RapiTime Code Analysis Tool Gets Eclipsed
RapiTime 1.3 version to be demonstrated at UK Embedded System Show
Rapita Systems have announced that their acclaimed software analysis tool RapiTime has undergone a number of significant updates, a key feature being that RapiTime is now integrated with the industry standard Eclipse IDE. Rapita's state-of-the-art RapiTime worst-case execution time analysis solution has enjoyed a great deal of success and recognition since its inception and the additional features are expected to broaden its appeal amongst embedded software developers.
The new RapiTime 1.3 version includes full Eclipse based RapiTime report visualisation, fast display of very large reports, integration with standard C Eclipse based source code editor and source code worst-case path colourisation, along with a number of other new features. Rapita's ambition for RapiTime version 1.3 was to enhance usability and also to make RapiTime more easily integrated into existing development environments.
"The RapiTime Eclipse report plug-in makes integration of RapiTime with other tools very easy," said Dr. Guillem Bernat, CEO of Rapita Systems Ltd. "It also provides greater flexibility in presenting and manipulating timing data. We are confident the new RapiTime will be appreciated by engineers working to develop responsive and reliable code."
Other features that contribute to the new RapiTime are customisable report tables, improved support for RTOS integration, support for logic analyser based tracing and improved display and handling of execution time profiles. In the UK, RapiTime is sold through European embedded systems tools specialist, SDC Systems, who will be exhibiting the Rapita toolset at the Embedded Systems Show.
"The RapiTime product has been exciting for us," said Stuart Parker. "It's proven to be best in its class and the new features will certainly put it further ahead in its field. RapiTime is saving some of our customers a lot of development time and energy, and helping to create far more robust embedded software. It's proving to be a product that can really make a difference."
SDC can be found on stand 520 and will also be exhibiting a range of embedded development products that include embedded Linux from MontaVista, embedded BIOS solutions from General Software and embedded GUI tools from Tilcon.
About SDC Systems
SDC Systems Limited is a leading European distributor of embedded development software, tools and hardware. Focused on innovative and leading edge technology, SDC strives to provide "technology that makes a difference", technology that will positively impact the development process and the quality and functionality of the final product. With many years of experience and talented engineering support, SDC Systems work closely with their clients to provide an important source of embedded expertise and products. www.sdcsystems.com
About Rapita Systems Ltd
Rapita Systems Ltd. is a specialist in the worst-case execution time (WCET) analysis and simulation of real-time embedded systems for the avionics, automotive and telecommunications markets. Its innovative RapiTime product makes Rapita Systems the leader in measurement based on-target WCET analysis solutions. www.rapitasystems.com
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Cambridge DMR to offer Complete Software Packaging Service
Digital media reproduction company, Cambridge DMR, have announced the launch of a fully integrated software packaging service that will enable software developers to reliably outsource the duplication, printing, packaging and shipment of new products.
Cambridge DMR are a leader in the duplication and printing of CD's, DVD's and Flash Drives working especially within the business to business sector and scientific and engineering.
"Traditionally we have been expert in the high quality duplication and printing of CD's and DVD's but increasingly we are being asked to provide inserts, version control, packaging and even shipment, " said Philip Allingham, Sales manager at Cambridge DMR. "Many of these products have different versions targeting different markets, so we have developed a lot of expertise in this area and have now decided to offer this service as a complete package."
Cambridge DMR clients range from national biotech companies to leading academic organisations. In additional to the creation of CD and DVD media for entertainment, Cambridge DMR produces digital media products for such sectors as education, business software, scientific and engineering software and promotional Flash Drives, CD's and DVD's for marketing and conferences.
"We'll now offer a one stop shop," said Philip. "We'll handle the entire process, including the development of artworks and packaging and the organisation of printed material. The benefit to our clients is that they will be able to focus on their product development rather than be distracted by the logistics and issues surrounding the final packaging stage of the process. We also have the technology and expertise to ensure that every product meets the highest quality standards as well as being able to meet tight deadlines."
Cambridge-DMR is one of the first companies in the world to use the Copytrax Project 37 CD and DVD industrial printing machine. The Project 37 is a CD/DVD printer designed for industrial volume production. Capable of printing 1200 discs per hour, Project 37 introduces the many commercial and operational benefits of direct-on-disk printing to the higher volume producer of media products. Project 37 has also set a new industry standard for image quality and durability with its advanced colour management and integral UV coating technology.
"With the Project 37 machine, the whole process is digital so we can run small batches as easily as large ones and without the need to charge for costly tooling and setting up time, said Philip. "Clearly, this also means we can deliver in shorter time-frames, so it's easy to see that Project 37 will be great news for software developers seeking to ship small and medium batches volumes in short timescales."
About Cambridge DMR
With over 10 years' experience, C-DMR is a leader in the project management of digital media production with success based on the highest levels of service and quality available within the industry. In addition to this, C-DMR is a part of Copytrax, a world leader in the development of CD and DVD duplication and printing technology, enabling C-DMR to benefit from the most up to date technology available worldwide. www.c-dmr.com
More information about software packaging
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New Tool Simplifies Product Variant Management
pure-systems has announced a new extension module for the pure::variants variant management toolset - Connector for BIRT. Reporting on portfolios of software variants, commonly found in embedded systems development, becomes significantly easier with the addition of this new module.
BIRT (Business Intelligence and Reporting Tools) is a full-featured open source reporting system based on the popular Eclipse development environment. BIRT has two main components: a report designer and a runtime component that you can add to your application server. BIRT offers users a huge variety of data sources, presentation formats and customization opportunities.
Connector for BIRT enables systems developers to mix and match data from pure::variants and other sources in real-time to enable them to get an accurate and up-to-date snapshot of key management indicators for their product line. Overviews such as these are essential in planning and operating the complex multi-team projects typically found in embedded development.
pure::variants is distributed in the UK and Ireland by Cambridge-based Software Acumen. Please visit the Software Acumen web site for more information, to request a product demonstration or to download an evaluation edition of pure::variants.More information about variant management
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SDC Systems Announces Embedded BIOS® with StrongFrame™ Technology
SDC Systems have announced the release of General Software's Embedded BIOS® with StrongFrame™ Technology, a new version of their Embedded BIOS product that is used extensively in products such as kiosks, point of sale (POS) devices, medical equipment, gaming systems, test equipment, and avionics products including flight management systems and flight data recorders.
Embedded BIOS® with StrongFrame™ Technology from General Software offers embedded engineers exceptional configuration flexibility, powerful deployment tools and excellent compatibility with x86 industry standards, providing a fast, low risk approach to x86 based development. With the new release, General Software has sought to bring the many elements of the extensive BIOS support into a structured framework, enabling engineers to easily and efficiently configure the necessary libraries and functionality that they need for a new x86 board design. Over the coming months General Software will introduce pre-configured versions of EBSF that will address the needs of specific industry applications, such as software security in gaming systems, to further reduce the time needed to get a new product design to market.
