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September News in Brief

01 September, 2010

♦  The Taiwanese machine vision specialist Adlink Technology claims to have developed the first compact vision system to use an Intel P8400 Core2 Duo dual-core processor, making it powerful enough to handle applications such as 3D robotic guidance. The EOS-1000 system has four Power-over-Ethernet ports, allowing it to be powered by Ethernet cables up to 100m long. It supports data transfer rates up to 4Gb/s and multi-camera imaging.

♦  The German Government is providing €1.2m of funding for a collaborative project to develop innovative inverters to boost the efficiency of converting DC power from wind turbines and solar cells to AC mains power. The project partners are the power semiconductor specialist Semikron, the converter developer PCS Power Converter Solutions and the Technical University of Dresden. They hope to reduce the need for inefficient conventional filtering, thus cutting conversion losses.

♦  The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) has approved WirelessHart as a European National Standard (EN 62591). The move follows the earlier approval by the IEC of WirelessHart as an international standard (IEC 62591Ed. 1.0). Cenelec has approved the IEC Standard as a European standard without any modification. WirelessHart, released in September 2007, is an open, interoperable wireless communication standard designed to provide reliable, secure wireless communications in real-time industrial process measurement and control applications.

♦  International Rectifier has introduced an online tool to help choose IGBTs (insulated gate bipolar transistors) for applications such as variable speed drives, solar inverters and welding systems. The tool evaluates application conditions including bus voltages, switching frequencies, and short-circuit protection requirements. It estimates losses and suggests suitable parts. The tool also provides pricing for each part and allows engineers to compare choices to select the best IGBT for their designs.

♦  A Dutch consumer products packaging plant is thought to be the first industrial plant in Europe to be lit entirely by LEDs. The Kompak plant in Etten Leur uses LED lighting in all areas including offices and a 14m-high warehouse where 3.5km of LED lighting has been integrated into the sprinkler system, doubling as emergency lighting if the power fails. The lighting systems, supplied by the Dutch LED specialist LedNed, are estimated to be saving 20MWh of electricity a year compared to conventional lighting.




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