November 2020 | www.elektormagazine.

com

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Elekto
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Electr
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challe nics in
Special Edition ng
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electronica

THE NVIDIA-
ARM DEAL
Mergers in the
Semiconductor
Industry
6

COOLING POWER
ELECTRONICS
New Production
Methods as
a Solution 26

INTERVIEW
Entrepreneur
Jason Long
on Embedded
Systems Training

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 Foreword

By Jens Nickel
Editor-in-Chief, Elektor Industry

Turbulent Times

As I write these lines, we are experiencing the long-feared
second wave of the COVID-19 virus. We have to face the fact
that there can be no such thing as normality until a vaccine
or an effective drug is available. Until then, keeping distance
is the best antidote, and unfortunately this also applies to
trade fairs like electronica. If you are like me, you will miss
the experience of strolling through the halls in Munich and
discovering new innovations by chance. And you will especi-
ally miss the discussions that enable you to expand your
knowledge about interesting topics. Unfortunately, this year,
it is not possible to actually get a whiff of trade fair air. But
you can discover new products and services (by chance or
planned). Messe München is organizing electronica virtu-
ally from November 9 to 12 at www.electronica.de. Some of
the companies exhibiting there will also be reporting on new
products and services in our new issue of Elektor Industry. All
this is supplemented by background articles. For example,
my colleague Stuart Cording shows the pitfalls of company
mergers in the semiconductor industry (“The Nvidia-Arm
Deal: Behind the Scenes of Big Semiconductor Industry
Mergers,” p. 6).
Once again, I would like to invite you to our electronica fast
forward, the start-up platform powered by Elektor, because
even there the virus is not allowed to thwart us. Participant
presentations and much more information can be found at
www.elektormagazine.com/effwd-2020!

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 Content Elektor Industry Edition 6/2020 Focus: electronica Special Edition

Non-Standard
Flash Drives
and SD Cards

Special Edition
electronica
Regulars 22 E-Textiles
5 Colophon A World of New Possibilities

48 Infographics 26 Potential Disruptive Manufacturing Method

Facts and figures for Heat Management of Power Electronics

60 Wall of Fame 30 Review: YDLidar TG15

Elektor’s partners in the electronics industry
34 Eurocircuits: One-Stop Shop for Prototypes
64 Advertisers
Our Contributors 38 Embedded in Embedded Technology
An Interview with Jason Long

42 Performance Boost for Edge Computing

Articles
Reliable Performance Increase with Brand New
Intel Atom Boards

46 Professional Thermal Imaging Camera Technology

6 The Nvidia-Arm Deal for Beginners and Professionals
Behind the Scenes of Big Semiconductor Industry Mergers
52 The Industry’s First Integrated Zero Cross
10 DC/DC Power Electronics for Electrolyzers, Detection ICs from ROHM Semiconductor
Fuel Cells, and Batteries Reducing Undesirable Power Loss

12 PCBWay’s PCB Capabilities 55 Benefits of Using a RadioControlli Module

16 Review: Nimbus 3D Time-of-Flight Camera 56 A Touch of Magic

Use Raspberry Pi as a Kinect A Gentle Touch Is Enough for Capacitive Switches

20 Four Development Kits to Help Speed Up 58 system robodev

Your Wireless Project Automation Made Simple

4 Elektor Industry 6/2020 www.elektormagazine.com

 Colophon
Elektor Industry
Edition 6/2020
electronica Special Edition
Four Development
© 2020
www.elektormagazine.com
Kits to Help Speed Up
Elektor Industry, English edition,
Your Wireless Project
will be published six times in
2020.
Head Office
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electronica Special Edition 5
 background

The Nvidia-Arm Deal

Behind the Scenes of Big Semiconductor Industry Mergers
By Stuart Cording (Elektor)

So, Nvidia (Nvidia Corporation) looks to soon be the new owner need to look beyond the core to improve
of Arm (Arm Limited). While the bean-counters are quickly how other blocks, like memories, caches,
and interfaces, can efficiently interact with
assessing the earnings potential of this significant business the core. These must also support your licen-
acquisition, the Technorati scratch their beards and discuss the sees’ needs when they attach their unique IP
technology implications for all of Arm’s licensees. However, blocks, a not inconsiderable effort, and try to
manufacture it at their fabrication facility.
behind the scenes, there are lots of people and their businesses Thus a processing core is no longer an IP
who could be impacted by the outcome of this takeover. So, block — it is more of an entire ecosystem.
what does go on behind the scenes after such mergers? What If you’re good at them and can market them
well, it can be very profitable. If not, it can be
is it like for the employees? And what are the best practice very expensive to maintain a technological
approaches to deliver a successful (for everyone) merger? advantage. Since Nvidia reportedly wants to
pay $40 billion for Arm [1], you can infer that
Why is Arm so important? Developing these IP blocks for chips is compli- they are good at what they do.
If you were to ask a crowd of people “Who cated, expensive, and requires considerable
here uses Arm?,” you might see a few hands engineering effort. With many capabilities The employees
raised. But if you were to ask “Who here uses being based on standards, such as USB and Not only do mergers of this kind send shock
a smartphone?,” you are actually finding Ethernet, it makes little sense for companies waves through the industry, they also are a
the answer to the first question. Arm, in the to build their own versions of such interfa- shock to the employees of the companies
parlance of the semiconductor industry, is an ces if the result is the same as everyone else’s. involved. Whether this shock is undersco-
intellectual property (IP) supplier. This means Instead, you’ll probably benefit by licensing red by positive emotions (perhaps relief that
that, rather than making chips like Infineon, that block from someone that has already you’ll, at last, have big-company resources
NXP, or Renesas, they only provide part of the designed and tested it. behind you) or negative ones depends largely
design for a chip. In their case, it is primarily a Microprocessors are an extreme version of on the constellation of the deal. Big compa-
family of microprocessor cores. These designs IP blocks and are especially expensive to nies buy smaller ones all the time, primarily
are licensed to their customers. They, in turn, develop. Beyond the core they also need a to benefit from new technology.
create microprocessors, microcontrollers, and compiler, which needs maintaining beyond Small businesses often find a niche oppor-
other products based upon those cores. the life of each iteration of the core. You also tunity that has not been fully addressed by

6 Elektor Industry 6/2020 www.elektormagazine.com

the big semiconductor vendors, as was the
case of the Quantum Research Group Ltd.
They had developed capacitive touch techno-
logies during the mid-2000s, offering silicon
devices that allowed designers to replicate
the touch interfaces being made popular by
Apple’s iPod [2]. Atmel’s announcement to
buy Quantum in 2008 followed its announce-
ment to license the company’s technology in
2007. Thus, their announcement to buy them
would have been less of a shock to the emplo-
yees. In fact, “big buys small” was probably
seen very positively. The larger, more establis-
hed semiconductor vendor Atmel opened up
manufacturing resources, sales and marke-
ting staff, and distribution channels that
would have taken a smaller company, like
Quantum, years to establish on their own.
Their technology still exists today in the form
of maxTouch [3] touchscreen controllers,
which have since become part of Microchip’s
product portfolio as the result of another big
semiconductor industry merger that we will
come to shortly.
When two big semiconductor heavyweights
announce a merger, the impact on the emplo-
yees of the company being taken over can be
difficult to bear. This was the case in 2011 as
Texas Instruments (TI) announced the $6.5
billion takeover of analog rival National
Semiconductor (NSC) [4]. Employees, such
as Günter Hohma who was Senior Distri-
bution Manager at NSC at the time, shared
some of the immediate worries: “The first and
most important thoughts revolve around your
immediate future and how that is linked to
the security of your family.” Others state that
they found themselves in a state of shock,
as the deal had been kept so closely under
wraps. Thoughts also quickly turn to practi-
cal matters, such as commute times to new
offices should the existing office end up being
closed.
Of course, not everyone is guaranteed a job
under some of these mergers. Eyal Barzilay
was a Software Manager working at MIPS
Technologies when Imagination Technolo-
gies took them over in 2013. This is probably
the most comparable example to the current
Nvidia/Arm deal covered here since MIPS
was also a processor core IP provider. “The
engineers seemed to be more sure that their
jobs were secure as they were the ones that
had the knowledge that Imagination was
buying,” he explained. “It was those that had
roles in duplicate departments, such as HR
(human resources) and finance, that were
most worried about losing their jobs.”
One key aspect here seems to be the need
Regardless of how you
review the deal, from the
perspective of the business,
its customers, distributor
relationships, or that of
investors, you should be
looking for synergies that
deliver a 1 + 1 > 2 outcome
in every area.
to quickly establish clarity, something that
falls to the HR team to resolve. Those for
whom, unfortunately, no job exists in the
new business must be quickly informed. For
the remainder, HR and, sometimes, exter-
nal consultants work with the employees of
both companies to lay down future options.
Obviously, the resultant business cannot
support two heads of Automotive Marke-
ting, for example. However, the merger may
have resulted in significant market growth, or
the addition of application-specific techno-
logy, allowing a new senior head role to be
defined to take care of that niche. Inevitably,
however, some employees will have to accept
a demotion and perhaps even a pay cut as a
result of the merger.
The outside world
It is not only the people within the organiz-
ation that are impacted; there are plenty of
people and businesses beyond the four walls
that need to deal with the fall-out too. First
and foremost are customers. Here the respon-
ses are as diverse as the people themselves
and the businesses they represent. Industries
such as industrial and automotive demand
long-term stability of supply, have high quality
expectations (especially in safety-critical
applications), and may also have demanding
just-in-time (JIT [5]) delivery requirements.
In many cases, the merger can actually prove
to be quite beneficial, especially if the acqui-
rer is better established in a specific market
segment (i.e., automotive) than the target of
the acquisition was.
At this stage, the need for strong leadership
and, again, the clarity it offers is reflected in
a McKinsey&Company report on deal-ma-
king in the semiconductor industry [6].
They estimated that strong involvement of
the CEO, another senior leader, or a dedica-
ted “transformation manager” post-merger
resulted in an increased success factor of 2.5
over those whose leaders were less involved in
the transformation. The process also needs to
be swift if the desired value creation from the
merger is to be realized. Those that managed
the transformation within 2 years were 2.5
times more likely to attain the value (i.e.,
financial) benefits that they had told inves-
tors they were pinning to the deal.
In order to quickly provide clarity, and in
many ways protect the existing business that
has been purchased, teams are formed that
represent both businesses. These develop a
list of responses to frequency asked questions
(FAQs). To quote John McKenna, who was
a Regional Distribution Manager at NSC
during the TI/NSC merger, the key here is
to “communicate, communicate and, did I
mention, communicate?” Under such condi-
tions, rumors are rife and quickly develop a
life of their own. Establishing clarity at this
stage is, therefore, essential.
This leads to another key player in acqui-
sitions: distributors and catalog suppliers.
Semiconductor vendors typically reserve
direct sales relationships for those customers
that purchase millions of dollars of products
every year. For those under this threshold,
their product purchasing needs can be fulfil-
led through distributors. The smallest quanti-
ties of part purchases are typically handled by
the catalog suppliers — those businesses who
used to be known for their weighty tomes that
excited engineers-to-be who waited for their
annual release with bated breath.
Both these partners not only handle the
logistics of supply, they also offload some, if
not all, of the technical support. With the high
levels of integration being applied to even the
simplest silicon devices, which is increasing
their complexity, this is not an insignificant
task. Both parties undertake significant inves-
tment in these relationships from their people
and systems, to logistics and training. Each
distributor also has its customer base, regio-
nal reach (local/global), application focus,
and, as a result, a combination of strengths
and weaknesses. Semiconductor vendors are
therefore selective in choosing distribution
partners. Thus, mergers and acquisitions
(M&A) are a worrying piece of news for distri-
butors as, inevitably, the risk of losing millions
of dollars of revenue is high. One thing is for
sure: consolidation in this space will happen
and the challenge is managing it as best as
possible.
Many others in the semiconductor ecosystem
need to be kept in the loop. These range from
software and tools partners, to consultants
whose businesses may have been built upon
lektor electronica Special Edition 7

Merging two semiconductor titans requires strong leadership to ensure the acquisition delivers the
benefits promised to investors, customers, and partners.
the very existence of a particular microcon-
troller or other silicon solution. These may
also benefit or lose out, depending on the
decisions made by the acquiring business.
What makes for a good
semiconductor acquisition?
The past decade has seen significant M&A
activity, with over $310 billion of agreements
being signed off, $107.7 billion of which were
undertaken in 2015 [7]. Some of these come
about because the acquirer wants to benefit
from the technology (as well as the custo-
mer base) of the target organization. As
already highlighted with the Arm and MIPS
examples, the development of IP is a signi-
ficant undertaking, and this is only part of
the story. In addition, there are the challen-
ges of keeping fabrication facilities up to
date, developing new device packaging, and
innovating in specific, emerging application
spaces, such as capacitive touch or Internet
of Things (IoT). Patent applications are one
way to measure technical prowess, and it is
perhaps not insignificant that U.S. patent
publications peaked in 2007, around eight
years prior to the biggest year of semiconduc-
tor M&As. According to a paper by B. Shao,
K. Asatani, and I. Sakata [8], who compared
M&A activity with these patent publications,
M&As are a “resource reallocation method
[to] integrate different unique resources
among companies, no matter [if they are]
horizontal or vertical.” M&A deals they could
define were broadly split into three areas:
 
> Semiconductor manufacturing process
— the acquirer was looking to apply the
new manufacturing processes attained
to enlarge their business.
> Chips — the acquirer was looking for
new device manufacturing process
8 Elektor Industry 6/2020 www.elektormagazine.com
technologies (wire bonding, packaging,
substrate).
> Monitors — the acquirer was looking
for new technology relating to visual
interfaces of smart devices (innovation
in relation to pixels, graphics layers,
imaging, sensors).
 
Whether these mergers result in success or
not depends, however, on another factor: that
of synergies that can be established between
the acquirer and the target. Norbert Siedhoff,
a Sales Coach and Consultant, explains it as
follows: “Regardless of how you review the
deal, from the perspective of the business, its
customers, distributor relationships, or that
of investors, you should be looking for syner-
gies that deliver a 1 + 1 > 2 outcome in every
area.” As the Managing Director of Microchip
Technology GmbH up until 2019, he got to
oversee many M&As, including the purchase
of both Atmel (2016) and Microsemi Corpo-
ration (2018).
The purchase of Atmel was seen by many in
the industry as possibly signaling the end of
the 8-bit AVR technology. It was assumed that
Microchip, with its well-established range of
8-bit PIC microcontrollers, would sideline the
AVR. After all, what sense would there be in
maintaining two processor cores (which, as
we have already established, are expensive
to develop and maintain)? However, with
a massive community of “AVR Freaks,” this
would have put some of the potential success
of the deal at risk, as well as possibly tarnis-
hing the Microchip brand.
The reason why this didn’t happen, and
why the announcement was not linked to
job loss announcements, possibly lies with
Microchip’s strong “Guiding Values” [9].
These include “Customers Are Our Focus”
and “Employees Are Our Greatest Strength”.
While, purely financially speaking, the
maintenance of two proprietary 8-bit cores
makes little sense, looking beyond the
spreadsheet of profit and loss, it is clear that
by maintaining both the PIC and AVR cores,
1 + 1 > 2. Not only did Microchip retain the
AVR family, it has actually continued to
invest in it [10], satisfying customers of both
technologies.
Siedhoff indicates that this approach can
be applied across the board. For example,
whether a distributor is retained or has to
be cut has to be a question of focus, not just
finance. “You may have three distributors
doing $100m, $90m, and $5m of business
for you. If the smallest is highly specialized,
that relationship is worth more than the sum
of the two businesses that make it up.” This
implies that, by cutting that smaller partner,
you’ll probably lose the $5m of revenue
completely since your larger (financially),
but less specialized, distributors won’t be
able to take on that business on your behalf.
Günter Hohma experienced precisely this
“distributor’s worry” in his current role at
Richardson RFPD, Inc., as Microchip announ-
ced the takeover of Microsemi, one of their
semiconductor partners. “Our customers
define us as ‘trusted advisors’ in the fields
of RF and High Power. We were able to not
only retain our Microsemi market share after
their merger with Microchip, we were able to
expand it with technically appropriate [Micro-
chip] products.”
The staff, of course, are the critical element
of any successful M&A, but merging cultu-
res is exceptionally challenging. Here Micro-
chip provides all new employees, both new
hires and those acquired through M&As,
team-building workshops. The mere
thought of these two-week-long sessions
at the company’s headquarters in Arizona
can result in rolling eyes and reticence. After
all, who wants to sit in a windowless room,
air-conditioned down to 18°C (64°F) for 14
days? However, Siedhoff highlights that, by
the end, all participants emerge enthused and
eager, ready to put their new-found skills to
work with their new colleagues. Rather than
focus on products, these workshops focus
on instilling the values of the company, how
business is done, and ensure that, especially
after a significant M&A, it results in “one
company, one sales process, and one face to
the customer.”
What makes for a successful
merger?
While M&As in the semiconductor indus-

