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Isolated probing tech for fast-switching power device testing

Keysight Technologies has developed an optically isolated differential probing family dedicated to enhancing efficiency and performance testing of fast-switching devices such as wide-bandgap GaN and SiC semiconductors. Validation of floating half-bridge and full-bridge architectures commonly used in power conversion, motor drives, and inverters requires measurement of small differential signals riding on high common-mode voltages. This measurement can be challenging due to voltage source fluctuations relative to ground, noise interference, and safety concerns.
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Protect sensitive electronics in explosive environments with new aluminum ATEX Cabinet Cooler Systems

EXAIR's ATEX Cabinet Cooler^® Systems deliver a powerful and affordable solution for keeping electrical enclosures cool in hazardous ATEX classified areas -- and they're now available in durable aluminum construction. Engineered for use in Zones 2 and 22, these coolers are UL tested, CE compliant, and meet stringent ATEX standards for purged and pressurized enclosures. With cooling capacities up to 5,600 Btu/Hr., ATEX Cabinet Coolers are ideal for preventing overheating in electrical cabinets. EXAIR offers a comprehensive lineup of systems.
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PLC handbook chock full of must-know information

Automation-Direct's Practical Guide to Program-mable Logic Controllers Handbook has been improved with tons of new need-to-know info, making it a more comprehensive guide to the world of PLCs. Besides covering the basics of PLC history, PLC hardware, and PLC software, this guide takes you deeper into the ever-changing world of PLC communication, the importance of feedback loops, cyber security, and many other areas that are a must-know for any PLC novice or seasoned automation professional.
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Haptic feedback prototyping kit from TDK

Get your customers to feel the difference your products make. TDK has released a development starter kit for fast haptics prototyping. It gives mechanical designers and engineers first impressions of the haptic feedback using PowerHap piezo actuators, shows how the mechanical integration works, and provides a reference design. Applications include automotive, displays and tablets, household appliances, vending machines, game controllers, industrial equipment, and medical devices.
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Mini ESD preset torque screwdriver

Need precision fastening with ESD protection at the smallest torque levels? Mountz has you covered. The new FG Mini ESD Preset Torque Screwdriver is built for low-torque, high-precision tasks. Its compact design makes it ideal for tight spaces and small fasteners, while delivering the same reliable control and ESD protection users have come to expect from Mountz. Two models available: FG25z (3 to 25 ozf.in, 2 to 17.7 cN-m) and FG50z (20 to 50 ozf.in, 14.1 to 35.3 cN-m).
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Laumas load cells and electronics from AutomationDirect

Automation-Direct has added Laumas precision-engineered load cells, transmitters, and accessories that deliver reliable performance in industrial weighing and force measurement applications. The FCAL series high-precision bending beam load cells are ideal for low- to mid-capacity systems. CTL series load cells are designed for both tension and compression, with excellent linearity. The CBL series low-profile compression load cells are perfect for space-limited applications. Laumas load cell transmitters are available too for precise monitoring and control. Very good pricing.
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Engineer's Toolbox: What is ground loop feedback?

Improper grounding can create problems in data logging, data acquisition, and measurement and control systems. One of the most common problems is known as ground loop feedback. Experts at CAS DataLoggers run through five ways to eliminate this problem.
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What is a braking resistor?

According to Automation-Direct, "Braking resistors don't actually provide braking directly -- rather, they allow a drive to stop a loaded motor faster." Why is this important? Protect your AC or DC drive system from regenerative voltage that can create an over-voltage fault on the drive -- especially with high inertial loads or rapid deceleration.
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New Digital Static Meter: Precise measurement, easy use

Static electricity isn't just a nuisance; it's a serious threat to manufacturing efficiency, product integrity, and workplace safety. Unchecked static can lead to costly downtime, product defects, material jams, and even hazardous shocks to employees. If static is interfering with your processes, EXAIR's upgraded Model 7905 Digital Static Meter offers an essential first step in identifying and eliminating the problem. With just the press of a button, this easy-to-use, handheld device pinpoints the highest voltage areas in your facility, helping you diagnose static issues before they become a problem.
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New laser cutting modulating strategy tested with Mikrotron high-speed camera

