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Rugged photoelectric sensors see up to 4 meters

Automation-Direct has added AchieVe FDM series 12-mm tubular photoelectric sensors that offer a rugged metal construction, high IP67 protection ratings, and sensing distances up to 4 m. These sensors feature selectable light-on/dark-on operation, a 10- to 30-VDC operating voltage range, potentiometer or teach-in button sensitivity adjustment, and a fast 1-kHz switching frequency. Highly visible red LED models are offered with the polarized reflective sensing style, while infrared models are available in diffuse and through-beam styles. Lots of applications. Three-year warranty.
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Engineer's Toolbox: Critical inspection of airplane parts with a SVS-Vistek 10GigE camera

Manufacturers of aviation engine components are being impacted by Industry 4.0's emphasis on quality control, which is challenging them to rethink outdated processes and to embrace new technologies. A new system developed by researchers in Italy uses a Kuka robot, a SVS-Vistek 61-megapixel 10GigE camera, and AI to detect defects in honeycomb aerospace parts faster and with more accuracy.
Read the full article.

What's new in MATLAB and Simulink?

Release 2024b from MathWorks offers hundreds of new and updated features and functions in MATLAB and Simulink including several major updates -- including 5G Toolbox, Simulink Control Design, System Composer, and more -- that streamline the workflows of engineers and researchers working on wireless communications systems, control systems, and digital signal processing applications.
View the video.

COTS-based space-ready orbital systems

Aitech Systems' solutions can meet the growing demands for shorter development times and lower costs among satellite buses, subsystems, and payloads. Using a Space Digital Backbone (DBB) approach, which provides a flexible, scalable communication pathway for the increasing number of Internet of Things technologies being implemented into space missions, the company provides a selection of space-rated subsystems for common space platforms including: Earth observation, communications, power control, navigation, and robotics.
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Circuit breakers have magnetic module option

SCHURTER has upgraded its 2-pole classic TA35 and TA36 thermal circuit breaker models with an additional, optional magnetic module. From now on, no additional fuse is required when using a thermal-magnetic type. Depending on the application, the magnetic modules are available either with a slow- or a fast-acting characteristic. Both models are designed for snap-in mounting and with finely graduated rated currents. A variety of colors and lighting options make the designer's choice easier.
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All about magnetic rotary encoder

The precision and reliability offered by modern rotary encoders are essential in many product categories. These include robotics, machine tools, printing presses, motion control systems, medical equipment, aerospace, gaming and entertainment, and automotive. Learn all about magnetic rotary encoders -- and important developments in the technology's future.
Read the full Avnet article.

High-res image sensor for automotive ADAS and AD

OMNIVISION has expanded its TheiaCel™ product portfolio with a new OX12A10 12-MP high-res image sensor for automotive cameras. This sensor, with the highest resolution in its line, improves automotive safety by eliminating LED flicker regardless of lighting conditions. It is ideal for high-performance front machine vision cameras for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving (AD).
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Durable, full redundant angle sensors for automotive and off-highway

Novotechnik's new RSK-3200 Series angle sensors are designed for harsh automotive and off-highway applications. Measurement range is 0 to 360 degrees, and the temperature range is -40 to 125 C. This unit's built-in coupling accepts D-Shaft, with shaft customization available. The sensors are sealed to IP 67 or IP 69k depending on version. RSK-3200 Series sensors are extremely durable with MTTF of 285 years for each of the two channels! Applications include throttle control and EGR valves, transmission gear position, and accelerator position. Very competitive pricing.
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Great design: Handle with integrated lighting/signaling

Signaling and indicator lights, switches, and buttons -- elements that hardly any machine can do without. The new JW Winco cabinet U-handle EN 6284 integrates all these functions into a single, compact element. The new U-handle is designed to enhance the operation of systems and machines. It features an integrated button and a large, colored, backlit area on the handle. These elements can be used individually or in combination, providing a versatile tool for system control and process monitoring that can be seen from across the room.
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World's most popular 3D multisensor metrology systems get next-gen addition

Offered in two benchtop and two floor-model options to handle nearly any size part, the SmartScope M-Series systems from Optical Gaging Products usher in the next generation of enhancements in image accuracy, optics, and throughput to the world's most popular 3D multisensor video measurement platform. SmartScope M-Series features fixed optics with a 20-megapixel camera and proprietary Virtual Zoom, combined with advanced sensors, illumination, and accessories, to achieve class-leading optical measurement speeds. Lots more features.
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SOLIDWORKS Tips: 3 easy ways to focus on your model

SOLIDWORKS Elite Applications Engineer Alin Vargatu demonstrates his top tips for focusing on your model: finding planes the easy way inside your assembly with the Q key, breadcrumbs, and a better way to use the component preview window. Very helpful. Lots more tips on the SOLIDWORKS YouTube channel.
View the video.

Push-pull transformer drivers for automotive power supplies

Nexperia's AEC-Q100 qualified, push-pull transformer drivers (NXF6501-Q100, NXF6505A-Q100, and NXF6505B-Q100) enable the design of small, low-noise, and low-EMI isolated power supplies for a range of automotive applications such as traction inverters and motor control, DC-DC converters, battery management systems, and on-board chargers in EVs. Also suitable for industrial applications such as telecommunications, medical, instrumentation, and automation equipment.
Learn more.

