Articles and News

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

The facility for Transelec unifies all of the company’s regional control centers throughout the country, allowing 24 hour surveillance of operations, efficiently and safely.

The configuration software reduces the risk of errors when designing and ordering system modules.

The office is located in Leuven near Brussels.

Ripon Cogeneration replacied its obsolete distributed control system (DCS) with the PlantPAx process automation system from Rockwell Automation.

Acromag’s FPGA programmed boards will be used in support of AN/SPS-73(V) surface-search shipboard radar.

ABB will deliver electrical propulsion, power, safety and automation systems for a 5000T heavy-lift pipelay construction vessel being built by Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry.

With a year-to-date total of $4,150.41 million, 2014 is up 3.8% compared with 2013.

eXtremeDB In-Memory Database System (IMDS) is now compatible with AdaCore’s GNAT Pro Ada development environment.

KXTX in Wuhan, China, will become the first Chinese company in the industry with an automated in-floor chain conveyor system.

This is the company’s sixth office in Canada and its ninth branch office in North America.

By PULS Pte Ltd

By Bill Lydon, Editor According to a recent survey, automation users want and deserve more from an automation controller. Albert Rooyakkers, CTO of Bedrock Automation, explains why they went back to the drawing board to design and develop this new, innovative automation controller.

To control the concentration of key components, relatively inexpensive inline measurements can be used under the right conditions to provide concentration measurements

By Greg Goodwin, LNS Research A trend that is causing waves and innovative ways of doing things today with Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM) software is mobile technology. So what are the current attitudes on mobile capabilities? Here are four ways mobile capabilities are helping manufacturers transform their operations and IT landscapes today.

The Fountain Inn, SC, plant is home to the company’s largest hydraulics manufacturing facility in the Americas.

Molex plant floors consist of hundreds of different machines from a variety of vendors, with each speaking its own language or “protocol.” An OPC server connected them all.

This paper deals with the problem of forbidden states in discrete event systems based on Petri net models. So, a method is presented to prevent the system from entering these states by constructing a

Komatsulite is a manufacturer of precision-molded components for the electronics industry and mini-breaker devices that are used as safety devices.

Created by PMMI, the Industrial Maintenance Training Center of North America and the Employment and Training Administration of the DOL, the guidelines will be listed under the occupation of “mechatronics technician.”

By Heinz-Günther Spreen, Harting White paper describes the Han HMC connector for devices, machines and systems that require connections for more than 10,000 mating cycles.

Industrial Internet Consortium is a group of more than 100 companies, organizations and universities working to accelerate growth of the Industrial Internet.

By Bill Lewins, Rockwell Automation Designing and implementing a network that addresses all process control concerns can be a difficult for any application, but brownfield projects are especially challenging. Fortunately, there are ways to ease this transition.

By Rainer Schmidt, Harting PROFINET is an independent, proprietary system, which is primarily used for communication between PROFINET components. If PROFINET wants to seamlessly communicate right into the SAP level, it runs into the structured cabling which the IT infrastructure of the company uses.

Version 1.1 of the Network Configuration Management software can now be used as a simple monitoring and diagnostics tool for industrial routers, switches and Ethernet line extenders..

The ERP covers key functions including quality assurance, customer relationship management, maintenance management, business process management, reporting for data analysis and KPI monitoring for Ensival Moret in China..

In fiscal 2014, Siemens filed 4,300 patent applications. Twelve Siemens researchers and developers account for more than 900 inventions and 842 granted individual patents.

By Georgia Whalen, Patti Engineering Patti used Phoenix Contact PCs to automate high speed inline checkweighers on a parcel sortation system for Fives Intralogistics.

The Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) announces system integration companies who have recently joined the association.

The Aptean Discrete Manufacturing suite connects Aptean's ERP and CRM solutions to CMC Rescue's manufacturing process, customer data, real-time operations and financial data throughout the company.

Following the death of co-founder Brian Merriman in September, aeSolutions announced a reorganization.

Local development centers will help customers get customized solutions for industrial network connectivity, machine communication, wireless solutions, integrated safety and remote management.

Eplan Engineering Center is now Eplan Engineering Configuration.

EPICS (Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System) is a set of open-source, distributed software tools used for scientific instruments, such as particle accelerators, telescopes and other large-scale experimental installations.

Enterprise asset management is a way of thinking, a discipline, and ultimately a culture that increases equipment life and production uptime.

Cytonome produces cell purification systems and needed to achieve bi-directional seamless communications among engineering, manufacturing and purchasing. PLM software helped.

