Articles and News

Through the partnership, 3eTI and ISA will work together to leverage 3eTI's core cybersecurity capabilities for the benefit of ISA members and customers.

In the financial year 2013 Beckhoff Automation achieved worldwide sales of 435 million euros with an increase in sales of 7%.

As part of her traditional opening-day tour of Hannover Messe, German Federal Chancellor, Angela Merkel visited the booth of Verl, Germany-based Beckhoff Automation on Monday, April 7.

By Bill Lydon, Editor The recent ODVA annual conference and meeting provided a number of technology updates to the Common Industrial protocol (CIP) networks, specifically EtherNet/IP and DeviceNet. Topics included a new initiative for the DeviceNet of Things, as well as updates to the Machinery, Process and Energy initiatives. Wireless network and IO-Link integration and IPv6 migration concepts were also discussed.

Workforce development in the process industries cannot be effective without collaboration between employees and employers. Senior leadership must buy-in to the necessity of workforce development and f

The gauge is used to monitor the thickness of the coatings on the electrodes that are main components of lithium-ion batteries.

Villadsen was general manager at Moquin Press, VP of global operations for Global Equipment Services and Manufacturing, VP of global operations for Aviza Technology; and VP of operations for VA Linux Systems.

The PR 5343 sensor head-mounted 2-wire level transmitter now has FM, IECEx and INMETRO approvals.

Engineers are not naturally adept at writing and/or presentations. Good writing and presentation skills take training and practice.

The training center at Gibson Engineering in Norwood, Mass., will serve customers in the Northeastern U.S.

USB3 Vision is a machine vision interface standard designed to enable seamless integration between USB 3.0 cameras, cables and image processing libraries from different vendors.

February U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $157 million, down 1.2 percent from January’s total and down 6.8 percent from February 2013.

Supporting infrastructures, including building analytics, the cloud and smart grids are likely to play the most important role in strengthening the BAS market over the next four years.

Siemens industrial security offerings will use McAfee’s expertise to improve reliability and availability for industrial customers.

mGuard RS2000 and RS4000 security and connectivity devices now have Class I, Division 2 approval to protect and connect industrial networks in many hazardous locations.

ABB will supply a Train Control System, including hardware, software and control panels to Alstom Transport.

The company plans to focus its future development work on expanding its Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM) systems, as well as its Digital Enterprise Platform products.

Get involved in promoting STEM education

The free seminar 6 June 2014 in Norwalk, California campus will educate area business and manufacturing leaders on the value and importance of the recently launched US Cybersecurity Framework.

The KeTop T10 directMove developed by the Austrian-based automation specialist KEBA is a new breed of handheld robot controller for positioning, guiding and programming mobile robots.

The free web seminar on 23 April 2014 will discuss the purpose and most appropriate methods for calibrating switches.

Strother Martin said it best in Cool Hand Luke: "What we have here is failure to communicate." Mis-communication between workers and bean counters is costing billions.

The demand for machines in sectors such as agriculture, packaging, materials handling and machine tools will push revenues to $1.6 trillion this year, up from $1.5 trillion in 2013.

The expansion includes a $60 million, 18,800-square-meter flow measurement manufacturing building and a $16 million engineering center.

With a modernized quality control system, Brigl & Bergmeister's Niklasdorf mill will be able to enhance the quality of its labels that are found on beverage brands.

For most technicians, calibrating switches becomes somewhat of an afterthought, because switches are commonly viewed as an over-simplistic device.

Transit Designer is a free, web-based tool that simplifies both product selection according to needs and requirements and the process of designing, purchasing and installing cable and pipe transits.

With headquarters in Austin, Texas, USA, the Fieldbus Foundation represents over 200 process industry companies, their subsidiaries and affiliates across the globe.

FDI Cooperation, LLC’s Field Device Integration (FDI) specification and FDI developer toolkits are now available to beta test participants.

Elections were held in conjunction with ODVA’s 2014 Industry Conference & 16th Annual Meeting of Members, held March 11-13, 2014 in Phoenix, Arizona.

The SIG will develop enhancements to the ODVA specifications that will enable expanded adoption of DeviceNet to low cost, simple industrial devices.

By Eric Knapp, Honeywell Process Solutions Today, malware can evolve, mutate and hide in its tracks. It can seek out embedded devices and inject them with code. In short, bad guys can gain access and cause harm to industrial control systems once thought to be impenetrable.

UPM-Kymmene Oyj has ordered a Metso DNA Steam Network Manager system for the Kaukas pulp and paper mill in Lappeenranta, Finland. Startup is scheduled for Spring 2014.

