Below are some ways VCC strives to help our clients meet that desired time and cost savings in the design process:

• Expertise – The industry but even more importantly, our clients have recognized VCC, as an innovative leader in the field of Optoelectronics and LED Engineering. Our staff can assist in any number of challenges that present themselves your design. From questions about LED types, to power and heat issues and even cabling, we can save you the time of researching options for resolutions by presenting those options to you for selection.
• New and specialty product recommendations – Calling or meeting with your supplier and presenting special conditions such as high dust and moisture applications, viewing and layout conflicts or prototype samples will allow them to recommend new developments in products or advise the use of components such as our LCS and LMS Series Litepipes which keep dust and moisture out or Flexible Litepipes to resolve layout and viewing issues. VCC is also happy to send samples for your prototype and testing use.
• Custom Components – In the rare instance that our ‘on the shelf’ product line doesn’t meet your current requirements, VCC has and will assist in the creation of a custom product for your project. Simply call us or write an e-mail describing your design needs and one of our experts will collaborate with you to create a solution.
• Quick Delivery – One of the biggest delays in we hear about from our clients regarding other suppliers is product availability. VCC Optoelectronics is proud of the fact that our clients do not have this issue with our products. We keep stock products to meet your most production needs immediately and deliver our bulk orders with minimum delivery schedules.

Contact the VCC experts today and schedule a presentation time to hear about the latest developments in LED and Optoelectronic products or let us know your job requirements and allow us to recommend solutions for you to implement. This is one time when spending a little, time in this instance, can not only save you time later during development but also relieve some of the stress of the day as you have left your needs in capable hands.

Riad Nizam, General Manager of Master Distributors commented, “We are very excited to take on the VCC offering of Optoelectronic products. These products significantly strengthen our portfolio of high quality, cost effective solutions. We are now able to offer far more to our customers than we have been able to in the past. VCC allows us to offer a complete lighting solution and assist our customers beyond the LED; to innovative LED viewing and mounting products.”

The Master group of companies operate all over the world.

High on hills and in mountaintops where reception is the strongest and clearest is where you will find REMEC equipment operating. REMEC provides high-powered, reliable integrated microwave and millimeter wave subsystem solutions for the telecommunications market. Among the products offered by REMEC is an Outdoor Unit to enhance communications and signal processing. The current Outdoor Units offered by REMEC are the only ‘off-the-shelf’ commercial products that are successfully implemented in over 250,000 locations.

Looking to improve the point-to-point and point-to-multi-point signaling for cellular phone call connections to local sites, REMEC designed a power indicator that could be used in conjunction with its line of Outdoor Units.  The visual indicator would have to withstand the kinds of outdoor conditions that can only be delivered by Mother Nature and still equal the reliability of other REMEC products.  After careful deliberation, REMEC selected the VCC LCS series of light pipes to meet this design demand.  The VCC LCS series is a moisturized NEMA certified light pipe that provides a seal against water, dust and ice conditions

About VCC Light Pipes

VCC light pipes are specially formulated UV resistant lens permits the light pipe to provide optimal visual clarity in direct sunlight. The entire line of VCC light pipes increaseefficiency and conserve maintenance time since there’s no physical connection between the PCB board and mounting panel. This permits the PCB to be serviced without requiring a mechanical disconnect.  The 6 different lengths and colors open the field of communication, space and environmental possibilities when designing new, innovative products.

More about the LCS Series Light Pipe

LCS is used for transmitting light from a PCB mounted LED to the front panel while providing protection from the outside environment limiting the chance of water or dust entering the electronic enclosure and not only meeting but surpassing the IP 67/ NEMA 6P requirements. LCS can be used with 5mm, 3mm or surface mount lenses that retain enough clarity to capture outside light and bring it into a photo diode receptor. When light output, clarity, performance and environmental protection are required, the LCS series is a product that should be considered for highly reliable, flexible and successful indication. Contact VCC today and our team will collaborate with you to find the best light pipe solution for your design.

To learn more about REMEC product offerings, click here.