"It's an exciting step forward," said Stuart Parker of SDC Systems. "The new StrongFrame technology will help engineers get the full benefit of the extensive Embedded BIOS libraries that have been developed over the years. Whether it's a short boot up time, tight software security or custom self-test that is required, engineers will be able configure exactly what they need much more easily than before. BIOS developers can produce working prototypes in days, and finish deployments in weeks, thanks to the new core's configuration management that uses intuitive descriptive methods and procedures to build the BIOS image rather than assembly language directives that have been the standard approach to-date."
While assembly code is still used for fine detailed control over the configuration, objects like ACPI, MP, and PCI tables are automatically constructed, as are Setup screens and their fields, based on descriptions of the target entered by the developer. With much less assembly code to control, OEM customers can achieve results much earlier in the development process while at the same time reduce the amount of BIOS code that must be adapted manually. Being able to develop at the functional module level rather than at code level for individual components, it greatly simplifies and shortens the system validation stage of the project.
SDC Systems has been supplying and supporting General Software's BIOS products for several years and its customers include some of Europe's major x86 board developers.
"The Embedded BIOS product is one of our most successful product lines," said Stuart. "It's proven to be a well constructed and equally well supported product, enabling it to make a real difference to our customers developing x86 based products. We've seen several repeat orders for new projects, which demonstrates our customers' confidence in Embedded BIOS and in us as their supplier."
More information on Embedded BIOS® with StrongFrame™ Technology is available on SDC's website www.sdcsystems.com .. SDC Systems is able to provide consultancy and engineering services to assist in BIOS development issues as required.
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SDC Expands Embedded System Development Tool Offering with Rapita Systems' Technology
European distributors of software and tools for high tech development engineers, SDC, have announced a distribution agreement with software timing analysis and simulation experts Rapita Systems. SDC will now be supplying Rapita's state-of-the-art RapiTime worst-case execution time analysis solutions and their equally advanced VirtualTime "software-in-the-loop" simulation technology which accurately models the detailed interactions and timing behaviour of complex RTOS-based systems such as Electronic Control Units, mobile phones and radio base stations.
"For engineers developing complex real-time software, these are very powerful tools and we are very pleased to be including these in our portfolio,” said Stuart Parker, Managing Director of SDC. "At SDC, our objective is always to supply embedded engineers with technologies that make a difference. The RapiTime and VirtualTime products will enable engineers to accelerate development and enhance systems performance, we feel confident that our customers will be excited to learn about these particular products."
SDC's product offering includes reference design hardware for both CPU's and FPGA's, real-time operating systems, debug tools, embedded data management technology, BIOS solutions and graphical user interface development tools. SDC currently supply some the leading companies in Europe that are involved in the development of hi-tech products and SDC are recognised worldwide for their knowledge and experience in the field of embedded systems development.
Rapita Systems Ltd is a specialist in the worst-case execution time analysis and simulation of real-time embedded systems for the Avionics, Telecommunications, Space and Automotive markets. Its innovative RapiTime product makes Rapita Systems the leader in measurement-based worst-case execution time (WCET) analysis solutions. RapiTime provides a practical WCET analysis solution that works for complex embedded software running on the latest generation of advanced microprocessors. Rapita Systems' simulation technology is similarly state-of-the-art. VirtualTime "software-in-the-loop" simulation accurately models the detailed interactions and timing behaviour of complex RTOS-based systems such as Electronic Control Units, mobile phones and radio base stations.
"We are very pleased to be working with SDC," said Guillem Bernat, CEO at Rapita Systems. "Our focus is on developing the core technology and bringing state of the art products to market. We are looking to work with key industry specialists as channel partners in the various geographic regions, so to have a partner such as SDC helping us to take this technology to a wider audience is an important step forward. SDC have a lot of expertise in the area of code analysis and simulation and also a strong understanding of the European embedded marketplace, so we feel very confident that we have chosen the right partner in this respect".
RapiTime is an analysis tool that provides a unique solution to the problem of determining worst-case execution times (WCET) for software components running on advanced microprocessors. Its key features include accurately determining the worst-case execution time, identifying code on the worst-case path, analysis of worst-case hotspots, code coverage analysis and execution time profiling. There is also a RapiTime evaluation kit available to help engineers who wish to assess this technology before committing to using it as part of their software development process. The Evaluation Kit is based on the phy-CORE MPC555 development board with MPC555 Single Board Computer module and includes 128Kbyte SRAM, 512Kbyte Flash, 2x CAN interfaces, 2x RS-232 interfaces and a BDM interface.
VirtualTime is a tool-set for building accurate simulations of complex multiprocessor real-time systems. VirtualTime addresses a key problem in the cost-effective development of reliable telecommunications systems: the need to verify designs, identifying and fixing unexpected timing and performance issues as early as possible in the development life-cycle.
About SDC Systems
SDC Systems Limited is a leading European distributor of embedded development software, tools and hardware. Focused on innovative and leading edge technology, SDC strives to provide "technology that makes a difference", technology that will positively impact the development process and the quality and functionality of the final product. With many years of experience and talented engineering support, SDC Systems work closely with their clients to provide an important source of embedded expertise and products. www.sdcsystems.com
About Rapita Systems Ltd
Rapita Systems Ltd is a privately owned company, founded in 2004, commercialising worst-case execution time analysis and simulation technology developed in the Real-time Systems Research Group at the University of York, the internationally acknowledged leader in research into hard real-time systems, scheduling theory and worst-case execution time analysis.
For more information on the RapiTime WCET analysis solution or VirtualTime simulation technology call Stuart Parker on +44 (0)1462 473 953, or Peter Heyes on +44 (0)118 375 8146 or e-mail: sales@sdcsystems.com
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SDC Systems Announces Embedded Data Management Technology Available for Download
SDC Systems has announced the availability of the DeviceSQL Quick Start Suite from Encirq, a freely downloadable version of DeviceSQL coupled with an interactive, on-line tutorial to help embedded software engineers learn and use more efficient, best practice-based approaches for managing data in their device software applications.
The DeviceSQL Quick Start Suite combines the industry´s highest performing device data management technology with an interactive, self-paced tutorial. The tutorial steps users through a primer on device data management, exercises with example code and a demo application, and helps them employ advanced, resource-efficient techniques for manipulating and managing device data. The DeviceSQL Quick Start Suite is a self-contained environment and provides users with everything they need to design and build device applications with the DeviceSQL framework.
