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For billions of people across the world struggling to get affordable and reliable high-speed internet access, full-fiber broadband is the stuff dreams are made of.
But first of all, what exactly is full-fiber broadband? No, it’s not broadband offered by your favourite breakfast cereal manufacturer. It’s a simplified term that means your broadband data signal is carried end-to-end by fast fiber optic cables, and is not slowed down by copper anywhere in the system.
Optical fiber cables are made of very thin, hair-like strands of glass that have been specially designed to carry data signals using light transmitted down the glass strands. Naturally, the speed of light is much faster than signals carried down copper cables.
Another more technical term for full-fiber is fiber-to-the-premises, or FTTP. Most homes either have a traditional copper-cable ADSL connection or fiber-to-the-cabinet (FTTC), which means that your data is carried via fiber optic cables to the local broadband cabinet at the end of your street, but is connected to your home or office via traditional copper cables. This is a legacy from pre-fiber years, and it will take a significant amount of time and investment to replace these millions of wires with faster fiber cabling.
A connection using both fiber and copper (FTTC) is limited to about 66 Mbps at most, whereas a full-fiber connection can offer much faster speeds of up to 1,000 megabits per second (Mbps).
There has been a push from governments all over the developed world to make superfast broadband (defined by download speeds of over 30 Mbps) more accessible and affordable.
The United States has set a goal of making affordable 100 Mbps or faster broadband available for at least 100 million U.S. homes. EU member states have a target of universal broadband coverage with speeds of at least 30 Mbps and 50 percent of households with speeds of at least 100 Mbps by 2020. And in the United Kingdom, the government set an ambitious target for all homes in the UK to have access to full fiber broadband by 2025.
But these targets may be challenging to meet. The United States currently has around 25 percent full-fiber coverage, Europe reported around 26 percent with FTTP at mid-2017, while the UK has only 8 percent of homes connected with FTTP.
So why are fiber connections so difficult to get to the premises? As mentioned, the legacy of copper cabling is pervasive throughout already-established ADSL networks - and the question always remains: who will cover the cost of replacing copper infrastructure with fiber? ISPs and customers may be locked in a Mexican standoff over that question, and this is why governments must step in with funding to support the move while also introducing penalties for ISPs who don’t start switching over.
Another challenge is ensuring the robustness of fiber connections from the cabinet to the premises, in typically harsh conditions. The delicate optical fibers are at risk of contamination from dirt or water ingress. Although the fiber cables themselves are protected by layers of acrylic, the connectors can be vulnerable to extremely hot or cold temperatures and rain.
Standard LC fiber connectors are simply not rugged enough for harsh environments. A better solution is to use a rugged LC connector such as the 4000 series. It provides an industry-standard LC interface as specified by IEC 61754-20. To save time and simplify installation, the connectors are available as pre-terminated options, already connected to a suitable cable of up to 450m in length.
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4000 Series Fiber simplex connector
Product code: PXF4050
Like the 4000 Series Fiber, the 6000 Series Fiber duplex connector is suited for outdoor broadcasting, FTTx, server room engineering, civil engineering and aviation & rail applications.
The 6000 series harsh environment optical connector is designed for years of service in areas where unprotected physical contact fiber, isn’t an option. Featuring a secure, yet easy to operate 30 degree locking mechanism, this series has field proven IP68 and IP69K performance.
In comparison to the simplex 4000 Series Fiber connector, the additional glass fiber on this duplex cable can double the data transmission capabilities where required.
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6000 Series Fiber duplex connector
Product code: PXF6050
Visit Bulgin’s Connectivity Community for expert advice and for more information on optical fiber connectors please visit the Bulgin website.
Digital technologies alongside fiber optic communication is a field in which the UK is a ground breaker.
The history of emerging digital technologies is not usually associated with Britain. They are more associated with East Asia who inundated the market with low-priced electronics in the 80's and 90's. Or the US who gave birth to the transistor and produced hardware and software developers who have been highly influential in recent times. However, without Britain, two of the most authoritative and important technologies would not exist. These include mobile, computing and the triumph of the internet. Britain's innovations could still progress computing further and even give a greater understanding to the human brain.
