A circuit breaker is an electrical switch that can be operated automatically and is designed to defend an electrical circuit from the harm that can result from a short circuit or by excess current from an overload. Its main function is to interrupt the flow of current whenever a fault is recognized. In contrast with a fuse that needs to be replaced after its first use, a circuit breaker can be made to reset to get back into its normal operation.

Circuit breakers are available in different sizes, from large switchgear made to defend high voltage circuits supplying an entire city to small gadgets that defends against individual household appliances or low current circuits. One of the general function of a circuit breaker to remove power automatically from a flawed framework is frequently curtailed as Over Current Protection Device (OCPD).

Types of Circuit Breakers

Circuit breakers can be classified into several features, like, construction type, voltage class, structural features and interrupting type.

• Low Voltage – Low voltage circuit breakers ( < 1,000 V) are popular in commercial, industrial and domestic applications. They include:

1. MCB or Miniature Circuit Breaker – It has a rated current up to 125 A. The trip characteristics are generally not adjusted.
2. MCCB or Molded Case Circuit Breaker - It has a rated current up to 1600 A.

• Solid State – Digital Circuit breakers or Solid-State Circuit breakers are a development in technology which guarantees advance circuit breakers. It offers multiple advantages, like, monitoring of circuits loads in a much better way, longer lifetime and cutting the circuit in fractions of microseconds.

• Magnetic – A solenoid, whose force of pulling is proportional to the current, is being utilized in Magnetic Circuit breakers. The contacts of a circuit breaker are held closed using a latch. As soon as the current in the solenoid gets a value above the circuit breaker’s rating, the solenoids pull releases the latch.

• Thermal Magnetic – These types of circuit breakers are most popular in Europe. It fuses both the methodologies i.e. the electromagnets are providing an instantaneous respond to short circuits and the bimetallic strips used responses to less outrageous yet longer-term over-current conditions.

• Magnetic Hydraulic – A magnetic hydraulic circuit breaker takes the help of a solenoid coil to offer force to open up the contacts. It comes with a hydraulic time delay characteristic using a viscous fluid. A spring holds the core back until the current surpasses the breaker rating.

• Ganged or Common trip breakers – To offer simultaneous breaking on the different circuits as a consequence of a fault on one of them we use ganged breakers.

These were some of the most important types of circuit breakers. There are other types of circuit breakers available in the market, like the medium voltage breakers, high voltage breakers, disconnecting circuit breakers, carbon dioxide high voltage breakers and sulfur hexafluoride high voltage breakers.

Hope you liked the article. Brands that manufacture circuit breakers are Carling, Eaton, and ETA. Make sure to follow them using the links as provided.

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LED is a light-producing semiconductor which discharges light when electric current moves through it. The electrons present in the semiconductor get attached with electron holes and release photons (energy). The shade of the light is dictated by the vitality required for electrons to overcome the bandgap of the semiconductor. White light can be generated by a film of a light-emitting phosphor on the device.

The earliest LEDs, which was developed in around 1962, used to emit infrared lights of low intensity. Infrared LEDs have found its use mostly in remote control circuits which can be found in equipment linked with consumer electronics. Modern LEDs come with ultraviolet, infrared and visible wavelengths with the high light output.

LEDs have several advantages over an incandescent light. They are:

• Long Lifetime
• Small Size
• Fast switching
• Improved physical robustness

LEDs have found its use in automotive headlamps, traffic signals, plant growing light, aviation light, medical devices, lighted wallpaper, camera flashes, plant growing light, and advertising.

In contrast with a laser, the light that is released from an LED is neither highly monochromatic nor spectrally coherent. Still, its spectrum is adequately narrow that it can be recognized by the human eye as a saturated color.

High Power LEDs

High Power LEDs are referred to as those LEDs that have higher brightness as well as power and is much costly as compared to that of small LEDs. The most common rating of an LED is 20mA. Any LED that has a higher rating than this can be said to be a high power LED. Generally, the power rating is 10w, 8w, 5w, 3w, 1w, 0.5w, 0.25w and so on. The brightness of small power LEDs is in mcd while that of the high power LEDs is calculated in lm. Presently, high power LEDs are utilized in flashlights, automobile lights, lighting fixtures, etc. 

