EMC demystified!

Now in its 12th year, the forthcoming Demystifying EMC event run by Rohde & Schwarz will once again focus on the very latest developments in electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), dealing with such vital areas as legislation, test techniques and design knowledge. The event will highlight the latest challenges, technologies and best practices in electromagnetic compatibility. The world-famous Silverstone Circuit is once more the venue for this event which has become a trusted forum for learning, collaboration and networking within the EMC community.

“After a slightly longer interval since our last event, we're delighted to bring Demystifying EMC back this year. We have a fantastic line-up of industry experts presenting across a range of topics, delivering across three dedicated streams,” said Nathan Reeve, EMC Product Specialist at Rohde & Schwarz UK Ltd. “Whether you're new to EMC or an experienced professional, there will be something for everyone, with opportunities to learn, share knowledge and explore the latest developments across the industry. We're looking forward to a great day of learning and collaboration, and welcoming you to DEMC 2026.”

Recognised as the go-to event for EMC engineers, designers and industry experts, Demystifying EMC enables the engineering community to stay ahead of evolving compliance requirements and the increasingly complex world of electronic design. DEMC 2026 will feature three presentation streams that will run throughout the day across Hall 4, Hall 5 and IMC 4. Rohde & Schwarz experts will present alongside keynote speaker Michael Derby, Secretary of the EMCTLA.

Sessions will explore how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to optimise EMI system performance and streamline test workflows, helping organisations to improve efficiency and reduce time to compliance. Attendees will be able to move freely between streams during the day to tailor the event to their specific interests, and gain valuable insights into reverberation chamber techniques, EMI troubleshooting strategies and practical EMC design considerations that can be implemented early in the product development cycle to minimise risk while avoiding costly redesigns.

The day will conclude with an interactive ‘Ask the Experts’ panel session, giving attendees the opportunity to put their questions directly to leading EMC specialists. A lively part of the Demystifying EMC event, this session is always popular with delegates to discuss current and future EMC challenges facing the industry.

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@RohdeSchwarz @NapierPR #TandM #DEMC2026 #Britain

Thin-film specialist sustainability recognised.

The EcoVadis Silver Medal has been awarded again to Kurz in recognition of its sustainability performance in 2026. Despite stricter assessment criteria compared to the previous year, the company ranks among the top 15 percent of all companies assessed worldwide and among the top 10 percent in its industry.

EcoVadis evaluates companies based on a wide range of criteria covering environmental standards, labor and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement. The assessments are conducted by independent experts in accordance with international standards. The ratings provide companies and their business partners with a standardized basis for comparing sustainability performance.

The award reflects the company's ongoing efforts to advance its sustainability initiatives. KURZ achieved further improvements in its ratings compared to the previous year, particularly in the areas of environmental standards and ethics. Guided by its motto ‘Be a green leader,’ the thin-film specialist continues to pursue its sustainability strategy. This includes continuously improving processes and products with the aim of reducing CO₂ emissions and material consumption, among other objectives.

"Sustainability is not a short-term trend for us, but a long-term commitment that requires perseverance and consistent action. The recognition from EcoVadis confirms that we have taken important steps in the right direction over the past few years," says Dr. Andreas Hirschfelder, Member of the Executive Board at Kurz. "We take a long-term approach and accept responsibility – for our employees, our customers, our partners, and the environment. At KURZ, we do not view sustainability as a stand-alone initiative, but as an integral part of our corporate culture."

Investing in resource conservation.
The company remains committed to further improving its sustainability performance in the years ahead. The company is already investing in initiatives such as photovoltaic systems and a power-to-heat system with thermal energy storage. In addition, Kurz is implementing measures to reduce energy consumption, emissions, and material use, while also operating its own recycling system. The company plans to systematically enhance and expand these initiatives in the coming years.

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@KurzInstruments @LEONHARD_KURZ @ecovadis @PresseBox @UnnGmbh #Sustainability #Pauto #TandM

Handheld thermal Cameras: "Where the work happens!"

Thermal cameras are developed and manufactured close to the engineers who design them.

When a firefighter uses a Teledyne FLIR thermal camera to see through thick smoke, or an electrician scans a breaker panel for signs of a problem, they’re using a device designed and built in Europe. Much of that work happens in Tallinn, Estonia, and in Sweden, where the company’s teams handle everything from engineering and assembly to testing and quality control.