Rather than focusing purely on financials, the acquirer business should search for synergies that
deliver more than the sum of the two relationships.
try offer the immediate incentive of greater
market share and the associated revenues,
and access to new technology (both manufac-
turing and IP), this is not baked into the deal.
There is very little of a merger’s success that
is not attached to the expertise of the people
in the business you are acquiring; this is, after
all, a knowledge industry. So what makes for
a successful and healthy merger?
When taking on smaller competitors or
existing partners, the integration is less
challenging, but the merger of indus-
try titans require a significant amount of
work. At the moment the deal is announ-
ced, clear communication for all involved
is critical. This ensures you retain emplo-
yees, partners, and customers. Placing a
senior figure in charge of this is essential
to provide clear leadership and direction,
especially to those working at and linked to
the target of the acquisition. As the merger
moves forward, each decision needs to be
looked at with regard to synergy, not the
output of a spreadsheet: does the sum of
each relationship deliver more than its
component parts?
Then there is the integration of the people
and the merging of cultures. This is key to
ensuring there is one face shown outward
to customers, distributors, and partners,
regardless of where the employee represen-
ting the organization originally came from.
With the right attitude all round, there are
no problems that cannot be solved. Those
spoken to said that they felt as if they and
their (new) employer had emerged from
such mergers stronger and more successful,
having created a “new” company that could
cement itself in its market and continue to
grow. “Looking back, I have always experien-
ced the utmost professionalism after such
mergers,” Günter Hohma tells me, “and I like
to think that I was able to make at least a small
contribution to their success.”
200510-01

WEB LINKS
[1] IC Insights, “Nvidia’s $40 Billion ARM Purchase Will Test Current M&A ‘Ceiling’,” 2020.: http://bit.ly/Arm-Nvidia
[2] List of iPod Models: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_iPod_models
[3] Microchip Technology, “maXTouch Touchscreen Controllers”: http://bit.ly/maXTouch
[4] K. Sweet, “Texas Instruments to Buy National Semiconductor for $6.5 billion,” CNN, 2011.: http://bit.ly/ti-nat
[5] “Just-in-Time Manufacturing”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-in-time_manufacturing
[6] McKinsey & Co., “Winning Through M&A?,” 2016.: http://bit.ly/mckinsey-ma-doc
[7] IC Insights, “Acquisition Rebound Lifts 2019 to Third-Largest M&A Year,” 2020.: http://bit.ly/ic-acquisition-rebound
[8] B. Shao, K. Asatani and I. Sakata, “Analysis of Mergers and Acquisitions Trends in the Semiconductor Industry with the
Technology Perspective,” PICMET, 2019.: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8893782
[9] Microchip Technology, Market Communication Letter, 2019.: http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/Market_
Communication/00002161D.pdf
[10] Microchip Technology, “New Functional Safety Ready AVR DA Microcontroller Family Enables Real-Time Control, Connectivity
and HMI Applications,” Elektor, 2020.: http://bit.ly/AVR-DA-MCU

lektor electronica Special Edition 9

 feature

DC/DC Power Electronics

for Electrolyzers, Fuel
Cells, and Batteries

Looking for a DC/DC operating point, load and ambient conditions
converter? Querom (Figure 1). But also the operation of elect-
rolyzers requires a controllable power supply
develops customized DC/DC depending on various parameters. In order to
converters and chargers for a optimally supply and operate electrolyzers, fuel
wide
variety of applications. cells and batteries, Querom has been develo-
ping both input and output controllable DC/
DC converters for several years.
Contributed by Querom
Optimized hardware design for
demanding applications
In terms of efficiency, cost and volume, a
resonant LLC topology has technological
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as the single-phase Phase Shifted Fullbrigde
(PSFB). Querom minimizes the high current
ripple caused by the LLC converter principle

For decades, a wide variety of DC/DC conver-

ters have been available on the market in
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areas of application are also accompanied by
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well as data acquisition and data transmission.
 
While politics and industry, in their search for
an optimal storage technology, prefer either
hydrogen or battery storage, the requirements
for the necessary power electronics remain
almost the same. Both accumulators and fuel
cells deliver varying voltages depending on
Figure 2: Ripple Current vs Number of Phases.
 

10 Elektor Industry 6/2020 www.elektormagazine.com

 Figure 1: GUI for parameterization, control and diagnosis of DC/DC converters.
 

with a multi-phase arrangement (Figure 2).
This multi-phase arrangement reduces the
cost of the output filter and enables Querom
to offer a modular system with freely scalable
output power.
Demand-oriented supply of batte-
ries with DC/DC converter
From the physics perspective, the require-
ments for fast charging on the one hand and
battery conservation on the other hand are
contradicting each other. In order to achieve
the economically most sensible combination
of these requirements, operating and system
parameters along with precise measurement
and control technology are critical.
 
Thus, the ohmic resistance of the cables in
the DC/DC converter can be parameterized
to achieve a load-independent voltage at the
charging points. Furthermore, parameters
such as current, voltage or temperature can
be recorded directly on the battery via sense
wires. This information in combination with
parameterizable charging algorithms integra-
ted in the software allows an optimal supply
of different batteries.
application to control the DC supply in real
time. In addition to common bus systems,
Querom also offers IoT modules suitable for
remote maintenance. The interfaces in combi-
nation with precise measurement technology
allow detailed diagnostics, provide information
about running processes and prevent failures.
Thermal management allows
customized cooling concepts
Querom attaches great importance to the
flexible, customer-specific integration of its
DC/DC converters into different applications.
For this reason, contact, convection or liquid
cooling are possible due to a sophisticated
thermal management (Figure 3). In addition
to the cooling concept, the housing also plays
an important role in an application-oriented
integration. For this reason, Querom offers
its customers different housing variants from
Open-Frame to IP67.
Customized DC/DC converter
Querom (www.querom.de) develops and
manufactures customized DC/DC conver-
ters and chargers for a wide range of appli-
cations. In addition, Querom provides analy-
ses for more complex system integrations and
enables customers to gain insight into their
planned applications through simulation. We
would be happy to speak to you personally
and look forward to hearing from you.
200502-01

Communication interfaces
for application-oriented data
transmission
In combination with numerous configuration
parameters, which also allow for stand-alone
operation, Querom relies on powerful inter-
faces that allow central control units of an Figure 3: Thermal connection of the different power units.

lektor electronica Special Edition 11

 With PCBWay
PCBWay's
PCB Capabilities
By PCBWay
Curious about PCBWay’s PCB
prototyping and
manufacturing services? In
this interview, the company
explains its current offerings
and answers a variety of
frequently asked questions.  our “Capabilities” page.[1]
Elektor: What are the main services provi-
ded by PCBWay?
PCBWay: As you can see from our
website, currently we are not only offering
quick PCB prototyping and manufactu-
ring service, but also PCB assembly and
even PCB design and layout service. We
are proud to say that we can meet your PCB
needs totally under one roof (Figure 1).
 
Elektor: What are your general PCB fabri-
cation capabilities?
PCBWay: We are able to produce up to a
14-layer PCB, and we have a wide range of
services, including HDI boards, aluminum
PCB, flex and rigid-flex PCB. Also, we have
12 Elektor Industry 6/2020 www.elektormagazine.com
Figure 1: PCBWay can meet your PCB needs.
many choices to customize your boards,
based on your special needs in terms of
solder mask colors and surface finish
processes, etc. What’s more, some of the
advanced PCBs that we have produced
have been widely used in automobiles,
medical devices, and aerospace equip-
ment. You can check out the details on
 
Elektor: Are there minimum quantities
for ordering PCBs and PCBAs?
PCBWay: No MOQ actually. But we
suggest you to order five or 10 pieces to
enjoy our special offers. For new custo-
mers, you can get a $5 coupon, which can
possibly make your first order free.
 
Elektor: What is the order process? Is it
complicated?
PCBWay: Not at all. All you need to
do is just upload the required files (like
a Gerber file, BOM file, etc.) and fill out
other parameters online to customize
your boards. We also have a “Quick Order”
option that makes everything even easier.
Based on our online quote system (Figure
2), you can get the price instantly, so it’s
quite easy to place an order on our website.
Anyway, if you still face any difficulties,
just feel free to drop a message to the
service representatives. We will reply to
you timely and patiently.
 
Elektor: Could you tell us more about the
“Quick Order” option?
PCBWay: Sure. We have been commit-
ted to providing our customers with a
more convenient and efficient way to place
orders. That’s why we offer two ways for you
to get the instant quotations. Actually, you
could tell the characteristics from its name;
it’s quick. Differing from our standard
PCB process, there’s no need to fill out the
information of PCB like dimension, space
of tracks, etc. Just upload the Gerber file,
since our parameters tool can catch all the
information automatically. If the default
specs of PCB are all correct, then you may
save this order to your cart. Our engineer
will check the design and finish the review
before your payment (Figure 3).

Elektor: How long will it take for the
engineer to review an order?
PCBWay: Actually, it depends on what
kind of orders you’ve created. For regular
PCBs, it normally takes three to 10 mins.
And for Flex or other boards with special
techs, it normally takes a few hours, as the
design is more complicated, we need to
analyze the file carefully. As for Assembly
orders, it normally takes one day, because
we need to check the price of components
unit by unit, which is time-consuming. If
any orders are urgent, you may contact
customer service whose e-mail address
could be found at the upper right corner of
the web page, and then your orders could
take priority for review.
 
Elektor: After the file has been passed the
audit successfully, is it possible to change
the parameters of the order, like soldermask
color?
PCBWay: Yes, of course. For the quantity,
the option of lead time, solder mask, and
silkscreen color, you may change it on
Figure 2: You can get a quote instantly.
Figure 4: You can change order parameters.
your own. Moreover, for other specs —
like board thickness, surface finish, etc.
— just contact customer service or use the
online chat to meet your needs (Figure 4).
 
Elektor: When the Gerber is under review,
what will the engineer check for?
PCBWay: Three parts. The first one is the
completeness of the file. We’ll check if the
design has all the layers or not — namely,
copper layer, silkscreen layer, solder mask
layer, etc. The second one is the basic
information of PCB, such as dimension,
layers of copper, minimum hole size, etc.
If there is anything different from those
specifics having been set up, then we will
adjust according to design. And the last
one is capability, such as the space between
BGA or IC pads.
 
Elektor: What is the process for repeating
order at PCBWay?
PCBWay: That’s quite easy. Find the
orders that you want to repeat under the
list of “Completed orders” and then click the
Figure 3: The quick-order option.
Figure 5: PCB Assembly quote and order.
button “repeat order”. All you need to do is
choose the quantity and submit it.
 
Elektor: What if there’s a need to change
something for the repeated order?
PCBWay: Don’t worry. Customers can
add a note about changes when creating
repeated orders online. Our engineer will
change the order’s specs according to the
note. Please remember that for repeated
orders, we will use the exact same working
file of the previous order. So, if there’s any
change in the file, it would be a better choice
to create a new order instead of repeating
an order.
 
Elektor: How do you place a PCB assembly
order at PCBWay? Is it the same as the PCB
order process?
PCBWay: At PCBWay, we’ve been trying to
make everything easier for our clients and
minimize their operations, so placing a PCBA
order can be very simple and quite similar
with the PCB order process. Fill out the basic
information, upload the required files, and get
the final price to proceed (Figure 5).
lektor electronica Special Edition 13
 Figure 6: Required information in a BOM file.
Figure 7: The Gerber viewer.
Elektor: What files are needed for a PCBA
order ?
PCBWay: Normally, you need to provide a
Gerber file, Parts List (BOM), and pick-and-
place/Centroid file for a PCBA order. Our
engineers will check the files and give you
the final accurate quotation in a timely
manner. Then you’ll get the access to make
a payment to start the fabrication after the
files have passed the audit.
 
Elektor: What is required for the BOM file?
PCBWay: The following content has to
be included:
 
> MFG Part Number: Used to describe
manufacturer part number.
> Designator: Used to describe positions
of components on PCB, such as R1, C1,
U1, etc.
> Quantity: Component amount used per
every single PCB.
> Footprint: Used to describe component
package, such as 0402, 0603, 0805,
QFN-48, etc.
It’s surely better if you can provide more
information, like:
14 Elektor Industry 6/2020 www.elektormagazine.com
> Description: Used to describe compo-
nents part number, specification,
tolerance, etc. For example: "100nf
80%-20% 50V".
> Type (SMD/THT): Used to describe the
soldering type. For example, ‘SMD’
refers to Surface Mounted Devices
and ‘THT’ refers to through-hole
technology.
> Instructions/Notes: Some special
instructions for components. For
example, component soldering notes,
component polarity or orientation,
component soldering temperature,
component firmware loading, compo-
nent testing instruction, component
soldering or not soldering (DNP,DNS),
customer-supply components or not,
etc. (Figure 6)
 
Elektor: After the BOM is uploaded,
how long will it take for you to provide the
quotation?
WEBLINKS
[1] PCBWay, “PCB Capabilities”: https://www.pcbway.com/capabilities.html
PCBWay: Normally, you will receive
a quotation within one business day.
However, if there are really a lot of different
types of components, it may take longer but
not more than the next day.
 
Elektor: Are there any other features on your
website that you want to describe?
PCBWay: Check out the PCBWay commu-
nity, where you can find thousands of useful
shared projects, and the reviews with great
reference value from our clients.
 
Moreover, there is a Gerber viewer
(Figure 7) for you to check your Gerber
files before placing an order, as well a gift
shop where you can purchase practical
gadgets and tools by PCBWay beans. Lastly,
subscribe to our blog and Youtube channel
to keep updated with the latest news and
promotions.
Just have a look at PCBWay.com. You’re
going to love it.
200487-01
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 review
Review:
Nimbus 3D
Time-of-Flight
Camera
Use Raspberry Pi
as a Kinect
By Tam Hanna (Slovak Republic)
Since the success of Microsoft’s Kinect
camera, the world of hardware development
has become unimaginable without depth-
sensing cameras. For some time now, the
company pieye has been offering such a
camera module called Nimbus 3D Time-of-
Flight (ToF) that is designed to transform a
Raspberry Pi into a depth camera.
Due to its comparatively low hardware cost and relatively simple
control, Kinect is still very popular in the field of robotics, even
though Microsoft abandoned the technology long ago.
Pieye’s ToF camera module, named Nimbus 3D, is designed to turn
an RPi into a depth camera. As the author of a Kinect book I could
not resist a little experimentation. Before we begin, it may be of help
to review the document under [1] where you can find a comparison
of various depth sensor systems from the Kinect series.
Hardware
Elektor supplied the camera in a comparatively compact package
that includes the circuit board, a ribbon cable and two screws, as
well as the 3D-printed spacer shown in Figure 1.
Because of the large amount of data to be transmitted by the sensor
used, communication between the board and the single-board
computer takes place via the camera port. For this purpose, before
16 Elektor Industry 6/2020 www.elektormagazine.com
Figure 1: Moulded
parts: 3D printing is
used everywhere.
actually connecting the board, make sure to connect the camera
connector of the RPi with the ribbon cable. Then connect the board
to the GPIO port, install the screws (a little crooked) and enjoy the
result as shown in Figure 2.
When testing with a Raspberry Pi 4 there was about a half-a-mil-
limetre gap after connecting the GPIO headers and inserting the
screws. This was linked to the black (and also 3D-printed) spacers
that proved to be a bit too long. This problem can be solved using
a file or a handheld electrical grinding tool (Proxxon/Dremel).
Initial operation
Fast hardware in conjunction with Unix computers have always
had the unpleasant characteristic that, for end users, they are often
only accessible through kernel modules and other difficult-to-con-
figure interfaces. In the case of Nimbus 3D it is simpler because
the required code is provided with as a finished image file at [2]. A
few days before the editorial deadline, the manufacturer provided
an update that included support for Raspberry Pi 4 and a GitHub
repository. If you download your image from [3], you can download
a little faster — the Nextcloud service is sometimes a bit sluggish
(Figure 3).
A test of the image nimbus_rpi3_rpi4_v0.1.78_d998e541_shrink.img.
gz on an SD card using a Raspberry Pi 4 worked in a dry run after
the update. But the remaining tests discussed here were made with
a Raspberry Pi 3B+. The system rebooted once and then presented
a terminal window (see Figure 4).
For the actual start-up, an Internet connection is required in
addition to a monitor connected via HDMI to check the status of
the output. Nimbus 3D is not a stand-alone system. Instead it is
intended that the Raspberry Pi — as with a Kinect — operates as
a camera that transmits the information it captures to a worksta-
tion. Due to the high frame rate, a Gbit Ethernet connection results
Figure 2: The depth scanner is
in less latency here. An extremely powerful power supply unit is now basically ready for use.
required and use of the official power supply unit or a genuine
equivalent prevents problems.
 
