Thermoplastic connectors for multiple industries.

Amphenol Sine Systems’ ATD Series™ connectors are now available from Inelco Hunter. They are engineered for demanding, high‑reliability applications across multiple industries. The ATD Series is a compact, high-density, heavy-duty, thermoplastic solution with superior environmental seals and end caps for exceptional rear seal retention. They are available in a 20 (4+16 Mixed) position layout.

As a hybrid system, these connectors facilitate the simultaneous transmission of power and signals within one unit. Their compact design offers increased flexibility for wire harness designers, enabling efficient space use without sacrificing functionality. The ATD connectors have been developed to be comparable with other similar existing products industry-wide.

The connectors can accommodate a wire range of 14-22AWG, with a current of up to 13A, and up to 16/20 contacts. They are IP67, IP68 and IP69K rated in a mated condition, featuring a thermoplastic housing with integrated latch for secure mating. ATD Series plugs and receptacles include integrated Terminal Position Assurance (TPA) Wedgelocks. Plugs are available with an optional Connector Position Assurance (CPA) Lock, which simplifies assembly, installation, and repair by minimising the need for additional components or specialised tools.

Uses will include demanding applications such as marine, heavy equipment, agricultural, automotive, transport, aviation, alternative energy, as well as many other rugged interconnect applications.

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@InelcoHunter @amphenol #PAuto

Co-operation in improving OT cybersecurity.

A collaboration to help strengthen OT cybersecurity across critical infrastructure has been announced between the International Society of Automation (ISA) and the Operational Technology Cybersecurity Coalition (OTCC).

The two organisations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to work together on initiatives that raise awareness of OT cybersecurity risks and solutions, explore strategic issues of shared interest and facilitate technical engagement between members of each organisation. The goal is to encourage better implementation and recognition of foundational cybersecurity standards like ISA/IEC 62443, the globally recognised consensus-based series of OT cybersecurity standards developed by ISA.

ISA's CEO, Claire Fallon

“Protecting critical infrastructure requires sustained collaboration, practical guidance and a shared commitment to standards-based cybersecurity,” said Claire Fallon, CEO of ISA. “This partnership creates an important framework for ISA and OTCC to help advance key OT cybersecurity practices.”

"ISA and OTCC come at OT cybersecurity from different angles — ISA through the standards that define good practice, OTCC through the companies putting them to work," said Tatyana Bolton, executive director of OTCC. "Bringing those perspectives together is how standards move from paper into practice, and we look forward to working with ISA to make that happen.”

OTCC recently published a position paper advocating for a single, horizontal standard for OT cybersecurity rather than a patchwork of sector-specific mandates. The paper recommends that ISA/IEC 62443 be recognized as the global OT security standard. It names ISA/IEC 62443 as an established framework uniquely situated to harmonize around, as this standard has been specifically tailored to meet the requirements of OT. With one interoperable OT cybersecurity standard such as ISA/IEC 62443, the OTCC paper argues, the burden of adhering to duplicative standards can be reduced, helping to ensure critical infrastructure and industrial operations stay resilient everywhere.

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@ISA_Automation  @automation_com @OT_Coalition #Cybersecurity #PAuto

Updated manufacturing system.

The latest version of Körber's PAS-X Manufacturing Execution System has been released. PAS-X MES 3.4.2 helps pharma and life science manufacturers maximise operational performance while significantly lowering infrastructure and maintenance efforts.

The new version expands shopfloor capabilities and is, for example, well suited for Cell & Gene Therapy (CGT) manufacturing, supporting Chain of Identity and Chain of Custody, material traceability and mobile photo documentation. CGT companies benefit from improved operator guidance, end-to-end traceability and enhanced process security for highly individualised therapies.

Maximised uptime.
PAS-X SmartInstall automates deployments, updates, validation checks, and reporting. The new installation process, based on Kubernetes Operators, reduces installation effort to just a few hours while increasing system availability.

Increased infrastructure efficiency.
Infrastructure requirements have been further reduced by migrating core services to GraalVM, a high-performance runtime environment that optimises Java applications. As a result, memory consumption is reduced by up to 50 percent while startup times are significantly improved, further modernising the PAS-X MES system architecture.

A strategic step for more efficient pharma manufacturing.
“The new PAS-X MES 3.4.2 version is another important step in our mission to help pharma and life science manufacturers achieve greater efficiency with lower operational effort,” says Pierrick Lebigre, Vice President Product, Software, Körber Business Area Pharma. “This release combines enhanced shopfloor capabilities with significant improvements in deployment automation, infrastructure efficiency and system observability. Customers benefit from lower total cost of ownership, faster operations and greater agility in highly regulated manufacturing environments.”

Strong data foundation for analytics and AI.
The new PAS-X Data Access 3.2 version, released alongside PAS-X MES 3.4.2, further strengthens the data foundation of PAS-X MES by doubling the scope of trusted, reusable manufacturing data available to data & analytics teams. The expanded data model provides richer context across processes, materials, products, and sites, enabling deeper operational insight while reducing the long-term effort required to integrate, maintain, and scale MES data across enterprise analytics and AI initiatives.

