Articles and News

Low cost single sensor/single actuator approach to static feedback stabilization of nonlinear systems. Issue is present in many engineering applications.

His predecessor, Paul Warndorf, will assume the role of Vice President of Strategic Planning and remain active in supporting the Manufacturing Technology department.

Using Barix Barionet IP solutions, Village Worker builds end-to-end control and automation architectures that trigger actions based on data readings from a variety of connected devices.

OpTek Systems has installed non-contact confocal chromatic sensors from Micro-Epsilon on a number of its laser processing machines to measure the surface finish and groove depth of difficult materials, ranging from highly reflective, mirrored surfaces to dark, diffuse surfaces.

IHS says the global I/O market grew a little in 2013, compared to the decline in 2012. The PLC market did not perform well in 2013, which affected PLC I/O.

Tachometer catalog includes detailed specifications of all Servo-Tek high performance DC tachometers for precision speed control applications.

Abstract submissions are due 15 January 2015 for the POWID symposium, being held 7-11 June 2015 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA.

This 2-day course gives students the ability to read and understand P&IDs for the analysis of emergency situations; and for safety, environmental and regulatory compliance issues such as Process Hazards Analysis and HAZOP studies.

MEDUSA development platform for battery-free wireless sensors and actuators allows developers to design components driven by RF energy harvesting

Calgary and Burlington offices can now implement TÜV certified Functional Safety Management System for design, engineering and delivery of Safety Instrumented Systems

The accreditation period extends for five years, and includes all programs offered or created by ISA during this time.

Approximately 3,000 teams are projected to compete for the chance to gain top honors at the FIRST Championship, which will take place 22-25 April 2015 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA

More than $65,000 in scholarships funds are expected to be distributed in 2015. The application deadline is 15 February 2015.

Creating a standardized, enterprise-wide benchmarking system helps manage the complexity among various manufacturing processes, while reducing competitive risk.

AGV Solutions has a complete line of forklift AGVs, unit-load AGVs and specialty AGVs to handle loads ranging from light-duty logistics to heavy loads in the steel industry.

TriMet will handle ROMER portable arm coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) in Southern Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and Oklahoma.

Catalog contains detailed specifications of high performance gearheads for servo and stepper motors.

This is the company’s fourth office in the United States and its tenth branch office in North America.

By Bill Lydon, Editor New technology is enabling remote monitoring capabilities to improve operational effectiveness. This presents users with opportunities and challenges to be evaluated for practical applications. The latest remote monitoring tools allow experts to analyze problems and abnormal situations, and determine ways to improve and optimize operations, without traveling to the site.

Fully interactive, role-based NERC CIP V5 Online Training Courses cover cyber security and access controls in the power industry.

OPNsense combines the best of open source and closed source firewalls.

8over8 is a supplier of ProCon, a risk management software platform that connects Owner Operators (OOs) and Engineering Procurement Construction companies (EPCs) throughout the project life cycle.

IMI CCI control valves and pneumatic actuators have been qualified to the requirements of ASME QME-1 2007 for use in nuclear power plants.

Wireless technology for process instrumentation has the potential to bridge key gaps in a variety of industrial applications, including asset management solutions, monitoring, and noncritical alarming

A new Mixed Integer Nonlinear Programming model is presented to analyze the availability optimization of a system with a given structure.

TechNavio's analysts forecast the PLC market in the oil and Gas Industry in the Americas to grow at a CAGR of 7.20 percent over the period 2014-2019.

TechNavio's analysts forecast the Global Process Safety System market in the oil and Gas industry to grow at a CAGR of 7.03 percent over the period 2015-2019.

Isolated silos in industry may create barriers to growth, but they also offer opportunities for those willing to take the initiative.

Version 5 is now is available to elementary and middle school students and teams.

The Baumer Competence Center for EPC (engineering, procurement, construction) projects has locations in France and India.

Up to 2014, there was only limited interest in thermoelectric energy harvesting in general and its use in automotive applications in particular. IDTech predicts thermoelectric energy harvesting will be on production hybrid electric on-road vehicles from 2018.

Free course helps teams get started with the NI roboRIO controller, the required controller for all FRC teams in the 2015 season.

PLC I/O replaced with DCS I/O while keeping existing PLC sequence logic.

App makes it easier for customers to access system data from remote locations.

Starting from January 1, 2015 PERCo provides 5 year warranty for all products supplied at the international market.