The world wide web invented by British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee is highly noted. But what is not as commonly known is that Britain also is the birthplace of fiber optic communications, a technology which enables transmission of vast quantities of data around the world.
Optical fiber was first developed in the 1960's by a team including a scientist named Richard Epworth. He commented that 'The web and Internet are only possible because the cost of communicating is very low, and independent of distance.' This team that made optical fiber communication into a reality did so at Standard Telecommunications Laboratories (STL).
Digital communication offered low-loss communication therefore had great potential for further research. A favourite choice for communication was optical, which was deemed perfect for digital but not for electronics. Epworth said 'if you’re transmitting digitally, the signal is either on or off, and any distortion doesn’t matter at all.” It’s exactly the same idea that makes Morse code signalling was so successful, he added; all that matters is whether there is any signal or not; and visible light Morse works at the speed of light. What fiber optics promised, he said, was simply increasing the range of the visible light Morse idea and sending it around corners, plus the increase in speed compared with electrical signalling through copper. “The invention of the laser increased interest, and transmission through free-space was studied, but it’s too affected by weather, so some sort of guide for the light was obviously needed.” however in terms of electronics, the stance was '“If you’re transmitting an analogue signal electrically, by manipulating a current along a wire, then as soon as you have any interference or loss of signal quality, you have problems; you don’t need much distortion at all before the signal becomes incomprehensible,”
In 1842, in Paris, Daniel Colodon a professor at the university of Geneva and Jacques Babinet, a specialist in optics showed that light followed the curvature of water, therefore 'bending' inside a stream of water. Using this method was used in the 1920's with glass fibers to provide dentistry with illumination and medical examinations. The technique was not heavily investigated at the beginning with Epworth stating that the glass attenuated the signal too much.
In the 60's, STL in Harlow were trying to make optical communication work, alongside other researchers. The field was an expanse to be explored and early research used a hollow air-filled tube as the medium for transmission, a 'light-pipe'. Epworth explained 'for a while it looked like the winning technique would be one using microwaves' after work involving 'planar thin-films, using optical wave guides where the majority of the signal would be outside the transmission medium.'
Charles Kuen Kao, a researcher from Hong Kong had the initial discovery whilst working with George Hockham an expert in Microwaves. Together they hypothesised visible light transmission would be suited to a purer glass than was already accessible. He recognised that the pureness of the material was the issue, not the key physics. In 2009 the couple won a share in the Nobel Prize for physics, due to their instrumental paper published over 50 years ago and was observed as the starting point of practical optical fibers.
Travelling the world to get interest within his technology, Kao didn't succeed commercially until a pure, ultra-clear silica from oxygen and elemental silicon was produced by Bell Labs. The first transmittance system between Hitchin and Stevenage was the UK's involvement in the early usage of the technology, however as this was multi-national and no commercial remainder of STL exists, the status of the innovation being from the UK has been dropped from public knowledge so Epworth believes.
Other leading digital innovations are more in the public consciousness due to commercialisation. Stephen Furber led a team who developed The RISC (reduced instruction set computing) microprocessor at ARM (Acorn RISC machines). At a time when chip-making was dominated by American powerhouse IBM, Furber spoke in 2010 to The Engineer and explained they had very rigid thoughts on how the architecture of chip should work. By not manufacturing chips themselves, the ARM team came to the conclusion they could break away from these set ideas. From this, a processor was developed that used far less power that it's competition, which meant market domination within the tablet, laptop and mobile industries. This breakthrough saw the controversial sale of ARM to Japanese firm Softbank for $42billion.
For more information or expert advice please visit the Connectivity Community.
Digital communications, wherever we are in the world, are made possible almost instantaneously by tiny packets of data travelling vast distances from one server to another via tiny strands of optical fiber. We take it almost for granted that every time we pick up a mobile phone, switch on a computer – or even a smart television – that we will instantly be connected to the worldwide to the worldwide web in the blink of an eye.
Innovation of fiber
In the late 19th century, scientists realised it was possible to transmit images by refracting light through glass rods, optical fiber was born. The first functional optical fiber data transmission system was demonstrated in 1965, and the rest, as they say, is history – although it took many decades of technological innovation and infrastructure development to make optical fiber a financially viable alternative to copper wire.
