Digi-Key Corporation was recently named Distributor of the Year in the Optoelectronics Product Portfolio category by Elektronik, a leading magazine for design engineers and technical management within the German electronics market.

In addition to receiving the top ranking in the Optoelectronics Product Portfolio category, Digi-Key also received a second place ranking in the Optoelectronics Product Availability category and a third place ranking in the Product Availability category for Active Components.

These Distributor of the Year awards were selected by readers of Elektronik and its publishing company’s website, elektroniknet.de. Product segments evaluated in the survey included active components, passive components, electromechanics, and optoelectronics/displays. For each segment, there were five criteria for the assessment defined including, product portfolio, product availability, delivery services, technical competence/support, and total impression. Elektronik readers participating in this year’s survey totaled 1,683.

“We are very happy to have received these awards,” said Steven Tsukichi, Digi-Key vice president of strategic operations and CMO. “Digi-Key’s goal is to offer our European customers best in class customer service with an emphasis on product choice and availability. These awards are testament that our marketing strategies are working and that German design engineers are indeed discovering Digi-Key’s unique value proposition.”

Digi-Key’s German catalog and website, de.digikey.com, were launched in 2004. Europe currently represents one of Digi-Key’s strongest areas of growth. Committed to stocking all of the products in its 2,200 page print catalog, Digi-Key has one of the industry’s most expansive product offerings. All orders are shipped from Digi-Key’s Thief River Falls, Minnesota, USA facility via UPS Express Air for delivery to European customers in one to three days. With 2,000 employees, Digi-Key ranks as the fifth largest distributor of electronic components in North America and the ninth largest distributor worldwide.

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Digi-Key Stocks Cirrus Logic’s New PWM ICs for Driving Mid-Range Brushless and Brush DC Motors

Digi-Key Corporation announced today that it is stocking the recently introduced Cirrus Logic Apex Precision Power™ SA306-IHZ and SA57-IHZ, the industry’s highest current pulse width modulated (PWM) ICs targeted at the fractional horsepower DC motor drive market.

With these new ICs, designer engineers, for the first time, can choose a single-packaged solution for driving three-phase brushless DC motors or brush DC motors in the 9 to 60V supply range. These ICs can deliver up to 17 A PEAK output current and target motor control circuits used in industrial applications such as factory and office automation, robotic controls, product handlers, as well as aircraft seating and positioning controls in the aerospace and military markets.

Available now through Digi-Key’s online catalog, these ICs will also be featured in future print catalogs. Additionally, the SA306-IHZ Demo Board DB64 and SA57-IHZ Demo Board DB63 are stocked and available for purchase. Product highlights and specifications as well as Digi-Key’s exclusive PTM Online…On Demand product training modules are available for these new products online at digikey.com.

“We are very pleased to add these next generation ICs to our product offering,” said Mark Larson, Digi-Key president and COO. “Digi-Key is committed to providing design engineers with the latest and most innovative products, which is why they consistently rate Digi-Key #1 for the breadth of our product line, product availability, and our responsiveness to their needs. The possibilities presented by these new and innovative ICs are certain to be of significant interest to the tens of thousands of design engineers we serve every day.”

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XMOS appoints Micro Summit K.K.

XMOS, the creator of Software Defined Silicon, today announced it has appointed Micro Summit K.K. (MSK) as a sales representative and distributor in Japan. XMOS selected MSK based on their strong relationships with customers and deep understanding of the design cycles and business practices in Japan.

Sadakiyo Chiina, President of Micro Summit K.K. commented, “We are extremely excited to become a partner of XMOS. The innovation and ingenuity of XMOS Software Defined Silicon is very refreshing and attractive to Japanese customers. We are looking forward to a mutually rewarding relationship for a long time to come.”

“The Japanese market is key to XMOS success, and we have focused much of our early adopter activity there,” said William Wong, Asia & Japan Sales Director for XMOS. “To succeed in Japan, it’s critical to have sales partners like MSK who understand how to satisfy the high expectations and standards of Japanese engineers.”

XMOS programmable chips fit into a wide range of applications, with an especially strong affinity for audio (Ethernet AVB, USB Audio, fixed-point filtering), display control (LED tiles, backlighting), and industrial automation (factory networking, motor control, event management).

