Complete Sourcing Solutions Blog

While electricity is paramount to many of our operations and critical systems, it can also be a volatile force that can easily damage sensitive components if left unregulated. Electrical resistors are passive electrical components that provide resistance to the flow of electrons, and they may be found in a plethora of systems to provide protection from current. Within electronic circuits, resistors may be implemented to reduce the flow of current, divide voltages, adjust signal levels, terminate transmission lines, and more. Depending on the system and its needs, a variety of resistor types may be installed to cater towards specific voltage ranges, heat, and more.

Electrical microcircuits, more commonly known as integrated circuits, are a building block of modern electronic components that helped make computers, mobile phones, and other everyday electronics much more accessible and possible. An electrical integrated circuit consists of circuits that are placed on a semiconductor chip and operate with smaller sizes, greater speeds, and lower costs as compared to discrete circuits. In this blog, we will discuss the electrical integrated circuit, some common types, and how they are used in different applications.

Historically, the relay has been used as a means to transmit and receive information. Its earliest application was for contact through Morse code, an encoded system of telecommunication wherein letters and numbers are communicated through a standardized set of signals. Relays have many different classifications, but a standard relay is typically made of electromagnets and operates as a switch. The principal function of a relay is to open or close circuits electromechanically. They are more commonly used to control smaller currents and are not usually found in power consuming devices aside from small motors.

Microcontrollers are electronic devices that are part of the microcomputer family. Fabricated with VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) technology, microcontrollers are available in 4 bit, 8 bit, and all the way up to 64 and 128 bit options. Microcontrollers can be found in almost every electronic application imaginable, ranging from home applications to traffic lights, from office tools to children’s toys.

The complexity of aircraft hydraulic systems depends heavily on the functions it needs to perform. In smaller planes, hydraulics are used to operate constant-speed propellers, landing gear, and wheel brakes. On larger planes, the systems tend to be more complex as they are used to operate flight control surfaces, spoilers, wing flaps, brakes, and other flight critical functionality. The principles of hydraulics are based on Pascal’s law—pressure exerted anywhere in a confined incompressible fluid is transmitted equally, in all directions throughout the fluid, such that the pressure ratio remains constant.

With more people flying longer distances, airliners are competing by offering more amenities such as in-flight internet service. For a lot of airliners, that means finding the right service provider who will outfit and retrofit their fleet with the fastest broadband service, in the fastest installation time. It’s become a bit of a race between service providers. Airliners have massive fleets, generally a mix of older and new model planes, that all have to be fitted with broadband service. However, taking a plane out of service to get fitted incurs a loss; the longer it takes, the higher the lost. Knowing that the installation time can be crucial to an airliner’s decision, broadband providers are racing to reduce their installation times and even develop new and easier to install equipment.