Articles and News

ADLINK is using a machine-to-machine (M2M) software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution from Gemalto to provide remote system monitoring and real-time maintenance for connected devices.

HIMA supplies safety system for "Arthur," the new themed roller coaster in Europa Park.

Multivac packaging machines work in multi-shift operation up to seven days a week. Diagnostic data requested via remote service provides insight into the machine status at all times. An mGuard security appliance protects the VPN.

The new system will replace a legacy system in use for nearly a decade at the RPU plant in Rochester, MN. It will allow improved operations and improved management of electric and water resources.

Hans-Peter Endress, Thomas Kraus and Antonietta Pedrazzetti were elected to the Board.

Festo now assembles, warrants, and supports ready to install ball valve assemblies that can include the ball valve, Namur solenoid, actuator, positioner and sensor.

Your control system wasn’t designed for the plant you have today. It was created specifically for the plant that was built long ago.

A group of industrial condition monitoring specialists, machine manufacturers and research organisations collaborated with the European Commission on a project to develop a system for health assessment and power optimisation in the machine tool sector.

The catalog contains more than 800 unique stock imaging lenses, cameras, filters, illumination, and more.

The CVA control valve actuator performs modulating and failsafe valve duties on an instrument air supply application, saving energy when compared to a pneumatic controller.

RAM 9000 RTUs can securely monitor remote devices via AT&T's 4G LTE cellular communications in North America.

Honeywell will supply an Experion Process Knowledge System and Safety Manager to manage operations and to help prevent safety problems in a third pipeline to be built as part of the Central Asia-China Gas Pipeline (CACGP) project.

By Bill Lydon, Editor The Fair provides a unique world perspective of the industrial sectors. “Integrated Industry – Next Steps” was the 2014 theme, which focused on maximizing manufacturing flexibility and efficiency. This year, key representatives from the United States participated in a summit stressing the importance of a Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership.

The fast-growing worldwide market for flowmeters used for measurement of petroleum liquids totaled $956 million in 2011, and is projected to increase to almost $1.4 billion in 2016.

Sankar Ramakrishnan was appointed CEO and Reinhard Seibold is now CFO.

The new Houston facility houses a 6,300 square foot production area and 15,000 square feet of warehouse space.

Make your smart assets your new reliability specialist.

Joel Neidig, an engineer at Indiana Gear, has been awarded a $75,000 prize for his research project titled “Expanding Manufacturing’s Vision: MTConnect and Google Glass.”

By Denny Redwine, Kemper Controls A custom-designed HMI-based solution increased uptime at TGKY, a plastic injection molding facility in Lebanon, KY, by providing continuous real-time monitoring and alarming of machines and associate processes.

5,938 robots valued at $338 million were ordered by companies in North America in first quarter 2014, just shy of the all-time record of 6,235 robots valued at $385 million in fourth quarter 2012.

Minnesota Wire provides cable assemblies, R&D, testing and design engineering to the medical, defense and commercial industries.

The sensor response time is a sensitive indicator of the effects of coatings and aging on glass pH electrodes.

ISA hosted an informational exhibit where competing students learned about the automation profession and how to plan for careers in the field.

Worldwide sales for Coriolis flowmeters in 2011 were $1.1 billion. With a projected growth rate of 10.6%, sales will exceed $1.8 billion in 2016.

538 people attended the Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) Executive Conference in San Diego, Cal., U.S., last week.

The Control System Integrators Association announced winners of three awards during the association’s 2014 Executive Conference in San Diego, Cal., U.S., last week.

Fire shelters protect the control electronics of automatic emergency shutdown and fire suppression systems on offshore gas production platforms in the Arabian Gulf .

Representatives and volunteer members of ISA and its umbrella organization, The Automation Federation, demonstrated fundamental processes of industrial automation to young people at the third USA Science & Engineering Festival, conducted 25-27 April 2014 in Washington, DC.

Vevon will be responsible for software engineering, enterprise IT operations, cyber security, advanced technologies and IT training.

The Industrial Cybersecurity business will help clients protect their control systems from both intentional and unintentional cyber-initiated events. John Cusimano will run it

NEXCOM provides a broad range of industrial computing solutions for demanding industrial environments.

Bel will pay approximately $117 million in cash to acquire the Power Solutions business, which had 2013 revenue of approximately $251 million.

Condition monitoring systems on two ships operated by United European Car Carriers (UECC) are installed in the ships’ engine control rooms to monitor the vibration behaviour of the engine gearboxes.