High Power LEDs can be categorized into 3 types:

• The first type is classified according to the rating power. It can be 100W, 90W……10W, 5W, 1W, 0.5W.
• The second type is the way it is packed. It includes simulated superflux epoxy package, large dimension epoxy package, MCPCB package, power SMD package, TO package, MCPCB integration package, etc.
• The third type is according to the extent of luminous decay. It includes non-low as well as low luminous decay High Power LEDs.

High power LEDs are vitality productive structure which generates adequate lumen yields perfect for mainstream lighting applications. High Power LEDs provides one of the best solid-state light source allowing the user to find out some of the creative ideas related to lighting. The high power LEDs come in both O’Ring as well as Star configurations. Both of this configuration provides the best possible color temperature as well as color rendering capabilities. With an ostensibly related shading temperature of 3200K, nearest to the customary indoor light source, it is especially fit to architects and light planners.

This was all we have regarding High Power LEDs – White. Hope you liked going through it. Brands that manufacture them are Cree, Lumileds, and OSRAM. Make sure to check them out using the links as provided.

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A modular connector is a kind of electrical connector for cables and cords used in electrical appliances, like telecommunication equipment, computer networking as well as audio headsets.

Initially, during the 1960s, the modular connector was made for utilization on some Bell System telephone sets. A similar category of them found its use in the simple interconnection of client-provided phone supporter premises hardware to the telephone network. In 1976 the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) mandated an interface registration system where they were popularly called registered jacks. The comfort of earlier presence for planners and convenience prompted an expansion of modular connectors for several other applications. Applications that initially used an expensive and bulkier connector have changed over to modular connectors. Presently the most popular applications of this equipment are Ethernet and telephone.

Nomenclature

A modular connector is more popularly known as RJ connector, Western Jack and Plug and Modular Phone Jack and Plug. The term 'modular connector' came from its initial utilization in modular wiring equipment of telephone components in the 1960s by the Western Electric Company. This includes the 4P4C used in handset connectors and the 6P2C used in telephone lines.

Registered Jack designations depict the wiring and signal utilized for data and voice correspondence at client confronting interfaces of the public switched telephone network. To refer to the physical jack, a registered jack number is used. For example, the 4P4C connector is inaccurately called RJ22 or RJ9. Likewise, the 8P8C connectors are sometimes erroneously known as RJ45. A popular use of these types of connectors is Ethernet over twisted pair.

History

In the middle of the 1960s, some of the first modular telephone connectors came into the market. It was made by AT&T for the line cords of the Trimline telephone as well as for plug-in handset. Driven by the interest for numerous sets in homes with different cord lengths, the Bell System brought customer connectable part telephones and kits which was sold by Phone Center stores. In 1976, these modular connectors were institutionalized broadly in the United States by the FCC's (Federal Communications Commission Registration Interface Program.

Gender

Modular connectors comes in gender.

• Male is the plug.
• Females are the jacks and sockets.

Cords and cables are terminated using plugs. On the other hand, jacks offer a fixed location on the surface of panels, equipment, and walls. Apart from the telephone extension cord, cables having a jack at one end and a modular plug on the other are the rarest. Rather, cables are typically associated utilizing a female to female adapter, consisting of 2 jacks wired back to back.

Modular connectors are constructed to latch together. As soon as the plug gets inserted inside a jack, the plug is locked by a plastic tab such that it can’t be pulled out. To expel the plug, the hooking tab must be discouraged against the plug to clear the locking edge.

This was all we have regarding the modular connector. Hope you liked it. Brands that manufacture them are TE Connectivity, Molex and Amphenol. Make sure to follow them using the links as provided.

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Data conversion is a technique to convert data from one format to another. All through a PC domain, information is encoded in an assortment of ways. For instance, PC equipment is based on specific guidelines, which necessitates that information contains, for example, parity bit checks.

Likewise, the operating system present in the computer is based upon certain standards of the file and data handling. Also, each program present in the computer manages data differently. Whenever any of the above variables are altered, data needs to be changed over somehow or another before it tends to be utilized by an alternate PC, program or operating system.