This means that the next task is to determine the IP address of
the Raspberry Pi and then open the associated web page in the
browser of another PC. If you use Ubuntu, like I do, and have both
the Raspberry Pi and the PC on the same network, you can use
NMAP to search for it as shown in this approach:
 
tamhan@TAMHAN18:~$ nmap -sP 192.168.1.0/24
 
Starting Nmap 7.60 ( https://nmap.org ) at 2020-08-11
06:06 CEST Figure 3: If you download your firmware image from GitHub,
Nmap scan report for sagemcom (192.168.1.1) you can acquire it a little faster — the Nextcloud service is
sometimes a little sluggish.
Host is up (0.00055s latency).
Nmap scan report for raspberrypi (192.168.1.66)
Host is up (0.0015s latency).
Nmap scan report for TAMHAN18 (192.168.1.68)
 
By the way, the command used here is only valid if the router issues
IP addresses to the network client using the 192.168.1.x base address.
If the base address is different, you must adjust the entries accor-
dingly. If the connection is successful, the web page appears as in
Figure 5. You can see my hand, as well as the cable ducts on the
ceiling, and even the gas pipe relatively well. This is not really surpri-
sing since the datasheet promises a resolution of 352 × 288 pixels
with a measuring range of 0.1–3 m.
Experience shows that depth sensors have more problems at close
range. Since I had just opened a Tektronix 577, Figures 6 and 7 show
Figure 4: Access to the desktop is ‘somewhat
two images of it. What is most noticeable is that the LEDs used for
complicated’ with the image provided.
illumination lead to overexposure at a certain minimum distance.
Two things are important here. First, the LEDs on the board only
light up red very weakly because they are infrared LEDs. To check
that they are functioning, a smartphone camera is a suitable tool.
My BlackBerry had no problem proving that the LEDs were operati-
onal. Furthermore, the comparatively high thermal output genera-
ted has to be taken into account. The room temperature in my
temperate underground bunker was 20°C. Although the Raspberry
Pi was completely open on the table, it still reached temperatures
of up to 70°C. The use of a Raspberry Pi in an enclosure without
some form of cooling is, therefore, not recommended.
 
The display of depth information in the browser may be an interes-
ting capability, but whether this justifies the price of almost €230
is the question. Fortunately, there is a Python library under [4] that
allows developers to integrate the depth information into your own Figure 5: The image capture operating without any problems.
applications. Interestingly, the provider relies on web sockets to
implement communication - a procedure that requires Python 3
version 3.6 or later. I have used Ubuntu 18.04 LTS for the following
steps with Python version 3.6.9 installed on my PC.

lektor electronica Special Edition 17

 Figure 6: Image capture of an open Tektronix 577.
In the next step the package manager PIP, included in Python, is
used. Make sure to use PIP3 and not the PIP version included in
Python 2.X by mistake.
tamhan@TAMHAN18:~$ pip3 install nimbus-python
. . .
Successfully installed certifi-2020.6.20 chardet-
3.0.4 idna-2.10 nimbus-python-0.0.4 numpy-1.19.1
requests-2.24.0 urllib3-1.25.10 websockets-8.1
 
For a simple first attempt at programming, a test program such
as this is suitable:
 
from nimbusPython import NimbusClient
cli = NimbusClient.NimbusClient(„192.168.1.66“)
header, (ampl, radial, x, y, z, conf) = cli.
getImage(invalidAsNan=True)
After importing the Nimbus library, a client object is created that
encapsulates the connection to the Raspberry Pi serving as a
camera. Afterwards, the method getImage is called that returns
a group of vectors with the depth data. These can then be processed
as desired. I would use MatPlotLib for this. This program and the
rest of the Python library worked quite well in my tests. Sometimes
it was not possible to establish a connection and thus I had to kill
the process.
Digression: The development environment
Even though the manual strongly recommends the use of the provi-
ded firmeware image, I wanted to do my own experiments. For
this purpose I decided to use a Raspberry Pi 4 that was equipped
with the firmware image 2020-08-20-raspios-buster-armhf-full.img.
The next step was to update the low-level working environment
by entering the following commands:
 
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo apt-get update
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo apt-get upgrade
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo rpi-update
 
Now I had to add the package source folder. To do this I added the
command deb http://apt.pieye.org/debian/ nimbus-stable main to
the file /etc/apt/sources.list with superuser rights, then executed
the following command to add an SSH key:
18 Elektor Industry 6/2020 www.elektormagazine.com
Figure 7: Image capture of an open Tektronix 577 from another angle.
wget -O - -q http://apt.pieye.org/apt.pieye.org.gpg.key
| sudo apt-key add -
sudo apt-get update
After the obligatory reboot, the following DTOverlay declaration is
then added to the end of the file /boot/config.txt, again with superu-
ser rights:
 
[all]
#dtoverlay=vc4-fkms-v3d
dtoverlay=irs1125
 
Now the server responsible for delivering the depth images could
be installed — make sure to also enable the I2C bus in raspi-config
(sudo raspi-config -> 5 Interfacing Options -> P5 I2C):
 
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo apt-get install nimbus-server
After that a reboot is necessary again. The following commands
download the web interface and install the Unix server services
necessary for its processing:
 
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo systemctl start nimbusServer.
service
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo apt-get install nginx git
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ git clone https://github.com/pieye/
nimbus-web.git
 
Finally, I had to edit the file /etc/nginx/sites-available/default and
make the root declaration point to the software downloaded from
GitHub as follows:
 
root /home/pi/nimbus-web;
 
Now all that was missing was the entry of sudo service nginx
restart that restarted the web server and made the web interface
accessible at the IP address of the Raspberry Pi. I called this up
via my PC and was presented with three black screens. An analy-
sis of the status of the service showed that, shortly after the call,
the service had died, leaving me with the black screen shown in
Figure 8. This error is due to an incompatibility between kernel
and driver, and is known to the manufacturer and is regularly fixed.
Figure 8: The server crashes — again.

Was it worth it?

There is no question that, with Nimbus 3D, pieye is offering a Related Products
comparatively inexpensive depth sensor that — even in compa-
rison to the Kinect — delivers quite impressive results. Anyone > Pieye Nimbus 3D ToF Camera Module
for Raspberry Pi
requiring a compact depth scanner today has little choice in this
www.elektor.com/pieye-nimbus-3d-tof-camera-module-for-raspberry-pi  
area. It is clear that there are better sensors for military applica-
tions. However, whether one wants to spend so much money on > Raspberry Pi 4 B (2 GB RAM)
www.elektor.com/raspberry-pi-4-b-2-gb-ram
them is rather questionable.
Apart from the undeniable advantages of the product discussed,
there are aspects that could be improved. The fact that there are
no connections to supply the board directly or via a power supply
unit bothered me. Better Python software would also help. In any
case I hope that, through this review, I have provided enough to Questions or Comments?
give you a rough idea of what to expect with this sensor. If you have any questions relating to this article, feel free to reach
200488-02 out to the author by e-mail at tamhan@tamoggemon.com.

WEB LINKS
[1] Comparison of Depth Sensors (PDF): https://bit.ly/2HiCQ7q
[2] Quick-Start Instructions for Nimbus 3D (PDF): https://bit.ly/2FD3uHP
[3] GitHub Repository: https://github.com/pieye/nimbus-images/releases/tag/v0.1.78
[4] Python Library: https://github.com/pieye/nimbus-python

Vlakbodem 10 3247 CP Dirksland the Netherlands

+31 187 602 744 www.tbp.nl info@tbp.nl

tbp also supplies

the medical industry
electronics manufacturing services

lektor electronica Special Edition 19

 news

Four Development Kits

to Help Speed Up Your
Wireless Project
By Mark Patrick (Mouser Electronics)

Wireless interfaces are ubiquitous today and power management circuitry. For instance,
provide essential connectivity in everything the charge controller, for external Li-Ion or
Li-Polymer battery management, makes it
from consumer devices to industrial IoT suitable for prototyping of portable devices.
systems. In this article, we review the features On-board environmental sensors, for humid-
of four popular wireless standards (Wi-Fi, ity, pressure and ambient light, are an added
feature.
Bluetooth Mesh, Z-Wave and cellular) and look at some of  
the development platforms available. The kit comes pre-programmed to work with
Amazon Alexa, providing connectivity to the
cloud for ease of rapid prototyping. Develop-
Designing radio frequency (RF) circuits performance and suitability for a particular ers can then use Atmel Studio IDE to write
has always been considered by electron- application. For example, some applications proprietary application firmware.
ics engineers as a bit of a dark-art and best require high data rates or long-range commu-
left to the experts. One factor that makes RF nication, while others are more focused on Bluetooth Mesh
design complicated is that parasitic compo- low energy consumption. Used mainly for short-range communi-
nents, which can often be ignored in a design, cation, Bluetooth replaces wired connec-
become more significant at high frequencies. Wi-Fi tions to peripheral devices, such as print-
When laying out a PCB, transmission line Wi-Fi is probably the best-known wireless ers. Compared to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth uses less
effects, signal delays and reflections must standard. Widely used in the home and office power, has less range and a maximum data
also be considered, and any stray signals environment, it provides 360-degree access to rate of 1 or 2 Mb/s. However, with the recent
that could interfere with nearby equipment. high-speed data. Indoors, the range is around introduction of the Bluetooth 5 standard, the
The final hurdles to jump through are compli- 10 to 30 meters because obstructions, such as ability to mesh network has increased its
ance with protocol standards and regulatory walls, limit it, but distances of over 100 meters range considerably (Figure 2).
approval. To ease product development, there can be achieved outdoors. Current Wi-Fi  
are off-the-shelf RF modules and System in standards use two radio frequencies, 2.4 GHz For evaluating Bluetooth mesh, the EZ-BT
Package (SiP) products come pre-certified and 5 GHz. The 2.4 GHz standard delivers Mesh Evaluation Kit from Cypress includes
and include all the necessary functionality. data transfer speeds of up to 600 Mb/s. The four complete Bluetooth nodes, which provide
  higher frequency band can provide faster data a simple network, straight out of the box. To
Consider a typical wireless module which rates, but its range is more limited by solid create a larger network, simply add more
comprises a radio transceiver, crystal oscil- obstructions. nodes.
lator, RF circuitry and a printed-circuit    
antenna. It will also include a microcontrol- The Microchip Technology AC164165 Wi-Fi The wireless module is based on the
ler with firmware to implement the proto- Smart Device Enablement Kit (Figure 1) is C YW20819, a low-power, dual-mode
col stack. Other functions, such as energy a Wi-Fi demonstration and development Bluetooth 5 device, and includes a crystal oscil-
management and external interfaces, may platform. Based on a compact, single-band lator and printed-circuit antenna. It also has
also be integrated. Most often, it will have a 2.4 GHz module (the ATWINC15x0), it is ADC and PWM peripherals and several serial
dedicated evaluation and development kit. optimised for low-power IoT applications. The interfaces, including a PCM/I2S audio inter-
Development kits help with the initial evalu- Wi-Fi controller supports the IEEE 802.11b/g/n face. To round off, each main board in the kit
ation of the wireless module. They can also standards, and an advanced physical layer has USB and UART interfaces, a software-de-
be used as a software development platform (PHY) provides excellent sensitivity and range. finable RGB LED and switch, an ambient light
and for building a demonstrator or prototype.   sensor, a thermistor and a PIR motion sensor
However, it is still necessary to understand the As well as the microcontroller and a variety of (Figure 3). Its low power consumption makes
parameters that define a wireless technology’s standard interfaces, the main board includes it suitable for battery-powered applications for

20 Elektor Industry 6/2020 www.elektormagazine.com

 Figure 1: The AC164165 Wi-Fi
Smart Device Enablement Kit.
(Source: Microchip)

Figure 2: Graphic of mesh network.

(Source: Mouser Electronics)

Figure 4: The Z-Wave 700 Wireless Starter

Figure 3: Bluetooth mesh Kit. (Source: Silicon Labs)
node board features. (Source:
Cypress)

which a coin-cell battery holder is included
on the board.
 
To support IoT development, the ModusToolbox
software development environment includes
an IDE, board support packages, middleware
libraries and a wide range of application code
examples.
Z-Wave
Designed primarily for home automation appli-
cations, Z-Wave is a very low power wireless
protocol. It transmits small amounts of data
intermittently and typically uses a coin cell
battery or energy harvesting, for power. Like
other wireless technologies, Z-Wave uses
a mesh network to enable communication
between all devices and amplify range.
 
The Silicon Labs Z-Wave 700 Wireless Starter
Kit (Figure 4) is a full-featured evaluation
and development platform. It contains two
main boards with add-on radio boards that
include the RF transceiver, crystal oscillator
and supporting components. The radio board
can also be used as a reference design for the
ZGM130S SiP module.
 
Each main board has a wide range of exter-
nal interfaces, including Ethernet and USB,
plus a microSD card slot. A 128 x 128 pixel
LCD, sensors for humidity and tempera-
ture, and a coin-cell battery holder are also
included. There is also an expansion header
for add-on boards to integrate other hardware.
The Simplicity Studio environment supports
software development in an industry-standard
IDE, with application examples and tools for
energy profiling, configuration and wireless
network analysis.
Narrowband Internet of Things
(NB-IoT)
Finally, LTE cellular technology, or 4G, is well
known from the world of mobile phones. For
IoT and low-power applications, the NB-IoT
standard uses a subset of LTE, limiting the
bandwidth to 200 kHz to reduce power
consumption.
 
The Nordic Semiconductor Thingy:91 Multi-
sensor Prototyping Kit (Figure 5) is ideal for
low-power cellular IoT development. Based on
the nRF9160 SiP, it integrates an RF front-end
with a multimode LTE-M/NB-IoT modem to
provide support for Bluetooth, cellular wireless
and GPS. The kit also has built-in power
management for the on-board rechargeable
lithium polymer (Li-Po) battery making it ideal
for developing portable and battery-operated
applications. It also integrates a surprising
range of environmental sensors: tempera-
ture, humidity, air quality and pressure, light
and color sensors, and two accelerometers
– extremely useful for proof of concept and
testing.
Figure 5: The Thingy:91 Multisensor
Prototyping Kit. (Source: Nordic
Semiconductor)
Conclusion
There are many wireless communicati-
on protocols available. The right choice
will depend on the application require-
ments. Whichever standard is chosen,
there is a host of modules and develop-
ment kits to kick-start the project, ac-
celerate development and reduce time
to market. After initial prototyping and
development, using the same wireless
module in the final product can save si-
gnificant time and engineering effort.
 
For more information about all the
available options for developing
wireless applications, visit the Mouser
website:
https://eu.mouser.com/.
200506-01

lektor electronica Special Edition 21

 background

E-Textiles
A World of New Possibilities
E-textiles combine flexible stretchable materials with
electronics technologies. The development of such systems
is challenging due to the expectations we have on our
everyday clothing. At the same time, intelligent textiles
provide ideal answers to today’s societal needs. Teiimo,
a young technology company and winner of the 2018
electronica Fast Forward Award, successfully works on the
development of new products that help people be healthy
and safe.

Contributed by Teiimo

Fall detection and immediate help
The Teiimo team started discussing the idea
of a new product and it became clear that
everybody immediately had someone in mind,
a dear family member or friends who could
use it immediately. The system automatically
detects the fall of a person and immediately
alerts an emergency contact. The devices are
at the same time small and invisible, easy and
fast to install.
 
“Many are worried about their parents who
live alone. That is also the case in my family,”
Markus Strecker, CEO of Teiimo, says. “When
we talk about our idea, we often get the
question: When and where can I get it?”
Teiimo now launches a crowdfunding campa-
ign in order to fund and accelerate the final
development steps and the production. The
novel system aims for providing a very useful
functionality integrated in everyday garments
and for making it widely available at a reaso-
nable price. The fall detection is built in to a
small, thin unit, about half the size of a credit
card. It is positioned in the garment in a pocket.
Teiimo will offer a selection of shirts for the
customers to pick what they like.
 
The electronics unit communicates with a
dedicated mobile communications unit which
is simply plugged into a wall plug at home.
It covers the whole single-family home, even
several floors and the yard. For outdoor activi-
ties, there is a mobile companion unit available
that interacts with the sensor shirt and simply
goes into the pocket of a jacket, a backpack,
etc. In case of a fall, it transmits not only an
alert, but also the position of the wearer. The
system only starts its activity when it is needed.
Until then, it “sleeps”.
Data security is taken very seriously. The minia-
turized electronics processes the wearer’s
movement data, but doesn’t transmit or store
the data — it only reports that everything is OK
and that the electronics are working correc-
tly. It doesn’t even save the data permanently.
Only when a fall occurs is information sent to
the saved emergency contacts so that they
can check on the wearer, come to see him, or
send for help.
 
As for the next development stages, additi-
onal functionalities are planned and already
demonstrated. For example, the system will
capture heart rate and transmit the information
to a doctor when anomalies occur.
 
“The system encourages people to stay active
and mobile. It gives them a feeling of safety and
is also useful for all who like being outdoors
on their own, on walks, bike rides or hikes,”
Strecker explains. “And it not only gives those
who wear it peace of mind but also their
families and friends.”
The Teiimo website includes a link to the
crowdfunding campaign and you have the
opportunity to benefit from early bird offers.
Opportunities and possibilities
in medical
“Imagine a doctor ’s visit for the annual
check-up. The doctor orders a 24-hour ECG.

