Datalink is currently working on developing ‘Intrinsically Safe Communication Interfaces’ to be used in Hazardous Areas.

Datalink Electronics is an expert in electronics design and manufacturing for industries that require products to be regulated by the ATEX Directive, which applies to an environment with an explosive atmosphere. This particular product can be used anywhere which requires intrinsic safety, typically the oil and gas industry.

The challenge for Datalink was to design the barrier between the safe and IS sides without compromising on the communication speed.

ATEX regulations apply to all equipment intended for use in explosive atmospheres, whether electrical or mechanical, including protective systems.

It is important to ensure that all products, components and designs meet essential health and safety requirements and undergo appropriate conformity procedures.

Datalink Electronics’ experience in this area means that we can ensure your design complies with the ATEX standard, as well as sourcing the materials and having the process controls in place to manufacture your product within the compliance requirements.

If you have a project that needs to be manufactured to ATEX standards and you would like some advice please call us on 01509 231023.

We are very proud to be a partner of Proactec based in Birmingham, who are well on their way to becoming the global leader in Hand Arm Vibration and Power Tool Management.

Proactec develop, manufacture and distribute patented Health and Safety products designed to protect workers from over-exposure to the damaging effects of hand tool vibration in the workplace.
Datalink’s responsibility has been to design the core electronics for this product from concept and to take the electronics manufacture from proto-type to production volume.
The entrepreneurial spirit at Proactec was recognised recently when Shabana Mahmood, MP for Ladywood and Shadow Minister visited the business in her constituency last month to take a look at the production facility for their new ‘Curo’ range of products.
Curo will help employees to keep within the prescribed daily allowance of vibration under EU law, reducing their risk of contracting debilitating life-long diseases. Hundreds of thousands of users are expected to benefit from ‘Curo’ in 2012 alone.
Datalink are also delighted to be involved with creating so many jobs in the Midlands.

Peter Oppenheimer, Director of Proactec commented “It was a pleasure to welcome Shabana to Proactec and to be joined by Graham Arundell, Managing Director of the Hire Association of Europe who spoke about efforts within the hire and rental industry to tackle vibration issues. This year promises to be a very exciting year for Proactec and our global Partners and we feel confident of an award winning and successful future. We already have orders in hand which surpass our total Year 1 target”.

Richard Newcome, our Senior SMT Technician started as an apprentice in 2004.
After finishing his SMT Technician apprenticeship, he immediately started his Advanced Modern Apprenticeship in Engineering which he completed in 2007.

Richard also studied for a BTEC HND in Electronic/Electrical Engineering, completing in June 2008. After graduating from Loughborough College, he enrolled at De Montfort University in 2009, completing Electronics/Electrical Engineering BENG (Hons) with a 2:1 in 2010.

Richard now plans to continue developing his valuable skills and is studying for a Masters Degree in Electronics Engineering.
We are very proud to have such dedicated and talented individuals on our team and hope that our new apprentices will experience similar growth and success with us.
We are dedicated to investing in our staff to bring you the very best in electronics design and manufacturing in the UK. If you would like to discuss how we can help with design, manufacturing or prototyping on any of your projects, please call us on 01509 231023 or email us here.

Datalink Electronics have previously taken part in the East Midlands Development Agency Coaching for High Growth Programme to achieve growth and create jobs.
Part of the reason we were chosen for that programme was our capacity for growth, drive, vision and enthusiasm. This is something we believe we could not achieve without a continuously developed workforce, complemented perfectly by hiring the freshest talent and developing them on the job, through apprenticeships.

As a result we have recently taken on 5 new apprentices who are studying courses at Loughborough College. They will be learning invaluable skills working on the job, whilst studying 1 day a week at college.
Please welcome our new apprentices to the engineering team:

• Shane Nooney

• Michael Bott

• Ryan Bills

• Connor Rennocks
Their course, Advanced Modern Apprenticeship in Engineering, includes a BTEC National Diploma along with 5 key skills at Level 2, 8 NVQ’s at Level 2, and 3 NVQ’s at Level 3.
We also welcome Zoe Henderson, starting an apprenticeship in our Purchasing department in conjunction with her Level 2 NVQ Certificate in Business & Administration at Loughborough College.
“I decided to apply for Datalink because I felt the company would give me the best possible start to my working career as well as good future opportunities. Everyone is very sociable and friendly and I’m extremely happy I succeeded in getting the job.”
Once Zoe has found her feet, she will aim to gain a CIPs qualification in Purchasing, ensuring that our Purchasing department is completely up to date with the latest industry developments.

Are you attending Offshore Europe from the 6^th – 8^th of September this year in Aberdeen?