“We are delighted to share DeviceSQL with the worldwide community of device software engineers,” said Eugene Buechele, CTO at Encirq. “The Quick Start Suite makes it simple to learn advanced, yet easy-to-use approaches for managing data, while familiarizing users with the control and performance they achieve using DeviceSQL. This allows developers to easily self-educate, evaluate and build prototype solutions, resulting in dramatic proof points, all without risking an investment in new software.”
Users of the DeviceSQL Quick Start Suite also gain access to the DevZone area on the Encirq website. In the DevZone, developers are able to participate in community-based forums, get tips and pointers from Encirq data management experts and access additional technical resources.
Pricing and Availability
The DeviceSQL Quick Start Suite is free of charge and available for immediate download. The DeviceSQL Quick Start Suite provides users with a perpetual, non-commercial use license for Windows environments. Once developers are ready to deploy their solutions for a non-Windows device platform or for commercial use, they can obtain the appropriate DeviceSQL Platform Environment along with DeviceSQL commercial-use licenses by contacting Encirq or an authorized DeviceSQL distributor. Visit sdcsystems.com
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Barric Launches Surface Mount Rework and Repair Lab
Contract electronics manufacturer, Barric, have announced the creation of a dedicated electronics rework and repair lab.
This new facility will undertake the test, inspection and repair of surface mount and BGA based electronic systems for technology manufacturers across Europe. In addition to Barric's extensive experience in this field, the new facility is equipped with a 3D tilt and rotate X-Ray machine, an ERSA Scope, the most advanced Automated Optical Inspection systems and boundary scan technology for the internal testing of BGA devices.
"The new test and rework lab has been an essential investment that we have had to make in order to stay at the forefront of electronic manufacturing," said Mike Bayley, Director of Business Development at Barric. "We are increasingly taking on complex surface mount projects, many of which require a safety critical performance and a very high level of manufacture. This facilities will enable us to ensure the quality of our manufacturing process and the quality of any repairs that we are asked to undertake."
Barric currently manages circuit board warranty inspection and repairs for some of the most recognized technology companies in the world and provides X-Ray inspection services to a diverse range of engineering companies. The new facility will enable Barric to grow this side of their business, offering small and large technology companies the benefits of this facility.
"Inspecting and repairing modern circuit boards requires a lot of investment and expertise," said Mike Bayley. "For complex devices such BGA microprocessor devices, multi-layer boards and surface mount connectors, the 3D tilt and rotate X-Ray inspection machine is essential to ensure the integrity of the placement and that no short-circuits or mis-alignments exists. Equally important is the role of the Automated Optical Inspection Systems. These machines use a similar technology to optical character readers and can inspect a finished circuit board to ensure all the components are not only placed correctly but that they are also of the correct value or type. We feel sure these facilities will be very attractive to manufacturers who do not currently have this technology and do not have the volumes to justify such an investment."
Since 1992 Barric have been providing surface mount pcb manufacturing services for products such as forecourt petrol pumps, broadcast audio systems, commercial vehicle data logging systems, marine safety systems and medical products. Working within a RoHS and ISO9000 compliant environment, Barric have become a recognised leader in this field and supply technology companies as far away as the US.
"Over the years we have certainly gained a lot of specialist knowledge in the area of reworking surface mount components and re-balling BGA devices," said Mike. "For the newer RoHS compliant devices, we have invested in thermal profiling technology, this us ensures that we work within the narrow temperature window that is essential for these components." www.barric.co.uk
Pebble Bay and GE Fanuc Embedded Systems announce New Business Engagement
Pebble Bay, embedded services consultancy for communication technologies OEMs, has been selected by Radstone Embedded Computing – now part of GE Fanuc Embedded Systems - to provide bespoke software development services to develop Green Hills Software, INTEGRITY™ foundation code for Radstone’s latest range of VMEbus, PowerPC based hardware.
Pebble Bay has been contracted by Radstone for a complex, multi-faceted project to develop the low-level foundation code essential to enable Radstone’s hardware to operate securely and reliably for a specific US based customer. Radstone develops and manufactures a broad range of COTS embedded computing solutions for military and defence applications and has chosen to outsource this foundation code development to supplement the expertise of its in-house engineering teams.
Pebble Bay created a full GHS INTEGRITY™ Board Support Package (BSP) for
Radstone’s PPCM2, dual 1.4GHz 7448 PowerPC Single Board Computer. The
INTEGRITY™ BSP contains low-level support for the hardware’s comprehensive
input/output facilities, including: serial, Ethernet, VMEbus, USB and generalpurpose I/O. Pebble Bay also developed code to support special features to support the board’s dual-processor capabilities. The development of a product
quality BSP was enabled through extremely rigorous testing against a well
defined test plan. This produced a ruggedized and fit-for-purpose foundation layer of code upon which higher-level code can be developed by Radstone’s customers. The BSP will be made available to customers directly from Radstone.
The technical skills and expertise Pebble Bay brought to the project include a
deep understanding of RTOS and device driver development, knowledge of the
Green Hills MULTI™ and INTEGRITY™ development environment, and intimacy
with all the peripheral interfaces such as PCIbus, VMEbus, inter-process
communications, USB, Ethernet and GPIO. Equally important was Pebble Bay’s
mature and pragmatic approach to project management: working along timelines
identical to Radstone’s in-house development teams, Pebble Bay were able to
provide a risk free engagement for Radstone, at a perfectly managed fixed cost.
“In Pebble Bay we have found a reliable partner who can handle multiple
concurrent projects, work to our aggressive timescales, and still deliver against
requirements,” said Andy West, Software Product Manager - Processor Group at
GE Fanuc Embedded Systems. “It is refreshing to work with an outsourced team
on our foundation code that understands the importance of talking openly about
how the project is going.”
“We have been overjoyed that Radstone has engaged our services,” commented
Nick McNamara, Commercial Director at Pebble Bay. “Our independence,
expertise and ability to provide the diversity of skills essential for today’s
embedded software environment is an excellent resource for cutting-edge
technology OEMs such as GE Fanuc Embedded Systems, who need to keep a tight
control on the software development process and budget.”
Pebble Bay’s model is to develop a mutually agreed contractual commitment for
every project, specifying budget, deliverables and timescales, and to closely
project-manage this with regular progress reports. This enables customers to
better plan their engineering budgets and reassure product management teams
with a reliable source for on-time delivery. In addition, by engaging with an
outsourced team working offsite, the major pitfall of expensive temporary
contractors being distracted from their work by being onsite is avoided. Pebble
Bay provides a cost-effective and reliable alternative to this scenario.
Pebble Bay was set up in January 2006. The company provides independent
consulting, training and project-based development services primarily to OEMs of
digital video and communication technologies. The company’s expertise is in
RTOS technologies, BSP and device driver development, integration and
customisation, application porting, troubleshooting and project management.
