Thanks to advances in technology, smart home automation envisioned decades ago is now a relatively inexpensive reality. Smart home automation involves that ability to intelligently control various aspects of home living. It is automated and monitored in order to provide a new level of comfort, convenience, entertainment, and security. Before, these solutions were only available for the upper 1% of the population. But the technology can now be attained by the middle class in various levels of home ownership. We’ll discuss below how smart home automation can change our lifestyles in a variety of ways. Comfort and Convenience We can only tolerate so much of the workplace daily grind, which can often make some of the common chores or home tasks difficult to manage. Especially without domestic help. Sometimes, it’s the little things in life that can create added “to do’s”, such as setting the alarm, setting up the thermostat, turning on the lights, or opening and closing the garage door upon departure or arrival. Smart home automation makes it possible to automate the small tasks as mentioned above. And there are already plenty of products in the market available. Examples include the Nest Thermostat. It automatically sets and regulates […]

Life goes on despite the current coronavirus outbreak. Consumer Electronics Trends still affect our daily lives, albeit in a reduced capacity. At least for now. Below are several consumer electronics trends that have manifested before, during and hopefully after the current world crisis. Gaming When it comes to consumer electronics trends, gaming is one of the biggest areas. Especially this year with the release of the new Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5. PC Gaming also continues to be a powerhouse. With the release of new games, such as Doom Eternal, Resident Evil 3 Remake, and the new Half Life. Also included are new gaming cards such as the Radeon 580 and GeForce 1060. There’s more not even mentioning mobile gaming. Streaming Entertainment Streaming is highly competitive in 2020. This is thanks to many streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon, HBO, CBS and Disney Plus. This can’t be more true given the current medical crisis striking the world. Viruses notwithstanding, the big three each have titles in demand like The Mandalorian, Star Trek Picard, and The Witcher. Given the fallout of the current crisis, there’s an impending rumor that feature films will find themselves available on these streaming services, […]

Unfounded or not, the fear of climate change is driving the manufacturing sector to adopt green manufacturing and technology. Simply put, green manufacturing is the use of green technology; technologies that when used in any aspect of our lives, minimizes any impact on the environment. Green technology is any technology that is environmentally friendly. Green manufacturing can be considered as the shifting of manufacturers from using traditional manufacturing processes to ones that reduce energy consumption. It also reduces emissions and pollutants, as well as the reduction of the use of natural resources through recycling. This also applies to new companies that use green technologies from the ground up. Below are examples of green technology that apply to manufacturing. Green Manufacturing and the Use of renewable energy sources The use of solar, wind, natural gas and hydroelectric power to power manufacturing facilities. Many businesses have invested in solar power facilities as well as wind farms to power their businesses. Energy Efficiency The use of energy efficient lighting such as the use of LED bulbs which use less power than incandescent and fluorescent lighting. Other companies even invest in architectural changes which maximizes the use of natural lighting during the day. These […]

Engineering (PCBA) Printed Circuit Board Assembly for modern electronics devices has become both simple and advanced at the same time. It has become simple, as modern devices focus more and more on integrating various functions onto one chip (System on Chip or SoCs). Thus simplifying engineering PCBA design. This is true for smaller devices such as tablets, phones and smart watches. Complexity comes from larger, and more advanced machines, especially prototypes or first releases that have yet to employ the integration of some components in order to create proofs-of-concept. Other factors also come into play in the engineering PCBA for modern electronics devices. Size of Devices The increasingly shrinking devices such as smartwatches and phones have presented quite a challenge for the engineering PCBA. The increase of production of such devices as well as new form factors like Apple’s Trashcan and the new Mac Pro and IoT devices have forced PCB makers to find new materials and come up with new techniques to create flexible and high-density solutions. The newer trend now is the creation of voltage and high-temp resistant PCBs for the influx of electric vehicles. These are made on the larger scale and should be made more tolerant […]

Lower Raw Material Costs in Electronic Manufacturing Lowering raw material costs while producing a high quality product has always been a challenge among manufacturers in various fields. While technological advances and high degrees of miniaturization has greatly helped the electronics industry, it remains a challenge to lower raw material costs. Prices are challenging in electronic manufacturing thanks to the fluctuating prices of raw materials. Just how does one reduce raw material costs in the electronics manufacturing setting? To lower raw material costs, here are a few suggestions: Diligently search for alternative vendors Try seeking discounts for bulk orders. This basic aspect of purchasing is where manufacturers look to gain more profit by seeking out lower cost materials and tools from the lowest bidder. The key is to widen the search for a vendor that can give more for less. Enticing vendors with bulk orders, as well as the promise of future orders, often results in larger discounts. Optimize the design of the product You’ll notice that a particular electronic device varies in model numbers even though the device looks and functions the same. Internally, the numbers differ as manufacturers fix internal design flaws. Or perhaps they are optimizing the components […]

One of the newest tech trends today is flexible electronics. Especially those with different form factors. Many of which would require a flexible circuit board. Foldable phones, for example, are the newest trends in gadgets. Along with smart watches, curved or flexible displays and speakers. Even now the continuous quest to create thinner and thinner laptops and phones require the creation of the best flexible circuit board. Devices that should be able to withstand the stresses of extensive daily use. As opposed to regular rigid circuit boards or PCBs the flexible circuit board (FPCB), is very thin, lightweight and flexible. They are often made of clear cellophane-like material such as copper-coated polyimide. This enables electronics manufacturers to create smaller, thinner, more flexible devices like mobile phones, wearables and ultrabooks. Their flexibility allows manufacturers to easily create smaller electronics of various shapes which were not possible decades ago. The flexible circuit board also allows for more complexity in circuit paths by easily allowing more layers while maintaining a thin profile. Flex boards can have from one to four layers depending on the complexity of the device. Advantages of flexible circuit board Other than their thinness and lightweight, design constraints are now […]

10 Things to Look For In a Good Systems Build Thanks to advances in technology, the process of creating new stylish and innovative products has been shortened. It has been shortened from concept, to design, systems build and finally to production. Nowadays, entrepreneurs who come up with new ideas no longer have to struggle in the creation process, especially prototyping and final design. This is thanks to many systems build companies available in electronic, mechanical and other industries. You’ll probably notice how fast products are designed and released. It seems impossibly paced compared to decades ago. Products get announced. Then several months later, they are followed closely by cheaper copies. These copies seem to come out just as quickly. It’s all thanks to system build companies that help to quicken the prototyping and building process. Electronics In electronics, for example, it takes only a few short months to release a variant or an upgraded/corrected design of a mobile phone. Manufacturers design and then contract other companies to assemble the internal PCBs. They contract companies to assemble external elements such as screens and housings. These elements come together to become prototypes. The prototypes are either accepted or revised. They are quickly […]