Mini linear position sensor for drones, robots, aero, more

H. G. Schaevitz LLC, Alliance Sensors Group is now offering a miniature, lightweight LZ SERIES linear position sensor product line utilizing LVIT Technology™. These sensors are designed for tight spaces that require excellent stroke-to-length ratio. They are contactless devices for use by drones, OEMs, aerospace, robotics, factory automation, or assembly machinery applications where precision in position sensing is crucial.
Learn all the specs.

What is a Heatric Printed Circuit Heat Exchanger?

According to Parker Hannifin, "A Printed Circuit Heat Exchanger is a robust, corrosion-resistant, high-integrity plate-type heat exchanger manufactured using diffusion bonding." Learn about the technology and why Heatric, a Parker brand, "can manufacture a unit up to 85% smaller and lighter than traditional technologies such as shell and tube heat exchangers."
Read this informative Parker blog.

Tech Tip: Mastering sheet metal bend calculations in Onshape

Mastering bend calculations in sheet metal design is a key skill that can impact the accuracy and manufactur-ability of your designs significantly. Explore the various options available to become a pro in this Onshape Tech Tip: K Factor, bend allowance, and bend deduction, with guidance on when each should be used. You may learn something even if you don't use this software.
Read the Onshape blog.

U.S. national lab computer verified as world's fastest supercomputer

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), in collaboration with the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), and AMD, have officially unveiled El Capitan as the world's most powerful supercomputer and first exascale system dedicated to national security.

Verified at 1.742 exaFLOPs (1.742 quintillion calculations per second) on the High Performance Linpack -- the standard benchmark used by the Top500 organization to evaluate supercomputing performance -- El Capitan is the fastest computing system ever benchmarked. The system has a total peak performance of 2.79 exaFLOPs. The Top500 list was released at the 2024 Supercomputing Conference (SC24) in Atlanta.

With a peak performance of 2.79 exaFLOPS, El Capitan comprises more than 11,000 compute nodes and provides Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory with a flagship machine 22 times more powerful than its previous fastest supercomputer, Sierra. [Credit: Photo by Garry McLeod/LLNL]

 

 

 

 

As NNSA's first exascale supercomputer, El Capitan is a premier resource for the NNSA Tri-Labs -- LLNL, and Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories -- to advance nuclear weapon science and scientific discovery, providing the vast computational power necessary to ensure the safety, security, and reliability of the nation's nuclear deterrent without nuclear testing. This state-of-the-art system marks a monumental leap forward in HPC, enabling unprecedented modeling and simulation capability essential for NNSA's Stockpile Stewardship Program that certifies the U.S. nuclear stockpile, and other critical nuclear security missions such as nonproliferation and counterterrorism.

"El Capitan's introduction continues the capability advancement needed to sustain our stockpile without returning to explosive nuclear testing. This computational capability, backed by decades of data, expertise, and code development is the heart of science-based stockpile stewardship," said Jill Hruby, Department of Energy (DOE) under secretary for nuclear security and NNSA administrator. "We will continue to invest in the technological and scientific infrastructure necessary to underpin the nuclear security enterprise."

NNSA Tri-Lab scientists will utilize El Capitan's speed and unparalleled capabilities to further advance NNSA's core mission of maintaining an aging stockpile while simultaneously pursuing weapon modernization such as the W87-1 and W93 warheads currently under development. El Capitan will realize a multi-decade goal to model weapon performance and safety in high-fidelity resolution with quantified uncertainties using codes that have been developed and tuned for exascale over the past decade. It also will be used to model advanced high-energy-density physics experiments, such as inertial confinement fusion, the complex dynamics of ballistic reentry, and detailed understanding of material behavior under extreme conditions.

El Capitan also will support novel new AI-based workflows to address emerging challenges in the NNSA mission, including material discovery, design optimization, advanced manufacturing, digital twins, and intelligent AI assistants trained on classified data. Advances in these national security capabilities will impact the broader mission of the DOE and the scientific community at large, including clean energy, climate science, seismic modeling, and building a more efficient and agile enterprise based on advanced computing.

With more than 11,000 compute nodes and 5.4375 petabytes of total memory, El Capitan represents a more than 20-fold peak increase in computing performance over LLNL's previous most powerful system, Sierra, which has a peak performance of 125 petaFLOPs (PF). Complex, high-resolution 3D simulations that would take weeks or months on Sierra will be done in just hours or days on El Capitan, leading to previously unimaginable insights, according to LLNL experts.

Designed to optimize the convergence of AI and high-performance computing, the MI300AInstinct APUs deliver unmatched computational performance, energy efficiency, and reliability, and are well-suited for work in support of AI-driven workloads that will impact national nuclear security, as well as efforts in fusion energy, climate research, and drug discovery. [Credit: Photo by Garry McLeod/LLNL]

 

 

 

 

Built on the HPE Cray Supercomputing EX system specifically designed for exascale computing, El Capitan is a product of numerous cutting-edge innovations in HPC. It features HPE's direct liquid-cool leadership-class solutions, including the HPE Slingshot interconnect, alongside custom-built, ultra-fast, near-node local storage tiered to a global Lustre file system that's shared between all the compute nodes. It capitalizes on an end-to-end approach encompassing everything from system architecture and data storage to networking and software. El Capitan is powered by the AMD Instinct MI300A Accelerated Processing Units (APUs), which combine CPU cores, graphics processing unit (GPU) cores and high-bandwidth memory into a single shared package.

El Capitan marks the third exascale machine HPE has deployed for the Department of Energy, extending a longstanding supercomputing legacy.

Learn more about El Capitan at llnl.gov/news/highlights/el-capitan-high-performance-computing.

Source: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Published December 2024

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