Articles and News

iglide L500 material is suitable for continuous operation in high-speed rotation applications under low loads.

Aerostat Systems Market (Class Types - Small-class, Medium-class and Large-class; Application -Military, Homeland Security, Commercial and Environmental Applications) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2014 - 2022

The ISA100 Wireless Compliance Institute (ISA100 WCI) will exhibit at the 2015 ACHEMA tradeshow in Frankfurt Germany, 15-19 June.

Mangan Software Solutions (MSS) is a provider of SIS Lifecycle and Process Safety Management Software.

Deciding whether to calibrate instruments in the field or workshop is not a simple choice. The two methods often complement each other.

NEMA RV 3-2014 standard provides installers and inspectors with an industry perspective of best practices in the use and installation of flexible metal and liquidtight flexible metal and nonmetallic conduits.

ANSI/NEMA WC 27500 may be purchased in hard copy for $105 on the NEMA website.

Blue Ocean opened an office in West Chester, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati.

To meet the growing demand for mobile barcode reader apps in the US market, Progea has developed a new feature for the Movicon 11 Web Client App. This feature enables iPhone and iPad smartphones and tablets to read barcodes when they have the Movicon Web Client App installed.

Bilfinger GreyLogix uses Engineering Configuration One (EEC One) for control cabinet manufacturing.

The license for Phoenix Contact’s FL mGuard security devices can protect OPC Classic applications.

Conveyors carry tires (sorry, “tyres”) through the MIRS testing area.

FabTrol is a software business, headquartered in Eugene, Oregon with operations in North America and the United Kingdom, providing fabrication management software to steel fabricators.

The E’tow transport systemwill automatically transport Kubota tractors at creep speed through the 9 assembly stations on specially designed carriers.

ESI is a supplier of decision support software and services for the oil and gas pipeline, storage, marketing and distribution functions.

More than 160 plant and refinery professionals attended Fugitive Emissions-LDAR Symposium held 19-21 May in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.

Factors such as stiff competition from upcoming substitutes, coupled with elevated raw material prices, will suppress market growth.

By Bill Lydon, Editor A single cyber security incident can lead to significant losses for any company. It is unclear to me and I am sure many readers what the insurance possibilities are for manufacturers. Insurance companies are working to ban cyber coverage under the commercial general liability (CGL) policies but are also offering separate cyber security insurance policies.

In an effort to advance control valve technology, industrial designers have developed new butterfly valve innovations.

By Nicelabel Labeling is frequently considered a background process that doesn’t get any attention until it causes a problem. As a result, bar code and RFID labeling practices and software have become dated at many enterprises failing to keep pace with changing business needs. Migrating from decentralized labeling to a modern, centralized solution generally helps

Advanced Furniture Testing developed specialised machines for tests that include chair back durability, drop impact and load ease, multi-task furniture, dual arm durability and universal cyclic testing.

To safeguard the plant’s depolymerization reactor, Dyneon selected a HIMatrix safety controller from HIMA as the emergency shutdown (ESD) system.

Curt G. Joa, Inc. designs and builds large manufacturing platforms. Using EPLAN and its Schematics to automatically create schematics and help drive its RSLogix 5000 software generator saves Joa hundreds of hours in design time and labor cost for each machine it builds.

By Larry Korak, Infor With the sluggish rate of recovery hovering around 1.8 to 2.2 percent since 2009, many US manufacturers are desperate to gain some traction toward double digit growth. But how and where will they find the turbo boost required to fully escape the impact of the Great Recession?

Nieves is now Director of Sales for the Embedded Solutions Group.

FMC Technologies uses Westermo Ethernet switches to connect equipment as deep as 3000 metres down.

Rotork IQ3 non-intrusive intelligent electric actuators have been chosen to replace unreliable actuators for the operation of radial gates on an important river management weir on the River Thames.

What are the failsafe positions for a valve?

Dougherty, who joined the staff in 2012, spearheads member engagement and recruitment efforts.

IHS says the market in the oil and gas industry is expected to be affected by the lower oil price; since oil companies have been cutting back investment.

By Doug Wylie, Rockwell Automation The stark reality in our contemporary digital, connected world is that there can be no absolute security. However, this by no means suggests the good guys can’t fight to win.

The global lithium ion battery market will reach a value of $33.11 billion by 2019 from $11.70 billion in 2012, registering a healthy CAGR of 14.4% from 2013 to 2019.

