Product Spotlight - Arm Holdings - Malaysia gambles on a semiconductor deal

1. Malaysia has signed a strategic partnership with Arm Holdings, a UK-based chip architecture company, to acquire advanced semiconductor design blueprints for US$250m. The agreement, spread over ten years, includes training for 10,000 local engineers and aims to transition Malaysia’s dominant role in chip assembly and testing to high-value semiconductor design. 

2. While Malaysia will gain access to Arm’s blueprints and will be successful in manufacturing more higher-valued semiconductors, EIU believes that the country’s goal of creating its own designs will be challenging.

Product Spotlight - xMEMS Labs Aims to Replace Earbud and Hearing Aid Audio Drivers with Semiconductor Speakers

1. The semiconductor story is the story of constant replacement. Early transistors increasingly replaced vacuum tubes. Integrated circuits (ICs) replaced transistors. Our large-screen, flat-panel displays and televisions, which replaced cathode ray tubes, are giant-sized, thin-film semiconductors. 

2. Semiconductor-based solid-state drives are currently replacing rotating hard-disk storage in computers and servers. Even dynamic and electret microphones have started to yield to tiny arrays of semiconductor MEMS (Micro-ElectroMechanical Systems) transducers. You’ll find at least one such MEMS microphone in many new mobile phone models.

3. However, one electronic technology has long resisted replacement by semiconductors: the loudspeaker. Today’s audio speaker or earbud driver continues to use century-old, moving-coil or balanced armature technology. 

4. A company named xMEMS Labs is determined to change that situation by introducing two second-generation semiconductor MEMS speakers and a device called the Skyline DynamicVent, which is simply an electrically actuated air valve used to equalize differential pressure between the ear canal and ambient air.

Product Spotlight - Taiwan to ban disposable food utensils made of biodegradable plastic

 1. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Friday (Feb. 3) that it plans to ban disposable food utensils made of biodegradable plastic.

2. The EPA plans to implement the policy starting Aug. 1, with the goal of lessening the impact of biodegradable plastics on Taiwan’s existing recycling mechanisms. Additionally, it is an attempt to reduce the amount of disposable food containers and cutlery.

3. The policy will affect the public sector, public and private schools, department stores and malls, wholesale stores, supermarkets, convenience store chains, fast food chains, and physical food service providers.

4. According to the EPA, after it banned plastic disposable food containers and cutlery, many food service providers turned to biodegradable options. However, as the material only decomposes quickly in specific environments and Taiwan lacks proper reuse means as well as compost facilities, it has expanded its definition to include biodegradable plastics into its list of banned materials.

Product Spotlight - Global Bioreactors and Fermenters Market to 2035

1. Since their introduction in 1982, biologics have gained popularity owing to their therapeutic efficacy, favorable safety profiles and ability to treat a wide variety of disease indications, which are otherwise hard to treat. In fact, in the past two decades, over 170 biopharmaceuticals have already been granted approval by the FDA and over 7,500 biological interventions are under evaluation in clinical trials.

2. It is a well-known fact that the commercial and clinical-scale manufacturing of such complex biomolecules require highly specialized bioprocessing equipment to facilitate the maintenance of ideal conditions, such as optimal temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, fluid delivery, and other critical process parameters that are essential for steady cell growth. Bioreactors are capable of providing such optimal conditions and are critical to the upstream biomanufacturing process.

3. These systems are designed to increase the concentration of viable cells, thereby enabling the production of large amounts of recombinant proteins, such as vaccines, fusion proteins, antibodies and enzymes.

4. Apart from producing conventional therapeutic proteins, bioreactors can also be used to produce advanced medicinal products (ATMPs), namely cell-based and oligonucleotide-based therapies, retroviral vectors for gene therapy and cellular components of three-dimensional tissue / artificial organs. In contrast to bioreactors, fermenters are used for the anaerobic cultivation of microbial (fungal or bacterial) cell populations to produce biologics that do not require significant post translational modifications.

5. It is worth highlighting that the use of fermenters for the manufacturing of bioproducts provides faster development, higher yields and quality, reduced variation between batches, better scalability, and lower production costs, in comparison to the biomanufacturing carried out in bioreactors.

