Illinois Tool Works Inc. has struck a deal with the board of directors of Enodis plc to purchase the British company for $2.1 billion in cash and the assumption of Enodis' net debt, which was $210 million as of Sept. 30, 2007, bringing the total fair market value to $2.3 billion. Read more...
Leaders from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)® joined several partner associations in Kyoto, Japan, at the Fourth Annual Japan/US/EU Trilateral IT-Electronics Associations Meeting to address key issues affecting the global consumer technology industry.
At the April meetings, the CEA worked together with the Information and Technology Industry Council (ITIC), the European Information and Communications Technology Industry Association (EICTA) and the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA) to advance global CE industry issues. Read more...
The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) honored several industry leaders with awards for service and leadership at the AHAM Annual Member Meeting. This year's meeting, "Sustainability Inc. Principles, Practices and Pathways," was held in Fort Myers, FL on April 27-28, 2008.Read more...
Infineon Technologies, Intel Corporation, Panasonic and Texas Instruments have banded together to create the HomeGrid Forum, which aims to promote and influence a single, next-generation worldwide standard for networking digital content, such as movies, music and pictures, over home wiring.
The forum will be a companion to ITU-T G.hn working group and will contribute next-generation technology requirements to the ITU-T G.hn. Read more...
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Thermal Engineering Report: Dissipating Heat in Electronics
Based on hundreds of on-site visits and interviews, this report delves into the common mistakes companies designing consumer and commercial electronics have made and offers recommendations to help your company unlock the power CAE.
Whirlpool and Hisense-Kelon Electrical Holdings Form Joint Venture in China
Whirlpool Corp., Benton Harbor, Mich., and Hisense-Kelon Electrical Holdings Company Ltd., an electronic and home appliances company in China, have formed a joint venture in China for the delivery of new world-class and innovative appliances to consumers in China. Read more...
TechInsights announced April 15 the launch of the Microchip PIC32 Design Challenge, a year-long contest and community sponsored by Microchip Technology Inc. and Digi-Key Corporation. The Design Challenge can be found at www.myPIC32.com.
The objective of this four-phase Design Challenge is to foster a social community where designers can build, test and display their designs to their colleagues through the use of blogs, videos and forums.Read more ...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching a national campaign to help Americans "join in the fight" against climate change. The campaign, Change the World, Start with Energy Star, helps consumers make energy-efficient changes at home and at work that can add up to significant reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases. Read more.
ETCO Incorporated has developed a new male tab connector option for its patented Flat-Snap product that won the 2007 Electronic Products Product of the Year Award.
Now Flat-Snap can also mate with a new UL approved male combo tab that may be preferable in some applications. The new male tab provides a greater surface contact area than conventional UL male tabs and exhibits significant performance advantages. It also has a locking clip to prevent bendback. Its flexible design can also be customized and insulated.
Like the original unisex Flat-Snap electronic connection, this new product makes it possible to connect wires with one quick snap. In addition, either Flat-Snap product will stay connected in high vibration environments better than standard connections. Call Sean Dunn at 401-467-2400 for more information or visit etco.com.
The evolution of textual communication, from cave walls and stone tablets to ink on parchment, from the first Gutenberg press to the latest high-speed printing presses, has always embodied a common thread of concern: readability. Once taken for granted, the issue jumped back to the fore in the past few decades when text leaped off the page and onto the computer screen.
Recently, new technologies have emerged that seek to straddle both realms and provide the best of both: the readability of printed matter and the refreshability of an electronic display. Such technologies are generally referred to as electronic paper, or e-paper.Read more ...
Why is UL changing its motor standards? This is generally the first reaction when people hear that UL is changing its venerable UL 1004 and UL 2111 standards for electric motors. Part of this reaction is due to the perception in some quarters that UL serves as the "Safety Police." Another part of the reaction may be due to the comfort level that engineers have with the previous set of requirements that were first printed in 1972 and are well recognized by manufacturers.Learn more.
The integration of ultraviolet energy systems into HVAC/R equipment is rapidly growing. UV has been used for many years to disinfect air and in recent years has seen increasing growth in applications to irradiate air-conditioning coils and drain pans. Initially, most of the installations of UV equipment were done in the aftermarket as retrofits. Recently, however, HVAC/R OEMs have begun to offer UV equipment as a standard or factory-installed option. Find out more.
Elastomers: Simply Silicone Silicone elastomers are extremely versatile materials that offer a range of attractive performance characteristics, often outperforming their TPE cousins. They work well in extreme cold and high heat temperatures, are chemical resistant, and can be customized with a variety of unique properties. Combine this with tactile characteristics that range from soft to tacky to hard, and designers are given a plethora of options. Various grades of purified silicone materials can also be used in regulated applications such as foodservice appliances and medical devices.
So, if silicones are so great, why isn't everyone using them? Full story.
In the realm of fabrication methods, there are innovations that make familiar things in a new way, then there are technology leaps that permit the making of entirely new things in a previously unimagined way. The high-volume, print-forming process developed by EoPlex Technologies, Redwood City, Calif., falls into the latter category. Read more.
Three new anti-vandal pushbutton switches have been introduced. The PV6-Series, PV7-Series and PV8-Series of switches are designed for open and harsh environments where security and heavy-duty handling is a concern and for high-end design solutions where aesthetics are the main factor. The PV6 series brings a combination of a short body and illumination to the 16 mm cutout anti-vandal switches. The PV7 and PV8 are 22 mm and 25 mm respectively and offer up to 2 normally open and 2 normally closed poles. Read more...
The EL30XX family of random-phase and zero-cross TRIAC driver optocouplers feature a wide operating temperature range of -55 DegC to 100 DegC and offers design flexibility for interface applications between low-current DC control circuits and AC power loads up to 380 V. The family of 6-pin DIP devices encompasses 21 different versions with a choice of peak blocking voltages from 250 V to 800 V. Find out more.
The B3W-9 series of SPST-NO (momentary) configuration LED illuminated tactile switches are available with red, yellow, blue, green and bright green LEDs. The keycaps utilize a proprietary diffusion panel to deliver uniform brightness across the entire surface and are available in color matched transparent or translucent white versions. The B3W-9 is available in one-, two-, or three-color light models. Want to learn more?
Freescale Semiconductor Three highly integrated 8-bit S08AC microcontrollers - the S08AC60, S08AC48 and S08AC32 - expand the range of flash memory and performance options for cost-sensitive large appliance applications. The latest S08AC family of devices are designed to provide flexible, scalable general-purpose solutions for control modules in major appliances, such as clothes washers, dishwashers, refrigerators, freezers and cooking products. Read more.
The HCH-1000 Series capacitive humidity sensors was designed for use in high-volume, cost-sensitive applications. The HCH-1000 Series is a lower cost sensor solution delivering enhanced accuracy, response time and long-term stability for applications not requiring on-board active signal conditioning. The HCH-1000 Series comes in SIP (Single In-line Package) form and uses polyimide humidity sensing material that offers enhanced resistance against contamination and reduced temperature dependence; it does not require polarization and is compatible with wave soldering processes for easy installation.Want to learn more?
Transparent adhesion compounds provide the tactile appeal of a soft-touch finish with a high degree of transparency that allows the base product to be clearly seen through the finish. This feature can be further enhanced with color or by adding metallic or other special effects to create eye-catching, high-clarity design elements on final products. Read more.
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