Produced by the ISA Student Section at Francis Tuttle Technology Center, this video demonstrates how easy it is to spread a virus throughout a production control system using a USB drive.

By Shiva Bissessar How secure is our Critical Infrastructure from Cyber Security risks? Dr. Sanjay Bahadoorsingh updates the challenges and opportunities in the Smart Grid.

The symposium, dedicated to the in-depth exploration of all critical issues in air compliance and leak detection and repair, will be held 19-21 May 2015 at the Astor Crowne Plaza hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.

The Manufacturing Technology Centre is an organisation created to prove and showcase innovative manufacturing processes and technologies.

WAYJUN two wires 4-20mA temperature transmitters are widely used in Pt100/PT1000/PT10/Cu50/Cu100 temperature sensor isolated and transmit

VRED provides the ability to leverage real-time clusters for animation rendering.

FACTORY I/O is a real time automation sandbox where users can build and simulate industrial systems and use them with the most common automation technologies.

Testing tool verifies the correct implementation of the Sercos Internet Protocol Services (S-IPS).

This specification describes the mapping of the Sercos information model to OPC UA so that functions and data of Sercos devices are made available and accessible via OPC UA.

Egemin Automation will update controls or install completely new PLC-based control systems for pumping stations along Belgian rivers and canals.

The tool helps engineers more easily specify, design and validate complete motion control systems.

After the acquisition of the wireless gateways from u-blox/connectBlue in September, HMS Industrial Networks can now present an expanded suite of Anybus Wireless Bridge products for connecting industrial devices wirelessly.

See who was honored by ISA in 2014.

By Bill Lydon, Editor A company called Tempered Networks has developed an interesting, alternative approach to cyber-protection architecture for industrial control systems. The architecture goes beyond a software only solution and includes both hardware and firmware components to create a secure industrial automation network.

Secomea obtains official Security Certification The security audit and assessment process was performed in accordance with leading standards and methodologies specified by NIST, ISA/IEC, BSI and ISECOM, and was conducted by the independent security organization ProtectEM GmbH in Germany in close cooperation with the Deggendorf Institute of Technology.

Roeslein & Associates in St. Louis uses Roxtec cable sealing systems in ArmorStart distributed motor controllers to help meet the need for more cables to bring in 3-phase and control voltage for new installations.

How graphics development results in an HMI that can enable operators to proactively identify problems and respond quickly.

By: Julio Delgado, Stock America HMI software from InduSoft provides eSignatures, database connectivity and other features vital to proper process validation and compliance with food and pharmaceutical regulations.

The SIG will proliferate adoption of EtherNet/IP in the process industries, and integrate field devices with industrial control systems and related diagnostic services.

The latest EtherNet/IP Specification provides the framework for users to design energy-conserving functionality into their products for when equipment is in production mode.

The center will facilitate training and support for local manufacturers serving the semiconductor, electronics, medical, and other high-tech industries in the area.

CONTACTRON ELR 2+1 and ELR-3 series of solid-state contactors have received UL 508 General Use approval.

AW58800 series delivers Ethernet throughput up to 540 Mbps, for applications with high bandwidth or applications that may need scalability.

The Gift - ISA 2014 Fall Leaders Meeting

Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions Association (MESA) International appointed seven new Board Members.

ISA opened attendee and exhibitor registration for its 2015 Food & Pharmaceutical Division (FPID) Symposium, which will be held 9-11 February 2015 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

By installing condition monitoring systems on its gantry cranes, port operator RheinCargo is now able to detect any damage to crane hoisting gear early, therefore eliminating any costly, unplanned downtime.

PLC Technician II now contains ten 3DWorlds within the PLCLogix software, enabling users to simulate a “hands on” experience using the Logix 5000 PLC with interactive 3D animations.

Skkynet's Secure Cloud Service allows industrial and embedded systems to securely network live data in real time from anywhere across five continents that has an Internet connection.

Micro-Epsilon supplied aerospace-grade sensor and evaluation electronics for scientific instruments installed on the Rosetta space probe, which landed on the surface of the Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet.

Program helps manufacturers identify safety system integrators with current safety standards expertise, a proven track record in building safety systems, and knowledge of productivity-enhancing safety technologies.

Simple online inferential measurements of cell growth rate, crystal growth rate, and chemical reaction rate are possible using conventional online measurements of flow and temperature.

CleverLevel LBFS/LFFS level switch has been listed by the American Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL).

The remote access solution consists of a control unit at the factory (SiteManager) in form of either hardware or software and a Web- or Windows based client (LinkManager) operated by technicians or end-users.

