Articles and News

Latest version lets a user search for a desired part across all available catalogs automatically.

A CVL-5000 electric control valve actuator replaced an existing actuator on a blending flow control valve in a trial at the Fluxys booster station in Belgium.

Free app lets a user choose the connector model and size as well as all inserts, see their custom connector coming together on screen, and alter the content and layout.

Agility Config Tool allows straightforward mobile configuration and diagnostics for TT Series Transmitters using Android mobile devices.

LV Drives Performance Service is a monitoring and diagnostic service that tracks the health and performance of low-voltage drives.

Exhibitors at the Digital Factory trade fair at HANNOVER MESSE 2015 will demonstrate what industry needs for this next evolutionary phase.

The facility brings together more than 500 existing employees from the company’s Burlington, MA and Nashua, NH offices, and can accommodate more than 200 additional staff.

Ravnihar produces components for the production of electromechanical meters. Its operations include 18 computer-controlled injection-molding machines and a station equipped with Mettler Toledo scales to count parts and ensure quality.

Matcon’s equipment allows its customers to formulate, blend and pack dry ingredients for the pharmaceutical industry. Matcon uses scales from Mettler Toledo for precise hygienic batching.

December Technical Training and Exam Preparation from ISA

Catalog covers precision gear reducers, servo couplings, and linear mounting kits.

GSM-PRO I/O modules can be monitored and controlled using portal software for PCs or a smartphone app.

The market for thermal flowmeters totaled $154 million in 2013, and is projected to grow to almost $200 million by 2018.

The market for Coriolis flowmeters totaled $1.3 billion in 2013, and is projected to grow to almost $2.0 billion by 2018.

Intelligent MCCs (iMCCs) are boosting overall market revenues, but regular MCCs are witnessing a decline in revenue share due to the standardisation of safety features and performance.

Savigent Workflow software will be deployed as one of the key components to implement common Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM) processes in Cargill plants to support its worldwide excellence goals.

Phoenix Contact raised money and awareness for breast cancer research through ‘Rails of Hope’ and Lee National Denim Day campaigns.

There are several ways in which you can get additional use or even make money from automation parts that are no longer needed. In this article leading automation supplier Northern Industrial talk about the different ways you can benefit from obsolete automation.

September U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $647.63 million, up 77.3% from August and up 61.4% when compared with the total of $401.18 million reported for September 2013.

The influx of wireless technologies and intelligent devices has resulted in the rapid evolution of the Internet of Things (IoT), a disruptive cross industry force.

According to ARC, the global DCS market grew about 4 percent in 2013.

The tool allows users to generate and customize catalogs from a pre-existing list of pages about the company’s industrial automation software package.

Do you know how much money you could be saving annually with a variable frequency drive?

How to avoid the pitfalls of implementing a calibration process change.

By Bill Lydon, Editor Some industrial automation vendors and computer technology providers are offering cloud services that include historians, analytics, and complete MES (Manufacturing Execution System). These services offer a new way to improve operations by applying more computing power. Another important trend is leveraging new, more powerful controllers within the secure automation system environment. Should you be using one or the other, or both?

By Robert Reid, Panduit, on behalf of Industrial IP Advantage Given that greater than 60% of Ethernet link failures are related to physical infrastructure, it is important from the outset to design and build a resilient network that is architected to recover quickly from a failure condition.

By Paul Brooks, Rockwell Automation, on behalf of Industrial IP Advantage Without standard, unmodified Ethernet on the plant floor, many industrial automation companies can’t easily take advantage of higher-level protocols and the immense functionality they support. EtherNet/IP enables organizations to save money by moving away from expensive, closed, plant floor dedicated networks.

The most common cause of failure or malfunctioning for inverters is an improper installation, often a combination of not following the user manual recommendation and selecting inappropriate cable type, gauges or in line fuses. But there are more.

Enhancements in MTConnect standard version 1.3.0 include inter-device connectivity to enable machine-to-machine communication, and additional data items for equipment and devices.

CyTime Sequence of Events Recorders (SER) and GPS time synchronization products are now suitable for use in European and Australian mission critical facilities.

FDI Cooperation, FieldComm Group and Profibus & Profinet International gave FDI to the FieldComm Group.

The specification makes it possible for automation suppliers to develop products and host systems compatible with FDI.

Payara technical support service delivers software updates, bug fixes and 24/7 support for Oracle’s GlassFish application server, which Oracle stopped supporting.

Three models in the QUINT POWER family of DIN rail DC/DC power converters are listed for IECEx, ATEX, and Class I, Division 2 applications.

Automation Project and Startup Humor – How to Laugh Rather Than Fret

The US chemicals market is expected to make investments of nearly $80 billion by 2020, creating strong opportunities for automation solution providers.