Nowadays, optical fiber networks are universal. In the era of increased gaming and streaming, the world has developed an appetite for ever-faster broadband speeds and connectivity efficiency and now, a new technological development may about to be the first step to open optical fiber speeds like we have never seen before: hollow-core fiber.
Let’s introduce hollow-core fiber
What even is hollow-core fiber? Compared to traditional optical fiber, which transmits photons in waves down a solid inner core of very high purity materials such as silica or germania, hollow-core fiber is exactly what I says on the tin. The literal hollow core is surrounded by antiresonant, glass-based hollow fibers that reflect light back onto the core, effectively trapping the signal in the optical mode at the very centre of the cable.
Hollow-core is not a new technology; the idea has been around for some time now. However, until recently it was not known if it would ever be a viable alternative to solid fiber. In September 2019, the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) based at the University of Southampton demonstrated the longest ever hollow-core fiber transmission at the 2019 European Conference on Optical Communication in Dublin, demonstrating a loss of only 0.65 dB/km over 340 km.
Loss and damage
Conventional optical fiber can be susceptible to damage and dispersion and ultimately, as the march of technological innovation pushes ever onwards, is limited by its finite spectral transparency and non-linear impairments. The underlying principle of hollow-core fiber’s advantage over traditional silica is that light travels faster through air than solids or liquids.
Loss, otherwise known as attenuation, are commonly cause by radiation, absorption and scattering. By limiting such losses as much as possible, the fiber allows light and the information its carries to travel great distances from the original source.
It could be possible that hollow-core fiber could allow faster data transmission than its solid counterpart, with lower losses and a higher capacity for data transmission. But it’s not likely to totally supplant traditional optical fiber in terrestrial telecommunication systems.
The applications for this technology extend far beyond communications; for instance, it could lead t new manufacturing technologies by using intense laser light transmitted through hollow-core fibers, and could also be used for medical purposes such as imaging technology or the treatment of diseased tissues using laser light.
Bulgin solutions
It may be some time until hollow-core fiber starts becoming viable, and until then, we won’t really know what the technology is capable of. Until then, Bulgin offers a range of rugged fiber connectors to keep optical fiber that is used in harsh environments safe from the dangers of contamination.
The 4000 series provides an industry-standard LC interface as specified by IEC 61754-20. To save time and simplify installation, the connectors are available as pre-terminated options, already connected to a suitable cable of up to 450m in length.
Product code: PXF4050
Like the 4000 Series Fiber, the 6000 Series Fiber duplex connector is suited for outdoor broadcasting, FTTx, server room engineering, civil engineering and aviation & rail applications.
The 6000 series harsh environment optical connector is designed for years of service in areas where unprotected physical contact fiber, isn’t an option. Featuring a secure, yet easy to operate 30 degree locking mechanism, this series has field proven IP68 and IP69K performance.
In comparison to the simplex 4000 Series Fiber connector, the additional glass fiber on this duplex cable can double the data transmission capabilities where required.
Product code: PXF6050
Visit Bulgin’s Connectivity Community for expert advice and for more information on optical fiber connectors please visit the Bulgin website.
Most industrial control systems require a space where interactions occur between the human and the machine. This is commonly known as an operator interface, and switches form a vital component in these areas, enabling the operator to quickly turn components of the machinery on and off.
At first glance, selecting something as uncomplicated as a switch might seem to be of small importance. However, only after investigating the application, the environment within which it will operate, and in considering all possible use cases for their switch of choice, can designers arrive at the optimal switch solution.
If the switches in an operator interface aren’t optimally selected, it could in the long term negatively affect the functionality of the machinery, and no doubt might cause some frustration on the part of the operator as well. A poorly-planned switch choice can also increase the time it takes to perform a particular operation, and in a high-pressure environment this can cost not only valuable time but could even lead to equipment failure and possible injuries.
Here are three questions that should be asked:
To what degree is the operator interface exposed to dirt, dust, moisture and vibration?