By Mike Hannah, Rockwell Automation Standards are critical to realize the promise of the IoT. Without standards, digital devices won’t consistently connect, leaving room for failure. Standards help ensure technologies and methodologies are proven and interoperable.

Prior to joining Omron, Black served as Business Director for Sensing and Connectivity at Rockwell Automation.

SATO is a supplier of Auto ID solutions

AMC’s EtherCAT products consist of panel mount and plug-in servo drives to allow for quick prototyping and ease of system integration.

The Fieldbus Certified Training Program (FCTP) released its 2015 Fieldbus Certified training schedule.

App accesses gear reducers, servo couplings and linear mounting kits from a smartphone or tablet.

Business conditions in North America declined for a second straight month in May, falling to 50 from 54.8 a month ago and from 58.3 in March

In 1990 Dr. Ingo Benecke and Mathias Bode founded SensoTech, a supplier of sonic velocity devices to monitor online liquid concentrations.

At SPPF in France, a Keyence IM Series measures the dimensions of extrusions without any risk of variability.

The market is primarily driven by technologically enhanced products and increasing application of electricity in industries, agriculture, and domestic activities worldwide.

Use of key PID features, tuning objectives and feedforward control can meet the stringent requirements for biopharmaceutical production.

These approvals certify that Graphite HMIs are safe for use with industrial control equipment in potentially explosive, hazardous locations around the world.

By Bill Lydon, Editor Fluke is making significant investments in a cloud-based maintenance management software alternative for industrial users. Their intention is to close the maintenance management loop between the maintenance technicians and operations/business management.

Rockwell’s CompactLogix 5370 controller and three Kinetix 350 EtherNet/IP servo drives are used as the control platform for the new tubing spooler machine.

EPLAN moved from Farmington Hills, MI to the Woodfield Corporate Center in Schaumburg, IL.

The market for CAD, CAM, CAE, AEC, & EDA software was valued at $19.98 Bn in 2014, growing at a CAGR of 12.4% from 2015 to 2022.

An ISA technical paper presents a novel technique for analyzing the behavior of an industrial system stochastically by utilizing vague, imprecise, and uncertain data.

Aqsens QS performs on-site quantitative monitoring of polymeric scale inhibitors in oil field-produced waters.

By Bob Goossens, Acieta Robots protect workers from jobs hazardous to their health, increase capacity and enable new products that couldn’t be produced any other way. It’s hard to think of a manufacturing job that a robot can’t perform faster and with better repeatability.

$1 million worth of robots will be working in the hospitality, food and beverage industry in Southeast Asia.

The market was valued at USD 12.85 billion in 2014, growing at a CAGR of 7.0% from 2015 to 2021 to account for USD 20.57 billion in 2021.

Solenoids can be 2-way, 3-way, 4-way or 5-way?

Already in 2015 China had 85% of the global manufacture capacity of RFID tags, with over 150 RFID companies operating in the country.

KPI-ML will help manufacturing companies implement the ISO 22400 standard thereby increasing the flow of key performance indicators within a business.

The 61st Annual ISA International Instrumentation Symposium was held May 12 at the Westin Hotel in Huntsville, Alabama

Flowserve received orders totaling approximately $18 million for pumping systems for the Petroperú Talara refinery in Piura, Peru.

The 10th Annual ISA Water/Wastewater and Automatic Controls (WWAC) Symposium, will be held 4-6 August 2015 in Orlando, Florida.

Benefits such as greater flexibility, faster recovery, cost effective, automated and simpler to test are some key factors driving the growth of global DRaaS market.

Advocacy is one of ISA’s long-term strategic objectives and at the core of the Automation Federation’s mission.

The patent-pending inductive technique has already been used over temperature ranges of several hundred degrees Celsius with a accuracy of 1°C and could replace existing contact methods such as thermocouples and infrared.

RESOLUTE encoders provide position feedback and control accuracy in Instron’s ElectroPuls systems for fatigue testing.

The linear guidance systems form part of the assembly jigs for the Airbus A350 wings, which are currently being assembled at the Airbus site in Broughton, UK.

ABB opened a new robotics plant at its facility in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

New industrial automation industry standards are enablers for leveraging new technology for the process industries.

Transparent In-Line Encryption (TILE) provides security at the industrial field device level.

