale-of-
two-conferences-3d1b9d28ebe5.
 PeakTech presents its new oscilloscope
series for mobile use
Mains-independent oscilloscope operation offers many opportunities for day-to-day use in the field
and also enables exceptional applications with practical added value.
For more than 60 years, the PeakTech
Company from Germany has been
offering a wide range of products in
the field of measuring technology and
laboratory equipment. Oscilloscopes
for service and industry have always
taken a special position here, since the
devices have to convince by a high
level of user-friendliness, as well as by
a variety of functions and fair pricing.
With this new PeakTech oscilloscope
series, all requirements in the mid-me-
gahertz range are met for a mobile
electronics workstation. The optional
rechargeable battery supplies the devi-
ces with power for hours in continu-
ous use, whereby charging takes place
in the installed state at each availa-
ble mains socket. Due to the battery
operation, the oscilloscope can also be
operated isolated, thus without refe-
rence to the earth potential and ideally
used for the search of network distur-
bances or if special demands are placed
on work safety.
Depending on the model, the oscillo-
scope has a modern touchscreen dis-
interesting in connection with the deco-
der features for CAN-BUS, RS-232, I2C
and other systems.
In addition to all these convincing
features, this series also has all the
important functions that can already
be considered a prerequisite today.
A fast FFT function as well as the XY
mode belongs to the standard reper-
toire of good digital storage oscillo-
scopes. Numerous measurement func-
tions, zoom options and other tools
must not be missed and complete the
positive overall package.
play, which can be used in addition to or
as an alternative to the usual key ope-
ration, which saves the user some time
searching for menu items and considera-
bly facilitates the operation of the exten-
sive functions.
As a special bonus, there are the models
of this series with integrated arbitrary
waveform generator, which runs on inde-
pendent BNC outputs and thus can be
used completely autonomously or in com-
bination with the oscilloscope functions
e.g. for component testing or the testing
of electronic equipment. Many models
in this series also include an integrated
digital multimeter for fast and easy mea- Here the user will find an inexpensive
surements of voltages, resistances, capa- series of professional oscilloscopes,
citances and much more. which impresses above all by their
Of course, this series can also convince variety of functions and mobile use.
by their technical data. Whether 2-chan- 191106-01
nel or 4-channel models, 60 MHz to 300
MHz bandwidth, 8-bit or 12-bit A/D con- www.peaktech.de
verter, there remains hardly a wish unful-
filled in this low price range series up to
2000€. All models have 40 million points
record length and thus can handle large
measurement data, which is particularly
Production Methods and Components 59
Energy Efficient
Thermal Test Systems

Konrad Technologies (KT) announces Advanced

Thermal Test Systems that take economic efficiency
to the next level. The systems allow for temperature
control of all types of units (PCB to devices),
in production and development.

Thermal energy is brought directly to the Device Under Test

(DUT) through KT’s patented process that quickly tempers the
DUT without affecting the environment.

As a result, energy costs are drastically reduced and overall

system performance increased.
In the same chamber, temperatures from -100°C to +225°C
can be controlled and directed to the DUT. The type of tempe-
rature control is freely selectable and allows maximum degrees
of freedom with no defrosting/icing requirements. Temperature
control can be carried out with air systems, media systems or
electrical sources and continuously monitored via temperature
sensors. The chamber wall has a maximum thickness of 5 cm; if
the temperature inside the chamber is -40°C, the temperature
on the outside wall will not fall below +23.5°C. Furthermore,
for a short temperature change processes, a wall thickness of
maximum 25 mm is sufficient. Due to this property, additio-
nal space is saved.
The technology ranges from transport system product carriers
for thermal applications to In-Circuit Test (ICT) adapters in
production test.
The technology extends to test applications in automotive sensor
test. The system enables the test of radar sensor functionality
while varying the ambient temperature of the device from -40°C
to +85°C. The material used for thermal isolation is transpa-
rent to the radar signal and thus minimizes the interference
common in other test setups. In addition, the combination of
lightweight construction/carbon on moving arms achieves high
test speeds with a small footprint.
Jochen Frech, Business Development Manager, Temperature
Test of Konrad Technologies, said:
“Konrad Technologies is a global market leader in customer-spe-
cific test solutions and will continue investing in new technolo-
gies to provide customers with the best test systems for Highly
Accelerated Life & Stress Test and testing under temperature.”
Konrad Technologies is presenting the system at the produc-
tronica in Munich, Germany from November 12-15th. The sys-
tem is up for a productronica Innovation Award in the Future
Markets sector.
Konrad Technologies is the provider of value added, platform
based automated test solutions used to solve the world´s most
complex engineering challenges.
About Konrad Technologies Worldwide
Since 1993, Konrad Technologies has successfully designed,
developed and integrated customer-specific test solutions
worldwide. Konrad Technologies has engineering experience-
throughout a wide range of industries, including automotive,
aerospace and defense, consumer electronics, medical elec-
tronicsandindustrial manufacturing.

