Articles and News

Lowry will provide Passive RFID hardware, software, and professional services to the U.S Department of Defense (DoD), U.S Coast Guard, and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

In a recent study, 83 percent of the end users across process and factory automation rated interoperability as a medium to high concern.

TÜVRheinland is now able to provide ZigBee compliance testing for the ZigBee Smart Energy Public Application Profile, 50% faster than using the manual process.

ABB to supply $15 million worth of 670 Series Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs) to TVA.

The catalog contains 800 pages with more than 4,800 products, including hundreds of new items.

MINI SAC cordsets meet Fieldbus Foundation's FF-844 requirements for H1 Type A cable.

ASHRAE’s newly renovated headquarters serves as a laboratory without walls to extend the Society’s knowledge and information worldwide.

Fourteen Rosemount wireless pressure transmitters monitor levels in tanks at Technochem Environmental Complex Pte Ltd (TEC) in Singapore.

Winners include Ontario Clean Water Agency, Portland General Electric, New Belgium Brewing Company and Cytec Engineered Materials.

Innovation Partner Program now has a new tier of “endorsed” system integrators (SIs).

ASHRAE and the International Facility Management Association are entering into an agreement that increases cooperation between the two groups.

Belden, Northwire, Phoenix Contact and Rockbestos-Surprenant Cable are the first cable suppliers to pass the Fieldbus Foundation registration process.

The Eclipse Ganymede for ARM Cortex-M3 processors is available immediately as a free download.

Mouser Electronics will distribute Electronic Assembly's LCD function modules.

Toshiba Teli's CSL8000CL linescan camera is being used in the OneTouch-LS station to scan parts with a stroke of 150mm (x axis) and 75mm (z axis).

System 800xA provides a platform for unified operations to increase productivity and power reliability for process manufacturing customers in all industries.

Catalog has over 115,000 products plus technical information and product photos.

Emerson will supply PlantWeb, 31 Ovation controllers, AMS software, and 47 Rosemount pressure transmitters.

SAP software can be installed on THe Intelligent Numeric Control (THINC) instead of relying on a stand-alone computer to provide the necessary link.

Christensen manufactures ruggedized, industrial-grade, flat-panel monitors for the process and industrial control markets.

The event will offer workshops, technical sessions, industry forums, hands-on labs and exhibits.

Siemens Building Technologies designed Techwell's TW2815 into multiple video surveillance products to be distributed worldwide.

ThreadX RTOS meets the Multicore Association’s recently released Multicore Communications API (MCAPI) specification.

Free Eclipse Ganymede-compliant embedded debugging solution runs on many standard evaluation boards for hosting on Windows and Linux platforms.

Jointly developed solutions will increase security at municipal and industrial sites

Wireless instruments enabled one analytical team to cover 10 percent more plants, adding annual service revenues of $512,000 and improving power production per unit of fuel consumed.

Webb will supply four SmartCart AGC Automatic Guided Carts to Western Container’s new facility in Fife, Wash.

Stories cover environmental monitoring, power automation, FAB management, solar energy, factory automation, and security.

Fieldbus Foundation established the Central and Eastern European Marketing Committee (FFCEEMC) to promote an increased awareness and adoption of FOUNDATION technology.

Brochure describes nine RoHS compliant, corrosion resistant enclosure families, available in polycarbonate, plus selected availability in ABS, aluminum, and fiberglass.

Tractor trailer with a complete working system that is capable of controlling activities within a paper mill will visit locations in the U.S. and Canada.

'Daily Problem Solving in a Lean Organization' explores principles and work practices that businesses which have already implemented lean can use in daily problem solving to sustain the improvements they've made, and to deepen their commitment to lean.

Genzyme uses wireless temperature, pressure, and level transmitters to protect product quality and to reduce waste at its Therapeutics enzyme manufacturing facility in Allston, MA.

Saint-Gobain Sekurit already implemented Apriso FlexNet OES software in 44 of its worldwide sites, and plans to install it in 19 Float Glass locations.

Plant tours showcase strategies and tactics that improve factory performance, cut costly downtime and protect businesses against recession.

