Designfax weekly eMagazine

Subscribe Today!

Archives

View Archives

Partners

Manufacturing Center
Product Spotlight

Modern Applications News
Metalworking Ideas For
Today's Job Shops

Tooling and Production
Strategies for large
metalworking plants

Machine vision enforces zero-defect manufacturing of engine fans

Engine cooling fan failure in commercial vehicle applications can result in power unit overheating and catastrophic engine damage. To mitigate these risks, a leading manufacturer of engine components has deployed an advanced machine vision system based on SVS-Vistek cameras to enforce zero-defect quality standards. The implementation presented substantial technical challenges.
Read the full article.

Do-it-yourself board-level EMI shielding

ProtoShield sheets from Tech-Etch are depth-etched with a checkerboard pattern for folding, so they can be easily formed into many diverse configurations. In the product-development stage, fully functional shields can be created in minutes with just a pair of scissors and a straight edge for folding. Offered in two sizes: standard (.25-in. squares) and metric (5-mm squares). Both versions are solderable and corrosion resistant due to nickel silver material. Shield prototypes can be directly soldered to the board, or shield clips can be used for easy mounting. Samples available.
Learn more.

New angle sensors designed for rugged applications

Novotechnik's new Vert-X 26 Series of non-contacting magnetic angle sensors use the Hall effect to track the position of the shaft and are designed for rugged applications like automotive and off-highway equipment where high humidity, dampness, dust, and/or vibrations are expected. They are plug-in sensors using an AMP MQ5 6-pole connector, with a measurement range from 0 to 360 degrees. Both single and fully redundant versions are available.
Learn more.

Cool Tools: Mobile surface measuring solution

With its lightweight, compact design and the smallest skidless probe system available on the market, the MarSurf M 510 Series is an ideal solution for precise surface measurement across a wide range of applications. The series offers convenient mobile testing of P, R, and W parameters with just one instrument, and users can create up to 1,000 measuring programs. This instrument can cover a broad spectrum of applications in sectors such as mechanical engineering, automotive, medical, and aerospace.
Learn more from Mahr.

Code-free LIN LED driver rewrites the rules of automotive LED design

Melexis has unveiled the MLX80124, a highly configurable, code-free LIN LED driver. It is designed to radically simplify the development of dynamic RGB-LED automotive ambient lighting applications for engineers of all backgrounds. The MLX80124's unique innovation enables engineers to configure behavior without writing or compiling a single line of code. Instead, a GUI provides access to configurable parameters, delivering the full lighting functionality expected by tier 1 suppliers and OEMs.
Learn more.

EMI filters -- the first line of defense in military/aerospace electronics

When failure is not an option, high-reliability EMI filters deliver superior high-frequency EMI suppression for mission-critical applications in aerospace and defense. The experts at Johanson Technology run through your options and what makes each type beneficial for specific applications.
Read the full article.

Fastest workstation for SOLIDWORKS?

What's the fastest new workstation for SOLIDWORKS users? The experts at TriMech Group have done their testing and made their decision. It's the Dell Pro Max Tower T2. Dell's Precision Brand top-range PCs have a new name -- Pro Max -- and they are the only units certified for professional applications such as SOLIDWORKS and CATIA. Learn why TriMech thinks this PC, which replaces the best-selling Dell Precision 3680 model, is a winner.
View the video.

Cool Tools: HandySCAN BLACK Elite handheld 3D scanner

Optimized to meet the needs of design, manufacturing, and metrology professionals, FARO's HandySCAN BLACK Elite provides an effective and reliable way to acquire accurate 3D measurements of physical objects anywhere.
Read the full article.

Rotary sensor counts to 44 turns -- even when you lose power!

Novotechnik, U.S. introduces the MC-1 2800 Series of 44-Turn multi-turn sensors with several new output interfaces. These sensors feature patented, non-volatile technology that retains turn count even when power is lost and reports correct count when power is restored. In addition to the IO-Link interface, the MC-1 now features an analog ratiometric, CANopen, and CAN SAE J1939 interface options. Mechanical life is more than 50 million movements. Applications include automotive and off-highway vehicle steering and driveline, agricultural and construction machinery, medical equipment, and gate drives.
Learn more.

How to cut EMI gasket costs for military projects

Specialty Silicone Products (SSP) says it is enabling defense contractors to reduce EMI gasket costs without compromising quality or performance. In addition to cost-effective nickel-graphite materials, SSP provides molded or bonded EMI frame gaskets that maximize yields and reduce waste. SSP also makes continuous rolls that are less expensive to produce and faster to fabricate into finished parts.
Read the SSP blog.

Great Resources: Flexible circuit design guide

Tech-Etch uses advanced techniques to manufacture flex and rigid-flex circuits to exacting customer specs. Special processes include selective plating a single circuit with two different finishes, contoured circuits with variable metal thickness, semi-additive and subtractive techniques, open window or cantilevered contact leads, plus SMT for component assembly. Tech-Etch specializes in flexible circuits for medical, telecommunications, aerospace, semiconductor, and other high-reliability electronic applications.
Learn about flex circuits and get the guide (no registration required).