This will determine how rugged the switch should be. Ideally, operator interfaces in dirty or wet environments will need to be sealed and be Ingress Protection (IP) rated to prevent dirt from building up and moisture from entering the equipment via the switch mechanism, but if they will be used in an interior environment a less rugged option would likely take up less space.
How hard is the switch likely to be pressed?
If the operator is likely to be wearing gloves, this could increase the force with which the switch is pressed. Also, the location of the switch in relation to the likely position of the operator and whether the switch is comfortably within arm’s reach or not can be additional factors.
How many times is the switch likely to be pressed per day?
From this calculation, you can work out the expected number of operations over a year so you can find a switch with a lifecycle that can withstand repeated operation over the next 5 to 10 years without failure.
So what exactly is a rocker switch? As the name suggests, rocker switches rock back and forth between the off and on position. When one side is pressed down, the other side will rise up. Most of them provide a ‘positive click’ feedback to let the user know the switch has changed position successfully. Typical applications for these switches include commercial and agricultural vehicles, surge protectors, computer power supplies, industrial assembly lines and many other types of industrial machinery panels.
Some rocker switches with independent circuitry can be backlit to show their presence and function in low light levels. Others can be illuminated to show whether the switch is on or off.
On any operator interface, if you decide to include rocker switches in your design, you’ll need to ensure you have enough space for the switch and information about what the switch is for.
Bulgin’s high quality rocker switches includes a vast range of single pole and double pole options available in various sizes, colours, terminations, actuator types and ratings up to 16A, 250V AC.
With termination options including splash proof features, PCB pins, solder lugs, screw terminals and quick connect tabs in addition to on-off, on-on and on-off-on functions; Bulgin’s rocker range provides the ideal switch solution for most electrical appliances and equipment.
Carrying UL, CSA & ENEC certification (depending on product series), this wide array of full-sized to miniature rocker switches allow for virtually any design configuration in a wide range of industry applications and environments.
For more information on the Bulgin switch range, please visit: https://www.bulgin.com/us/products/range/switches.html
Modern industrial machinery requires an increasing number of sensors to boost their performance, and these devices have to survive in increasingly harsh environments, placing larger demands on the performance of the connectors.
At the same time, practically every application that communicates and uses data anywhere in the world is connected using optical fiber, and this combination of rugged sensors and optical networks is being driven by the needs of next generation factory automation systems and the Internet of Things (IoT).
Connectors for these systems are now required in some of the harshest environments, buried underground or installed in outdoor enclosures. Sensors on production equipment, communications masts, bridges and poles constantly transmit data to the cloud, monitoring the performance of the electronic systems as part of the IoT and Industry 4.0.
Sensing light, temperature and humidity
This means an increasing number of sensors are being designed into embedded equipment, from photoelectric for measuring distance or proximity to humidity and temperature, sending data to and from the cloud. These are feeding data back through networks of fieldbuses, bridges, gateways and repeaters channelling these vast quantities of data will require fiber optic cable connections, sometimes in very dirty environments.
Photoelectric sensors in particular can be used to detect distance, presence or absence of an object using a light transmitter and a photoelectric receiver. The latest photoelectric automation sensors for example use a diffuse reflective sensor which can be used to detect objects up to 40mm away with robust connection and cables for up to 2m to a local gateway.
Space-saving benefits
These new sensors reduce the number of devices in the equipment, eliminating the need for a reflector or receiver and making the sensor sub-system smaller. Because these are fitted into harsh environments, a watertight and dustproof seal to any standard M5 interface is vital, along with robust casings that can withstands physical impact and vibrations and shocks from nearby machinery.
Temperature and humidity sensors similarly are providing more data about the performance of industrial machinery, both inside and outside the factory. Smaller, robust sensors can be designed into key spaces in equipment to flag up potential problems, from excess condensation causing rusting, to higher temperatures giving early warning of overheating in deeply embedded systems.
To be effective though, these sensors are connected to local gateways that themselves have to connect back to the cloud reliably, and fiber links are increasingly popular as they are not susceptible to the electric fields that fluctuate in such environments. Electromagnetic interference can be a major issue in industrial environments.