If you are beginning a new project, consider the benefits of using solid-state (LED) lighting in your design:

• The very name solid-state belies one it’s the biggest advantages. With no moving parts, the resistance to shock and vibration is substantial. A bump or short drop is unlikely to damage solid-state devices.
• No electrical filaments or toxic gases. Electrical filaments found with incandescent lights can easily be broken and are also subject to evaporation giving them a very short life cycle. Fluorescent lights contain toxic gases that may provide a longer life cycle but also pose a greater environmental threat.
• LED lighting provides substantial energy savings and in turn financial savings. An LED uses 90% of the power it produces allowing for brighter lighting that is also cool to the touch since only 10% of the power is lost to heat dissipation.
• Lighting flexibility is increased enormously when LEDs are implemented. Flexible and effective lighting can be achieved with the use of lightpipes. There is no longer a need to have wiring and fixtures in confined spaces whether it is for lighting or communication purposes.
• With the proper circuitry, color, intensity, signaling can be easily controlled. Using PCB or PLC programming, a virtually endless number of effects can be achieved.
• Solid-state lighting allows for variety in packaging and sizing. If space is limited, as it usually is, solid-state lighting can be implemented in a number of sizes and mounting positions. In a few inches of space you can provide the lighting for an entire control panel interface. The reduced heat generation allows flexibility as well since solid-state lighting can be mounted closer to other components.

VCC Optoelectronics is a leader in LED design and specializes in LED signaling. When you are designing your next project, contact our experts to provide you with the latest details and design innovations in the LED field. We are also happy to assist you in selecting the correct components to achieve the ultimate benefit in both energy and cost by selecting a component that is best suited for your project type.

National Semiconductor has chosen the VCC LCS Series lens/light pipe for its Solar Magic™ project. Solar Magic™ power optimizers are the perfect solution for maximizing the energy harvest of solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays affected by real world conditions. Solar PV arrays are susceptible to large amounts of energy loss from small amounts of shade caused by light barriers like trees, roof obstructions, and debris. In addition, solar arrays require installation with a single orientation and tilt to avoid array mismatch energy loss. SolarMagic™ power optimizers reclaim up to 50% of the energy lost to real world shade and mismatch conditions and enable flexible design installation.

During the product design phase, the National Semiconductor engineers realized that they needed an effective water-tight panel solution for the indicator LED being used in the power optimizer. Enter the VCC LCS Series.

The LCS Series was developed to provide moisture sealing and dust control for display panels when the LED is attached to a circuit board. The light pipe component is tubular in shape attached to a low-profile lens. The lens is diffused with Fresnel rings in order to provide a 180 degree viewing angle. The light pipes are molded from an optical grade acrylic plastic for clarity and optimum light transmission. The light pipe tooling is highly polished, to provide a smooth, scratch-free surface to the finished light pipe. This produces an optimum surface for maximum light refraction and ultimate light transmission.

Tests by an independent testing laboratory have shown that the LCS unit meets NEMA 4 requirements for providing an effective seal against water, ice, and dust. In addition to the water tests, the unit and its retaining system have been tested up to 6Gs of shock and from 0 to 2000 Hz of vibration. Tests also included storage and operating temperature ((-40°C to +85°C), solar, ice and UV). The conclusion attained upon completion of these tests was that the LCS Series exceeded all test criteria.

When not choosing the patented LCS Series as an effective solution, the moisture sealing of a light pipe to a display panel requires the use of RTV-type adhesive. When applying glue for sealing, special precautions must be taken to avoid creating air gaps that would allow sealed joints to leak. Glues are not only difficult to apply but their adhesion to a light pipe surface will change the flow of the light pattern. This will also cause light leakage, which results in the reduction of light emitted by the litepipe. This gluing method will surely result in serious assembly problems and less than satisfactory panel displays, both of which were unacceptable to National Semiconductor for the Solar Magic™ project.

Videos:

How Solar Magic™ Works

National Semiconductor Interview With Maria Bartiromo of CNBC About Solar Magic™

Solar Magic™ in The Green Report

What are OLEDs?

OLEDs are Organic Light Emitting Diodes. Kodak was the first to develop this Technology that uses organic compounds such as glass and plastic to compose the emissive electroluminescent layer. This layer is no thicker than a film and is applied in a process that is simple, low cost and requires fewer materials than other LED compounds used to emit light and provide full spectrum color displays.