KnowledgeNet collects plant data from an OSIsoft PI historian and then uses computing, rules, fault propagation and workflow engines to reason over the data to identify the cause of performance gaps at Saudi Aramco Abqaiq Plants.

exida has certified RPC Radiy’s FPGA-Based Safety Controller (FSC) RadICS for functional safety, ensuring that it meets the functional safety requirements for Safety Integrity Level (SIL) 3 capability per IEC 61508: 2010.

Heide Refinery used two weeks of planned downtime at its pyrolysis plant to migrate to new safety systems.

PLCopen and OPC Foundation created an open standards ecosystem that simplifies the communications of packaging machines with other plant systems and the business enterprise.

By Mike Granby, Red Lion Controls Bringing a factory into the 21st century involves more than just connecting devices to Ethernet and wireless networks. The fundamentals of a successful Connected Factory must be prepared to ensure information can be accessed, monitored and controlled from anywhere.

POSITAL products featured in the Encompass program include LINARIX linear displacement transducers, TILTIX inclinometers, IXARC explosion-proof rotary sensors and IXARC potentiometers

The myths about why there is a lack of qualified, experienced automation professionals in the industrial automation profession.

RFID was invented seven decades ago--however, 23% of all the RFID tags ever sold were sold in 2013. In 2014, a further 1.12 billion RFID tags will be sold.

These events cover a range of topics including Production, Drilling, Completions, Water Management, Facilities Engineering, Oil Sands, Crude By Rail Safety, Pipeline Asset Integrity, NGL Markets, Wellsite Automation, Gas Capture And Flaring, Offshore Flow Assurance and Crude Takeaway.

The machine vision industry in Germany will grow in 2014 by ten percent minimum, exceeding the sales forecast of about 1.8 billion euros by the end of this year.

With these capabilities, the encoders’ performance characteristics can be extensively modified through software changes, without requiring any changes to physical components.

Paine Electronics is a manufacturer of pressure transducers.

The Network Intelligence Alliance (NI Alliance) is an industry organization created for collaboration among vendors of products and solutions based on network intelligence.

The interface includes bi-directional catalog part synchronization of the E-CAD and PLM part libraries. Synchronizations can be scheduled either regularly or created on demand.

Linux has long been on the “wishlist" for control systems. Until now, most systems have been locked-in to the Windows operating system due to reliance on classic OPC—a ubiquitous communication standard based on Microsoft’s Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM). The name of the game is changing, however, with the arrival of the next-generation OPC standard, the OPC Unified Architecture (OPC-UA). The new standard was designed for cross-platform compatibility, which makes room for Linux to gain popularity in the automated control industry.

U.S. packaging machinery shipments increased by 6 percent, to $7.9 billion, in 2013.

Muratec and Cimcorp are both companies in the material handling system business.

The show attracted 73,000 visitors to see 1,900 exhibitors.

The next HANNOVER MESSE will run from 13 to 17 April 2015.

B&R Japan is headquartered in Yokohama and led by Masashi Ono.

The online solution replaces traditional CO2 reporting based on fuel data at the Martinlaakso 1 power plant run by Vantaan Energia in Vantaa, Finland.

Products include process controllers, digital indicators, chart and strip recorders and paperless videographic recorders.

A highly skilled workforce is the lifeblood of any successful company, industry, or national economy.

By Bill Lydon, Editor There is a growing frenzy over the application of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to industrial automation. The question is, “Why do we want to do this?” The high level goal is to improve manufacturing processes in a number of dimensions, including efficiency, responsiveness, and the ability to meet individual customer needs in a timely manner.

Sine wave, square wave, sawtooth wave signal shaping, vehicle speed measurement, 24V/5V pulse peed sensor special analog signal isolation transmitter

Shenzhen WAYJUN Industrial Automation wins 2014 China high-tech enterprises name.

The RFID market is worth $8.89 billion, up from $7.77 billion in 2013 and $6.96 billion in 2012. This includes tags, readers and software/services for RFID cards, labels, fobs and all other form factors.

The integration of Eplan Electric P8 and GX Works2 allows transferring data from electrical engineering directly into PLC programming.

The Metropolitan Copenhagen Heating Transmission Company (CTR) installed Rotork IQ3 valve actuators to replace actuators that suffered permanent damage from the effects of hot water.

An algorithm to transform the uncertain first-order plus time delay model into a state-space model with uncertainty polyhedron is detailed in this technical paper.

Kuka and Kollmorgen were able to reduce the installation volume of the motors compared to standard models, implement robot-specific applications and optimise the entire supply chain.

HINZ developed a machine vision system that automatically measures the amount and distribution of potash on a mining conveyor as it is loaded by the bridge conveyor. This information is used by the mine control system to automatically move the bridge conveyor to correct any imbalance.