22 Elektor Industry 6/2020 www.elektormagazine.com


E-textiles deliver comfort and precise data.
What if you only had to put on a t-shirt, leave
it on for 24 hours and hand it back the next
day? Very comfortable. No wires, no device
around your neck. And the doctor has your
data already on his screen when you come
in,“ Strecker describes an application for
e-textiles in a medical setting. It is a scena-
rio that Teiimo has discussed with doctors
and that the Team is working on.
The interest in such systems and as well as
the demand are high. Not only among estab-
lished doctors but also in hospitals. And the
applications go beyond simple ECG measu-
rements. Patient monitoring with comforta-
ble garments that provide precise data have
a lot of advantages, especially for patients
with chronic diseases. The acceptance among
patients – and the “compliance“ to wear the
system – is of high importance. This refers to
the use of the patient monitoring system on
a regular basis which is more easily achie-
ved when patients don’t feel the electronics.
 
Electronic textiles, or e-textiles for short,
combine the functionality of electronics
components with the comfort, the esthetics
and the ubiquity of fabric. Ideally, they
offer the same pleasant feeling as every-
day clothing but at the same time provide
highly precise data. “When developing new
approaches, new technology or products,
this is what guides us: form and techno-
logy follow comfort, usability and function“,
says Strecker. “If features are integrated into
the textile in a way that it can be worn as a
second skin and at the same time does its
job, then in my opinion it is a real e-textile
that offers real added value. “
 
It is easy to see that e-textiles are complex
products. And especially in medical applica-
tions highest requirements have to be met
which increases the complexity. Electronics
and textiles are two worlds that work diffe-
rently, each with their own rules. To bring
e-textiles into the regular textile manufactu-
ring process, the approach that you choose
in development is extremely important and
needs to pay attention to details. Garments
are mostly manufactured in “cut and saw“
processes and assembled in different sizes.
 
The way electrodes and sensors are integ-
rated into the garment have a vital impact.
Teiimo chooses processes that are suitable
for textile manufacturing.
The advances in electronics in the last years
with respect to size, calculation power, power
consumption and the precision of the sensors
were enormous and open up opportunities for
miniaturized and powerful electronics that can
be embedded in a garment. This also makes
the development of so-called hybrid systems
easier where the electronics with the power
supply is removed from the garment.
Figure 1: The heart of the new fall detection
system — the crowdfunding campaign starts.
 
Teiimo has developed a variety of building
blocks, such as sensors, electrodes and inter-
connects that the team uses depending on
the requirements of the specific application.
 
“Today we have textile-integrated systems.
Electronics and textile merge,” Strecker says.
“Subsystems remain in the textile and can
be washed. This includes sensors, electro-
des, wires and interconnects. The ultimate
target is that the user doesn’t feel them on
their skin.” Electrodes are thin, flexible and
stretchable. Complex bus-systems transmit
data and energy.
 
“We are doing custom developments for our
customers and welcome the cooperation with
experts in their field that need the integra-
tion expertise of Teiimo to make a product.
The early phase and the specifications are
highly important to the success of a product
and this step is taking a lot of attention in
our work,” Strecker says. “For many applica-
tions that we can now realize there is ‘pull’
from the market and from our customers! The
demand for e-textiles is growing, the market
is growing.”
 
Industry analysts predict a successful future
for e-textiles. IDTechEx sees the market in
2030 at $1.4 billion dollars (US).
Covid-19 initiative
A very current application scenario that shows
the whole potential that lies in the complexity of
e-textiles is Covid-19. Initiated by Teiimo, a group
of research institutes, universities, companies
and hospitals developed the concept of a shirt
that can help detect early symptoms of Covid-19.
Treatment could start earlier and thus the slow
down the spread of the pandemic.
lektor electronica Special Edition 23
 Figure 2: Twelve-
channel ECG
measured with
an E-Textile from
Teiimo.

“Doctors would also be able to monitor the
health state of someone who is infected and
lives alone on a regular basis by using digital
means, and decide about treatment,” explains
Strecker. “To collect data over a longer period
of time could also help learn more about the
infection.”
 
The initiative plans to use a smart biometric
shirt to monitor ECG, breathing, and tempe-
rature, to detect dry cough, to track the blood
oxygenation and to log the activity level in
order to detect a fatigue. This is combined
with a cloud infrastructure and artificial
intelligence.
 
“Among the most prevalent signs and
symptoms of the infection are according to
WHO fever, dry cough, fatigue, shortness of
breath,” Strecker says. “These can be monito-
red and detected and analyzed through the
use of our biometric platform. In addition to
the symptoms, there are other physiological
measurements, notably heart rate (HR), heart
rate recovery (HRR), and heart rate variabi-
lity (HRV) as well as the decrease in blood
oxygenation that we also capture and that
can provide early diagnostic insights into the
onset of an infection.”
 
The fact that the solution captures a variety of
biometric parameters means probably that it
could also be used for other infectious disea-
ses. The network of the Covid-19 initiative is
looking for adequate grants and funding. The
development requires resources, certifications
and tests need to be conducted.
www.teiimo.com 200509-01

The elektor
investment program

We connect start-ups with future

customers, partners and resellers.
Learn about the benefits for both
start-ups and investors.
www.elektormagazine.com/investment-program

24 Elektor Industry 6/2020 www.elektormagazine.com

 feature

Potential Disruptive
Manufacturing Method
for Heat Management of
Power Electronics
Electrical power densities keep on increasing: smaller devices
with higher power and capabilities. This trend can be seen
everywhere in our daily life, ranging from smartphones, electric
transportation to elegant household devices. This demand
pushes the system efficiency, heat extraction and manufacturing
methods to its limits. ValCUN (www.valcun.be) helps to take the
heat away by taking manufacturing possibilities one step further.

26 Elektor Industry 6/2020 www.elektormagazine.com

 Call for Applications
Do you want to continue innovating?
If you have a potential application,
contact Jan at jan.depauw@valcun.be
to evaluate which benefit ValCUN can
provide to your company (which could
lead to a free demo or prototype part).
ValCUN aims to serve its customers
by providing design optimization for
MMD/AM and production of fully
finished products.
About the Authors
Jonas Galle, cofounder and CEO of ValCUN, obtained a PhD degree in electro-
mechanical engineering in 2013 at Ghent University, Belgium. He worked as an
applied physics engineer in a technical consultancy company where he obtained
knowledge and skills in a broad range of domains, including simulations, mechanics,
electronics, and embedded software. 
Jan De Pauw, cofounder and CTO of ValCUN, obtained a PhD degree in material
engineering in 2016 at Ghent University, Belgium. Along with his post-doc, he has
skills in experimental work and data processing, and he obtained experience in
metallurgy and metal failing mechanisms.

Heat management of power the ambitious mission of ValCUN, a Belgian

electronics becomes the
bottleneck
We live in a society in which we strive
for higher performance and efficiency in
everything around us. Computers go to
a 5nm process, supercomputers do 415.5
petaflops and electric cars aim for a range
of 1000km. From a technological point
of view, these evolutions usually require
more power and are preferably build in a
smaller geometry. Combining the latter
inevitably leads to higher energy densi-
ties resulting in high temperature and
temperature hotspots. Traditional cooling
solutions such as air cooling with extruded
aluminium profile are no longer sufficient.
 
There is a need for more efficient cooling
to maintain our technological progress.
Cooling with a liquid instead of air provides
10x to 100x better thermal transfer. A gener-
ative optimized design of the heat sink can
increase the efficiency by a factor of two or
more. This design is typically a complex
geometry that is hard to be produced
economically by traditional techniques
such as milling, die casting or extrusion. The
demands have pushed the manufacturing
methods to their limits. The best alternative
would be additive manufacturing (AM), also
known as 3D printing.
The team is
developing a
disruptive and
patented technique,
baptized as Molten
Metal Deposition
(MMD).
 
A new disruptive additive manufac-
turing method can provide the
solution
The main disadvantage of the metal AM
technologies available today is the high
production cost and low build speed. These
barriers are the main reasons why we don’t
yet see them in mainstream applications.
 
“Economic and ecologic competitive metal
3D printing for serial production.”[1] This is
technology start-up from co-founders dr.
ir. Jonas Galle and dr. ir. Jan De Pauw. To
achieve this goal, the team is develop-
ing a disruptive and patented technique,
baptized as Molten Metal Deposition
(MMD). The technology differs signifi-
cantly from the current state-of-the-art
metal printing technologies due to the use
of less expensive feedstock material, faster
build speeds, and less hazardous process.
Additionally, the MMD technology can be
used to build on top of other parts. In this
way, multiple manufacturing techniques
can be combined with MMD such as die
casting or extrusion. For example, high
pressure die casting is used to produce a
geometry with open channels. The MMD
technology can seal the channels to obtain a
solid part with leakage free internal cooling
channels.
 
This allows ValCUN to drastically reduce the
overall production cost and extend additive
manufacturing towards serial production,
ranging from a few 10 to a couple of 10,000
parts per year.
 
In a specific case, IGBT cooling perfor-
mance could be increased by 40% using a
generative design. Manufacturing 100,000
coolers with metal additive manufacturing

lektor electronica Special Edition 27


technology known as Selective Laser Sinter-
ing (SLM) would be hard within two years
on one machine and would cost more than
€100 per part. Combining die casting with
ValCUN’s AM technology makes it possible
to produce this batch in six months at a unit
price of a factor three to five less.
 
Initially, ValCUN is focusing on alumin-
ium. The high heat conductivity makes it a
suitable material for heat exchangers and
cooling elements. However, the technology
is not limited to aluminium, and ValCUN
will introduce other metals soon, such as
copper. A combination of metals is also
possible. In this way the materials become
functionally graded. Imagine a copper plate
to extract heat from an MOSFET with on
top an aluminium maze where water runs
through.
 
More than just heat management
applications…
The advantage of additive manufacturing is
that a combination of functionalities in one
(complex) part can be obtained. Therefore,
the type of applications is not limited to heat
exchangers for power electronics only. The
MMD technology is economically competi-
tive to aluminum CNC-milled components
with a high buy-to-fly ratio. Simulations
28 Elektor Industry 6/2020 www.elektormagazine.com
show that aluminum parts where more than
75% of the material is being chipped can be
produced more economically using MMD
for the near-net-shape geometry. Extra gain
can even be obtained with design suitable
for AM. It is the combination of the right
production technologies together with
ValCUN’s technology that leads to the most
economical solution.
 
One of the business cases for small serial
production combines heat transfer with
structural framing: a diving camera housing
(Figure 1). Aluminum is key material for this
application for the low weight, to stand the
diving depths, the corrosive seawater and
to remove generated heat. Today, the thin
walled casing is manufactured by subtrac-
tive manufacturing process, resulting in a
material waste up to 96% and lots of machin-
ing time. ValCUN technology reduces both
material waste and manufacturing time,
showing an overall cost reduction for the
finished part.
 
ValCUN has defined several business cases,
including from Barco, in the electronics
industry, ranging from cooling elements in
data centers over light fixtures designs to
high-end mechatronic devices.
 
Figure 1: The casing of this
diving camera (Hugyfot)
is one of the examples of
serial product that combines
structural function with heat
extraction from the electronics
inside.
… And more than just common
applications
The range of applications seems endless,
which can be taken literally! Since molten
material is controlled at all times, we are
not limited by gravity to print objects. This
means that upside-down and printing in
space belongs to one of the possibilities. To
go one step further: the technology does not
rely on a certain shape of feedstock material,
meaning the use of wire, granulates, powder
and even recycled, broken or previously
printed parts. This opens up an even broader
range of applications and sectors and oppor-
tunities for companies such as Google and
Amazon with their gigantic datacenters that
are aiming for 100% green label.
200496-01
Questions or Comments?
Do you have questions or comments
about this article? Email the
authors at Jonas.galle@valcun.be
and Jan.depauw@valcun.be. You can
contact Elektor at editor@elektor.com.
WEB LINKS
[1] Video: “ValCUN Making Metal
Printing Affordable” (April, 2019):
https://youtu.be/rIY4pzL1wDk
 Whopping 50%
more Performance
SMARC 2.1 module based on Intel® Atom® x6000E Series
and Intel® Pentium® and Celeron® J Series processors

conga-SA7

www.congatec.com/Intel-Atom-x6000E
 review
R e v iew:
YD
L idar TG15
By Tam Hanna (Slovak Republic)
The company YDLidar, founded in 2015,
aims to develop LIDAR sensors “for the mass
market.” In this article, we are putting a TG15
LIDAR into operation, which is available in
the Elektor Store.
Microsoft’s Kinect sensor has made the concept of distance
measurement popular again or interesting for popular scientific
applications. A paradoxical irony about the situation is that the
Kinect does not use the LIDAR technology that has been used for
years — especially in the military sector — but instead works with
the deformation of infrared rays. Probably because of the interest
aroused by Microsoft’s extensive marketing, the company YDLidar
was founded in China in 2015 with the aim of developing LIDAR
sensors “for the mass market.”
 
At the time of going to press, such systems with 360° coverage are
available for around €330. As an example, the author will start up
a TG15 LIDAR, which is available in the Elektor Store (Figure 1).
 
YDLidar is agnostic in the area of ​​work environments. In addition
to Windows 7 and Windows 10, Ubuntu is also supported. For the
sake of convenience, the author works as usual with his workstation
30 Elektor Industry 6/2020 www.elektormagazine.com
Figure 1: The LIDAR is
available for about €350.
A few years ago, you would
have had to stick two zeros
in there.
running on Ubuntu 18.04. The first step is to check the presence
of some packages that are required for compilation:
sudo apt install cmake pkg-config
sudo apt-get install python swig
sudo apt-get install python-pip
Don’t be surprised if many of these packages are already on your
machine. If you work with Python and compile C programs here
and there, you already have most of the products.
 
Deploying the SDK is done by downloading the repository from
GitHub and compiling it as usual via cmake, make, and make install:
 
tamhan@TAMHAN18:~$ git clone https://github.com/YDLIDAR/
YDLidar-SDK.git
tamhan@TAMHAN18:~$ cd YDLidar-SDK/build
tamhan@TAMHAN18:~/YDLidar-SDK/build$ cmake ..
-- Build files have been written to: /home/tamhan/
YDLidar-SDK/build
tamhan@TAMHAN18:~/YDLidar-SDK/build$ make
tamhan@TAMHAN18:~/YDLidar-SDK/build$ sudo make install
 
YDLidar also offers a procedure in the GitHub repository that
enables the installation of only the Python parts of the SDK. Since
the compilation time on the author’s (aged) eight-core worksta-
tion was only a few seconds, it is recommended to execute the
“complete” procedure.
Commissioning the hardware
If you unpack the package, you will see the contents shown in
Figure 2. The actual LIDAR sensor has a five-wire cable, which
supplies it with 5 V and provides a classic UART. The rectangular
smaller box is a USB-to-serial converter, which allows the TG15 to
be connected to a workstation, a Raspberry Pi, or a similar USB host.
 
Interesting here is that the included USBC cable is responsible for
data communication only. The “power supply” connects via the
micro USB port. The author used a power supply with a rated output
current of 1.8 A, which was included with a large Kindle. After
successfully connecting the configuration, the product appears
in dmesg anyway:
 
tamhan@TAMHAN18:~/YDLidar-SDK/build$ dmesg
. . .
[ 7043.684654] usb 6-2: cp210x converter now attached
to ttyUSB0
 
The next step is to visit the product overview available at https://
github.com/YDLIDAR/YDLidar-SDK/blob/master/doc/Dataset.md
to learn more about this LIDAR system. YDLidar uses its technol-
ogy in several platform sizes, which differ in the baud rate used
on the UART.
 
In the case of our TG15, the correct baud rate is 512000. Make note
of this information and then start the test application:
 
tamhan@TAMHAN18:~/YDLidar-SDK/build$ ./ydlidar_test
Please select the lidar baudrate:4
Whether the Lidar is one-way communication[yes/no]:yes
. . .
 
If you (like us) work with a TG15, you will reach your goal with
the inputs given here. By the way, don’t be surprised if the LIDAR
starts to “buzz” at this point. Inside the round, puck-like element
Figure 2: The TG15
is ready for action.
is a rotating sensor that rotates permanently while the measuring
task is being performed. To protect the ball bearing, it is advisable
to end the test program by pressing Ctrl + C afterwards.
Software, second
YDLidar is flexible in terms of programming. APIs for C, C++ and
Python 2 are offered. If you (like the author) generally work with
Python 3, you have to add some support libraries to the older version
in the first step:
 
pip install numpy
pip install matplotlib
 
At this point, it is time to attempt to start the program plot_tof_test.
py. It differs from the command line client used so far in that it
uses Matplotlib to create a Polar diagram:
 
tamhan@TAMHAN18:~/YDLidar-SDK/python/examples$ python
plot_tof_test.py
. . .
ImportError: No module named functools_lru_cache
 
If the execution fails (as shown here) with an error indicating the
absence of functools-lru-cache, you have to install this package using
the APT-GET package manager:
 
sudo apt install python-backports.functools-lru-cache
 
In tests by the author, the use of PIP or PIP3 resulted in a reproduc-
ible program that was still not running.
 
After successfully satisfying the first dependency, we can command
another program start, which again ends with a missing compo-
nent. In the interest of convenience, we print error messages and
post-installation commands en bloc here:
 
ImportError: No module named _tkinter, please install
the python-tk package
tamhan@TAMHAN18:~/YDLidar-SDK/python/examples$ sudo apt
install python-tk
Want to Know More?
Watch Tam Hanna’s video, “YDLidar TG15 et
al - Getting Started,” for more information:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3U_nWDflKko
lektor electronica Special Edition 31
 Figure 3: If you hug the radar, you will see Figure 4: The electronics engineer may be
small maximum distance values. stupid, but he must know how to help himself.

