Mouser Electronics Now Stocking Microchip Technology’s PIC32 Family of 32-bit Microcontrollers (MCUs)

Mouser Electronics, Inc., known for its rapid availability and introduction of the newest products, today announced it is stocking the PIC32 family of 32-bit microcontrollers (MCUs) from Microchip Technology, a leading supplier of microcontroller and analog semiconductors.

“Our engineering customers require both rapid introduction of the newest products and technologies, as well as a broad selection of products and suppliers in order to select the best solution for their design projects,” said Mike Scott, Mouser’s Vice President of Active Products. “By stocking Microchip’s PIC32 MCUs, and through our innovative marketing programs, we are able to quickly introduce these new devices to our extensive engineering customer base.”

The PIC32 family adds more performance and memory, while maintaining pin, peripheral, and software compatibility with Microchip’s 16-bit PIC® MCUs and dsPIC® Digital Signal Controllers (DSCs). To further ease migration and protect tool investments, the PIC32 family is fully supported by Microchip’s free MPLAB® Integrated Development Environment (IDE). The MPLAB IDE offers unprecedented compatibility by supporting Microchip’s complete portfolio of 8-, 16- and 32-bit devices.

The PIC32 family consists of ten general-purpose devices that operate at up to 80 MHz, and offer ample code- and data-space capabilities, with up to 512 KB Flash and 32 KB RAM. The family also includes a rich set of integrated peripherals, significantly reducing total design complexity and cost.

The devices are based on the MIPS32® architecture with its leading combination of high-performance, low power consumption, fast interrupt response, and extensive industry tool support. The high-performance MIPS32 M4K® core can achieve best-in-class 1.5 DMIPS/MHz operation, due to its efficient instruction-set architecture, 5-stage pipeline, hardware multiply/accumulate unit, and multiple sets of 32 core registers. To reduce systems costs, the PIC32 MCUs support the MIPS16e™ 16-bit ISA, enabling code-size reductions of up to 40%.

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Automotive relay range is vast for wide range of applications

Specialist distributor Switchtec is offering a range of automotive relays from Hongfa. New cars are using more and more relays to control attractive, ‘value added’ features and functions within the vehicle. This has led to an increase in demand for automotive relays year on year. The total automotive relay output for China for 2007 was 137 million relays, up 15% on 2006. Demand is forecast to increase to 650 million relays by 2010.

Aimed at the automotive Industry, OEMs, equipment manufacturers, and PCB manufacturers/builders, the relays are used in automobiles, mobility vehicles, waste collection vehicles, caravans and trailers, and in motor control applications such as lifts, robotics, and garden machinery.

Ratings wise, the Hongfa automotive relay series ranges from the small PCB relay HFKW rated at 15A up to the large 70A HFV7 panel mount relay.

A technological development achieved by Hongfa is the twin relay. Two relays are packaged in one housing, both with their own coils and contacts. This space saving development enables more relays to be fitted to a PCB, as the relays can be populated closer together, saving valuable PCB space and reducing enclosure sizes and weight, which is a serious consideration in many automotive applications. Hongfa currently has three types of the relay that are also available as a twin relay. These are the HFKA, HFKC and the HFKD.

The latest automotive relay from Hongfa is the HFV9. This is a miniature relay measuring just 25x22x15mm, yet capable of switching 20A. Suitable for PCB or Faston connections, the relay’s compact size and high performance is ideal for automotive applications.

To perform some of the more complex applications within a vehicle, application specific relays are required. These are the Hongfa HF350 relays for flashing control (indicators), wiper control and delaying relay (oil pump).

All of the Hongfa automotive relays from Switchtec are RoHS and ELV compliant. With over 40 automotive relays types, and an ever-expanding production capacity, Hongfa offers a complete automotive relay series. Major customers of Hongfa include Ford, Fiat, Delphi, Chery, and Jiangling motor companies.