Traditionally, body panels are inspected by using a robot to present the part to an array of proximity switches. Ford improved on this method by using machine vision. The camera connects to either the robot or the PLC using the Ethernet/IP protocol.

Unico Systems, a manufacturer of home air conditioning and heating systems, uses Cognex wireless handheld scanners to read barcodes on the product, and QR codes on employee badges and assembly stations. Operators now spend less time on data entry tasks and the production rate is up 40%

The European office will deliver channel partner and technical support for alarm notification software to European, Middle Eastern, and African markets.

By John Lewis, Cognex The need to use PCs to interface with vision systems and ID readers required the purchase of expensive hardware and development of sometimes complex software. A new generation of vision systems and ID readers with built-in EtherNet/IP connectivity streamlines factory network integration.

Exide had difficulties in reading 2D data matrix codes burned into plastic with a laser burner. The problem was solved by switching to image-based Cognex DataMan 200 readers with 2D decoding software and an EtherNet/IP interface to the PLC.

RFID sensor tags do not require batteries to monitor temperature, pressure and humidity of equipment remotely.

Four PowerFlex 755 Variable Frequency Drives operate motors that run the hydraulic emulsion pumps responsible for advancing roof supports at an unnamed mining company in Illinois.

Process Plant Computing Limited will streamline control room alarms across four LNG trains at Atlantic's Point Fortin plant, on the southwest coast of Trinidad.

Emerging nations will no longer propel the west’s economy, which is already suffering a tumbling oil price and, very soon, the end of the fed’s QE program.

Centero will distribute and support the ISA100 Wireless Device Test Kit and ISA100 Wireless Stack Test Kit.

H2W acquired Baldor's Cog Free Brushless, Iron Core Brushless, Single Axis Stepper, Dual Axis Stepper, Polynoid, AC Induction, Voice Coil Actuator products.

By Rich Hunzinger, B-Scada With all of the opportunities presented by today's data-driven enterprise, the time has come to consider whether your SCADA system is limiting your potential.

By Rich Hunzinger, B-Scada One of the fastest-growing and most widespread trends in the HMI and SCADA software realms is that of mobility. Namely, how can we - or should we - take advantage of mobile devices in automated work environments?

Daqing Petrochemical Company will use the HIMA FlexSILon TMC solution for safely controlling turbomachines at its gasoline desulfurization plant being built in Daqing City, in China’s Heilongjiang province.

The FCC recently approved the use of high power transmitters at 5.15-5.25GHz. The AvaLAN 5Ghz product family now has twice as many channels resulting in twice the amount of data capacity.

Proficy Scorecard generates real-time views of information, from multiple data sources within the company, to provide actionable “Scorecards” for all departments in an organization.

By Steve Aamodt, SICK To help prevent injuries and increase productivity for end users, machine builders are incorporating safety into the design of metal forming and bending machines. The old way of thinking, that safety harms productivity, has changed, in large part due to better safety systems.

Changing the paradigm from inspect and reject to predict and prevent is the focus of big data.

Tianchen, a Chinese engineering contractor serving the chemical processing industry, has selected AVEVA Everything3D (AVEVA E3D) as its 3D design solution.

He will join the company in early January 2015, succeeding Andrew Jamison who will be retiring.

The apps require iOS6.1 and can be purchased through the Apple App Store in iTunes. They are compatible with the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

Interactive demonstration center in Houston gives industrial customers a glimpse into the future of managing their manufacturing operations.

Crimson-enabled products allow companies to easily integrate almost any PLC, PC or SCADA system for data collection, monitoring and control.

Wasserbauer installed ITTIA DB SQL data base into its Butler robots.

Wonderware software integrated all their existing disparate systems, achieved reliable and cost-efficient control, enabled safe operations and created scalability for future growth.

Robot orders and shipments in North America set new records in the first nine months of 2014, according to Robotic Industries Association (RIA), the industry’s trade group.

The Program Committee of the 2015 ISA Water/Wastewater and Automatic Controls (WWAC) Symposium has issued a Call for Papers.

WillowTree is an experienced iOS, Android and Mobile Web app developer that enables Microchip’s customers to focus on the core of their Internet of Things designs.

Using Kepware’s KEPServerEX, Cascades now supports communications across all of its seventeen plants, seventeen paper machines, and nearly ninety converting lines with just one piece of software.

To simplify the development of complex machines, Rexroth is integrating safety technology into the Sercos automation network.

InfinityQS ProFicient manufacturing quality software provides companies with real-time visibility across the enterprise and into the supply chain.

ESC Services is a hazardous energy control provider of lockout-tagout services and solutions.