Articles and News

ABB is supplying power and automation for a waste-to-energy power plant that will generate clean heat and power for one of the biggest chemical and pharmaceutical parks in Europe.

AMT expanded its machine vision practice to include high speed product inspection in the food, pharmaceutical, consumer goods and biotech markets.

Creative Diversions website offers unique and comical look at the engineering profession. Includes music, videos, and even signs related to all types of workplace humor.

Emerson sold its Brooks Instrument unit on December 31, 2007, to American Industrial Partners Capital Fund for $100 million in cash.

Podcast covers challenges manufacturing environments face in providing real-time, actionable information from plant systems to both mobile and non-mobile employees.

Kinney will manage the company’s technical support group in the Americas and provide applications support to JAI’s North American sales efforts.

PLX Technology implemented its PCIe Gen 2 switch family using Magma's RTL-to-GDSII integrated circuit (IC) design solution.

Site contains information on ATi’s water and gas monitors, including product descriptions and literature, support drawings and specifications.

GRSI has opened a new central U.S. regional office in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. GRSI supplies warehouse integration systems.

MEP is a program coordinated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Part 1 focuses on key concepts, terminology and models, and will serve as a foundation for additional standards currently in development in the ISA99 series.

IXXAT will develop a portable stack software for the CIP Safety on SERCOS safety protocol. The stack software can be used for SERCOS master as well as SERCOS slaves.

Developing customized products for specific industries that have particular requirements could help companies attain an edge over competitors.

The protocol allows standard Ethernet IP communication with a SERCOS III network both during cyclic real-time network operation and during non-real time operation.

Combined sales for the three companies in 2007 will be approximately $62 million and the combined purchase price is approximately $100 million.

The RCC has a centralized team of experts who offer customer assistance, application development and relay design innovation for Square D and Telemecanique plug-in relays.

OSHA presented ABB with the VPP Star Award.

Siemens will supply electrical equipment, electrical power supply and pumping equipment valued at 150 million Euros.

Siemens has an order from Orascom Construction, Egypt, to engineer and supply all the electrical equipment for the new cement works of the Al Safwa Cement Company, Saudi-Arabia.

The drives improve the efficiency of grinding copper ore. The two drives are worth EUR 20 million and will enter service in 2009.

The worldwide market for discrete automation systems is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8% over the next five years.

Kingfisher G30 embeds the ISaGRAF 5 control software environment to provide support both the IEC 61131-3 and IEC 61499 standards.

Honeywell automates quality control at Karlsborg plant with Da Vinci QCS.

The Guide details Omron STI’s family of measuring light curtains, part detection scanners, area detection sensors and vehicle detection scanners.

Customized training for new and existing mobile hydraulics and industrial hydraulics installations is available on-site.

Alaya began working at Circonix Technologies in 1999 as an engineering intern. Prior to his promotion, Alaya was responsible for managing software engineering and project execution.

The worldwide market for PES is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 6.3% over the next five years.

Cooper Controls made a binding offer for all outstanding shares of MTL Instruments Group plc, a publicly traded company based in the United Kingdom.

EtherCAT is now an International Standard communication technology for SERCOS and CANopen drive profiles

ISA awarded 13 individuals for exceptional service to ISA standards and practices activities in 2007.

The program provides financial options that reduce first year costs to as little as $50/mo for everything.

158 drives were donated toward 27 different projects at 19 institutions totaling over $40,000.00 in donations for servo drives and amplifiers.

“How to Optimize Your Assembly Operations” offers detailed comparison of assembly conveyor systems as well as supporting illustrations and charts.

Singapore-based Vector InfoTech will represent Innominate throughout South East Asia as well as India, China and Saudi Arabia.

TUG robotic indoor transport system navigates autonomously to help eliminate repetitive and mundane tasks, reduce costs, and improve staff productivity.

The Metric and Inch catalogs have 3,000 pages with 500,000 mechanical components and other products for enhanced factory automation.

The brochure has eight product sections covering valves, mixers, shrouds, material regulators, dispense nozzles and accessories.

The Labeling, Barcoding, Data Collection Catalog includes label printing systems, automated print and apply systems, barcode and RFID data collection solutions.

Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) has accepted EtherCAT as a SEMI standard.

'Twas the night before last and all through the site, our visitors where browsing to get one last byte.

Adept Technology has signed ControlVision as its new regional distributor for Australasia (Australia and New Zealand).

The power superhighway running 1,240 miles from western China to the highly industrialized coastal area in the east, will have a capacity of 6,400MW.

Allied will distribute Hirschmann and Pass & Seymour industrial connectors, GCFI products, duplex receptacles, inlets and outlets, and plugs.