Protecting delicate optical fiber
Unfortunately a standard fiber connector is not sufficient for these gateways, and measures must be taken to protect the optical fiber from moisture. Compact connectors are needed to keep the local gateway small and aggregate the data from multiple sensors, but these connectors also need to survive in harsh environments.
There are several types of rugged connectors for optical links available, but for IoT and Industry 4.0 applications these have to offer standardised connection so that specialist engineers or equipment are not needed to terminate the connections.
Screw-lock mechanisms can appear to be closed when the thread is contaminated with dirt, leaving the system vulnerable to contamination. In contrast, a twist bayonet mechanism will only offer a “positive” click on closing when it is fully closed and unobstructed by contaminants.
The latest sealed standard fiber interface connectors are UV resistant, salt spray resistant and sealed to IP68 and IP69K, protecting the fiber from dirt, dust and temperature extremes (-25 to 70°C) and capable of being immersed in up to 10m of water for up to two weeks.
Water, dust, temperature and shock are key considerations for both sensors and connectors across the Internet of Things and next generation factory automation. Aggregating sensor data through rugged embedded gateways is a key part of the rollout of Industry 4.0 systems, enabled by compact, rugged sensors with reliable connectors and links back to the cloud. With the data from all these sensors safely in the cloud, embedded equipment around the globe can be more easily monitored and any problems anticipated to avoid unscheduled downtime.
For more information about Bulgin’s range of sensors for industrial automation, please visit https://www.bulgin.com/en/products/range/sensors.html
Since it was first introduced in 1996, the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard has become the interface of choice for an enormous range of computing and communications applications, both for data transfer and for charging.
Over recent years, the trends towards the Internet of Things (IoT) and Factory 4.0 have increased the demand for accurate, affordable and low-power sensors that can provide the constant stream of data required. Low-power wireless protocols like Zigbee and Bluetooth enable sensors to be connected without expensive cabling, and computerized applications such as predictive maintenance are adding new levels of sophistication to industrial operations.
Types of sensors
While there are many different types of sensors, we can usefully split the market into six product segments: pressure, temperature, proximity, flow, image and level. There are of course many others that find useful applications. All of these sensors take some kind of real-word quantity, and convert it into an analogue or digital electrical signal.
Of these, pressure sensors are the largest sector, with 21 percent market share in 2017. They typically use the piezo electric effect to measure pressure, and are used in many diverse applications, including drilling for oil, and industrial boilers.
Temperature sensors are also widely used, and are essential for many processes include production of pharmaceuticals and food. There are many different types, which range from simple contact sensors such as the bi-metallic strip, to highly integrated semiconductors. The most common is the thermocouple, which sense the temperature difference between two junctions of different metals, and generate a voltage accordingly. Other common types, such as the thermistor, have an electrical resistance that varies with temperature.
Proximity sensors are used to measure the distance to an object, typically by sending out a beam of infrared radiation, or an electromagnetic field, and looking at the returned signal. By measuring how distance varies, these sensors are also useful for vibration monitoring.
Flow sensors can be used with liquids or gases, and there are many different types, including ultrasonic, Coriolis and electromagnetic. Another option is to use the thermal flow measuring principle, which calculates flow based on how much heat is removed from a sensor by a fluid moving past it.
Image sensors can include detectors for visible light, and those in the infrared range. They may just be used to identify simple levels of light, or can be sophisticated, high resolution cameras. Combined with image recognition programs, and artificial intelligence (AI), camera-based systems can provide sophisticated capabilities, such as recognizing any defective products on a production line and taking appropriate action.
To detect the level of liquids, as well as solids that are free-flowing such as powders, there are multiple different types of level sensors. Common types include capacitance sensors, and optical sensors that can detect how much light from an LED has penetrated a liquid. Another option is ultrasonic sensors, which measure the time for a high frequency pulse to be reflected back from a liquid.
Beyond these types, sensors for force, gas, smoke, humidity and many other quantities are finding increasing applications. This is partly driven by continued innovation by vendors, who are providing smaller, cheaper and lower-power sensors, often combining multiple capabilities into one device -known as ‘sensor fusion’.
