25
November 2015
I
ndustrial
C
ontrol
& C
ommunications
last the lifetime of the panel, but PCT looks
to offer the best solution as there are no lim-
itations on the lifetimes of the touchscreen.
Fitting a touchscreen is not a simple task and
should ideally be handled by the manufac-
turer or specialist to ensure good alignment
and bonding to the display. Replacing a touch-
screen is in many cases difficult or not possi-
ble resulting in a replacement of the complete
panel. Obviously the use of a touchscreen is
an option where in some applications the
control functions could be implemented on
a separate touch or control panel, or are not
required at all, so that any longevity concerns
of using a touchscreen are removed.
Mounting or changing a display panel can be
difficult as manufacturers do not offer com-
patibility even for panels of the same size.
One suggestion could be to mount the panel
on a secondary bezel or plate as this can be
changed to accommodate the fixing of an
alternate display while assembly to the front
panel remains the same. Figure 5 shows an
example of mounting a 10.4” TFT panel in an
external plinth. It should be noted that this
was designed to be external and hinged at the
bottom, but the principle allows the panel to
be replaced easily in case of a failure. If longest
life is required then this is to be highly recom-
mended as it leaves the design protected from
the vagaries of product discontinuation and
changes in technology.
With panel production lives up to seven years
at best, the availability falls short of some
equipment life requirements. All major man-
ufacturers will offer an obsolescence policy
with notice and last time buys of between one
and two years. This allows the user time to
purchase a number of panels and time to plan
changes to another panel or manufacturer. In
some cases this could provide the user with
enough product to support up to the equip-
ment end of life depending on where the
equipment is in its life cycle. The use of tech-
nology that is designed for consumer mar-
kets while being very attractive and utilizing
the latest technologies should be avoided for
any application requiring a long lifetime. The
product life of this type of display can be as
little as a year.
n
Sierra Wireless: modules enable
cellular connectivity in smart meters
Sierra Wireless announced that Iskraemeco
has selected Sierra Wireless AirPrime HL
Series embedded modules to enable cellular
connectivity in smart metering deployments
worldwide. Modules within the HL Series for
2G and 3G networks were selected as part of
the introduction of next generation smart
electricity meters, as well as for a smart meter-
ing project which will begin deploying across
the Netherlands beginning of next year.
Toshiba: SLC NAND flash memory
for embedded applications
Toshiba Electronics Europe has launched a
new line-up of 24nm SLC NAND flash mem-
ory products for embedded applications that
are compatible with the widely used Serial
Peripheral Interface. Wide ranging appli-
cations for the new Serial Interface NAND
include consumer applications such as flat-
screen TVs, printers, wearable devices, and
industrial applications including industrial
robots.
ERNI Electronics expands
IDC terminal portfolio
ERNI Electronics expands its offering on IDC
terminals. New variants for stranded wires
(AWG24/7 and AWG26/7) are added to the
existing offering for sold wires AWG24/1 and
AWG22/7 (stranded wires). Wires with a max-
imum diameter of 1.1 mm (incl. isolation) can
be handled. The new introduced IDC termi-
nals and the already available AWG22 variants
are also now available with new colors like
natural, red, green and black.
TI innovations at SPS IPC Drives 2015
Texas Instruments will demonstrate its lat-
est analog and embedded processing solu-
tions at SPS IPC Drives 2015. TI will be
unveiling innovations to ease design chal-
lenges for today’s developers and highlight
key technology advancements across the
industrial market, including programmable
logic control (PLC) and sensor transmitters,
motor drives and industrial communication
solutions.
Mouser now shipping NXP
PN7120 NFC controller
Mouser is now stocking the PN7120 NFC
controller from NXP Semi-conductors. The
highly integrated PN7120 provides a plug-
and-play, full NFC solution for easy integra-
tion into any OS environment. The PN7120
helps create innovative 13.56 MHz NFC
solutions and enables fast exploration of new
applications and use cases for Internet-of-
Things, including a variety of appliances and
consumer electronics such as home network
gateways and routers, set-top-boxes, audio
de-vices, printers, and gaming consoles.
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