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Next-gen multi-touch panels

Beckhoff's Next line of multi-touch control panels and panel PCs is engineered for demanding human-machine interface and control tasks. These panels offer convenient operation with advanced multi-touch technology, a high-quality look and feel, anti-glare and anti-ghosting effects, and a wide choice of formats (from 7 to 23.8 in.) and options. A main draw is the line's attractive pricing.
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Most powerful handheld 3D laser scanner on the market

Creaform, a business of AMETEK, has launched HandySCAN 3D|EVO Series, the most powerful handheld 3D laser scanning solution on the market. This innovative series features a built-in touchscreen display and an integrated high-res 12-MP photo camera, incorporating augmented reality (AR) and advanced on-scanner visualization. Users can streamline repetitive inspections and enhance quality control processes using the new auto-alignment feature. Powered by 46 blue laser lines with accuracy of 0.020 mm. The Creaform Metrology Suite includes four application software modules: Scan-to-CAD, Inspection, Automation, and Dynamic Tracking. So many more features.
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Continental develops first sensor to measure heat in EV motors

Global automotive supplier Continental has developed a new sensor technology that measures the temperature inside permanently excited synchronous motors in electric vehicles directly on the rotor for the first time.
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LEDs with highest output power available

The new OCI-460 SWIR LED series from EPIGAP OSA Photonics features markedly improved output power compared to the company's previous OCI-480 package and all competitive SMD SWIR LED devices. For example, model OCI-460 ID1550-XS operates at 1,550 nm and features drive current up to 1.5A to deliver approximately 13% higher output efficiency over EPIGAP's OCI-480 package. This impressive advancement features 96% higher output power compared to any other SWIR SMD LED currently on the market. Ideal for use in sensing, machine vision, and more.
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AI and collaboration in SOLIDWORKS

Discover AURA, the new AI assistant built into SOLID-WORKS, in this informative video from TriMech Group. What can AURA do for you? It can streamline workflows and make collaborating on and tracking projects even easier, for starters. Other top features of SOLIDWORKS Design 2026 are also covered. Some good tips here.
View the TriMech Group video.

Solutions for weighing and force measurement

Automation-Direct now offers Sensy 2172L series single point, 5510 series shear beam, and 2782 series tension/compression load cells that deliver flexible solutions for weighing and force measurement. They are ideal for applications ranging from small packaging scales to rugged industrial tanks and conveyor systems. Built from aircraft-grade aluminum or stainless steel, these models feature built-in overload protection, accuracies down to 0.03% of full scale, protection ratings up to IP67, and capacities up to 2,000 kg.
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Top Product: Future-proof enclosure cooling

Seifert's new SLIMLINE NEO ushers in next-generation industrial cooling with natural refrigerant R290 (GWP 0.02) and high-efficiency inverter technology. It cuts energy costs with EER up to 3.6, reduces refrigerant charge by 75%, and extends electronics life. A fully redesigned, lighter, smaller enclosure delivers lower vibration, better component protection, and easier handling. Available in two elegant surfaces: stainless steel and mild steel, powder coated.
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Coin cell supercapacitors: High capacity, quick release

Coin cell supercapa-citors are compact, high-capacity energy storage devices that rapidly charge and discharge and endure far more cycles than rechargeable batteries. They're ideal for high switching loads such as real-time clock and battery back-up power, battery-swap ride-through, and LED or audible alarms. SCHURTER's latest versions support up to 5.5 V and 100 to 1,500 mF.
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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 will probably learn something even if you don't use this software.
Read the Onshape blog.

Digital Engineering: How a private jet gets a high-end refurb

Ever wonder how private jets get overhauled from standard OEM layouts to exotic, artful interiors? It takes engineering expertise, specialty design skills, and true craftspeople. Increasingly, it also takes automation provided by middleware to weave a digital thread through CAD, BOM, ERP, and PDM software.
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How AI is quietly transforming simulation

Is AI really useful, or is it just a passing trend? Balavignesh Vemparala, an R&D Engineer II at ANSYS, lays out a compelling case for how artificial intelligence is already hard at work in the simulation world with real results for users. From faster solves to accelerated workflows, improved quality and traceability, generative models, and more, discover what you might be overlooking when it comes to real-world AI application. Worth the read.
Read this informative ANSYS blog.

All about photoelectric sensors

From counting boxes on a conveyor and ensuring precise packaging and labeling to the automatic doors you walk through daily, learn all about photoelectric sensors and the options available from AutomationDirect. Did you know there are four main types? Familiarize yourself with their constructions, capabilities, and their main pros and cons. A good basic primer or refresh.
View the AutomationDirect video.

