Articles and News

The 2014 ISA FPID Symposium will be held 5-6 March 2014 at ISA headquarters in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA.

The Fieldbus Foundation postponed its 2014 General Assembly in Rotterdam due to travel and security restrictions associated with the upcoming Global Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) in The Hague, The Netherlands.

Schülein has over 30 years' experience in the field of automation technology. He spent the last 25 years working for the Baumüller Nürnberg Group.

exida certified that the Detcon FP-700 Combustible Gas Sensor meets the functional safety requirements for Safety Integrity Level (SIL) 2 capability per IEC 61508: 2010.

The key to implementing an optimal, balanced industrial cybersecurity solution is to focus on designing plant connectivity with a high level of security from the ground up. It is important to assess y

Following a strong year in 2012, the North American robotics market recorded its best year ever in 2013 in terms of robot shipments, according to the Robotic Industries Association.

As development and technology partners in the area of specialty photoelectric sensors, the companies are connected by a long-standing cooperation venture.

Endress+Hauser Group increased its net sales by approximately 7 percent to over 1.8 billion euros ($2.43 billion) in the 2013 financial year.

When released, the adapter will enable wired field instruments or analytical sensors to be used as ISA100 Wireless devices.

Schneider Electric added EtherNet/IP Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) to the ConneXium Tofino Firewall to further harden industrial control systems against network incidents and cyberattacks.

TechwaY will be the distirbutor in France for high-speed, high-resolution cameras.

Parker Remote Manager mobile application lets users monitor and control Interact Xpress and Parker Factory Display products.

Through the donations of Endress+Hauser, Rockwell Automation and TriNova, Polk State College will be the new home to a $1 million, state-of-the-art PTU (Process Training Unit).

Manual explains the Moog Animatics Class 5 SmartMotor support for the CANopen protocol.

By Bill Lydon, Editor At the 2013 Rockwell Automation Fair, Cisco described how their routers are becoming distributed embedded computer devices, intended to process and react to information from devices and sensors at the edge of the network. Could your next automation controller be embedded in an Ethernet switch?

Pumping applications with a variable-flow requirement can lower energy and life-cycle costs with the application of a variable-speed motor to deliver the desired process flow rate

Video walls have been installed in Emerson’s Houston Hydrocarbon and Energy Center and at the iOps (Intelligent Operations) Center in Austin, Texas.

By Greg Goodwin, LNS Research In a manufacturing organization, understanding what’s happening at the plant level is crucial because it’s where the rubber really hits the road. Having visibility into shop-floor operations is important for achieving several company goals, like meeting customer demands, identifying lagging assets, and reducing manufacturing costs.

The Twin Cities Section presented “Best Use of Automation”award to Grandview Middle School in Mound, Minnesota, in conjunction with a national engineering competition.

Dave Edstrom, recently past President and Chairman of the Board of the MTConnect Institute, joined the senior management team as Chief Technology Officer.

The fifteen-year-old Automation Systems Interconnect (ASI) reports that more than 8,000 satisfied customers have purchased directly through ASI or a franchised distributor.

Festo signed distributors for Colorado, Utah, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Texas.

A detailed understanding of instrumentation is critical for any automation professional.

While some Trackmotion modules were fabricated and machined in Switzerland, the entire product line is now built in the US.

Softing's PROFINET device implementation has passed the Class III category of the "Net Load Test" performed by PROFIBUS & PROFINET International (PI).

End users are looking to reduce energy consumption and operational costs by replacing old motors with more energy-efficient ones.

This 250-page reference describes theoretical and practical considerations involved in the measurement of low DC currents, high resistances, low DC voltages, and low resistances.

By Chuck Cimalore, Omnify Software With the ability to share information across the enterprise, PLM technology touches many phases of the engineering design and manufacturing cycle.

Mitsubishi Electric Automation now offers connections to complementary products from other vendors through the e-F@ctory Alliance Program.

Aero Stanrew is a designer and manufacturer of electromagnetic components and electronic systems to the aerospace, defence, oil & gas and space markets.

Cisco estimates there will be 50 billion connected devices by 2020. These devices are creating a tidal wave of data that is expensive to move to existing cloud environments for analysis and conversion to useful content.

The $140 million manufacturing hub in Raleigh -- combining 18 companies and many universities and labs -- has the potential to fast-forward development of some products by at least a decade.

