Articles and News

Under the agreement, the companies will co-market dcLINK, DSI’s automated data capture (ADC) and RFID solution, to Lawson customers worldwide. DSI will also be a one-stop source for Lawson customers to purchase handheld and vehicle-mounted data collection devices, RFID portals and interrogators, labels, tags, implementation services, and support.

The workshop will provide potential PROFINET developers with a wide range of technical information including PROFINET vendor presentations to help them select the best tools to develop their PROFINET compatible products. The workshop is designed for device developers, development managers and product marketers.

ABB, the leading power and automation technology company, announced it has acquired the assets of the manufacturing and industrial contracting units of Raffin Electric Company Ltd., in Canada. Based in Calgary, Raffin Electric is a leader in custom pre-manufactured Power Distribution Centers and other electrical distribution equipment used primarily in harsh outdoor environments.

Emerson Process Management won a contract to install its PlantWeb digital plant architecture with the Ovation expert control system at We Energies Oak Creek Expansion Project.

Siemens' Annual Industrial Ethernet Symposium will be held for the first time in the U.S. this fall. Scheduled for Oct. 3-4, 2006, the symposium will be held at the Westin Michigan Avenue Hotel in downtown Chicago.

FlowSense recently hired Patrick J. Baynes as Project Manager & Estimator for its Building Services Group.

KUKA Robotics has been selected by Robotic CNC Solutions of New Berlin, WI, to provide robots for its new large format machining cell. The cell utilizes a KUKA robot combined with a linear floor slide to give machinists an expanded working area and travel capability.

Free machine vision seminars for manufacturing professionals run from August through December and are held in major cities throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. These popular half-day events show how machine vision can be applied to improve quality and reduce costs.

Blazer Industries will implement a DEACOM ERP system to fully integrate manufacturing operations and reduce procedural inefficiencies, including duplicate entries and manual processes. Blazer Industries was hindered by separate software systems and a number of labor-intensive procedures that slowed productivity.

As the main automation contractor, Honeywell will supply Qatar Shell GTL Ltd. with some of its highest profile solutions – the Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS) Release 300 platform, UniSim process simulation solution, the Safety Manager instrumented protection and fire & gas systems – to enable a smooth startup and safe and reliable operations for the Pearl GTL project. Last year, Qatar Shell GTL awarded Honeywell a front-end engineering design (FEED) contract to conduct preliminary engineering for the site.

Dr. James Truchard, president, CEO and co-founder of National Instruments, kicked off the 12th annual NIWeek, the world’s leading virtual instrumentation conference and exhibition, on Tuesday by unveiling NI LabVIEW 8.20, the 20th anniversary edition of the graphical development platform, and offering a glimpse of graphical system design in the next 30 years.

Since the publication of the first edition, new material has been added covering continuous emission monitoring systems and custom software. The coverage of analog communications, motion control and electrical installations has been expanded to provide more in-depth coverage of these critical topics. Other topics such as digital communications, industrial networks and maintenance issues have also been updated.

The event will feature practical tutorials and technical working group meetings addressing Make2Pack and B2MML on April 30 and May 3-4. Networking opportunities will be featured at a group event on the evening of May 1 and a special sponsor showcase on the evening of May 2.

Allied Electronics has signed a distribution agreement with Panduit, a leading manufacturer of wiring and communication products. Allied will distribute Panduit’s entire line of products, greatly expanding Allied’s current offering of wiring and cable accessories.

FKI Logistex has won a major contract from Michaels Stores, Inc. to supply a turnkey picking, cross-docking, and automated sortation system at the company's new Northwest retail distribution center in Centralia, Washington. The 715,000-square-foot facility will be the fourth Michaels distribution center for which FKI Logistex has provided a fully automated material handling solution.

The company's enhanced manufacturing and sales presence on five continents allows fast response to the increasing demand for global power solutions, while increased engineering focus assures that a wide selection of new products will assure smooth operation no matter where they are deployed.

WonderWorld 2006 conferences are designed to provide executives, information technology professionals, operations management and engineering personnel with vital information on how their companies can optimize their plant and enterprise operations. Attendees will learn how to achieve maximum efficiency and increased performance throughout the enterprise with the use of best industry practices and Wonderware's wide variety of information and automation software solutions.

Twelve companies have already responded to the invitation and registered their interest in presenting their portfolios at Digital Factory during HANNOVER MESSE 2007 (the Hannover Fair). These include: across Systems, empolis, Siemens AG A&D MC, Siemens I&S, IBM, IDS Scheer, Infoman, Infor, Innosoft, Prostep, SA Service Alliance, and the Research Institute for Rationalization and Operations Management at RWTH Aachen.

Over twenty companies from around the world have responded to the call for proposals from ISA's Wireless Systems for Automation standards committee. The committee is holding a preliminary proposal review meeting on 11-15 September 2006 at ISA in RTP, NC.