Indeed, various variants of these components, for the most part, include various data structures. Like for example the conversion of bits from one format or another is a data conversion.

Data conversion might be as easy and simple as the text file conversion from one character encoding framework to another. It can be even much more complex, like that of the conversion of audio file format, office file format, or the conversion of image formats.

Let's have a check at some of the equipment that helps in Data conversion. These are termed as Data conversion module.

Data Conversion Modules 4CH 12BIT ULTRA-HIGH SPEED A/D CARD

Data Conversion Modules 24BIT 432KS/s 2CH 216KS/s 2CH AO CARD

Data Conversion Modules MCR-DAC 8/I-4/BUS

Data Conversion Modules 100MS/s Arbitrary Waveform Generator

Data Conversion Modules cPCI-9112 MODULE w/ REAR I/O

Data Conversion Modules ACL-8316 WITHOUT D/A CHANNEL

There are many techniques for converting data inside the computer. This might be consistent, as on account of moving up to a more up to date form of a PC program. The conversion of the data might also need some special program segments, or it might include an intricate procedure of experiencing intermediate stages. It may also involve “importing” as well as "exporting" process, which might consist of converting to and from a comma-separated or tab-delimited text files.

This was all we have regarding Data Conversion Modules. Hope you enjoyed going through the article. Brands that manufacture them are ADLINK Technology, 3M and Advantech. Make sure to follow them using the links as provided. Thank you for reading.

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XLR Connector is a kind of electrical connector one can get with professional video, audio and stage lighting devices. This kind of connector has a circular design with 3 to 7 pins. They are primarily used with balanced audio interconnection but have also found its use in low-voltage power supplies, lighting control, and other many more applications. Several manufacturers make XLR connector having an international standard for dimensions, IEC 61076-2-103. They are the same as the littler DIN connector, however, they are not physically good with them.

Design

XLR connectors come in both female as well as male versions in both chassis and cable mounting design (total 4 styles). This is a bit unusual as several other designs of connectors discard one of the styles.

The female XLR connector is designed in such a manner that at first pin 1 is connected (earth pin) before other pins come in contact whenever a male XLR connector is inserted inside.

The number of pins is not the same in all XLR connectors. By 2016, mini XLR connector comes with at most 8 pins and a normal XLR connector comes with at most 10 pins.

Patterns and Applications

• 3-pin (XLR3)

One of the most commonly used XLR connectors is the 3-Pin XLR connectors. It is mostly used in professional microphones. Earlier this kind of connector was used in connecting loudspeakers. XLR3 has a current-carrying capacity of 15 Amperes and can accept a 1.6mm wire which is suitable for several loudspeakers but they are now replaced by Speakon Connectors.

XLR3 are now used in rechargeable devices like scooters and wheelchair. Here these connectors work at a potential difference of 24Volts and carry 2 to 10 Amperes of current. At last, they are also utilized for DMX512. DMX512 is commonly used in controlling the lightening and effects of a stage.

• 4-pin (XLR4)

4-pin connectors are the fundamental connector used in intercom headsets. For example, headsets made of Telex and ClearCom. 2 pins are utilized for unbalanced microphone signal and 2 pins for mono headphone signal.

XLR4 is also used in DC power connections for video and film cameras. Other uses of these pins are in AMX analog lighting control, some pyrotechnic equipment and scrollers.

• 5-pin (XLR5)

It is a standard connector for DMX512 lighting control. It is also used in stereo or dual-element microphones and stereo intercom headset.

• 6-pin (XLR6)

6-pin XLR connectors have found its utilization in stage lighting control applications and dual-channel intercom systems.

• 7-pin (XLR7)

7-pin XLR connectors help in connecting tube condenser microphones with their power supplies which carry polarization voltage, signal, and heater.

• PDN

The PDN Connector, popularly known as the Loudspeaker Cannon is used in connecting loudspeakers and audio power amplifiers.

This was all we have regarding XLR connectors. Hope you like going through the article. Brands that manufacture XLR connectors are Neutrik, Switchcraft, and Amphenol. Make sure to follow them using the links provided by us.