Much of the electronics industry spreads manufacturing across multiple countries and suppliers. Teledyne FLIR has taken a different approach with its handheld thermal camera range, keeping engineering and manufacturing close together instead of scattered across a global supply chain.

That proximity puts engineers, production teams and quality specialists in the same building instead of a long chain of subcontractors. Problems get caught and fixed on the spot, the kind of oversight that’s harder to guarantee once a product has changed hands across three or four countries before it ships.

Those cameras end up in demanding places. A search and rescue team might reach for one when visibility drops to nothing; a plant technician might use one to catch an overheating bearing before it fails; a building inspector might rely on one to find moisture or a failing seal that would otherwise stay hidden.

In Estonia, that adds up to a 4,300 m² site running 23 production lines, where roughly 215 people turn out about 215,000 cameras a year at a capacity of close to 180,000 working hours. Sweden’s share of the story comes from Täby, home to the company’s Solutions business: a 5,000 m² facility that produces around 11,000 cameras annually and generates roughly half of global Solutions revenue. Close to 125 people work there, most of them on the production and warehouse floor, with the rest spread across engineering, order and shipping, and supply chain.

“For us, this is simply where the work happens. Our engineers, production teams and assembly lines are based in Tallinn and Sweden. As customers take a closer look at where products come from and how they’re made, we’re proud to point to the people and facilities behind the cameras,” said Koen Jacobs, VP Sales EMEA – Instrumentation at Teledyne FLIR.

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@flir  @mepaxIntPR   #TandM  #PAuto #Europe

Ai-powered fashion logistics applications made faster and with less risk.

First end-to-end vision-based industrial-grade physical Ai solution.

ABB Robotics has launched its first end-to-end vision-based industrial-grade physical Ai solution, integrating AI Robot Trainer into its Fashion Inductor module to help system integrators deploy, scale and continuously optimize AI-powered fashion logistics applications with significantly reduced effort and risk.

“Physical Ai fundamentally changes what robots can do in industrial applications," said Craig McDonnell, Managing Director, Business Line Industries, ABB Robotics. "Some of the greatest opportunities for physical Ai are in applications that have traditionally been difficult to automate because of high variability. Fashion Inductor with AI Robot Trainer is our first end-to-end vision-based physical Ai solution, demonstrating how intelligent automation can be deployed, operated and continuously optimized at industrial scale, helping system integrators accelerate deployment, reduce project risk and maintain performance over time.”

Designed to meet the extreme variability of fashion and apparel logistics, where products, packaging and operating conditions change continuously, Fashion Inductor already delivers high-performance sorting for real-world logistics environments, with throughput of up to 1,300 items per hour per cell and picking accuracy targets above 99.5%, enabled by ABB Robotics' AI-powered Automatic Path Planning, motion accuracy and application-specific vision technology.

The addition of AI Robot Trainer introduces vision-based physical Ai capabilities that reduce engineering and commissioning effort by up to 75%, providing pre-trained, fashion-specific Ai vision models, application-specific tools and rapid retraining capabilities that help system integrators deploy, adapt and continuously optimize applications as requirements evolve, without specialist Ai expertise. The upgraded Fashion Inductor also introduces a new digital twin, an exact replica of the module software, connecting Application Controller Platform, Automatic Path Planning, Ai Robot Trainer and RobotStudio®. This accelerates commissioning and gives greater flexibility in set-up, including the ability to integrate third-party components such as grippers.

Ai models are not only developed, but continually improved throughout the system lifecycle, against real performance targets and changing operating conditions. Ai Robot Trainer enables structured, rapid cell specific retraining through a continuous closed-loop workflow that monitors robot performance, identifies anomalies, generates new model training data and deploys improvements back to the physical robot. The lifecycle is anchored in ABB Robotics’ core platforms, with RobotStudio providing the foundation for virtual design, simulation, and validation, and the OmniCore™ robot controller serving as the execution layer in production.

Fashion Inductor marks the first step in ABB Robotics’ broader rollout of vision-based physical AI, a core part of developing more autonomous and versatile robotics (AVR™). The same AI Robot Trainer-powered approach will continue to expand across additional ABB Robotics vision-based applications through Q1 2027, bringing adaptive, lifecycle-managed intelligence to the next generation of increasingly autonomous robotic systems.