QA Graphics provide all of the system graphics to New England Energy Controls for an 18,000 square foot residential project.

The HIO Project was created to unlock the traditional restraints seen in the embedded hardware industry, and enable developers to participate in hardware development much like we have seen in the open source software realm.

Instrument Calibration and Documentation for FDA-Regulated Industries (TI24), offers a combination of practical information and hands-on experience.

Tactics for Advanced Troubleshooting Boot Camp (TATC) helps experienced technicians more rapidly identify and solve complex process control problems.

Ken Hoover is President of Softing North America.

SAG won the HERMES award for its iNES product, an intelligent distribution grid management system that can be used to convert conventional local grids in stages into smart grids.

The Control Systems Engineer (CSE) PE Exam Review Course provides the same comprehensive, in-depth review and instructional quality of ISA’s classroom-led CSE PE course.

ISA’s 14th Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR)-Fugitive Emissions Symposium will be held 19-21 May 2014 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Emerson will engineer and install its Ovation control system at Craig Station, the second-largest power generating facility in Colorado.

Two laser line displacement sensors from Micro-Epsilon are mounted to a purpose-built handling and processing machine manufactured by Behr Systems.

ISA Automation Week Revisited Comes to Canada

Safety Network International is the independent user organisation that supports the Ethernet-based communication system SafetyNET p and the safe fieldbus system SafetyBUS p.

More than 30 technical papers—covering the critical challenges and most recent improvements in the analytical sciences—will be presented at the 2014 ISA Analysis Division Symposium to be held 4-8 May 2014 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.

JOT Automation will supply automated micro factory solutions for the assembly of the cartridges used with the t:slim Insulin Pump.

The web site showcases ISA’s products, services, resources and technical information.

The NRL is a combat robotics league where students design and build remote controlled robots to fight to the death.

TRENCO will be renamed as Schaffner Trenco and integrated as part of the Power Magnetics division of Schaffner.

In addition to a fresh graphics approach, the website now offers a greater depth of information on the Sercos automation bus.

By Bill Lydon, Editor The Industry 4.0 initiative is just one part of a 10-point high-tech plan in Germany’s strategy to be the leading supplier of products in a number of disciplines. The 10-point plan was created in 2006 and focuses on academia, research institutions and industry.

By Bill Lydon, Editor Layered cyber security protection has become an important factor for automation systems. The bottom layers of the network include the controllers with real-time embedded processors. I recently interviewed Alan Grau, President and Co-Founder of Icon Labs, about their company and cyber security solution offering.

BASF has decided to establish TuneWizard as a standard control loop tuning software for internal use.

Use external-reset feedback to prevent oscillations for a slow secondary loop or final control element; meet process objectives with setpoint rate limits,

The 2014 edition of Delta Standard Power Supplies catalog and leaflets include a total of more than 30 new models, plus more reader friendly features.

Young Tech is a Korean-based manufacturer of positioners and accessories including electro-pneumatic, pneumatic and smart positioners, solenoid valves and I to P converters.

By installing condition monitoring systems from Schaeffler on 56 wind turbines, Spanish renewable energy provider Geolica is making significant annual cost savings.

Guide describes sensors for displacement, distance, position and length measurement, 2D/3D laser sensors for dimensional measurements, colour sensors, non-contact temperature sensors, thermal imaging cameras, and measurement and inspection systems.

Expanded Metal selected the Epicor enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution to replace its existing ERP software and support its international operations.

ABB is responsible for the engineering, procurement, construction, installation, pre-commissioning, commissioning and testing of two gas turbine driven generators, step-up transformers, new high-voltage switchgear, power management system and associated facilities.

LCD Displays are certified for Class 1 Division 2 environments such as oil and gas drilling platforms, underground and surface mining, chemical processing, pharmaceutical and food processing, and outdoor HMI.

The drive democases are from the ACS880 high performance DTC product line.

IoT Security Advisors will provide security services for organizations that must manage privacy and security challenges associated with the IoT.

A successful industrial project implementation starts with the selection of the right manufacturing operations management (MOM) software applications.

Rootstock’s Cloud ERP will replace the on-premise legacy ERP software, which will consolidate all of Pioneer’s key metrics onto the Force.complatform.

Ocean Data Systems is in discussions with the leading industrial nations, in an unprecedented move to deliver Dream Report as the global standard for reporting in automation.

The EnOcean Alliance has more than 350 companies in the building industry worldwide.

The company cites its partnerships with Siemens, Mitsubishi, Phoenix Contact, Matrox, Kawasaki Robotics and Indusoft as critical components to its success in the Texas region.