If so, Datalink will be on hand offering free electronics design advice.

To give you an idea of our experience:

• Dr Jim Allen, Technical Director and head of our Electronics Design team, has previously worked for British Gas developing “intelligent pigs”, leading the design group that developed the systems that are now used worldwide to support pipeline maintenance
• We have worked in partnership with Rolls Royce to develop a security device using an ultrasonic sensor to listen to the way a signature is signed, observing the acoustic emissions to differentiate between a genuine and forged signature
• We have also recently developed a tool for measuring acoustic emissions produced near offshore Emergency Shutdown Valves in order to assess the extent to which these valves may be leaking

Jim will be happy to offer free advice to address any queries that you may have regarding product development. If you are attending and would like to arrange a time to visit the stand and run any of your questions past Jim, please email us here (cjones@datalinkelectronicsuk.com).

At Datalink Electronics we are proud to have an in-house team of top Electronic Design and Consultancy Engineers with knowledge and experience of various markets including Oil and Gas, Medical, Energy Management, Instrumentation and Industrial Controls.

We have recently added two new recruits to our growing team.

James Green, our new Senior Design Engineer is a BSc (Hons) Electronics Engineering graduate and has almost completed his MSc in Advanced Systems Engineering.  

James’ key skills include:

• Systems engineering process planning
• Requirements management
• Concept design synthesis
• System verification & validation
• Electronics hardware design and embedded software development for MCU, FPGA & DSP devices.

James is an experienced systems design engineer with particular experience of the rail industry including the following projects:
• Development of control systems and measurement systems for railway vehicles
• Development of a portable vehicle mounted structure gauging system used in subways in the US before a modification for permanent installation on Network Rail’s SGT (Structure Gauging Train
• Bespoke sub-systems of the AIT (Asset inspection train) for Tubelines (London) 
 

Michael joined Datalink Electronics last month as a Design Engineer with a BEng in Electronic Engineering & Computer Science with First Class Honours, from Aston University.

Michael Belcher has extensive experience in the following:

Embedded Digital Design – Microcontrollers, FPGAs, etc Wireless protocols: Bluetooth, Zigbee, Wi-Fi
Robotics Projects Placement.

During his time at a major UK defence contractor in 2009/2010, the projects he worked on included:

• Large Scale Data Acquisition & Monitoring Systems
• Wireless Sensor Network
• Robotics Control Systems

We are absolutely delighted to welcome such talented individuals to our team here at Datalink.

With all this development going on in the industry we thought it would be a good time to update our website.

We hope you’ll agree that the new site looks really clean and modern and we’ve added a couple of new features such as the blog – where you can keep up to date with what’s going on at Datalink as well as new products and developments.

If there is anything you’d like to see on our website, please do let us know by emailing us sales@datalink-electronics.co.uk or calling on 01509 231023.

Last year we reported the exciting news that Datalink Electronics was one of 50 companies selected to take part in the Coaching for High Growth programme funded by the East Midlands Development Agency.

100 companies applied and Datalink was chosen for its capacity for growth, drive, vision and enthusiasm. Our investment in our staff was cited by business coach David Hooper as one of the main reasons we were selected.

Over the last year our senior management team has received training in order to achieve growth and create jobs. We’re now delighted to report that all our hard work has come to fruition and we are on track to achieve 20% growth this year.

It is fantastic to be able to bring you positive news every month and for that we would like to thank all of our customers.

We are dedicated to continuing to innovate and invest in our staff to bring you the very best in electronics design and manufacturing in the UK. If you would like to discuss how we can help with design, manufacturing or prototyping on any of your projects, please call us on 01509 231023 or email us sales@datalink-electronics.co.uk.

We’ve been busy doing the rounds at the industry shows over the last few months, getting out and about to meet as many of you as possible and keeping up-to-date with all the latest developments in our industry.

The MEDTEC UK show held at the NEC in Birmingham was a great success, with attendance up 33% on last year.

It was fantastic for us to see so many companies expressing such an interest in new product innovation. We really noticed the growth in the market, evident in the increased attendance, and were delighted to see our industry truly on the road to recovery.

We spoke to lots of companies who were keen to make the most of the recovery by reducing their time to market. Using an EMS partner that has design and prototyping under one roof is essential to achieve this.

• If you would like to talk to Datalink Electronics about any of your existing or upcoming projects, please call us on 01509 231 023 or email us sales@datalink-electronics.co.uk.

• We look forward to seeing some of  you at the next MEDTEC show on the 23rd May 2012.

Back in August 2010 Datalink Electronics announced the exciting news that we had been selected to take part in the Coaching for High Growth programme funded by the East Midlands Development Agency. (more…)