In a typical morning, millions of people across the globe follow a similar routine. Wake up, hot shower, blow dry the hair, iron the clothes out of the dryer, brew the tea or coffee, make toast for a quick breakfast or maybe even cook an egg or two if time permits. Aside from being the main elements of a morning routine, each of these activities has in common a different type of element. Heating elements are essential components to virtually every drying, heating, toasting or roasting application performed with electrical appliances. Though not always visible, these devices are responsible for the conversion of electrical energy into heat energy which is heavily relied upon in most homes, offices and industrial manufacturing facilities. [Continue Reading Article]

As the only girl in a family of boys, I often had to forgo my toys of choice if I wanted some company during playtime. Certain playthings, however, appealed across gender lines. One such example for me was a toy that looked like a semi truck or sports car but could transform into a robot action figure if you knew how to slide out the wheels, snap open the chassis and flip up the robot’s head. Once transformed, these disguised robots could do things that a normal toy car could not such as fly or shoot lasers. Electric transformers are devices that share very little in common with the toys of the same name except for their ability to change. Electric transformers either increase or decrease the voltage of an electric current. They transform the flow of electricity from one voltage level to another which is a very important undertaking. A current traveling from a generator to a residence must have enough power to make it the physical distance to the building where it should then be reduced to a suitable power level for the internal circuitry. Just like how the planet and all its inhabitants would be in mortal danger in the absence of the transforming robots I used to play with, so too would everyday electronics be in danger of improper and safe function without electric transformers. [Continue Reading Article]

Dozens of studies by dozens of scientists and research facilities alike boldly profess the human need to feel connected to someone or something in this world. While the reasons have been largely debated, some site emotion and others physiology, the modern era makes this fact all the more clear. It has become a rarity to experience even the slightest bit of disconnect with the world unless one truly makes an effort to do so. Computers, phones and even cars have become faster and more advanced allowing for human interaction on a regular if not constant basis throughout much of the world. Despite the comfort provided by such connectivity, it is not uncommon to bemoan the electronic connectors that make it possible. These are the twisted tangles of cords and plugs that seem to engulf so many computers, telephones and even entire offices. These are what keep the world connected. [Continue Reading Article]

Recently, a proposal has been made to alter and modify the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). Adopted by 42 states within the U.S. alone, the code is designed to encourage energy conservation and limit the use of inefficient products and resources so as to preserve resources and provide economic stability and viability for all energy applications. While annual revisions allow the code to develop along with ever evolving technology, this particular change takes a step back. Though the intention may be to conserve energy and promote stability and safety in commercial, industrial and even residential settings, this particular proposal may actually eliminate a quiet, environmentally friendly and highly efficient source of heating, namely electrical resistance heating. [Continue Reading Article]

In the summer of 2008 I made my first trip across the pond to intern at a gallery in the United Kingdom. Having met my now fiancé there, I have since made several Trans-Atlantic trips, each one a learning experience. One aspect of international travel I thankfully learned early on in my first trip two years ago was the importance of frequency converters. These seemingly less than convenient little items actually provide a much more important service than many know, unless of course they have had the unfortunate experience of not using them, the consequences of which generally include some sparks, a bit of smoke and a completely fried appliance. This is because in the UK, like many other countries, outlets provide electricity at a voltage between 220 and 250 V while the main current in the United States operates in a range of 110 to 127 V. Although very necessary in using foreign appliances, converters and transformers are also commonly required for applications in the same country and even factory. This allows the optimal operation of several different machines and appliances, with several different electrical requirements, off of the same standardized power supply. [Continue Reading Article]

Based solely on the way ‘membrane switch’ sounds, I would think it was some sort of futuristic half-biological half-electronic device used in laboratories; definitely not something I’ve come across in my everyday life. In reality, they are very simple and common aspects of technology, and they are used by anyone that cooks—actually, anyone that heats up food…or uses a phone. Basically, if you don’t live in a third world country, you push membrane switches every single day that you get out of bed. Those flat, thin electronic buttons on your microwave, stove, dishwasher, security system, TV remote, cell phone and landline phone are what I’m talking about. They activate functions performed by electronic equipment through a rather straightforward process. Although they are considered recent technology, membrane switches use a very simple electronic concept in a highly complex and advanced manner. [Continue Reading Article]

When I rolled out of bed this morning, one of the first things I did was turn on the overhead light. With the flip of a switch, my room transformed from a dark, quiet, peaceful sleeping chamber to a harsh, fully-lit, squint-inducing wake-up call in a tenth of a second. If you think about it, that technology, an on-off toggle switch, is pretty convenient, but no big deal since people have been using them for around 100 years. These handy devices aren’t just designed to turn lights on and off. Electric switches actually have some pretty important applications—life and death, in fact, and are found in heavy machinery, space crafts, trains, high-speed vehicles and military aircrafts. [Continue Reading Article]