Real-World Applications: Automating escape room experiences

"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain," the Wizard famously said in The Wizard of Oz. See how industrial automation products from AutomationDirect can be applied to unique applications, such as the advanced control needed to make a sophisticated escape room run.
Read the full article.

PFC capacitors for consumer electronics

TDK introduces the B3270xP, a series of ultra-small, metallized polypropylene (MKP) film capacitors tailored for power factor correction (PFC) stages in power supplies for consumer electronics. With their compact design and self-healing properties, these components are engineered for use in high-density circuit designs for devices such as laptops and gaming consoles.
Learn more.

Raspberry Pi releases 1-TB SSD for 70 bucks!

Raspberry Pi, the incredibly popular and affordable single-board computer system, is getting a big bump up in the memory department. A 1-TB solid-state drive is now available for the Raspberry Pi 5 and other devices. Besides the huge storage space, it boasts super-fast startup and fast data transfer. Available directly from Raspberry Pi for right now. Should be hitting U.S. resellers soon. Requires Raspberry Pi 5-compatible M.2 adapter.
Read the Raspberry Pi blog with more specs. Other new add-ons available.

Advanced metrology accelerates performance for American race team

In motorsports, where aerodynamic efficiency and mechanical accuracy can mean the difference between a podium finish and a mid-pack result, precision isn't a luxury -- it's a necessity. As Brian Winters, Product Manager at Hexagon - Manufacturing Intelligence division, writes, Minnesota-based JDC-Miller MotorSports understands this better than most.
Read the full article.

Scary science: You can be identified by Wi-Fi -- even if you don't carry an electronic device

If you pass by a coffee shop that operates a Wi-Fi network, you can be identified -- even if you do not carry a cell phone with you.

Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany have found a way to identify people solely through recording Wi-Fi communication. They point out that this constitutes a significant risk to privacy. It is unnecessary for any individual person to carry any device, nor is any specific hardware needed to identify people present in the range of the wide area network (WLAN).

It takes nothing but Wi-Fi devices communicating with each other in the person's surroundings. This creates patterns comparable to images shot by cameras, just based on radio waves. The research team calls for adequate privacy safeguards to be developed.

"By observing the propagation of radio waves, we can create an image of the surroundings and of persons who are present," says Professor Thorsten Strufe from KASTEL, which is KIT's Institute of Information Security and Dependability. "This works similar to a normal camera, the difference being that, in our case, radio waves instead of light waves are used for the recognition. Thus, it does not matter whether you carry a Wi-Fi device on you or not." Switching your device off (if you carry one) does not help. "It's sufficient that other Wi-Fi devices in your surroundings are active," he says.

Wi-Fi routers as "quiet observers"
"This technology turns every router into a potential means for surveillance," warns Julian Todt from KASTEL. "If you regularly pass by a cafe that operates a Wi-Fi network, you could be identified there without noticing it and be recognized later -- for example by public authorities or companies."

PhD student Felix Morsbach stresses that it is true that there are easier methods for secret services or cybercriminals to observe people right now -- for example, by accessing CCTV cameras or video doorbells. "However, the omnipresent wireless networks might become a nearly comprehensive surveillance infrastructure with one concerning property: They are invisible and raise no suspicion." Notably, Wi-Fi networks exist in almost all homes, offices, restaurants, and public spaces today.

Unlike attacks with LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensors or previous Wi-Fi-based methods, which use channel state information (CSI) -- i.e., measured data that indicate how a radio signal changes when it reflects off of walls, furniture, or persons -- the attackers do not need any special hardware. This method requires nothing but a standard Wi-Fi device.

The technology works by exploiting the communication of legitimate users of the WLAN, whose devices are connected to the Wi-Fi network. These regularly send feedback signals within the network, also called beamforming feedback information (BFI), to the router in unencrypted form, so that it is readable by anybody in range. This creates images from different perspectives that can serve to identify the respective persons. Once the underlying machine-learning model has been trained, the identification only takes a few seconds.

Almost 100% accuracy
In a study with 197 participants, the team could infer the identity of persons with almost 100% accuracy -- independent of the perspective or their gait.

"The technology is powerful, but at the same time entails risks to our fundamental rights, especially to privacy," says Strufe. The researchers warn that this is particularly critical in authoritarian states where the technology might be used for the observation of protesters. Therefore, they urgently call for protective measures and privacy safeguards in the forthcoming IEEE 802.11bf Wi-Fi standard.

See "BFId: Identity Inference Attacks Utilizing Beamforming Feedback Information" published in Proceedings of 32nd ACM SIGSAC Conference on Computer and Communications Security, Oct. 2025.

Source: Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

Published October 2025

Rate this article