Electronic Components Features

Students connect with space adventure

Harwin’s high-reliability Datamate and Gecko connector families have completed another successful prototype flight into the stratosphere, this time courtesy of Warwick University's CubeSat project, which was launched by balloon early last month, reaching an altitude of 30km before being safely parachuted back to earth.

Energy balance: photovoltaics on the tipping point

The construction of the photovoltaic power industry since 2000 has required an enormous amount of energy, mostly from fossil fuels.

Liquid cooling halves component space, improves reliability

Many renewable energy and marine resistor applications are moving towards liquid cooling because it offers superior environmental protection for drives, as well as improved reliability and smaller component sizes. Steve Hughes reports.

EV fast charging portfolio embraces all global standards

ABB is supporting the new electrical vehicle (EV) combined charging system (CCS) global standard, now adopted in Europe and North America, with the expansion of its EV fast charging product portfolio. Les Hunt reports.

More Electronic Components Features Features

High reliability electrolytic capacitors(03/04/2013)

Electronic products are at the heart of almost all everyday activities that affect our lives - products ranging from simple disposal aids that are only expected to last for the warranty period, to critical safety devices that would be expected to last the life of the system and most certainly significantly longer than any manufacturers’ warranty period.
Escha: your first stop for tailor made cabling and connectors(31/03/2013)

Escha have been at the heart of the cable and connector industry for over 30 years, they have built a reputation for uncompromising quality and reliability whilst retaining the ability to respond rapidly to individual customer demands. Ian Manning reports.
Power conditioning delivers proven ROI(04/01/2013)

Problems associated with power quality can take a huge toll on companies, with interruptions to the power supply such as impulses, noise, sags, surges, brownouts and outages causing sensitive electronic and computing equipment to fail. Rob Morris describes his company’s two-year study of power quality systems installation to identify their real return on investment (ROI) performance.
Phase failure relays: design and installation(21/11/2012)

When is a phase failure relay not a phase failure relay? When it’s failed of course, says Malcolm Greenhill. Phase failure relays (PFRs) do occasionally fail, and the biggest enemy is heat - heat generated as a result of incorrect installation, harmonics and other supply borne interference such as voltage spikes and surges. The first thing to consider is what is expected from the PFR, and how good design and installation can mitigate potential problems.
Li-ion cell protection from TE Circuit Protection(01/08/2012)

Rechargeable Lithium-Ion (Li-ion) batteries are everywhere and, if not properly protected, every one of them can cause serious damage if an overcurrent fault condition occurs. TE Circuit Protection’s Barry Brents explains how a PolySwitch PPTC resettable device is placed inside a battery cell or in parallel in a battery pack to protect lower current applications from external short circuits or heating events.