   
After meeting the prerequisites, we can start the program. The laser = ydlidar.CYdLidar();
demo creates a plot of the environment in real time, reminiscent laser.setlidaropt(ydlidar.LidarPropSerialPort, port);
of a radar screen. An interesting test is to hold the radar completely laser.setlidaropt(ydlidar.LidarPropSerialBaudrate,
in the hand, as shown in Figure 3. The matplotlib automatically 512000)
calculates the outer points of the plot, which is why the displayed laser.setlidaropt(ydlidar.LidarPropLidarType, ydlidar.
area “shrinks” in this case. TYPE_TOF);
  laser.setlidaropt(ydlidar.LidarPropDeviceType, ydlidar.
When testing in a real environment, you must remember that the YDLIDAR_TYPE_SERIAL);
“active” plane is only a few centimeters above the bottom of the laser.setlidaropt(ydlidar.LidarPropScanFrequency, 10.0);
device. The author placed the device on its shipping container, as laser.setlidaropt(ydlidar.LidarPropSampleRate, 20);
shown in Figure 4. laser.setlidaropt(ydlidar.LidarPropSingleChannel, False);
  scan = ydlidar.LaserScan()
Since LIDARs are comparatively simple animals — they “simply”  
provide a distance for each polar coordinate — we can most easily
visualize the device’s behavior by loading the file into an editor of The next step in this program is the animate function, which
our choice. The first thing to do is to initialize the matplotlib. It is “prepares” the supplied information.
important that the set_rmax command used to write the maximum  
value is set to unrealistic 32 by the development team. A first step def animate(num):
towards “stabilization” would be to supply a smaller value here via    
the constant RMAX:     r = laser.doProcessSimple(scan);
      if r:
fig = plt.figure()         angle = []
fig.canvas.set_window_title(’YDLidar LIDAR Monitor’)         ran = []
lidar_polar = plt.subplot(polar=True)         intensity = []
lidar_polar.autoscale_view(True,True,True)         for point in scan.points:
lidar_polar.set_rmax(RMAX)             angle.append(point.angle);
lidar_polar.grid(True)             ran.append(point.range);
              intensity.append(point.intensity);
The next step is to contact the USB-to-serial converter, which makes         lidar_polar.clear()
the LIDAR data accessible to the computer:         lidar_polar.scatter(angle, ran, c=intensity,
  cmap=’hsv’, alpha=0.95)
ports = ydlidar.lidarPortList();  
port = „/dev/ydlidar“; Of particular importance is the for loop in the middle of the
for key, value in ports.items(): function, which iterates over the contents of the Scan.Points
    port = value; array. It then inserts the values into arrays which are finally passed
  to the LIDAR polar instance and thus ensures that the diagram
The developer inteded for the library to support an entire group of is updated.
different sensor systems. Therefore, some configuration actions  
are necessary during the startup. We have to write the scanning So all that is missing is the discussion of the main loop of the
frequency to the laser object in addition to the port and the baud program which is responsible for receiving the information:
rate, for example:  

32 Elektor Industry 6/2020 www.elektormagazine.com

ret = laser.initialize(); What’s next?
if ret: Anyone well versed in the defence or avionics sector can easily
    ret = laser.turnOn(); name 20 different applications for LIDAR systems. One application
    if ret: area that YDLidar is constantly pushing for is robotics. There are
        ani = animation.FuncAnimation(fig, animate, turnkey integrations for the widely used robot operating system
interval=50) ROS.
        plt.show()  
    laser.turnOff(); Another interesting application would be direct access to the UART
laser.disconnecting(); data stream. In this case, the microcontroller used for evaluation
plt.close(); could be more primitive, which saves valuable resources in drones
  or other weight-critical systems.
The TurnOn function is important. It “activates” the actual LIDAR  
and returns the value False if the LIDAR is not activated. Interest- Last but not least, it should again be pointed out that the — compar-
ingly, the sensor also monitors the power supply so it doesn’t start atively expensive — TG15 is only one of many representatives of
“in case of problems.” its group. You can also find cheaper devices of the same company
  in the Elektor Store that are, by and large, analogous in their
programming.
  200430-02
Related Products
Questions or Comments?
YDLIDAR TG15 Outdoor Lidar Do you have questions or comments about his article? Email
> www.elektor.com/19237 the author at tamhan@tamoggemon.com or contact Elektor at
editor@elektor.com.

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lektor electronica Special Edition 33

 feature
Eurocircuits:
One-Stop
Shop
for Prototypes
Upload and validate data free of charge,
calculate prices and delivery times instantly
— that’s how easy it is for developers to
order their prototypes/small series PCBs and
assemblies from Eurocircuits. This is all done
through the online account which is available
in six European languages. With their new
intuitive customer interface, they create an
image for the PCB during data entry and
superimpose the BOM footprints to ensure
that the design is ready for manufacture.
Contributed by Eurocircuits
“Offering everything from a single source means that we can produce
the PCB and assemble it with components in just a few working
days,” says Dirk Stans, Managing Partner at Eurocircuits. The Belgian
group offers fast turnaround PCB and Assembly services for Prototy-
pes & Small Series. The assembly service is an extension to its PCB
services, and both are manufactured in-house. In its proto service,
Eurocircuits needs only 6 working days in its factory in Hungary to
produce the PCBs and to Assemble them provided all components
are available. On average, around 10,000 orders PCB and/or Assem-
bly are delivered each month.
 
Since 2018, Eurocircuits has offered PCB Assembly in addition to the
production of Printed Circuit Boards. Last year, around €5 million
was invested in PCB Assembly in Eger, Hungary and all processes
have been optimised for Prototypes & Small Series production.
One example is the PIXpect optical inspection system, which was
developed in-house. This makes the quality control of the SMD
assembly process and the final inspection for just one or a few boards
much more practical than using a traditional AOI system.
Professional procurement of components
The PCB assembly naturally includes the procurement of all compo-
34 Elektor Industry 6/2020 www.elektormagazine.com
Eurocircuits shows the assembly of printed
circuit boards in Eger in various videos and
explains the process steps in prototype
production: www.eurocircuits.tv
nents. Eurocircuits is connected to the major distributors and compo-
nent manufacturers via programming interfaces (APIs) and recei-
ves instant, live information about prices and minimum purchase
quantities, as well as the current availability of the components.
 
For the typical resistors and capacitors Eurocircuits propose their
generic components to customers, whereby only the electrical charac-
teristics are specified and not the manufacturer. The use of these
components is more efficient and economical because they save time
in procurement and storage, and the component reels are already
mounted to the placement feeders. Eurocircuits provides many of
these components free of charge.
Orders can only be placed online. A new intuitive customer interface
has been available since the end of September. The interface is availa-
ble 24/7 for verifying your design, placing orders and is available in
six different European languages. There are also explanatory videos,
instructions and blogs on the website. “Anyone who has questions or
needs help can also use the online chat with our specialists in most
European national languages alongside their dedicated Country
Manager,” assures Dirk Stans.
DRC and DFM tools that form Right First Time concept
The customer interface integrates DRC and DFM verification
through the intelligent Visualizer web tools developed by Eurocir-
cuits. The designer can see what the future assembly will look like
before placing the order, but virtual manufacturing is by no means
everything. According to Eurocircuits’s motto: “Right First Time”,
the order is only triggered when the design is ready for production
according to IPC industry standards. “Right first time” starts with
the design and manufacturing data from the customer.
 
In Eurocircuits unique customer interface, they bring together
the process steps that logically belong together: PCB design, PCB
production and PCB assembly. In this way they ensure that the design
is ready for production and helps to shorten development times.
 Our innovations are
in the digital processes
and tools for hardware
developers and PCB
designers
Dirk Stans, Managing
Partner Eurocircuits

Eurocircuits’s customer interface is a digital, multi-talented, 24 hours a day,

7 days a week, and speaks six different European languages.
 

More than 700 rules are included to validate parameter selection
to support designers.
The interactive, fully automated tools check the design data for
completeness, highlight critical issues in the design and propose
corrective actions for manufacturability and availability issues.
Points that could cause problems during the assembly or solde-
ring process are documented for the designer. The aim is always to
suggest solutions, alternative parts or design changes in order to
achieve a design suitable for manufacture.
More than 900 predefined buildups for the printed
circuit board design
“We have spent a lot of time and thought on how best to meet the
demands of the design complexity and diversity of the European
electronics market,” says Dirk Stans. Eurocircuits offers the technolo-
gical diversity required by European printed circuit board designers:
rigid, rigid-flexible, metal core, impedance calculated, HF-compatible
with different base materials, layer structure, track and insulation
spacing, drill diameter, solder resist, etc. More than 900 pre-defined
PCB buildups are available to facilitate the selection of a cost-effec-
tive and seamlessly manufacturable PCB layout.
The customer interface also offers pre-set parameters that help the
designer to select the best combination of quantity, delivery date
and price. Order pooling for the respective PCB technology is also
taken into account here. Order pooling, which Eurocircuits has been
successfully practicing for more than 20 years, combines different
orders on one production panel providing a fast and cost effective
solution for Prototypes & Small Series.
des an overview of component availability or possible alternatives,
including component prices for the respective order quantities.
Eurocircuits has its own verified component database with over
250,000 component footprints and specifications, which conti-
nues to grow with each new component encountered. “Our database
speeds up the verification process because we have all the necessary
information about the components and therefore, we do not have
to repeatedly analyse online data sheets," says Dirk Stans.
 
The result is a validated parts list and assembly data as well as a 3D
image of the assembly. In other words: before ordering, the developer
sees, in a 3D image, what their PCB and assembly will look like after
production. “Our customers receive an immediate offer with their
corrected design providing an exact price calculation even before
they trigger their order,” emphasises the CEO. In addition, the valida-
ted data enables later series production already validated for any
manufacturer.
200492-01

Verification of BOM and CPL against the PCB layout

The PCBA Visualizer provides verification of component placement
and assembly manufacturability. Using the CPL-editor, the developer
can easily check the placement and orientation of the components The PCB assembly at Eurocircuits in Eger/Hungary is optimised for
on the PCB. PCBA Visualizer visualizes the BOM and CPL and provi- prototype production from one assembly and very fast product changes.

lektor electronica Special Edition 35

 E le k t o r H
e lp s

Elektor will help

you optimize your
business
With nearly sixty years on the clock, 2020 might just become
Elektor’s most remarkable yet. We have seen large, well-
known clients cut their marketing activities, but we have
also seen unexpected companies that stepped up like never
before. And although it took some flexibility, we have been
able to help out both.

We all need healthy business, whether that means making things

leaner or taking it to the next level. Doing nothing is not an option.

My team is ready to help in both scenarios. Be it with compact but highly efficient content
marketing strategies or complete multichannel campaigning to take advantage of that
new opening in the market, Elektor Helps. These times call for a custom approach for our
clients, and we are going that extra mile. In fact, we are convinced that, together with you,
we can make the difference.

Yes, that’s a challenge!”

Margriet Debeij
International Client Manager

Contact us at www.elektor.com/helps-clients

Elektor Industry Edition

Within the extra Elektor Industry editions, which are freely available to download
for all, we offer a number of standard Elektor Helps packages to our clients. But
since every client is different, we urge anyone that is looking for a fitting solution
to contact our client team. We are sure that our team, led by Margriet Debeij, will
always find a way to help you out. Go to elektor.com/helps-clients.
 Join the
Elektor C mmunity
Take out a G O LD
membership
membership!

 he Elektor web archive from 1974!

T  n online Elektor LABs account, with
A
6x Elektor magazine (Print) access to more than 1000 Gerber files
9x Digital (PDF) including and a direct line of communication with
Elektor Industry (EN) magazine our experts!
A 10% discount in our web shop and Bring a project to publication or even sell
exclusive offers it in our shop
Elektor’s annual DVD-ROM

Also available Access to Elektor’s web archive

10% discount in our web shop
The Digital G R E E N membership
6x Elektor magazine (PDF)
Exclusive offers
membership! Access to more than 1000 Gerber files

www.elektor.com/member
 With Jason Long
(President, Engenuics Technologies)
Embedded
in
Embedded
Technology
By C. J. Abate (Elektor)
Jason Long is a multitalented engineer
and entrepreneur with a background in
designing embedded systems, developing
and running university engineering
programs, and technical publishing.
Here he shares insights about building
an engineering training company, doing
business in China, and writing a well-
received book about ARM Cortex-M
embedded design.
Abate: I think we first started talking in 2014. At that time, you said
you were focused on growing your company, Engenuics Techno-
logies, which was developing and delivering embedded systems
training courses. What are you up to these days?
Long: Oh, how time flies! The mission remains the same, just with
many more experiences, successes, and failures under my belt. I
ended up spending a lot of time in China working with a partner to
develop my embedded university program there. I finally wrote all
my embedded systems knowledge into a book (Figure 1) that was
published in 2018. I also started developing content and summer
camps for younger STEM learners. Somehow this is all going to tie
into industry mentorship! Personally, I’ve endeavored to complete
a Master’s degree in Engineering Education to further enhance the
depth of my expertise in this field.
Abate: How are things in Calgary, Canada? Is there a high-tech-
nology scene there?
Long: Calgary is an interesting city to live in. The dominant indus-
try is oil and gas, so the economy here fluctuates with that. There
is a strong tech scene living in the shadows of all that oil, and we
38 Elektor Industry 6/2020 www.elektormagazine.com
have a solid workforce in some larger companies, like General
Dynamics, Garmin, and Hexagon, but also a big group of smaller
tech companies who are successfully competing globally but you’ve
probably never heard of them.
 
Abate: Before we go into more detail about your current work,
and your book, Embedded in Embedded (Elektor, 2018), let’s talk
about your background. When did you first become interested in
electrical engineering?
Long: Since a kid, I loved to take apart electronics. I would gaze
endlessly at the circuits and wonder what everything did. I enjoyed
programming, and in high school, it seemed like EE was the correct
choice. I didn’t really know what I was getting in to and didn’t like
it at first; but in my second year, I discovered microcontrollers and
never looked back!
 
Abate: In 1999, you started the Embedded in Engineering (EiE)
program in Calgary, Canada. How did that come about?
Long: After discovering microcontrollers, I met a grad student
who was giving tutorials on how to use them. He was awesome,
but I wanted much more. I was also immensely aware of how
terrible I was at speaking in front of people and keeping focused
on extracurricular projects. So, I started EiE, which let me learn
about microcontrollers, made be accountable on a weekly basis
to other students to learn enough each week to share with them,
and, of course, gave me the experience to stand up in front of a
room and speak (Figure 2). Seriously, that was the best and most
defining choice I made in my life.
Abate: When we first started talking in 2018 about publishing your
book with Elektor, you told me that you were developing courses
in China. What is the status of that endeavor? 
Long: China was an incredible learning experience (Figure 3). I
found so many similarities in the students’ position in what they
  
Every course I have developed Abate: Tell about your experience working with Chinese engineers
started because of the incredible and companies. Has it been difficult?
Long: Incredibly difficult. I’ve worked with Chinese engineers
array of problems I had to solve to since the mid-2000s long before I started trying to teach there.
create a product or fix a problem. The cultural and language differences make communicating very
challenging. I’m purposely not using the word “barrier” because to
Jason Long me that implies that communication isn’t happening. I don’t think
I can write more of an answer, because the answer is so complex
were learning and what they wanted to do, but so many differen- and I think it would be easy to misunderstand some of what I think
ces in culture and motivation. Where we were able to establish the I’d want to say. Perhaps the best thing to say is that working with
program, it was very successful. Some of our students even won China is an incredible experience and requires a lot of investment
some very important competitions in China which they credited in relationship building.
to their experience in EiE.  
Unfortunately, the program has been idled as we simply ran out of Abate: How has the COVID-19 crisis affected your work and your
resources to make it work (and that was in late 2019 before COVID). business? 
Oddly, my response to COVID will likely enable some new life in Long: It hasn’t been too bad, though I definitely miss the oppor-
the China program as it seems inevitable that an online approach tunity to get in front of students in the lab. But in reality, the goals
is the way to go.  I have for the EiE program can likely not be realized with in-per-
  son training, though I don’t want that to go away. So, I think the
Abate: So today, you run Engenuics Technologies full time? What COVID-inspired changes in general education will be a huge benefit
is your “average” workday like?  to what I want to do and people’s willingness and capability to
Long: I’ve been full time at Engenuics since 2012 and no two access content and training online.
days are alike. That may be the very definition of running a small  
business. It is an insane emotional roller coaster ride! There are Abate: At Elektor, we believe the crisis has led many engineers
days when I’m in front of a computer typing code or laying out and makers to look for more engineering resources, online courses,
schematics — those are the “easy” days. Then there are days where and digital content. Are you seeing the same thing? 
I wonder why I bothered with an engineering degree, because I’m Long: Ha, I think I just answered that! So now the challenge is
doing marketing, or bookkeeping, or just talking with people. how to sort through the immense resources available. I’ve seen so
Keeping the balance is difficult.  many companies pop up promising great online training, but I think
  we have to be careful about quality. I think established organiza-
Abate: Are you fully focused on engineering education programs tions like Elektor are fundamentally important to provide a relia-
and technologies, or do you also provide engineering solutions, ble resource and to help vet some of the newer things that we’re
prototyping, and consulting?  seeing, not to mention sort through an ever-growing mound of
Long: I have yet to find a way to make engineering education available information.
sustainable, so I have to keep doing design consulting. I’ve been
focusing on an area of my technical expertise called “Intrinsic Abate: You are working toward a Master’s degree in Engineering
Safety,” which is so niche that if you Google it, you’re probably specializing in STEM education. Are you focused on STEM at the
just a few clicks away before my name pops up. This has given me elementary, high school, or university level? Or perhaps you are
a global customer base.  focused on professional education? 