Brochure topics include issues related to performance and safety, material quality, access to OEM specifications, and local Fisher parts support, warranties, and quick ship availability.

With DATEx and ELVIS, students can visualize telecommunications concepts in a hands-on learning environment.

LabVIEW Tools Network expanded by more than 100 new tools developed by NI and third-party vendors in 2007.

Flow Research says the worldwide pressure transmitter market totaled $1.93 billion in 2006, with a projected yearly growth of 6.1 percent through 2011.

In addition to offices in the USA, Japan and Germany, this makes the fourth office that serves as a contact point for developers and users.

Andasol 1 and 2 will each generate 50 megawatts of emissions-free electricity using innovative technology that captures and concentrates sunlight in two vast solar fields of trough-shaped parabolic mirrors.

Free, multi-part series of application notes explain how to control test instruments using Linux.

Dr. Albert Hieronimus is now chairman of the Bosch Rexroth AG board of management and Dr. Karl Tragl has been appointed to the board.

Centa Transmissions uses TorqSense to guarantee that the precision gearboxes it supplies to the nuclear industry will never fail prematurely.

Most recently at Siemens Energy and Automation Electronics Assembly Division, Timms held the position of Vice President and General Manager for the Americas.

Anchor Electric Supply, a single-branch distributor located in Sturgeon Bay, Wisc., primarily serves the contractor and industrial markets in the Door County peninsula.

The lab, which was created in conjunction with Womack Machine Supply, is a newly renovated, state-of-the-art facility which will showcase eight new fluid power trainers including pneumatic and industrial hydraulic systems from Bosch Rexroth.

The SUBCONTRACTING trade fair at HANNOVER MESSE will feature a new special display entitled "System Partners - Mechanical Engineering/Automotive", at which two major exhibits will serve to illustrate today's innovative structures in the cooperation-intensive subcontracting industry.

In addition, the company has received accreditation of the laboratory quality management system for its sensor calibration laboratory, also based on ISO requirements.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, World Safety Systems Markets for Process Industries, finds that the market earned revenues of $1.0 billion in 2006 and estimates this to reach $2.1 billion in 2013.

Storch joins Altra Holdings from Standex International Corporation where he served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since September 2001.

Mr. Jona formerly spent 12 years with Amphenol Corp., an interconnect systems company with 2006 revenues of $2.5 billion, where he most recently served as a Senior Vice President responsible for the Global Cable Systems Group.

The China market for PLCs is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.4% over the next five years. The market was close to $750 million in 2006 and is forecasted to be over $1.3 billion in 2011.

Every Christmas since 1997, Breakfast with Santa treats children and their families to a catered breakfast and then provides the opportunity to meet with Santa and Mrs. Claus to chat about their Christmas wish list.

Wicks' promotion follows a recent consolidation of the Systems and Conveyor Engineering groups within FKI Logistex Manufacturing Systems.

The new plant will make extensive use of digital bus-based technologies, with Emerson’s Ovation system incorporating 57 FOUNDATION fieldbus segments (representing 1,368 I/O) and 31 Profibus-DP segments (representing 1,890 I/O) to network intelligent field instrumentation.

Based on GE Fanuc’s proven process control technologies, Proficy Process Systems is a fully integrated system that provides customers with improved quality and reliability, increased throughput, performance and efficiency, and reduced total cost of ownership.

The WiMAX Forum is an industry-led, non-profit organization responsible for promoting and certifying interoperable WiMAX products, such as laptops and other mobile devices over much longer distances than Wi-Fi.

This platform will deliver product quality and efficient production, as well as reduce downtime for the aluminum manufacturing company in eastern China.

Todd will be part of the strategic management team at Powerit Holdings, operating from their international headquarters in Seattle, WA.

After a $30 million investment, the facility has been transformed into a "Global Motor" research and technology development center that will contribute to enhancements in Siemens motors sold throughout the world.

The simulators will be used to equip the power generator’s new Luminant Training Academy, which is located in Tyler, Texas, and officially opened in July 2007.

The NASA technologies licensed by Endevco include a packaging technique and chip fabrication methods developed by a team led by Dr. Robert Okojie at Glenn for use in aircraft engine combustion chambers.

Hydril Company has chosen fault-tolerant eXtremeDB High Availability™ (HA) in-memory embedded database system from McObject and its remote procedure call (RPC) implementation running on the QNX Neutrino realtime operating system (RTOS) for key data management and network communication roles in its new pressure control technology for oil and gas drilling.

One unit, rated at 15,000 HP (11.2 MW), will power a 34 feet (10.36 meter) semi-autogenous mill. The other unit, rated at 12,000 HP (8.9 MW), will drive a 22 feet (6.7 meter) ball mill.

