Working out of Cromwell, Connecticut, Amatom is leading supplier of handles for the aerospace, electronics, telecommunications, automotive, and military markets. Established in 1957, Amatom soon became known for its Electronic Hardware Reference Manual—colloquially dubbed “The Bible of the Electronic Hardware Industry.” As of 2003, Amatom has been operating as a subsidiary of Carey Manufacturing. In addition to producing the forerunner to today’s online reference manuals, Amatom creates catches, latches, and handles—produced from brass, aluminum, steel, and stainless steel in over 35 decorative finishes, as well as giving the option of powder coat finishes in over 50 textures and colors. Amatom Corporation’s customers include the following notable companies: Read more >>

Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Altera is a leading provider of programmable logic devices (PLD)—electronic components used to build reconfigurable digital circuits. Established in 1984 with the creation of the industry’s first reprogrammable logic device, Altera supports a number of end markets with its array of hardware—including automotive, broadcast, industrial, medical, test & measurement, and military. Altera employs a 2,600-strong workforce spanning 19 countries. Altera primarily produces its parts via its partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) based in Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park—the largest pure-play semiconductor foundry in the world. However, just last year, Altera and Intel struck a foundry deal together. Read more >>

Headquartered in Riverside, California, Bourns, Inc. is a leading designer and manufacturer of sensor and electronic components — including panel controls, encoders, chip resistors, resettable fuses, network interface devices, and integrated circuits. Founded in 1947 by a husband-and-wife team in their Altadena garage, Bourns got its start with the invention of the first miniature linear motion and vane position potentiometers for the fledgling, post-war, Southern California aerospace industry. Today, Marlan and Rosemary Bourns’ son Gordon serves as CEO. Bourns’ sixty-seven years of aerospace experience includes supporting the Mars Rover expedition and the Apollo 11 moon landing. The company caters to a wide range of markets, including the automotive, audio, medical, telecommunications, computer, industrial, and instrumentation industries. Read more >>

Headquartered in Lohr am Main, Germany, Bosch Rexroth Group is one of the world’s foremost specialists in the field of drive and control technologies. Founded in 2001 via the merger of Mannesman Rexroth AG and the Automation Technology Business Unit of Robert Bosch GmbH, Bosch Rexroth caters to the factory automation, construction, commercial vehicle, marine, and renewable energies markets. Recently, Bossard won a major contact from British firm Land Rover. Founded in 1948, Whitley-based Land Rover is a premier designer and manufacturer of four-wheel-drive (4WD) vehicles, and operates under parent company Jaguar Land Rover. The agreement, worth USD$3 million, is for Bosch Rexroth to produce welding controls for Land Rover’s T5 project. Read more >>

In the competitive world of automotive manufacturing, innovation alone is not enough for success—reliable supply chains are equally essential. For instance, Tesla–a leading force in the electric vehicle (EV) industry–once collaborated with Bossard Group, a Swiss-based provider of fasteners and logistics solutions. Although their formal contract concluded in 2017, the contributions they made during that period are noteworthy. After reading this blog, readers will understand how Bossard’s parts and services aided Tesla’s manufacturing capabilities, illustrating the value of implementing partnerships in modern production operations. Read more >>

Headquartered in Peabody, Massachusetts, Analogic Corporation is a premiere designer and manufacturer of advanced imaging equipment—be it for medical imaging, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), digital mammography, ultrasound or explosives detection. Established in 1967, Analogic Corporation’s nearly 50 years of experience in the advanced imaging field includes creating the world’s first instant imaging computed tomography system scanner, and developing the first logarithmic analog-to-digital converter. Read more >>

The semiconductor industry, which started up in the 1960’s, has since grown to become a very lucrative $249 billion industry, with some estimates putting the value closer to $304 billion. The industry is composed of an array of companies all involved in the design and fabrication of various semiconductor devices. The international semiconductor industry is spearheaded by the more well-known technology advanced countries such as the USA, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, and the European Union. Read more >>

Infineon Technologies, a German-based manufacturer founded in April 1999, is involved in developing semiconductors and system solutions for both automotive and industrial electronics, chip card, and security applications. The company was spun off from its parent company Siemens AG, which is an international engineering and electronics conglomerate that specializes in activities ranging in industry, energy, transportation, and healthcare. Siemens, along with its subsidiaries, employ over 360,000 people across 190 countries, bringing in around 80.30 billion euros in annual revenue. Read more >>

William Shockley started Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory as a division of Beckman Instruments in 1956. He recruited former colleagues from Bell Labs and hired the best graduates coming from American engineering school in order to move forward with his plan of developing a new “4-layer diode” that would be work much better than current transistors. Only one year later, these new hired engineers left and decided to form their own company, thus turning to Fairchild Camera and Instrument. Read more >>

What are Terminal Blocks and Why are They Used for? - Terminal Blocks are used for wiring between two electronic devices. They are one of the most used connections among various items of equipment. The blocks are clamped down by metal by a PCB, a process control block. Terminal blocks come in a variety of sizes and terminal quantities. Some of their uses include chassis grounds, such as record players or they are also surge protectors. Read more >>