A Delay Decomposition Approach to Robust Stability Analysis of Uncertain Systems

At Hannover Messe, 200 companies will use 61,350 square feet of exhibition space to showcase the latest digital tools for intelligent product development and manufacturing.

Germany and the European Union, the United States and China are the countries in which Endress+Hauser has applied for patents.

The theme of Inspire 2014, May 6-8, 2014 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is how the interaction among Culture, Safety and Technology can be used to improve safety in process plants.

When calculating the cost of a project, a decision, or some other activity, do not fail to consider the intangible costs.

The former subsidiary of Bosch Rexroth has been operating as a standalone company since the start of 2014.

The open membership group will focus on breaking down the barriers of technology silos to support better access to big data with improved integration of the physical and digital worlds.

CIO Utilities Technology magazine named MAVERICK Technologies the best source for automation in the utilities industry.

By Chase Gregory, Stahlin Most control housings are typically made up of metals, thermoplastics, or composite materials. Here's a brief overview of the three main types of enclosure materials describing how they perform relative to preventing corrosion and impact resistance.

Inter RAO-Engineering, a Russian engineering contractor (EPC) in the power industry, will use AVEVA solutions as a platform to perform engineering and design work on complex projects.

The website was designed with a fresh new look, user-friendly navigation, and updated with the latest information about products, including Rockwell Automation, Allen-Bradley, Hoffman, Panduit, Thomas & Betts, Mersen, Hevi-Duty, Killark, Hubbell, Hardy Process, Omni Cable, Stratus, ProSoft, Acme and more than 35 others.

GE Intelligent Platforms will develop and manufacture rugged high performance embedded computing (HPEC) and graphics solutions based on Tegra K1.

RAE is a manufacturer of high-performance motion control motors, controllers and gearmotors for industrial and commercial applications.

By Bill Lydon, Editor Emerson invested nearly $70 million in a new 282,000-square-foot Innovation Center in Round Rock, Texas. The center serves as the global headquarters for Emerson’s automation systems and project services business, which helps customers safely, reliably and profitably operate facilities in various industries.

According to a new market report, the global power rental market was valued at USD 7.28 billion in 2012 and is expected to reach 20.64 billion in 2019, growing at a CAGR of 16.2% from 2013 to 2019.

Yokogawa China will provide the CENTUM VP integrated control system to Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum, which is constructing an advanced coal/oil co-processing pilot plant.

Inspire the Next Generation of Leaders by Volunteering for FIRST

This year’s Digital Factory show will be complemented by an expanded lineup of solutions that are geared to the next generation of smart, connected products.

NEPSI is short for National Supervision and Inspection Centre for Explosion Protection and Safety of Instrumentation in China.

All entries must use Honeywell UniSim Design Suite software, available free to professors teaching at students’ universities and colleges.

Brochure includes 28 application examples of how Micro-Epsilon sensors and measurement systems are providing benefits for customers in development, testing, production and quality assurance.

Singapore-based port equipment engineering solutions provider Portek Systems & Equipment, has gone live with the Epicor enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution.

Honeywell’s Refining and Petrochemical Modeling System (RPMS) and its Intuition Executive advanced information management software will be installed in 17 PetroChina refining and petrochemical sites across China.

The Board of Directors named Kevin J. Kilgallen, President of Mid Atlantic Machinery, to serve as Chairman. He follows Chairman R. Stephen Flynn, President of Optical Gaging Products.

By Bill Lydon, Editor Even though New York City experienced a snow storm that accumulated 10 inches of snow, the AHR Expo experienced a record attendance. More than 43,000 visitors and 18,000 exhibitor personnel flocked to the Javits Convention Center.

HART-IP allows the HART Protocol to run over an IP-based connection, delivering valuable HART data at the speed of Ethernet. HART-IP significantly simplifies the connection configuration and the information integration.

The authentication technology cannot be detected by a general physical examination. Depending on customer preference, this covert capability offers four distinct layers of detection.

Severn Glocon is using Metso’s intelligent positioners to help meet demanding anti-surge valve requirements for an unidentified NGL project.

MeterView EX Programming Software for the Vantageview PD6730 and ProtEX Flow Rate / Totalizers provides plant operators with full control of the meter configuration.

By Dave Dahl, Rockwell Automation, et al Low power factor and high levels of voltage and current harmonic distortion, are a significant but often hidden cost in industrial operations. Without corrective measures, these factors increase electrical utility charges, impair equipment health, and prevent efficient industrial expansion.

MES Projects Are About the Business, Not the Technology