SCADA Systems
 Supervisory, Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems represent a subset of industrial control systems. And, like industrial controls, SCADA systems have become network-centric, leveraging the power of intelligent sensors and actuators, networking, computing, and communication assets to achieve optimal control and situational awareness, typically in a large, complex system. How easily can these systems be compromised? And, will these systems help us manage the use of fuel in our everyday travels? more

Industrial Networks
Like enterprise networks, an industrial network can be described as a network of networks. The industrial network environment is a multi-tiered and multi-functional system with a variety of environmental challenges, particularly at the fieldbus level, that are not generally found in the traditional enterprise space. These include mechanical challenges, such as crushing, cut-through, abrasion, water immersion, UV exposure, oil exposure, high-temperature exposure, cold bend and cold impact, as well as electrical challenges such as severe EMI exposure. The cable assemblies appear relatively simple; however, the underlying material technology can become very sophisticated. more

Advanced Avionics
The gestation period for highly complex systems, such as military and commercial aircraft, can take as much as a decade, or five generations of Moore’s Law. As a result, the initial conceptualization of systems and performance requirements become moving targets. In the case of the F-22 Raptor, the Intel processors initially selected for the common integrated processor (CIP) were already out of production by the time the aircraft itself entered production. Clearly, a new approach was needed.

Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components have given the industry a shortcut to production. The key advantage of this approach is that the avionics system designer can leverage the latest technology and performance advantages that are independently driven by the commercial industry sectors, in particular, telecommunications and computers. The elegant evolution of VME backplane standards and Ethernet represent classic examples of this process. Read more.

Next Generation Wireless Networks
The introduction of second-generation wireless in the mid-‘90s represented not only a major advance from analog to digital voice, but it also set the stage for subsequent developments in the late ‘90s, including Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution (EDGE), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)—Interim standard (IS-95B).

To learn more about the complex wireless network marketplace, click here.

Medical Cable Assemblies...
In 2007, medical cable assemblies accounted for approximately 35 percent of the total value of connector factory shipments to the medical electronics industry, or an estimated $386 million. This value is expected to grow in excess of 11 percent, reaching $430 million in 2008. Unlike most other industry sectors, where the ratio of the value of connectors applied to cable assemblies vs. total connector consumption is stable, the ratio of connectors applied to medical cable assemblies, compared to total medical connector consumption, is on the rise. This trend is attributable to the changing mix of cable assembly types and evolving circumstances of use within the medical electronics industry.
 
While there are many cable assembly manufacturers, a specialist in medical electronics that is accustomed to the needs of the medical environment will be your best source for this product. more

New Wire-to-SMT Board Terminal Featured at ATE 2007

Zierick Manufacturing Corporation introduces the newest and most economical way to terminate discrete wires on surface mount printed circuit boards. more