60 Elektor Industry 3/2019

Konrad Technologies is a founding member of ADAS iiT - Inno-
vation in Test, a consortium that provides a complete ecosys-
tem of technologies and test solutions for Advanced Driver
Assistance Systems and autonomous vehicles.
Konrad Technologies is a National Instruments Platinum Alliance
Partner, RF & Wireless Specialty Alliance Partner and Vehicle
Radar Test System Specialty Alliance Partner.

Konrad-Technologies, KT and Konrad GmbH are all represen-

tative of Konrad Technologies worldwide. Other products and
company names listed are trademarks of their respective com-
panies. For more information about Konrad Technologies Solu-
tions and upcoming events, please visit www.konrad-techno-

Enable Smart Desktop

logies.com.

Applications With the

TMC2209
The TMC2209 is the ultimate stepper driver for
desktop solutions, allowing stall detection and
extremely silent operation at the same time.
Pin-compatible with a number of legacy drivers,
it supports higher current while reducing cooling
requirements.

The TMC2209 stepper driver IC is a motor driver for 2-phase

stepper motors up to 2A RMS and 29V. By enabling the
use of StallGuard4™ and StealthChop2™ in parallel, the
chip ensures noiseless operation without the need for limit
switches.
When implemented in an application, these features allow
for the intertwining of physical and software components.
Besides offering a solid hardware base needed for softwa-
Address:
Hauptsitz re-defined machines, it also permits next-level integration
of user and device by recognizing hard stops automatically
Konrad GmbH
and being as silent as mechanically possible, while opti-
Fritz-Reichle-Ring 12
mizing motor performance.
78315 Radolfzell
“Since the widespread adoption of the TMC2208 in 3D
Deutschland
printers, we’ve received lots of useful feedback from the
community,” says Michael Randt, Trinamic’s Founder and
CEO. “This resulted in the TMC2209, pushing the envelope
on 3D printers while enabling new use cases for other soft-
191101-02 ware-defined, smart desktop applications as well, driving
the 4th Industrial Revolution further.”
wwww.konrad-technologies.de The TMC2209 pin compatibility makes it the perfect can-
didate for existing design upgrades and bringing improved
applications to the market. With the new feature set, the
chip is ideal for POS devices, 3D printers and conventio-
nal printers, office and home automation, textile, security
cameras and ATM machines, as well as battery operated
equipment.

191102-02

Production Methods and Components 61

 WAL
NOVEMBER

Elektor International Media is proud to present its 2019 Wall of Fame! We partner with top electronics
companies – from global parts suppliers to device manufacturers – to promote exciting products and services
that power high-tech innovation. The companies listed on this month‘s Wall of Fame offer electrical engineers,
makers, and students a wide range of indispensable tools and solutions for developing next-generation
electronics projects and products. ​

www.arrow.com www.honeywell.com www.pcbcart.com www.kurtzersa.com

www.trinamic.com www.ems-proto.com www.microchip.com www.keysight.com

www.labcenter.com www.eurocircuits.com www.baslerweb.com www.mouser.com

www.buerklin.com www.hammondmfg.com www.picotech.com www.konrad-technologies.com

www.weller-tools.com www.bernstein-werkzeuge.de/en/ www.ebv.com www.comsol.com

62 Elektor Industry 3/2019

LL OF FAME
2019

www.multi-circuit-boards.eu www.infratec.eu www.rohde-schwarz.com www.congatec.com

www.almit.de www.controllino.biz www.microchip.com www.infineon.com

www.peak-system.com www.reichelt.com www.tme.eu www.distrelec.com

www.konrad-technologies.com www.hammondmfg.com www.we-online.com www.schurter.com

Your logo could

be here.
Please call
+49 (0)241 955 09 186
www.rohm.com www.rs-online.com www.peaktech.de/

Production Methods and Components 63

 welcome in your
ONLINE STORE Elektor Bestsellers
1. Raspberry Pi 4 B
www.elektor.com/rpi4
EDITOR’S CHOICE

OWON XDS3064E 4-channel Oscilloscope (60 MHz)

The oscilloscope is responsive, is easy to use and doesn‘t really
drop the ball anywhere. Some operating procedures require a
bit of getting used to, but that is true for any new oscilloscope
that you start to work with. The feature set is very extensive
2. Camera Projects Book
and the touch screen is a nice (and sometimes handy) bonus.
www.elektor.com/18943
And did I mention that the built-in fan is barely audible?
3. JoyPi
www.elektor.com/18770
For an amount well under
400 euros / pounds with the 4. RTL-SDR
XDS3064E you will have a www.elektor.com/18949
robust and versatile 4-channel 5. PCBite Kit
scope, where perhaps the only www.elektor.com/18818
shortcoming is the somewhat
6. Elektor SDR Shield 2.0
limited bandwidth of 60 MHz.
www.elektor.com/18515