Previously sold only in the United Kingdom, this consolidation will make the HLD available globally, through Animatics other offices in Europe, Asia and the United States.

Emerson's AMS Suite and field devices are cited as key enablers in StatoilHydro's effective use of predictive diagnostics for the Ormen Lange Project, including the subsea installations, onshore terminal and the world's longest sub sea gas pipeline project.

This unique collaboration between a major process control vendor and a major IT services provider demonstrates the growing importance of combining process engineering and IT expertise in warding off cyber threats to refineries, public utilities, pharmaceutical plants and other process industries.

Prior to this, TURCK products have been distributed in Australia by Micromax, who will remain TURCK’s distribution arm for factory automation focused products with the full support of the new local subsidiary to help grow the TURCK market.

Invensys will provide services based on its lifecycle cyber security approach, which consists of assessment, design, implementation and real-time management of Husky's plant and production networks.

The subsidiary will be led by Earnest PHUA, 28, who formerly worked for Phoenix Contact as Business Development Engineer after being employed by Vector Infotech, the Singapore distributor for Westermo.

The virtual design and production environment more closely links product design to manufacturing and will serve manufacturers, such as those in the automotive industry – addressing the needs of brand owners, tiered suppliers and machine builders.

The award is given annually to recognize the people, companies and plant sites around the globe that are using the advanced capabilities of HART Communication in real-time applications to improve operations, lower costs and increase availability.

Emerson Process Management announced today that over the last 18 months the company has been selected to install its PlantWeb digital plant architecture with the Ovation expert control system at 12 new U.S. coal-fired units.

General Monitors announces its partnership with ELPRO Technologies in offering wireless technology and communications for its advanced gas and flame detector product lines, which provide critical protection to people, equipment, and plants engaged in hazardous industries worldwide.

This technology breakthrough provides safe, reliable, independent execution and containment of the VxWorks guest operating system and unmodified VxWorks applications while allowing parallel execution of mission critical applications on the Green Hills INTEGRITY RTOS.

Honeywell Serves as Integrated Main Automation Contractor, Deploys Plant Automation System and New Whey Demineralization Process for Milk Producer

Sigma products complement the INFICON portfolio of instruments, and address the growing demand in thin film coating manufacturing for high quality products, such as mobile phones, computers, digital cameras and other consumer electronics.

Under the agreement, Yokogawa will utilize TCS to provide turbine controls and associated services. Wood Group will use Yokogawa Controls and Instrumentation where appropriate to supplement their current service offering.

For this plant, which will have an annual refining capacity of 10 million tons, Yokogawa will be delivering the CENTUM CS3000 Integrated Production Control System.

Tecnau Transport Division S.r.l. based in Florence, Italy becomes Wonderware's 100th ArchestrA Certified System Integrator. customers around the world.

The patent captures the performance envelope of the best drill operator as an n-dimensional solid object and then reproduces this experience as real-time guidance for less-experienced operators thus reducing the variability in performance that is inherent between different drill operators.

One RF Technology is effectively out-sourcing development of ZigBee test tools by including Daintree’s SNA software with their new ZigBee Demo Case.

The awards aim to highlight India's world-class manufacturing capabilities and acknowledge the best facilities in India that have achieved and sustained manufacturing excellence through a balanced mix of diligence, perseverance, foresight, and dedication required to develop a successful manufacturing organization.

Senior leaders from more than a dozen organizations, representing more than 750,000 members, met to discuss common challenges, best practices, and future collaborations.

ABB will provide engineering, design, commissioning, construction and startup services, overall project management supervision; plus automation systems including a System 800xA distributed control package, emergency shutdown, and fire and gas systems for the whole project, as well as the electrical system for a new power station.

Rosemount Analytical pH sensors from Emerson withstand high temperature cleaning cycles, reducing sensor failure alarms and improving reliability at brewery.

IEI’s diversified RISC R&D team comprises both electronic and software engineers who are able to rapidly develop RISC turnkey solutions and reduce the customer’s system integration time and time to market.

The “Linear Shafts Quickly” program enables engineers to order standard straight shafts from a supplier known for its extensive line of configurable machined shafts.

Intecon Controls, Inc. Announces Contract With Johnson Utilities Worth $890,000.00; Intuitive Systems Solutions, Inc. (ISS) Announces Contract With Tharldson Development for $142,000.00

National Automation Services, Inc. and Intecon Controls Inc. located in Tempe Arizona announce the signing of an automation control contract for the City of Tucson to build required control and compressor panels for water wells located throughout the city.

The worldwide market for process automation systems is expected to grow at a com-pounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.6% over the next five years.