About Pebble Bay
Pebble Bay (www.pebblebay.com) is an independent, privately-owned company
that specialises in providing embedded software consultancy, training and
bespoke development services. The company’s core technical focus is on realtime operating systems, device drivers, BSPs and hardware/software interfacing based on both commercial and open-source products. With over 50 years experience in real-time and embedded systems, the Pebble Bay team have worked for market-leading vendors of embedded tools, real-time
operating systems and services including Telelogic, QNX Software Systems and
Wind River Systems. The company’s model is to work with each customer to a
bespoke pre-defined contract that clearly sets out the project deliverables, budget and timescales, enabling clients to have better cost control and clear visibility of the project expectations.
back to top>> Tundra Semiconductor Partners with Enea to Deliver System Software Using RapidIO
Enea have collaborated to deliver Enea’s LINX™ interprocess communications (IPC) services over RapidIO®. Working with Tundra’s new serial RapidIO development platforms, Enea has implemented and verified complete support for LINX over RapidIO and interoperability with Tundra’s RapidIO switches. Together, RapidIO and LINX provide a reliable, scalable, high-performance interconnect platform for quickly developing and deploying next-generation communications infrastructure systems.
“Network equipment providers require flexible system architectures that can be easily reused across multiple product lines, scaled to meet increased subscriber demand, and upgraded to deliver new services,” said Linda Thompson, vice president of corporate alliances at Enea. “Tundra’s best-in-class RapidIO technology, coupled with our LINX IPC services, provide a high-performance, high-availability platform for deploying converged IP multimedia services that reduce capital and operating expenses for both equipment makers and service providers.”
“We were thrilled to partner with Enea to bring this technology to the communications infrastructure market,” said Daniel Hoste, president and CEO, Tundra Semiconductor. “RapidIO is the right System Interconnect for high bandwidth communications systems. Enea’s LINX over RapidIO will allow our customers to accelerate the deployment of new systems and services. "RapidIO is increasingly penetrating new aspects of our customers’ and partners’ technologies," continued Hoste. "As Rapid IO evolves, Tundra is meeting the increasing demand for its industry-leading expertise, products, and design tools."
RapidIO is a leading serial interconnect standard for embedded systems, and is ideal for aggregating and connecting large numbers of microprocessors, DSPs and FPGAs, both on a single board, and on multiple boards across a backplane. Tundra, a founding member of the RapidIO Trade Association and long-time Steering Committee member, was the first semiconductor vendor to bring Serial RapidIO switches to market. These switches, which include the Tsi564A™, Tsi568A™, Tsi574™, Tsi576™ and Tsi578™ provide high performance chip-to-chip interconnect between RapidIO end-points, and can be used to replace existing proprietary backplane fabrics for board-to-board interconnect.
Enea’s LINX provides reliable, high-performance interprocess communications services over physical interconnects like RapidIO. Utilizing direct message passing, LINX makes complex distributed systems easier to conceptualize, model, partition, and scale.
LINX scales from DSPs and microcontrollers to 64-bit CPUs, is independent of the underlying processor and operating system, supports control and data plane applications over reliable and unreliable media, and delivers 20% higher performance than competitive IPC solutions. LINX also supports any distributed system topology, from a single processor on a single board, to large networks with complex cluster topologies deployed on hundreds of processors in a multi-rack system. www.enea.com
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High-performance “five nines” RDBMS provides enhanced parallel processing, memory management, and field upgrade capabilities
Enea today announced version 7.0 of the Polyhedra™ relational database management system (RDBMS).
Polyhedra 7.0 provides a number of significant new enhancements that make it ideal for carrier grade network infrastructure systems, particularly those utilizing distributed applications and data spread across multiple processors, blades and operating systems. Polyhedra enhances multiprocessor performance by supporting parallel execution of queries and transactions. It increases reliability by handling memory exhaustion in a more resilient manner. And its strict version control enhances field upgradeability, enabling repairs and new functionality to be added to live systems with zero downtime.
"Today's carrier grade network systems increasingly require integrated, high-performance, fault-tolerant database management capability,” said Dr. Nigel Day, product marketing manager for Polyhedra. “Polyhedra's in-memory design, instantaneous failover, and active, event-driven technology, coupled with its new high-reliability memory management, flexible upgrade facilities, and parallel processing capability make it the pre-eminent RDBMS for next-generation network equipment requiring five nines or higher availability.”
Polyhedra is a fault-tolerant, in-memory, transactional RDBMS. Available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions, Polyhedra provides a secure high-performance data repository for network infrastructure applications. Polyhedra's ability to execute out of local RAM enables it to deliver orders of magnitude better performance than conventional disk-based solutions. Polyhedra also features journaling and fault-tolerant mechanisms such as instant failover and fast reconnection that ensure data persistence and enhance system availability.
Polyhedra is ACID compliant (atomic, consistent, isolated and durable). Atomic and consistent means that if any part of a transaction fails, it is rolled back, allowing the database to move from one consistent state to the next. Consistent and isolated means that each transaction is independent of other transactions, and that the internal state of each transaction is invisible to all other transactions. Durable means that data integrity is preserved in the event of a system failure.
Polyhedra utilizes a client-server architecture that enhances performance and simplifies distributed application design, particularly for systems utilizing heterogeneous hardware. Polyhedra's client-server architecture also improves data integrity and resilience by separating the data from the applications that use it, thereby protecting the memory used by the database software from accidental modification.
Polyhedra's active, event-driven technology makes databases more robust, simplifies applications, and en¬hances performance. Active queries provide a fine-grained SQL push technology that notifies applications of data changes as soon as they occur. This eliminates the need for polling, thereby reducing processor usage. Polyhedra also lets the database designer set up active, triggered, database-resident code, which enables application-level data integrity rules to be built right into the database. Embedding “business logic” in the database in this way not only improves the overall ‘correctness' of the information in the database, but also improves programmer productivity by reducing the amount of code needed in the applications.
The Polyhedra in-memory database is a member of the Polyhedra family of RDBMSs, which also includes the flash-based Polyhedra FlashLite RDBMS. All Polyhedra databases share the same code base and can communicate transparently with each other, regardless of version. This not only simplifies the design of distributed applications requiring multiple RDBMSs, but also provides a seamless upgrade path that enables equipment makers to take advantage of the latest database technology without having to make substantial changes to their existing application code.
Polyhedra 7.0 is available immediately for a broad range of operating systems, including OSE™, VxWorks, Integrity, Linux, Windows and Unix.
www.polyhedra.com
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Hitec Sheet Metal to Exhibit at Cambridge Embedded Systems Event
Metalworkers to the Cambridge technology sector, Hitec, will be exhibiting at the forthcoming Embedded Masterclass to be held near Cambridge on the 3 rd May.
