Articles and News

Adansor Systems Integration is offering customers a blend of in-house skills incorporating mechanical, electrical and software engineering.

Phoenix Contact brings the Hanover Fair (Hannover Messe) to Americans unable to travel to Germany. The company is posting video news reports from the show.

Keith Garris and Christina Jones have joined the company to cover the East and West coast regions, respectively.

This Ethernet technology will be featured in TI’s upcoming Sitara ARM microprocessors (MPUs) planned for the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2011.

Sakakibara replaces Åke Lindqvist, outgoing IFR President, who was presented the Joseph Engelberger Award on 22 March in Chicago.

The Open Automation Software application demonstrates monitoring 1 to 25 water treatment filter beds with one click of the mouse.

The objective is the establishment of SmartWire-DT as a new standard in the communications interface for intelligent switchgear.

Honeywell will provide its UniSim Design process simulation software to Shell through 2015.

CIMdata says cPDm will continue as the fastest-growing segment of the PLM market with a five-year forecast of 9.3 percent, resulting in a projected cPDm market size of $15 billion by 2015.

With this technology, atomization is effected by steam instead of the more conventional compressed air.

The new facility will supply high-voltage and extra high-voltage transmission cables to carry electric power underground.

Measurement and inspection services company QS-Grimm GmbH uses Micro-Epsilon’s optoNCDT 2400 confocal sensor to measure round tubes.

Pilgrim Software, Inc. will provide integrated risk, compliance and quality management solutions to Thermo Fisher’s informatics customers operating in highly regulated environments.

Bogotá will be the main AVEVA hub for the Caribbean and South American countries situated in the north of the region.

ODVA launched a Machinery Initiative designed to improve the integration of machinery with the industrial manufacturing ecosystem.

CAS will be responsible for the sales and support of all ESCORT Data Logger products in North America.

Emerson has acquired full ownership of its Fisher Sanmar Limited joint venture from Sanmar Engineering

AutomationDirect will sell KEPDirect OPC Server for use with its controllers and remote I/O.

Metso will provide a DNA distributed control system and an information management system for the new plant being built by Hitachi Zosen Inova in Vaasa, Finland.

Bernie Anger, General Manager Control and Communication Systems for GE Intelligent Platforms, has been elected to PI North America's Board of Directors.

Larry Schwartz moves to the position of Chief Strategy Officer and Jim King is promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer.

Headquartered in Mumbai, the DIGILINK cabling business has 92 employees and generated sales of about €25 million in calendar year 2010.

Automation.com, April 2011 By Jeff Kamin, QComp Robots are the buzz for anyone in manufacturing, assembling, packaging or distributing products. Many end users rely on an integrator or OEM to provide a robot solution without really understanding the potential benefits and liabilities. This article poses some of the questions that a robotic user should consider prior to selecting a robot and a robot programmer/installer.

Supply chain software developer merges with systems integrator.

ROMeo optimization software enables CNPC to respond in real time to changes in feedstock variation, process conditions and utilities prices for sustainable energy savings.

MDU will upgrade and replace their legacy SCADA/EMS system with OSI's monarch (Multi-platform Open Network ARCHitecture) platform.

Mroz was the President of ABB’s petroleum, chemical and consumer industries business area based in Zurich, Switzerland.

The 2011 product guide features a complete selection of Lantech product lines, including wireless access points, redundant fiber controllers and industrial switches.

The RNU, a PLC-based fuel governor, is a "plug and play" direct replacement for the existing Woodward range of NetCon controllers.

Automation.com, March 2011 By PLCopen North America The use of skid mounted equipment has become popular for a number of reasons but they pose some unique automation and control challenges that can be solved by using IEC 61131-3 and PLCopen standards.

The approvals, which include ATEX, DNV, Industrial IT, UL and CSA, apply to Ethernet extenders, switches and media converters.

Summerville spent most of his professional career at Rockwell Automation, including 10 years with Rockwell in Asia.

Subjects covered will range from the use of on-line particle sizing in micronization through to process optimization and control of cement production.

SoftDEL Systems promoted its chief marketing officer, Chirag Nanavati, to chief executive officer.

Siemens will provide hands-on educational courses in the fields of process instrumentation technology and applications to its customers in North America.

Blog allows users to ask questions and get them answered by their peers and Sandvik Coromant’s own team of experts.

4 Bravo Marketing provides marketing/consulting services for the industrial and building automation industries.

The office will focus on serving the needs of Mexican and South American Industry.

American engineering students have been invited to participate in Phoenix Contact’s xplore New Automation Award competition.