In factories and manufacturing warehouses, electric hoists are all over the place. Anything too heavy to be lifted, lowered or pulled manually is usually transported by a hoist generated by an electrical motor. For those of us that don’t often find ourselves in an industrial setting, seeing or using electric hoists may seem like a rare occasion. However, these hoists are seen daily by millions of regular non-factory working people in every part of the world. If you’ve ever been to a major international airport, chances are you’ve run across an electric hoist or two. Sometimes I get the impression that every airport I’ve ever visited was under some sort of construction. It seems they are infinitely expanding, building and adding on to terminals. These projects can create confusion, crowding and all sorts of traveling complications, causing travelers major headaches and missed flights. But not to worry—more and more airports are choosing to employ electric hoists in their construction jobs, which speed up the process and take up less space. These hoists contribute to reduced transit time between terminals, and may help travelers catch their layovers. [Continue Reading Article]

Last winter I was visiting family in Germany. The first morning of my vacation, I woke up, showered and unpacked my hair dryer. But when I went to plug it in, something odd happened. My hair dryer’s electrical plug did not fit into my Aunt’s outlet because there was a different amount of prong holes, which were round instead of flat. This is a problem that international travelers often encounter. There are many differences in the construction and type and strength of the current that electrical outlets are made to manage in cords and outlets in North America and most of Europe. The type of current differs between countries. North America uses an alternating current, which reverses direction in electric circuit at regular intervals. Europeans use a direct current, which has an unidirectional flow of electric charge. This factor necessitates a difference in the way electrical outlets, cords and plugs are constructed, which created the problem at my Aunt’s house. American cord sets generally have 2 prongs, or 3 for products with higher voltage. One prong is generally larger than the other, and they are both flat. Overseas, the amount and arrangement of prongs varies quite a bit among countries. Generally, they are all rounded and about the same size. This makes American electrical products’ cord sets incompatible with European outlets, and vice versa. [Continue Reading Article]

Everyone has had plenty of experiences dealing with electrostatic discharge—reaching out a hand to open the car door on a dry winter day and hesitating, because you know that zap is coming. Annoying isn’t it? Unfortunately, ESD can be a lot more harmful than that. Without proper prevention, it could damage a computer to the point of no return. The zap you felt when you opened the door was at least 2,500 volts of ESD, caused by the transfer of electrons from one surface (the door handle) to another (your hand). Charges as weak as 200 volts can severely damage your computer, and since they are below the threshold of human feeling, you might have no idea it’s happening. Catastrophic failure, damage to your computer that cannot be undone, is commonly due to ESD, and it can be direct or latent. Direct isn’t really a problem to anyone but manufacturers, since it is usually detected in initial testing. Latent catastrophic failure is what you should worry about. Low-voltage static charges may be slowly causing damage to your computer system, and may not show symptoms for weeks or even months. Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, you’ve got a computer that won’t turn on and can’t be fixed. [Continue Reading Article]

Compact DC-DC converters have made their way into millions of electronic products and systems. The vast majority of these depend upon an AC-DC power supply (metal box or chassis-mount) to convert the AC into a DC voltage from which the converters can operate. In addition, regulations have mandated that these power supplies include Power Factor & Harmonic Correction (PFHC) to maximize the available power from the power grid. Add to this the need to be as small as possible and to operate with in harsh ambient temperatures and the designer is faced with a problem that is not easily solved. [Continue Reading Article]

As electronic devices become increasingly smaller, lighter, thinner and more powerful, the demand for more precise and faster packaging technology has increased. Despite the difference in various packages available in the industry, the technology of packaging processes share common steps. In general, these steps include: die preparation, die attach, wire bonding and encapsulation. Among these steps, die attach is one of the most challenging processes, as it involves material compatibility, placement and dispensing accuracy, precision process temperature profile and a short cycle time... [Continue Reading Article]

We rely on electric heaters to warm our homes, offices, water and food, and manufacturers depend on electric heating for numerous industrial processes, such as plastic and rubber injection molding, packaging heat sealing and die casting. All electric heater appliances contain some form of heating element that acts as a resistor to convert the energy of an electrical current into heat. The heater can be as simple as the resistor welded or brazed into a metal flange or plug that contains an electrical terminal, or a number of resistors could be bundled together inside a larger unit. Due to the obvious hazards of bodily burns and fire damage, proper precautions need to be taken when using any kind of electric heater... [Continue Reading Article]

The desire by engineers to make it “small yet powerful” drives component manufacturers to scratch that itch. In our world of resistance heating products, this now manifests itself in innovative new approaches such as the subject of this article - advanced ceramic heating technologies... [Continue Reading Article]

Single Iteration, a division of Watlow, has conducted preliminary concept generation and evaluation for several alternative solutions for providing rapid cooling of AlN based heaters. Cost/benefit analysis of the various alternatives indicated that forced air cooling would be preferred for many applications of the latest AlN heating technology... [Continue Reading Article]