Articles and News

Designed to optimize system stiffness without sacrificing life or increasing drag torque, these nuts can be used in conjunction with HSI's existing line of linear actuators or as a standalone product along with HSI's extensive selection of Acme lead screws. HSI has developed a patent pending method of preloading the threaded nut halves to provide a system that maximizes system stiffness while reducing drag torque.

ISA announced today that its Executive Board has approved the establishment of The Automation Federation as an umbrella organization under which associations and societies engaged in manufacturing and process automation activities can work more effectively to fulfill their missions. It will coordinate the work of member organizations engaged in advancement of the science and engineering of automation technologies and applications.

The unique GE Fanuc and Symbion solution allows for unprecedented production connectivity, data collection and analysis and provides a solid foundation for companies seeking to better understand and improve their processes. Symbion Systems brings a wealth of knowledge of the process and Life Sciences industries and a deep understanding of analytical instrumentation and process analysis software.

The Fieldbus Foundation today announced that Shuzo Kaihori, vice president of Industrial Automation Business Headquarters for Yokogawa Electric Corporation, has been named to its board of directors. Mr. Kaihori replaces board member Teruyoshi Minaki, who has served on the Foundation¹s board for the past two years.

Request the free, full color, 100 page, 2006 B&B Electronics catalog of Interface Converters and Data Acquisition and Control Products. Your catalog will be on its way to you via First Class mail within 24 hours.

ProSoft Technology’s inRAx product line provides in-chassis protocol interface modules, flow computers, open solution modules, FLEX adapters and Drive adapters for Allen-Bradley® platforms.

The test kit has been updated from previous versions with additional functionality enabling the testing of FOUNDATION field bus devices employing current Device Description (DD) 5.0 files. The Fieldbus Foundation's ITK 5.0 test kit verifies the functionality of an H1 (31.25 kbit/s) device and its conformity with the FOUNDATION fieldbus Function Block and Transducer Block specifications.

The Working Group is the next step in the previous announcement by the Open Applications Group and ISA-SP95 to converge their standards for manufacturing interoperability by working to support the OpenO&MTM Initiative. This group will develop an industry guideline that defines generic business process models between the operations management and business layers of the manufacturing support system.

The EPA program facilitates the deployment of innovative environmental technologies in the industry through evaluation and verification of product performance and effectiveness. The Rosemount Analytical Model WQS multiparameter water quality monitoring system was evaluated along with four other water monitors. Not only was the performance of the model WQS verified by the evaluation, but the system required no scheduled operator maintenance during the testing.

The 6-axis KUKA robot is fitted with an end of arm tool to create a 7 axis ladling robot to be used for pouring molten metal. The robot’s 7th axis gives it an additional 360 degrees of rotation allowing it to pour the molten metal consistently and then clean the ladle of leftover oxide waste by inverting the ladle to remove the waste.

Morley's address is titled "The Future of Automation: Where Does the Road Lead?" and will offer insights based on three decades in the industry. He will provide insight on the future of automation and control, and how professionals can take advantage of evolving technology. "My mission has always been to think in terms of the future," said Morley. "By anticipating the next big waves of technology, we can not only survive, we can shape the future of the industry."

Effective April 1, 2006, Ellison Technologies will be solely responsible for the sale and distribution of Mori Seiki equipment in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri and Nebraska, relinquishing the sales of all other competitive equipment. Effective April 21, 2006, Ellison will assume the same responsibilities for Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa.

Approximately 1,000 automation and information projects at more than 700 locations have been successfully delivered by the extensive network of Wonderware-certified system integrators. These solutions use the latest ArchestrA technology and extend across supervisory control, distributed SCADA, production management and performance management.

Intergraph Corporation today announced that Bateman Engineering N.V. (Bateman) has chosen to standardize on Intergraph’s SmartPlant® Enterprise to replace its existing AVEVA PDMS design tool. The agreement, made through Intergraph distributor Intergraph Systems Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd., will form the foundation for a more data-centric and integrated plant design modeling environment.

Dr. Kletz is a chemist turned chemical engineer who spent 38 years working for the successful British company Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI). He started at ICI in the research department, and went on to production management and later became the safety adviser to the petrochemicals division. He is currently a Visiting Fellow and a Visiting Professor at Loughborough University in England and at Texas A&M University.