Articles and News

AVEVA software enables D3’s designers to have a clear understanding of the as-is condition of an asset during brownfield projects.

Gartner summarized the relative strengths and weaknesses of 19 suppliers. IBM, Google and Microsoft fared poorly.

Smart Guide digital catalog provides customers with the ability to view and select conveyor solution products from eleven product groups.

ISA Vision 2020: Can you see the duck?

The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and ISA presented the 60th International Instrumentation Symposium in London, England, 24-26 June 2014.

Shipments of embedded vision devices in the automotive, industrial automation, physical security and business intelligence markets are forecast to exceed 14 million units in 2018, up from almost four million units this year.

The Maritime Link Project is a 500 MW high voltage direct current (HVDC) connection that will enable clean, renewable electricity generated in Newfoundland and Labrador to be transmitted to the North American grid in Nova Scotia.

This white paper discusses cycling applications for actuators and stages, including their characteristics, limitations, and best practices for optimal results.

This single-element sensing module is particularly suitable for applications such as level sensing, security and surveillance and proximity detection, just to name a few.

August Training and Education Courses Offered by ISA

This 168 page catalog features products that can help companies conserve compressed air and reduce dangerous noise levels.

M+W PA is a global provider of engineering-based automation services and solutions focused on the control, performance monitoring and measurement of critical production processes.

KBR will deploy AVEVA E3D software on major capital projects around the world.

Deutsche Messe will manage the future operations of the Indonesia Convention Exhibition center (ICE).

By Jason Norris and Jason Nicholl, Phoenix Contact A modular approach to Fieldbus can help achieve maximum availability and system integrity. but communication interruptions typically happen. Modular field-based diagnostics can help achieve maximum availability and integrity of a fieldbus system.

In the small town of Ybbs an der Donau, Kamstrup is installing the first complete smart metering project for the regional supplier of electric energy - E-Werk Wüster in Austria.

Duncan’s most recent responsibilities were as VP and General Manager of the Oil & Gas Division of Siemens Energy, Inc. based in Houston, TX.

Controls Crew provides custom control panels built to user specification, to the highest quality, delivered on time and at a reasonable price.

Lab-Volt was founded in 1934 and provides integrated learning systems and modular multimedia education programs in the electronics, electrical and mechanical engineering and telecommunication fields.

By Bill Lydon, Editor Honeywell Process Solutions recently introduced a new program called LEAP, which stands for Lean Execution of Automation Projects. LEAP changes the way projects are executed. LEAP leverages a number of Honeywell hardware and software developments to improve the efficiency of project execution, including virtualization, Experion Universal Process I/O and cloud engineering.

How Can You Achieve a Total Paperless Calibration System?

Technical paper presents a novel method of PID controller tuning suitable for higher-order aperiodic processes and aimed at step response-based auto-tuning applications.

According to a report by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), from 2008 to 2011 robotics created up to 80,000 jobs in the electronics sector.

Silicon Valley operations will be managed by Lauri Antila, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Honeywell will supply an integrated control and safety system for Qatar Fuel Additives Company’s (QAFAC) Mesaieed Industrial City plant, 50 kilometers south of Doha.

CSIA now has certified members on every continent except Antarctica.

ISA announced ISA members who have elevated to the membership grade of Fellow and the Celebrating Excellence Award honorees for 2014, including Member’s Choice honorees chosen by their peers.

The EnOcean Alliance defined a unified specification for remote commissioning of energy harvesting wireless devices in building automation systems.

Servomex’s SERVOTOUGH SpectraScan sensor is now available with H2scan’s hydrogen-specific sensing system.

New HMI Alternatives Improve Operations and Cut Costs

Metso will supply a DNA automation system, information management system and a fully integrated Machine Monitoring solution to predict mechanical faults in critical machinery.

Northwire is a US specialty cable manufacturer of copper wire, multi-conductor cable and retractile cords for the medical, aerospace and defense, energy and industrial markets.

This kit will help machine builders, system integrators and manufacturing end-users uncover wasted time, effort and resources within their operations and develop solutions to help them become more lean.

The Filter Concepts team and operations will be combined with Astrodyne’s existing EMI filter operations in Yorba Linda, Calif.,

Manual has Guidance on how to incorporate changes regarding building envelope, lighting, mechanical and the energy cost budget in the 2013 energy standard.

