What's New at Congress 2002
Constant-speed motors
Thomson Airpax Mechatronics' TAM58 Series of brushless dc motors combine nine-slot stator and 12-pole rotor design to deliver constant speed in a compact package. The modular motors can be ordered with an internal Hall-sensor wire-harness assembly, full onboard drive electronics, and optional heavy-duty, permanently lubricated, maintenance-free gear trains. The family consists of three standard motor lengths for maximum power output. Model 58MD080 is 80 mm (3.2 in) long with output power of 47 W, Model 58MD088 is 88 mm (3.5 in) long with output power of 60 W, and Model 58MD093 is 93 mm (3.7 in) long with output power of 90 W. Applications include automated conveyor systems, bar code labeling, printing, pumps, valves, machine tools, and agricultural equipment.
Fuel hose
Titeflex Corp.'s Zero-E hose combines the proven performance of Teflon polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) fluoropolymer resin in fuel service with an additional barrier layer to reduce permeation and effusion. A patented process is used to bond a thin layer of metal foil to the outer surface of Teflon PTFE tubing. The construction can be covered with a variety of elastomeric layers and/or braided reinforcement for vapor, fuel, or high-pressure compressed-natural-gas applications.
Stepper motor chips
Trinamic's TMC235 family of stepper motor driver chips is a fully protected two-phase, 650 mA / 850 mA CMOS chip with serial interface and integrated DACs for low vibration ministepping. Open loop, short circuit, and over-temperature conditions are signaled via a number of status bits. The chip is available in a standard SO28 as well as in a thermally optimized chip-size package. Its wide operating temperature range makes it suitable for use in automotive applications. Together with the TMC428, the chips allow the setup of very compact, low-cost, one- or multi-axis positioning systems, which do not require any processing power for the control of movements.
Software development
TTP-Tools from TTTech Computertechnik AG support embedded software engineers with a powerful production development environment for building a fault-tolerant, real-time, time-triggered communication architecture. The TTP-Tools software addresses the needs of the systems engineer in the automotive, aerospace, and industrial control application domain. TTP-Tools provide rapid, harmonized, and systematic development while smoothly integrating into the existing development process. The 5th generation of TTP-Tools includes enhanced functionality and algorithms for fault-tolerance, new user interfaces, as well as support for the TTP/C chip generation. With TTP-Matlink and TTP-Tools, the user can design a model, generate application code and fault-tolerant communication drivers with specialized code generators, download the resulting application right down into the target, then calibrate and test the distributed application.
Mobile data acquisition
Validyne Engineering's VDAS 200, 800, and 1500 mobile data-acquisition systems can record up to 300 channels of vehicle sensor inputs with 1000-V isolation and cold reference junctions on each channel. Other key design features include analog-to-digital converters on each channel, a combined thermocouple and voltage input module, and multiple software options including LabVIEW. Cold-cranking operation for supply voltages down to 5 V dc and resistance to temperatures from -40 to +85°C (-40 to +185°F) enable the systems to perform and deliver accurately in the most severe test conditions. Applications include vehicle HVAC, wind-tunnel, altitude-chamber, and most forms of high-channel-count testing.
