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Amplicon has gained an unrivalled experience over the past 33 years in the design, manufacture and distribution of computer products, systems and solutions for industrial applications. They have the ability to tailor systems to meet application and environmental requirements across a wide range of industries. Their equipment would typically be destined for use in factories, transport, warehousing, laboratories and military COTS. Like all Amplicon products, their industrial computing systems are manufactured under strict quality management procedures certified to ISO9001:2000.

The first step in designing an industrial computing system is to be aware what product standards and directives have to be met. Industrial computing products would typically be covered by areas related to safety and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC). If the product is to be put onto the European Market, it will need to be CE Marked to indicate that it has complied with all associated directives.

In designing a computing system, there are a number of main building components that influence the look, feel, performance, reliability, repeatability and robustness of the end product. These include the storage drives (HDD, Solid State, CompactFlash, CD drives and FDD), Memory, Central Processing Unit (CPU), processor cooler, Power Supply Unit (PSU) or redundant PSU, Motherboard or Single Board Computer (SBC) and Backplane combination, total chassis cooling mechanism and finally the Chassis.

A standard 4U chassis is highly scaleable and its versatility lends itself to many end applications and environments. Hence, in building a computing system, the industry and application in question have to be taken into consideration. Different applications may also require different IP ratings and certifications.

For the most extreme conditions and out-of-the-office applications, rugged mobile computer systems provide the ultimate in notebook and tablet computing. Rugged mobile computers feature protection against dust, debris and water by using the latest materials and sealing techniques. The rugged mobile computers offered are largely based on Intel’s 855GME chipset. This highly efficient chipset and associate component subsets, including processor and memory offer the performance to allow efficient fully sealed fanless rugged computers to be produced. Furthermore, flexible design techniques allow their rugged mobile computers to support plug-in PCI or ISA expansion cards. In this design, mobile application processors and associate fanless coolers are used; and for space conservation, a 2.5” HDD is used. This greatly improves the device shock and vibration tolerance.

For automotive applications, the computing system will be exposed to a lot of vibration and dust; hence it needs to be more robust in its total design. Any computing device made for use in the automotive industry needs e mark certification. The recommended design would be an embedded, fanless solution. Using a fully enclosed device, where the chassis acts as a cooling mechanism for the device

For medical, pharmaceutical and food applications the high tech modular industrial PC design is recommended. This can be easily configured to meet customer needs by including a touch screen and expansion slots for plug-in boards to further expand the system and provide additional features. The system can be operated using a touchscreen or via a rugged IP54/65 rated keyboard. The completely sealed stainless steel housing makes the system meet the IP specified protection norms and requirements for these industries.

Generally when designing an industrial computing system, a single board computer (SBC) solution will offer greater repeatability (typically 5 years). These products have a more versatile range of options and are revision controlled with a longer life cycle than motherboards. For projects requiring repeatability in excess of 5 years, spares requirements are calculated to support the product over its desired life cycle.

The PSU unit selection is dependant on the sum of the individual component power requirements, as well as the required availability of the device. It is also important to allow for any future increase in power demands, due to expansion of the original system. Industrial computing devices are designed for 24/7 use and in some cases a redundant PSU is required. These comprise of a minimum of two independent PSU modules housed in a single cage. The device needs to be capable of running effectively with just one of the modules operating. During normal mode there will be load sharing between both modules. When a module becomes defective an audible and visual alarm will indicate which module requires replacement.

Once the right components are put together to produce an end prototype unit, tests are carried out to ensure that the device gets the CE Mark.

After ensuring that components and hence the end product as a whole conforms to the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive, the product then can undergo conformance testing. All associated Amplicon products fully conform to the RoHS Directives.

Amplicon owns an extensive purpose-built EMC and conformance laboratory. Using the latest test equipment, they ensure all products conform to relevant international standards.

The primary objective of the CE Mark and associated product assessment is to provide the customer and enforcement bodies with the evidence that the devices placed on the market conform to the essential requirements of all associated directives.

For most electrical devices the safety is covered by the Low Voltage Directive (LVD). This applies to nearly all electrical equipment designed for use between 50V and 1000V AC or between 75V and 1500V DC. This refers to the electrical input or output voltages, not just the supply voltage powering the device. This directive has a huge scope and applies to industrial, domestic and many other environments.

