Articles and News

The United States Patent Office issued a reexamination certificate upholding the validity of one of National Instruments' patents, U.S. Patent No. 5,301,336 ("'336 patent"), which relates to National Instruments' LabVIEW software. The reexamination process resolves a challenge started on June 16, 2004, by an anonymous petitioner.

Honeywell acquired the Advanced Process Control (APC) and Optimization business of PAS Inc., a leading software provider for the process industries. The acquisition includes all the software offerings related to the APC business. As part of the deal, Honeywell acquires PAS’ Advanced Process Control and Optimization employees and will continue to serve the division’s customers.

The IF5 Fixed RFID Reader was ranked the top performer in adjacent dock door use by U.S. RFID testing lab ODIN technologies.

Part identification markings and tags -- which remain readable after exposure to the extreme levels of ultraviolet radiation, atomic oxygen, hard vacuum, and contamination in low earth orbit -- will be evaluated and then certified for use on future space vehicles and added to NASA's part identification requirements.

Free guide, "The ABCs of Ethernet Troubleshooting," asks 22 common questions to consider when troubleshooting a network. The questions include “Do the link LEDs indicate proper cable connections?” or “Are you connecting a single-mode fiber optic device to a multimode fiber optic device?" And more.

Evans Adhesive chose the DEACOM Integrated Accounting and ERP Software System to replace its partially integrated accounting program and formula management software. The goal of the project was to make business processes simpler and more efficient for the Columbus, OH-based supplier.

Xycom Automation is adopting Pro-Face America as its new corporate name.

The CE Mark indicates conformity to the legal requirements of the European Union (EU) Directive with respect to safety, health, environment, and consumer protection.

Mark Whitaker has been hired as Regional Sales Manager for states in the U.S. Mountain Time Zone. Based in the Denver area, Whitaker will provide direct sales support to Beckhoff customers located in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Montana, Nebraska and Wyoming.

Advance Sales & Engineering of Big Lake, Minnesota, will be representing Groschopp's fractional horsepower OEM motors in the territory of Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

The new design avoids consuming too much power by activating only portions of the Anisotropic Magnetoresistive (AMR) array electronics in a systematic way.

ISA and the Open Applications Group have entered into an agreement to cooperate on joint projects and exchange standards documentation. The first step taken under this cooperative agreement is OAGi's commitment to express the ISA-95 data models in the OAGIS standard.

Unison has won an order worth over $2.5 million to supply tube-bending machinery to Northrop Grumman Newport News for aircraft carrier production. The order is for three of Unison's Breeze machines, to bend tubes of up to six inches in diameter, plus tooling and spares. Delivery will start in April 2007.

Codelco will use Honeywell’s automation systems to improve concentrator plant performance. Codelco produces 1.8 million tons of fine copper per year, about 15 percent of the world’s production.

Umetrics and Matrikon will combine Matrikon's ProcessMonitor products with Umetrics' SIMCA-P+ and SIMCA-Batch On-Line data analysis products for the seamless installation of Process Analytical Technology (PAT) solutions in the pharmaceutical market.

The Setra Model 201 is used during the boiler firing rate test, the testing phase whereby the boiler is tested to make sure the boiler is firing at its designed rate. To accurately determine the gas flow rate the pressure of the gas flowing into the boiler must be known and the Model 201 is used to measure this pressure.

The term "multi-axis synchronization" refers to the motion which requires coordination, and the techniques used to achieve control of the motion. With today's increasing automation and machine sophistication, the control applications have become more demanding, and the control techniques have improved.

T-Slot Parts Supplement 2 offers a new line of fasteners, connectors, joining plates, hinges, floor to frame and other accessories that fit 80/20’s 10, 15, 25 and 40 Series T-slotted aluminum profiles.

Walco was recently certified as Siemens Solution Partner Automation. There are only 11 Solution Partners (AC/DC drives) with this certification in the United States.

By Moxa A mine uses a combination of Moxa's AWK-1100 wireless AP/Bridge/AP Client and an industrial Ethernet switch. PLCs connect to the switch, which connects to an AWK-1100 wireless AP. Another switch/AP combination is used at the control end of the system.