Technology news

Conductive Glass Has Visible Advantage over Plastic Overlays

A multifunction switch module that uses laminated glass in lieu of a plastic overlay remains transparent over time, is scratch resistant, and withstands exposure to aggressive fluids such as acids, dyes, and blood. In addition, the keyboard layout, labelling, and pin assignments can be configured to suit a variety of applications.

"The construction principle is similar to that of a plastic sheet placed on top of a keyboard controller," says Christoph Höser, marketing director at Glas Platz (Reichshof-Allenbach, Germany), where Operator Glass technology was developed. "The glass, which is 0.3 mm thick, works like a membrane, and because it is a stable material, we don't use spacers." The spacers that are typically used with plastic overlays reduce clarity; in analogue applications, they also limit the conductive field. "On a standard LCD with 1024 x 1024 resolution, Operator Glass allows you to reach any pixel," explains Höser, "which is not possible with plastic because it needs spacers."

The manufacturing process involves sputtering the two sides of the glass panes that face each other with a layer of indium tin oxide. This conductive layer is burned into the glass at elevated temperatures, says Höser, to attain the greatest possible transparency. Exposure to dirt and aggressive fluids will not adversely affect the surface, he adds, because it can be simply wiped clean. Nor will the glass experience discolouration when subjected to sterilization. "For these reasons," says Höser, "Operator Glass is well suited for use in cleanrooms and any other environment where cleanliness is critical."

The keyboard layout, labelling, and pin assignments can be configured for a variety of applications simply by sliding a customized keyboard pad between the glass panes. "You can adapt the labelling of the keys to suit changing needs," notes Höser. "If you are delivering the product to several countries, for example, it is very easy to modify the key designations to reflect the different languages." The glass can be used with a 5 x 5- or 11 x 5-key matrix or it can be partially functionalized with or without a 6.5-in. LCD mounted on the base panel. "You can use this with any matrix controller or analogue device," says Höser.

The Operator Glass keyboard is attached to an anodized aluminium front panel; a base panel with the keyboard controller is bolted behind it.

In recognition of the environmental and technological value of the product, Glas Platz was recently awarded first prize in the ecology category of the industrial design awards at the CEBIT exposition in Hannover, Germany.

Cryogenic Gripper Safely Manipulates Fragile, Miniature Components

Designing an automated pick-and-place system for the handling of small, delicate components poses a number of challenges. On the one hand, the system should be versatile enough to grip objects made from different materials in a variety of shapes and dimensions with minimal deformation. Equally important, it should attain a throughput that warrants automating the process in the first place. The Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique S.A. (CSEM; Neuchâtel, Switzerland) found a solution in the adhesive properties of ice.

The process is remarkably simple—a thin film of water is frozen between the gripping tip and the workpiece. Release is obtained either by mechanically breaking the ice or by warming the tip. The gripper achieves cycle times of 3.6 seconds and it can manipulate objects ranging in size from 0.1 to 5 mm.

Unlike vacuum grippers and mechanical pliers, the Microgrip can reliably pick up and transport fragile objects of any shape and material with minimal deformation, according to project manager Mario El-Khoury. It has a positioning accuracy of 1 µm.

The system can operate in nondeformation mode. In this configuration, the robot stops as soon as the gripper contacts the drop of deionized water above the workpiece. The company has also experimented by using other liquids in applications where the water may be harmful to components. Some of those liquids freeze at temperatures above 0°C, thereby enabling accelerated pick-and-place cycles, says El-Khoury.

CSEM is a private R&D company specializing in microelectronics, microsystems, subsystems, instrumentation, and biologically inspired systems. Microgrip was developed by CSEM within the framework of Eureka, a pan-European network that encourages collaborative near-market R&D projects.

Boundary Element Method Optimizes 3-D Electromagnetic Field Simulation

An electromagnetic simulator that uses the boundary element method (BEM) to compute near and far fields and other parameters related to passive 3-D structures reportedly achieves results not obtainable with traditional finite element method (FEM) tools. By optimizing the design phase, the programme that was recently launched by Integrated Engineering Software (Winnipeg, MB, Canada) will enable medical device manufacturers to bring better products to market faster, according to general manager Curtis Rebizant.

Unlike FEM, which is defined as a numerical technique for solving Maxwell's equations in differential form, BEM mathematically describes those equations in integral form. BEM enforces boundary conditions along the material interfaces, enabling design engineers to obtain a set of boundary integral equations with the unknowns as the equivalent sources or field variables along the interfaces. Since BEM uses only 2-D elements on the surfaces—the material interfaces or assigned boundary conditions—and not a 3-D finite element mesh on the whole space, the process of setting up problems is made significantly easier and quicker. Problem modifications are simplified because only interface elements are relevant to the solution procedure.

BEM also produces more-accurate results than FEM, according to Rebizant. "BEM allows the capture of all field variables at any point in space, and the results are more precise because the integration operation is smoother," he says. Another advantage, he adds, is the capability of solving open boundary problems without any additional effort: the exterior field is calculated in the same manner as the interior field. For closed or open boundary problems, users only need to deal with real geometry boundaries.

The company's software tools are suited for a wide variety of applications, stresses Rebizant, such as ac and dc motors, solenoid valves, sensors, magnetic shielding, and cables and connectors.