With a 700 million piece manufacturing capacity, Hongfa is the largest relay manufacturer in China. Appreciating the importance of the automotive industry worldwide, Hongfa was the first relay manufacturer to achieve the automotive standard TS16949.

Hongfa has a design and production facility dedicated to automotive relays. It is equipped with the latest moulding, assembly and production technologies. Hongfa also has its own internal test house, which is recognised by TUV, VDE, UL and CNAS, enabling Hongfa to complete in house testing to higher standards, shortening approval lead times and allowing for increased production flexibility.

The Hongfa automotive relay range is available from Switchtec on short delivery times. A dedicated automotive relay brochure is also available.

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Digi-Key Corporation and Laird Technologies Announce Worldwide Distribution Agreement

Digi-Key Corporation and Laird Technologies announced today that the companies have entered into a global distribution agreement.

Laird Technologies is a designer and manufacturer of customized, performance-critical products for wireless and other advanced electronics applications. The company is a global market leader in the design and supply of electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, thermal management products, mechanical actuation systems, signal integrity components, and wireless antenna solutions, as well as radio frequency (RF) modules and systems.

Custom products are supplied to all sectors of the electronics industry including the handset, telecommunications, data transfer and information technology, automotive, aerospace, defense, consumer, medical, and industrial markets.

Laird Technologies products stocked by Digi-Key are featured in its print and online catalogs and are available for purchase directly from Digi-Key. The terms of this new distribution agreement will enable Digi-Key to fulfill the prototype as well as the production quantity needs of its very diverse customer base.

“We are very pleased to expand our portfolio with products from Laird Technologies,” said Mark Larson, Digi-Key president and COO. “This agreement is in keeping with Digi-Key’s commitment to provide our customers with the newest and most innovative products. I am certain that these products will be of consequential interest and appeal to the thousands of design engineers who do business with Digi-Key every day.”

“Our agreement with Digi-Key allows engineers access to a broader range of our products for prototyping and purchasers to more quickly access our products in production quantities,” said Andy Coyle, director of Global Channel Sales for Laird Technologies. “Digi-Key is well positioned to support our customers’ needs from prototype through production and will play a critical role in getting our products to the global marketplace quickly and reliably.”

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Massive range of pushbuttons immediately available

Specialist electronics distributor Live Electronics is introducing a broad range of pushbutton switches from Otto Engineering. Available in a massive choice of styles across 19 ranges with a wide choice of body, button and termination configurations to cover a huge range of applications, the switches are designed for use in the most rugged of situations and sealed to IP68.

A unique contact design ensures reliable operation at low (10mA) or maximum (20A) current ratings, with many products specified for a mechanical life of 1 million operations. Hall-effect versions are available which extends operational life to 10 million. Momentary or alternate-action switching products are available. LED illumination, Mil-Spec and vandal-resistant versions are included in the range.

Claire Childs, Live Electronics MD commented: “Otto’s in-house design team and vertically integrated manufacturing facilities enable customised variants to be produced with ease. Applications include mil-aero, marine, off-road vehicles, agricultural, medical and many industrial uses where precision switching within a robust package is required.”

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Arrow’s range of illuminated and programmable switches suit broadcast and audio visual systems

Arrow has announced the availability of a broad range of switches ideally suited to the requirements of audio visual and broadcast equipment. The range of illuminated switches from manufacturers such as NKK (Nikkai) Switches and C&K Components provide a variety of colour options, while programmable devices offer the flexibility to display application-specific text or even moving images.

Among the NKK switches available from Arrow is the HB2 series of subminiature pushbutton devices offering full-face illumination with a choice of red/green or red/yellow bicolour LEDs and the UB and UB2 series of low-profile pushbuttons. The UB series features bright and superbright LEDs and has a body height of just 10mm, while the UB2 series offers a wide selection of illumination effects with single and bicolour, one- or six-element LEDs.