Modulating a laser beam's intensity distribution optimizes energy delivery to the process zone, resulting in better cutting speed, cut edge quality, and cut kerf geometry. Scientists in Belgium have come up with a new method that they say produces better cutting results.
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All-in-one embedded PLC based on Raspberry Pi 4 -- build control applications

The new PLC CPI-PS10CM4 from Contec Co. is a compact embedded programmable logic controller (PLC) that is loaded with CODESYS, the world's most widely used software PLC. This product uses Contec's original single-board computer, which is based on Raspberry Pi's latest embedded module, the Compute Module 4 (CM4). By using the wide range of peripheral devices for Raspberry Pi, such as Contec's CPI Series, you can build various control applications in a PLC language that complies with the IEC 61131-3 international standard.
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Torque sensors for fastening applications and more

Saelig Company has introduced the Sensor Technology SGR525/526 Series Torque Sensors to provide precision torque monitoring that is critical for performance and safety. The square drive design (for applications with non-cylindrical shafts) allows for seamless integration into power tools, test rigs, industrial machinery, and precision fastening applications, ensuring superior torque measurement without the need for additional adapters or modifications. The SGR525 offers torque measurement only, while the SGR526 provides torque, speed, and power measurement using a 360-pulse-per-revolution encoder. Industries include automotive, aerospace, manufacturing, and research and development.
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Wide-angle camera optimized for larger, faster conveyor belts

Wider conveyor belts operating at higher speeds are now commonplace in modern logistics. To keep up, SVS-Vistek is offering a cost-effective alternative to multi-camera systems with its fxo901CXGE 10-GigE color camera featuring the Sony IMX901-AQR wide-aspect global shutter 16.4-megapixel CMOS sensor. Unlike standard cameras, this unit captures targets in a wide field of view while maintaining high resolutions. The 4:1 horizontal aspect ratio allows one fxo901CXGE to replace an entire multi-camera system, removing the need for image synchronization.
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Handheld thermal imager cuts diagnostic time

The FLIR TG268 is a next-generation thermal imager that provides professionals in the utility, manufacturing, electrical, automotive, and industrial sectors with a lightweight, handheld, affordable condition monitoring tool. Latest enhancements include higher temperature ranges, improved resolution, and larger data storage capacity. Go beyond the restrictions of single-spot IR thermometers to view and evaluate hot and cold spots that may signify potentially dangerous issues. Accurately measure temps from -25 to 400 C. Native thermal images improved with Super Resolution upscaling.
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SOLIDWORKS 2025: Sheet metal design top features from an expert

Find out what's new in SOLIDWORKS 2025 when it comes to sheet metal and weldments, and learn some valuable tips and tricks along the way from TriMech. Topics covered include copying cut list properties, bend notches, tab and slot enhancements, groove beads (a new type of weld bead), performance enhancements, and more. When you're done, check out TriMech's full YouTube channel filled with educational material.
View the video.

New sensor can take any gas and tell you what's in it

Expert sommeliers can take a whiff of a glass of wine and tell you a lot about what's in your pinot noir or cabernet sauvignon.

A team of physicists at CU Boulder and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have achieved a similar feat of sensing, only for a much wider range of substances.

The group has developed a new laser-based device that can take any sample of gas and identify a huge variety of the molecules within it. It is sensitive enough to detect those molecules at minute concentrations all the way down to parts per trillion. Its design is also simple enough that researchers could employ the method quickly and at a low cost in a range of settings, from diagnosing illnesses in human patients to tracking greenhouse gas emissions from factories.

The study was led by scientists at JILA, a joint research institute between CU Boulder and NIST. The team published its findings Feb. 19 in the journal Nature.

"Even today, I still find it unbelievable that the most capable sensing tool can, in fact, be built with such simplicity, using only mature technical ingredients but tied together with a clever computation algorithm," said Qizhong Liang, lead author of the research and a doctoral student at JILA.