Product Spotlight - Market Reports on the Agricultural Sector - Fruit & Vegetable Powder, Palm Oil & Rice-based Products

 1. Growing Demand for Health & Wellness Products is Fueling Fruit & Vegetable Powder Sector

2. Transition to Sustainable Production Crucial for Palm Oil Future Growth

3. Increasing Availability of Fortified and Enriched Rice-based Products Drives Growth

4. Exploring above mentioned sector's market, growth & potential. 

Product Spotlight - The Hydrogen Colour Spectrum

1. From green to pink hydrogen, we reveal the rainbow of hydrogen colours and the different types of technology used to produce each.

2. Green hydrogen, blue hydrogen, brown hydrogen and even yellow hydrogen, turquoise hydrogen and pink hydrogen. They’re essentially colour codes, or nicknames, used within the energy industry to differentiate between the types of hydrogen.

3. Depending on the type of production used, different colour names are assigned to the hydrogen. But there is no universal naming convention and these colour definitions may change over time, and even between countries.

4. Hydrogen is an invisible gas. So, despite their colourful descriptions, there is no visible difference between the different types of hydrogen.

5. In the future, some hydrogen colours may fade in importance and others burn brighter. What’s certain is that the hydrogen rainbow will play a significant role in reaching net zero, as we reduce our historical reliance on fossil fuels and look to green alternatives to power our homes, businesses and transport.

Product Spotlight - Data Center Tiers Explained

1. Data center tiers are established rankings for the performance of servers which house data and information.

2. Data centers are ranked from I to IV, with I being the worst-performing of the four and IV being the best-performing.

3. The Uptime Institute’s Tier Certification is the independent measure through which ratings are judged. It determines the criteria for each tier and lists several values that collectively make up what constitutes the standards of data center tiers. 

Product Spotlight - Current Sensors and Industry 4.0: What do engineers need to know & Selection Criteria

1. A lot of the current buzz in electronic systems development is about “smart” products, and the ability to oversee the performance and functionality of these solutions. Between competition and consumer expectations, a product on the market today must perform its functions almost perfectly, or as close as can be achieved through modern technology and processes. 

2. Short battery life, poor RF connections, bad thermal management, and other non-critical aspects of performance are also make-or-break parameters when operating in the real world.

3. The explosion in the growth of the electronics marketplace at every level is challenging the industry at every level. From new semiconductor materials to advanced solutions like artificial intelligence, new technologies and approaches are creating new application spaces while rejuvenating old ones. All of this is being driven by the migration to integrate data technology into every aspect of electronics.

4. All of this is creating a disruptive period of demanding growth, which places additional pressure on system designers to ensure the product created is safe, efficient, reliable, and cost-effective (especially that last one). 

Product Spotlight - MEMS (Microelectromechanical Systems) AND Global Market Forecast

1. MEMS or Microelectromechanical Systems are microsystems with both electric and mechanical functions. Built with the same advanced techniques that make today's integrated circuits, MEMS are everywhere around us. The tech is miraculous but the industry has long struggled with several significant economic issues. 

2. Global Micro-Electromechanical Systems (MEMS) Market Report 2022: Market to Reach $16.9 Billion by 2026 - Consumer Electronics Segment is Expected to Account for $10.3 Billion

Product Spotlight - The Basics of Pressure Transducers

1. A pressure transducer is a sensor used to measure pressure. Depending on where you put it and how you connect it, a pressure transducer can tell you the pressure in a pipe or tank, the weight of an object, or even the depth of fluid above it. Most industrial pressure transducers are made of two technical parts, a transducer and a transmitter, inside a third, equally important part, the housing.

2. A transducer converts a physical action--often a vibration--into an electrical signal. Microphones and the pickups on an electric guitar, which both convert sound waves into electrical signals, are transducers. Pressure transducers, then, convert pressure--air pressure, fluid pressure, oil pressure, etc.--into electrical signals.

Product Spotlight - Future of Printed Circuit Boards

1. Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) today are tiny, multilayered, complex systems that hardly resemble their earliest ancestors. They're also produced at a much higher and more efficient rate than ever before thanks to sophisticated design software and manufacturing processes. Even 10 years ago, microvias, HDI and FPGAs were only seen in the most expensive designs, yet are now readily available to designers worldwide.

2. As technology and consumer demand grows and develops, however, so must PCBs. As the basis of all electronic devices, PCBs feel intense pressure for development and growth. With consumers pushing for slimmer and faster devices, and with industries seeking improved functionality, the PCB must continue developing into the future.

3. While modern PCBs are produced at incredible rates with astounding complexity, there is always room for development. Whether it's in the shape of the PCB itself or the accessories attached directly to the board, consumers are continuously pushing for new and different PCBs and PCB functions.

