Today's modern devices call for miniaturisation, which often presents Engineers with space challenges especially in the area of the front panel. MENTOR does not just offer one or two solutions but a unique and comprehensive 174-strong range of standard miniature light guide solutions that complements its world-leading classic-sized range. Miniature Light Guides also offer opportunities for more sophisticated and discrete designs that can set your product apart from the norm. Multitron's new Light Guide Micro-Site provides a useful total range overview with inks to the detail. Specifically, MENTOR's miniature light guide range includes :-

Miniature front panel light guides with head diameters of just 2.2mm compared with classic 3.2mm and 5.0mm sizes. Like MENTOR's hugely popular classic panel-mounted range these all come with the the standard ex-stock options of spherical, planar and counter-bore heads and are available with either 0° or 45° light-inject faces to accommodate just about any type of LED type or PCB/front panel configuration. IP 68-rated standard versions are also available ex-stock. Custom lengths can normally be supplied with little or no tooling cost.

Both Horizontal and Vertical format PCB-mounted miniature light guide arrays, from 1 to 4 rows high and 1-10 columns wide, designed for the miniature 2.54mm grid compared with the classic 5.08mm dimension. Despite the close proximity of up to 40 tiny Ø2mm light elements, sophisticated design methods, integrated diaphragms and precision manufacturing all combine to ensure that there is no visible light bleed, even when different colours are displayed adjacently. Custom lengths can normally be supplied with little or no tooling cost.

Like MENTOR's classic range, the majority of their miniature Light Guides are available ex-stock with low MOQs. Custom dimensions are normally possible with little of no tooling cost. As always with MENTOR, the luminance emitted from their Light Guides almost exactly matches that of the LED. However, engineers are today calling for ever more sophistication in their designs. MENTOR can manufacture the same parts specifying material that will provide a highly visible, optically-pure yet discreet and diffused glow rather than the typical overly-bright emissions that can sometimes be unsuitable for domestic and other applications. They can also supply Light Guides in self-coloured material that reflects the potential colour of the LED, even when it is not switched on.

Referred to below, Multitron's new-for-2015 Light Guide Micro-Site will swiftly guide you through the myriad of options to the optimum Light Guide solution for your new design and perhaps provide a little specialised learning along the way. Further advice from Multiron is just an e-mail or phone call away (+44 203 475 2610).

LIGHT GUIDE MICRO-SITE

The web's most comprehensive resource for specialist engineers.

Finding the ideal light guide / light pipe and understanding the many options available has just got a whole lot easier for Electronic Design Engineers with the launch of Multitron’s new Light Guide Micro-Site.

This new site is carefully designed to help Engineers easily navigate to the optimum Light Guide solution for their application.  The MENTOR range of Light Guides is amongst the most comprehensive in the world, offering over 450 standard part numbers, the majority of which are immediately available ex-stock.  These encompass all conceivable types in both classic sizes for the 5.08mm grid and miniature 2.54mm versions. Practically all of these parts have the ability to be modified in dimension or material used, often with little or no tooling cost. The Micro-Site provides guidance on this as well as on totally custom MENTOR optics solutions.

Multitron's Light Guide Micro-site provides a background description of Light Guides for those who need it and splits the range into six categories for those who want to jump straight to the detail. “Category Description” pages provide invaluable general insights whilst the “Graphical Category Overview” pages provide an “at a glance” understanding of the different types of light guides available in that particular category, along with direct "drill down links" to the detail pages.  The latter include dimensioned drawings, simple selection charts and information on ex-stock availability, MOQs for non-stocked parts and custom possibilities etc.  Rather than displaying long lists of tables, the site uses graphical icons with instant "on hover” explanatory tool-tips.

With substantial and invaluable support from MENTOR, we have tried hard to make Multitron’s new Light Guide Micro-Site the web’s most comprehensive resource and obvious first port-of-call for specialist engineers seeking the optimum light guide.

Yes, you did read the above correctly but do check again just to be sure! This MENTOR innovation opens-up a whole new world to electronic design engineers who in the past have not had the tooling budgets or volumes to justify custom light guide solutions.

For the first time, any engineer with no matter how small a volume can now specify just about any shape or size they want in two dimensions to create custom area, bargraph or solid strip light guides that are professionally designed using sophisticated techniques and software that are unavailable to most companies.

MENTOR’s expert lighting engineers will use their specialist skills and advanced optical design software to ensure that LEDs are optimally positioned to deliver homogeneous light with no bleed and will provide advice on the LED type to use.  All of this is possible with no tooling costs and usual MOQ is just 300pcs.  An engineer’s dream!!

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Square Light Guides are an innovative new introduction from MENTOR. Not only do they look great but they allow you to visibly differentiate your product designs from the more mundane.

There are three standard types, all with immediate ex-stock availability in various dimensions. One is a front panel mounted single light guide with a 3.2mm chamfered head and the other two are PCB-mounted horizontal light guides in single and 3-row versions with 1.4 mm square elements in arrays of between 1 and 10 columns.

 It is worth noting that whilst the multi-column array versions have tiny light elements closely spaced together, MENTOR’s clever integrated diaphragm prevents light bleed even when different colours are used adjacent.

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With so much current excitement surrounding MENTOR’s innovative and leading-edge opto solutions, it is sometimes all-too-easy to forget their near 100 year mechanical and electro-mechanical component heritage! MENTOR remains one of the world’s largest manufacturers of industrial handles and control knobs. They ship millions of ultra-high quality equipment / enclosure handles and turning knobs annually in their inimitable “boringly reliable” manner – delivered on time and never a quality issue!

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Our blog also covers more informal news items. Did you know for instance that MENTOR's Electronica 2014 stand featured 17 large-fomat fine-art prints commissioned from Multitron's MD Duncan Grove FRPS?

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Established in 1920, MENTOR GmbH is a 500 employee international component manufacturer with standard ranges encompassing light guides, opto, handles, knobs, switches, sensors, and. Design and manufacturing facilities in Germany, Poland, Tunisia and China allow MENTOR to fulfil customer requirements from design to finished component, all in-house.

Opto design and manufacture is a core and world-leading MENTOR competency and they are first-tier suppliers of lighting to many major auto companies. This experience has resulted in them developing unique skills and they are able to virtually design optics and take these designs to in-house production without the need for prototyping. Many non-automotive companies are now exploiting these skills.

Multitron is MENTOR's exclusive agent /distributor for the UK & ROI and is also contracted to represent MENTOR to the world's major global component distributors.

Multitron was formed in Jan 2012 with active support from MENTOR. Its sole objectives are to assist UK & ROI Design Engineers with design solutions as well as maintaining MENTOR's legendary service levels for its many customers in the region. It also manages MENTOR's supply chain to the world's major global electronic component distributors.