The C&K Components family of illuminated switches from Arrow incorporates the 8020 and 8060 series of momentary pushbuttons, the K5V and K5AT series of tactile devices, and a variety of key switches from the K6, K12 and Digitast ranges. Arrow also offers the C&K ELUM, a right angle latching pushbutton with central LED illumination and a low PCB mounting height.

For enhanced flexibility in broadcast systems, Arrow stocks the NKK SmartSwitch family of software-controlled pushbutton switches. Featuring integrated OLED and LCD displays, these switches can be programmed to display a wide variety of text and moving images.

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Inventory to Include DC-DC Converters and Power Supplies

Mouser Electronics, Inc., known for its rapid introduction of the newest products, today announced it has signed a global distribution agreement with Power-One, Inc., a leading provider of power conversion and power management solutions. Mouser will stock a variety of products including DC-DC converters and power supplies.

“We welcome Mouser as a distributor for Power-One”, said Jim Crehan, Power-One’s Director of Global Distribution. “Mouser’s focus on introducing the latest products and technologies, to over 280,000 customers in 170 countries, makes them an excellent partner to promote Power-One’s comprehensive range of high-efficiency, power-conversion solutions. Mouser initiatives, such as their no-minimum-order-size policy, will increase the number of design engineers using energy-saving Power-One products in the prototyping stage of their design cycles, facilitating more design wins for Mouser and Power-One.”

According to Barry McConnell, Mouser’s Vice President of Product Marketing, adding Power-One’s power-conversion products enhances the distributor’s linecard of innovative products that are quickly introduced to the engineering community.

“We are pleased to introduce Power-One’s innovative products to our customers,” McConnell said. “Adding the newest high-efficiency power-conversion products is just the type of new product introductions our engineering customers expect from Mouser.”

Known for its broad-based product line, unsurpassed customer service, and streamlined warehouse operations, Mouser continuously offers customers the most innovative products and latest technologies for their new design projects.

Mouser Electronics is the only major distributor to publish a new 2,100+ page print catalog every 90 days. In addition, its website with interactive online catalog is updated daily, contains more than a million products for easy online purchase, provides over 1.5 million cross-references, as well as more than 900,000 downloadable data sheets, supplier-specific reference designs, application notes, and other technical design information.

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TTI adds Brad® Industrial Automation and Automotive Connectors from Molex

TTI Inc., the world’s leading passive and connector specialist, has extended its franchise agreement with Molex to include the Brad® product line of industrial automation and automotive connector lines from Molex Automation & Electrical Products Division (former Woodhead).

The Automation & Electrical Products Division of Molex is known for network and electrical infrastructure products engineered for performance in harsh, demanding and hazardous industrial environments. The Brad® lines of Automation products include such globally recognized names as applicom®, Direct-Link®, mPm®, RJ-Lnxx®, SST™ and BradHarrison®.

The Brad Harrison® Mini-Change® connector and wiring system, designed in 1969 for Ford and GM, changed factory automation and continues to make machine maintenance quicker and easier. This “Plug and Play” concept, along with the Micro-Change® M12 and Nano-Change® M8 connector systems, revolutionized the wiring of automotive assembly lines.

The revolutionary Brad® M12 Ultra-Lock™ Connection System using push-to-lock technology, is designed to surpass the performance and reliability of traditional threaded connectors. Once it’s locked, the Ultra-Lock connector’s unique radial seal provides sealing integrity to IP69K, and can increase productivity, reduce labor costs by up to 60 percent.

Comments John Sandy, European Director Supplier Marketing Connectors: “This is the first time that the former Woodhead M8 and M12 product range has been available through a global distributor, so we believe that there are very many new business opportunities. The Brad® ranges of M8 and M12 connectors are also a perfect fit with our range of sensors from Bourns, so there is a possibility to develop system solutions.”

