Around a year ago Tangio launched its TPE-500 series FSR range. It’s true to say they joined the party a little later than some of their competitors so knew it wasn’t good enough to offer a me-too product. Mark Graham, Tangio’s Head of New Products picks up the story, “I’ve been in resistive force sensing for almost a decade and knew very well its limitations. We’d seen few tangible improvements in the core FSR technology in recent years, which precluded its use in several growth markets and applications. Our plan from the outset was to produce a demonstrably better product.”

Neil Jarvie, Tangio’s VP of Business Development continues, “the market had become fragmented into existing players seemingly unwilling to invest in improvements to the technology, and start-ups with no manufacturing experience promoting lab-scale materials that only increase risk and cost. Disturbingly, we also discovered many manufacturers products didn’t perform anything like their data-sheets. In some cases alarmingly so!”

The development team at Tangio set about dragging the FSR into the 21^st century with a clean-sheet approach tackling the key areas; a better FSR ink, state-of-the-art process control, and subtle but intelligent changes to the mechanical structure and materials.

Robin Jeffries, Tangio’s CEO adds, “as we enjoy many collaborative and strategic relationships with key materials and process vendors in the printed electronics space, we called upon them during the development of the TPE-500 series. A notable example is our collaboration with Henkel for the FSR ink, one of the most critical components in the sensor.”

Mark remembers, “when the test data came in from the first prototype builds it was clear we had realised our goals. We were seeing best-in-class performance in multiple critical parameters like humidity & temperature stability, part-to-part repeatability and drift. I also knew we could publish data sheets that our customers could trust!”

Of course, all this comes at a price, right? Actually no, due to exceptionally high manufacturing yield the TPE-500 series is priced to beat competing legacy products. We’d like to think of that as a win/win.

About Tangio Printed Electronics

Tangio, the Printed Electronics division of Sytek Enterprises Inc, is a global leader in the design and manufacture of a wide range of standard and custom touch sensing solutions. From simple high-performance “single point” FSR sensors, through to state-of-the-art 3D multi-touch resistive sensors, capacitive sensors, and other novel innovations in printed electronics. Tangio offers unrivalled levels of integration, enabling customers to add value and reduce costs in their supply chain and get new products to market faster. Tangio’s philosophy of “Affordable Innovation” enables OEM’s and Tiers to deploy next generation HMI solutions in their products today. Tangio is a global company headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, with strategically located internal and partner sites in Europe, SE Asia, and India, supporting a rapidly expanding customer base. For more information go to www.tangio.ca

Here at Steadlands, we are willing and able to answer most questions put to us about any of our products. Those few questions we do not have answers on hand for, we can easily get from the various manufacturers we work with.

But what happens when a prospective customer is interested in a product, but is still trying to decide if it is worth the investment? If you are considering a larger roll out of devices, then we would be happy to arrange a visit from one of our staff to demonstrate whichever product you are interested in. We will even bring a couple of alternatives, just to help you find exactly what you are looking for.

For smaller quantities, or also to supplement a demonstration visit, we may still be able to visit, but it often works out both easier and better for you, the customer, and for us to offer a sale-or-return unit instead. This involves us sending you an example of the product you are interested in for a fixed period of time. We would ask you to provide credit card details as surety, but in exchange would send you one of our products along with any required software so you can experiment and try the product for yourself.

We will of course, be on hand to provide any support, advice, or information you need to help you get the most out of your trials and once it is over, you can return the product to us, or you can choose to keep it. If you are interested in viewing any of our products, please get in touch by completing the enquiry form on the website, or by calling us on +44 (0) 1670 361261.

This unique brand of LEDs has a very illuminating design. The integrated circuits for the LEDs are built directly into the LED chip design, seriously cutting down on additional circuitry and removing the need for additional on-board IC and other components. This means inventory management is dramatically reduced, since there is no need for additional resistors, regulatory diodes, or bridge rectifiers. This makes EzyLED an ideal solution thanks to its simplicity and ease of use.

The 3030 series EzyLEDs connect in parallel, and are directly driven by a conventional 12V/24V DC source. This allows for a constant luminosity between the input voltage range of 10.4V – 24V, and the LED maintains around half its intensity when the input voltage drops.

The EzyLED arrays actively modulate power usage by decreasing input current to avoid overheating. This will occur when the LED reaches 120°C, and means the input current, light output, and colour temperature all stay consistent, despite exterior voltage fluctuations or changes.

EzyLEDs are available in blue, red, green, amber, and three different varieties of white – cool, neutral, and warm, and are capable of outputting from 6 to 210 lumens per LED, depending on your choice of colour, power input, and so on.