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A switch that can be operated electrically is known as a relay. It consists of several operating contact terminals as well as a group of input terminals for multiple or single control signals. The switch might come with a different number of contacts in several contact forms, like break contacts, make contacts, etc.

Relays have found its uses at places where several circuits need to be controlled by a particular signal or where it is important to control the circuit by a low power signal which is independent. Firstly relays were utilized as signal repeaters in long-distance telegraph circuits. Here they used to revive the signal rolling in from one circuit by broadcasting it on another circuit. Relays were utilized excessively in early computers as well as telephone exchanges to carry out logical operations.

The basic version of relays takes the help of an electromagnet to open or close the contacts, however, other working standards have been concocted like the solid-state relays which utilize the semiconductor properties for controlling. Relays that comes with multiple operating coils and adjusted working attributes are utilized in protecting electrical circuits from faults and overload. In current electric power frameworks, these capabilities are taken care of by digital instruments known as protective relays.

Time Delay Relay

The arrangement of timing relays is made in such a way that it causes a delay in operating their contacts. To cause a very small delay, a copper disk is placed in between the moving blade assembly and the armature. The electric current which flows in the disk keeps up the magnetic field for a brief timeframe, protracting discharge time. For a bit longer delay, a dashpot is utilized. A piston loaded with fluid that can escape slowly is referred to as a dashpot. In this case, both oil-filled, as well as air-filled dashpots, are taken help of. To vary the time period, one can either increase or decrease the flow rate. The installation of a mechanical clockwork timer is done for long time periods. Relays may either be field adjusted or organized for a fixed time span or set remotely from a control panel. Presently we have relays that come with a microprocessor that offers accuracy timing over an extraordinary range.

Today we also have relays that are made with a “shock absorber” mechanism to prohibit full, immediate motion at the point when the coil is either stimulated or de-invigorated. Thus it provides the relay the option of time-delay actuation. This kind of relays can be manufactured to result in a delay armature motion on coil Energization or De-Energization or even both.

The contacts of time delay relays should be specified not simply as closed or open, but also whether the delay gets operated in the opening direction or the closing direction.

This was all we have regarding the time delay and timing relays. Hope you liked the article. Brands that manufacture them are TE Connectivity, Littelfuse and Crouzet. Make sure to go through them using the links as provided. Thank you for reading.

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A stepping motor or a step motor or a stepper motor is referred to as a brushless DC electric motor that partitions a full pivot into various equivalent steps. The position of the motor can be made to hold and move at one of these steps without any rotary encoder for feedback.

Basics of operation

There is a continuous rotation of brushed DC motors whenever a DC voltage is given across their terminals. The stepper motor is popular by its functionality of changing input pulses (square wave pulses) into an accurately characterized augmentation in the pole position. Each pulse makes the shaft to move by a fixed angle.

Stepper motors come with multiple "toothed" electromagnets that are placed around a central gear formed in the shape of an iron. The electromagnets are made to energize by a microcontroller as well as an external driver circuit. To carry out the turning motion in the motor shaft, firstly, power is supplied to the electromagnet which attracts the teeth gear magnetically. When the teeth gear lines up with the first electromagnet, they are somewhat balanced from the succeeding electromagnet. Now as the following electromagnet is switched ON and the previous one is switched OFF, the gear turns marginally to line up with the following one. This process is then repeated and each of these rotation is known as "step".

The electromagnets’ circular arrangement is split into groups, each group is known as a phase, and every group comes with an equal number of electromagnets. The number of groups is selected by the creator of that particular stepper motor. Each group's electromagnet is interleaved with other group's electromagnets to establish a uniform pattern of arrangement. Let’s understand it with an example. Assume that the stepper motor consists of 2 groups A and B. Along with that it has 10 electromagnets. The grouping will be like ABABABABAB.

Electromagnets that are within a particular group are all energized together. As a consequence, the stepper motor with more phases regularly has more wires to operate the motor.

