element14 has teamed up with Microchip and Matrix to introduce the new PIC18 Flowcode Developers Kit. This innovative development and demonstration kit is designed to offer a hands-on, easy approach to electronics design using Flowcode, one of the world’s most advanced graphical programming languages for microcontrollers.

The development platform is based on a Microchip PIC18F26J50 low power, 8-bit PIC18F26J50 microcontroller, and is integrated with temperature sensor, capacitor touch sensor and potentiometer to help developers verify programs designed using Flowcode.

“The new PIC18 Flowcode Developers Kit is an innovative, fully featured yet low cost solution designed to help developers realise their designs in working hardware,” says Mike Powell, Technology Development Manager, Premier Farnell. “Optimised for Flowcode development, the board has several expansion options, it can be used as a black box and is mounted with a PIC 18 device that is low power, but high performance.

The competitive advantage of Flowcode is that it allows those with little-to-no programming experience to create electronic systems in minutes. Flowcode supports code generation for the PIC® (PIC12, PIC16, and PIC18 series ), PIC24 and dsPIC® series of microcontrollers. The professional edition includes drivers for a range of sub-systems including LCDs, keypads, seven-segment displays, ADC and PWM, as well as communication protocols including I2C, SPI, RS-232RS-232, Zigbee and TCP/IP, among others.

Flowcode is compatible with Microchip’s PICkit programmer as well as third party programmers. It is also compatible with the HI-TECH C compiler. A ‘Lite’ version of Flowcode 4 is included in the kit.

For more information visit element14.

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Premier Farnell plc today announced it has entered into an agreement to distribute ARM development tools, software, evaluation boards and debug hardware across the Americas through its Newark element14 brand. As a result of the deal, Premier Farnell will be adding ARM products to its portfolio of electronic design solutions available in the region.

With the addition of ARM products, Premier Farnell strengthens its position as a source of engineering knowledge and solutions that improve design productivity, with the industry’s leading suppliers of design solutions. Premier Farnell’s technical support engineers will receive training on ARM system design tools to provide first line support for customers when product sales launch in early 2012.

“We are pleased to build on our excellent relationship with Premier Farnell to make ARM system design solutions available to Premier Farnell’s design engineering community in the Americas,” said Mark Onions, director of marketing, system design division, ARM. “Premier Farnell’s innovative approach of combining the power of community and designer engagement with ecommerce adds great value to the wider ARM ecosystem.”

Speaking about the agreement David Shen, Chief Technology Officer at Premier Farnell, said “This announcement continues to demonstrate our commitment to the design engineering community, bringing together the best suppliers with truly innovative routes-to-market. ARM is a global leader whose technology is at the forefront of embedded systems designs and we are delighted to be working with them.”

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, Premier Farnell plc (LSE:pfl), today announced the immediate availability of over 45,000 CAD model files for use by its electronics design customers. The models support products from many of the world’s leading electronic component and semiconductor suppliers, and used alongside PCB design tools, help designers to quickly and accurately realise their printed circuit board (PCB) design. This development follows on from recent announcements showing Premier Farnell’s continued investment in providing comprehensive solutions for engineering design from product specification through prototype.

The CAD models are available globally from Premier Farnell’s element14, Newark and Farnell brands and can be downloaded by design engineers free of charge. Designers can use the CAD model symbols and footprints in the EAGLE PCB design software to create board-level schematics and PCB physical design layouts.

EAGLE PCB design software provides a cost-effective, feature-rich development environment. With the recently announced availability of EAGLE v6.0, free technical support and an extensive library of User Language Programs (ULPs), the availability of over 45,000 3D & CAD models further extends the utility of this popular PCB design solution.

Premier Farnell also offers the Ultra Librarian CAD model authoring software which allows PCB designers to quickly create custom models that are unique to their design in a powerful and easy to use environment.

In addition to the design software, CAD models and components needed to create the design, Premier Farnell also has expanded its solutions portfolio to include a seamless connection to prototype delivery. The Knode on element14 directly connects users to PCB Services partners who provide quick-turn bareboard printed circuit boards in Europe via Eurocircuits, and both bareboard PCBs and PCB assembly in the Americas through Pentalogix and Screaming Circuits.

