Q: What specific courses were the most or least useful to you for your engineering career? By David Paloian, academic program manager, Microchip Technology The purely math courses were the least useful when I was taking them and early in my career. If more time was taken to help me think mathematically (rather than mechanically […]
Cable Designed For Power And Control Of Dimmable Fixtures
AFC Cable Systems, Inc. announces the launch of the MC Luminary Quik designed for power and control of 0-10V dimmable fixtures as well as addressable lighting control systems. The MC Luminary Quik combines the efficiency and laborsaving features of MC Quik, offering up to 30% installation time savings over traditional wiring methods. MC Luminary Quik […]
Brainstorm: Autonomous Vehicles’ Biggest Challenges
Q: What is the largest challenge that autonomous vehicles will have to address before becoming ubiquitous? By: Ron Demcko, Fellow, AVX Each year, approximately 40,000 people die from auto-related accidents in the U.S. A large percentage of these accidents are due to distracted drivers and driver error. Autonomous vehicles have great potential to dramatically reduce […]
First Look Episode 9: MAXM17532
Welcome to First Look, brought to you by Digi-Key and Maxim Integrated. The revolution in the power systems marketplace has brought a lot of advantages to the electronics industry, with higher power densities, wider input voltage acceptance, and higher conversion efficiency. This is a good thing because the convergence of smart portable devices and the […]
UC San Diego Engineer Receives Award To Advance Concentrating Solar Power Research
Renkun Chen, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of California San Diego, has received a $1.18 million dollar award from the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office to develop technology that can advance next-generation concentrating solar power (CSP) systems. The project is aimed at developing a diagnostic tool that […]
Brainstorm: Alternative Energy’s Strongest Players
Q: What alternative energy sources pose the biggest competition to traditional energy? By Ambroise Thirion, Technology Solutions Specialist, ProLabs.com It’s no secret, data centers have a real impact in worldwide electrical consumption and carbon footprint. Data centers are predicted to represent one-fifth of global electricity consumption by 2025, resulting in 3.5 percent of global emissions […]
First Look Episode 8: MAX86141
Wearable health monitors and the environments these devices are demanded to perform in put pressure on the system designer to ensure that these systems are always accurate and reliable. This is especially critical in medical-crossover applications like wellness monitoring and performance training, where inaccurate information can lead to possible physical damage. A major issue is […]
First Look Episode 7: MAX30001
Welcome to First Look, brought to you by Digi-Key and Maxim Integrated. Monitoring one’s heartbeat and other vital body information is becoming a high-demand application space at both ends of the scale, from advanced hospital-grade monitoring systems to “Prosumer” sports/health devices for athletic people who want to manage their performance to in-home products for geriatric […]
Super Low-Profile Sockets
Mill-Max Mfg., Corp. is proud to present its lowest profile strip sockets to date. With an above-board height of just .083” (2,11 mm) these sockets provide a reliable and convenient way to connect boards or devices. Many of today’s products, such as implantable and wearable devices for the medical industry, demand miniaturization along with high […]
Brainstorm: Optimizing Thermal Management In Electronic Devices
Q: What are the best methods to optimize thermal management in electronic devices? By Chris Ammann, Global Technical Marketing Engineer for Power, Avnet The key to optimal thermal management design is understanding that it is as much about how you design as the technologies you employ. To ensure component choices and board layout will support […]