To show what the tool is capable of, Liang and his colleagues drilled down on an important question in medicine: What's in the air you breathe out?

The team analyzed breath samples from real human subjects and showed that they could, for example, identify the types of bacteria living in peoples' mouths. The technique could one day help doctors diagnose lung cancer, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and much more.

Qizhong Liang in Jun Ye's lab at JILA on the CU Boulder campus. [Credit: Patrick Campbell/CU Boulder]

 

 

Physicist Jun Ye, senior author of the study, said the new work builds on nearly three decades of research into quantum physics at CU Boulder and NIST -- especially around a type of specialized device known as a frequency comb laser.

"The Frequency comb laser was originally invented for optical atomic clocks, but very early on, we identified its powerful application for molecular sensing," said Ye, a fellow of JILA and NIST and professor adjoint of physics at CU Boulder. "Still, it took us 20 years to mature this technique, finally allowing universal applicability for molecular sensing."

A shaking cavity
To understand how the team's technology works, it helps to understand that all gases, from pure carbon dioxide to your stinky breath after you eat garlic, carry a fingerprint of sorts.

If you probe those gases with a laser that spans multiple "optical frequencies," or colors, the molecules in the gas samples will absorb that light at different frequencies. It's almost like a burglar leaving behind a thumbprint at a crime scene. In a previous study, for example, Liang and his colleagues used this laser absorption detection principle to screen human breath samples for signs of SARS-CoV-2 infections.

Frequency combs are well suited to that technique because, unlike traditional lasers, they emit pulses of light in thousands to millions of colors at the same time. (JILA's Jan Hall pioneered these lasers, winning the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work in 2005.)

However, to detect molecules at low concentrations, those lasers must also pass through the gas sample over distances of miles or more so that the molecules can absorb enough light.

To be practical, scientists must realize that distance within containers for gases that are measured on the scale of a foot.

"We enclose the gas sample with a pair of high-reflectivity mirrors, forming an 'optical cavity,'" Liang said. "The comb light can now bounce between those mirrors several thousand times to effectively increase its absorption path length with the molecules."

Well, that's the goal.

In practice, optical cavities are tricky to work with and eject laser beams if they aren't properly matched to the resonant modes of the cavity. As a result, scientists previously could only use a narrow range of comb light, and detect a narrow range of molecules, in a single test.

In the new study, Liang and his colleagues overcame this longstanding challenge. They presented a new technique they named Modulated Ringdown Comb Interferometry, or MRCI (pronounced "mercy"). Rather than keep its optical cavity steady, the team periodically changed its size. This jiggling, in turn, allowed the cavity to accept a much wider spectrum of light. The team then deciphered the complicated laser intensity patterns emerging from the cavity with computational algorithms to determine the samples' chemical contents.

"We can now use mirrors with even larger reflectivity and send in comb light with even broader spectral coverage," Liang said. "But this is just the beginning. Even better sensing performance can be established using MRCI."

A sensor for breath
The team is now turning its new gas sniffer on human breath.

"Exhaled breath is one of the most challenging gas samples to be measured, but characterizing its molecular compositions is highly important for its powerful potential for medical diagnostics," said Apoorva Bisht, co-author of the research and a doctoral student in Ye's lab.

Bisht, Liang, and Ye are now collaborating with researchers at CU Anschutz Medical Campus and Children's Hospital Colorado to use MRCI to analyze a range of breath samples. They are examining whether MRCI can distinguish samples taken from children with pneumonia from those taken from children with asthma. The group is also analyzing the breath of lung cancer patients before and after tumor removal surgery and is exploring whether the technology can diagnose people in early stages of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

"It will be tremendously important to validate our approach on real-world human subjects," Ye said. "Through close collaboration with our medical colleagues at CU Anschutz, we are committed to developing the full potential of this technique for medical diagnosis."

Source: University of Colorado at Boulder

Published March 2025

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