New Tech Europe | Jan 2017 | Digital Edition

new products

Nissha Printing Co., Ltd. Partners with TactoTek to Deliver Injection Molded Structural Electronics (IMSE) Solutions for Automotive and Home Appliances Nissha Printing Co., Ltd.(TYO 7915), a leading manufacturer of In-Mold Decoration (IMD) parts for automotive and home appliance OEMs, today announced that they are partnering with TactoTek, a leading producer of 3D Injection Molded Structural Electronics (IMSE), to collaboratively design and mass produce automotive and home appliance control panels. The first control panel includes a number of electronic functions including printed circuitry, high performance capacitive touch and LEDs encapsulated within injection molded plastic and is scheduled for high volume mass production in 2017. According to Kaz Oki, VP of New Product Planning at Nissha USA, Inc, “We have invested considerable time and resources evaluating IMSE technology; TactoTek’s fluency in adapting traditional electronics designs into IMSE solutions, combined with their ability to quickly produce prototypes that are ready for mass production in their vertically-integrated factory sets them apart from all other companies.” “Replacing the separate full-sized printed circuit board and light guide structure in the current product with a single IMSE component will yield many benefits,” continued Kaz Oki, “Using an IMSE component will streamline the supply chain, accelerate design innovation, and reduce total costs by simplifying electrical and mechanical assembly. In addition, because IMSE electronics are encapsulated in plastic, they are protected from the moist, vibrating operating environment of this equipment.All of this is accomplished while also reducing the amount of plastic used in the final assembly which reduces the carbon footprint.” “Nissha has proven itself as a leading Tier 1 manufacturer of high quality solutions over many years,” said Jussi Harvela, CEO of TactoTek, “we are very pleased that Nissha has confirmed our IMSE leadership by selecting TactoTek as their partner, and we look forward to combining the expertise of both companies to deliver superior solutions to OEMs and improving user experiences for consumers.”

ROHM Semiconductor at SPS 2016: Arduino Shield for Easier and Faster Stepper Motor Driver Designs At SPS in Nuremberg from November 22-24, 2016, ROHM Semiconductor presents its new Arduino-based evaluation kit (EVK) to support the evaluation of its motor driver devices as well as to enable, facilitate and accelerate customers’ developments (Hall 1 – Booth 320). Designed as a ‘shield’ to plug directly into the Arduino main board, this EVK integrates a ROHM’s HTSSOP-B28 packaged stepper motor drive IC and complements ROHM’s support ecosystem, allowing engineers to rapidly prototype their stepper motor systems. The global stepper motor market is expected to grow dramatically over the next few years. Known for their accuracy, excellent response and reliability motor driver ICs are easy to control and open up many design options. However, engineers have to consider various aspects such as speed, vibration, performance optimization and the choice of the devices and support tools is critical to both, application success and speed of development. Arduino is a widely used open-source platform. The new EVK comes in 15 different variants for ROHM’s stepper motor driver ICs– from standard, micro step, low voltage to high voltage. This comprehensive solution covers supply voltages from 8V to 42V, enables up to 2.5A per phase, as well as micro-stepping and single- or multi-phase control of one or two stepper motors. It is ideally suited to drive bipolar stepper motors available in a wide range of supply voltages and current capabilities. It drives with CLK-IN or PARA-IN variants and provides high efficiency, easier power control and comprehensive protection functionalities in a robust and compact design, enabling accurate fine- tuning of the motor performances. Moreover, the EVK is designed to be stackable so that a second shield can be added on top to drive two motors.

66 l New-Tech Magazine Europe