Metso will supply of spare parts and maintenance services for Metso’s valves, actuators and positioners for 11 refineries in Brazil.

Constellation will deploy the SmartSignal Shield predictive-diagnostic solution, along with SmartSignal Cycle Watch software for combustion turbine start-ups.

Tridium's Niagara Framework connects multiple systems and equipment within Manitoba Hydro Place, a 22-story office tower.

By Chandu Bhatasana, Aker Solutions In gas flow metering, the impact of uncertainty in flow measurement depends on quantity of gas, commercial value of gas metered and uncertainty in measurement. For a high throughput gas metering system, a marginal reduction in uncertainty helps reduce the financial exposure.

He joins the company from Delphi Connection Systems (Irvine, Calif.), where he was Business Unit Manager of Electrical and Fiber Optic Connections.

Invensys announces that Wayne Edmunds, who has been Chief Financial Officer of the Company since 2009, has been appointed Chief Executive to replace Ulf Henriksson.

Summit Energy provides energy procurement, risk management, market intelligence, data management and sustainability consulting services.

Meggitt hired Sean O’Brien as a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer and Martin Luplow as a Quality Engineer.

Rockwell will monitor and control coal handling, ash handling, mill reject, water treatment and fire protection systems at Avantha Power in India.

Online game simulates a Plant Manager’s experience and challenges players to increase productivity, sustainability and the overall health of an industrial plant.

In 2010, with more than 115,000 industrial robots shipped, the number of units sold worldwide almost doubled – with 2009 being lowest year since the early 90’s.

Verizon Wireless will use deviceWISE M2M smart device application platform as a component of its Machine to Machine (M2M) Management Center and other smart service offerings.

The catalog features Slat-Wall consoles, ready-to-ship M-View monitor walls and a section detailing the capabilities of Winsted's Custom Division.

Willett, the company’s President and Chief Operating Officer, has been promoted to Chief Executive Officer.

The link will supply hydropower from northeastern India to the city of Agra over a distance of 1,728 kilometers.

Honeywell will provide its Safety Manager, Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS), Da Vinci Quality Control System (QCS) and OptiVISION manufacturing execution system (MES).

The program allows customers to bring "clean" solar energy projects on their properties without making an initial capital investment in solar equipment.

By Stewart Robinson, Pilz Automation Technology. The Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC came into force at the end of 2009. While machine builders have to deal primarily with ‘scope’ and ‘conformity assessment,’ the main challenge for end users is the issue of 'upgrading' or 'interlinking' of machinery.

By Geoffrey Miller, OCWA, and Jim McConahay, Moore Industries Part of the upgrades at Onondaga County Water Authority included distributed and remote I/O that reduced wiring costs for field instrumentation while improving operational readiness and reliability.

Prior to joining ARC, Barry served as an account and project manager for New England Controls, Emerson Process Management’s local business partner in New England.

The booklet, "A Common Regulatory Framework for Equipment Used in Environments with an Explosive Atmosphere," can be used by countries that lack regulation in this sector as a blueprint for their legislation.

The 2011 catalog wraps Banner's sensor products together with lighting and indicators, machine vision, wireless and machine safety products.

The system is designed to pick 300 SKUs at a rate of more than 250,000 cases per day.

Semaphore will supply 370 remote terminal units (RTUs) over the next 3 years, along with master telemetry units (MTUs), Ethernet UHF radios, and associated equipment.

GE will integrate controls at 13 water treatment plants and 62 sewer pumping stations, covering an area of 36 square miles.

Yokogawa joined the PROFIBUS Nutzerorganisation e.V. (PNO), an interest group for the PROFIBUS and PROFINET standard communication protocols.

The combined system provides security for SCADA networks, including protection from sophisticated cyber threats such as Stuxent and Night Dragon.

ARC predicts strong growth of the PLC and PLC-based Programmable Automation Controller (PAC) market through 2014 in China, but provides no numbers.

Automation.com, March 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor The intent of this energy initiative is to create a comprehensive approach to the optimization of energy usage for the industrial consumer that is scalable, open and inclusive for both users and suppliers.

Automation.com, March 2011 By Tony Paine, Kepware Technologies Expect in 2011 to see smart grid solutions, smart meters, and a real-time, automated, metering infrastructure (AMI) to be rolled out across the country.

AchieKundinger, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, distributes, designs, engineers, manufactures, installs, and provides ongoing service support for machine applications.

The new UK service center has the capacity and technology needed to handle large-scale shutdown turnarounds, general repairs, spare parts, training programs, field support and diagnostic services.

