Page 37 - EngineerIt January 2021

NEW PRODUCTS AND INNOVATIONS

Arduino-compatible shields to
accelerate KNX-compliant
implementations

®
ntegrated ON Semiconductor evaluation hardware proves pivotal in
home/building automation system development. These Arduino-
Icompatible units are designed to facilitate prototyping work,
comprising all the constituent components necessary to create smart
home and building automation systems based on KNX communication
technology. (KNX is an open standard (see EN 50090, ISO/IEC 14543)
for commercial and domestic building automation). Suitable for use
with a wide variety of leading microcontrollers, they can be plugged
directly into existing development platforms - enabling projects to be
completed in the shortest possible timeframe.
There are three different variants of the NCN5100ASGEVB from ON
Semiconductor, which utilise the company’s NCN5110, NCN5121 and
NCN5130 KNX certified transceiver ICs respectively. This means that
both standard or more sophisticated implementations can be in much more power-hungry application scenarios.
addressed. Each of these transceivers has a pair of high-efficiency For the boards featuring the streamlined NCN5110 analogue
DC/DC converters integrated. Focused predominantly on supplying the front-end, all the timings need to be dealt with by the host
transceiver and the system MCU, the first DC/DC converter provides a microcontroller, while the NCN5121 and NCN5130 versions have extra
fixed 3.3 V output. In contrast, the output for the second converter is functionality added. In addition to the PHY, a MAC layer has been
adjustable across a wide range of voltages, covering 1.2 V to 21 V. incorporated into both transceivers, thereby reducing the software
This can be employed for powering peripheral parts such as a relay, development work involved. Additionally, the high degree of component
display or other analogue IOs. Thanks to the industry-leading power integration these boards exhibit means that size and bill-of-materials
delivery capabilities of these transceivers, plus the elevated levels of costs are kept to an absolute minimum. The ON Semiconductor
operational efficiency, with ultra-low bus voltage drop and quiescent NCN5100ASGEVB evaluation boards are available from RS South Africa
current, engineers will be able to explore potential opportunities for KNX and across Sub-Saharan Africa. n

Flow meter/controller meets 3-A sanitary standards

he first standards for the hygienic
design of equipment used in the dairy
Tindustry were introduced in the 1920s.
These standards became known as '3-A
standards' for the three interest groups that
cooperated to improve equipment design and
sanitation - regulatory sanitarians, equipment
fabricators, and processors.
Today’s 3-A SSI maintains a large
inventory of design criteria for equipment and
processing systems, developed using a
modern consensus process based on ANSI
requirements to promote acceptance by precision, high linearity and low pressure drop, using ultrasound in a small-bore tube.
regulatory authorities. 3-A SSI oversees the The instruments are liquid-independent due to the use of a measuring principle in which the
3-A symbol authorisation programme and actual sound velocity is accounted for in the flow calculations. The combination of a straight
other voluntary certificates to help affirm the sensor tube with zero dead volume in the flow meter is self-draining. The flow meter with orbital
integrity of hygienic processing equipment TIG-welded flanges is CIP or SIP cleanable, and now meets 3-A sanitary standards for hygienic
and systems in the rapidly changing food, applications. Wetted parts are made of stainless steel, the exterior design is rated to IP66 or IP67.
beverage and pharmaceutical industries. The local user interface is a capacitive touchscreen with a TFT display to operate and read out the
Bronkhorst has launched a new instrument. For remote operation, Bronkhorst added a variety of Ethernet based fieldbuses to the
generation of ES-FLOW™ ultrasonic flow already available range of analogue and digital communication options. The on-board PID
meters for low flow rates of water, additives controller can be used to drive a control valve or pump, enabling users to establish a complete,
and other liquid substances. The improved compact control loop. n
flow meters measure volume flow from two
up to 1500 ml/min with even higher For more information email measure@mecosa.co.za

EngineerIT | December 2020 / January 2021 | 35