What types of OLEDs are there?

There are three basic types of OLEDs being developed and implemented. Those types are:

• Small Molecule OLED – Known as SM-OLEDs, these devices are typically made from glass substrates and are deposited through a vacuum process. The SM OLED is more efficient than the other types and can be evaporated allowing for complex multi-layer structures. The drawbacks with the small molecule OLED is that it is not flexible and the vacuum process is more expensive than other OLED types. Newer developments with stacked and flexible plastic substrates are removing the disadvantages and this product is expected to have large impacts in the future of OLED installations.
• Polymer OLED – Also called Light Emitting Polymers (LEP), this OLED type is generally composed of a plastic compound that forms the electroluminescent conductive layer. The process for depositing the materials in this layer is a precision ink jet application. This process is low cost, simple and can be created with multiple levels to improve efficiency. Once applied, it is extremely flexible. The drawback with the Polymer OLED is that current efficiency is not at the level of the SM OLED, however, it has surpassed LCD efficiency levels.
• Phosphorescent OLEDs – This OLED type has up to four times higher efficiency than that of a conventional fluorescent OLED. Its application process is the same as the Polymer OLEDs as it is applied by precision ink jet printing, however, it is highly efficient in converting electrical energy. Recent developments are assuring the future success of this OLED type.

The Future of OLEDs

Many different versions of these main OLED types are entering the market. They offer a full color spectrum that is thin and flexible. Future displays using OLEDs will be flexible, low cost, brighter and more efficient. OLEDs also have a wide viewing angle with high contrast video capabilities. This technology is expected to result in displays less than 1mm thick.

The most important challenges to conquer in lighting indication are the following:

• Visibility – Though it seems simple and obvious, the most important consideration in lighting indication design is visibility. Using the right type of indicators for your environment and installing the lighting where it can be easily viewed and analyzed by operators and maintenance personnel is essential.
  • Stack and Tower Lights – Standard machine condition such as ‘power on’ (green), ‘maintenance needed’ (blue), ‘caution’ (yellow) and ‘stop/alarm’ (red) are some of the varied indicators most commonly used with stack and tower lights. Implementation of these devices allows clear communication of machine status to any personnel entering the production environment. The ability to quickly analyze the machine conditions can minimize or even eliminate downtime.
  • Panel Indicators – Process data, environmental conditions, switch indicators, sensor status and a number of other messages displayed on the operator panel can streamline system processes. Where paper manuals and signs can be misplaced or damaged  and thus not available when needed, a row of panel indicators or several rows can be easily mastered by the operator through repetition creating a more efficient employee and process.
• Process Communication
  • Varied indicator types and signaling – Using a row or row of indicators on your panel of various shapes, sizes and colors is an effective way of communicating process status, alarms and accomplishing accurate control monitoring. Implementing lighting indicators as sensor emulators showing a variety of conditions is possibly the most effective way to increase efficiency and gain more process control.
  • Operator Training – The key to achieving a more streamlined process through implementation of lighting indicators is operator training. Using various indictor types and signaling such as flashes or a series of lights to indicate a certain condition is only as effective as the understanding of the operator. Initial training and quick notification of process changes is mandatory if production is to be increased.
  • Consistency across process types – Consistency of your lighting indicators will eliminate confusion and increase effectiveness by allowing one operator to easily move between production steps and still maintain an accurate understanding of the lighting communication. It is not often possible to have all lighting indicators communicate the same message but providing consistency across each process type should be taken into consideration. Creating an environment that permits cross training in a minimum amount of time and with a minimum amount of change in the meaning of the machine indicators allows flexibility and highly productive employees.

VCC offers a wide variety of lighting indicators for all your environmental and process needs. Check out our catalog or contact our dedicated professionals to assist you in streamlining your lighting indication process and creating the most efficient production environment possible.

