Articles and News

The drive unit comprises an SK 15407 industrial bevel gear unit, a medium-voltage electric motor with a 450 kW performance rating, a swing base, a hydraulic coupling, and an electro-hydraulic brake.

The presentation by the Automation Federation, “Cybersecurity Career Pathways for Protecting Critical Infrastructure,” will be delivered at 11 a.m. on Friday, 27 January.

R&S PACE 2 – the Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) engine by Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity – now enables Infotecs’ ViPNet xFirewall to inspect web content for potential malicious or injected code and to block Javascript threats in realtime.

By Bill Lydon, Editor, Automation.com The Dell EMC World 2016, in October, was a thought-provoking experience, where Dell set forth their bright vision of the automation industry's connected future.

Developing & maintaining competent process operators is critical to business performance in the process industries.

SimSci process simulation solutions serve 23 of the world’s top 25 petroleum companies; 48 of the top 50 chemical companies; and all of the top mining companies.

Co-locating Industrial Automation North America and MDA North America at FABTECH Chicago allows Hannover Fairs USA to provide these two key tradeshows on an annual basis. Both currently are held at the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) in the even years.

Rosa brings a strong track record to Lenze with more than 25 years of experience at Eaton Corporation in the controls, automation, power electronics, and services businesses.

Featuring cycle times of 30–45 seconds, the CNC-controlled Foilpuller with FIPA EOAT and vacuum technology automates the film-removal process for metal sheets used in white goods.

The time it takes the sheet to go from the diebolt actuators to the thickness gauge that transverses the sheet is the transportation delay

By Peter Martin, Schneider Electric Process Automation Connected products are expected to approach 30 billion by 2020, with utilities, telecommunications and manufacturing as the top three verticals using IoT. The revolution is that finally companies have the real opportunity to move from managing their business to actually controlling it.

This firmware is compliant with the current version of the IEC 62443-4-2 level 2 cybersecurity standard, and also supports other security management features, such as MAC Address and RADIUS authentication to prevent from unauthorized access, known security leaks and unknown attacks.

The NTMA Plant Managers Roundtable at Modern Industries in Phoenix, Arizona will discuss the various types of automation devices that make lights-out manufacturing possible in addition to the advantages and challenges of each type of automization

Acosta brings nearly 20 years of experience in implementing design standards and quality procedures and leveraging burgeoning technologies to create efficiencies that improve workflow, project delivery and work products.

A3 Mexico will serve as a networking hub, fostering interaction between entrepreneurs, investors, vendors, customers, students, educators, scientists, journalists and industry analysts.

Under the agreement, the companies will pursue selected projects with automation system requirements for potential implementation of the Bedrock Open Secure Automation (OSA) system.

Steven Pflantz, president of ISA 2017, pledges to build on ISA’s financial and operational success by leveraging core strengths and capabilities.

When the conversion is complete in late 2017, the plant, near Newcastle in the United Kingdom, will be fueled by approximately 1.4 million tons of wood waste per year, supplying the national grid with up to 390 megawatts of low-carbon electricity.

HARTING will provide Heilind’s customers with its connectivity solutions. Heilind will, in turn, increase HARTING’s growth through their online sales and industry presence.

In his current role, Don’s objective is to assist customers in overcoming engineering challenges and produce customized products that achieve the desired application using high quality solutions.

Red Lion earned the award for the sixth consecutive year, in part due to its HMI hardware and wireless networking components

The Honeywell and Intel collaboration will focus on solutions that utilize the two companies’ technology offerings, including sensors, handheld computers, processors, bar code scanners, RFID tags and readers and cloud-based software

Both events will be held at the Huntington Convention Center in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, May 8 - 10, 2017.

The first half of 2017 saw ISA offer many different training and education programs.

For this project, Yokogawa Middle East & Africa will deliver the CENTUM VP integrated production control system for the boiler, turbine governor, turbine protection system and the desalination plant at each of these units.