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) is a serious and increasing form of environmental pollution. Its effects could range from minor crackles on broadcast reception to potential fatal accidents due to corruption of safety critical monitoring and control systems. Various forms of EMI can cause electrical and electronic malfunctions and may even have a direct effect on human tissue. The EMC Directive’s main objective is to minimise the effect caused by EMI from electrical and electronic devices.

Shock and vibration tests are also carried out on the range of products recommended for use in applications under extreme ambient conditions. Once the pre-conformance tests and modifications are made to produce a certified design, the product is then manufactured.

All of Amplicon’s industrial computing systems are revision controlled and undergo an extensive soak-test before shipment. This eliminates the shipment of faulty or incomplete systems.

A successful industry, whether it is the Aerospace or Power Generation, Petrochemical or Paper & Pulp and Automotive or Pharmaceutical, has to continue its operations round the clock, generally 365 days in the year. The system of periodic and routine inspection has to be built in so that the industry does not have to shut down. No matter which method is used, such routine inspections involve nondestructive testing (NDT) tools that could use ultrasonic testing, eddy current and magnetic testing among others.

However, there are occasions when destructive tests have to be carried out to confirm that the manufactured component will not fail while it performs within the envelope prescribed for it. Such testing comes under the purview of materials testing. There are occasions when it might become necessary to go deeper into the structure of the material in order to define its constituents, the standard of alloying or heat treatment and stress corrosion, extent of fatigue among others. This methodology is called materials analysis.

Materials testing is carried out in a metallurgical laboratory using sophisticated test equipment. The types of materials that could be tested include metals and their alloys, both ferrous and non-ferrous, ceramics and polymers. Generally such testing is destructive in nature and the results are compared with anticipated values. Thus the undercarriage of an aircraft could be subjected to repeated cyclic loading to confirm the point of failure under fatigue. A turbine blade sample could be placed under high temperature conditions to assess its resistance to creep. Similarly, materials testing could be carried out to assess the material’s properties of stress, impact, bendability UTS, weldability, proof load values and hardness among others.

Materials analysis on the other hand is a deeper form of testing and could involve the use of gas chromatography, electron microscope and spectroscopy among others. The simpler form of such analysis is carried out in a chemical or metallurgical laboratory where the material is analyzed to reveal its composition. Besides wet chemistry optical emission spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma spectrometer and other improved techniques of materials analysis could be used to achieve accurate figures.

Have you ever come across power problem where once you switch on the power supply and the fuse blow? You have checked all the components in the power (primary) and secondary section and all the components seems to be ok! Where is the fault? A fuse blown are usually caused by a shorted bridge rectifier, defective posistor, power transistor or FET, shorted primary winding of switch mode power transformer, shorted secondary diode and etc. But in this article I’m gone to show you another secret of electronic troubleshooting tips.

I got frustrated as to where is the cause of power problem. Every time when i switch on the power supply the fuse blow immediately (the fuse became dark color and this indicate that there is a major short circuit in the power supply). I have checked all the components in the power supply and can’t find the culprit! What i do is i desoldered all the suspected parts one by one and replaced with a known good component. I eventually found the caused of the power supply problem. Guess what? It was the main filter capacitor (220 microfarad 400 volt). After replacing the filter cap the power supply worked perfectly fine. I begin my detective work to find out why this capacitor can caused the fuse to blow even though i already confirmed it ok with my meters.

The meters that i used to check the filter cap were analog meter, digital capacitance meter and esr meter. In this article i will not explain about how to check capacitor or testing capacitor and how capacitor work. I believed most of you know how to check capacitors and also generally using this type of meters. Measured with analog it showed capacitor charging and discharge, with digital capacitor tester it showed around 220 microfarad and with esr meter it showed low esr reading!

This proved that the bad capacitor breakdown when under full operating voltage. Then, how do i confirm that this filter capacitor is faulty? By using an analog insulation tester. When i connect the faulty cap to the meter and press the go button-it showed a very low resistance and this is the proved of short circuit between the plate when voltage applied! There is nothing to do with bad electrolyte. A good capacitor will just showed a charge and discharge in the insulation meter just like you are checking a capacitor using analog multimeter. In the market there is quite a number of ranges that you can buy. It has the range of 50v, 100v, 250v, 500v, 1000v and even 5000v! If you want to test a capacitor of 100 microfarad 160v then you have to select 100v. If you select 250v, it will blow your capacitor that is under test.