Requirements for industrial sensors
For industrial applications, the key requirement for sensors is that they are sufficiently rugged to provide the lifetime and reliability needed – many sensors are installed in hard-to-reach locations, where repair or replacement would be costly and difficult. Beyond that, they must meet a customer’s demands, including in terms of accuracy, price, power consumption.
For example, Bulgin's slimline photoelectric sensor range provides a cost-effective and flexible solution, with high levels of mechanical and electrical stability. A simple and secure design enables a watertight and dustproof seal to any standard M5 interface. The sensors are made with a robust stainless steel 316 case, sealed to IP67, making them well-suited to manufacturing automation and industrial automation sensing operations.
For more information, visit https://www.bulgin.com/en/products/range/sensors.html
The automation industry has grown tremendously over the years. Many of the automated processes depend on object detection. From garage gates that open when a car approaches to escalators that start moving when a person stands on the first step, automation is everywhere.
Many machines need a trigger when an object reaches a specific point. In industrial processes, detecting whether the object has reached a specific point becomes a vital task. Security processes also have the need to detect hidden suspicious objects. Many different sensing technologies are available and used in various applications. In this article, we will see six different types of sensors that are popular for object detection.
Inductive Sensors
Inductive proximity sensors can only be used to detect metallic objects. The sensor has its own electromagnetic field which gets disrupted when a metal object comes near it. This disruption indicates the presence of an object. The object can be detected even if it is inside another non-metallic substance. Though direct contact of the object with the sensor is not required, these sensors offer limited sensing ranges. These cost-effective sensors come in different shapes and sizes and are widely used in different automation applications.
Capacitive sensors can detect objects that have a dielectric constant that is different from air. Hence, these sensors can detect objects made from a wide variety of materials such as plastic, paper, wood, etc. They detect a change in the electrostatic field when an object is in the sensing range. The sensing range is quite limited. These sensors also cannot measure the distance of the object from the sensor.
Ultrasonic sensors use sound waves to detect objects. The working involves a short ultrasonic sound wave being transmitted towards the target. The target reflects back the wave which confirms the presence of the object. These sensors can measure the distance of the object from the sensor. Since the working involves sound waves, colour and transparency of the objects have no impact on their detection. The sensors are used widely in places where the level of a liquid needs to be measured or monitored.
The basic working principle of a photoelectric sensor involves transmitting a beam of light and detecting the object based on the reflected light. The sensors are capable of detecting different colours, luminescence, and contrast. Photoelectric sensors that use laser beams are capable of having sensing ranges of more than 50 metres. The commonly used types of photoelectric sensing modes are diffused mode, reflective mode, and through-beam.
Bulgin's slim line photoelectric sensor range provides a cost-effective and flexible solution, with high levels of mechanical and electrical stability.
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Photoelectric Sensor
A simple and secure design enables a watertight and dustproof seal to any standard M5 interface. The sensors are made with a robust Stainless Steel 316 case, sealed to IP67, making them well-suited to manufacturing and industrial automation operations.
Product codes: SLLP3002M5, SLDP3002M5, SLLN3002M5, SLDN3002M5, SLLP4002M5, SLDP4002M5, SLLN4002M5, SLDN4002M5, SLLP3002CL, SLDP3002CL, SLLN3002CL, SLDN3002CL, SLLP4002CL, SLDP4002CL, SLLN4002CL, SLDN4002CL
For more information, visit https://www.bulgin.com/en/products/range/sensors.html.
Whether it’s compensating for temperature-dependent electrical changes, or ensuring equipment doesn’t overheat, there’s almost always a need to know whether your system is blowing hot or cold. The temperature sensor market is, therefore, substantial, and growing healthily – predicted to top $7 billion by the year 2023.
There are multiple different types of temperature sensor, including thermocouples, thermistors, resistance temperature detectors and infrared sensors. Let’s look at four typical applications, and how one or more of these sensor types can be used for them.
Thermocouples: Keeping Gas Safe
A thermocouple is based on two different metals touching each other to form two junctions. It produces a voltage (due to the thermoelectric effect) when one of the junctions is exposed to heat and the other is kept at a reference temperature. Thermocouples are cheap and rugged and can measure over a very wide range of temperatures up to 2000º or more. Although, they can be lacking in accuracy.