By Nathan Hedrick, Endress+Hauser Several instrument manufacturers offer various types of “smart instruments,” and their approaches vary. This article covers how Endress+Hauser flow sensors with Heartbeat Technology provide the kind of information needed to implement smart pumping.

By Daniel Crum, Owl Computing Technologies, Inc. The US Department of Homeland Security, in conjunction with the FBI and NSA, has released recommended best practices that any organization can use to help secure their ICS communications. This article discusses these practices

In this position, Andreas Schneider will further expand EnOcean's business in line with its long-term strategy in the self-powered IoT for the core markets of building automation, smart homes, LED light control and industrial automation.

Casa Systems was growing and they needed to find a solution to support formal engineering change control processes in order to eliminate issues they were experiencing with accountability, delays and lost information.

CANADA will run parallel to the Canadian metalworking trade fair CMTS (Canadian Manufacturing Technology Show). The event venue is the International Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, which is adjacent to the Toronto Airport.

By Bill Lydon, Editor, Automation.com The convergence of IT and OT is one of the more fascinating trends that has spawned many discussions throughout the industrial space., but does it sound the death knell for Manufacturing Execution Systems?

Diagnostic information from Profibus and Profinet can prevent downtime and accelerate troubleshooting.

Koma Precision received the highest number of votes amongst all 50 members of Partners in THINC in the annual partner effectiveness survey to earn the distinguished title.

Mentor is an automotive systems supplier providing design tools and embedded software in the areas of connectivity, electrification, autonomous drive and vehicle architecture.

Carolina Color faced an interesting business decision arising from the launch of two new coloring technologies. Carolina Colors decided to find an automated solution that the customers could install and use in order to achieve a cost advantage.

Shakkaliyev holds a law degree from Gumilyov Eurasian National University; an economics degree from Karaganda State University; and a degree in standardization, certification, and metrology from Kostanay Engineering Economic University.

A breadboard is a construction base for prototyping of electronics.

Opened in 2014, the 2.1 kilometre bridge also carries two 400 mm diameter district heating pipelines which are now protected by an emergency shut-off system incorporating Rotork pneumatic actuators.

Abstracts should include a 250-word proposal outlining the topic to be presented. Prospective authors have the choice of presenting a 30-minute PowerPoint presentation, a paper presentation, or a poster session. Deadline for submission is 31 January 2017.

Tune in to see HARTING on Fox Business Network on January 15, 2017 at 5:30pm ET and Bloomberg International on January 22, 2017 at 7:30am GMT, 10:30am CST D.F. and 3:00pm HKT.

Murray was most recently senior vice president of engineering at Bromium, where he led development for the company’s global enterprise cyber security solutions.

The Mars 2020 Rover will carry an entirely new subsystem to collect and prepare Martian rocks and soil samples. This subsystem will include a coring drill on its arm, controlled partially by TT Electronics’ Hall-effect sensors.

Six months after implementing Leading2Lean’s CloudDISPATCH system, however, Lakeview Farms experienced a 34 percent decrease in line downtime, a 15 percent reduction in repair costs, and a 30 percent increase in maintenance technician efficiency.

The recent acquisition represents a step ahead towards the accomplishment of a complete supply chain for the world of industrial automation

The certification independently confirms that Honeywell’s named system development lifecycle (SDL), the Standard HPS Iterative Process (HIP), meets the security development lifecycle requirements of the ISASecure Security Development Lifecycle Assurance (SDLA) certification

This year’s FRC, titled FIRST STEAMWORKS, is expected to involve approximately 85,000 high school students on more than 3,400 participating teams throughout the world.

The IIoT Solutions Marketing Cooperation is intended to support sales of high value Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solutions to industrial automation markets.

The Inspire ecosystem is a key part of Honeywell’s Connected Plant initiative that helps manufacturers leverage the IIoT to improve the safety, efficiency and reliability of operations across a single plant or several plants across an enterprise.

Designed with flexibility for the future, the lab’s operational focus includes areas such as microgrid control and communication, advanced control for manufacturing, and asset monitoring for heavy equipment.

