News Briefs for May 5, 2015

By News Release | May 05, 2015

For the latest on Ted talks, celebrity engineers, ARINC specifications, open standards, and more, check out the news briefs for May 5, 2015.

TE Connectivity’s new PRO BEAM EB16 optical termini has been selected as the design of choice for the new ARINC Project Paper 845 Expanded Beam Standard for Air Transport Aircraft. This decision was made by ARINC’s Fiber Optic Subcommittee and Cabin Systems Subcommittee. Designed to fit MIL-DTL-38999 Series III size 16 cavities, the PRO BEAM EB16 optical termini are a drop-in replacement for physical contact termini. The termini’s ball lens physically expands and collimates the optical beam area 30 times its original size to provide easier optical alignment, low sensitivity to contamination, and consistent performance over thermal changes. The beam is then refocused back down onto the core of the receiving fiber.

Molex’s Victor Zaderej, director of SSL product development for Molex, presented at a TEDx event centered on the theme “Coalescence,” which was hosted by Bentley University in Waltham, Mass., on March 28. The TEDxBentleyU presentation “Empowerment Through Light” showcased important milestones in the evolution of light, including the massive transformation underway as incandescent bulbs are phased out. Zaderej‘s TEDxBentleyU presentation explored energy-efficient lighting technologies and the life-changing power of light, and spotlighted the charitable organization Watts of Love, which provides portable solar-powered light sources to people in parts of the world without access to an electrical grid system.

Mouser Electronics announced that celebrity engineer Grant Imahara will blog on Mouser’s popular Bench Talk for Design Engineers site. The blog captures Grant’s views on technology, robotics, and just about anything on his mind. He will explore a wide range of topics and offer his point of view, advice, and expertise based on his life experiences as an engineer, celebrity, and lover of technology. The first blog installment focuses on a topic close to his heart – robotics.

VITA announced that the newest report on the State of the VITA Technology Industry, by it Chairman of the Board Ray Alderman, is now available online. The report recaps the industry’s current economic conditions, particularly how events in the Middle East impact defense spending. It also includes an analysis of the recent acquisition of Freescale by NXP.

VITA also announced that VITA 78 “SpaceVPX Systems” has reached ANSI recognition as ANSI/VITA 78.00-2015. This specification has completed the VITA and ANSI processes, reaching full recognition under guidance of the VITA Standards Organization (VSO). ANSI/VITA 78 defines an open standard for creating high-performance fault-tolerant interoperable backplanes and modules to assemble electronic systems for spacecraft and other high-availability applications. Such systems will support a wide variety of use cases and potential markets across the aerospace and terrestrial communities. This standard leverages the OpenVPX standards family and the commercial infrastructure that supports these standards.

TLC Electronics announced that Jeff Haselhorst has joined as an account manager. Haselhorst has a strong background in wire, cable, and cable assemblies. Previous employers include General Cable Corporation and Superior Essex.

Eneko Ansoleaga, Harwin

Eneko Ansoleaga, Harwin

Harwin named Eneko Ansoleaga as sales manager covering Southern Europe. The company believes that its high-performance connectors and space- and cost-saving EZ-Boardware PCB hardware products are a natural fit for the region. According to Ansoleaga, there is a wide and diverse manufacturing sector in Southern Europe, including the mass transportation, white goods, contract manufacturing, aerospace and defense, medical, and industrial markets, and Harwin’s product lines are a natural fit.

Additionally, Harwin named Mouser Electronics its Distributor of the Year Award 2014/2015 for Europe. Mouser significantly increased its sales and the number of customers for Harwin’s product portfolio. With its outstanding speed to market, Mouser supported the launches of Harwin’s new range of M300 power connectors and Harwin’s expansion of the EZ-BoardWare range with EMI shielding products, including additional cans, shield can prototype kits, and SMT clips.

IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries announced the February findings from its monthly North American Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Statistical Program: Although sales remained sluggish, bookings increased over last year, strengthening the book-to-bill ratio. Total North American PCB shipments decreased 1.1% in February 2015 from February 2014, bringing year-to-date shipment growth to -1.6%. Compared to the previous month, PCB shipments were up 1.2%. PCB bookings increased by 5.1% compared to February 2014, improving the year-to-date order growth rate to 0.9%. Orders declined 0.7% in February compared to the previous month.

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