If you have the SENCORE TEST EQUIPMENT such as the sencore lc meter LC102 OR LC103, these meters have the capabilities of checking any type of capacitors with four tests:

-testing for capacitor values

-checking for leakage

-equivalent series resistance (ESR) and

-Dielectric absorption

It can check aluminum electrolytic capacitor, film capacitor, ceramic, high voltage capacitor and etc.

Conclusion-Different capacitor manufacturer produced different type of quality of a capacitor. Perhaps the bad capacitor that I encountered are from the lowest grade one. A capacitor failure when under load is very rare. Using ESR capacitor meter alone can solve most of the electrolytic capacitor problem.

If you plan to upgrade your workshop into an Authorized Service Center, this should guarantee plenty of work and a secure future. Setting up from scratch as an Authorized Service Center is not an easy job. Your workshop needs to meet the manufacturers’ requirement first before they can appoint your company as an Authorized Service Center.

• Good track record – Manufacturer expect a company to have a good track record in the trade and have been around for a long time.

• Accessibility – Easy for a manufacturer to deliver products to you for repair besides it save time.

• Space – A company must have enough space to store their product. A light industrial unit will be fine for them.

• Security – An alarm system is essential, door and windows must be protected so they are difficult to force. Any break in will cause you to lose business.

• Reception Area – A proper reception area, neat and tidy workshop will reflect on them as well. First impression count a lot.

• Tools and Test Equipment – The variety of tools and test equipment available will be taken into account. An oscilloscope, frequency counter, SMD rework station is a certain requirement. The work bench should be of decent size and comes with a fluorescent lighting.

• Employee – There must be enough of employee to cope up with the work of repair.

Prolong or continuous delay of repair will make them to reconsider of changing to another service center.

To run an Authorized Service Center needs total dedication, but it will bring you into contact with a lot of people, some of who can be quite influential. It can also widen the product range that comes your way…

Attending electronics repair course provided by your local electronic training institutions is a good move to increase your knowledge in electronics. We cannot limit ourselves in just attending a single subject such as basic electronic troubleshooting and repair. There are many subjects about electronics especially nowadays where many engineering or technical college offers courses on PIC microcontroller. Robotics and household equipments such as air condition, washing machine, TV, monitor and testing equipments are using microcontroller.

You can take up courses like programmable logic controller (PLC), Industrial Automation Electronic, Microcomputer troubleshooting, electronic control systems, networking, computer repair, printer, laptop, monitor, appliance, motherboard, TV, cell phone and etc. You have the choice to attend full time or part time. Nowadays there are many online home study courses too. These specialize courses duration usually are between 3-6 months. Competition is so great and you need more than one skill to face the challenge. I have a friend who is working in oversea told me that if you say you are good in electronic repair, 100,000 peoples are also good in this field so what makes the employers want to hire you as a technician or engineer. The answer is multitasking, that’s mean besides doing component level or circuit board repair work you have to be good in other area such as networking, computer programming and etc. You will be glad if you have attended those courses.

I once attended a seminar where the speaker mentioned about company resizing, company restructuring, and retrenchment, lay down workers, and reorganize company, in other words the speaker said you are fired! We have to fully equip ourselves and be ready to face whatever challenge that is coming on our way. I had some repair friends who never attend any electronic repair courses before and they are venturing into the repair business. Although they can do the repair work, not all equipment can be repaired. This is due to their limitation in understanding electronic. Their jobs are mainly replacing components rather than doing voltage troubleshooting, using scope and etc. I always encourage them to take up at least a basic electronic course to further their knowledge and hope to bring in more income for them. I even encourage them to surf the internet to gain more electronic repair knowledge.As for me, besides repairing monitors and conduct classes on electronic repair, I took up internet marketing as another field for me to venture in. Though my passion is in electronic repair, I begin to like internet marketing because it can generate a passive income for me. I can see the potential in it because you can market to the whole world and make money while you are sleeping. Throughout the few years I had learned about building websites (electronicrepairguide.com was built by me). Building website is not hard, as long as you must have the passion of doing it. I do not know about your passion, but additional knowledge whether in electronics repair or non-electronics is a great advantage for you and learning has no end. Who knows one day I might end up taking robotics designing and repair course.I have read this quote from a bulletin and would like to share it with you.

“Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved. A good quote from Benjamin Franklin “If a man empties his purse into his head, no one can take it away from him. An investment of knowledge always pays the best interest”.