Selected in the sensor category, the United Electric Safety Transmitter (ST) incorporates a logic solver and high capacity safety relay output (SRO) in addition to an industry standard transmitter and an explosion-proof enclosure.

CeMAT and HANNOVER MESSE are being staged as standalone events, but their common ground will be prominently highlighted for the benefit of potential crossover visitors.

Vertique is located in Arden, North Carolina, and over the past 15 plus years, has grown to be one of the most important key players in the food & beverage market providing solutions for intra-logistics.

The hyper-focus on IoT is creating an unfocused urgency monitor everything, which could lead to over instrumenting automation systems & creating data noise.

Prizes up to 5,000 euros will be awarded for the most innovative uses of iglide plain plastic bearings and will be presented at April’s Hanover Trade Show in Germany

Each has the potential to significantly impact or even disrupt processes, and may poise the need for investment by manufacturers who face the risk of being late to adopt.

This is an open field network using general-purpose 100Mbps Ethernet communication and is a new network mode in the CC-Link IE Ethernet-based integrated network lineup.

The KASTOapp displays the status of all KASTO sawing machines in the network that are equipped with the EasyControl or ExpertControl systems.

The motor vehicle, aerospace and job shop sectors showed increased order activity in the last few months of the year, indicating capital investment in anticipation of a need for additional capacity.

The investment includes 38,000 intelligent heat meters and a fully automatic remote reading system from Kamstrup. This large project begins in March 2017.

The agreement has been signed for three years and includes the field trial of new Smart Grid and Smart City solutions based on the Internet of Things, with the common goal of improving efficiency of existing infrastructures, promote sustainable growth and boost local economy.

The Fluke Motor and Drive Troubleshooting Course delivers critical knowledge so maintenance professionals can gain the practical diagnostic skills needed to better understand motor/drive system health.

By Bill Lydon, Editor, Automation.com Keeping consistent with Internet of Things and Industry 4.0 concepts and architectures, Turck has embedded PLC control into their traditional products, thereby extending capabilities to be a control company.

The collaboration will deliver both production benefits, in terms of reduced project execution risk, higher quality manufacturing and customer benefits in the form of integrated technologies, expertise and support.

Three Schneider Electric software customers won awards based on their implementation of mobility solutions across their production environment

Learn about four signal classes that are leading and lagging indicators of competency gaps in operators working in process industries.

In this position, Pflantz will work with Society leaders and staff to increase awareness of the value and relevance of the ISA brand and build on ISA’s range of capabilities and resources for automation professionals.

By Rick Delgado, Freelance Automation Writer According to a study by market intelligence firm Tractica, the number of medical robots entering practice is expected to triple in the next five years, exceeding 10,000 and culminating in over 38,000 industry wide.

The symposium will focus on how automation is used to address the impact of increased regulation, manufacturing costs, and security threats related to the food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and biotech industries.

Peter Martin, Vice President Strategic Ventures for Schneider Electric Systems USA, Inc. of Foxboro, MA will serve as Chairman. Bharat Naik, President of Reotemp Instruments of San Diego, CA, was elected Vice-­‐ Chairman.

As Regional Director, Mo will work closely with FieldComm Group corporate marketing and members in the region to develop a regional strategic marketing plan.

In this hands-on course, you'll learn the basic terminology and building blocks of process control, as well as advanced process control techniques, using our control solutions. Learn how to evaluate and tune PID control loops and how to recognize when tuning is not the root cause of an issue. Working through real-time simulations, you’ll learn by doing and start thinking like an expert.

Rugged Controls will continue to manufacture MTNW’s previous product portfolio including running line tensiometers, smart deck machinery and LCI flagship displays, which are used in extreme, marine & outdoor environments where rugged, high visibility electronics are required for operation.

dotdot is the universal language for the IoT, designed to make it possible for smart objects to work together on any network

The event—to be held on the Santa Clara campus of the Intel Corporation on 25-28 April—will feature experts and organizations involved in the integration of intelligent building systems and connected home technologies.

The first step in improving energy efficiency for machines, process skids & plants is measurement. HMI software measures, manages & optimizes energy use.