Video shows how the company’s cATM module can configure and exchange data between Allen-Bradley ControlLogix PACs and PLCs without programming.

Automatizaciones Garco S.A. de C.V. of Monterrey, Mexico, is Adept's exclusive distributor for Mexico.

Belden attained H1 registration for part number 3076F IndustrialTuff DataBus Type A 18 AWG stranded cable.

Invensys will supply distributed control systems to Maire Tecnimont Group for two coal-fired power stations currently under construction in Chile.

Jacobs joined Sealant Equipment & Engineering as Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing.

Restructuring involves headcount reductions, primarily in selling, general and administrative functions, involving three percent of the company’s global workforce of 20,000 people.

Fieldbus Foundation released its final Diagnostic Profiles Specification, based on guidelines established by the NAMUR Working Group 2.6.

Reps include Cain White, EG Holmes and Assoc., Theta-J, TL Marketing and WaveSpace. Itnegrators include AISD Inc, Digital AV, LS Research, Software Technologies Group and Talon Communications.

Guillevin will distribute Semaphore products in western Canada, including Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Yukon and Northwest Territories.

TECOM is developing a trusted secure execution environment capable of withstanding the increasing number of external security attacks. Aonix will provide the PERC Ultra virtual machine to the TECOM project.

ABB will supply electrical and automation equipment for SSAB’s steel mill in Borlänge, Sweden, including System 800xA, ACS800drive systems, motors and MNS switchgear.

ABB won orders worth $75 million for technology to maintain the reliability of the grid in the north Texas area while lowering environmental impact.

The AutomationDirect Automation Laboratory supports the Departmental Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) course and the Automation course.

Catalog covers Modbus Ethernet to serial servers, switches,media converters, wireless modems and remote I/O, serial converters, USB, and digital and analog remote I/O.

Jorgen M. Clausen, president and CEO, retired and his successor, Niels B. Christiansen has assumed these positions.

Emerson has begun shipping WirelessHART products from its Smart Wireless range of pressure, flow, level, temperature, vibration, pH, and discrete transmitters and gateways.

End-user judges select Croda Inc’s moving railcar monitoring as “Most Creative” and CFE Lapem’s temporary power unit monitoring as “Most Significant Business Impact.”

Smart Wireless mesh is overseeing BP R&D Naperville Tank Farm, expanding at BP's Cherry Point Washington refinery, and is being installed at BP facilities worldwide

Emerson will install Smart Wireless technology in the Morichal District oil fields for PDVSA, the Venezuelan state-owned oil company.

HIMA’s office in Calgary is managed by Brad Ogilvie, Country Manager.

Honeywell's Safety Manager will be installed at DONG Oil Pipe's facility in West Jylland, Denmark.

Guide details lead screws, inch and metric series ball screws, ball splines and bearing supports/end machining, including all relevant product specifications and performance attributes.

Unno joined RKC as a sales engineer twenty-three years ago and has held various positions in both Japan and China.

O'Neill has extensive international executive management experience with an emphasis on networks and electronics as well as large system integration, communications and computer technology.

G-Tek, a software distributor and engineering firm in Ankara, Turkey, will resell and provide integration services for McObject's eXtremeDB and Perst database systems.

Allied will offer the HyperLink product line, which includes antennas, surge and lightning protectors for WLANs, SCADA Systems, ISM, GSM and RFID design applications.

IPS will upgrade the site from an existing Metso DCS Max1+ to Foxboro I/A Series, InFusion control system, Fieldbus Foundation, four operator stations, Historian and a Hart station.

The Siemens contract guarantees EKU will save 24,665,190 kWh of electricity, 89,329 mcf of natural gas, 1,729 tons of coal, 102,585 ccf of water and 138,584 ccf of sewer.

INAT's range of real-time Ethernet products complements Softing's embedded fieldbus technology.

HART 7.1 was approved by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) as a Publicly Available Specification (IEC/PAS 62591Ed. 1).

The CCE Wakefield plant has 93 Siemens S5 PLCs, 11 Siemens S7 PLCs, 20 Allen Bradley ControlLogix PACs, 31 Allen Bradley SLC500 PLCs, and 26 universal Devices. MDT AutoSave software tracks all changes.