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@ABBRobotics @ABBgroupnews @abb_automation  @NapierPR #PAuto #Fashion #Ai

Chiller plant optimisation.

Chiller plants are among the largest energy consumers in commercial, healthcare, and institutional buildings, making them a prime target for energy optimisation. A new four-chiller plant serving a 16-story building in New York City (NY USA) is leveraging open BACnet technology, programmable edge control, and advanced optimisation software to improve efficiency while maintaining occupant comfort.

The project brought together DL Control & Engineering, DeLima Ventures Energy, GreenMediaHD, and Contemporary Controls to create a fully automated chiller plant control system. At the core of the solution is the BAScontrol-E36 Edge Controller, which provides programmable control using Sedona, along with the BASview3 graphical interface for local visualisation and operation.

The goal was to develop a flexible control platform capable of coordinating multiple chillers, collecting and analysing operating data, and implementing customised control sequences. Rather than relying solely on fixed equipment programming, the system incorporates application-specific strategies such as chiller sequencing, equipment staging, lead-lag coordination, setpoint resets, temperature control, alarms, and plant-wide optimisation routines.

A key element of the project is BACnet integration. Chiller operating information is collected over a BACnet MS/TP network and analysed using custom Sedona logic within the BAScontrol-E36. Because BACnet data can be used directly within the control sequence, operating parameters, temperatures, status points, and setpoints become active components of the optimisation strategy rather than simply values displayed for monitoring.

The project also incorporates GreenMediaHD's Chiller Optimisation Program (GCOP), a cloud-based solution designed to improve chiller plant performance. GCOP continuously analyses real-time operating conditions and provides dashboards that visualise plant performance and optimisation results. The solution focuses on reducing chiller "LIFT," the temperature difference between the evaporator and condenser that the chiller must overcome during operation. Lowering unnecessary LIFT can improve chiller efficiency and reduce energy consumption.

During commissioning, plant performance was evaluated during periods with GCOP optimisation enabled and compared to operation using conventional fixed setpoints. The evaluation demonstrated lower energy consumption during GCOP-optimised operation, illustrating the potential benefits of dynamic optimisation strategies compared to static operating conditions. Actual savings will vary based on factors such as load profile, equipment efficiency, operating hours, weather, and utility costs.

Facility operators interact with the system through the BASview3 interface, which provides real-time visibility into equipment status, temperatures, setpoints, alarms, and other critical operating data. Authorised personnel can monitor performance and perform control functions from a centralised location while the BAScontrol-E36 executes the plant's automated control strategy. Using the BASview3 interface, authorised personnel can monitor plant performance, view real-time operating data, and adjust control setpoints as needed.

By combining BACnet communications, programmable edge control, cloud-based optimisation, and intuitive visualisation, the project establishes a flexible foundation for ongoing energy improvements. The installation demonstrates how an open BACnet architecture can support advanced chiller plant optimisation, increase operational visibility, and provide a scalable approach to improving plant efficiency.

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@ccontrolsgmbh #Pauto #Chiller #USA 

Femtosecond laser factory opened.

Chipmaking, data centre equipment, and medicine all need more femtosecond lasers, yet global production capacity was only an estimated 9,600 units last year. Femtosecond laser company LITILIT have just opened a new factory in Vilnius (LT) and plans to reach 3,000 lasers a year at full capacity.

According to the company, the factory currently has the highest potential femtosecond laser capacity in the world. The majority of the company’s lasers will be exported to North America, Asia, and Europe.

The new factory covers 4,000 sq m and will produce around 3000 lasers a year at full capacity. The €6 million project includes a modern CNC metal machining shop, robotized femtosecond laser assembly and testing shops, and an ISO 5 cleanroom of about 2,500 sq m, one of the largest in the Baltics.

Nikolajus Gavrilinas

Nikolajus Gavrilinas, co-founder and CEO of LITILIT, says that the new factory marks an important milestone both for the company, which has been developing its laser technology since 2014, and for the whole laser industry.

“The growing use of femtosecond lasers in semiconductor manufacturing, data centre equipment, electronics, medicine and other fields is driving demand across Europe, North America and Asia. Our factory comes at exactly the right time and will serve businesses on all three continents. The Vilnius plant is only the first stop; later, we plan to replicate this model in other countries together with our international partners," says Gavrilinas.