Figure 1: Read Long’s book, Embedded in

Embedded (Elektor, 2018), for a thorough introduction to
embedded design, including discussion of the hardware,
processor initialization, low‑level driver development, and
application interface design for a product. Figure 2: EiE in action.

lektor electronica Special Edition 39

Long: My grand vision is to encompass the whole spectrum from
K-12, through university, and into industry (Figure 4). It’s fairly easy
to put robots on front of young kids, entertain them for a while,
and teach them a few things. However, I firmly believe that there’s
a lot more to STEM education especially with respect to the racial
and gender biases that are still dominant.
Another very important part of my vision is the bi-directional flow
of education. I guarantee any engineer can learn a lot of information
from teaching or mentoring students. The experience is humbling,
but also incredibly empowering. I think a lot of engineers — or
any professional for that matter — can lose sight of how much
they know, and how valuable their knowledge and experience is.
When you start to share that, it reminds you how much you have
learned. I see the same fear in every mentor that I start to work
with of speaking in front of people that I faced back in university
when I started EIE. Literally every single person I have worked with
has been so amazed by the experience and how they are able to
improve their confidence. This has immediate positive impact in
their professional lives.  expecting that we could build a scalable, transferable university
 
Abate: Let’s turn to the business side of what you do. What is
involved with developing an embedded systems-related course?
For instance, do you start with content? Do you always develop
some hardware?  and-egg” problem of needing the network to build the relations-
Long: Every course I have developed started because of the incre-
dible array of problems I had to solve to create a product or fix a
problem. That’s why I think the courses I’ve done are so authen-
tic and successful. If you read my book (which is no doubt the
epitome of any of the courses I’ve created), it probably has more
anecdotal information than technical information. The technical
part is easy, until you hit a problem. I try to capture the problems I
faced and really discuss the solutions and my thinking in finding
the solution, including as many of the options and tradeoffs that
I considered. I also emphasize the process of creation, design, and
trouble-shooting, because if you’re good at the process, then you
can apply it to anything.  I have seen a truly amazing platform and methodology to deliver
Figure 3: The grand opening of the first EiE lab in China.
40 Elektor Industry 6/2020 www.elektormagazine.com
I guarantee any
engineer can learn
a lot of information
from teaching or
mentoring students.
Jason Long
Abate: Tell us about your business model. Do you develop and
offer online courses? Book and hardware bundles? 
Long: I’m going to be the first to admit that I’m terrible at business!
When I first started my company, I expected that free programs like
EiE would generate enough exposure and networking to drive sales
of courses in my city. It did to some extent, but it’s not a big enough
market. I spent a lot of time with EiE between now and about 2015
program and continue to feed my original model. However, the
relationships I’ve built with companies here in Calgary took years
to form, and need to be maintained. That has proven very difficult
when it comes to scaling up and suffers from the classic “chicken-
hips, but need the relationships to build the network.  
Once my Master’s is done this year, it’s time to pivot a little in
my approach. Like so many organizations do, it’s time to look at
everything that has been learned, weed out what doesn’t work,
and focus on what does. I think investing in growing my online
presence is key.
 
Abate: Where do you see the engineering education market going
in the coming one to three years? Where are the opportunities? 
Long: There is so much demand for STEM education, that I expect
a continued surge in companies and available material. I don’t think
it yet. We’re talking about teaching innovation, which is another
chicken-and-egg problem since realizing innovation requires a
vast technical skillset, but inspiring the commitment to develop
that skillset stems (pun intended) from innovation.
I also think it is fundamentally impossible to run a business based
on education, yet there needs to be a link to the mass education
systems to find and develop people who will then pursue STEM
careers. There will never be enough money for education, so I think
there is a big opportunity to find a solution that can do all that in a
fiscally sustainable way without limiting access to everyone.  Given Figure 4: EiE summer camp fun.
my experience, I think I’m one of the best people in the world to
help drive that, and am trying to figure out how — perhaps a PhD
project in cooperation with government and industry. Just a starting
point — if you know anyone with a few extra million to fund the Related Products
team I want to assemble, please let me know!
  > Elektor Embedded Systems Design and
Abate: It is likely that many engineers in Elektor’s global commu- Programming Course:
nity would like to share their knowledge and also launch a business. J. Long, Embedded in Embedded
Any advice for them? www.elektor.com/18987
Long: I think it’s so important to be driven by passion, but you
still have to make money to live and that’s really ok. I know I have
given away too much, yet I have no regrets other than that I haven’t spend quite a bit of time filling in some gaps, and also changing
been able to grow my business in a way that would enable me to some of the firmware where I had previously hacked in a solution,
reach so many more people. I always say that whether or not I’m or used an approach that wasn’t consistent with how I do things
successful in business, I could write a book about my experience. these days. Coherency was extremely important, and I was worried
Though the content would be the same regardless of my success, it would be so long that no one would want to read it. But I also
no one would read it if I wasn’t successful. So, just in case, I’ll tell thought that it was critical to communicate everything that I did.
you what the first words in Chapter 1 will be since that is the most Developing an embedded system is a lot of work. There is so much
important part I think: don’t do it alone. Find at least two other involved in bringing an idea to reality, and I really wanted to give
people who genuinely share your vision and can bring different the most accurate representation that I could.
ideas and skills.  
  Abate: Do you have any new books or products in the works?
Abate: Let’s wrap up with your book, Embedded in Embedded. It Long: My thesis is the biggest thing I’m working on right now, and
was a big project. Tell us about the process of writing an in-depth I’m excited to spin off a few things from that. I want to bring more
book on such a technical topic.  of EiE online and then catch up on some of the latest IoT techno-
Long: Good understatement! I had been writing notes since I logies that I feel I’ve slipped behind a bit in the last few years. This
first started EiE, and I even used some of that in the book. So just world changes quickly, though I know that those good processes I
gathering and sorting out the content I had took so long. I had to mentioned will help me catch up in no time!
200500-01

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lektor electronica Special Edition 41

 feature

Performance B ST
for Edge
Computing
Reliable Performance Increase with
Brand New Intel Atom Boards
The new Intel Atom x6000 E Series and the UserBenchmark speed test, proving that quality pays off in
Intel Celeron and Pentium N & J processors terms of performance gains and that, too, is important. It is well
known that even the greatest performance gains of a processor
(codenamed Elkhart Lake) feature graphics can be forfeited if the final board design fails to deliver the perfor-
that are twice as fast as their predecessors mance boost to the end application without loss.
and 50% more multi-thread performance on  
Elektor has not yet been able to test whether all this also applies
up to four cores. IPC manufacturer congatec to the new congatec Pico-ITX board. But it has every reason to
is now making them available on the 2.5- assume that the conga-PA7 Pico-ITX SBC — first samples of which
inch Pico-ITX form factor, focusing on are already available — is another real piece of quality craftsmans-
hip that is worth its price and ultimately even saves money, consi-
industrial-grade quality for the most reliable dering that a service incidence often costs significantly more than
performance boost possible. a complete board — especially, when distributed in large quantities
and the journey to the affected devices alone often costs more than
By Zeljko Loncaric (Marketing Engineer, congatec AG) the boards. So, quality invariably pays off. In addition to outstan-
  ding quality, the new Pico-ITX board is scalable from 6 to 12 W and
With growing digitization and the IoT trend, even the smallest edge offers an outstanding feature set.
computers are expected to meet high reliability requirements today.
Start-ups, makers, and spin-offs from big industrial companies Edge computing in real time
increasingly deploy them in massively distributed applications to The new conga-PA7 SBC is available in eight different perfor-
implement their new business models and IoT-suppor-
ted services. They all face a similar challenge: Their apps
are approaching market-readiness but their hardware
platforms, which often originate from the maker board
scene, lack reliability since they were not designed for
large series and harsh environments. Industrial edge
computing designs, however, must provide highly relia-
ble 24/7 service over many years. Long-term availability
and rugged design are therefore critical. congatec boards
have always been characterized exactly by these qualities.

Outstanding design quality

High quality even pays off in relation to performance:
The conga-JC370 3.5-inch single board computer (SBC)
achieved excellent design ratings in the Elektor test
from October 23, 2019.[1] This was the result of careful
component selection and meticulous hardware-related Figure 1: The congatec boards and modules with Intel Elkhart Lake processors convince
software adjustment. Even under full load, the board across the entire range, offering significant performance improvements over Apollo
never overheated. It also scored phenomenally well in Lake processors with higher performance per watt.

42 Elektor Industry 6/2020 www.elektormagazine.com


mance levels with Intel Atom x6000E Series processors as well
as Intel Celeron and Pentium N & J processors in low-power 10 nm
technology. The Intel Atom X6425RE, Intel Atom X6414RE, or Intel
Atom X6212RE versions of the new SBC even support the exten-
ded temperature range from ‑40°C to +85°C. Up to 16 GB LPDDR4x
memory, and up to 4267 MT/s are now supported. For mission-cri-
tical applications, the in-band ECC mode can be activated in the
BIOS, allowing OEMs to achieve the same level of data security with
standard RAM as with expensive ECC memory. These are perfect
features for rugged real-time applications. Other functions that
are highly welcome for tactile Internet applications include 2x
Gigabit Ethernet in combination with Intel TCC (Time Coordinated
Computing), TSN (Time Synchronized Networking) and real-time
support for the RTS Hypervisor from Real-Time Systems. These
are massive improvements for markets such as automation and
control technology, ranging from distributed process control in
smart energy networks to intelligent robotics or PLCs and CNCs
for discrete manufacturing. Other real-time applications can be
found in test and measurement technology as well as in transport
and automotive engineering applications including train and track
systems or connected autonomous vehicles.
Significantly more graphics than before
Of course, the new Pico-ITX board with Intel Atom, Celeron or
Pentium processors is also perfectly suited for applications without
real-time requirements, as these processors offer many additional
features and functions that are essential for highly connected embed-
ded systems. POS, kiosk and digital signage systems, or distributed
gaming and lottery terminals are just a few examples of distributed
installations that require M2M communication. For this purpose,
all variants feature the powerful Intel Gen 11 UHD graphics, which
provides up to 32 execution units and therefore effectively doubles
the graphics performance compared to the previous embedded Intel
Atom generation. In addition, it supports all major acceleration
APIs such as DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.5, Vulkan 1.1, OpenCL 1.1 and
Metal, making it predestined for 3D graphics and a wide range of
GPGPU-driven applications. Video-intensive applications such as
digital signage, gaming, streaming clients, and AV head-end systems
benefit from the hardware-accelerated encoding and decoding of the
Figure 2: The new
Pico-ITX single board
computers (SBCs)
are available in many
configurations.
Figure 3: The Pico-ITX board offers a wide
choice of interfaces despite its small 2.5-
inch form factor.
latest codecs, such as the ultra data-efficient, albeit compute-inten-
sive HEVC (H.265) and VP9, as well as the widely used predecessors
AVC (H.264) and AV1.
PCIe Gen 3 now also available at low power
Generic extensions can be connected via an M.2 Type B socket with
2x PCIe Gen 3/SATA and USB 2.0, or an M.2 E socket with 1x PCIe Gen
3 and USB 2.0. PCI Gen 3 in combination with low power processors
is new on such a small board. For many developers, the doubling
of the peripheral data throughput to a maximum of 32 GB/s (16 GB
per outbound and inbound channel) will be of crucial importance.
Another new feature is USB 3.1 Gen2 interface support, offering a
significant performance increase compared to USB 3.1 Gen1. At up
to 10 Gb/s, this enables twice as fast data transfers compared to USB
3.1 Gen1, making it possible to transfer uncompressed UHD video
signals — for instance, from a camera to a monitor — via USB for
the first time.
A highlight: The USB Type C connector
The Pico-ITX board further provides 2x USB 2.0 via feature connector
and 2x external USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type A ports. The highlight, however,
is the USB Type C connector with USB 3.1 Gen 2 for data rates up to
10 Gb/s as well as DisplayPort and power delivery, which can be used
to connect an external display with a single cable. Two additional
displays can be connected via 1x DP++ and LVDS/eDP/MIPI DSI. A
primary boot and storage drive with up to 64 GB can be integrated
on-board via UFS 2.0 (Universal Flash Storage). This offers signifi-
cantly higher bandwidth, faster data transfer and greater storage
capacity than eMMC. 2 x COM (RS232/RS485), 8x GPIO, optional
lektor electronica Special Edition 43

Figure 4: The CPU sits on the underside of the
congatec Pico-ITX SBC. Fanless passive cooling
solutions dissipate the waste heat directly to the
housing, resulting in a robust system with a long
service life and MTBF without moving parts.
2x CAN bus and Intel LPE Audio via I2S complete the interface set
offered by the new Pico-ITX SBC, which also supports all relevant
OS: Windows 10, including all Windows 10 IoT versions, Wind River
VxWorks, Android and all current Linux versions. All this is availa-
ble on an amazing 100 x 72 mm footprint.
IT administrators will also love the board’s remote management
features: For example, congatec’s new Intel Atom, Celeron and
Pentium processor based boards and modules offer innovative,
co-processor executable options for comprehensive out-of-band
management plus a full range of embedded security features such
as verified boot, measured boot, Intel Platform Trust Technology
(Intel PTT), and Intel Dynamic Application Loader (Intel DAL) to
develop consistent, fully trusted applications.
Comprehensive virtualization support for hardware
consolidation
Naturally, hardware virtualization also plays an important role
in such connected real-time systems as real-time multitasking
is a key requirement for IoT and edge devices. The Intel Atom
processors support virtualization with Intel VT technology, which
is an attractive addition to real-time hypervisor technologies
such as those offered by congatec with the RTS Hypervisor. Intel
VT technology supports single root I/O virtualization (SR‑IOV),
for example. This allows multiple apps hosted in virtual machi-
nes with general-purpose operating systems (GPOS) to natively
access an I/O interface (e.g., one of the Ethernet interfaces). This
is a rather attractive feature, especially because these interfaces
are often in short supply.
 
The RTS Hypervisor from congatec subsidiary Real-Time Systems
combines seamlessly with the hardware-integrated virtualization
44 Elektor Industry 6/2020 www.elektormagazine.com
Figure 5: In addition to Pico-ITX boards,
congatec also offers the new Intel Atom
processors on COM Express Type 6 and 10,
SMARC and Qseven.
 
Figure 6: congatec’s Intel IoT RFP
(Ready For Production) Kit for Workload
Consolidation focuses on real-time
virtualization using RTS hypervisor
technology.
capabilities of Elkhart Lake processors to run critical real-time
applications — in parallel to other multi-purpose operating
systems such as Linux and Windows, without causing any additi-
onal latency. So, virtualization primarily helps to consolidate
numerous tasks on a single system. And the number of tasks is
multiplying rapidly in next-generation industrial control systems,
which these days, on top of site control, are often also required
to interact with each other in real time. In addition, IIoT-ba-
sed data exchange is needed to monitor distributed machines,
optimize asset performance, and introduce new business models
with predictive maintenance and as-a-service offerings. Many
applications also require the integration of vision-based artificial
intelligence. The RTS Hypervisor is supported by all new conga-
tec boards and modules with the new Intel Atom, Celeron, and
Pentium processors. This is a feature that is only available from
congatec in this form.
Artificial intelligence and machine vision
Artificial intelligence is widely used for edge analytics today.
The new Intel processors support an extensive portfolio of AI
products and optimizations for common frameworks. Particu-
larly noteworthy are Intel OpenVINO and Microsoft ML support.
Microsoft ML is a free machine learning software library for the
programming languages C # and F #. It also supports Python models
when used in conjunction with NimbusML. The OpenVINO toolkit
includes the Intel Deep Learning Deployment Toolkit, optimized
OpenCV and media encoding and decoding routines, as well as 20
pre-trained models and code samples. An efficient way to get started
with computer vision and OpenVINO is the congatec workload
consolidation kit for vision-based situational awareness applica-
tions. It is application ready and enables context awareness for
 Figure 7: Block diagram of congatec’s new Pico-ITX SBC.

robots, autonomous vehicles and video surveillance, passen-

ger and pedestrian counting, or automatic checkout systems
in the retail market.