“Providing online access to this rich library of CAD models is just one part of our strategy to support design engineers in every step of the design flow,” said David Shen, Group SVP and Global Head of Technical Marketing at Premier Farnell. “On its own it already provides incredible value to PCB design engineers with this easy to use resource, but the real value comes from the seamless integration with PCB design software, CAD model authoring software and quick-turn PCB prototyping services. This joined-up solution and global reach drives massive design flow efficiencies for our customers.”

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RS Components (RS), the trading brand of Electrocomponents plc (LSE:ECM), the world’s leading high service distributor of electronics and maintenance products, has expanded its comprehensive online library of free 3D CAD product models.  The latest update includes more than 2000 new models from Molex, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of interconnect products, and Omron, a global leader in the production of electronic components. The 3D CAD models from both suppliers are now available to download free-of-charge from the RS website at www.rs-components.com/3D, offering electronics design engineers a simpler, faster route to complete their designs on time.

With the release of an additional 1000 3D models of Molex connectors, encompassing the latest technologies, the range of Molex 3D models available from RS now covers more than 7000 products. Over 1000 3D models of Omron parts have also been added to the RS library, including tactile, pushbutton and DIP switches, as well as flow sensors, micro switches and relays.

The extensive scope of product models available today from the RS library is unrivalled in the industry, with users now having access to over 30,000 certified 3D CAD models of electronic and mechanical components.  Registered users can download a model from the RS website in up to 23 neutral and native CAD file formats, enabling engineers to select the model in their preferred CAD package for mechanical design.  Each model has part number and ordering information attached, aiding the purchasing process and allowing for quick completion of new designs.

Mark Cundle, Technical Marketing Manager for RS Components said, “Producing 3D CAD models can be a time-consuming effort for engineers involved in electronics design. Extending our 3D CAD model range provides our customers with access to the most comprehensive library of online downloadable models in all major CAD file formats, in one place and at no extra cost.  This is an essential part of our support for engineers with reliable technical information and online resources that enables them to find, design-in and buy from one source.”

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element14, a collaborative global electronics community from Premier Farnell plc (LSE:pfl), has launched its New Technology portal, dedicated to showcasing the electronics industry’s latest new technologies and products. This new portal provides engineers and designers detailed information to help them with the challenge of familiarising themselves with new technology, that is less than 12 months old.

Currently on the portal, designers can access detailed information about latest products like the low cost, low power PIC32 MX1 from Microchip, Arduino and an exclusive feature-rich development platform based on Stellaris ARM® Cortex™-M3-based microcontrollers from Texas Instruments. Engineers can explore the miniaturisation trend in lighting solutions with the industry smallest LEDs, and get a sneak peak of emerging development tools such as the Linux based Beaglebone.

element14 members can register on the New Technology portal to request updates and collaborate in various product groups. Reviews are then posted with enriched product related data plus other content such as comparative blogs and videos. This provides designers with the resources necessary to implement the latest technology in their applications. Designers can rest assured that they will have access to this information through element14’s award-winning social platform that was just ranked the most effective electronics industry brand online by Heardable, Inc.

“A recent study by Technology Forecaster Inc (TFI) showed that one of the key challenges engineers face, in the time starved development and design phase of a project, is accessing accurate and complete information to keep them up-to-date with evolving technology,” said David Shen, Group SVP and Global Head of Technical Marketing at Premier Farnell. “element14 already has a strong offering through The Knode, regular webinars, events, and other key enhancements such as the newly launched ‘The Drawer’, but the New Technology portal further helps designers access comparative information and understand emerging technologies across different regions.”

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element14, Premier Farnell’s global online eCommunity for electronic design engineers, has today announced availability of the DM3730 ARM® based development kit, a complete embedded development system that accelerates time to market for media-rich, portable applications.

The kit provides developers with an ARM based TI DaVinci™ digital media processor tailored for digital audio, video, imaging, and vision applications. The DM3730 device includes a general purpose processor, video accelerators, and C64 DSP, and is tailored for a range of applications like Portable Data Terminals, Navigation, Auto Infotainment, Gaming, Medical Imaging, Home Automation, Human Interface, Test and Measurement and Industrial Control.