Improved observability and WMS integration.
The latest PAS-X MES release also introduces new observability tools, providing unified metrics, logs and traces across application, platform and infrastructure layers to accelerate issue detection and resolution. In addition, new warehouse and material management capabilities improve material request and supply workflows, strengthen WMS integration (Warehouse Management System) and increase accessibility of operational data.

PAS-X MES 3.4.2 is available for all deployment models, including on-premise, private cloud and fully managed SaaS environments.

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@WerumKarrierec #Koerber  #PAuto #MES #Pharma 

Build lasers with reduced complexity.

Scaling production without losing precision: Automation transforming the laser industry.

Ageing populations are set to put growing pressure on labour markets in Europe, with similar demographic pressures emerging in the US and China. As companies look to stay competitive with fewer workers, automation is becoming increasingly important for boosting productivity. Femtosecond laser company LITILIT says automation will allow it to manufacture 3,000 lasers a year with a team of just over 100 employees.

In a recent report, the European Commission warned that as Europe’s population shrinks and ages, labour market, healthcare, public finances and other sectors will be impacted. Similar aging trends are also visible in the US and China. The report points to automation, innovation and AI as part of the response.

For businesses, automation's benefit goes beyond easing the labour squeeze – it also significantly increases productivity. An August report(pdf) by the International Federation of Robotics found that automation can help smaller manufacturers reach productivity levels and competitive advantages that were previously available mainly to larger industrial companies.

Nikolajus Gavrilinas

According to Nikolajus Gavrilinas, co-founder and CEO of LITILIT, which recently started building a large-scale femtosecond laser facility in Vilnius, the laser industry is a clear example of how automation can help smaller businesses to scale. For LITILIT, it will allow the company to manufacture up to 3,000 femtosecond lasers a year, one of the highest capacities in the world, with just around 150 employees.

"Typically, building a femtosecond laser required highly trained specialists, because these advanced lasers evolved from scientific systems. While they deliver strong performance, they are notoriously difficult to produce at scale. We build ours on a patented, purpose-built architecture with fewer components, allowing us to significantly speed up production and reduce headcount," he says.

Another advantage of automation is making precision repeatable at scale. Femtosecond lasers require tiny optical components to be aligned with extreme accuracy, work traditionally done by highly trained specialists one unit at a time. Automation allows manufacturers to maintain that same level of precision across thousands of lasers while reducing variation between units.

Gavrilinas notes that automated manufacturing will also help LITILIT advance its goal of making femtosecond lasers scalable. The company is on track to finish its Vilnius factory this October and immediately begin production, gradually increasing capacity.

"Femtosecond lasers are used in fast-developing fields, from manufacturing the latest generation of semiconductors and data center equipment to performing complex eye surgeries. As demand for these advanced lasers grows, it would be very difficult to meet it using traditional methods, where complex assembly makes it difficult to scale output," Gavrilinas explains.

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@EU_Commission #Litilit #IFR #Robotics #Ai  #PAuto

From computer-on-module to cloud.

An active patent for cybersecure communication between operational technology (OT) and IT infrastructure.

aReady.COM from congatec encompasses application-ready embedded hardware and software building blocks, enabling companies to simplify and accelerate the integration of IoT connectivity, security, virtualisation, and AI into their solutions.

Patent number WO2025186118A1 describes the interaction between the conga-zones hypervisor and the conga-connect IoT software running on a COM. The conga-zones hypervisor provides isolated system partitions, operating via a gateway to create strict data separation between the OT data acquisition side and the IT data transmission side. A security barrier between these two virtual machines prevents direct data forwarding from the IT side to the OT side and vice versa. Furthermore, transmission via data projection prevents external access to the OT device via the IT infrastructure, as well as access to the IT infrastructure via the embedded device. This approach enables machine, application, and communication functions to be combined within a single platform that is secure by design.

These modules allow customers to increase functionality on consolidated system architectures, shorten development times, and optimise total cost of ownership (TCO). At the same time, the filing of this patent is a clear indication of congatec’s technical development capabilities and the disruptive potential of its aReady.COM approach. It establishes that congatec consistently thinks beyond COMs as pure hardware, presenting them as pre-integrated, application-ready system building blocks for secure and connected industrial edge applications.

“With aReady.COM, we address key challenges faced by our customers: developing market-ready systems and new digital services for new business models faster; integrating more functionality into their systems; and simultaneously reducing complexity, integration risks, and operating costs,” says Andreas Bergbauer, Manager Solution Management at congatec. “The patent shows how conga-zones and conga-connect work together within aReady.COM to provide secure data exchange as well as isolated functional domains – for example for AI, real-time control, and user interfaces.”

“The patented combination of isolated partitions, controlled data exchange, and VPN-based communication is an important building block for ensuring the security by design of our aReady.COMs in secure and cost-effective edge architectures,” adds Konrad Garhammer, COO & CTO at congatec. “With aReady.COM, we simplify the use of complex embedded technologies and create the basis for simple system consolidation, high functional integration, and optimised TCO in industrial applications.”

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All-in-one backup power supply.