MCAA predicts a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 4.3 percent for the Process Instrumentation and Automation market.

By Igor Glikin, Tolomatic Most electromechanical rodless actuators commonly use one of two main drive trains to convert rotary motion of the electrical motor to linear motion of the actuator’s load-carrying device: a power screw drive or a timing belt drive. Here’s how to select drive trains for reliability, efficiency and long service life.

LCR will use ADLINK products in its line of fully integrated embedded computing systems.

By Jason Spera, Aegis By adopting a true paperless environment, and not just displaying PDFs, a factory can increase yields, quality and traceability while reducing costs and eliminating many of the risks associated with incorrect or badly controlled documentation.

By Jeff Nedwick, Infor Automotive One of the first steps needed to address the generational divide is to acknowledge the perceptions each generation has about the manufacturing industry and each other.

UC-8100 embedded computing platform is now certified to operate on the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network.

The global cloud security market was worth US$ 4.50 Bn in 2014 and is expected to reach US$ 11.84 Bn by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 12.8% from 2015 to 2022

By Bill Lydon, Editor In an article titled 'Is it time for a new automation architecture?' I posed a question that stemmed from a number of discussions with users who believe our industry is stagnant. Many users voiced their opinions in an open discussion forum. They are frustrated with debates about which existing, outdated architectures are better. Many believe it’s time for a NEW architecture.

June 2015 offered a number of educational and technical training offerings from ISA.

By Jonathan Wilkins, European Automation

In liquid flow, what is the collapse or implosion of bubbles called?

Over 500 people attended the Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) Executive Conference in Washington, D.C., U.S., which was held April 29 – May 2, 2015

Web software has been expanded to include air conditioners, heat exchangers, fans and blowers in a single user-friendly program.

Reflecting the EPA’s Next Generation Compliance initiative, the symposium, to be held 19 May through 21 May in New Orleans, will outline the direction and recommendations needed to follow best practices

La Pierrette produces synthetic sapphires and rubies for luxury watch movements. A Keyence IM Series system watches over the process.

Universal Robots is a supplier of collaborative robots that work side by side with production workers.

The highest power-rated medium voltage (MV) drives ever used in a reversing roughing mill were commissioned by ABB at Tata Steel’s Port Talbot hot strip mill in South Wales.

Parker Hannifin is sponsoring Victory Motorcycles as they compete in the 2015 Isle of Man TT Zero Challenge on June 10.

PID controllers for front-end production rate, slurry concentration & average fermentation time can decrease costs and increase production rates for ethanol plants.

The sensors provide curve detection and derailment protection for trains traveling 186 mph.

Enhancements in WeConfig 1.2 enable time consuming and complex configuration of large networks to be implemented reliably in just minutes.

The Tuning Akademie racing team uses the sensors to measure the distance between the vehicle and the road surface to determine the aerodynamic balance and respective downforce at the from the rear axles.

AutomationDirect now carries the Eaton FAZ series breaker family.

March U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $399.83 million, up 30.3% from February’s $306.96 million but down 18.7% when compared with March 2014.

Canonaco most recently worked at Omron as General Manager and Vice President of Sales for Canada.

This SITO technology offers a sensitive, accurate and fast touch response. It can be easily customized to work with a device’s unique bezel and electronic requirements.

A Cognex DataMan 300 is able to read IDs on process-free printing plates at NELA, replacing other scanners that could not see the virtually invisible IDs.

Matrox Extio F2408 KVM extenders were installed at New Zealand’s National Control Centres, which operate the National Grid power system.

Enhancements in Version 5.2 include PowerMap, Rail Inspector and RailScope features to simplify design of densely populated power systems

An ISA technical paper presents an improved reinforcement learning method to minimize electricity costs on the premise of satisfying the power balance and generation limit of units in a microgrid with

By Bill Lydon, Editor At the 2015 ARC Forum in February Bedrock Automation demonstrated additional features to the company’s automation controller product. These features exemplify their technology leadership and reflect their commitment to delivering integrated, easy to use, scalable, and secure products. I reviewed the following new new features with Albert Rooyakkers, Bedrock Founder, CTO, and VP Engineering.

Watzke will be based in Chicago and is responsible for all Lenze operations outside of Europe including the USA, China and India.

Micrel is a manufacturer of IC solutions for the worldwide analog, Ethernet and high-bandwidth markets.