Over 700 embedded software and electronic engineers have registered to attend previous Embedded Masterclass events. This event has become respected as an excellent forum for engineers to meet with some of the industry's leading vendors of development tools, hardware and software.
"The term 'embedded' comes from the fact that there is a computer embedded in many electronic systems these days," said Richard Blackburn, Managing Director of Energi. "In fact, in a mobile phone, there are often three embedded computers chatting away on a network. Embedded systems used to be as mall, specialist area of electronics, but today it is a major part of the electronics industry and an area in which the UK and the Cambridge region excels."
In addition to the vendor exhibition, there will be an agenda of technical presentation that will focus on the latest technology that can accelerate product development.
"Most of our clients are from the technical sector," said John Stevenson, Managing Director of Hitec. "Working with developers of electronics and computer systems has become one of our strength, so we are pleased to have been invited to participate. We'll be exhibiting some of our more complex designs of enclosures and internal chassis systems. We like the fact that this event has a technical focus, it should be a good environment to meet with development engineers and discuss new projects. We are looking forward to it."
Other exhibitors include European contract electronics manufacturer Barric, Swedish real-time OS developer Enea, embedded computer company Arcom and Cambridge debug tools experts XJTAG. The presentations will cover such topics as the development of graphical user interfaces, accelerating FPGA development and using 'middleware' to accelerate telecoms development.
"We are very pleased to have Hitec on board," said Richard Blackburn of Energi, the organisers. "Every embedded system needs an enclosure, in fact, this is often what differentiates the product and can also be key to how it performs in the real world. Hitec are leaders in this field and understand embedded systems better than most. I think engineers will value the chance to meet with some of Hitec's engineers to discuss some of the current challenges they face such as RF screening, achieving better aesthetics and maybe even weight and stability issues."
The Embedded Masterclass is free to attend for embedded engineers and technology project managers, however, delegates will need to register through the Embedded Masterclass website www.embedded-masterclass.com
Early registration is recommended as seats for the presentations are limited.
About Hitec
Hitec provides precision fabrication and machining services to the European technology sector. Using a wide range of modern CNC machinery and specialist laser cutting technology Hitec is able to provide technology companies with all they need to achieve the mechanical aspects of their design. From the prototype stage, right through to final production, Hitec has proven again and again that it has the expertise, the technology and the communication to work closely with its customers, enabling those customers to deliver excellent technology. http://www.hitec.co.uk
back to top>> LDRA Flies High with the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II
LDRA would like to congratulate Lockheed Martin on its historic first flight of the F-35 Lightning II. As a leading provider of automated software development and testing tools to the JSF project LDRA is very proud to have worked closely with Lockheed Martin and the prime subcontractors on the Lightning II project in helping to deliver advanced avionics software on-time and onbudget.
The F-35 Lightning II has now completed two extremely successful flights which signal the start of the most comprehensive flight test program in military aviation history. The F-35 is a supersonic, multi-role, 5TH Generation stealth fighter designed to replace a wide range of existing aircraft, including AV-8B Harriers, A-10s, F-16s, F/A-18 Hornets and United Kingdom Harrier GR.7s and Sea Harriers.
Ian Hennell, Operations Director of LDRA Ltd., said: “The Lockheed Martin (LM) Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program and LDRA have a common goal to develop a total automated process to reduce unit test regression time. As Lockheed Martin has now delivered a baseline product for F-35 AA-1 first flight, this automated process will aid in meeting the program's schedule and time constraints.”
“We at LDRA have proven we will support the customer in any way to get the job
done especially in meeting demanding milestones. The company provided outstanding support for several F-35 teammates: Lockheed Martin (Fort Worth), BAE (Warton), Northrop Grumman (El Segundo), Seaweed Systems and Honeywell, which directly contributed to a successful first flight of the F-35 AA-1 aircraft. LDRA will continue to work with customers to develop the needed
automated process support to ensure that their software meets program cost, schedule, and quality targets."
Hennell added: “LDRA and the JSF team have done a fantastic job and have shown real commitment and determination to meet the software testing challenges of the program. It's a great achievement by the team here to help deliver the software for Lockheed Martin and the key software subcontractors within the project.” Software Technology
About LDRA
The LDRA Group of companies is based around LDRA Ltd. which, founded in 1975, is the world's longest established provider of automated source code analysis and testing tools. LDRA is the market leader in providing automated software development and testing tools, as well as test solutions for a wide variety of market sectors. LDRA’s products and services are at the
leading edge of software testing technology and many ground-breaking testing techniques have been derived from methodologies developed by the company. Through the deployment of the LDRA tool suite customers are able to deliver well constructed, documented and tested software and, in addition, benefit from significant time, cost and operational savings for their business. Full details of LDRA’s locations and other information are available on the company’s web site at www.ldra.com.
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Rapita Win Award for Innovation from BAE Systems
Rapita Systems and BAE SYSTEMS Brough have now been confirmed as BAE
SYSTEMS Chairman's Award for Innovation Bronze award winners in the
Transferring Best Practice category, this award is for the deployment of
the RapiTime technology on the Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer project.
The Hawk / Rapita Systems team successfully demonstrated application of
this ground breaking technology to analyse components of the new Open
Architecture Mission Computer. The team are now jointly involved in
looking at how this pilot study can be exploited to form part of the Hawk
software development process for future development of the Hawk aircraft.
www.rapita.com
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Acquisition Strengthens Enea's Offering of Embedded Linux Solutions
Stockholm, Sweden, and San Jose, CA. March 29, 2007. -- Enea (Nordic Exchange /SmallCap /ENEA), a world leading provider of telecom software and services, today announced that is has acquired Swedish QiValue Technologies, a leading provider of Linux solutions. The acquisition will bolster Enea's Linux expertise, strengthen its software offering, and increase Enea's ability to offer Embedded Linux solutions. Enea expects the acquisition to contribute SEK 14 million (MUSD 2) of additional revenue as well as a positive margin during 2007.
QiValue, with 13 employees, offers Linux services to equipment makers in the telecom and medical industry and specializes in development of Linux based embedded platforms and Linux training.
“Enea's acquisition of QiValue adds valuable Embedded Linux competence that will strengthen both our software products and services capabilities,” said Johan Wall, president and CEO of Enea. “The QiValue team makes an excellent addition to our world-class service organization and Embedded Linux is a key component of our Accelerator platform, which allows telecom equipment manufacturers, to more efficiently, provide carriers with converged network solutions.”