They are perhaps the most popular temperature sensors that are used in many applications in industry and elsewhere. For example, they are often used in gas-powered boilers or ovens, to sense if a pilot flame is burning. If the thermocouple detects a drop-in temperature, the resulting drop in voltage will close a valve to turn off the gas supply, ensuring there is no risk from unburnt gas.
Often made of nickel and a ceramic material, thermistors are basically resistors whose value depends on temperature. Thermistors have a fast response, are rugged, and are low cost. They do provide a non-linear output, so extra circuitry is required to generate a voltage that is proportional to temperature.
The automotive industry is a major user of thermistors, which measure the temperature of oil and coolants. They can therefore be used to trigger warning lights to alert the driver to a problem, to avoid engine damage.
RTDs are similar to thermistors in that they measure temperature by how it changes their resistance, but they are made of metal. Their advantage is their output is linear and can provide accurate measurements.
Compared to thermocouples, RTDs are typically more accurate, are stable over time, and each component provides the same readings – so a faulty RTD can be replaced by a new part without recalibration. This makes them ideal for use in many industrial applications, where long-term reliability and accuracy are essential.
For this kind of non-contact application, an infrared sensor is often the best choice. This determines temperature by measuring the infrared energy emitted by an object and converting that into an electrical signal. This is then corrected for the influence of the ambient temperature,
Typical applications for an infrared sensor vary widely, from measuring the temperature of patients, to checking oven temperature in food production. The medical application is familiar to many of us from its use in home temperature readers, which are held in the ear for a few seconds and much easier when used with a crying toddler than the conventional thermometers they’ve replaced.
5G, the fifth generation of mobile networks, is already starting to be rolled out in South Korea, the UK and the US and many other countries. The most striking benefit it offers is higher speed, with averages starting at something like 200Mbps, or around twice as fast as 4G, and peak speeds possibly going up to 10Gbps in the future.
As well as speed, 5G promises low latency and greater capacity, meaning more people can access high-bandwidth applications at the same time – for example, to stream video when they’re on the move.
With such improvements in performance, it’s now reasonable to ask: will 5G threaten the growth of fiber optic communications, and even replace fiber in some applications?
Backhaul demands
As well as 5G being able to handle so much data per connection, we are also seeing more and more devices being connected, particularly due to the Internet of Things (IoT). This means there’s a step change on the infrastructure needs for the mobile operators – it’s all very well getting a 5G connection to the nearest base station, but how should they handle the backhaul of all this data to their main infrastructure, and on to the public internet?
In fact, this means that 5G is turning out to be a major driver for growth in the installation of fiber networks, rather than a threat. Many operators still have copper-based connections in their mobile backhaul networks, which need replacing with faster fiber links.
5G does need operators to put in more, smaller base stations than existing networks, because of the shorter range of the radio signals used for 5G. For these ‘small cells’, another option is to use a radio or microwave technology for the link on to the backhaul network, but fiber has the advantages of being proven, secure, and often the most affordable choice to handle the huge amounts of data required.
A replacement for wired broadband?
While 5G offers the speed needed for connecting homes and businesses to the internet, it’s unlikely that 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) will replace fiber for the ‘last mile’ connection. For a start, combining fiber to premises with a local Wi-Fi network offers security and convenience for users, and it’s easy to cover a whole building with no dead spots.
Of course, by using 5G for fixed wireless access there is no need to lay new fiber, thus reducing installation costs, and making it faster and easier to roll out new capacity. But the operating costs of 5G broadband are much higher than fixed connections – and have been estimated to be five times more.
While it’s arguable that 5G FWA will be the best solution for some customers, particularly in countries that have less well-developed fiber networks, it’s unlikely to be the dominant last mile connection for many years ahead.
Fiber: supporting the growth of 5G
As we’ve discussed, the choice of 5G vs fiber is not typically an ‘either or’ question. Both have an invaluable role to play in the broadband networks of the next few years, and in fact the roll out of 5G will lead to a huge increase in demand for new fiber connections.