How Can You Ensure Success With Your MES Project?

Sitio web en español incluye detalles del instrumento analítico, próximos eventos y seminarios en línea, comunicados de prensa, los hechos de la compañía, y otra información útil.

Prior to joining SL Power Electronics, Croal was the Vice President/General Manager of AMETEK’s Programmable Power Division.

The OPC Data-UA toolkit was certified by the OPC Foundation for OPC UA client development.

The Energy Management Information System will provide real-time monitoring, analysis and detection of excessive plant energy consumption.

SCADA/DMS provides smart grid modeling, analysis and automation capabilities, including Distribution Power Flow, Fault Location, Isolation and Service Restoration, Feeder Reconfiguration and Volt/VAR Control.

Red Lion installed a remote connectivity solution that provides monitoring and control throughout EPM¹s power distribution network, helping to save time and reduce costs.

BEI Kimco built a permanent life testing station to assess and substantiate actual actuator life cycle capabilities.

The Design Guide was updated to reflect the new signals adopted with the PICMG COM.0 R2.1 specification, and includes design rules and guidance for the latest high-speed interfaces, including PCI Express Gen3, SuperSpeed USB and SATA 6Gb/s.

By Bill Lydon, Editor With this acquisition, Schneider Electric significantly enhanced its position to serve the process industries and now has a complete portfolio of products to serve the entire industrial and process automation industry. This article highlights a few key aspects of the integration of the two companies.

Simone Wakefield was also appointed Executive Vice President and retains her role as Chief Financial Officer of the Corporation.

The sensors will be used on the BLOODHOUND SSC Project – the 1,000 mph land speed record attempt that is scheduled to take place in 2016.

Having historically used measurement services providers, PVR wants to build a measurement department from the ground up.

The new building is located in Warrendale, PA, a little more than 10 miles from their previous location in Emsworth. Both cities are suburbs of Pittsburgh.

Drones may soon offer a cost-effective and scalable alternative to traditional palletizing methods, as demonstrated by this video.

App is for any novice or experienced engineer who uses motion control products in their industrial automation machinery.

The ProSafe-RS safety instrumented system has obtained the ISASecure Embedded Device Security Assurance (EDSA) certification.

By Bill Lydon, Editor Helmuth Ludwig, CEO of Siemens Industry Sector USA, provided his views on the 2014 manufacturing outlook and other industry topics, including the first live display of an assembly line at the Auto Show in Detroit, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the first assembly line.

How to use Mobile Devices to Improve Operator Effectiveness

The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) named Dean Elkins of Yaskawa Chairperson of the Board.

As an ISA Promotional Partner, the FDT Group will provide the ISA community access to device maintenance and management strategies through a range of ISA media and direct marketing opportunities.

Vacker will represent Cryopak business interests in the Middle East for verification products which covers data loggers and real time monitoring solutions.

3D graphics can be used to develop system graphics that more accurately represent the mechanical equipment in place at a facility.

For managing pH, use linear reagent demand control when going from a flatter part to a steeper part of a titration curve for tighter control and less wear and tear on the valves and the operators.

Frost & Sullivan says the metrology market earned revenues of $290.9 million in 2012 and estimates this to reach $398.3 billion in 2017.

Dr. Koon will work with Society leaders and staff to increase awareness of the value and relevance of the ISA brand and build on ISA’s proven range of capabilities and resources for automation professionals.

T&B Mobile 2.0 has a tools button to retrieve literature, view videos and scan barcodes on T&B product packaging.

E-houses ensure reliable power distribution to seawater pumps, the molybdenum plant and for the tailings treatment process at the Sierra Gorda project in the northern part of Chile.

In addition to expanding their facility, the company expects to increase its full-time North American headcount to more than 1,000 by 2015.

4Q 2013 results were adversely impacted mainly by charges for storm-related project delays and operational issues in the Power Systems (PS) division.

The SCADA/DMS will provide SMECO with both the visualization of the current network operating conditions and optimal solutions to further improve reliability and efficiency.

Patti Engineering will convert a Siemens S5 Legacy Control System to the S7 Platform at Oetiker’s manufacturing facility in Marlette, MI.

The blog provides comprehensive information about FOUNDATION fieldbus technology.

Transparency Market Research says the electric motor market is highly fragmented and the top five players accounted for less than 15% of the revenue share in 2012.