The kit, available via element14 at a promotional price while supplies last, provides easy access to ARM® Cortex™-A8 Core based MCU design, enabling engineers to design their applications with high quality graphics and video apps with low power consumption. The kit is supported by multiple hardware peripherals including LCD touch screen interface and works with Android™, Microsoft® Windows® CE and Linux® operating systems.

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element14, Premier Farnell’s global online eCommunity for electronic design engineers has announced availability of the DK-LM3S9D96 development kit, a low cost, high performance platform for developing systems around the advanced capabilities of the 32-bit Stellaris ARM Cortex-M3-based microcontroller.  The DK-LM3S9D96 development kit is provided by element14 in collaboration with Texas Instruments, a leading developer of analog, embedded processing and wireless technologies.

The DK-LM3S9D96 development kit, available via element14 at a promotional price while supplies last, is an out-of-the-box platform for building ARM-based embedded systems. The kit delivers a complete design solution including hardware, software, source code, drivers, application examples and evaluation version development tools and serves as a straightforward and easy way to evaluate and design around the LM3S9D96 Stellaris ARM® Cortex M3-based microcontroller.

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For development, the DK-LM3S9D96 board comes with features commonly used in networking, industrial controls and human machine interface designs. The board is CAN (Controller Area Network) enabled and also comes with an External Peripheral Interface (EPI) with Audio I2S (Integrated Interchip sound). For communications, the board supports USB, a host of serial IO and Ethernet features. The DK-LM3S9D96 development kit includes a 3.5” TFT LCD display along with the supporting graphics libraries and software. The DK-LM3S9D96 board features the 32-bit ARM Cortex-M3-based microcontroller to deliver flexibility for applications that require high-performance processing.

“This is an off the shelf solution that is low cost but with high performance,” said David Shen, Group Senior Vice President and Global Head of Technical Marketing at Premier Farnell. “We have partnered with Texas Instruments to launch a product that will enable our customers to produce world-class designs and bring them to market quicker and more efficiently. We are pleased to add this solution to our rapidly expanding portfolio of innovative development tools and kits. Design engineers may find this latest offering in the development platforms and kits section on the Knode within the element14 community that contains technical documents and tutorials for the Firestorm.”

“Making our tools available through Premier Farnell lets more engineers experience the benefits of designing with Texas Instruments’ Stellaris microcontrollers” said Miguel Morales, Director of Marketing, Stellaris Cortex™-M MCUs, Texas Instruments (TI). “As with all of our other development kits, the LM3S9D96 kit gives engineers all the necessary hardware and software they will need to jumpstart their designs in 10 minutes or less.”

Premier Farnell plc has announced release plans for EAGLE Version 6.0 including details of the many new features being developed for this release and deliver a major step forward in the PCB designer productivity and efficiency. All users purchasing the current version of EAGLE will receive a free upgrade to the version 6.0 release.

CadSoft’s EAGLE V6.0 PCB design software will deliver innovations and improvements over previous versions that will allow design engineers significant flexibility and efficiency. The EAGLE V6.0 release features a redesigned XML database structure – the first to use ASCII text as format, which allows quick and easy design changes, importing of design information as well as translation from other design formats.

“The best-selling CAD tool (EAGLE) for PCB design just got better, and we will deliver the latest EAGLE V6 free to new and upgrading customers after release,” said Thomas Liratsch, CadSoft’s General Manager. “EAGLE V6.0 is agile and intuitive, so design engineers can easily design, replicate, move, transpose, and even copy/paste schematics – saving them time and effort. Simply put, the new release of EAGLE takes designer friendliness and freedom to a whole new experience.”