A fast terminal sliding mode control scheme with double closed loops is proposed for spacecraft attitude control.

Check out some of the educational opportunities provided by ISA in January 2015.

Three managing directors of companies from the Endress+Hauser Group will be retiring at the end of 2014. Executives from within the company’s own ranks will be taking over.

Cascade Technologies is a manufacturer of gas analyzers and monitoring systems using Quantum Cascade Laser (QCL) technology.

The University of Kentucky team designed a project that conducted live testing of performance parameters on a solar car.

The effect of reactor type on dynamic response, allowable measurement lags and delays, controller tuning, and control strategies is significant.

The Control Systems Security Corporation Chartered Lab (CSSC-CL) certified a process controller from Azbil—the Harmonas-DEO DOPC IV—to the ISASecure Embedded Device Security Assurance (EDSA) certification.

Kaminski has been with Egemin Automation for over a decade, most recently as Vice President of Engineering.

The FactoryLogix software will encompass the entire production area, which currently comprises of three high technology SMT lines, conventional through-hole facility, conformal coating area and final assembly logistics.

MEN/ME family of end suction water pumps has been updated to meet the new ecodesign regulations set by the European Commission.

IEC 61511 requires the preservation of all layers of protection wherever possible. Independence, diversity and physical separation are demanded for each of these layers of protection.

Estimation of Region of Attraction for Polynomial Nonlinear Systems

POSITAL has become a member of the Control Systems Integrators Association (CSIA), a not-for-profit trade association aimed at advancing the practice of systems integration in the area of industrial control systems.

FLOWCAL Enterprise Liquids software automates Lyondell Chemical 's measurement data collection by replacing their manual spreadsheets and manage all data electronically through one centralized system.

The bill is designed to strengthen and protect the nation’s economic and national security through public-private partnerships to improve cybersecurity and a greater reliance on cybersecurity standards.

Sogerma Composites Aquitaine uses Robotmaster software to program a rail-mounted 6-axis robot. Applications include tooling thermal protection parts made of glass fiber for the Airbus A330 airliner and honeycomb for the Airbus Super-Puma MK II helicopter.

Turbo Power Systems will be replacing its existing manufacturing resource planning (MRP), finance and other discrete systems, to improve efficiency and simplify decision making.

Wagner-Meinert specializes in the design and construction of ammonia refrigeration systems, HVAC, as well as steam and compressed air systems.

By Chris Favre, Automation Integrated The danger of this rush to smart devices is that some “manufacturers” are taking hobby grade equipment and developing it as a viable commercial solution.

Global shipments for motion control products grew by nine percent to $2.3 billion in the first nine months of 2014, according to new statistics released by the Motion Control Association.

After declining for two straight years, revenues from the sales of motion-control products are forecast to grow over 6 percent in 2014 to $12.2 billion according to IHS.

Inadequate training and a culture of complacency among many owners and operators of critical infrastructure are significantly raising the risks of highly damaging cyberattack throughout the world.

Mas Ingenieros selected Status Enterprise as a facility management solution for a 5-star luxury hotel in Algeria.

OSI has been awarded seven contracts by a Joint Utility Procurement (JUP) project to deliver seven SCADA/EMS systems.

ETT operates approximately 69,000 miles of pipelines. It installed a new control system based on the Rockwell Automation Integrated Architecture platform, CompactLogix controllers and medium voltage Allen-Bradley SMC Flex soft starters, running on a ControlNet network.

Advances in digital integrated circuits are now paving the way for the proliferation of vision into diverse mainstream automated manufacturing platforms. Cost-effective vision processors with depth-di

The deadline for submitting abstracts for the 2014 ISA Water/Wastewater and Automatic Controls (WWAC) Symposium has been extended to 31 January 2015.

Jim Yastic was hired to run U.S. operations.

ABB and Hitachi will form a joint venture for high voltage direct current (HVDC) system solutions in Japan.

ML210G-10-TR is certified as ThinManager-Ready by thin client management software provider ACP.

The mobile application features the same look, feel and navigation as the standard catalog of of liquid level, flow and pressure sensors, indicators, transmitters, receivers, etc.

By Bill Lydon, Editor I see the technology progress in other industries, and I am coming to the realization that the industrial automation industry is way behind. The automation market lacks the essential elements, thought leadership, and desire to take advantage of IoT (Internet of Things) architectures and technology.

