Advantech’s EKI-2000 and EKI-7000 series offers engineers in transportation, energy management and plant automation the market’s most robust, feature-rich and cost-effective industrial communications solution

Alpha Micro Components today announced that it has added the EKI-2000 and EKI-7000 series of industrial Ethernet switches from Advantech Co., Ltd. to its range of industrial communications (iCom) solutions. Advantech’s portfolio of industrial communication products for PC-based automation are ideal for engineers working in the transportation, energy management and plant automation sectors and offers the market’s most feature-rich, reliable and cost-effective solutions.

Ideal for easily managing applications from a central office or local site, the Advantech EKI-7000 series is a portfolio of managed redundant industrial Ethernet switches which allows users to expand their industrial network quickly and cost-effectively. Its rugged industrial-grade design assures reliability and stability. In addition, Advantech has utilised its X-Ring technology within the EKI series which ensures the fastest recovery time (<10 ms), further increasing the reliability and speed of network infrastructures. Furthermore, the X-Ring technology provides the fastest redundant ring recovery time (<10ms) to secure data communication and reliability.

The EKI-2000 series is a series of cost-effective managed industrial Ethernet switches designed to support fast Ethernet. They also come equipped with Advantech’s X-Ring technology which enhances their reliability within industrial communication networks. This provides users with an easy solution for establishing a redundant Ethernet network with the ultra high-speed recovery time of less than 10ms. Furthermore, they have been designed to support advanced network standards which allow users to optimise network performance and security while reducing maintenance costs.

Christos Papakyriacou, Managing Director of Alpha Micro Components, commented: “The addition of Advantech’s EKI series greatly enhances our product offerings for engineers working in the transportation, energy management and industrial automation industries. Advantech has established itself as a global leader in industrial communications solutions for PC-based automation by consistently engineering products that combine a wide range of features and cost-effectiveness. Furthermore, their solutions provide engineers with confidence and peace of mind knowing they have been designed with the reliability, stability and robustness demanded in the harshest industrial environments.”

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The X-200 series from Swissbit is an industrial 2.5 solid-state drive for new applications in the embedded and industrial segment. It features robust, tried and proven dimensions with high-speed data transfer. It is available in capacities from 4GB to 64GB, with writing and reading speeds of 90MB/s and 105MB/s respectively at distributor Rutronik now.

The SSDs are also available in various temperature ranges: 0°C to 70°C TAmbient commercial standard temperature or -40°C to +85°C TAmbient for the industrial temperature range. Thanks to Single-Level Cell (SLC) NAND flash technology, the X-200 series achieves more than 10 times the write and read cycles of a Multi-Level Cell device, and also offers maximum data retention. The supported S.M.A.R.T. functionality ensures continuous monitoring of key state parameters. As a result, components can be replaced in good time to avoid system shutdown thanks to early identification.

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Digi-Key Corporation, recognized by design engineers as having the industry’s broadest selection of electronic components available for immediate shipment, today announced it has entered into an agreement with  (NASDAQ: EXAR) to distribute the company’s analog and mixed-signal ICs to Digi-Key customers around the globe.

Exar Corporation delivers highly differentiated silicon, software and subsystem solutions for industrial, datacom and storage applications. Exar’s product portfolio includes power management and interface components, communications products, storage optimization solutions, network security and applied service processors.

Exar products are now available for purchase on Digi-Key’s global websites and will be featured in future print and online catalogs.

“We are excited to be partnering with Digi-Key, a clear leader in on-line distribution with unparalleled worldwide market penetration,” said Bentley Long, vice president, Worldwide Sales, Exar Corporation. “Digi-Key’s robust web capabilities, focused on solving an engineer’s design challenges, include localized websites, technology zones, and dynamic product training modules will accelerate the evaluation and adoption of Exar’s products. We look forward to working with Digi-Key to establish and support new customers and markets.”

“We are very pleased to announce this distribution agreement with Exar Corporation with its strong product offerings in power, communication and interface devices,” said Dave Doherty, Digi-Key’s vice president of semiconductor product. “Digi-Key’s customers worldwide will benefit from their commitment to silicon, software and subsystem solutions.”

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Protect several USB ports simultaneously with one device

TTI, Inc., the global distributor of passive, interconnect, relay & switch and discrete components, has launched new CeraDiode arrays from Epcos which are used to protect several USB ports simultaneously from static discharges, significantly reducing the PCB space and logistics costs. CeraDiodes – ceramic components developed to provide ESD protection for data, audio and video lines as well as for ICs and interfaces – are not only a cost-effective alternative to other ESD protection components such as zener and TVS diodes, but also offer technical benefits. In many cases, a semiconductor diode can be replaced by a CeraDiode on a one-to-one basis without making any changes to the pad circuit layout.

Because high data rates of up to 480Mbit/s are transmitted via the USB connection, the capacitance of the ESD protection element should be minimized in order to avoid transmission losses and signal distortions. The protection function can be realized both by single and array components, the latter being preferred for reasons of space and cost saving. The protection components must additionally satisfy the international ESD standard IEC 61000-4-2, level 4. EPCOS offers CeraDiodes as single and array components that meet these requirements precisely.

CeraDiodes are bidirectional components. As such, there is no danger of positioning them in the wrong direction. All CeraDiodes also satisfy the requirements of the international ESD standard IEC 61000-4-2 levels 1 to 4, which involves testing the components within the human body model (330Ω/150pF). The ESD protection properties of the CeraDiodes are constant up to an operating temperature of 85degC, whereas semiconductor diodes will require derating from 25degC.

Thanks to their internal electrode structure, CeraDiodes offer not only ESD protection but also have a defined capacitance, or capacitor properties. This capacitance is type-dependent and can be used for filter functions. In this way a CeraDiode can replace not only a semiconductor diode, but also a capacitor, so one component may easily replace three.

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Avnet Embedded, an Avnet, Inc. (NYSE:AVT) company, is announcing the availability of a new generation of Cinterion GSM/GPRS terminals offering greatly enhanced functionality whilst retaining full backward compatibility with earlier models.

According to Avnet Embedded, the Cinterion Quad-Band MC55iT and the Dual Band MC52iT take the Cinterion MC55i platform to a new level. With an extended temperature range, the new terminals can be used in a wide range of M2M business fields such as metering, remote maintenance, traffic systems, transportation and logistics, and security. Mechanical and electrical compatibility with the existing TC35iT and MC35iT together with a compact migration guideline allow an easy and seamless migration into the next generation of M2M terminals.

MC55i Terminal packs a Quad-Band (850 / 900 / 1800/ 1900 MHz) GSM/GPRS baseband with TCP/IP connectivity based on GPRS Class 10 data transmission into a compact plug-and-play housing. It offers a range of common interfaces as well as an integrated SIM cardholder which make the new generation an all-in-one solution enabling voice, data, SMS and fax communication. The Dual-Band (900 / 1800 MHz) variant (MC52iT) offers similar functionality with GPRS Class 8 support for standard M2M applications.

Like all Cinterion products, MC52iT / MC55iT come with full type approval (FTA) and are certified according to automotive e-mark as well as by the largest carriers worldwide.

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