Workload consolidation kit for machine vision

The workload consolidation kit for vision-based situational
awareness applications from congatec, which is Intel-quali-
fied as a production-ready Intel IoT RFP Ready Kit, demons-
trates the efficiency benefits of virtualization. It offers three
virtual machines (VMs) for workload consolidation of vision
applications based on hypervisor technology from Real-Time
Systems (RTS). One VM runs a vision-based AI application
using Intel OpenVINO software for situational awareness.
The second VM is real-time capable and operates determini-
stic control software, while the third VM acts as IIoT/Indus-
try 4.0 gateway. The congatec kit, which was developed in
cooperation with Intel and RTS and can also be made availa-
ble with the new Intel Atom processor generation, targets
the next generation of vision-based collaborative robotics,
machine controls and autonomous vehicles that need to Control without touching
perform multiple tasks in parallel, including situational
awareness based on deep learning based AI algorithms.
200511-01
- Additional hygiene by operating without touching the surface
- Suitable for PCAP touchscreens and capacitive keys
- Keeping one finger close is enough for a good switching contact
- Determine whether the «touchless» option is on or off
WEBLINKS
[1] C. Valens, “A Close Look at the congatec conga-JC370 info.de@schurter.com | +49 7642 6820
3.5” JUKE SBC,” ElektorMagazine, 10/23/2019 : schurter.com
www.elektormagazine.com/news/conga-jc370-juke

lektor electronica Special Edition 45

 news

Professional
Thermal
Imaging
Camera
Technology
Figure 1: The PeakTech 5615

for Beginners and Professionals

thermal imaging camera.

 
Mobile thermal imaging cameras for the service area and building In addition to the higher thermal image resolution of 384x288 pixels, the
thermography no longer have to be unaffordable. Due to increased top model PeakTech 5620 (Figure 2) offers a thermal video function,
environmental protection requirements, the term “thermography” has photo camera with thermal image overlay modes, and a Wi-Fi interface
come more and more into the focus of the general public since the begin- for coupling to an existing LAN or the creation of your own access point,
ning of the 2000s. At that time, professional thermal imaging cameras which enables the app for mobile phones to connect to the device. All
still cost as much as the average new car. Today, you can purchase main functions of the thermal imaging camera can be remotely controlled
smaller and technically far more powerful devices for a fraction of this by the mobile phone, thermal videos and photos can be recorded, which
price. As a result, nowadays even smaller and craft businesses can use in turn can be processed and stored for thermographic evaluation. If
the advantages of this technology and thus generate added value for you consider that this model is in the price range up to €4000, the range
customers in the renovation of old buildings and construction sites. With of functions is remarkable. The temperature measuring range of both
thermal imaging, problems with the thermal insulation and cold bridges devices is -20°C to 550°C with a very high sensitivity of less than 40 mK.
in buildings can be located quickly and eliminated efficiently, thereby With these new models, PeakTech offers a convincing series of profes-
reducing heating costs and protecting the environment. sional thermal imaging cameras at an unbeatable price.
  200490-01
Since then, thermal imaging cameras have also been increasingly used
for the inspection and evaluation of electrical installations and switchgear,
as heat problems at contact resistances due to loose screw connec-
tions or electrical overload can easily be recognized and eliminated. In
this way, personal injury and property damage due to fire or failure of a
system can be prevented at an early stage, which can save the operator
not only money but also many sleepless nights.
 
This year, PeakTech offers two new models with thermal photo function-
ality and analysis software, which also creates automatically generated
test reports.
 
The PeakTech 5615 (Figure 1) is a small and handy thermal imaging
camera in the size of a normal infrared thermometer with a resolution
of 160x120 thermal image points, and is located at the lower end of the
price range of modern thermal imaging cameras under €500.
This model shows thermal images with a fast 25-Hz refresh rate in
four color palettes and can save them as a thermal photo image. In
the accompanying analysis software, all images can then be revised, Figure 2: The PeakTech 5620 offers a thermal video function, photo camera
evaluated, and used for thermographic measurements. with thermal image overlay modes, and a Wi-Fi interface.

46 Elektor Industry 6/2020 www.elektormagazine.com

 Elektor infographics
By Robert van der Zwan

Wired and Wireless, How Do They Fare/Compare?

Wireless: Wireless: Wired: Wired:
More Optimistic, $ BN Less Optimistic, $ BN More Optimistic, $ BN Less Optimistic, $ BN

(Black = Pre-Covid-19, Blue = Post-Covid-19)

Wireless communication: less demand for smart phones due to Wired communication: will grow because of its high levels of
a drop in GDPs worldwide, probably postponement 5G in some security and reliability, both of which are important during (post)
countries Covid-19 times

Market research company McKinsey came
up with some interesting figures after
weighing the effect of Covid-19. In what
the company dubbed a “more optimistic”
scenario for 2020, the global semiconductor
market for wireless communication will lose
about $25 billion in revenue between 2018
and 2020. This is about the size of the total
semiconductor market for wired communi-
cation in 2020. The market for wired commu-
nication, though significantly smaller in
billions of dollars, is doing pretty well in 2020.
McKinsey not only predicts some growth for
‘wired’ in the more optimistic scenario, but
also in a less optimistic scenario. See the
graphs for the reasons.
(Source: McKinsey & Company)

The Hype Cycle or… What the (Not So) Near Future Holds
During the past decades, market
EXPECTATIONS

researcher Gartner has developed its

own view on the near and not-so- Legend
near future. According to Gartner, Social Distancing less than 2 years
technologies go through different Technologies 2-5 years
phases. First, there is the innovation
5-10 years
itself, soon followed by a hype of ‘over
more than 10 years
the top’ expectations. After that, the Carbon-Based Transistors
‘trough of disillusionment’ sets in. But
rest assured: after this disillusionment,
the slope of enlightenment presents 2-Way BMI
itself, only to be an introduction to (Brain Machine
a solid plateau of productivity. In Interface)
2019, Gartner’s hype cycle — as it is Low-Cost Single-Board
called — did not mention the ‘Social Computers at the Edge
Distancing Technologies’ (apps, etc.).
This year, these technologies are at DNA Computing and Storage (replacing silicon)
the top of the cycle. TIME
Innovation Trough of Slope of Plateau of
Trigger Disillusionment Enlightenment Productivity
(Source: Gartner, Inc.)
Peak of
Inflated
Expectations

48 Elektor Industry 6/2020 www.elektormagazine.com

 IT Expenditure Going Through the Roof
At the end of September, technology
recruitment company Harvey Nash and
accountancy firm KPMG had a telling story to
tell: post-Covid-19, companies have invested
very heavily in IT to facilitate their employees to
work at home. These companies took matters
in their own hands and also spent a lot of
money on security, noticing a jump in cyber
attacks during Covid-19. The survey of over
4,200 IT leaders found that companies have
spent around $15 billion extra each week during
the pandemic’s first wave. Overall, companies
invested more in IT in three months than their
initial annual budget.
(Source: recent CIO survey Harvey Nash/KPMG)

1 More algorithmic-specific Technology Trends that Give Hope

chips for AI tasks in
robots, cars, etc. Uncertainty due to a trade war between China and the US,
flattening smart phone sales, an overcapacity in the memory sector:
2 these factors were all reality in 2019 before Covid-19. Covid-19
itself does not help of course. However, in its report ‘Tech, Media
More microcontrollers & Telecom Trends 2020 - Thematic Research’, GlobalData offers
more than one glimmer of hope. After all, an enormous challenge
with a specific
lies ahead in the coming years — namely, the need to design
architecture to algorithmic-specific chips. These chips should process data faster
facilitate the growth and more reliably than the present general-purpose chips do. A
of the IoT great market potential shines on the horizon, giving a much needed
3 The need for
energy boost.
more hardware-
controlled security (Source: GlobalData)

Which Sectors Are Hit the Hardest?

Which sectors in the technology industry 0
are hit the hardest post-Covid-19? IT -10
services suffer a drop of 60% in revenue
this year, according to GlobalData. -20
Consumer electronics takes a hit of about
55%. Not surprisingly, gaming software
-30
and security software are doing relatively -40
well, that is to say: less badly. GlobalData’s
statement that many IT companies will not -50
survive the initial phase of Covid-19, should
-60
us not lead to the conclusion that all is
lec es
Te Com dve ics
om ent tising

Se stru ers
IT icon ture

s
e
at Oper ion
Mu Soft rs
ilm re
V
cia rce

Clo Publi ia
Ga ud S hing
cu Sof ces
oft e
re

gloom and doom. In the very same report

ust ast tor

Ec & T
Te l Au ctur

y S war
o

ed
r E rvic

wa

wa
t
A ron

at
ra ak

that touches upon shrinking IT markets,

i
So me
App com oma
Ind Infr duc

min erv
s
c

lM

t
r
M
t

ria ru
me T se

there are also some hardware trends

om
,F
t

with a lot of potential. Please see the item

sic
ion

g
I

lec pon

rit

‘Technology Trends that Give Hope’.

m
Inf

le
lic
nsu

Se

(Source: GlobalData)
Co

lektor electronica Special Edition 49

 store
www.elektor.com

The Elektor Store

Never expensive, always surprising
The Elektor Store has developed from the
community store for Elektor’s own products
like books, magazines, kits and modules, into
a mature webshop that offers great value for
surprising electronics. We offer the products
that we ourselves are enthusiastic about or that
we simply want to try out. If you have a nice
suggestion, we are here (sale@elektor.com).
Our main conditions:
never expensive, always surprising!

Raspberry Pi 4 Starter Kit

Price: €79.95
Member Price: €71.96

www.elektor.com/19427

SwiftIO – Swift-based
Microcontroller Board

Price: €72.95
Member Price: €65.66

www.elektor.com/19426

50 Elektor Industry 6/2020 www.elektormagazine.com

Joy-Car Robot Get Started with the
(incl. BBC micro:bit) SensorTile.box Bundle

Price: €84.95 Price: €69.95

Member Price: €76.46 Member Price: €62.96

www.elektor.com/19408 www.elektor.com/19404

Dragino PG1301 LoRaWAN

Peak UTP05E Network Cable GPS Concentrator for
Analyser (Ultimate Atlas IT Kit) Raspberry Pi (868 MHz)

Price: €259.00 Price: €124.95

Member Price: €233.10 Member Price: €112.46

www.elektor.com/19373 www.elektor.com/19367

lektor electronica Special Edition 51

 feature

The Industry’s First Integrated

Zero Cross Detection ICs
from ROHM Semiconductor
Reducing Undesirable Power Loss

ROHM Semiconductor has developed an integrated zero and more functions for the convenience
cross detection solution for power supplies in the home of consumers. Displays, touch sensors,
and voice functions will be connected to
appliances such as washing machines and refrigerators. The each other by Wi-Fi, which requires the
solution delivers improved reliability and efficiency. electronics to stay 24 hours in ON mode.
However, this leads to unnecessary power
losses and does not meet market demands.
By Youngku An (Application Engineer, the Internet of Things (IoT). There are  
Application and Technical Solution already many ICs that can significantly In order to live up to the market’s expec-
Center, ROHM Semiconductor) reduce standby power, but they are limited tations, ROHM Semiconductor intro-
to the DC/DC part. Typical “white good” duced an IC that integrated a zero cross
Reducing power losses is one of the key home appliances such as vacuum clean- detecting function into a package that has
aims of power circuit designers. This trend ers, washing machines, air conditioners, been solved with discrete configurations
will be further strengthened in the era of and refrigerators will consist of more instead.

52 Elektor Industry 6/2020 www.elektormagazine.com


Advantages of a Zero Cross IC
The IC offers the following benefits:
Simple design
> Overcoming inaccuracies of photocou-
pler due to temperature and voltage
difference
> Power loss reduction
> Reduced part count
 
Figure 1 shows a washing machine model
as an example. In the conventional way, the
motor is a load and connected to an AC/DC
converter via mechanical reply that only
serves as a switch. This mechanical relay
is in transient period to electrical switch,
MOSFETs and in the latest models Wi-Fi
became essential to control entire systems
via one-hand mobile device externally. A
large number of discrete components, such
as photo couplers, are configured to detect
the zero cross point for AC sinusoidal input
and send falling or rising edge signals to
the microcontroller. The discrete config-
uration not only makes the circuit design
complicated, but also causes undesirable
power loss on resistance and diode.
Figure 2: Stand-by power (only AC zero cross).
Figure 2 illustrates the figures: standby
power measured when using ROHM’s Zero
Cross Detection IC BM1Z001FJ is reduced by
98% compared to a traditional photocou-
pler configuration, from 460 mW to 10 mW
at a 230 V input voltage. This is due to the
low current consumption of the BM1Z001FJ
in standby mode, 50µA (typ.), and only
160µA (typ.) in normal operation. On the
other hand, current through the photocou-
pler is always 2 mA. A 460 mW power loss
in standby mode is substantial. Further-
more, we can assume that the total power
loss in such a circuit will be even higher
when taking the rest of the components
into account.
 
Figure 3 shows the reduced numbers of
components significantly by the zero-cross
IC. Eleven discrete components are replaced
with just four components, including Rohm’s
zero-cross IC. This provides advantages on
simple circuit design and also space in
the PCB. The technical advantage that a
zero cross IC offers is the constant delay
time above all. The full-wave rectified AC
Figure 3: External parts (only AC zero cross).
voltage has different delay times at every
point of sinusoidal and they appear Max
and Min in the near voltage of 230V and zero
respectively. In other words, the delay time
increases as input voltage approaches zero.  
 
Figure 4 makes this clear. The delay time of
the blue line by the photo coupler increases
as the AC input voltage decreases. However,
the delay time by Rohm’s zero-cross IC stay in
constant regardless of the AC input voltage.
This delay time can be adjusted by pull down
resistors upon request within the range of
-500us ~ +200us. In the meantime, by apply-
ing the conventional method with a photo
coupler the input voltage is smaller than
the zener voltage for the photo coupler. No
current flows through the photo coupler.
Thus, the zero cross signal cannot be trans-
mitted to microcontroller. This raises an
additional issue of circuit reliability and
power loss from Zener diode (Figure 5).
Zero cross pulse type and edge type
In order to meet the electronic market’s
various microcontrollers and design speci-
Figure 1:  Zero cross IC
in a washing machine.
lektor electronica Special Edition 53
 Figure 4: Zero-cross delay time.
Figure 6: Zero cross IC line-up.
fications, ROHM Semiconductor has intro-
duced zero-cross ICs by dividing pulse
type and edge type of zero cross signal to
microcontrollers.
 
Figure 6 shows the current lineup. The
delay time is adjustable with the Delay
Time Setting DSET pin and pulldown
resistor values. In addition, some models
of the line-up monitor the DC voltage that
is either DC rectified voltage or input
voltage for a motor via VH_DC terminal
and output 1/100th of the voltage for the
microcontroller via the DCOUT terminal.
The voltage provided is applicable, so that
may be necessary for more precise motor
control. The zero cross IC provides further
functions for safety. When the AC input
voltage is dipped, zero cross detecting is
stopped to prevent it from an undervolt-
age-lockout (UVLO). If AC input voltage
54 Elektor Industry 6/2020 www.elektormagazine.com
Figure 5: Comparison zero cross detection.
is removed temporarily, the IC also is
About the Author
stopped and recovered as soon as AC input
Youngku An is
becomes normal. Product packages are
an Application
presented in SOP-J7S and SOP-J11S that
Engineer at ROHM
can be pin-matched with general SOP
Semiconductor’s
products.
Application and
Technical Solution
Conclusion
Center, where he
The zero-cross IC introduced so far contrib-
is responsible for
utes to reduce standby power applied
AC/DC ICs, standard ICs, and motor
within household appliances. This is
controls. An holds a Bachelor’s degree
becoming more important because the
in electrical engineering from the
increasing number of functions will lead
University of Seoul in South Korea.
to an extensive level of power consump-
He started his career at Panasonic
tion. Evaluation boards and samples are
Semiconductor as an FAE for AC/DC
already available. For more information
applications. Afterwards, he worked at
please contact ROHM local sales offices
Shindengen with discrete MOSFETs
worldwide.
and power modules, as well as high-
200484-01
performance DC/DC converters and
OBCs for automotive applications.
news

Benefits of Using a
RadioControlli
Module
Why should you use a RadioControlli
module? The answer is clear:
time-to-market reduction. Some examples of IOT MODULES:
 