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Portfolio of electromechanical devices ideal for designers and maintainers of process control systems

Arrow Electronics has assembled a comprehensive portfolio of electromechanical components designed to meet the needs of designers and maintainers of process-control equipment. The range includes the latest relays and circuit breaker technologies from industry-leading manufacturers Omron and Tyco.

Among the technologies that Arrow now has in stock is the Tyco PT series of miniature change-over relays that provide switching performance of up to 3000VA in a form factor that is just 29mm high. Available with AC or DC coils, devices in this range comprise the PT2, PT3 and PT5 with two, three and four poles respectively. Respective AC breaking capacities and current ratings are 3000VA, 2500VA and 1500VA and 12A, 10A and 6A.

Also available from Arrow, the new Omron G6RL combines an industry standard footprint with a low profile of just 12.3mm. Capable of switching 10A at 250VAC and 5A @24DC, the relay is offered in both SPDT and SPST-NO contact configurations. Maximum switching capacity is rated at 2500VA(NO).

To further enhance support for process control equipment, Arrow stocks the full range of P&B circuit breakers from Tyco Electronics. Designed to meet the UL criteria for secondary breakers, the P&B range includes thermal and magnetic types offering one to four poles and current ratings up to 50A.

Among the latest Tyco thermal circuit breakers are the W54 and W57 push-to-reset models. These breakers cannot be manually tripped and feature an extended push button for visual trip indication. Specifications include a 1000A interrupt capacity in accordance with UL 1077, resettable overload capacity of ten times rated current, and a reset time of 60 seconds.

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Marl Optosource and Citizen Electronics sign UK distribution agreement

Marl Optosource and Citizen Electronics have concluded a landmark agreement, under which Marl Optosource will distribute Citizen LED products in the UK.

According to Adrian Rawlinson, Managing Director of Marl International, “Citizen White LEDs as of today deliver more light for less power than any other component currently on the market. This agreement makes Marl Optosource the only UK-based distributor for a world leader in LEDs”.

Citizen Electronics Co. Ltd added, “Citizen required a partner able to support our world leading LED technologies. Optosource is one of the longest established names in the UK LED business, and we have great respect for their technical expertise and engineering ability. We believe that their engineering-lead sales approach based on exceptional customer support and great technical insight will be highly valued by our customers in the UK”.

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Actel and Future Electronics today announced that both companies have agreed to a franchise distribution partnership

Chosen for their track record in demand creation and access to a broad array of markets, Future Electronics will provide comprehensive sales, support and fulfillment services for Actel’s complete portfolio of flash-based, non-volatile FPGAs. The franchise agreement is effective December 1, 2008, in the Americas and will expand into the European, Middle Eastern and African (EMEA) territories on January 1, 2009.

“Future Electronics’ strength in demand creation supports our strategy to aggressively grow our worldwide customer base,” said Jay Legenhausen, Actel’s Senior Vice President of Global Sales. “Low power consumption and cost reductions continue to be top design considerations around the world. Only Actel’s FPGAs are specifically designed to meet these particular needs.”

Actel’s flash-based FPGAs, which are lower power, lower cost and more secure than competitors’ SRAM-based devices, are rapidly being adopted in the consumer, medical, automotive and industrial markets. This builds upon Actel’s success in the aerospace, military and avionics industries. Designers around the world have been leveraging Actel’s FPGAs since 1985. The company’s portfolio includes the lowest power IGLOO® and ProASIC®3 FPGAs, Fusion mixed-signal FPGAs and the RTAX family of high-reliability FPGAs. Actel is also unique in offering royalty- and license-free ARM® Cortex processors for embedded applications.

“The addition of Actel, the world’s leader in low-power and mixed-signal FPGAs and their comprehensive portfolio of system- and power- management solutions to our product line give our existing and emerging customers global access to leading edge technologies that will drive their future success,” said Stephen Bilogan, Corporate Vice President at Future Electronics. “We are excited to be expanding our relationship with the Actel team and look forward to being able to offer products and technologies as well as our industry leading technical support to our existing and rapidly emerging customers”.

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