If you would like any additional information about the EzyLED, or indeed any of American Bright’s products, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Just like the dragon guarding it’s pile of gold, the EU is once again updating it’s data protection laws with GDPR to help protect your details and data.

In 1998, the EU released the Data Protection Directive, designed to help keep personal and corporate data safe in a world that is becoming more interconnected every day. Merely fifteen years later, the Data Protection Directive was already found to be lacking, and unable to keep up with the changes in technology. As a result, and after four years of deliberations, the EU announced the General Data Protection Regulation (or, GDPR, as catchy acronyms go) would be adopted in April 2016. At the time it was agreed there would be a two-year implementation period, and so the regulation actually comes into effect in May 2018.

The GDPR was designed to help bring data privacy laws from across Europe into sync with each other, to protect citizen data privacy, and to force organisations into redefining their approach to data privacy. The GDPR doesn’t just affect EU-based companies though. Any company that trades with an EU-based entity, whether personal or professional, must respect the GDPR.

If they fail to uphold the General Data Protection Regulation, then companies can be fined up to €20 Million, or 4% of their annual global turnover, as a maximum fine for the most severe breaches – not having customer consent to process their data, for example. There is a tiered plan to the fines, so something with a lesser severity might only be fined 2% of the company’s annual global turnover.

So what counts as customer consent to permit companies to process your data? While it used to be a case of a little checkbox with dubious phrasing in legalese that you checked (or not), now it has to be a bit more explicit. Consent must clear and distinguishable from other matters, and must now be provided in an intelligible and easily accessible form. Any ambiguity could leave your company open to potential fines. It must also be as easy for a customer to remove consent as it is for them to give it.

The GDPR will also introduce an age factor into processing personal data. Now, there needs to be parental consent for sites and businesses to process details of children under the age of 16. There is some proviso in the Regulation that allows member states to alter the age of consent from 16 to 13.

The other aspect of the GDPR that could directly impact your business is an expansion in the roles of Data Protection Officers (DPO). If your company falls into one of three categories, you need a DPO. Outside of these categories, a DPO is not necessary. The three categories are:

• Public authorities – Government agencies, for example.
• Organizations that take part in large scale systematic monitoring – such as online behaviour tracking.
• Organizations that take part in large scale processing of sensitive personal data – ie, credit reference agencies.

Thermoset Plastics from Davies Molding are so advanced that they can be used as an alternative to metal.  They can successfully replace traditional metals whilst improving cost and performance.

The main benefits of using Thermoset Plastics instead of metal are;

• Heat Resistance
• Less Weight
• Dent Resistance
• Heat Resistance
• Corrosion Resistance

Thermoset Plastics can withstand heat and pressure for long periods of time without failure, they are resistant to impact and have great electrical insulating properties.  High-temperature capabilities, dimensional stability, chemical resistance and creep-resistance make them a fantastic, cost alternative material for use in all conditions.

The most commonly used materials for metal to plastic replacement are Polyesters and Phenolics.  They can be molded into complex shapes which eliminates the requirement to machine design features, which in turn allows for closer tolerances.

Davies Molding have over 80 years of plastic molding experience, from 3D Modelling and Design, Finite Element Analysis and Mold Flow Simulation right through to 3D Printed Samples, Tooling and Manufacturing they are a force to be reckoned with.  A one-stop shop for Metal to Plastic conversion with a wealth of knowledge.

Why chose Davies Molding?

• Over 80 years’ experience of supplying plastics to multiple industries
• Proven Track Record of innovative solutions
• Scalable tooling as volumes increase
• Dedicated engineering staff
• Able to adopt customers’ existing moulds to their presses, minimising change-over costs
• ISO 9001 Certified
• Accept blanket orders with scheduled releases

A brochure found at the below link shows the above in greater detail; http://www.daviesmolding.com/Portals/0/Downloads/Custom-Molding-Brochure.pdf

General Davies Molding information can be found at either: https://steadlands.com/ or http://www.daviesmolding.com/

For any enquiries on Davies Molding plastics, whether it be standard parts or custom molding, please email our sales rep Jimmy Craik; [email protected]

Steadlands are proud to announce a new partnership with American Bright Optoelectronics Corporation to bring their high quality LEDs and lighting solutions to both new and existing EMEA customers.

American Bright offers one of the most comprehensive product families of LED packages including SMT, LED lamps, PLCC, segment and dot matrix display and both AC and DC capability. Their innovation and adventurous approach to seek new opportunities make them the first choice of creative, cost-effective indicator and lighting solutions. Their in-house design teams are capable, and ready to help you with everything from concept through to manufacture.