There is huge sphere named as electronics that should be premeditated by you. It comprises of numerous innovations in addition to numerous systems which control the surge of electric carriers such as electrons in numerous tools, for instance semi-conductors in addition to valves. Nearly all of us who are related with electronics know the relevance of the electronics. The concept of electronics is included in each along with every new or previous development. The initial encouraging of electrical engineering was because of the electronics. If you want to employ the electrical engineering, then there are loads of electrical machines along with Electrical investigate machines that are obligatory to check the usefulness and robustness of the amalgam electrical   thingamabobs as well as electrical devices.
The P4T Company provides various devices for PAT along with Electrical testing on the internet at extremely levelheaded prices. The electrical test equipments are basically unfussy as well as sensibly priced. Nowadays, you can simply attain them through the support of internet.
The accomplished gears that you purchase from the P4T are able to analyze any complex areas of any electric practices. The <a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(‘/outgoing/article_exit_link’);” href=”http://www.products4testing.co.uk/”>electrical test equipments</a> generate diverse urge indication for receiving feedbacks from various electrical   thingamabobs. Fluke and Seaward are some supposed companies that are linked with the P4T. When the electrical devices are put on a check then they are called as the DUTs. The full form of DUT is devices under investigate. The existing mistakes in the DUTs are traced by the electrical check mechanisms in addition to therefore you can prove the efficiency of those mechanisms which are under scrutiny. By tracking the errors you can provide a timely repair to all the domestic devices that are having some or other, minute or bigger blemishes.
There are assorted electric test equipments available in the souks that help you to find out the grounds of all electrical equipments failure. The electrical check equipments could vary from complicated mechanical methods for testing to straightforward light bulbs. In order to measure the principal capacity of voltage competence in addition to the current established in the standard circuits, you can utilize the essential Electrical check equipments. There are various species of basic analyze mechanisms that would prove to be very useful. These devices are utilized in a collection of fields. With the abet of the electrical check devices you can reduce the obligation for quality assurance examine in the near future.

ZTEC Instruments Expands Product Line To Offer RF Test Equipment
ZTEC Instruments, the leader in modular oscilloscopes and waveform generators, announced that it will expand into the Radio Frequency test equipment market with their first RF product, the ZT8441 RF/IF Digitizer, available in PXI, PCI, VXI and LXI.

Read more on TestandMeasurement.com

To the Podium Again: New Fluke 233 Remote Display Multimeter Wins Silver ACHR Dealer Design Award
EVERETT, WA–(Marketwire – 07/14/10) – Fluke Corporation, the global leader in portable electronic test and measurement technology, has been recognized for excellence in product design in the 6th annual Dealer Design Awards Program sponsored by The Air Conditioning Heating & Refrigeration News magazine, the leading trade magazine in the heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration …

Read more on Marketwire via Yahoo! Finance

Though some consumer market indicators show signs of a sluggish second half, many of the indicators for the electronics industry foretell continued growth. IPC figures are solid, as are those of the semiconductor materials world.

Recently released IPC statistics for May showed a continuing rebound for our industry. Rigid PCB shipments were up 31.4 percent compared to May, 2009, and flexible circuit shipments rose 10.5 percent. Bookings were also up compared to last May, increasing 45.8 percent year-to-year for rigid boards and 59.3 percent for the smaller flexible market.

Elsewhere in the electronics industry, continuing growth in semiconductor materials portends more good news. Chipmakers show no signs of slowdown as they continue to buy more of the raw materials they need to make integrated circuits.

The total semiconductor materials market will grow a torrid 21.6 percent in 2010 to $21.71billion, Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International. SEMI predicts a slowdown to 6.8 percent next year, still not a bad growth rate.

Underscoring how severe 2009’s slump was, these two years of solid growth will only boost 2011 revenues to $23.19 billion, which is still below 2008 sales of $24.19 billion. Silicon wafers are leading the rebound, growing at 32 percent this year. Growth is solid for all size wafers, even including small 6-inch wafers. Photoresists are also well into double-digit levels, growing at 23 percent this year.

The IPC Electronics Industry Executive Summit (Trends in Management, Markets and Technologies) will take place October 13-14, 2010, in Palm Springs, Calif. Topics include an electronics industry forecast, PCB and EMS industry forecasts and breakout sessions focusing on the needs of industry suppliers and manufacturers. See the complete agenda and sign up today.

Filed under: Executive Management, IPC, Suppliers Tagged: IPC executive summit meeting

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