By Bill Lydon, Editor, Automation.com Focused on developing a standards-based, open, secure, interoperable process control architecture, the Open Process Automation saw an impressive turnout for this initial meeting with 57 individuals from 30 different organizations attending.

Thinfilm and Prime Vision will leverage Thinfilm’s NFC tags in helping address key postal- and logistics-related needs. Applications will initially target increased mail/parcel security, enhanced e-commerce functionality, and improved consumer communication.

By Bill Lydon, Editor, Automation.com Wonderware/Schneider Electric's Prometheus is configuration and management software for defining HMI and multiple vendor PLC and control code

After considerable research and review, Enable made the decision to consolidate its assets (more than 14,000 gas meters) into a single measurement system and selected FLOWCAL Enterprise as their measurement system of record.

There are suitable programs for different groups of users, from an entry-level course introducing in the work with basic functions of CODESYS V3 ranging to expert workshops covering “CODESYS Soft Motion CNC+Robotics” or “Library development and documentation”.

Information and communication technology (ICT) have become the vital part of social infrastructure. Hence, such system that permits society for better and efficient functioning is needed.

Many temperature applications in the oil and gas industry require specialized instrumentation to make required measurements.

An analog-to-digital converter is a function that converts an analog signal (current, voltage, or electric charge) into digital data (usually binary)

CMPRO was developed by PSA in the 1990s to provide a solution for managing compliance requirements within the aerospace and defense industries.

Preferred Utilities is a source for products and services in the area boiler instrumentation and controls, burners and fuel management systems across North America.

An "Advanced Acoustics" webinar is scheduled for January 12th and will be followed by additional monthly webinars covering a variety of sound and vibration topics.

The survey’s measure of the intensity of change in electroindustry business conditions moved further into positive territory, as the mean rating ticked up an additional one-tenth of a point to +0.4 this month from its previous reading of +0.3 in November.

With facilities located in Wisconsin, Oregon, and Mexico, Milwaukee Electronics designs and manufactures custom circuit board assemblies for the medical, transportation, military, and HVAC industries.

By Anthony Borges, Pinpoint Information Systems The power of an MES System or configurable process control system is now well beyond that of what can be accomplished with PLCs alone.

By Jonathan Wilkins, EU Automation While autonomous vehicles are making most of the headlines, some argue collaboration is more vital to industry success than automation. This article looks at some of the most exciting automotive engineering clusters around the world.

To achieve success with the IIoT, industrial businesses and manufacturers must create a long-term vision with an associated value proposition,

Daugherty was instrumental in the establishment of efficiency standards for energy-efficient induction motors, including the passing of the landmark Energy Policy Act of 1992.

In the past year Cypress Ridge sought Exele's help to convert their hardwired TAPI-based telephone alarm notification system to use Voice-Over-IP (VOIP).

Installing a direct mass device in the process control loop offers a number of advantages. It allows the operator to achieve a direct ratio of control between the natural gas, the air and waste gas fuels without any corrections for pressure, temperature or density, which requires extra components and possibly extra offsets and failures.

The agreement will co-locate Industrial Automation, Motion, Drive & Automation, ComVac, parts2clean, and CeMAT trade shows with the Canadian Manufacturing Technology Show (CMTS). The co-located trade shows will take place next year at CMTS from September 25-28, 2017 in Ontario.

Thermowell and temperature processes have multiple interacting thermal lags.

As part of Honeywell's INspire program, the two companies will work to achieve a simple-to-use infrastructure that gives customers secure methods to capture and aggregate data so that it can be leveraged by using analytics

This “design-to-order” tool is intended to simplify the design and assembly of the end-to-end HDC connection.

Caster Concepts relocated production of all Mitchell Golf products from Dayton, Ohio, to its headquarters in Albion. Three of Mitchell's five employees have relocated to Michigan.

The 3D model interface allows for an faceted search so customers can find a solution. Designers can select and configure the exact Miki coupling, brake and clutch solution for a particular application