The consideration amounts to SEK 8 million (MUSD 1.2) with possible additional payments depending on QiValue financial performance until 2009.“QiValue provides Enea with Linux competence as well as new customers and together we will have the ability to further increase the sales of Embedded Linux solutions”, said Anders Törnqvist, president and CEO of QiValue.
back to top> Barric Sponsors City College Prize for Excellence in Electronics
UK electronics manufacturer, Barric, has announced that they are to sponsor a prize for excellence in electronics. The prize is to be awarded annually to the most accomplished student studying electronics at the City College in Norwich.
"We are very pleased to be sponsoring this prize," said Karl Hain, Managing Director of Barric. "The UK is a world leader in the development and manufacture of electronics and in order to maintain this lead, we think we should be providing encouragement and support to the students who choose electronics as their career. The Barric prize will hopefully offer this encouragement and also demonstrate to students that their studies really do matter to those of us in the industry."
Barric manufacture electronic products for companies around the world. Using sophisticated pick and place machines, Barric are a leader in the production of complex, modern electronics. Their customers include companies making marine safety devices, broadcast audio systems, automotive electronics and technology for the health sector. In addition to their manufacturing services, Barric also offer inspection and repair services to other European electronic companies.
"As electronics has become more complex and far more dense, repairing this kind of technology can be very challenging," said Karl. "We've had to invest in a special 3D x-ray machine, automated optical inspection machines and a special scope that can view the components in microscopic detail. Electronics has moved on a long way in recent years and we are expecting that our new relationship with the college will help us share this knowledge and experience with up and coming engineers."
The City College Norwich runs a broad range of engineering courses that includes studies for National Diplomas in Electronics and Higher National Diplomas and Higher National Certificates. The college currently accommodates about 75 full time students on its electronics courses with many more students also studying mechanical engineering and attending on a part-time basis. The college has gained a good reputation within industry, for the quality of the engineers it has produced over the years.
"The college has always had a strong engineering department, in fact it dates back to the days when the college trained many of the Lawrence and Scott engineers, many decades ago," said David Devaney, Programme Manager for Engineering
Technician courses. "We very much welcome Barric's sponsorship of the electronics prize and their willingness to share their experience and technology with our students. The UK remains very strong in the technology industry, so it is good to have this kind of support for the training of our engineers and technicians of the future."
The Barric prize will be awarded at the college prize giving evening, which takes place at St Andrews Hall in September. The successful student will be awarded the prize by Barric's Managing Director, Karl Hain and may have the opportunity of a work placement at Barric's Diss factory.
About Barric
Barric manufacture electronic products for large and small companies across the world. With 20 years of experience, investment and success, Barric are very much leaders in this field. Equipped with the latest surface mount manufacturing equipment, hi-tech inspection technology and a team of expert engineers, Barric work closely with ‘cutting edge' development companies from early stage design right through to volume shipment. Whether it is simply the production of electronic assemblies or complete product manufacture, Barric provide one of the best facilities available in Europe. http:// www.barric.co.uk
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SDC to Present New FPGA Development Technology at UK Embedded Masterclass
Embedded tools and software specialist, SDC Systems, is to exhibit and present a new range of FPGA development technology at the Embedded Masterclass on the 3rd May. Consisting of hardware development platforms for a range of Altera FPGA's and a new simulation technology, SDC claims that this new FPGA technology will shorten development time and offer higher design security for lower cost. www.embedded-masterclass.com
"We will be introducing SEmulation®," said Stuart Parker, Managing Director of SDC Systems. "SEmulation, simulator-controlled emulation, combines these two steps and allows the step-by-step transfer of the functional blocks from the simulator (software) into the FPGA (hardware), without leaving the simulation environment and thus shortening the development time."
More often, the simulation and emulation environments are separate and not always compatible, which may result in wasted engineering time getting simulated code to run in the emulator environment. Using the SEmulator, SDC expect mistakes and insecurities to be eliminated as simulation takes place in the target hardware. The SEmulator also allows the engineer to introduce any external component into the simulation (also known as “hardware in the loop”). For the developer, this means functional first silicon, with a reduction of development costs, as well as an increased responsiveness to market requirements.
"In addition to this powerful simulation/emulation technology, we will be exhibiting a range of FPGA hardware development platforms," said Stuart. "We will have an expert FPGA engineer from the German design team available to meet with delegates at the event, should delegates wish to explore this technology in detail. It's an exciting new technology, so should be of interest to engineers currently working with FPGA's or looking towards this technology for future projects."
The Embedded Masterclass is a one-day event that brings the developers of hi-tech products together with the vendors of development tools, hardware and software. It is free to register for engineers and project managers within hi-tech companies. There will be an agenda of technical presentations and a tabletop exhibition. For more details visit www.embedded-masterclass.com
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Develop mobile applications with variant management
As much as 50% of the development budget for a mobile game can go on porting and testing the game on multiple handsets. In an article for March's Embedded Systems Engineering magazine, Mark Dalgarno of Software Acumen describes how variant management can be used to slash these costs.
Variant management is an emerging technique that works by explicitly managing information about what is common and what is different for each device and product variant and so promoting systematic reuse. This information can be used to configure new product variants rapidly and reliably resulting in cost and time savings. These techniques are also applicable in non-mobile domains such as automotive, industrial control, consumer electronics and medical devices.
Software Acumen is the only company in the UK that specialises in variant management. The company distributes pure::variants, the leading variant management toolset, in the UK and Ireland on behalf of pure-systems GmbH of Germany.
A better way of building embedded software variants
Mark Dalgarno, of Cambridge-based Software Acumen, has been invited to speak at the 3rd BCS Configuration Management Specialist Group Conference to take place in Oxford from May 15th-16th.
Mark's paper, co-authored with Danilo Beuche or pure-systems GmbH, is titled "Variant management" and shines a light on the murky area of embedded software variant management – managing the process of developing multiple similar-but-different software systems.
Mark contends that most organizations fail to manage their variants efficiently due to a heavy reliance solely on their Configuration Management system. Adopting a more comprehensive variant management approach can yield better results.
The conference will bring together managers and practitioners working in Change, Configuration and Release management. Presentations by practitioners and world leaders in the field will cover a wide variety of Configuration Management-related topics.www.bcs-cmsg.org.uk for more information.
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Arcom's Zypad – unobtrusive embedded PC power on your wrist Arcom will be showing the Zypad WL1000, their innovative new wearable PC. This packs the power of an industrial PC into a form that's ergonomically designed and sized to fit an operator's wrist. In this way, the Zypad provides robust computing without being intrusive during demanding situations such as crowd control or emergency incidents.
The Zypad's WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS communications channels ensure uninterrupted connection irrespective of the wearer's location. Using the Linux or Windows CE operating system, the unit can be quickly configured to access any remote host through integrated wired or wireless interfaces.