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Free online purchasing management service gives customers complete control, visibility and reduced administration

Farnell, the leading multi-channel, high service distributor supporting millions of engineers and purchasing professionals globally has launched its new free online purchasing management system, i-Buy. Designed to provide customers with complete cost control, reduced administration and total visibility of spend with Farnell, i-Buy is completely flexible and fully personalised to individual customer needs.

i-Buy provides many of the custom features of an expensive eProcurement system (ERP) but at zero cost. Customers self-serve their own requirements; set user spend levels, create workflows and configure purchase approval structures to reflect the company set-up and organisation. In addition, functionality enables customers to add custom field labels to capture additional data and create multiple budgets that are aligned to associated internal projects.

With its advanced reporting capabilities, it allows customers to easily download reports at line level detail to provide total transparency of spend and enable better informed buying decisions to be made. Customer efficiency is improved and purchasing time saved by eliminating the need for much paperwork, ultimately allowing goods to be received faster. Simple and easy to access, users just log on to the Farnell website as usual and place orders.

Combined with the added functionality of the latest version of the Farnell website, i-Buy provides a tailored system with easy access to over 450,000 products, next-day delivery, real-time stock availability and assistance with thousands of alternative items.

Commenting on the launch of i-Buy, André Gallé, Head of eCommerce Europe & Asia Pacific, said: “This new system will prove invaluable to our customers, making their jobs easier by providing a powerful tool by which to manage and control their purchases with Farnell. The potential efficiency gains and simplification of the purchase process will benefit business owners, buyers / purchasing managers and electronic design engineers alike.”

Farnell’s i-Buy system can be accessed via the homepage of the company’s website.

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Digi-Key Corporation Stocking Apex Precision Power Products from Cirrus Logic

Digi-Key Corporation and Cirrus Logic Inc. announced today that Digi-Key is now offering off-the-shelf delivery on the most comprehensive offering of Apex Precision Power™ products in the world.

Apex Precision Power is the new name in product innovation for high power precision control of current, voltage and speed in applications for the industrial, test and measurement, aerospace and medical markets. Apex Precision Power products focus on the use of power operational amplifiers (linear) and pulse width modulation amplifiers (PWM/switching) in motor and motion control related applications. IC, board-level module and hybrid product designs deliver combinations of power output up to 50A, on operating voltage supplies up to 1200V, and slew rates as high at 1000/Vμs.

Apex Precision Power products stocked by Digi-Key are featured in its print and online catalogs and are available for purchase directly from Digi-Key. Digi-Key now has the broadest inventory in the world for Apex Precision Power products, with approximately 200 devices in stock today.

“Apex Precision Power products from Cirrus Logic enhance Digi-Key’s power analog product offering,” said Mark Larson, Digi-Key president and COO. “We are excited to offer this quality line of products to the hundreds of thousands of design engineers who rely on Digi-Key to deliver the components they need when they need them.”

The Apex Precision Power products are the result of the 2007 Cirrus Logic acquisition of Apex Microtechnology. These products expand Cirrus Logic’s technology expertise as an industry leader in high-precision analog.

“With this agreement with Digi-Key to make Apex products readily available, our customers will enjoy a strategic advantage over their competitors by expediting the design in phase and achieving robust solutions,” noted Greg Brennan, vice president, Apex Precision Power Products Business Unit, Cirrus Logic.

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Arrow is Atmel’s European Distributor of Year

Arrow Electronics has received a Distributor of the Year award from Atmel Corporation in recognition of the engineering-led growth it has achieved in Europe.

Arrow handles the full range of Atmel’s semiconductor products including logic, memory, PLDs, and microcontrollers. Atmel’s European Distributor of the Year award recognises Arrow’s performance in the region across this product range.

Adrian Elms, Atmel’s North Europe Distribution Manager, said: “Among the reasons that Arrow has secured this prestigious award are the company’s focus on engineering support for the design-in of Atmel solutions and the close cooperation between the two companies.”

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