GE's Proficy Mobile provided 40% faster off-hours troubleshooting, increasing energy savings, reliability and equipment uptime.

This $2.2 million Brodhead Road expansion adds about 150,000 square feet, giving the company approximately 200,000 square feet over two buildings for distribution and manufacturing operations.

Even today, aircraft wings are still assembled manually; but this process could soon be automated thanks to a novel snake-like robot capable of tightening bolts in even the most difficult-to-access cavities of the wing structure.

The product portfolio that Softing Industrial Automation acquired includes solutions for monitoring industrial networks, incljuding PROFIBUS, PROFINET and Industrial Ethernet.

The xplore competition challenges students to design and build an automation project using Phoenix Contact technology. Winning teams will receive a trip to the 2015 Hanover Fair in Germany.

EPLAN began as a three-person shop in 1984, substituting paper & ink with a PC & software. Now it has more than 40,000 customers and 100,000 installations.

The SABIC Olefins plant in Teesside, UK, uses Emerson's wireless condition monitoring and prediction system to detect potential problems with pumps before they disrupt normal operations.

REXA Xpac actuator meets the functional safety requirements for Safety Integrity Level (SIL) 3 capability per IEC 61508: 2010.

Superheated steam temperature plays an important role in the security and economy of power plants. Control of superheated steam temperature is not only economically essential in terms of improving lif

The PcVue SCADA system monitors 1200 heat pumps, lighting, blinds and tenant meters in the Louvre's office areas and shops.

Patti Engineering will provide technical expertise to Siemens in the design of a SCADA system for a sustainable energy efficient water and wastewater infrastructure project in Texas.

Automation revenues are increasing and power revenues are declining.

VadaTech will use the processor boards in their switch, chassis, RTM, and specialty products for embedded computing applications.

eLynx provides real-time data collection, production reporting, trending, well monitoring and control via the Internet for the oil and gas industry.

The brochure covers the general attributes of 2600T pressure transmitters, such as the intuitive HMI, all-welded diaphragm seals, and simplicity to install, configure, and repair.

Integrated Memory Logic is a fabless semiconductor company, which develops and markets application specific analog, power management, and mixed signal integrated circuits.

By Bill Lydon, Editor The automation benchmarking survey of leading pharmaceutical companies reveals how these manufacturers are dealing with some of the latest industry trends. Topics of the survey include big data utilization, return on investment, major innovations, organizational structures, in-house vs.contract staff, automation management and challenges. How does your company compare?

Newport has supplied high-precision test, measurement, process control and automation instrumentation for more than four decades.

The literature provides detailed specifications as well as information on the robotic system's features, delivery methods and applications.

The valves will be installed in a carbon black and delayed coker plant currently under construction in Abu Dhabi Oil Refinery Company’s chemical refining complex in in the United Arab Emirates.

Concept brochure and the additional four concept sheets on Programming, Control, Logging and Infrastructure make it even easier to understand the Secomea solutions.

Haas-Meincke, the Danish-Austrian manufacturer of baking equipment uses innovative remote access solution from Secomea to service their high tech machinery worldwide from the factory in Denmark. This reduces technician’s travel costs and ensures customers higher uptimes.

Project justifications involve understanding company competitiveness and business concerns, plus alignment with corporate initiatives, not just performance.

Hannover Fairs USA (HFUSA) has partnered with the National Fluid Power Association (NFPA) to host the IFPE Fluid Power Zone during the Motion Drive & Automation North America 2014 (MDA North America) trade show and conference September 8-13, 2014.

The new facility is in the WaveRock SEZ development in Gachibowli, Hyderabad, India.

On May 29, 2014, experts will discuss the challenges, problems and common mistakes involved in a process control system migration, and show how using front-end loading (FEL) practices help smooth the migration process.

Do not lie, and do not tell people “what they want to hear” just to avoid conflict.

Transit Designer is a free, web-based tool that simplifies the process of designing, purchasing and installing cable and pipe transits.

Upcoming brownfield and greenfield projects in the oil and gas and power generation industries will sustain the demand for automation and control solutions (ACS) in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

This year’s Industrial Automation show demonstrated that the fourth industrial revolution is well underway. The show featured a vast array of key innovations that will play a decisive role in the future of manufacturing.

Life Cycle developed a customized risk-based asset management system that is based on algorithmic prediction analytics for real-time asset health monitoring for the oil and gas industry.

AMT urges House and Senate leaders to consider legislation that would strengthen U.S. manufacturing, including reauthorization of the America COMPETES Act; renewal of trade promotion authority; and passage of tax, regulatory and immigration reforms.