4. There's also plenty of room to grow in the manufacturing process itself as increased PCB complexity introduces new challenges for manufacturing companies. That's why most predictions for the printed circuit board's future focus strongly on the following areas.

Product Spotlight - Radar and Ultrasonic Sensors - Differences & Complementary Technologies

1. There is a tendency to pit ultrasonic level sensors and radar level sensors against one another when in reality each sensor has advantages and disadvantages that give each sensor its own place.

2. We will look at the differences in how these two technologies work and will cover the applications each sensor is best suited for.

Product Spotlight - How Ohm's Law Affects Level Sensors & Pressure Transducers

1. Occasionally, we hear puzzling tales of sensors that just won’t work, even though troubleshooting measures confirm the sensor is operational. If this ever happens to you, it’s worth taking a look at the cable between the sensor and your control system input.

2. There are two forces at play that need to be managed: resistance and noise. The effects of each are critical to receiving your sensor’s signal. One is just a part of the equation, while the other is a persistent threat. Let’s take a look at resistance, and deal with noise as we go along.

Product Spotlight - Fully Foldable Solar Cells & Existing Issues with Flexible Solar Cells

1. Flexible solar panels are another category of foldable devices receiving lots of scientific attention. And while many advances are being made, researchers have been having a challenging time making the panels fully foldable (repeatedly bend without breaking) until now.

2. Engineers at Korea’s Pusan National University created fully foldable prototype solar cells. Such panels would simplify storage and transportation and integration into everyday devices like cars, windows, phones, and clothing.

3. While flexible solar cells do exist, their bend is limited, like a card; If they bend any further, they break. A genuinely efficient foldable conductor can withstand the pressure of turning within a tiny radius while maintaining its integrity and function. That’s what the Korean engineers found.

4. Unlike merely flexible electronics, foldable devices are subject to much harsher deformations, with folding radii as small as 0.5 mm. This is not possible with conventional ultra-thin glass substrates and metal oxide transparent conductors, which can be made flexible but never fully foldable.

Product Spotlight - Float Switches In The Food and Beverage Industry

1. Float switches are used for point-level detection and are commonly used to control other devices such as alarms and pumps when a liquid level rises or falls to a specific point. 

2. Float Switches are used in a variety of industries and applications including applications in food and beverage, water and wastewater, and chemical industries.

3. Below are examples of food and beverage industry applications Float Switches are used in.

Product Spotlight - bio-based additives (Estolide)

1. Biosynthetic® Technologies announced the launch of their new product line of novel additives for the metalworking fluids (MWF) market called Biocea™. 

2. Biosynthetic Technologies has developed a revolutionary new class of high-performance bio-based additives for the use in metalworking fluids, called Biocea. 

3. These novel sustainable additives use the patented estolide technology and are biobased, biodegradable, non-bioaccumulative, and non-toxic. 

4. Biocea additives leverage Biosynthetic Technologies’ proprietary estolide technology for high demanding water soluble, synthetic, and conventional oil additive applications. 

Product Spotlight - Glass-filled polyamide AKA Nylon

1. Glass-filled polymer (or glass-filled plastic), is a mouldable composite material. It comprises short glass fibers in a matrix of a polymer material. It is used to manufacture a wide range of structural components by injection or compression moulding.

2. It is an ideal glass alternative that offers design flexibility, chemical, durability, and chemical and shatter resistance.

Product Spotlight - 0.6 Millimeters Hot Rolled & Endless Strip Production (ESP)

1.  2018, an Arvedi ESP (Endless Strip Production) line installed in a plant belonging to the Chinese steel producer Rizhao Steel Group Co., Ltd (Rizhao) produced ultra-thin hot rolled strip with a thickness of just 0.6 millimeters for the very first time. 

2. Hot rolled strip as thin as this had never before been achieved anywhere in the world. 

3. This thin strip can cover more than 80 percent of regular commercial cold-rolled thicknesses. 

Product Spotlight - Hot rolled steel vs cold rolled steel

Differences between Hot rolled steel vs cold rolled steel, advantages, disadvantages, characteristics, and usage.

Industry 4.0 real-world applications

 1. Embracing Industry 4.0, digital manufacturing and the interconnectivity that comes with it opens a myriad of benefits for companies, including greater agility, flexibility and operational performance.

2. we’ll be exploring the key technologies behind Industry 4.0, as well as real-world applications.