Located in a modern logistics park developed by SIRIN Development in Vilnius, the factory covers over 4,000 sq m and houses a CNC metal machining shop, robotized assembly and testing shops, and an ISO 5 cleanroom of about 2,500 sq m, one of the largest in the Baltics. The total value of the project is €6 million.

Gavrilinas notes that femtosecond laser production remains limited worldwide because the technology evolved from scientific systems and is notoriously difficult to produce at scale. Last year, global femtosecond laser production capacity was an estimated 9,600 units, according to Reports and Markets.

LITILIT can scale laser production quickly because of its patented architecture based on modular design, reduced component complexity, and a high level of automation. At full capacity, the factory will employ about 150 people, several times fewer than conventional production would require. Besides scalability, the architecture also gives LITILIT's lasers a performance edge. According to Gavrilinas, they reach around 20% electrical-to-optical efficiency and are up to half the size of the industry average, which makes them easier to integrate into production lines.

The company developed its technology based on two international patents, one of which was made in collaboration with the centre for Physical Sciences and Technology (FTMC) in Lithuania.

Ramūnas Skaudžius, director at FTMC, says the factory is a reminder that the value of scientific research is measured not only by publications or patents. It also confirms that in Lithuania it is possible to complete the entire journey from a scientific idea to a product serving global markets.

“The laser technology developed and patented at FTMC has now become the foundation of advanced industrial manufacturing. Yet the technology itself is not the most important part of the story. What matters most is that knowledge created in Lithuania has been transformed into a business capable of competing on the international stage. This is a long and demanding journey that requires not only scientific excellence, but also entrepreneurial courage, investors’ confidence, and perseverance,” Skaudžius says. 

Femtosecond lasers use extremely short pulses that process materials with only minimal heat damage to surrounding structures. This quality, known as cold ablation, makes them indispensable in applications ranging from eye surgery and vascular stents to manufacturing computer chips and display screens.

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#Litilit #laser #Ai  #PAuto #Lithuania

New buildings for analytic leader.

Company expands capacity for development, production and sales of laboratory measurement technology.

Analytik Jena has inaugurated two new buildings in Jena and Ilmenau, Germany. The Endress+Hauser Group, to which the company belongs, invested a total of 96 million euros at the two sites in the federal state of Thuringia (D).

At its headquarters in Jena, Analytik Jena has constructed a new 19,000-square-meter building. The facility replaces an existing building on the company campus and provides around 420 employees with a modern working environment featuring production, warehouse, development, laboratory and office facilities. The investment amounted to approximately 64 million euros. The new building’s sustainable energy supply combines district heating, heat recovery systems and solar power.

At the production site in Ilmenau, a new facility of approximately 10,000 square meters was constructed for its 80-plus employees. The Endress+Hauser Group invested around 32 million euros in the project. The new building brings together development, laboratories, production and warehousing under one roof. Two business units that were previously located separately in Ilmenau will now work at the same site. The facility gets some of its energy from a photovoltaic system and a connection to a local biogas power plant.

“With these new buildings, we are investing in the future of Analytik Jena and creating the best possible conditions for innovation and collaboration. At the same time, we are laying the groundwork for growth and strengthening our position as a reliable partner for customers worldwide,” says Oliver Klaeffling, Managing Director of Analytik Jena. “At the same time, we are enhancing our ability to support customers around the world with our solutions.”

Dr Peter Selders, CEO of the Endress+Hauser Group, adds, “We aim to support our customers from the laboratory to industrial production. We are investing consistently in this strategy.” Steven Endress, President of the Supervisory Board of the Endress+Hauser Group, emphasized, “As a family-owned company, we think and act with a long-term perspective. The new buildings will strengthen two key sites for development and production.”

Analytik Jena develops, manufactures and markets solutions for combustion and total parameter analysis, elemental and trace element analysis, liquid handling and automation, as well as molecular biology systems for PCR and qPCR. These products help detect contaminants in water, ensure the quality of pharmaceutical products, and analyze metals, raw materials and other substances for their composition and purity.

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• See also: Takeover of German analyser manufacturer completed.(1/4/2026)

@AnalytikJena_ @Endress_US @Endress_Hauser @Endress_UK #PAuto #Germany