In 2010 the Bluetooth SIG introduced Bluetooth 4.0, also known as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) or Bluetooth Smart. This new technology allowed development of a new generation of low power wireless devices with a very long battery life. Since then the technology has evolved into Bluetooth 5.2 with optimizing even more the battery life, data throughput and wireless range. Heway was working with this technology from the very beginning. We have developed dozens of Bluetooth Low Energy devices that can operate from several months to a few years with a single coin battery of a size of quarter.

It is useful for our customers to have the ability to monitor and control the inputs and outputs of a new, custom PCB. For cases like this, we design custom Desktop Clients like the one shown in the screenshot below. This software has the ability to monitor specific variables required by our customers and is capable of sending commands to the board for configuration purposes. It also generates a log file that is continuously updated with the board's status. This is really helpful when the board must be tested for long periods of time. All the information is captured and consolidated in a friendly format for future analysis.

We are developing an improved PCB for an automated motor control system. Our current focus is ensuring a smooth integration with our iOS application to provide a seamless user experience. To achieve this, we've implemented a thorough testing process to ensure compatibility with our iOS app.

This is a new phase for the first iteration of a Doppler ultrasound device for cardiac applications. It uses 8 channels and it counts with a jitter cleaner IC, high resolution ADCs, Beamforming pulse generator, T/R switches and AFE to demodulate incoming echoes into quadrature signals. After this successful design, the customer requested to upscale to 64 channels, targeting almost the same size. To do that, we designed small PCB modules that are soldered into a mainboard.

This is another power supply board for the doppler ultrasound board published previously. This board creates several voltage rails for both analog and digital circuits, and generates mirrored variable rails of high voltage for the ultrasound transducers.

This is the power supply board for the 64 channels-ultrasound device we designed. Henway created the SOW with inputs from the client, created the schematic and PCB layout, did the PCB assembly, and we wrote the firmware for the device to operate. This takes mains and provides several isolated power rails and variable split high voltage rails, controlled from the ultrasound mainboard. The board can operate either with 110 or 220 VAC.

Henway Technologies is excited to share an update on our current project in partnership with Aqua Engineering. We're developing a board that converts fiber optic light into digital signals, which is designed to fit perfectly inside a custom enclosure that meets IP67 requirements.

The enclosure is designed with a 316L stainless steel housing for durability and corrosion resistance while complying with IEC60079-0 requirements and Haz Loc ratings. It can tolerate extreme temperature ranges from -55C to +120C and up to 95% humidity. The enclosure features a cooling fan and vents for effective temperature management. It also includes various cable glands for signal and power inputs, as well as additional connectors such as an ADASMAB1 SMA connector for optical input and a USB-B connection.

The pictures below show a 64 channel PCB design with 8 ultrasound modules (4 on each side) and one Jitter cleaner module, a PoC 8 channel design to validate both modules, and a close picture of the ultrasound module.The schematic and PCB layout was designed by Henway’s engineering design team, and the PCBs were produced by Henway’s manufacturing team.

We are working with a client to develop a new wirelessly powered temperature measurement circuit. We have the prototype working so now we will be evaluating antennas. The things we care about are directivity, return loss, and antenna efficiency because these things play a critical role in energy harvesting and operating range.

Sometimes we have to design very small boards with practically no connectors or room to place test points. This is one of those cases. We have a tiny board fully populated with components and two board-to-board connectors. The picture shows the fixture we have designed in order to test production batches. This board allows the connection of testing equipment such as power supplies, waveforms generator, oscilloscope, DMM, etc. to the board under test.

The image shows a 3D view of a complex system used in a scientific application. This design contains multiple front ends for analog sensors, drivers for a variety of different actuators, 4 analog video signals, high voltage/high power circuitry, high voltage LED drivers, an FPGA, video encoder, and a SOM to provide connectivity and high-level control of the system.

This week we are unboxing a custom IR spectrum sensor that will be used in a temp measurement project we are working on. The project is for an aerospace application and is in its early R&D stage. We are excited to start testing this technology.

We are designing an audio circuit that must meet specific quality and volume requirements. The circuit must be capable of recording and playback voice prompts. Before starting with the hardware design phase, we've selected the main hardware components and an audio development kit for a preliminary audio test.

This pictures shows the first prototypes of a 150W DC-DC switching converter needed for a medical application developed and prototyped by Henway. It includes peak overcurrent protection and protections against reverse current injection.The design was done by Henway Engineering using the Design For Testing concept, making it suitable for automatic testing in test fixtures for high-volume production. Henway Manufacturing will assemble the circuit boards using our in-house PCB production facility and perform thermal testing prior to delivery.

This is the mainboard of a complex system that handles/drives electric tools, acquires information from multiple analog sensors, and also digitizes, encodes and sends 4 channels of composed video through the internet. We are using a multi-layer PCB stack up due to some high-speed interfaces in the design. We estimate that we will finish it during the next couple of days and start a small manufacturing batch to validate the design.

This board boosts battery voltage to 100V and drives an array of custom piezos. Before producing 600 units, the customer requested that we add an over-temperature safety feature and add circuitry to reduce the temperature rise in both the output drivers and the 100V boost regulator. We overcame potential project delays due to global electronic component shortages by specifying alternate components or redesigning circuits around available components.

Our customer needs to do a wireless read of the resistance of a sensor using a batteryless device mounted on a flexible PCB. In order to comply with this requirement, we have used an ISO 15693-compatible reader & chip. The energy provided by the field of the reader is enough to power up the chip and measure the resistance between the sensor's terminals. The firmware is carefully designed in order to consume as little energy as possible. We are using a custom command from the standard to read the data.

In our development projects of custom hardware and firmware, we usually deliver prototypes after executing a testing protocol defined in the scope of the project. It’s common when working with new designs that the customers find unexpected behavior that they would like to change or improve on, especially during system integration or field testing.

We are excited to report that we have been making significant progress this week on the preliminary placement of components for a wearable device. We are working very closely with a talented enclosure designer. It has been a challenge to consider all the constraints at the same time, such as the Bluetooth Module placement and making sure the antenna radiates properly, the customer's size requirements, and all the connection requirements. We are working on every detail trying to accomplish all the requirements without leaving anything unwatched.