The plant in Akron, Ohio, will transform waste plastics into energy products. Control will be by a PlantPAx Process Automation System.

The new center will have control valve testing facilities and house research and development, engineering, and service support units for South Korean EPC companies.

Suriname's state-owned oil company will deploy Honeywell’s manufacturing execution system (MES) as part of a major expansion and efficiency project at the Tout Lui Faut crude oil refinery complex.

An improved indirect-driven self-sensing actuation circuit for vibration control of piezoelectrically actuated flexible structures in mechatronic systems.

The multi-warehouse implementation enables Weir Canada to streamline and accelerate its warehouse and distribution processes.

Automated test fixtures will be used as test tools in the production facilities where connectBlue’s latest Multiradio module OWL355 is being produced.

The EXTER T100 panel allows operators and facility managers to easily control the temperature and humidity of the coffee roasting chambers for roasting that bring out the finest flavors in the beans.

Shandong Huachao Chemical will use the UOP C4 Oleflex process to produce isobutylene, while Zibo Qixiang Tengda Chemical will use the UOP Butamer process to transform normal butane to isobutane.

Leine & Linde provide reliability data for their 500 and 800 series encoders in support of Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC.

The Electric Motor Education and Research Foundation (EMERF) gave Texas A&M $15,000 to study "Design of Ferrite Assisted Synchronous Reluctance Motor (Fa-SynRM) with Aluminum Conductors in Stator."

By Bill Lydon, Editor The lack of skilled talent and the retirement of current workforce is a topic at every industry conference. The problem is I hear few near-term solutions. Here is my analysis of the situation and a list of viable action items for those companies who are serious about reinvesting in our future.

OSI’s Houston office will deliver solutions and services including system design and engineering, technical and integration services and training and customer support.

Kugler-Womako in Germany is using TR750 rotary indexing tables in its EcoBinder paper-based binding system.

Serapid is moving to Macomb County, a community just outside Detroit, Michigan.

By Macro Sesnsors Repeatability and resolution contribute to overall measurement error, and are usually expressed as a percentage of full-scale output. These parameters apply to both AC- and DC-operated LVDTs.

Why are Automation Projects so Challenging?

The transaction will allow the combined entity to have a unique position in industrial and infrastructure end-markets.

ISA encourages its members to explore the many upcoming Engineers Week activities and related programs, and investigate ways they can spread the word—to students, educators and parents—about the value and significance of engineering careers.

KMD, with headquarters located in St. Louis, MO specializes in custom machinery to support automated and semi-automated production processes.

The control and on/off valves, emergency shut-down valves, and ball and butterfly valves will be delivered to Sadara's fully integrated chemicals complex currently under construction in Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia.

Adept added Shelley Automation and VINSSA as distributors and Anton and Associates, Phister Equipment Company, and Sunstate Sales as reps.

Developing direct reports is a fundamental duty of the leader position. Teach and grow the next generation of engineering talent.

Sercos International will exhibit at 20 events this year, provide training, and conduct webinars.

The President announced a North Carolina headquartered consortium of businesses and universities, led by North Carolina State University, to lead a manufacturing innovation institute for next generation power electronics.

E215 Workholding Catalog features 232 pages of information on their full range of high pressure hydraulic workholding devices, accessories, and power units.

Forum topics include pneumatics, servo pneumatics, electric drives, software, fieldbus, process automation, sensors and vision, directives and standards, and more.

Spectre cellular router starter kit includes free, prepaid, 60-day 100MB RacoWireless 3G data plan as a way to jump-start industrial M2M network designs.

Emerson Network Power will provide uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems for Shell’s Prelude FLNG project, the world’s first floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) project.

Frost & Sullivan says the need to modernize automation in the mining industry will increase use of electric motors and drives in Europe and Russia.

DFDS Logistics installed a warehouse management system (WMS) from Chess Logistics Technology at its warehouse and distribution facility at Whittlesey, near Peterborough, UK.

The global food traceability market (tracking technologies) is expected to grow at a rate of 8.7%, reaching revenues of $14.1 billion by 2020.

February ISA Training and Education Programs Deliver New Learning Opportunities

Metronix's smart drive has allowed Pfankuch to increase the speed of its friction feeder by 50% while also doubling the positioning accuracy.

Stretch is a provider of software configurable processors supporting the video surveillance market.