As for the economy, 60% believe that the U.S. economy will improve in the next six months, up from 49% in November. However, those planning to increase hiring in the next six months saw a drop to 44% in February from 49% in November.

The SAFEcontractor certificate was awarded for all of the company’s activity, including technical consultancy, industrial automation hardware, industrial automation software, training and support.

O’Brien has 18 years of experience in the process automation business as a research director and analyst at ARC, and has been closely tracking and reporting on developments surrounding FOUNDATION fieldbus for much of his career.

Flow Research study finds one cause of this upward growth is the versatility of vortex flowmeters, which can readily measure liquids, steam, and gas.

POSITAL's rotary encoders and inclinometers play an important role in solar tracking systems, providing the controller with instantaneous information on the exact orientation of the solar panel array.

Consisting of two identical vans, IIAT presents WAGO’s latest Automation, Interconnect and Electronic solutions directly to industrial professionals.

Novatec Solar is a leading provider of Linear Fresnel CSP technology using flat mirrors to concentrate the sun’s energy onto a receiver to produce steam.

Revenue for the quarter was $410,532, an 18% increase over $347,023 for the same period last year.

By Eaton Optimize your panel designs. Learn options for distributing loads in industrial control panels and how to safely apply them, while adhering to Underwriters Laboratories® standard 508A and National Electrical Code®, NFPA® 70-2011.

Automation.com, March 2011 ODVA is taking IPv6 seriously because it could have major implications for existing EtherNet/IP installations and product developers. This is not unique to EtherNet/IP, the change has an impact on all Ethernet devices and infrastructure including business, industrial, home, and mobile communications.

OSIsoft was an ISA Automation Week Partner in 2010 and made the decision to sign a higher level partnership, the ISA Corporate Partnership, in 2011.

Transpara Visual KPI extends visibility of equipment performance data by delivering KPI), scorecards, trends and alerts to more than 400 smartphones and PDAs.

Markopoulos, who will report to GE Home & Business Solutions President and CEO Charlene Begley, succeeds Maryrose Sylvester who was recently named as president and CEO of GE Lighting.

Multi-variable predictive control technology such as Profit Controller allows mining companies to design, implement and maintain advanced control systems, which can drive processes to maximum economic benefit.

Fox-IT will integrate MatrikonOPC’s full range of OPC Servers into its Fox DataDiode - a solution used to securely transmit data between networks that have different levels of security.

This total consumption was down 16.3% from December but up 188.3% when compared with the total of $128.82 million reported for January 2010.

When completed at the end of 2011, the Nemmeli seawater desalination plant will supply up to 100 million liters of potable water a day and reduce the stress on Chennai’s dwindling groundwater resources.

By Mark Humphlett, Infor Soon after starting a continuous improvement program, Overly Door realized that its largest source of waste came from the way that it took orders and translated those orders into information that drives manufacturing — a process affecting the entire business.

The agreement helps manufacturers minimize the serious financial consequences due to extended unplanned downtime when spare parts or speedy repair are unavailable for outdated Rockwell Automation components.

The new office will allow ACC to enhance support of local biotech and utility customers.

Machine manufacturers will benefit from the synchronization of Cognex In-Sight products and the B&R control system, as well as easy integration with a wide range of machine designs.

Industrial Controls' continuous growth, progressive approach to the market, large and diverse inventory, excellent technical support, and large geographical footprint weighed heavily in the decision-making process.

Automation.com, March 2011 In just a couple weeks in Chicago, ProMat 2011 will take place. The largest material handling event of the year will be display new automation solutions. Ironically, perhaps something familiar will take center stage, with a twist: A forklift.

At the heart of the lighting systems are ControlLogix PACs utilizing Ethernet/IP wireless communications modules. Airfield lighting circuit status is served to a FactoryTalk SCADA operator console located in the Air Traffic Control Tower.

Among the factors driving the rapid growth in the application of machine vision technology is the creation of new industry standards, according to industry leaders.

Eighty-six fire stations have adopted this system which utilizes the latest technology in wireless data communications, intelligent process control equipment and VTScada HMI software from Trihedral.

The accuracy of the radar level system at the WWTP is extremely important and the data collected has helped addressed an ongoing problem with I & I (infiltration and inflow).

Recent improvements to the EDDL standard include support for offline configuration with default parameters, Unicode character sets, and ability to display all device diagnostics and setup information.

The solutions include a mine-wide electrical package integrated with a System 800xA process control system, and gearless mill drives – all engineered to operate at the 4,600 meters above sea level.