To enable cost-effective deployment of these new fiber networks, with the reliability that operators demand, it’s essential that the fiber connectors used are rugged, high quality, and easy to install. Bulgin offers a wide range of fiber connectors that step up to the mark, with proven reliability and performance – for even the harshest environments. Visit bulgin.com to find out how rugged connectors can help fiber meet the challenge of supporting 5G deployments.
Visit Bulgin’s Connectivity Community for expert advice and more information on optical fiber connectors.
On the surface, selecting the correct switch for a given design might seem like a relatively simple decision and there’s certainly no shortage of switch types to choose from or ways of using them, with a huge range of assorted types, styles, colours and sizes, even in the specialist rugged category. However, pick the wrong one and you’ll suffer the consequences, whether through negative user perception of your product, or, worse still, a complete system failure.
It all comes down to those all-important design decisions. In considering the design process to be a series of choices, designers can work through a method of thinking that breaks down the application to its essential components. Only by assessing what the switch is being used for and how and where it will be used, taking into account environment, operator, space and ergonomics along the way, can designers arrive at the best switch for the application?
How will you be using the switch?
A component in an electrical or electronic circuit, a good place to start is to look at the switch’s function within that circuit. Is power being routed through the switch or is it being used for logic levels where the power rating is unimportant? If it’s power you’re after, then voltage and current rating will be your primary considerations.
Other factors to weigh up are switch contacts, operating life and the type of signal to be carried. Should it have a single pole or two, or more? Are the contacts to be open or closed, and will the action be momentary or latching? Is a particular bandwidth or shielding required? Where operating life is central to overall reliability, it’s important to fully understand the role of the switch in order to get the requirements right: a master power switch might be used relatively infrequently whereas a switch to select menu items could be used repeatedly and require a correspondingly longer rated life.
Where will you be using it?
It’s a tough world out there and your humble switch may be destined for a harsh habitat. Will it be located outside and exposed to the weather? If so, it will need to be resistant to moisture or dust. It is heading for a tough indoor environment within heavy industry or food manufacturing where equipment is regularly washed down? A sealed switch may well be the answer. Will the user be wearing gloves? Then designers might want to consider piezoelectric switches that only require pressure to operate, rather than skin-to-metal contact.
Who will be using the switch?
Choosing a switch that’s going to be used on hi-fi equipment, say, in someone’s home, is a very different scenario to selecting a switch intended for use in a public space. Those used by the general public will be subjected to a much harder operating life – sometimes even deliberate damage – and a more robust type should be selected.
How much space have you got?
As end users demand ever-expanding functionality within an ever-decreasing form factor, space becomes a significant challenge for designers and a key influence on the type and size of switches available for consideration. With space at a premium, it might even be better to avoid switching power on the front panel altogether, opting for a smaller switch to control a remote switch elsewhere in the application.
However, ergonomics is another key element for designers to bear in mind, where the choice of switch can make the difference between a front panel being user-friendly, or not; and that’s before you start considering ease of use for the mobility or visually impaired, as well as colour and branding. In addition, designers can now add low-power LED technology into the selection mix and consider the benefits to their applications of using illuminated switches that are useful in low light settings and as a ‘power on’ indicator.
Will it carry a legend?
Another space-saving tip is to choose a switch with a pre-printed legend, saving panel space and allowing for a common front panel design to be used in multiple products or settings, saving cost in the process too.
Likewise, there’s certification. Mains rated switches often carry electrical safety approvals and, together with other commonly used certifications relating to materials or IP ratings, selecting these switches frees up designers to consider other issues around space and ergonomics.
Optimum solution
At first glance it might seem something of a switch-choosing conundrum, but in understanding the application, the environment within which it will operate, and in considering all possible use cases for their switch of choice, designers can arrive at the optimum switch solution.
Bulgin has an extensive range of push button, vandal-resistant, piezo, slide, toggle and rocker switches which will meet the needs of a wide variety of applications including those found in the medical, industrial, marine and commercial sectors. The push button switches are available in front and rear panel mounted versions with three profile types including prominent, domed and low profile. A comprehensive range of rugged and vandal-resistant stainless steel push button switches are also available as well as IP66, IP67 and IP68 sealed products.
Visit Bulgin’s Connectivity Community forum and blog for expert advice on switches.