American Bright are a highly qualified company, with over twenty years experience manufacturing lighting solutions for a variety of industries. Most recently, they completed their certifications for providing LED components to vehicle manufacturers, with their LEDs now certified to be used in any aspect of a vehicle’s construction. ISO and QS certification measure the quality of a company’s production, installation and servicing capabilities. American Bright currently holds 17 different certifications, under the ISO, RoHS, and REACH categories.

It’s pretty simple, you can transfer a paper form to your digital system without any scanning, transportation or data-loss.

The PHU-111KO Clipboard utilizes scanning technology and free software to create forms, and allow a user to complete them in both the physical and digital worlds simultaneously. Any digital signatures captured this way are still legally binding.

New Signature Solutions Now Available

The STU-540 and STU-541 are new top-of-the-line esignature solutions containing Wacom’s built in memory for seamless looping of advertising images. The STU-540 is equipped with the best of AES256/RSA2048 encryption, where the STU-541 uses Transfer Layer Security (TLS) backed up by authentication certificates from Cybertrust’s managed PKI.

With a good sized screen, and an HDMI interface, the DTH-1152 makes any front desk look smarter. It is fully compatible with Windows, Linux, Citrix, and VMWare. The DTK-1651 is similar in size and appearance, but can be mounted and used in both landscape and portrait mode. When not in use, both displays can be used to target marketing messages.

Building computers for use in hazardous environments can be a tricky business. The specifications of a PC needed for use on an oil refinery is very different to the requirements of one being used in a clean room laboratory or a food packaging plant, for example. This is why Daisy Data Displays offers very few off-the-shelf models, and instead give you, the customer, all the options you could want.

Daisy Data computers cover four key industries: the military, oil & gas, food & pharmaceutical processing, and flight simulation. While computers built for each of these industries have their unique differences, all of them are customizable in several key ways.

Military

Daisy Data’s military hardware is designed to withstand any environment US troops are sent to, and anything that might be thrown at them. Meeting mil-spec (military specification) targets, Daisy’s ruggedized hardware is well suited to all fields of combat, from high altitude combat fighters, down to high pressure, high humidity submarines, and everywhere in between. Systems are designed to be able to withstand the vibrations of a helicopter, through to the recoil of a tank firing a shell.

In the heat of battle, dependable equipment is essential to the success of the mission, and Daisy Data Displays will help get it done.

Oil & Gas

Oil and gas producers often work in some of the harshest (and dirtiest) conditions on the planet, and their technology needs to be able to reflect that. With that ideal in mind, Daisy Data Displays has created some of the toughest computers the world has ever seen, ranging from ATEX rated, portable rugged computers, through to wall or panel-mountable touchscreens in solid steel cases. They are specifically designed to be shock and vibration resistant, and withstand temperatures of -40 – 65 Celcius. The various systems on offer also comply with a number of third party certifications for safe computing in hazardous environments.

Food & Pharma

Food and pharmaceutical processing facilities have unique requirements, clean rooms, corrosive environments, frequent wash downs, and so on. All of Daisy Data’s food & pharmaceutical range are designed to be resistant to such rigours, including FDA certification for the US market, or the Food Standards Agency here in the UK. All Daisy Data computers for this industry are constructed out of corrosive resistant materials, and are typically waterproofed.

Flight Simulation

Supporting both military and commercial flight applications, Daisy Data understand the importance of teaching your pilots properly, using the correct technology. This is why Daisy Data’s flight simulation range of products are capable of doing just that, utilizing both capacitive and resistive touchscreens, SAW, night vision goggles filters, and impact-resistant polycarbonate viewing windows. Daisy Data’s flight simulation units maintain form, fit, and functionality, allowing for backwards compatibility.

Make It Daisy, your Way

As has already been mentioned, Daisy Data Displays offer unprecedented customization options for all of their products. This ranges from mounting options, to touchscreens, to keyboards, to pointing devices, and stops at just about every place in between. You can even choose specific components to go into the computer itself – more memory, hard drive space, graphics, and so on, all with the final option of operating systems and software.

What’s Available?

Out of Daisy Data’s products, the only ones we have available ‘as standard’ are Daisy Data’s keyboards. These are listed on our website, here.  The reason we only offer the keyboards on our website is because all of their other systems have far too many options open to them.

If you would like to discuss requirements for a hazardous environment computer system, please do not hesitate to contact us. We will happily go through all of the options with you, and once we have a specification sheet, we will provide a competitive quote, bespoke to your needs. Just give us a ring on 01670 361261 and speak to Jimmy, or email him at [email protected].