Member News - Focus on Hottinger Bruel & Kjaer UK Ltd
HBK announce new joint venture "Blueberry" to develop an Open Data Acquisition Standard SDK
Have you ever dreamed that you could combine data acquisition hardware from different companies and use it all with your favorite data acquisition software or programming tools? Historically this has not been possible, because each DAQ manufacturer designed its own unique hardware and software. In many cases, even instruments from the same manufacturer could not be combined.
HBK and Dewesoft, two of the five largest DAQ companies in the world, have joined forces to create a common SDK standard called Blueberry. The Blueberry SDK will be at the heart of all products developed by both companies, allowing the customers to enjoy amazing interoperability among and between both companies' products. Together, we have created a new joint venture company called Blueberry to manage the SDK. The new company is based in Slovenia.
Jure Knez, President of Dewesoft, and Jens Wiegand, CTO of HBK, agreed that "this new and the exciting joint venture will allow both HBK and Dewesoft to bring their respective next-generation of DAQ platforms to the market significantly faster than was previously possible. In addition, jointly developed new hardware and software standards will help accelerate the creation of an open ecosystem that other industry participants can also use, benefiting their customers."
The SDK, combined with a range of compliant hardware platforms available from both Dewesoft and HBK, will allow our customers to independently choose hardware and operate it in any supported programming language or application software. Customers can continue to use the Dewesoft and HBK software that they are currently using - nothing is being taken away.
Both companies will continue as independent entities. The only change is that they will design their new products according to the Blueberry SDK standard, ensuring the interoperability of their products. There has never before been such an extensive interoperability standard spearheaded by such major players in the DAQ industry. This alignment is regarded as a major step forward that will ultimately become hugely beneficial to customers and the industry in general.
Simplify and accelerate strain measurement on printed circuit boards with HBK's PCB Test Kit
HBK launches PCB Test Kit in compliance with IPC/JEDEC 9704
To help manufacturers avoid damage or failure of their products, HBK has created a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Test Kit to detect weaknesses during the early stages of development.
Built into many items, such as cars, smart phones and airplanes, PCBs are vulnerable to damage from the mechanical impact and thermal loads they are exposed to during production, transport, and usage over their lifetime. To reduce costs, it is essential the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) identify root causes of potential failures from occurrences such as deformation, improper use, vibration, shock, or thermal effects.
As a result, many OEMs or electronic suppliers perform a mechanical load test of the PCBs in compliance with IPC/JEDEC 9704. To simplify testing during R&D or verification in production, HBK created a compact and scalable PCB Test Kit which enables the user to carry out strain measurement tests quickly and obtain accurate results on product reliability.
The PCB Test Kit includes all the necessary material and - in addition to the pre-wired strain gauges and their installation aids - also contains a QuantumX MX1615B bridge module and catman DAQ software. This provides a ready-to-use software project and a pre-configured test certificate report in Microsoft Word format. The PCB Test Kit only accepts commercially available standard products and can be filled up any time.
The kit includes a one-year software maintenance program and free of charge video tutorials. HBK's service team is also available for on-site support.
More information about the PCB Test Kit is available on HBK's website