ISA President Peggie Koon recognizes the people who make ISA's accomplishments possible: the staff.

MCAA’s chairman Todd Lucey of Endress + Hauser told OSHA that it should adopt a plan to use private sector accreditors to perform application reviews and on-site assessments.

Bob Carrell was elected Chairman and Joe Incontri will serve as Vice-Chairman. Peter G. Martin and Stan Ronna were elected to Director-at-Large positions on the MCAA Board.

The guide lists 130 providers of nearly 300 Sercos-enabled products and serves as a guide for all mechanical engineers, systems integrators and control unit manufacturers who use the high-performance Sercos automation bus.

ThreadX RTOS has been recognized by UL for compliance with UL 60730-1 Annex H, CSA E60730-1 Annex H, IEC 60730-1 Annex H, UL 60335-1 Annex R, IEC 60335-1 Annex R, and UL 1998 safety standards for software in programmable components.

A.T. Kearney says reshoring is down 20%. Outsourcing is outpacing reshoring. Un-outstanding news!

With fee-based High Value Support, Eplan offers full support worldwide.

New HMI solutions offer multitouch functionality so users can scroll, zoom, expand & rotate items via familiar smartphone gestures, such as swipe and pinch.

By Norman and Amelia Lobsenz A look back at robot predictions in 1950.

By Bill Lydon, Editor The dramatic cost reductions and increased computing power of mobile devices are creating opportunities to operate plants more efficiently and increase the productivity of personnel. Mobile devices can include smart phones, tablets, netbooks and notebook computers.

By Bill Lydon, Editor The goal of the Internet of Things (IoT) is to massively instrument the world with intelligent sensors and actuators (analog/digital) that communicate over both wired and wireless networks and leverage the Internet Protocol (IP). .

By Kepware Technologies Repete implemented Kepware’s KEPServerEX communications platform to address the diverse protocol environments of its growing international customer base.

By Rockwell Automation King's Hawaiian had reached capacity at its California factory and bakery. Bachelor Controls created an architecture that got new equipment up and running in 10 months, while laying the groundwork for information gathering and sharing throughout the enterprise.

India’s role as the Partner Country at HANNOVER MESSE underscores the new Indian Prime Minister’s ambitious economic course.

Qualification makes HIMA eligible to compete for PDVSA projects

The problem of global output feedback control for a class of nonlinear time-delay systems

Halonen previously was CEO of Oulu ICT Oy and CEO of Kuusakoski Oy.

By Peter Bilello, CIMdata PLM is approaching and in some cases already achieving the status of a business platform. Now PLM-as-a-platform, or the “platformization” of PLM, is morphing into new ways of going about the business of innovation.

October U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $193.6 million, up 9.7% from September’s total and up 3.3% from October 2013.

Cressall’s test facility provides it with the means to carry out impulse tests of up to 400,000 Volts in order to prove designs and test resistor prototypes.

The ability to provide higher energy efficiency and precise motion control are fuelling the uptake of electric drives in European discrete industries.

Enhancements include GMDbeat for online troubleshooting and GMDfit, which provides online condition monitoring, predictive analytics and periodic health checks on gearless mill drives.

This is the best nine month start by the North American machine vision market since AIA began tracking quarterly statistics in 2009.

Using an automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) and Savanna.NET warehousing software, the facility stores 24,750 pallets and is equipped for pallet storage up to 10 pallets deep.

Bosch Rexroth uses Anybus modules mainly to connect welding and tightening controllers to the various control systems used in automation technology.

By Stephen Las Marias. PULS president Bernhard Erdl talks to CE Asia about the company’s latest product launches; the PIANO series and CPS10 DIN-Rail mount power supplies.

The asset visualisation and information management software will be used for Total’s Martin Linge fixed-platform asset on the Norwegian continental shelf.

David Westley will manage the North American branch of Cincoze, a supplier of industrial computers.

Winners are recognized for their editorial contributions to a wide range of ISA publications, including ISA books, InTech, and ISA Transactions.

Tripwire is a global provider of advanced threat, security and compliance solutions.

MCRI is adding a 4000 square foot addition to make room for new employees and continue developing and servicing robotic systems for customers.

Aurelio Banda will oversee all operations at the headquarters of Beckhoff Automation in Savage, Minn. The current president, Graham Harris, will assume a regional management role.

Understanding the different needs of ICS and IT system security leads to cooperation and collaboration between historically disconnected camps