The Zypad also features an innovative, patented tilt and dead reckoning system. This could detect if the wearer has remained motionless for longer than a specified time and, if so, transmits a location beacon via GPS, allowing colleagues to react quickly and effectively to any problem. This feature also saves energy and extends battery life by switching to Standby mode when the users arm is relaxed, next to their body.
The operator interface comprises a 3.5” 320 x 240 QVGA 256k colour high visibility TFT display with touch screen, 11 backlit tactile user response keys and stylus attached to the wrist strap. An ambient light sensor automatically adjusts the display contrast. A Mic-In jack and stereo output jack/speaker are also provided. The Zypad can function as a USB host or device, and has a Mini SD memory card expansion slot.
The Zypad is powered by an interchangeable, rechargeable Li-Ion battery pack. The unit's enhanced power management features allow up to 8 hours uninterrupted use. Mains and vehicle power adapters and a multiple battery charger are available. The TPE cover provides environmental protection to IP54 standard against dust and water ingress. Users can easily strap the Zypad to their wrist, even over clothes. Its 290 gm weight is evenly distributed to ensure comfort while the wearer enjoys hands-free access to their current task.
The Zypad can run either Windows CE 5.0 or Linux (based on Kernel 2.6). Application development support is available for each system – Microsoft Platform Builder with SDK for Windows CE, and an SDK for Linux. Java, Embedded Visual C/C++, or any programming language supported by Version 2 of the .NET Compact Framework can be used for application development.
The Zypad is a wearable computer platform ready for application development – and is fully supported by Arcom's engineering teams in Cambridge and Kansas. Whatever the industry, they can resolve any questions or issues that may arise during the development cycle. Suitable application areas include healthcare, first responders, forest services, security, maintenance, defense, law enforcement and the logistic and supply-chain markets.
The Zypad integrates state of the art computation and communication technologies within an ergonomic, wearable device. This allows powerful computing platforms to be used in situations where previously impossible.
About Arcom ( www.arcom.co.uk )
Arcom (a Eurotech Group S.p.A company) is a leading supplier of embedded computer and communications technology to industry. Founded in 1982, Arcom has developed a broad range of standard embedded hardware and software solutions for control, data acquisition and data delivery systems. From its design centres in Cambridge (UK) and Kansas City (US), Arcom also offers Design Services to meet the needs of high volume OEM and specialised customer requirements. back to top>
Arcom's SBC-GX533 single board computer – High performance from a fan-less low profile
Arcom will be showing their UK designed SBC-GX533 single board computer. This consumes just 7W of power yet offers roughly three times the performance of its predecessor the SBC-GX1. The SBC-GX533 is a very low profile, fan-less, RoHS compliant EBX form factor board, based on the AMD Geode™ GX 533@1.1W processor. It is ideal for embedded controllers requiring PC compatibility with full solid-state operation.
The SBC-GX533 board is used in fan-less communication, process and machine controllers and is more highly specified than standard industrial motherboards. Features include a long production life of over 5 years, an integrated CompactFlash port for solid-state storage and wireless data cards such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and cellular modems. Also included are security features like Trusted Platform Module (TPM) hardware and tamper detection logic for use in kiosks, ATMs, casino venues and military IT systems. Fan-less operation up to + 60ºC is possible.
The SBC-GX533 accommodates up to 512 MB of DDR 266 MHz RAM, and either 16 or 32 MB of soldered-down flash memory. It includes dual 10/100baseTx Ethernet, four USB ports, four serial ports, an analogue touchscreen interface, AC97 audio codec and all normal PC features. It can be factory configured to drive either a standard analog display or a digital TFT flat panel. A 2D/3D dual-video controller, which includes an MPEG2 video decoder and LVDS TFT output, is available as an option. The SBC-GX533 has both a PC/104 and PC/104+ connector for industrial expansion modules.
Four Rapid Application Development Kits are available for the SBC-GX533 - Windows XP Embedded, embedded Linux, Windows CE 5.0 and the entry-level ROM-DOS option. To accelerate the system integration process, the individual cables used within these kits are available for separate purchase.
About Arcom ( www.arcom.co.uk )
Arcom (a Eurotech Group S.p.A company) is a leading supplier of embedded computer and communications technology to industry. Founded in 1982, Arcom has developed a broad range of standard embedded hardware and software solutions for control, data acquisition and data delivery systems. From its design centres in Cambridge (UK) and Kansas City (US), Arcom also offers Design Services to meet the needs of high volume OEM and specialised customer requirements.
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Feabhas are pleased to announce the addition of four Windows Device Driver courses to their current portfolio:
WDM-501 : WDM Driver Development
A five day course, teaching basic knowledge for modifying existing WDM device drivers or writing completely new drivers. The course includes a workshop with hands on labs and practical samples.
AWDM-501 : Advanced WDM Driver Development
A five day advanced course on the development of WDM device drivers. The course gives a more comprehensive understanding of Plug'n'Play, a deeper insight into Power Management and basic knowledge of Windows Management Instrumentation.
NDIS-501 Network Driver Development
A five day course on the development of NDIS network device drivers. The course includes a workshop with hands on labs and practical samples.
WDF KMDF Driver Development
A five day course on the development of WDM KMDF Driver Development, The course teaches the basic knowledge for modifying existing device drivers or writing complete new drivers. There is also hands on lab and practical exercises.
Feabhas is a Microsoft Embedded Partner and also offers courses on Windows CE and Windows XP. See our web-site www.feabhas.com for course details and dates.
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Cambridge CD and DVD Duplication Specialists Focus on Engineering, Scientific and Business Software
Newly launched Cambridge CD and DVD duplication company, Cambridge DMR, have announced that their focus will be on the production of high quality digital media products for the engineering, scientific and business software industries. Cambridge DMR has been spun out of Copytrax, a technology leader in the development of CD and DVD printing and duplication equipment.
"Copytrax has been providing CD and DVD duplication services for many years now," said Steve Woods, Managing Director of Copytrax. "It's helped us understand the market for our equipment and has helped us develop the new technologies that keep us ahead in the game. This side of the business has been growing for some time, so it's been an easy decision to create the Cambridge DMR division."
Cambridge DMR will focus mainly on providing high quality software products for the business, academic, engineering and scientific markets. These are areas in which they have existing long-term customers and anticipate future growth. Offering full project management that includes packaging, design and even shipment if required, Cambridge DMR already handles major contracts for large organisations across the UK.
"I think what puts us ahead of the competition is both our technology and our ability to manage complex projects," said Philip. "We are currently using the very latest Copytrax Project 37 machines that can print 1200 CDs per hour and offer probably the best image quality available. This provides us with competitive pricing, fast delivery and a high quality product. For some of our clients, we have had to handle critical software projects that have been subject to multiple versions, going out to multiple locations and within strict timescales, so our systems and organisational skills have been well developed over the past few years."