ABB won a $75-million contract from Eskom, South Africa’s national electricity provider, to supply and install circuit breakers to strengthen the country’s electricity network.

Emerson will provide project design and engineering services and Daniel metering skids for Oil Sands Upgrader Operation in Fort McMurray, Alberta.

Power Integrations was found to have acted properly in the process of applying for and obtaining its patents from the Patent Office. The Court rejected Fairchild's claims and ruled the patents enforceable.

Subcommittee IEC SC 65 E approved all 18 parts of the FDT specification.

Catalog covers DC brushed permanent magnet motors and gearboxes.

For power outages, VDC and VDC-XE will seamlessly provide up to 300kW of DC power in a single csbinet. VDC models can be paralleled.

ABB will supply LDK Solar more than $36 million in electrical systems, equipment and related engineering and project management services for a new production plant in Xinyu City, China.

Danfoss is doubling its Loves Park, IL, facility that produces variable frequency drives, adding both production and office space.

Emerson is installing Ovation controls to replace PLCs at a power station that provides electricity and steam to the refinery.

Improvements include web-based tools for dynamic workload planning, detailed productivity reporting, and exporting productivity data.

For control of its effluent stream, AVG in Hamburg, Germany, relies on backscattered light turbidity measurements using equipment supplied by METTLER TOLEDO.

Handbook details the need, design, and implementation of an optimal Human-Machine Interface (HMI) for process operators and automation systems.

The pilot plant and lab will help Massachusetts biomanufacturing companies bring new biopharmaceuticals closer to commercial production.

MIPAC will implement advanced control strategies to improve process performance at Birla’s Nifty Copper Operation in Australia.

By Rick Zabel, Automation.com The proposed name change of ISA (to "International Society of Automation") is up for a vote again during ISA Expo in Houston, October 14-16, 2008. Last year, the change was voted down, but I have yet to hear a compelling argument against the change. And there are many reasons for the change. If ISA is truly the global society of automation professionals, then its name should reflect its cause. It's time for a change!

The facility in Tulare, CA, houses application support, customer support and warranty service.

PlantWeb digital plant architecture with FOUNDATION fieldbus and mass flowmeters reduces annual cost by €300,000 and improves production efficiency by 30 per cent at SABIC Europe B.V.

Invensys donated an InFusion enterprise control technology to the UMass Lowell BioManufacturing Center. With equipment and services from Wyeth Biotech and Dakota Systems, the center will provide a full-scale manufacturing operation.

Tool enables user to inspect CANopen and POWERLINK device description files conforming to the CiA 306 and CiA 311

Kepware will deliver Industrial Defender’s host intrusion detection software as a KEPServerEX Security Agent Driver Plug-in.

ACUSIM computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software now supports Microsoft Windows HPC Server 2008.

The office will provide oil and gas, refining, and chemical companies with service-based consulting and solutions.

The worldwide market for SCADA Systems for the Oil & Gas industry is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.3% over the next five years.

Achilles will be integrated into Kongsberg's regression tests to ensure the quality of the frameworks provided by the Kongsberg Maritime Technology Base.

ABB will supply six complete gearless mill drive systems, transformers, ringmotors, project engineering, installation, training and other related support services.

Allied will carry a broad range of products from MCC, including diodes, transistors, MOSFETs and circuit protection products.

Emerson named Steven A. Sonnenberg executive VP and promoted John M. Berra to chairman of Emerson Process Management

The sensors replace externally mounted pressure switches, infrared switches, and string potentiometers because magnetostrictive technology proved to be more durable and reliable.

Mu Dynamics discovered and helped remediate a dangerous vulnerability within strongSwan’s virtual private network (VPN) solution.

PcVUE HMI/SCADA uses Modbus over TCP/IP switches from Ethernet Direct.

The worldwide flowmeter market totaled $662 million in 2007, with a projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.5% through 2012.

Husen Tu will head a team based in Beijing.

OPCTI released a 20 page document containing answers to the top OPC integration questions.

FireDragon model CSFV90CC3 progressive scan camera with FireWire-B technology has been incorporated into the Sightech PC-Eyebot self-learning machine vision system.