Articles and News

Application Engineers from the many companies will be on hand to demonstrate their products and answer all your technical questions. The Automation Fair/Technology Expo is an open tabletop show format with individual Classroom Presentations. Individual appointments with specific suppliers can be arranged by calling ahead at TOLL FREE (877) 737-8698. Refreshments will be served throughout the day. See the following latest product technologies on display...

Intermec's IF5 RFID reader, which is being used in the METRO Group Future Store in Rheinberg, Germany, is the first production-scale integration of IBM's WebSphere RFID Device Infrastructure software on an RFID reader. This potent combination of hardware and software provides early data filtering, to minimize network overload, correlate RFID events and integrate RFID event data with enterprise applications.

The company has eliminated cadmium as well as lead from all of its devices - and does not require the benefit of the period of grace that the EU has granted the industry on the use of cadmium in switch contacts.

The committee will be formed to create a standard that adopts the generic language specified by IEC 61804 to describe the properties of automation system components. The specified language is capable of describing device parameters and their dependencies, device functions, graphical representations, and interactions with control devices.

The newly elected ODVA officers are: President: Doug McEldowney; Executive Director: Katherine Voss; Treasurer: Steve Freedman; Chief Technology Officer: Rich Harwell; and Secretary: Katherine Voss. Elected representatives for the Regular Membership include Dave Dodds and Steve Freedman on the ODVA Board of Directors and Jörgen Palmhager on the ODVA Technical Review Board.

Green Hills Software, Inc. announced that CMC Electronics Inc. has selected the Green Hills Software Platform for Avionics, including the INTEGRITY-178B real-time operating system (RTOS), GSTART Ravenscar compliant Ada kernel and AdaMULTI development environment, for CMC’s Flight Management Control and Display (FMCDU) system. The Green Hills Platform for Avionics will also be utilized for the development of a CMC Electronics Aircraft Management System product line, featuring PCI open system architecture.

Intermec Inc. has joined Intel, Cisco Systems, Panasonic and Accela as a sponsor of a Digital Communities initiative to help municipalities take advantage of mobile and wireless computing systems to improve efficiency and responsiveness. The initial focus of the group's work is on six segments of the public sector where technology can provide significant benefits: criminal justice, public service and logistics, education, health services, first-alert response and public safety.

The 2006 Canadian RFID Conference will be held in Markham, ON on April 4th and 5th, 2006, and will bring together some of the most experienced people in the industry, including R. Moroz Ltd. - RFID Canada, Intermec, TI, Philips, IBM, HP, Zebra, Datamax, Toshiba and many others.

Under the terms of the contract, Invensys is to supply its Triconex-brand TMR (triple modular redundant) TRICON controllers for safety instrumented system (SIS) applications on the new PE4, a Euro 200 million, 350,000 t/y linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) plant being built at Schwechat in Austria. LLDPE is used to manufacture plastic film products, such as packaging materials.

The recently approved IEEE 1650TM-2005 standard, known as “Standard Methods for Measurement of Electrical Properties of Carbon Nanotubes,” gives the burgeoning nanotechnology industry one uniform and common set of recommended testing and data reporting procedures for evaluating the electrical properties of carbon nanotubes. The Model 4200 is a core measurement platform for engineers involved in nanotech materials research.

The affiliation will allow both organizations to build on their respective strengths. The two organizations are working through the final stages of the arrangements that would result in WBF functioning as independent affiliate of ISA. Remaining steps should be completed in the first half of 2006.

The Automation Alliance will provide industry wide strategic analysis and coordination through its member organizations. The Alliance will provide technical management, administration, and integrated services such as seminars, web conferences, training, and conference services to be shared among participating organizations.

A variety of products from Agilent Technologies, Keithley Instruments, Inc., Rohde & Schwarz and Symmetricom were tested in key areas of the specification, including LAN functionality, Web interface, programming API and hardware triggering. The event, which took place Feb. 14-16 in Irvine, Calif., was attended by 46 members of the LXI Consortium.

Silchester is one of the European high quality solution providers in Automation and Industrial Information. Silchester delivers turn-key Automation, Control, SCADA and Industrial Information solutions to GAMP, ISO, 21CFR and TickIT standards. For over 18 years our highly experienced application engineers have had extensive experience partnering many of our blue-chip multinational customers. Citect Integration Partners offer the highest standards in Citect integration services. Accredited by Citect, Silchester has the support and training to meet, and exceed end-user's expectations. A world-wide network of project consultants and engineers are available to provide project support and to assist Citect Integrators like Silchester in all phases of implementation.

Three business units within SPC are initially included in the agreement – oil refining, chemicals and terylene polyester production. Invensys Process Systems China will provide a combination of remote and on-site services including online patrol site device check, annual on-site device check, emergency hardware replacement, emergency/routine hardware repairs, emergency site technical support, site training and other services.

The 190-page handbook covers the fundamentals of the switching function in test and measurement applications and is available for no charge on the Keithley website. The handbook is divided into seven sections and discusses topics such as: Switching components; Issues in switch system design; Hardware implementation; Applications

Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc., announced today that its 2006 Users Conference, the Siemens Automation Summit, has expanded its scope to join multiple Siemens automation business units Distributed Control Systems, Manufacturing Execution Systems, Discrete Automation and Production Machines into a comprehensive conference designed to bring Siemens unique integrated solutions to end users, prospects and partners. The new event, themed "Winning Together", affords a special opportunity for attendees to exchange information, network with their peers, attend educational seminars, and interact with partners and Siemens management. The 2006 Siemens Automation Summit will be held June 6-8, 2006 at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, Nev.

The first contract is for System 800xA Extended Automation; other future contracts may include instrumentation, motors, drives and low voltage products. Tetra Pak is a leader in providing preferred solutions for food processing and packaging to food manufacturers. The first countries to implement the purchase agreement are Sweden, Denmark, Ireland and the Netherlands. The cooperation between ABB and Tetra Pak will also include implementation in the rapidly growing markets in Asia, particularly in China.

One year after affiliating with ISA, OMAC's outlook is brighter than ever. OMAC is reporting renewed strength in the development and use of open, interoperable control and automation systems technologies for end users, technology providers, and OEMs. OMAC reported on progress made in a number of packaging, manufacturing infrastructure and machine tool initiatives at its annual meeting. The meeting was held in concert with the ARC Next Generation Manufacturing Forum in Orlando, FL.

xCouplers modules install into factory floor PLCs to provide a simple way to exchange factory floor and enterprise server data. They provide a seamless and secure method to provide real time information flow between the plant floor control systems and business systems than conventional HMI- or PC-based custom software methods.