Halex liquid-tight and FMC conduit fittings

Automation-Direct has added Halex liquid-tight metallic and non-metallic fittings that ensure a secure bond between conduits and enclosures, delivering a dependable seal that protects against moisture, oil, and contaminants. Available in trade sizes from 3/8 in. to 2 in. in both straight and 90-degree configurations, these fittings come with insulated and non-insulated options. Halex Flexible Metal Conduit (FMC) fittings provide strong, reliable connections between flexible metal conduit, or aluminum and steel AC/MC cable, and metal boxes or enclosures. Offered in trade sizes from 3/8 in. to 4 in., these fittings are available in straight and 90-degree styles with a choice of squeeze, screw-in, set screw, saddle, or specialty connectors. Corrosion-resistant zinc finish.
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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.
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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.
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CERN experiment succeeds in transporting antimatter

In a world first, a team of scientists from the BASE experiment at CERN successfully transported a trap filled with antiprotons in a truck across the Laboratory's main site. CERN is The European Organization for Nuclear Research on the France-Switzerland border that is also home to the Large Hadron Collider.

The team managed to accumulate a cloud of 92 antiprotons in an innovative portable cryogenic Penning trap, then disconnect it from the experimental facility, load it onto a truck, and continue experiment operation after transport.

Truck transporting the BASE-STEP trap filled with antiprotons [Credit: Image courtesy of CERN]

 

 

This is a remarkable achievement, given that antimatter is very difficult to preserve, as it annihilates upon contact with matter. This feat was just a first step, with the ultimate aim being to transport antiprotons to other European laboratories, such as Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU), where very high-precision measurements of the antiproton properties could be performed.

Antimatter is a naturally occurring class of particles that is almost identical to ordinary matter, except that the electric charge and magnetic moment are reversed. According to the laws of physics, the Big Bang should have produced equal amounts of matter and antimatter. These equal-but-opposite particles would have quickly annihilated each other, leaving an empty Universe. However, our Universe contains predominantly matter, and this imbalance has baffled scientists for decades. Physicists suspect that there are hidden differences that may explain why matter survived and antimatter all but disappeared.

To deepen our understanding of antimatter, the BASE collaboration aims to precisely measure the properties of antiprotons, such as their intrinsic magnetic moment, and then compare these measurements with those taken with protons. However, they face a problem: "The machines and equipment in CERN's 'antimatter factory,' where BASE is located, generate magnetic field fluctuations that limit how far we can push our precision measurements," said Stefan Ulmer, a spokesperson for BASE.

These fluctuations are minuscule, of the order of one-billionth of a tesla, more than 20,000 times smaller than the magnetic field of the Earth, and undetectable outside the building. "However, the precision of the measurements taken in BASE is such that gaining an even deeper understanding of the fundamental properties of antiprotons will require moving the experiment out of the building," said Ulmer.

CERN's "antimatter factory" is the only place in the world where antiprotons can be produced, stored, and studied. Two successive decelerators, the Antiproton Decelerator (AD) and the Extra Low Energy Antiproton ring (ELENA), provide several experiments with low-energy antiprotons -- the lower their energy, the easier they can be stored and studied.

Among these experiments, BASE holds long-standing records for containing antiprotons for more than one year, and the experiment has invented this pioneering approach in order to move on to the next stage: transporting antiprotons to an offline space for more precise experiments as well as sharing them with others. That's why they developed the BASE-STEP trap: an apparatus designed to store and transport antiprotons.

BASE-STEP is small enough to be loaded onto a truck and fit through ordinary laboratory doors, and it can withstand the bumps and vibrations of transport. The current apparatus, which includes a superconducting magnet, liquid helium cryogenic cooling, power reserves, and a vacuum chamber that traps the antiparticles using magnetic and electric fields, weighs 1,000 kg -- much more compact than BASE or any other existing system used to study antimatter.

"To reach our first destination, our dedicated precision laboratory at HHU in Germany, would take us at least 8 hours," said Christian Smorra. "This means we'd have to keep the trap's superconducting magnet at a temperature below 8.2 K for that long. So, in addition to the liquid helium, we'd need to have a generator to power a cryocooler on the truck. We are currently investigating this possibility." Nevertheless, the greatest challenge remains on arrival at the destination: to transfer the antiprotons to the experiment without them vanishing.

"Transporting antimatter is a pioneering and ambitious project, and I congratulate the BASE collaboration on this impressive milestone. We are at the beginning of an exciting scientific journey that will allow us to further deepen our understanding of antimatter," said CERN Director for Research and Computing, Gautier Hamel de Monchenault.

Source: CERN

Published April 2026

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