Bicker Elektronik is expanding its portfolio of industrial UPS solutions with the intelligent UPSI-2406R2DP1MB DC UPS. The compact 24V backup power supply with integrated Li-Ion battery pack was specifically developed for cost-sensitive applications and combines reliable backup functionality with an economical system design. With 24VDC and an output current of up to 4A, the UPS is suitable for protecting controllers, embedded IPCs, sensors, as well as measurement, control and security technology.

Cost-effective solution for cost-conscious system concepts.
A key advantage of the UPSI-2406R2DP1MB is its integrated 37 Wh Li-Ion battery pack, offering an excellent price-performance ratio. The high energy density of lithium-ion technology enables a compact and lightweight design and reduces the installation space required compared with conventional lead-acid solutions. This makes the DC UPS particularly suitable for applications in which numerous systems need to be reliably protected and where space, weight and overall costs are critical factors.

In addition, the intelligent power-sharing function supports economical dimensioning of the overall system. The available input power is dynamically distributed between load supply and battery charging. This means that the upstream AC/DC power supply does not have to be oversized to accommodate maximum load and charging power simultaneously. This reduces system design effort and enables a demand-oriented, cost-sensitive power supply solution.

Compact Li-Ion technology for 24V systems.
The UPSI-2406R2DP1MB integrates the energy storage, charging and control electronics in a compact device for DIN-rail mounting. The Li-Ion battery pack is certified according to IEC 62133-2. In backup mode, the DC UPS provides a regulated output voltage of 24VDC and reliably protects connected systems in the event of power failure, voltage dips or flicker.

For industrial applications, the UPSI-2406R2DP1MB is designed for an operating temperature range of 0°C to +50°C. Comprehensive protection functions and increased immunity to burst and surge events in accordance with EN 61000-4-4 and EN 61000-4-5 enable reliable operation even in demanding environments.

Interfaces and system integration.
For integration into existing control and automation environments, the UPSI-2406R2DP1MB features front-facing USB-C and RS485 Modbus interfaces as well as a configurable relay contact for signalling a power-fail event. The plug-and-play function enables automatic UPS detection by compatible operating systems. Integrated minimum-load detection and intelligent power distribution support efficient and safe operation.

UPS management software “UPScom”.
For configuration, monitoring and management, Bicker Elektronik provides the “UPScom” UPS management software free of charge. The browser-based software enables real-time monitoring of the state of charge and convenient adjustment of important operating parameters such as shutdown delay, maximum backup time and minimum load. Event-based email notifications can be configured to provide information about relevant operating conditions.

Shutdown & reboot function for IPC systems.
In the event of a power failure, the DC UPS signals the power-fail condition and can initiate a controlled shutdown of connected industrial PCs or embedded systems to prevent data loss. When the supply voltage returns, the integrated reboot function automatically restarts the system. This is particularly beneficial for stand-alone installations or systems that are difficult to access.

Applications.
The UPSI-2406R2DP1MB is suitable for the uninterrupted operation of embedded IPCs, controllers, motor drives, sensors, as well as measurement, control and security technology. Typical applications include control cabinet solutions, automation and control systems, as well as decentralised power supply concepts. With its combination of an integrated Li-Ion battery, compact design and economical system configuration, the DC UPS offers an attractive all-in-one solution, particularly for cost-sensitive applications. The DC UPS is approved according to IEC/EN/UL 61010-1 and IEC/EN/UL 61010-2-201 and is available from stock.

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@bicker_de @UnnGmbh @PresseBox #Pauto #PSU

Connect the future of data.

Delivering fibre optic transceivers proven in industrial, defence and networking environments.

Anglia Components has signed a new franchise agreement with Taiwanese manufacturer OptoMedia, expanding its offering to include a comprehensive range of fibre optic transceivers for industrial defence and video applications.

“OptoMedia has the products and technologies to deliver massive, reliable data transmission across long distances, in applications such as Industrial automation, communication networks, IoT, Cloud, Edge computing and AI," said John Bowman, Marketing Director at Anglia. "We are delighted to be able to offer these innovative products to customers across the UK and Europe through Anglia Live.”

Allen Ho, CEO at OptoMedia added: “Our products are a perfect fit for many customers in this region. We chose Anglia as our partner, because they have demonstrated they can provide the perfect combination of innovative 21st Century online supply chain management, hands on technical support, and traditional, personal customer service.”

OptoMedia is a specialist in high-performance optical communication solutions, supplying robust, cost-effective transceivers designed for demanding environments across industrial, video, defence and data infrastructure fibre communication markets. The product portfolio includes a wide range of transceivers including SFF, SFP, Mini-SFF, and SDI data modules, alongside optical converters, HDMI, and KVM solutions. With a strong focus on performance and reliability, OptoMedia products are well suited to demanding environments and are already widely used across defence, industrial, professional broadcast and networking markets. OptoMedia is also a member of both the Profibus & Profinet (PI) and CC-Link organisations and actively works with other members around the world to ensure its solutions are inter-operable with those from other global leaders.

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@angliaComponent @Opto_Media @angliaLive @BWW_Comms #Electronics #Fibreoptics #PAuto