The company had previously been registered as an Encompass partner for the Asia/Pacific region and the Americas.

OAO VNIPIneft, the Research and Design Institute for the Oil Refining and Petrochemical Industry, has designed over 40 oil refineries and industrial facilities in Russia, the CIS countries, Bulgaria, Hungary, Egypt, India, Cuba, Poland, Turkey and Ethiopia.

The ASM Consortium has been working continuously together for more than 20 years to maximize safety and performance by preventing or minimizing the impact of abnormal situations.

Jellen joins Adept after more than 10 years with Danaher Corporation, where he held successive roles of increasing responsibility, including vice president and general manager for various business units.

Rotork EH electro-hydraulic actuators will be used for failsafe valve control on the Colombian Bicentennial Pipeline, which will have a capacity of up to 600,000 bbl/d of crude oil when completed in early 2016.

General Cable deployed InfinityQS ProFicient, an enterprise quality platform powered by a centralized statistical process control (SPC) analytical engine, at 14 of its manufacturing locations.

VPX3000 has been validated for incorporation into an Elma Target Application Guide (TAG), used to build a high speed data recording system.

ViPNet Common Crypto Core supports true VPN endpoint-to-endpoint security.

Competency Framework helps companies combat the increasing talent shortage and achieve stronger performance from their workforce.

Steinhauer Elektromaschinen in Germany is a producer of enclosure machining and related technologies.

The software suite enables local and remote configuration and real-time HART device monitoring in remote oil and gas applications such as wellhead automation, flow measurement, and tank overflow protection.

CD contains product pricing, applications, dimensions, specifications and tutorial videos.

The Fluke Connect Student Contest tests the skills, innovation, and business application of student teams enrolled in two and four year colleges, universities, trade/tech schools, and apprenticeship programs.

Successful level instrument design starts with an uderstanding of the application & strengths & weaknesses of the available level measurement technologies.

The IP core for Sercos III master and slave controllers (SERCON100M/S) includes all hardware functions, such as timing, synchronization and processing of cyclic and non-cyclic data on the basis of two integrated Ethernet MACs.

Requirements to further reduce energy and environmental impacts of buildings are contained in the 2014 version of the green building standard from ASHRAE, the U.S. Green Building Council and the Illuminating Engineering Society.

The short video talks about Essential Asset Monitoring and how a few number of essential assets: heat exchangers, pumps, blowers, air-cooled heat exchangers and cooling towers account for over 70% of a facility’s maintenance costs.

EPLAN Experience knowledge-driven program aims to optimize engineering efficiency.

The companies plan to deliver cellular solutions that help enable Rockwell Automation customers to securely collect, manage and take action on data from industrial equipment located in plants and remote sites around the globe.

Mettler Toledo helped Asiatic Agricultural Industries to convert its mix of EX and non-EX equipment in its plants to all EX equipment.

Managed by area sales manager Andrew Norcliffe, the UK Northern office employs 3 application engineers, including a dedicated B&R technology trainer.

WH Group, China’s market leader for meat and pork products, invested in hygienically designed bench scales to stay ahead of competition and to further enhance food safety in its production facilities.

By Gary Frank, Westfalia Technologies As technology continues to become more sophisticated every day, companies are able to run leaner and more powerful operations. However, from manufacturing assembly lines to service industries, more and more professions are being replaced by machines and devices that eclipse the capabilities of humans.

By Bill Lydon, Editor The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) in many respects is the progression of distributed computing. The fundamental components of an automation (or other) system are sensors; they are the “eyes, ears, and fingers” of any system. If the concepts of IIoT are to succeed, we need more effective, powerful sensors.

New automation professional describes how to achieve success in the industry.

At this year's SPS IPC Drives MB Connect Line presents exciting innovations around the remote maintenance and industrial communication via Internet. It will take place in Nuremberg from 25 to 27 November 2014.

By Steve Hughes, REO Industry 4.0 will ultimately represent a significant change in manufacturing and industry. In the long run, the sophisticated software implanted in factory equipment could help machines self-regulate and make more autonomous decisions.

Catalog covers telemetry products that support long-distance wireless communications in large scale environments such as those found in oil and gas, agriculture, water systems, forestry and public infrastructures.

By Clive Jones, et al, Global Heat Transfer A properly maintained heat transfer system employing food-grade heat transfer fluids will contribute to low cost operation and efficient production.

Adaptive Backstepping Sliding Mode Control of Flexible Ball Screw Drives