2024 Product of the Year

3D Systems  , Rock Hill, SC, is introducing the SLS 300 smaller-footprint 3D printer designed for use in settings other than a manufacturing floor, for example, offices, material research labs, or workshops. The system only requires a standard power source and an Ethernet connection to be operational in less than an hour. It is compatible with a robust material portfolio to address a breadth of applications. The patented packaging ensures users do not come into direct contact with any powder when filling the machine. The cylinders, made of sustainable paper and wood-based packaging, directly connect to the printer, and fill it via a dedicated inlet on the front, to keep the process dust-free.

Advanced Energy Industries, Denver, CO, has announced a new configurable power supply that delivers optimized, application-specific power conversion in a small form factor with up to four times higher power density than conventional solutions — 18 W/in3. Rated at up to 4,000 W, it also has integrated and flexible communication capabilities with optional dongles that support all common digital communication protocols without the need for design changes or modifications. The NP08, combines eight output power slots for rapid and flexible configuration in both series and parallel implementations and it can be programmed as a voltage or a current source. AC inputs are 90 to 264 VAC.

2Pi Optics, Cambridge, MA, has introduced a high-resolution fisheye sensor based on optical metalens technology. This technology can be used by design engineers to further miniaturize the cameras used in advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), AR/VR, UAVs, robotics, and other industrial applications. 2Pi’s innovation addresses a crucial disadvantage of today’s miniature cameras: their complex and expensive optical lenses. This flat fisheye lens produces crisp, 180-degree panoramic images. The new lens is a replacement for conventional wide-FOV lenses, which are typically composed of multiple stacked lens pieces, with a single, thin, flat metalens. This approach enables the design of ultra-compact, high-performance optical imagers and sensors.

The IMS5420-TH white light interferometer from Micro-Epsilon, Ortenburg, Germany, opens up new perspectives in industrial thickness measurement of monocrystalline silicon wafers. Due to its broadband superluminescent diode (SLED), the IMS5420-TH can be used for undoped, doped, and highly doped SI wafers. The thickness measuring range extends from 0.05 up to 1.05 mm. The measurable thickness of air gaps is even up to 4 mm. The interferometer is available as either a thickness or a multi-peak thickness measuring system. The multi-peak thickness measuring system can measure the thickness of up to five layers, for example, wafer thickness, air gap, film, and coatings >50 μm. For thickness measurements in difficult environmental conditions, the IMS5420IP67 controller is available with IP67 protection rating.

e-con Systems™, Riverside, CA has introduced a new IP67-rated high dynamic range (HDR), Power over Ethernet (PoE) camera — RouteCAM_CU22 — a powerful addition to its high-performance Ethernet camera series for tough outdoor conditions. The camera is compatible with CloVis Central™, an easy-to-use and powerful cloud-based device management platform that remotely manages entire on-field device operations, enabling faster time to market, reduced costs, and enhanced application success rates. The camera has been qualified for Road Vehicles Standards such as ISO 16750, ISO 20653:2013, and more. These standards ensure its ability to withstand extreme temperatures and guarantee durability and resilience for outdoor deployment in any environments with an IP67 rating.

The new multi-purpose ICAM-B charge amplifier from Kistler, Winterthur, Switzerland, is ideal for use with piezoelectric sensors. It is an extremely versatile device thanks to its combination of analog signal routing and integrated digital data transmission. Charge amplifiers convert the piezoelectric sensor’s charge signal into a low-impedance voltage signal for further processing. The ICAM-B has an intuitive web interface control, a wide range of signal conditioning features, and various IIoT connectivity options. It is a multi-channel, high-bandwidth, universal charge amplifier with a wide and adjustable measuring range (±20 to ±1,000,000 pC) and integrated IIoT protocols (OPC UA and MQTT).

Dewesoft, Trbovlje, Slovenia, has announced OBSIDIAN^®, a breakthrough data acquisition (DAQ) instrument that combines the best features of a high-end DAQ system, a long-term datalogger, a real-time EtherCAT data server, and a signal conditioning front end. Traditional high-speed DAQ systems are typically used for a few hours at a time and use software based on the Windows operating system, which is not designed for long-term stability. However, numerous applications require the measurement system to operate for weeks, months, or even years. Accordingly, OBSIDIAN is built on a low-power ARM processor running an open-source LINUX^® operating system and DewesoftRT DAQ software. This architecture allows OBSIDIAN to operate for extended periods of time without intervention. It can be remotely monitored and controlled via the DewesoftM app running on iOS or Android phones and tablets, or by computers running DewesoftX software.

Idec Corporation, Sunnyvale, CA, has expanded its SmartAXIS touch family with the new FT2J Series combined PLC+HMI. A compact all-in-one form factor combines built-in full function controller features and functions, both onboard and expandable I/O, and an advanced technology seven-inch touchscreen display. It consumes far less panel space than separate units. Because the PLC and HMI are internally connected, require only one power supply, and share the same network connection, installation is simplified. It is ready to use and communicate right out of the box, and end users perform configuration with an intuitive and easy-to-use integrated development environment for both PLC and HMI functions, cutting configuration and programming time.

Endress+Hauser, Greenwood, IN, has launched FieldGate SWG50, a new WirelessHART gateway primed for secure communication from your field devices. It is compact and cost-effective, ready for integration into the Netilion cloud-based IIoT ecosystem, while providing an easy-to-use solution for multiple standard monitoring applications across various industries. Netilion is designed for industrial processes, connecting the physical and digital worlds to send information from the field straight to a phone, tablet, or other device. FieldGate SWG50 enables users to monitor measurements and health statuses using WirelessHART connectivity. It is an economical alternative to complex and costly cable installations, reducing expenditure for process automation by up to 30 percent.

Seeq, Seattle, WA, has announced the launch of the Seeq Industrial Enterprise Monitoring Suite with the release of Seeq Vantage, the company’s first industrial enterprise monitoring app. Through the Seeq Vantage app, industrial organizations can tailor, deploy, and automate enterprise-level use cases, such as asset and process monitoring, condition-based maintenance, reliability and downtime tracking, and more. Coupled with the Seeq Industrial Analytics and AI Suite, customers now have an integrated ecosystem to capture, analyze, aggregate, monitor, triage, investigate, and document insights and actions at the local level and the enterprise level. The app provides proactive and automated enterprise surveillance for daily operational decisions, and comprehensive assembly of operational effectiveness and utilization understanding.

Synopsys, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, has announced the launch of ImSym — Imaging System Simulator, a virtual prototyping platform for imaging systems, encompassing lenses, sensors, and image signal processors (ISPs). By integrating components of the imaging chain into a comprehensive end-to-end simulation platform, ImSym enables tailored optimizations of any imaging system, facilitates team collaboration, and dramatically reduces the risks of issues in later development stages. With accuracy powered by CODE V® and LightTools® optical design software and a quantitative end-to-end simulation flow, ImSym reduces the need for physical prototypes and delivers simulations that can directly translate into production-ready designs. It presents users with a series of simulated images at each step in the imaging chain, enabling image quality assessment throughout the simulation flow.