Advantages

• Low speed and high torque at startup.
• Ease for control accomplished.
• Construction is simple.
• Ruggedness
• It can be operated in an open-loop control system.
• Low maintenance.
• Will surely wok in any kind of environment.
• Less chance to slip or stall.
• It can be utilized in robotics.
• The input pulse is proportionate to the rotational angle.
• Highly reliable.
• Full torque at standstill.
• It provides a quite good response to reversing / stopping / starting.
• As there are no contact brushes in the motor, they are very much reliable. Thus the motor’s life is dependent completely on bearing’s life.

Applications

Stepper motors are commonly used in flatbed scanners, compact disc drives, computer printers, slot machines, image scanner, intelligent lighting, CNC machines, camera lens as well as in 3D printers.

Hope you liked the article on stepper motors. Brands that manufacture them are Applied Motion, CUI and Pololu. Make sure to follow the links as provided.

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LCD Touch panels serve both as input as well as an output device. They are generally placed above any electronic visual display of an information processing system. The users can operate the information processing system or even can provide input just by touching the screen by fingers or with a stylus.

Now, LCD Touch Panels’ basic principle of working is based upon that of an LCD. It will be good for us to get accustomed to LCDs. So let’s begin with it.

The LCD consists of a flat panel like display which takes the help of light modulating characteristics of liquid crystals. Instead of emitting light directly the liquid crystals use a reflector (or a backlight) to generate images in monochrome or color. LCDs are accessible to show a discretionary or a fixed picture with less info content, which can be shown or covered up, for example, digits, 7 segment displays like in digital clocks or preset words. Depending on the polarizer arrangement LCDs can either be ON or OFF. On blue LCDs, the optical fibers are summed with white to provide its characteristic appearance.

LCDs have found its way in several applications like computer monitors, aircraft cockpit displays, instrument panels, and LCD televisions. Small LCD screens are used in calculators, smartphones, watches, digital cameras, etc. It is also utilized in consumer electronics products like clocks, video game devices, and DVD players. LCD screens have completely replaced bulky and heavy CRT (Cathode Ray Tube).  Today they are available in several sizes than CRT. It should also be noted that some LCDs are also getting replaced by OLEDs. It is so because they can be easily converted into different shapes, has wide color gamut, low response time, virtually infinite viewing angles and color contrast, slimmer profile and weights lesser than an LCD.

Advantages of using LCDs:

• Light, thin and compact.
• Power consumption is low.
• The amount of heat emitted during emission is also less.
• No geometric distortion.
• A sharp image is generated when operated at native resolution.
• Discharges no bothersome electromagnetic radiation.
• Can be made in practically any size or shape.
• Offers Masking Effect – The LCD masks the effects of grayscale and spatial quantization to establish an illusion of higher picture quality.
• They are not affected by any magnetic fields (including the Earth).
• Can be constructed using narrow frame borders. Thus, enabling several LCD screens to get lined up side by side to make up what resembles a big screen.

Disadvantages of using LCDs:

• There is a chance for loosing up of contrast at high temperature.
• At low temperature, the response time is much slower.
• Thermalization might take place in case of bad thermal management.
• Stuck or dead pixels might take place during the time of manufacture or after a certain span of its use.

This was all we have regarding LCD and LCD touch panels. Hope you liked it. Brands that manufacture them are Fujitsu, NKK Switches and 3M. Make sure to follow them using the links as provided.

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A VFD or a Vacuum Fluorescent Display is a display device that was used on purchaser gadgets gear like car radios, video cassette recorders, and microwave ovens.

A VFD follows the principle of Cathodoluminescence which is much similar to that of the CRT (Cathode Ray Tube). The only difference is that they can be operated at a much lower potential difference. Each tube present in a VFD consists of an anode coated with a phosphor that is bombarded by electrons transmitted from the cathode fiber. In addition to that, each tube in a VFD has a mesh control grid.

A VFD produces an exceptionally splendid light with high contrast and can support display components of different hues. The standard illumination quantity for a VFD is around 640 cd/m². The VFDs providing high brightness operate at 4,000 cd/m² and that of the experimental components is as high as 35,000 cd/m² . The brightness of the display and the selection of color altogether influence the lifetime of the tubes. It ranges from as high as 30,000 hours for the most commonly produced green light to as low as 1,500 hours for a vivid red. In the past, cadmium was used as VFDs metal but now they are replaced by RoHS-complaint VFDs.

