Sensors & Instrumentation Live 2019

Sensors & Instrumentation Live returns to Hall 2 at the NEC, Birmingham on 25 and 26 September 2019. Co-located with the TCT Show, registration for the UK’s only dedicated sensors exhibition is free and your ticket will get you access to training, demonstrations and a lot more.

Since 2009, Sensors & Instrumentation Live has been bringing visitors the latest sensor technology that has been driving this connectivity. Mouser Electronics is the headline sponsor of this year’s special anniversary event. The company’s sensors portfolio is highly complementary to the exhibition. Graham Maggs, Mouser Electronics’ VP Marketing Europe, explains why Sensors & Instrumentation Live is a must attend event for anyone interested in sensor solutions and the connected world: “Sensors & Instrumentation Live is important to the industry because it provides a vital and vibrant forum for discussion. In particular, at Mouser we are seeing huge interest in our burgeoning portfolio of sensor solutions. We believe that this is because of the realisation and uptake of a huge number of designs which come under the umbrella heading of IoT. Every IoT implementation – smart home/ factory/ office/city, remote diagnostics, autonomous vehicle, smart grid – relies on data. Therefore, many IoT designs start with the choice of sensor. Temperature, speed, pressure, flow, gas detection, movement, person detection, light – these are just some of the sensor types offered by Mouser. We are delighted to sponsor Sensors & Instrumentation Live and look forward to a lively event.”

Sensors are among many of the technologies that will be on display at the exhibition. Bronkhorst, Charcroft Electronics, Dewesoft, DJB Instruments, KELLER, Kistler Instruments, Nprime, Powelectrics and Rheintacho are just some of the market-leading companies that will be displaying their products at Sensors & Instrumentation Live 2019.

 

Innovation Showcase

As well as seeing products on stands, visitors also have the opportunity to view a selection of the best technology in the Innovation Showcase. The ever popular Innovation Showcase, sponsored by Bronkhorst, provides an assembly of the most cutting-edge products and solutions available from exhibitors. Visitors can get hands-on with devices and make sure they do not miss out on a single thing. Exhibitors lined up to take part in the Innovation Showcase include Charcroft Electronics, Mantracourt, Bronkhorst, Broadband Technology 2000, Rheintacho, Keller, SIKA, Aerodyn and Devtank.

The Innovation Showcase is just one of the feature areas at Sensors & Instrumentation Live. And to celebrate the event’s 10 year anniversary, the exhibition will see the introduction of new feature areas that will explore the latest technological innovations and provide insight from top organisations on how to grow businesses or streamline productivity.

 

Sensing innovation – the Engineering Symposium

This year, Sensors & Instrumentation is teaming up with DJB Instruments to deliver CPD-accredited training that will help you to develop your understanding of sensors and instruments to improve the quality of your data. The training is driven by sensor innovation and the very latest in engineering. DJB has brought together a team of speakers from leading technology and engineering companies from around the world to present a two day programme of technical seminars.

John Tyrrell, managing director at TTS Systems, will be presenting “Strain Gauge Loadcells – the basics of use…”. Whether you are measuring load, weight or force you will be using a loadcell. Now it may be a foil or silicon strain gauge, aluminum, steel or exotic material, sealed or not, to name but a few design features. But do not forget the fundamentals – otherwise the data will be worthless! Tyrrell will explain the basics of strain gauge loadcell use to help you improve the quality of your data.

Neill Ovenden, managing director at DJB Instruments, will be presenting “Accelerometers, The Truth and more…”. An understanding of how a sensor works is critical to its correct selection and use. This seminar will provide a fundamental overview of how a piezoelectric accelerometer operates and the key factors to ensure correct use and data accuracy, remember a vibration environment is damaging and dynamic!

Ben Haest, Quality Electronics Design, Luxembourg, will be delivering the seminar “Automation in Environmental Testing”. Other topics will include: “Challenges of developing wireless sensor communication” and “Kurtosis control impacts on reality of test simulation”.

Innovation in Action

Innovation in Action, sponsored by PCB Piezotronics, is a new feature introduced

for the 10 year anniversary event. Innovation in Action will see live demonstrations of some of the best products on the market. As well as giving you the opportunity to see how these products work in real life, you can have your questions answered by the experts in person.

Companies already confirmed to speak in Innovation in Action include Devtank, Kistler, SIKA, Nprime, Powelectrics and Bronkhorst.

Kistler will be giving the demonstration “Data acquisition and measurement uncertainty with KiDAQ & KiXact”. KiDAQ is an innovative, modular data acquisition system from Kistler with which you can create your test set-up, perform measurements and achieve accurate test results, quickly and easily. Kistler’s expertise covers the entire measuring chain, from the sensor, to signal conditioning and on to the software. The KiDAQ data acquisition system can be expanded at any time with different measurement modules.

A key advantage of the new KiDAQ data acquisition system is Kistler’s KiXact technology which automatically calculates the measurement uncertainty. Kistler’s vast application expertise ensures that reliable results are now possible with this technology. KiXact eliminates the need for manual calculation and helps to significantly reduce the uncertainty components in your measurement chain.