WeConfig is a Network Configuration Management (NCM) tool that simplifies both the initial installation of a network and the ongoing maintenance once commissioned.

The event, taking place July 29-31 at Eaton’s training center in Maumee, Ohio, will help educators reshape their curriculums to incorporate the latest fluid power innovations.

HIMA added a new CPU especially for small and mid-range safety applications.

Using Smart Field Devices to Improve Safety System Performance

By Bob Voss, Panduit Industries are rapidly adopting wireless networks because of their many benefits on the plant floor, including convenience, mobility, reduced cabling and lower labor costs compared to wired networks. Here are four steps to help plant operators establish wireless zones on the plant floor effectively.

By Paul Gruhn, Rockwell Automation Changes in technology have led to a variety of recent developments in process safety, with many suppliers releasing new systems that significantly depart from the past. These do’s and don’ts can help you choose the right safety-instrumented system for your process.

Metso will supply process automation and valves for JSC Svetlogorsk Pulp & Board Plant’s new bleached kraft pulp mill in Svetlogorsk, the Republic of Belarus.

The problem is that almost all PoE Ethernet Extenders on the market operate as simple passive power injectors and always apply 44-57volts of power to the RJ45 port pins. This results in severe damage if non-PoE compliant Ethernet devices are accidently connected.

At the HQT in Espelkamp,Germany, HARTING will be researching new technologies, as well as developing products and solutions.

The Right (and Wrong) Way to Market Your Brand on Linkedin Groups

The program is available to high schools, trade schools, community colleges and universities with manufacturing diploma programs or STEM curriculum.

‘Inversion Protected’ technology cuts down restart time from typically 40 seconds to just 10 seconds and reduces internal engine damage or deterioration due to water ingress.

Intelligrated has achieved recertification as part of the RIA Certified Robot Integrator program

Electroland used Phoenix Contact PLCs and relays to control the lights of the display, and terminal blocks to provide reliable connections.

The seminar, held Sept. 21-24, 2014, in Houston, enables those who design or maintain industrial Ethernet networks to gain valuable insights and hands-on experience for mission-critical Ethernet networking.

Michael Ziesemer, Chief Executive Officer of the Endress+Hauser Group, was named president of the German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association (ZVEI).

ProSoft Technology’s video promoting the company’s appearance at Automation Fair 2013 has won an Award of Excellence from the APEX Awards.

Lower energy rates from Houston-based Entelrgy and an energy management solution donated by EnTouch Controls keeps cooling costs down at the West Houston Community Center.

Have a look at a short video interview with HIMA Americas representative Budy Creef about the importance of diverse technology to ensure safety.

Your New Robot Colleague is Coming Out of its Cage

By Bill Battikha, Bergotech Management knows that training is required to meet global competition; however, management is squeezed between operating with a skeleton staff and tight budgets. The solution adopted by many organizations is online training.

Both a PROFIBUS forum and a PROFINET forum are available to the general public to ask questions and seek answers.

The free web-based seminars cover technical topics such as Sercos communication mechanisms, easy machine commissioning and the functionality of redundancy.

Agiliad specializes in industrial and medical product and software engineering and design services and offers turnkey solutions involving complex electronics and software design.

Icon Labs Floodgate Defender Appliance is integrated into McAfee ePO, a platform that lets enterprises centrally manage security and compliance products from multiple vendors.

The company was honored for demonstrating excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on Microsoft technology.

The flow loop facility in Stavenger, Norway, mixes diesel, salted tap water and nitrogen to imitate the multiphase flow coming out of oil and gas production wells.

Dutch bulk terminal company is using FLIR thermal imaging cameras to help monitor coal temperatures that signal potential self-combustion hazards before they have a chance to erupt.

Free eBook combats cloud computing fiction with fact, and encourages quality and IT professionals to consider cloud-based tools as a solution for enabling supply chain-wide quality, efficiency and productivity.

Six-page brochure details Festo eMotionSpheres, including: indoor GPS tracking, three dimensional motion guidance, autonomous motion, physical and computer motion integration.

As result of adopting the Internet as remote access carrier, the rapid increase in new technologies and trends in the IT industry has become a key discussion topic for the automation industry. New buzzwords starting to be adopted by the industrial solution vendors just adds to the decision maker’s confusion and uncertainty.