Harry Baggen 7. Fan SHIM

www.elektor.com/19039
(Elektor Labs)
8. iFixit Manta Precision Bit Set
www.elektor.com/19049
www.elektor.com/18775

The μArt Kit KiCad Like a Pro SDR Hands-on Book

μArt is an isolated USB to UART-TTL adapter which you can
use any time you want to connect a UART to your computer’s
USB port, regardless of voltage levels, electric potentials,
and communication speed, and whether it is used for data
exchange or for programming Arduinos, ESPs, or other
devices.
This book will teach you to use KiCad. Whether you are a hobbyist
or an electronics engineer, this book will help you become
productive quickly, and start designing your own boards. This
book takes a practical approach to learning. It consists of four
projects of incremental difficulty and recipes.
Elektor’s SDR-Shield (SKU 18515) is a versatile shortwave
receiver up to 30 MHz. Using an Arduino and the appropriate
software, radio stations, morse signals, SSB stations, and
digital signals can be received. In this book, successful author
and enthusiastic radio amateur, Burkhard Kainka describes the
modern practice of software defined radio using the Elektor
SDR Shield. He not only imparts a theoretical background but
also explains numerous open source software tools.

Member Price: £56.95 • €70.95 • $71.95 Member Price: £31.95 • €35.96 • $38.95 Member Price: £23.95 • €26.96 • $28.95

www.elektor.com/19029 www.elektor.com/18822 www.elektor.com/18914

64 Elektor Industry 3/2019

 2erw 20foPr free admission
Youe-code voucher
-world.de /
embedded

Nuremberg, Germany
25 – 27.2.2020

DISCOVER INNOVATIONS
Over 1,000 companies and more than 30,000 visitors from 84
countries – this is where the embedded community comes together.
Don’t miss out! Get your free ticket today!

Your e-code for free admission: 2ew20P

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Media partners Exhibition organizer

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T +49 9 11 86 06-49 12
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T +49 89 2 55 56-13 49
info@embedded-world.eu

ew20_184x254_EN_elektorindustry_BES.indd 1 27.09.19 08:54

 Our Contributors
Mouser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Are We Really Equipped for Industry 4.0? | Mark Patrick
Honeywell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lowering the Costs of Applying Pressure Sensors by Mitigating the Risks
Advertisers
Mouser ............................................................... 1, 2
Würth .................................................................... 3
Trinamic .............................................................. 13
Almit .................................................................... 17
Kurtz Ersa ............................................................ 27

Meilhaus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Konrad Technologies ............................................. 39

With the ME series Meilhaus Electronic GmbH offers an extensive range of
Weller .................................................................. 45
PC measurement boards for the PCI-/PCI-Express bus
PCB Cart .............................................................. 47
Fraunhofer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lighthouse project „Go Beyond 4.0“ | Mehmet Toprak BERNSTEIN ........................................................... 53
Controllino ........................................................... 55
Rohde & Schwarz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bürklin ................................................................. 57
Rohde & Schwarz verdoppelt maximale Bandbreite der R&S RTP
High-Performance-Oszilloskope auf 16 GHz | Christian Mokry Embedded World .................................................. 67
Distrelec ............................................................... 68
ROHM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
How to Simplify Power Supplies and Save Cost with SiC | Aly Mashaly

Arkite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Durchbruch für Arkite

Melexis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sensing for safety brings comfort and convenience | Gualtiero Bagnuoli

Controllino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Why Open Source PLCs Are Here To Stay

InfraTec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Apply a New Level of Flexibility to Analyze Thermal Effects

Distrelec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Powering the future | Steve Herd

Valcun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Economically 3D-Printed Cooling for Power Electronics | Jonas Galle

Infografiken . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Infographics | Robert van der Zwan

Elektor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Interview with Barbara Müller, Messe München | C.J. Abate
Next Edition
Elektor Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
OWON XDS3064E 4-channel Oscilloscope with Touch Screen | Harry Baggen
The issue will be available to ElektorLabs magazine
Gold members in print, and ElektorLabs magazine
Elektor Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Seek ShotPro and Seek Compact Thermal Imaging Cameras | Harry Baggen Green members as a PDF download, as well as for
purchase by anyone, at www.elektormagazine.com.
Publication date: 20 February 2020.
Elektor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Interview with Markus Strecker, Teiimo

Elektor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Origin of IoT OSes | Allan He

66 Elektor Industry 3/2019

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