MOTORING INTO THE TOP 10
You don’t see torque amplifiers very often, though they’re of high interest. The Bantam 500W from Copley Controls Corp., number six on our list, is used for torque control of brushless and brush motors and sports a profile of 3.8 square inches (Fig. 8). Available in two current ratings, the module mounts on a printed-circuit board (PCB) with solderless connectors. The amplifier accepts a standard ±10-V current command from an external controller, while other analog control inputs are available to set current limits and adjust balance.
COLOR MY CONNECTOR WORLD
Though interconnects were the most prolific category in the top 100, only one made it into the top 10, the C-SX-069 Pathfinder 75-O BNC connector from Cambridge Electronic Industries Ltd. for HDTV-broadcast applications (Fig. 9). Its popularity with readers may be due to the fact that the connector integrates a unique light-pipe feature that eases port identification.
The construction and insulator material provide the necessary signal characteristics, while its light-pipe capability transmits light, typically from a PCB-mount LED, from the back of the connector to the front. Using different colors, the function and status of each port are clearly visible. Adding self-monitoring circuitry makes it possible to also indicate failures. The right-angle BNC connector is 4 mm tall and fully complies with RoHS and 3G SDI.
SENSORS CATCH COLD
Landing in eighth on our list is the first in-flight ice sensor made entirely of plastic, the Model 9732-UAV from New Avionics. This ice-detecting transducer probe reportedly solves the problem of conductive metallic interference with mission-critical radio antennas on unmanned aerial vehicles, as the sensor is transparent to radio frequencies (Fig. 10). Its body consists of Delrin and Acrylic plastics. The only metal in the sensor assembly is in the wires that connect it to a host system. The component installs virtually anywhere on an aircraft fuselage, at any angle of attack, raked forward or aft, and with any orientation of the sensor air gap. The only requirement is that the air gap positions beyond the airflow boundary layer. The sensor measures 1.5 in. long and 0.25 in. in diameter, weighs less than 10 g, and features what may be the industry’s most sensitive ice detection threshold of 0.001 in. of ice or better.
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