• The first generation of automation workers is retiring and work forces are shrinking. Those leaving the workforce are taking with them important knowledge of machine operation and in their place is a less experienced team.
• With the reduced process knowledge, having as much consistency in your signaling as possible will help lower the learning curve and result in better performance with predictable volumes of quality product.
• Lost and misplaced hard copy documentation during a crisis can result in increased downtime as the operator may be unaware there is a problem or unsure how to resolve it. With consistent signaling the operator will come to recognize warning signs that can be addressed before the process is halted.
• Standard signaling for common alarms allows the operator to quickly deduce the cause of a machine failure and either fixes the failure or calls maintenance with a clearer diagnosis of the problem.

When engineering your production floor layout, taking into account the basic signals that can be grouped and displayed in a consistent manner is essential for optimizing efficiency and quality. For alarm signaling the recently released ISA/ANSI 18.02 Alarm Management for the Process Industries provides excellent guidelines for indicating and prioritizing alarms. Having indicators on machinery or in stack lights for warnings or caution conditions should be standard as well. Addressing an upcoming error will be simpler and less expensive than the downtime once failure is realized. Implementing standards for your automated indicators and processes will improve your production floor in the following ways:

• Operators will learn your system quicker and be better able to respond when unexpected actions occur.
• There will be a greater tuning of your processes that will allow more consistent forecasting of product.
• You will achieve better diagnostic and more reliable data from your workers as they will better understand the systems.

VCC recognizes the importance of quality and reliable signaling and has an extensive line of LED indication products to help you achieve your production goals. Speak to our specialist today about your indication needs for the future or in re-evaluating your current equipment operations. Contact us for more information.

High power LEDs from VCC are now in use for in an almost limitless number of applications among which are:

• Accent lighting applications such as: contour lighting, stairway lighting, pendants, coves, displays and front panels.
• Outdoor lighting applications such as: floodlights and landscape lighting.
• Specialty lighting applications such as: Flashlights, reading lamps, security lighting and more.

Architects, Engineers and Security Specialists are including LED usage in the basis of their core designs effectively replacing incandescent, halogen, and even fluorescent style lights. The largest selling points in these applications are the ability to meet new environmental standards from LEED and other groups for close to 40% improved power efficiency and the ability to reduce the overall carbon footprint of the building. High Power LEDs also enjoy a longer operating life that practically eliminates the need for maintenance.

High power, high intensity LED selections from VCC offer many additional benefits including:

• Silicone lens technology
• Saturated color spectrum
• Special “design-to-fit” secondary optics
• Low thermal resistance
• Full dimming capabilities
• Superior ESD protection
• 100% RoHS Compliance

Our LED selection experienced less than 10% light output decay under test conditions and with our many vivid, saturated colors, surface mounted options and high energy efficiency, our product range has the right high power LEDs for your requirements. Contact us today and our dedicated professionals will be happy to help select the right product for your high power LED application.

When the LED’s are placed directly behind the panel, they are in direct configuration. The other option used widely is edge configuration where the LED backlighting is provided by LED’s installed around the perimeter of the panel. Either design option will give you the capability of color variations, consistent movement and the bonus of virtually eliminating outages.

The direct configuration utilizes LEDs arranged in a matrix behind the panel to directly illuminate the display. This configuration uses less current through many small strings of LEDs, which allows for local dimming of individual arrays in addition to improved coloration and contrast. Drawbacks of this configuration are that you need to use a high-speed data bus and your programming will be much more complex. This configuration also requires thicker panels to allow space for the light emanating from the LED’s to diffuse.

Edge configuration illuminates the display from the panel edges using fewer strings with more LEDs.  This requires a higher voltage power supply to drive the LEDs, however, there is a less complex control system required and fewer LED current sink drivers. Being arranged in longer strings around the perimeter also allows for a much thinner display. Newer systems use a phase delay evenly across the strings to aid in reducing the peak inductor current inherent to the use of a higher voltage power supply. This configuration is becoming the standard when retrofitting large screen LCD displays.

Whether you are looking for small or large panel displays the boundaries between LED lighting and displays are blurring into one world where the highest quality and quantity of content is provided by one device type. The experts at VCC are prepared to help you plan for the requirements of your display type, placement, thermal management and power. Our line of VCC Lite proprietary products use UL rated (94-V0) material to assist in heat dissipation for all large panel applications and includes an extensive selection of LEDs, panel mounts, clips and interconnects to help you achieve your panel design visions. Click here and contact VCC today for more information.