Chip Technology RadioControlli Modules
CC1310 Texas Instruments RC-CC1310-XXX
To build an RF design, starting from a single IC, good RF design exper- CC1312R Texas Instruments RC-CC1312R-XXX
tise is required. So the use of RadioControlli’s modules avoids a series CC1352 Texas Instruments RC-CC1352-XXX
of technical problems of functionality and reduces development costs CC2640 Texas Instruments RC-CC2640-A-B
and time. The final device manufacturer can take products to market SPIRIT1 STMicroelectronics RC-SPIRIT1-XXX
faster, so there is more time to develop more functions for the final S2-LP STMicroelectronics RC-S2LP-XXX
product and this process minimizes the development costs. These SX1276 Semtech RC-SM1276-XXX
modules are calibrated, they are all tested, and certified (CE or FCC).  XXX = available at 433/868/915MHz
We can recap all the benefits of a RadioControlli module in one state-  
ment: “Time-to-Market Reduction.” RadioControlli SRL | www.radiocontrolli.com
200527-01
 

lektor electronica Special Edition 55

 feature
A Touch
of Magic
Contributed by SCHURTER
We have known and used mechanical
switches and push buttons since childhood.
A light switch in the house for example
works according to this principle. A clear
pressure point, a saturated clicking sound
when actuated. We are used to this. But there
are other ways, almost magical: a gentle
touch is enough for capacitive switches.
Have the mechanical switches had their day?
“Click” — this is how we imagine the sound a switch makes when it
is operated. “Click” — on, “click” — off. We are familiar with that. But
these mechanical switches are by no means the ideal solution for
every application. Why? For technical reasons, mechanical switches
with stroke technology always have a gap between the housing and
the actuator. This can allow moisture and dirt particles to penetrate
both in outdoor and indoor applications, which is absolutely unwanted.
In addition, mechanical stroke switches have moving parts. They are
constantly being pressed on. This leads to wear and tear. At some
point, even the best mechanical pushbutton will die. This is inevitable.
Capacitive switches: no wear and tear
Capacitive switches, on the other hand, perform their work completely
free of wear and tear. Their mode of operation is fundamentally differ-
ent from that of mechanical pushbuttons. There’s no stroke here.
Nothing is moving. Simply touching the sensor area — correspond-
ing to the mechanical actuator — with the finger alters an electri-
cal field. This touch then triggers a change of the switch state. All
56 Elektor Industry 6/2020 www.elektormagazine.com
Figure 1: High-quality
capacitive switches
are made of the best
materials. SCHURTER
relies on stainless
steel for the housing
of their CPS.
this happens without any pressure on the sensor. Wear and tear is
therefore not an issue.
Haptics and optics
Switches are there to be touched. And our fingers are highly sensi-
tive sensors. Especially high-quality capacitive switches are made
of the best materials. SCHURTER relies on stainless steel for its CPS
series.[1] We perceive the surface quality of a switch immediately.
Cheap or valuable? We’ll feel it in no time. In addition, the demands
of designers and manufacturers of input systems for high aesthet-
ics are increasing rapidly. For these reasons, SCHURTER offers the
CPS with a touch surface made of scratch-resistant ceramic with
surface illumination or made of stainless steel with ring illumination
(Figure 1). But both versions are also available without any illumina-
tion. More exotic materials such as glass, wood or even plastics are
also conceivable for the actuator. As the icing on the cake, you can
also get a (customer-specific) finger guide, which offers a further
increase in comfort.
Lighting and labelling
What else makes a switch a good or maybe rather moderate switch?
A distinct feedback and a fast detectability of the function are elemen-
tary requirements for a switch. The user must know whether his input
was recognized correctly.
However, the desired switch is not always available as a standard
product. Be it a symbol on the actuator or a special illumination colour
— customer-specific versions are often requested. The SCHURTER
Metal Line, of which the CPS is a part, offers almost unlimited possi-
bilities for adaptation to specific customer requirements. Special
requests are welcome. There is a custom-made switch for every-
one (Figure 2).
Configuration of the switch
The mechanical light switch we had in mind at the beginning as
an example was a supposedly simple construction with the states
“on” and “off.” Modern capacitive switches such as the SCHURTER
CPS family can offer much more variability. The switches are freely
configurable factory default. Momentary and latching functions can
be implemented; further functions such as delay, repeat, hold, freeze,
cleaning mode and others can be implemented. It goes without saying
that the customer has the last word here too. On request, SCHURTER
can also configure your CPS completely to your specifications.

Where is the catch?

Capacitive switches do not have a real downside. They need a power
supply, right. Due to their sensitivity to moisture, they are only suitable Figure 2: Customer-specific variants with ceramic actuator.
for outdoor use to a limited extent, this is also true. Used in the right
place, however, their advantages clearly outweigh the disadvantages.
 
SCHURTER’s CPS is an extremely versatile product; it is completely
wear-free and can be adapted to any unusual customer requirement.
WEBLINKS
So back to the initial question: Have mechanical switches had their
day? Yes, by no means everywhere but already in many applications. [1] SCHURTER CPS: www.schurter.com/cps
200482-01

lektor electronica, Special Edition 57

 news
system robodev
Automation Made Simple
robodev’s easy-to-use, plug-and-play
technology makes automation accessible
to wide range of manufacturers. Yes,
automation can be simple.  implementation periods of several months. With the robodev system,
Since 2016, robodev GmbH has been making the entry into automa-
ted production much easier and more attractive for companies of all
sizes and regardless of their automation experience. This is achieved
by an intelligent software solution that allows to translate individual
production process directly into an automation sequence. In addition,
there is a modular automation kit which enables the implementation
of an automation solution from planning to commissioning within a
few days instead of weeks or months. The Karlsruhe-based company
thus provides a solution for the industrial automation of the future. One
that is more than Industry 4.0.
The robodev founders already developed their revolutionary solution
during their doctorate at the renowned KIT. The setup of trials with
commercially available control systems and hardware components
to map automated process steps proved to be complicated time
and again. The initial idea of making automation simpler and more
accessible for everyone was born — with a newly developed intelli-
gent control system and a modular system of standardised hardware
components. These were intended to enable automation applications
based on the plug-and-play principle and to significantly reduce both
the financial hurdles and the barriers caused by a lack of know-how.
The result is the robodev system, an intelligent modular automation
58 Elektor Industry 6/2020 www.elektormagazine.com
system robodev offers real plug and play
system that can be integrated and commissioned in almost all manual
workstations and production lines within a few hours. With normal
technology and methodology, the automation of individual production
steps usually requires an investment volume of €100,000 or more and
automation processes can be designed, implemented, and installed in
your production and logistic areas within a few days and without any
programming knowledge, even for budgets starting at around €25,000.
The modular automation system
for 80% of all handling tasks
The innovation of robodev is based on years of research and develop-
ment in the field of modular robotics and service robotics. The system
consists of a newly developed, innovative software wizard and various
intelligent mechatronic modules that can be combined with each other
in any way. The modular system contains function modules with which
around 80% of the handling tasks common in the manufacturing indus-
try can be implemented. Thanks to its compatibility with the widely used
aluminium grooved profiles and a newly conceived type of component
cabling, the robodev system enables flexible and rapid implementation
of automation solutions and makes them easy to operate.
The customer as an automation engineer —
without programming knowledge
The robodev assistant translates your production processes directly
into an automation sequence. It can be operated intuitively, works
process-oriented and requires no programming knowledge. In this way,
the process specialist on the customer side becomes an automation
specialist himself and is able to quickly achieve immediate increases
in productivity and/or quality improvements with a short return on
investment period in his production. Once the robodev application has
been switched on, you can get started straight away without having
to install any programs. In "manual mode", all basic functions of the
individual modules are immediately available for testing. A process
editor is used to graphically define the sequence of operations in
simple, clear steps, thus making the complete desired process acces-
sible step by step. The operating interfaces are defined just as easily
and, if desired, specific data can be exchanged with the production
IT or other machines.
The goal of robodev is the mature customer. He should be able to
implement his complete automation process completely autonomously
and extremely quickly and to adapt it flexibly to changing production
conditions later. From the first idea to the implementation of the appli-
cation in his production and without external service providers. This
is already today possible with the system robodev.
The configurator on the web
If you have an idea for an automation application in your production,
or if you would like to be inspired by existing automation solutions for
your (new) application, robodev provides a configurator on its website.
Here it is possible to create a 3D model for an individual application
with just a few clicks. You can either create a completely new applica-
tion or adapt preconfigured applications to your individual application.
Real industrial plug and play
The robodev system offers its customers real plug and play for an indus-
trial solution. The construction of the modules, the standard connecting
elements, the hybrid cables and the design of the software make it
possible to set up and commission the system within hours. The custo-
mer only must select the modules required for his handling task. He
then assembles these using standard connectors and industrial profiles
and connects everything with the hybrid cables. He then configures
the application graphically, web-based with his production parame-
ters using a PC or laptop and is basically finished. With the robodev
system up to 20 function modules per system and about 15 process
steps can be implemented. Payloads of up to 5 kg can be moved and
A customer application with the system robodev.
repeat accuracies of up to 0.1 mm can be achieved. The exemplary
applications for the system range from moving, conveying, feeding
and removing to dosing, assembling, plugging, screwing, testing and
controlling the entire process. Complex steps such as mechanical
design, switch cabinet construction, production of special parts or
PLC programming can be avoided.
Made in Germany
In the production and development of the robodev system, the young
company consistently relies on the high-quality standard “Made in
Germany” and the mechanical engineering and automation exper-
tise of well experienced and established german companies. Both the
software and all hardware components are manufactured, assembled,
programmed, and tested in Germany under the supervision of robodev.
 
Convincing advantages that have not only brought the young start-up
company numerous innovation awards since then, but also initial econo-
mic success with currently more than 30 installed systems in the last 10
months with renowned reference customers. More information about
robodev system and the innovative start-up company from Karlsruhe
with all contact options can also be found at www.robodev.com.
200481-01
Short
The aim of robodev is that the customer can implement its
entire automation process completey, autonomously and
adapt it extremely quickly and flexibly to changing production
conditions. From the first idea to the implementation of the
application in its production, this can be achieved without
external service providers. This is already possible today with
the robodev Stand system.
robodev presentation at Productronica 2019.
lektor electronica Special Edition 59
 Wall of Fame
November 2020
Elektor International Media is proud tech innovation. The companies listed on
to present its 2020 Wall of Fame! We this month‘s Wall of Fame offer electrical
partner with top electronics companies engineers, makers, and students a wide
– from global parts suppliers to device range of indispensable tools and solutions
manufacturers – to promote exciting for developing next-generation electronics
products and services that power high- projects and products.

60 Elektor Industry 6/2020 www.elektormagazine.com

 Your logo could
be here.
Please call
+49 (0)241 955 09 186

lektor electronica Special Edition 61

 With Fabian Mendel
(Junior Managing Director at Almit GmbH)
Solder
Innovation at Almit
An Interview with Fabian Mendel
Almit is a leading provider of solder wires,
solder pastes, and lead-free solder, which
are used in a variety of industries, from
aerospace to consumer electronics. Junior
managing director Fabian Mendel talks
about the family-run company’s history
and products, as well as how its team is
managing the COVID-19 situation.
The Almit team is confident in its know-how and spirit of tradition. Almit’s
junior managing directors Fabian Mendel (left) and David Mendel (right)
stand with their father, Almit CEO Michael Mendel (center).
62 Elektor Industry 6/2020 www.elektormagazine.com
Elektor: Mr. Mendel, could you please give us a brief introduc-
tion of the Almit company and your position.
Mendel: Almit GmbH produces high-quality solder wires, solder
pastes and fluxes, mainly for the automotive, medical technology,
or aerospace industries. We are a family-run company and, together
with my brother, I am the second-generation successor.
 
Elektor: To what extent does Almit stand out from its competitors
in the market? What special features do you offer your customers?
Mendel: With our solders, our main focus above all is on solving
very demanding process tasks for the customer (Figure 1). For
example, we are pioneers in the field of laser soldering, or in the
field of jet paste. The changeover from manual to automated solde-
ring is also particularly successful with our solders. Whenever
there are difficulties and challenges in the soldering process, our
products will always find a solution.
Elektor: The company’s slogan is “Technology for the Future.”
How is this forward-looking way of thinking and acting reflected
in your everyday business?
Mendel: We try to develop our products with such foresight that
they are available as soon as new market trends emerge and do not
have to be developed afterwards. Our research and development
department is therefore very much involved with newly emerging
production and process technologies in order to know the needs
of our customers in advance and to have a solution ready as soon
as the need arises (Figure 2).
Elektor: Which innovative developments are among Almit’s
greatest successes? Can you name a product characteristic that
makes Almit stand out?
 
 Figure 1: Almit’s
international team at
productronica 2019 in
Munich. The company
attaches great importance
to the personal exchange
with customers and
business partners.

Mendel: The corona crisis has highlighted what really matters,

both in a private and professional context. Thanks to our healthy
We try to develop our and sustainable growth in recent years, we are happy to be able
to say that, despite corona, we are still in a solid position today.
products with such Of course, there are many challenges that we have to overcome,
foresight that they are but we believe that the worst is over for the time being. We have
promising new projects and are entering the last quarter of the year
available as soon as new optimistic and motivated. For the future, we expect the market to
market trends emerge. become smaller and competition to increase. However, thanks to
our excellent products, we are well prepared for this period and
look forward to the challenges ahead.
Fabian Mendel 200480-01

Want to Know More?

Elektor also spoke with Fabian Mendel at productronica 2019.
Mendel: Shortly after its foundation in 1956, Almit developed He talked about solder, solder paste, and more. Watch the video:
the first solder that made it possible to solder aluminum. One of http://bit.ly/elektor-almit
the subsequent versions of this solder was also used in the NASA
space shuttle. In recent history, the greatest successes were certainly
the development of our GUMMIX solder wire which made laser
soldering possible for the first time. The same applies to our new
MR-NH soldering paste, which enables soldering processes with
an area-ratio below 0.6. We are also especially proud of our extre-
mely small solder wire diameters. We can now produce soldering
wires with diameters of 0.08mm. Even our 0.15mm wire was a
success. It is thinner than a human hair and we still guarantee a
100% continuous flux core in these extremely thin wires. In an age
of increasing miniaturization, we believe this is a very important
future market.
 
Elektor: How do you assess the course of the year 2020 so far?
Has the coronavirus crisis changed your view of the present and
future of the Almit company? What are your expectations and Figure 2: Technology for the future. The German headquarters at Michelstadt,
goals for the coming year? close to Frankfurt. The European central warehouse is also located here.
   

lektor electronica Special Edition 63

Our Contributors Advertisers
Almit Aaronia AG. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Solder Innovation at Almit – An Interview with Fabian Mendel
congatec. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

C.J. Abate Eurocircuits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Q&A with Jason Long: Embedded in Embedded Technology Mouser Electronics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

congatec MultiCB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Performance Boost for Edge Computing PCBWay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Querom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Eurocircuits
Eurocircuits: One-Stop Shop for Prototypes RadioControlli. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

reichelt elektronik. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Mouser Electronics
Four Development Kits to Help Speed Up Your Wireless Project robodev. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

SCHURTER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
PCBWay
PCBWay’s PCB Capabilities SIGLENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

tbp Electronics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
PeakTech
Telerex. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Professional Thermal Imaging Camera Technology for Beginners and
Professionals Würth Elektronik.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Querom
DC/DC Power Electronics for Electrolyzers, Fuel Cells, and Batteries

RadioControlli
Benefits of Using a RadioControlli Module

Robert van der Zwan

Infographics

robodev
system robodev: Automation Made Simple

ROHM
The Industry’s First Integrated Zero Cross Detection ICs from ROHM
Semiconductor

SCHURTER
A Touch of Magic

SIGLENT
SIGLENT Technologies Strengthens Its RF Instruments Range by
Adding a New Spectrum Analyzer

Stuart Cording
The Nvidia-Arm Deal

Tam Hanna
• Review: Nimbus 3D: Time-of-Flight Camera
• Review: YDLidar TG15

Teiimo
E-Textiles: A World of New Possibilities

ValCUN
Potential Disruptive Manufacturing Method for Heat Management of
Power Electronics

64 Elektor Industry 6/2020 www.elektormagazine.com

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 news
SIGLENT Technologies
Strengthens Its RF
Instruments Range by Adding
a New Spectrum Analyzer
Looking for a spectrum analyzer? Consider
the affordable, high-performance Siglent
SSA3015X Plus.  The SSA3015X Plus can also optionally be equipped with advanced
Due to increased demand for high-performance and low-cost RF instru-
mentation, Siglent has added another analyzer to its existing range of
RF instruments. The new instrument is a powerful entry-level spectrum
analyzer. The SSA3015X Plus delivers solid performance, beneficial
enhancement options, and an unmatched price-performance ratio.
 
The newly introduced product brings the powerful SSA3000X Plus
performance, functions and features to lower bandwidths. The new
SSA3015X Plus has excellent banner specifications like the Displayed
Average Noise Level (DANL) of -156 dBm/Hz, a phase noise of -99 dBc/
Hz (typ) at 1 GHz with 10 kHz offset, <1.2 dB total level accuracy and
the standard built-in Tracking Generator and Pre-Amplifier. Further-
more, the user interface is modern and easy to use, including a 10.1-inch
66 Elektor Industry 6/2020 www.elektormagazine.com
touch screen, external mouse and keyboard control, and an integrated
web server that make the analyzer operation intuitive and comfortable.
measurement kit (SSA3000XP-AMK), which includes channel power
(CHP), adjacent channel power (ACPR), occupied bandwidth (OBW),
TOI and waterfall diagram (monitor), as well as harmonic and carrier-
to-noise ratio (CNR) measurements. These can help to solve various
challenges in transmission or at communication systems.
 
The extended EMC option adds EMI filter with bandwidths of 200 Hz, 9
kHz, 120 kHz and 1 MHz (following CISPR16.1 definition). Various EMC
standard limits are included and can easily be loaded and displayed.
The SSA3015X Plus also features Vector Signal Analysis demodula-
tion options.  
 
This new product expands Siglent’s RF product range to be able to
meet customers’ technical and budgetary requirements. The starting
price for the SSA3015X Plus is €1159. More details are available at
www.siglenteu.com.
200485-01
Ordering made easy
Tools to search, check stock and purchase

mouser.co.uk/servicesandtools
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