News

Don’t Design a New Footswitch – Build It from a Modular Platform

Choosing a footswitch is no longer just a matter of selecting a catalog part. Modern medical, industrial, and OEM systems often require application-specific solutions that balance usability, safety, reliability, and long-term support. This article explains how a modular footswitch platform can reduce development time, lower engineering risk, simplify manufacturing, and deliver customized functionality without designing a new product from scratch.

When GPS Is Lost, It’s Already Too Late to Choose an IMU

MEMS Gyroscope, MEMS InertialGladiator_Technologies

What happens when GPS is lost? This article explains why IMU performance becomes critical during GNSS outages, which specifications matter most, and how small angular errors can become meters of navigation and pointing error in real-world applications.

USB Foot Pedals for Medical & Industrial Systems – Why the USB Connector Is Only Part of the Story

FootswitchesHerga

Discover how USB foot pedals improve medical, laboratory, and industrial systems. Learn why USB HID, driver-free operation, programmability, and OEM integration matter far more than the USB connector itself when selecting a professional foot switch.

How to Calculate Gear Ratio and Choose the Right Gears

MechanicsAmironic

Learn how to calculate gear ratio, understand its effect on speed, torque, and power, select the right gears for your application, and avoid common design mistakes. This guide also covers gear materials, case-hardened gears, practical selection tips, and essential gear terminology.

How Does an INS Algorithm Really Work?

MEMS InertialGladiator_Technologies

How does an Inertial Navigation System (INS) really work? What happens between an IMU measurement and a navigation solution? This article explains, step by step, how modern INS algorithms estimate attitude, remove gravity, integrate acceleration into velocity and position, fuse IMU and GNSS data with a Kalman Filter, and continue navigating even when GNSS signals are lost. Whether you’re developing UAVs, autonomous vehicles, EO/IR systems, or other mission-critical platforms, this practical guide reveals what happens inside a professional inertial navigation system.

Your Pressure Sensor May Be Accurate. Your Measurement May Not Be – Why a ±0.5% Accuracy Specification Doesn’t Guarantee a ±0.5% Measurement

Pressure SensorsVariohm

A pressure sensor’s Accuracy specification is only part of the story.
In real-world applications, measurement quality is also affected by temperature, installation, pressure spikes, vibration, electrical noise, and the entire measurement chain. This guide explains why selecting the right pressure sensor requires more than comparing datasheets – it requires understanding the application.

From IMU to INS: How a Tactical Navigation System Is Really Built

MEMS Gyroscope, MEMS InertialGladiator_Technologies

An IMU measures motion-but it does not provide navigation. This technical guide explains how raw gyroscope and accelerometer measurements are transformed into a complete Inertial Navigation System (INS), covering attitude estimation, gravity compensation, velocity and position calculation, Sensor Fusion, Kalman filtering and navigation during GNSS outages.

What Can We Learn from 40-Year-Old Hydraulic-Magnetic Circuit Breakers Still in Service?

Circuit BreakersAirpax

Why are 40-year-old Airpax Hydraulic-Magnetic Circuit Breakers still protecting military and industrial systems today? Discover the engineering philosophy behind MIL-PRF-39019, Military Circuit Breakers, Circuit Protection, and why proven reliability often matters more than innovation in mission-critical applications.

Why Did Your Footswitch Fail After Just Six Months – Even Though It Was Rated for One Million Operations?

FootswitchesHerga

A footswitch that fails after only a few months isn’t necessarily a defective product. This engineering investigation explains why identical footswitches can perform very differently in the field, examining mechanical life, duty cycle, cable fatigue, side loading, Failure Analysis and the engineering decisions that determine long-term reliability. Whether you’re designing industrial machinery, medical equipment or OEM systems, choosing the right footswitch begins with understanding the application-not just the datasheet.

Your System Has Powered Up – But Does It Know Where It Is? Absolute Position Sensors vs. Homing

Position SensorsVariohm

What happens after a power interruption if your system no longer knows where the mechanism actually is? In many motion control applications, an incremental encoder requires a homing sequence before normal operation can resume. This article explains how Absolute Position Sensors eliminate that dependency, enabling faster startup, reducing system complexity, and providing immediate position feedback after power-up.