The television show “World’s Greatest!...” selected Wintriss Controls Group to be a part of the television series to be aired on June 30th and July 7th, 2014.

Roxtec seals keep dust out and prevent water from entering and damaging equipment for industrial bakeries during high pressure hosing.

The free app for Android/iPhone devices features nearly all the control a single project or application could need for up to four actuators.

According to Flow Research, magnetic flowmeters generate more revenues worldwide than any other type of flowmeter.

GFMesstechnik is a supplier of 3D metrology products based in Teltow/Berlin, Germany.

Rotork was specified for the second and third pipelines and to retrofit new IQ actuators on the first pipeline to replace the competitor’s actuators.

Corporate operator training simulators enable companies to share training materials globally. By developing OTS systems on virtual servers, organizations can start training well before system commissi

SEL relays protect miner sleds that power the mining equipment, and drive sleds that power pumps, fans, lighting, and everything else in the mine.

New features add design functionality, increasing supplier integration and streamlining the circuit design process.

Integrys is a source of embedded computing, imaging technology, engineering know-how and local product support in Canada.

By Joachim Sahlqvist, IFS ISO 14224 constitutes a “reliability language” that can be used to improve communication in oil & gas rig or facility operations and maintenance. This white paper shows how enterprise asset management (EAM) software that is prepackaged to support ISO 14224 can speed up compliance with the standard and ensure successful generation of valuable KPIs.

Acnodes’ panel PCs are rugged, and provide various industries with reliable, high-performance computing technology solutions.

The compact overcurrent and overvoltage products are for use in heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) equipment.

Yokogawa's Newnan, Georgia, Calibration Laboratory received ISO 17025 Accreditation and meets the requirements of ANSI/NCSL Z540-1-1994.

Honeywell will train technical personnel at Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Limited Liability Company’s new 200,000 barrel-per-day complex being built in Thanh Hoa Province, Vietnam.

Zygo provides optical metrology solutions, high-precision optics, and optical assemblies for use in a wide range of scientific, industrial, and medical applications.

By Bill Lydon, Editor Fluke recently introduced Fluke Connect, a system which allows maintenance technicians to wirelessly transmit measurement data from their test tools to their smart phones. There is a lot of hype about the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing. To date, from what I have seen on the market, Fluke Connect is the most useful, productivity-increasing industry solution based on these technologies.

An individual should never stop learning and improving. You cannot improve unless you know what you are doing wrong.

After declining for two consecutive years, revenues for industrial geared products are forecast to grow 4.7 percent in 2014 to $13,218.2 million.

The building will provide larger quarters for training, a showroom for CNC machine demonstrations, service engineering, spare parts stocking, and applications engineering.

1,300 customers, distributors and Honeywell leaders and engineers attended the 2014 Honeywell Users Group (HUG) Americas symposium held June 2 through 6 in San Antonio, Texas.

Vortex and Coriolis flow measurement technologies enabled accurate and reliable measurements that reduced product loss in the MTBE plant by 150 metric tons per month, and improved boiler efficiency by 3 percent.

The free Safety Automation Builder tool now has Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish and Swedish languages.

Using leakage-free seated valves, two-way pressure reducing valves and a higher efficiency radial piston pump, Schwaebische Werkzeugmaschinen achieved energy savings of 73 percent on its BA 400 machining centers.

With the large-scale deployment of proprietary data on the cloud, testing solution companies are experiencing significant opportunities in cloud infrastructure testing and cloud based application performance monitoring (APM).

Sensors Expo will be taking place June 9-11, 2015 in Long Beach, California at the Long Beach Convention Center.

TRUCONNECT provides continuous data collection to provide customers with a clear view of crane usage.

Beamex donated calibration equipment, including multifunctional documenting calibrators and communicators, pressure pumps, and field temperature blocks, along with calibration management software.

Emerson opens liquid density meter calibration facilities in Boulder, Colorado and Slough, United Kingdom.

ISA Training and Education Programs in July

The deadline for early-bird registration for the 2014 ISA Water/Wastewater and Automatic Controls (WWAC) Symposium has been extended to 1 July 2014.

The Project Q data center in the city of Queretaro, México, had to route multiple cables and pipes through 45-centimeter thick walls, while maintaining the protective integrity of the walls. Roxtec cable entry solutions proved effective protection.