EAGLE V6.0 includes a variety of user-friendly and productivity-enhancing features, such as:
XML database structure – Read, edit and parse the data outside of the EAGLE tool
Design reuse – Ability to merge board/schematic pairs using COPY/ PASTE function with full consistency. This supports easy design, for example, of multi-channel devices.
Routing capability improvements
Optimised work-flow with an Undo/Redo log to control each step going back or forward
Flawless conversions between millimetres and inches with increased internal resolution
Library editor optimisations
Ability to connect a pin to multiple pads allows designers to handle components’ internal connected pins. Compared to previous versions schematic symbols look nicer and you save time in defining them.
Designers can also draw arbitrary pad shapes easily without any problems with Design Rules Check for such objects.
EAGLE V6.0 also supports an unlimited number of technologies and package variants – eliminating the need to split a library into two parts.
File description functionality – You can now individualise your schematics, sheets, boards and symbols with descriptions, so you don’t have to open the file in an editor window to see its contents.
Customers who buy or upgrade from a former version to EAGLE V5 from 01 September 2011 can upgrade their software edition and modules for free to EAGLE Version 6.0. For more information please visit www.cadsoft.de/conditions_buy_now

CadSoft’s EAGLE PCB design software is also available from element14, Premier Farnell’s innovative community for design engineers, bringing Web 2.0 to engineers, along with over 10,000 technical documents and software tools. All versions of EAGLE contain DesignLink, an automated connection between EAGLE and the extensive components database from Premier Farnell. A free trial version is available on www.element14.com/eagle.

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Mouser Electronics announced a partnership with SEGGER to deliver embedded development tools to design engineers worldwide. With this agreement in place, design engineers will be connected to SEGGER’s highly integrated, cost-effective programming and development tools such as the Flasher (programmer) and the industry leading J-Link/J-Trace family of JTAG emulators. They feature high download-speed into RAM and flash memory and have the ability to set an unlimited number of breakpoints in flash memory through a hybrid FPGA-CPU emulation design. The SEGGER emulator and programmer families support ARM, PPC, ST, and Renesas processers. SEGGER is continuously adding support for additional devices.

“SEGGER offers best-in-class embedded solutions and we are very pleased to bring their products to our customers worldwide,” explains Russell Rasor, Mouser Vice President of Advanced Technologies. “This new partnership supports our business strategy of stocking the broadest selection of development tools to support the engineer’s design needs.”

“SEGGER cuts development time for new designs by offering affordable, high quality, flexible and easy-to-use development tools, allowing developers to focus on their applications,” says James Murphy, SEGGER Technical Sales Engineer. “Mouser shares these goals, and this new partnership will give our customers quick and easy access to our great line of products.”

With its broad product line and unsurpassed customer service, Mouser caters to design engineers and buyers by delivering What’s Next in advanced technologies. Mouser offers customers 19 global support locations and the latest, most technologically advanced components for their newest design projects. Mouser Electronics’ website is updated daily and searches more than 8 million products to locate over 2 million orderable part numbers available for easy online purchase. Mouser.com also houses an industry-first interactive catalog, data sheets, supplier-specific reference designs, application notes, technical design information, and engineering tools.

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Farnell has announced an exclusive agreement with Bourns to stock the company’s two RS-485 evaluation boards. Bourns, a leading manufacturer of a wide range of electronic devices including circuit protection components, sensors, potentiometers, switches and magnetic products, developed the two boards to provide customers using its TBU® High-Speed Protector (HSP), metal oxide varistor (MOV), gas discharge tube (GDT) and transient voltage suppression (TVS) products a fast and convenient way of evaluating circuit protection on RS-485 serial device port solutions. Bourns TBU® HSP solution offers enhanced performance features over competing technologies, which can help design engineers increase the surge and transient protection levels on RS-485 ports and place the entire circuit protection solution into a smaller PCB area.

In addition to offering the two evaluation boards, Farnell stocks almost 6,000 Bourns products. Engineers can also access comprehensive design support including application notes and collaborate with peers via the element14 Knode which provides a single interface to design engineering solutions.

RS-485 is one of the most common interface standards, and due to their prevalence in industrial settings, RS-485 systems must be capable of operating in very noisy and harsh electrical environments. In order to avoid damage and overload of the system, the use of robust and reliable circuit protection is required.

“Evaluation boards are an important part of what Farnell offers its customers to help them speed and simplify the development and implementation of new designs,” said: Mike Buffham, Director of Product, Asset & Supplier Management, Farnell Europe. “By offering the Bourns evaluation boards plus a comprehensive range of their products and the opportunity to design utilising our element14 knode platform, we are providing a one-stop location for engineers to successfully address circuit protection in their RS-485 port interface designs.”

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