News from STW Technic, LP

December 2010

STW Technic, LP Newsletter

In This Issue

Seasons Greetings

New 3XL

MobilTron Seminar

Absolute Encoders

Technical Tip

Tradeshows

Please be sure to browse our new and improved website!

www.stw-technic.com

Greetings!

STW Technic is the premier manufacturer of mobile electronics for off-highway work vehicles. The STW ESX line of freely programmable controllers and I/O modules combines German Engineering and American software ingenuity to bring you the most cost effective and capable controller solutions on the market today.

STW provides:

Freely programmable controllers and I/O modules for off-highway vehicles
Freely programmable, mobile rated displays
Freely programmable telematics controllers
Robust sensors for pressure and force measurement

Seasons Greetings from STW Technic!

STW Technic is happy to report that 2010 was a banner year! We grew 50% and were able to increase our staff commensurately. We hope that our success is a sign that the global economy is indeed recovering. We know that some of our customers have had a great year while others have still struggled. This appears to vary from industry to industry, but we hope that 2011 will bring renewed growth and prosperity to all of our customers.

We know that our success is due to the excellent customers and business partners that we have, and we are grateful for your business and partnership. We hope that we have justified your trust in us and we will continue to do everything in our power to earn and keep your business. We wish you a wonderful holiday season and great happiness and prosperity in the new year

New Ethernet Communications and Logging Options with the ESX-3XL Controller and EB07 Baby Board

3XL STW's new 32 bit controller, the ESX-3XL, has already established itself as the most powerful and capable mobile controller in the industry. Employing the same flexible baby board architecture that has allowed STW controllers to adapt to a wide variety of vehicles and applications, the ESX-3XL has slots for six expansion boards (or babyboards) for up to 124 inputs and outputs. It also has four CAN ports to maximize networking options. Customers can configure additional networking with RS-232 or RS-485 as needed through specific babyboards. Now with the EB07, a whole new world of Ethernet networking, data logging and storage options is also available.

The EB07 is an expansion board that is the equivalent of the core of our premier telematics unit, the ESX-TC3. The EB07 has a powerful Motorola MPC5200B 400 MHz processor running the linux operating system. It has 128 MB of RAM, 68 MB of NOR flash and a full 1 GB of NAND flash. It also has both Ethernet and USB ports which connect through one of the two 81 pin connectors on the ESX-3XL.

The EB07 provides the controller platform with an incredible new array of capabilities in networking, data logging and storage. Ethernet communications or flash memory access can be performed through simple APIs available for either CoDeSys or C programming languages and integrated into the main controller program. Or more sophisticated use of the TCP/IP stack and the linux operating system can be made by programming the EB07 itself. STW is building a core set of data access and logging functions on the EB07 that will be configurable through a web browser. These functions will be announced and previewed in a later newsletter and webinar.

The mobile controls world is beginning to exploit the power of Ethernet networking and data mining technologies. The ESX-3XL with EB07 provides an excellent foundation for this new world and STW is eager to help you in your explorations!

STW Hosts Mobiltron Conference on Hybrid Drive Technology

In mid-October STW hosted its annual Mobiltron conference for two days at a hotel in Mannheim, Germany. The subject of this conference was "Deployment of Hybrid Systems in Mobile Work Machines - Decision Criteria and Methods". Industry experts, university researchers and technology leaders within many innovative companies joined STW in exploring this very timely and interesting topic. Several practical examples of hybrid implementations were presented by industry leaders, and many excellent presentations and panel discussions were held. There was simultaneous English translation available for all activities of the conference.

Mobiltron was a huge success, with over 120 participants. Here are some of the presentation titles:

· Performance management electronics - critical technology for vehicle electrification

· Electric machines with integrated inverters

· Safety of mobile high voltage networks

· Design of hybrid systems - market opportunities

The conference attendees shared a common vision for the future of hybrid drives in the mobile industry. This is a young technology but both the core technical knowledge and the practical experience are rapidly advancing, and it is an exciting time to be involved in this field. STW has invested heavily to become an overall system integrator for the complete hybrid drive system. If you are interested in knowing more about hybrid drives and STW's powerMELA system, please contact us. We are eager to share our practical experience with innovative partners.

Wachendorff Launches Their New Line of EnDra Absolute Encoders

Wachendorff Automation, the manufacturer of incremental and absolute encoders has launched a new family of encoders with a wide range of accessories: absolute encoders with EnDra®-technology for SSI. These encoders are based on the magnetic principle and come in single-turn and multi-turn versions. The multi-turn encoders are designed to work without gears and do not require a battery, since they are based on the patented EnDra®technology. They are available in a wide range of designs for different types of installation. Wachendorff Automation successfully introduced EnDra®-technology for absolute encoders WDGA for CANopen at the end of 2008. Since the SSI protocol is still widely used - and is expected to remain so for a considerable period of time - Wachendorff has incorporated the SSI series in order to respond even better to the requirements of existing and prospective customer. Absolute encoders WDGA for SSI offer high measuring accuracy and can handle high shaft loads. In addition, the encoders can withstand extreme vibrations and temperatures and have a high protection rating, since they are designed for application in the toughest conditions. Wachendorff gives 5 years warranty.

To see Wachendorff's complete line of encoders and accessories, please click here.

For pricing information, please contact sales@stw-technic.com

Tips From Our Engineering Department:

All STW I/O modules come equipped with address-select inputs. These inputs allow the CANopen Node ID to be automatically adjusted on startup based on the wiring harness of the vehicle. This allows several modules to be used at multiple points in the vehicle with minimal, and in some cases no, prior configuration. Each of the address inputs (sometimes listed as SEL for 'select' or COD for 'coding') can be jumpered in the wire harness to ground, battery voltage, or left open circuit. With two address-select inputs on each module, up to 9 modules can be in each system without manual configuration. On startup, the module reads the inputs and changes its address according to the values of the inputs. Each I/O module ships from the factory with all address-select inputs enabled. If you do not need the automatic configuration functionality, then you can reconfigure the pins as tri-state inputs (high, low, open) for use in your application. The automatic address-select feature is available on all STW CANopen I/O modules: ESX-DIOS, ESX-DIOM, ESX-IOX, and some ESX-LTplus models. Design your next system with STW I/O modules and start simplifying the software configuration phase of your production process.

STW Keeps On Growing!

Veronica Carmichael joined the STW team in October 2010 as a sales and marketing coordinator. She has an impressive background in sales support and customer service. She provides administrative and sales support to the STW sales team and is in the process of completing educational training to support the marketing division. Veronica has a Communications /Public Relations degree from Alabama State University, and is completing a certificate in digital publishing.