VFDs can display multi-segment Alpha Numeric characters or 7 segment numerals. By and by, there is little breaking point to the shape of the picture that can be shown: it depends exclusively on the state of phosphor on the anode(s).

The very first VFD was the DM160 made in 1959 by Philips. This was the single segment VFD. The 1^st multi-segment VFD was the 1967 Japanese single digit, 7 segment device. The displays started to get common on calculators as well as other purchaser gadgets gears. In the late 1980s, a huge number of units were made yearly.

Use:

Along with brightness, VFDs are inexpensive, rugged, and can be easily arranged to show a wide assortment of customized messages. In contrast to LCDs, VFDs are not restricted by the reaction time of adjusting liquid crystals. Thus, they can carry out their functions normally in cold temperatures. One of its biggest drawbacks of VFDs was that they used to consume a large amount of power than a simple LCD. This was viewed as a huge disadvantage for battery-worked gear like calculators and as a consequence, these VFDs ended up its use in devices that were given power using an AC source.

In the 1980s, VFDs found its use in automobiles for digital displays in odometers and speedometers. Their high brightness feature made them well suited for cars. From 1979 to the mid of 1980, VFDs were also used in portable electronic game units. VFDs also served a piece of good equipment for triode amplifiers.

This was all we have regarding Vacuum Fluorescent Display. Hope you like reading the article on it. Brands that manufacture them are Noritake, Matrix Orbital and Newhaven Display. Make sure to follow them using the links as provided.

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Display modules are popular devices that enrich people with visual information. One of the main motives of display modules is to simplify the sharing of information. There are several displays present but in this article, we are going to focus on two of the most important ones i.e. LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and LED (Light Emitting Diode). And at the end of the article, we will give a glimpse of OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode). So without wasting much words let’s begin this blog.     

2.LCD (Liquid Crystal Display)

The LCD consists of a flat panel like display which takes the help of light modulating characteristics of liquid crystals. Instead of emitting light directly the liquid crystals use a reflector (or a backlight) to generate images in monochrome or color. LCDs are accessible to show a discretionary or a fixed picture with less info content, which can be shown or covered up, for example, digits, 7 segment displays like in digital clocks or preset words. LCDs have found its way in several applications like computer monitors, aircraft cockpit displays, instrument panels, and LCD televisions. Small LCD screens are used in calculators, smartphones, watches, digital cameras, etc. It is also utilized in consumer electronics products like clocks, video game devices, and DVD players.

 2. LED (Light Emitting Diode)

LED is a light-producing semiconductor which discharges light when electric current moves through it. The electrons present in the semiconductor get attached with electron holes and release photons (energy). The shade of the light is dictated by the vitality required for electrons to overcome the bandgap of the semiconductor. White light can be generated by a film of a light-emitting phosphor on the device. LEDs have several advantages over an incandescent light. They are:

• Long Lifetime
• Small Size
• Fast switching
• Improved physical robustness

LEDs have found its use in automotive headlamps, traffic signals, plant growing light, aviation light, etc.

As we have got some ideas regarding LEDs, let's look upon OLED which is one of the popular type of LED present in the market.

                             OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode)

OLED, popularly known as Organic EL diode, is a Light Emitting Diode where the layer of emissive electroluminescent is made up of organic compounds which generates light when electric current passes through it. OLEDs have found its use in devices like computer monitors, screens used in televisions, portable game console, smartphones, and PDAs. As the OLED display emits visible light there is no use for a backlight. Thus, it is lighter and thinner than the LCD. Even though an LCD uses cold cathode fluorescent lamps but still in a dark room an OLED screen can attain a much higher contrast ratio than an LCD.

Now, OLED can be divided into two categories.

• PMOLED – This stands for Passive Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode. In this type of display, each row is controlled successively, individually.4
• AMOLED – This stands for Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode. It takes the help of a thin film transistor to switch and access each pixel (ON/OFF). Thus, OLED of this category makes large display and high resolution possible.

So this was all about popular Display Modules. Hope you liked this article. Popular brands that makes display modules are 4D Systems, Riverdi and MikroElektronika. Make sure to check them out using the links as provided.

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