Devtank will be demonstrating its new open source modular test product called HILTOP (Hardware In-the-loop Test Operating Platform). The platform contains an integral motherboard/controller adopting a flexible split architecture with 64bit ARM processor and parallel FPGA hardware acceleration if required. It has a High Speed Open-VTI backplane provides modular expansion using the Eurocard form factor and upgradeable FPGA SO-DIMM modules. A powerful 1.2GHz quad-core ARM Cortex CPU (Raspberry Pi Compute Module CM3-Lite) and ICE40 8K FPGA combo can be fitted as an option. All this comes packaged in a robust industrial grade instrumentation case built to last.

Devtank’s comprehensive flexible platform allows test, measurement and control solutions to be realised using numerous built in multi-channel interfaces such as USB2.0, LVDS, CAN-FD and RS485. It can be easily expanded to add new interfaces and capability using the Open-VTI backplane and Eurocard expansion format. Automated testing gives faster and more accurate measurements through optimised hardware and software integration to provide both electrical and functional test coverage of the device under test (DUT).

Bronkhorst is a leader in mass flow meter / mass flow controller technology for gases and liquids, pressure controllers and evaporation systems. Bronkhorst’s Damian Walker will be giving a demonstration of the company’s LDM (Liquid Dosing Module) in Innovation in Action. The LDM is a modular assembly of a Bronkhorst mini CORI-FLOW mass flow meter and a pump system, built together in a robust enclosure as a complete unit with integrated power supply and touch-screen interface. It is capable of very low flow continuous or batch dosing.

 

Enterprise Hub

As well as finding the instrumentation you need, Sensors & Instrumentation Live offers a prime opportunity to grow your business in the new Enterprise Hub. Representatives from key engineering institutions and organisations will give a series of invaluable presentations, giving visitors an insight into topics including funding, training, apprenticeships and standards as well as insight into how to make the most of supply chains.

Sensor City’s head of engineering, Daniel Watson, will be giving the talk ‘Sensor City – Inside a Global Innovation Hub’. Watson will introduce Sensor City by discussing its in-house laboratory facilities and technical expertise. He will also provide case study examples of sensors and IoT lab projects that have involved Sensor City. In addition, Watson will outline future plans for Sensor City and outline collaborative opportunities that are available.

The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) is one of the organisations signed up to speak in the Enterprise Hub. DASA finds and funds exploitable innovation to support UK defence and security quickly and effectively, and support UK prosperity. Andrew Peaty, innovation partner at DASA, will be leading the talk ‘Innovation for a Safer Future; the Defence and Security Accelerator’. Peaty will describe how innovators can work with DASA and what the initiative is looking for in applications for funding. He will also present the current competitions being run by DASA and give an overview of the likely future calls.

The Institution of Engineering & Technology (The IET) will also be sharing their expertise in the Enterprise Hub. Dan Canty, accreditation & awards manager at The IET, is going to give the talk ‘An introduction to apprenticeship and technician qualifications’. As well as providing an introduction to the qualifications, the talk will cover where to access information and support and how the IET supports engineering apprentices, providers and employers.

Another speaker lined up for the Enterprise Hub is Charlotte Horobin, membership director – Midlands & East of England, Make UK. In her talk ‘‘Making It Happen’ – A view from UK manufacturing and the challenges and choices that lie ahead’, Horobin will provide an overview of Make UK’s research of how the sector is faring in these challenging times and will explore some of the key hurdles that need to be capitalised on, turning them into opportunities such as skills, productivity and export.

Julian Moore, business engagement manager at the University of Birmingham’s Centre for Innovation in Advanced Measurement in Manufacturing (CIAMM), will be explaining how quantum theory is driving the development of more accurate, faster and portable technologies. CIAMM offers pre-funded assistance to help SMEs solve quality-related challenges through advanced inspection and measurement, enabling them to realise their new product aspirations. It delivers support by providing access to specialist expertise, world-class facilities and a wide network of collaborative partners. Find out how CIAMM can help you in the Enterprise Hub.

TUV SUD’s Joe Lomako will be giving the talk ‘Sensors in the IIoT and the Smart Factory’ where he will be giving an overview of how sensor technology has, and continues, to change industry, in particular the connected factory. Lomako will cover the benefits, but also the challenges including cyber security.

Dr Andy Lawrence from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) will be giving the talk “Enhancing the Impact of Research through Business Engagement”.

EPSRC’s vision is to make the UK recognised as the place where the most creative researchers can deliver world-leading engineering and physical sciences research by working within the UK academic research ecosystem and the R&D base within business. EPSRC supports novel underpinning research in Sensors and Instrumentation that advances a number of application areas, including aerospace, healthcare, energy, robotics, manufacturing, and infrastructure. Lawrence will highlight the breadth of the research portfolio and highlight any future opportunities that could help to support both new emerging markets and established industries within EPSRC’s strategy for business engagement.

Other organisations that are signed up to be at the event include Alcumus.

Register for your free ticket

Attendance to any of the seminars in the Enterprise Hub and Engineering Symposium as well as all of the other features is free to visitors. Your ticket will also get you access to the co-located TCT Show so register now by visiting www.sensorsandinstrumentationlive.co.uk.