Brochures include a revised Sercos III brochure and a competency brochure, "The fast route to Sercos."

“Industrial Ethernet Technologies: Overview and Comparison” gives valuable insight into today’s most important Industrial Ethernet technologies.

The ISA Cybersecurity Conference 2014, to be held 9-12 June in Detroit Michigan, USA, will bring together experts in industrial cybersecurity, best-practice security approaches and leading technology solutions.

A combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) system will generate enough electricity to power the company’s U.S. headquarters approximately 65 percent of the time.

Wibu-Systems was founded by Oliver Winzenried and Marcellus Buchheit in Karlsruhe, Germany in 1989. Wibu-Systems challenges hackers. In several international Hacker's Contests since 2001, participants were unable to crack Wibu-Systems' protected software.

Renz provides customer support on five-axis machining applications including machine set-up, programming and operations that incorporate HEIDENHAIN controls.

OPC Foundation Open Standards: Automation and Business Interoperability Improves Efficiency

The iDesign on-line tool offers a fast way to identify the best component for an application, find appropriate parts documentation, and order sample parts for prototyping.

The monitoring project, which ran for five months, was aimed at investigating unexplained causes of moisture damage, wood decay and fungal growth found behind cladding and sheathing in ground-floor walls throughout the unnamed complex.

CellPac BLOX is a design program that helps OEMs obtain a semi-custom power solution when off-the-shelf lithium ion (li-ion) or lithium polymer (LiPO) soft pack battery assemblies do not meet design criteria.

Westfalia will install Automated Storage & Retrieval Systems (AS/RSs) and Savanna.NET Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) software in two of Sazerac's Kentucky distilleries

The discontinued support impacts millions of both personal and professional users worldwide, including the many companies that have implemented Windows XP in industrial automation applications.

Renesas Electronics is a supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions including microcontrollers, SoC solutions and a broad range of analog and power devices.

Getting the Most From Your HART Handheld

The free seminar on 22 July 2014 in Marietta, Georgia, will educate area business and manufacturing leaders on the recently launched US Cybersecurity Framework.

By Bill Lydon, Editor Recently founded by AT&T, Cisco, GE, IBM and Intel, IIC is another organization focused on the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, and the connected world. The goals of this group are to break down the barriers of technology silos to support better access to big data with improved integration of the physical and digital worlds.

Set up a ratio station, feedforward summer, and cascade control system for maximum flexibility and visibility to address start-up and abnormal conditions.

Total will use AVEVA PDMS, Instrumentation, Electrical, Engineering, Diagrams and Review software across its local site modifications and repair projects.

Advanced Consulting & Engineering is a US-based supplier of dimensional measurement products and services focused on the automotive industry.

Emerson will replace turbine controls at Union Power Station in southern Arkansas, one of the largest combined-cycle facilities in the U.S.

ISA Career Advancement and Technical Learning Opportunities for May

Founded in 2006, Intelligent Plant is an independent consultancy, software integrator and developer based in Aberdeen, UK.

Sercos International, supplier of the Sercos automation bus, exhibited Sercos-capable products at Hannover Fair.

Headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Robtec is the largest Latin-American additive manufacturing service bureau and a 3D printing and scanning products distributor in the region.

MDT Software is a supplier of change management solutions for automated manufacturing assets.

The Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) announces system integrator companies that have joined the association.

The free seminar 13 June 2014 at Chevron’s Houston, Texas offices will educate area business and manufacturing leaders on the value and importance of the recently launched US Cybersecurity Framework.

Changes include enhancements to the central search function as well as the “download,” “events,” and “product” sections of the website.

The new offices in Goethals Park, NJ, are the base for the company's executive management, administrative, training, research, sales support and marketing activities.

The safety PLC provided the platform for Sandvik Materials Technology to add zoned safety guarding to a large cold rolling mill at its Sandviken plant in Sweden.

February U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $354.40 million, down 6.6% from January and down 6.2% when compared with the total of $377.82 million reported for February 2013.

Initec Plantas Industriales has successfully deployed AVEVA Electrical software on all of its Oil & Gas projects for a 40% reduction in time.

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

With this specification, a controller can exchange complex data structures horizontally with other controllers independently from fieldbus system or vertically with other devices using an OPC-UA server.

HANNOVER MESSE 2014 attracted more than 180,000 visitors from more than 100 different nations, and more than one in every four visitors came from abroad.