In addition to CD and DVD Duplication, Cambridge DMR is a leader in the emerging market for Flash Drive duplication. Flash Drives are increasingly proving to be a very effective media for sharing data as they are easier to carry and handle than CD's and DVD's and offer more advantages from a marketing and branding perspective. Cambridge DMR can provide a range of Flash Drive designs with company and product logo's printed on the side, for events such as seminars, exhibitions and conferences."
"Whether it's a technical presentation, a training course or even evaluation software, Flash Drive media is now an innovative and cost effective option," said Philip. "When we duplicate data onto the Flash Drive, we can secure it in a protected area of memory, ensuring that it cannot be deleted or written over and also leaving the remaining memory available to the user."
About Cambridge DMR
With over 10 years' experience, C-DMR is a leader in the project management of digital media production with success based on the highest levels of service and quality available within the industry. In addition to this, C-DMR is a part of Copytrax, a world leader in the development of CD and DVD duplication and printing technology, enabling C-DMR to benefit from the most up to date technology available worldwide.
www.c-dmr.com
back to top> From Oil to Hi-Tech - Acro Precision Engineering Stays On Top
When Acro Precision Technology first started machining precision parts, it was predominantly for the North Sea oil boom of the early 80's. Acro machined heavy gauge turned parts for pipelines and valves and developed a reputation for accuracy and reliable delivery of parts, both of which were essential to the high-pressure commercial environment of oil. Today, Acro's main customers are in the technology sector. The parts they machine may be much smaller and the volumes may be massively bigger, but accuracy and reliability of delivery remain a critical factor.
"When I look back, it's been quite a journey," said Fred Pain, Managing Director of Acro. "The machinery is so much more sophisticated today and we have some machines that can run unmanned for 24 hours. Also, these new machines are capable of automatically machining very complex parts without any user intervention. I guess the talent these days is in understanding modern materials such as titanium and stainless steel and being able to program the machines accurately."
Acro are currently machining brass parts for safety critical electrical connectors, stainless steel parts for sensors that are used in control systems and automation and complex valve assemblies that are used in pneumatic control systems. Acro are even machining parts from plastics and nylon for use in access equipment. Some of their more recent projects had previously been manufactured in China and the Far East.
"UK engineering went through a bit of a dip, but it's clear that manufacturers have tried the 'outsourcing' idea and now realise it's not always a good thing." said Fred. "Our success over the past 30 years has been down to our quality and reliability of delivery; very often these can be as commercially important to a manufacturer as the component cost, so this is how we choose to compete for business."
Acro also attribute their success to a willingness to invest and train on the latest CNC (computer numerically controlled) machines - recently investing in a four axis vertical machining centre capable of automatically machining complex parts. This new machine is also able automatically to inspect the finished part for accuracy of manufacture.
"When we buy a new machine like this, it's a big investment of time, energy and money," said Fred. "We have to employ a specialist company to move it to where we want in the factory as it weighs many tons, we then have a specialist company to wire it in and finally we have to have our engineers trained on programming and using the machine. However, once a high quality machine such as this is running, it's very impressive and is key to us meeting future customer expectations with regards to quality and reliable delivery."
Although Acro's focus is now on the higher volume technology sector, they still undertake occasional work for the oil sector. Last year saw their first overseas contract with a Norwegian company placing a large order for parts for the North Sea oil industry.
"We still maintain the skills and equipment for one off's and low volume production," said Fred. "Our customers will often need initial samples or prototypes and these are much more easily produced on conventional lathes and milling machines. Our lower volume non-technology customers include companies that provide architectural metalwork, suppliers to the construction trade, medical and automotive and although we very much value our current success with the hi-tech companies, it's also good for us to have some broader engineering experience."
About Acro Precision Technology
With over 30 years' experience in the machining of precision engineering components, Acro represents one of Europe's leading suppliers to the engineering and technology sector. Acro offers specialist low volume prototype development as well as high volume manufacturing and is equipped with a broad range of modern CNC [Computer Numerically Controlled] machinery: -
· CNC lathes with live tooling and 24 hour unmanned production
· Swiss type sliding head automatics
· CNC milling
· Conventional turning/milling/finishing
Customer projects have included components for sports cars suspensions, bomb disposal robots, hospital beds, forecourt petrol pumps, the London Underground, equipment for off-shore oil exploration and production and components for the construction industry.
Design Consultancy Set to Bring Creative Thinking to Cambridge Engineering
Harleston based engineering design consultancy, Harker Systems, has set its sights on being one of the first UK mechanical and electro-mechanical design consultancies to offer a truly creative experience for its clients. Established by Ben Harker, Harker Systems provides engineering design and R&D services to a broad range of companies across the Eastern region. Expert in 3D design, system automation and 3D CAD, Harker Systems' projects have ranged from modelling the Millennium Bridge to safety equipment for the transport industry.
"I like to think that we are more than just a design consultancy," said Ben. "We go the extra mile to explore the limits of a range of ideas in order to find the one that is most eloquent and effective. It's this creative and inquisitive approach that makes us who we are. With a broad knowledge of modern materials, mechanics, electronics and design software, we are well positioned to find new approaches to design problems and to create something truly innovative, something that will make a difference."
With a background in marine engineering and naval architecture, Ben first struck out on his own providing 3D computer visualisation services to top London architects such as Norman Foster, creating virtual models of their building designs. His business then developed into mechanical design with the creation of display equipment for shops such as HMV. As the designs became more complex and started to need elements of control and automation, the business further developed to offer electro-mechanical design; from interactive exhibition equipment to wireless crack monitoring technology for structural engineers.
"We've come a long way and we have a lot of experience behind us now," said Ben. "One of the keys to a good design is communication; we listen very carefully to our clients' needs. Once we are sure we fully understand the problem, we take a creative approach to developing the very best real world solution. Manufacturers need to innovate in order to succeed commercially, so our focus is always on delivering a solution that will have a positive commercial impact on our clients' businesses.
Harker Systems have 17 years of experience using 3D CAD systems such as AutoCAD, SolidWorks, Autodesk Inventor and Rhino. The company can also undertake micro-controller based electronic designs using a broad range of sensor and actuator technologies and can provide control and system automation development using software such as National Instruments LabVIEW and RealBASIC.
"Our automation projects have ranged from test rigs for quality inspection purposes to active exhibition displays," said Ben. "This is a side of the business we expect to see grow as there are so few companies that can manage both the mechanical and the electronic control aspects of these often complex systems."
Contact: Ben Harker
ben@harkersystems.co.uk
www.harkersystems.co.uk
Tel: + 44 (0)1379 852 533
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