Articles and News

Automation solution processes municipal waste into high-grade compost and generates emissions-free electric power from waste biogas.

For FY-08, Matrikon posted revenue of $80.03 million, an increase of 9% from FY-07. Net income increased to $9.10 million from a loss of $220,000 in FY-07.

Visit the PLCopen Organization booth and see how PLCopen member companies are committed to control software standards that improve your quality and productivity.

Report includes results and analysis from Longview’s fourth annual Collaboration & Interoperability best practices survey, along with articles on related industry topics.

Emerson will supply PlantWeb, Fisher valves, Rosemount transmitters, Daniel and Micro Motion flow meters, DeltaV and Ovation digital automation systems, and AMS Suite predictive maintenance software.

The service will document the current network layout, analyze/detail data activity within the network, and test the infrastructure against industrial standards/specifications.

Fountain will be responsible for California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Alaska and Hawaii.

McKeraghan joins VYCON from Eaton Corporation where he managed the Central Zone for Eaton’s Powerware UPSs and power quality solutions.

ASI Instruments will become the K-TEK Solids Level group and focus on dry bulk solids level detection and measurement devices.

Honeywell will protect Woodside’s Pluto onshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant with a sophisticated industrial security system.

ABB signed a $20-million contract for a SCADA system that will improve reliability by monitoring and controlling high-voltage transmission.

Cross Automation will sell and support Precise Automation's controller products in Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Virginia.

ABTech Manufacturing built a five-axis platform for nanometer/sub-arcsec processing around Renishaw SiGNUM position encoders.

Website provides information about Sprint Electric’s DC drives, including full product specifications as well as brochures and manuals for download.

By Form Automation Solutions Manufacturing companies need live workers to check production facilities frequently and to correct issues immediately before they escalate. AuditMatic software and mobile computers are being used to automate gathering, analyzing and reporting field data.

Form Automation Solutions signed distribution agreements with InfoLink and Industrial Network Systems.

Brochure highlights ten JIC standard, RoHS compliant, corrosion resistant enclosures to protect electrical and electronic equipment in industrial applications.

Advantech won 10th place in the 2008 Top Taiwan Global Brands survey.

The event helped introduce Chicago Public Schools seniors to admissions personnel from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

Toshiba GE Turbine Components (reduced the time required to inspect and measure steam turbine blades from 280 minutes to 45 minutes by using the MAXOS non-contact measurement system.

"Protecting Mission Critical Electronics In The Industrial Environment," recommends that manufacturers safeguard critical systems in poor power environment.

Paper describes the implications of FOUNDATION SIF (FF-SIF) technology for the global plant safety system market and end users.

Mouser will distribute Tektronix oscilloscopes, arbitrary/function generators, and other essentials for engineers’ design benches.

Rockwell to supply automation technologies to help Hebei provincial government upgrade traditional industries.

JUS-MADE LP, a manufacturer of frozen beverages and juices, licensed the DEACOM Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software system.

Hot tanks at the refinery are fitted with wireless temperature transmitters as a cost-effective means of keeping control room operators informed of conditions inside the tanks.

Guide helps network engineers understand how applications flow across the network and how they fail, and provides a five-step process for troubleshooting application problems when they occur.

The "Collaborative Alliance for Semiconductor Test" (CAST) will foster collaboration and standards development to improve semiconductor industry productivity.

By Rick Zabel, Publisher Automation Insights Network is a select group of controls and automation professionals who agree to help us cover news, emerging trends and technologies on various automation topics. Every two months, we will ask people in the Network to share their observations, knowledge and expertise with us. We take that information, distill it, and pass it on to our reporters and editors for use in future stories.

The new 19,000 square foot facility is roughly double the size of its previous location.

“Energy Efficiency in Pneumatics” provides three main areas of energy cost savings to lower the cost of compressed air.

Green Energy Applications Guide highlights critical factors that process and plant engineers must consider to achieve optimum flow meter performance.

Winners include Anne Muller from University of Dresden, Germany, and Mohamed Abdul Galeel Salih Mohamed and Mohamad Tamer Nader Chaklab from the Petroleum Institute in Abu Dhabi.

Report examines how 3D visualization technology plays a role in improving interoperability and communication between engineering and production departments.

Website covers everything from small, compact products to large operator panel interfaces and open PC-based solutions.

Japan’s AIST selected ORBexpress as the communications architecture for AIST’s new advanced robotics platform, OpenRTM-aist.

Normerica implemented a Ship2Save RFID mobile cart system at its manufacturing plants in Brantford, Ontario and Lethbridge, Alberta.

Emissions monitoring solution uses FTIR analyzer technology and an 800xA system to help Chilean cement manufacturer Polpaico meet targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Smart Wireless instruments mounted on a rotating reactor at Coogee Chemical Company, Kwinana, Australia, prevent frequent reactor breakdowns and lost production time.

Churchill will be responsible for Fiberguide’s products and services east of the Mississippi river.

OVS-400 Industrial video server is connected with EDS-231PRO and EDS-351PRO series Industrial rated IP-66 cameras to provide real time remote monitoring.

Honeywell will supply Experion and DaVinci Quality Control systems to Vaahto Pulp & Paper Machinery for the first light weight coated (LWC) paper plant in Russia.

DataCELL FIELD MVC-800 FireWire Cable surpassed 11 million flex cycles in rigorous bending, rolling and torsion tests; other cables hit 20 million tick tock tests.

Opto 22 has received certification for its SNAP-PAC-EB1 and SNAP-PAC -EB2 SNAP I/O processors.

Husky is employing PROFIBUS technology in its high-tech injection molding machines.

ABB reported increases in revenues, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT), net income and cash flow in the third quarter of 2008.

ABB will provide all maintenance operations and improve efficiency at six pulp, paper and board mills in Finland.

Beckhoff Automation hired five new regional sales and application engineers in the past few months of 2008.

Wireless transmitters monitor wellhead annular pressure at BP’s Wytch Farm onshore oilfitters field.

Students will receive a certificate with the approved CERT logo when they complete the CERT program.

OPC Foundation and Kepware will manage the development of OPC-UA in a managed community “open source code” model.

Plant will recycle methane produced by waste water treatment facilities.

Representatives from ABB, Emerson Process Management, Endress+Hauser, and Siemens supported WirelessHART technology at ISA.

Hoffer Flow Controls HRT1 Rate Indicator/Totalizer has been verified to meet the HART 7 Protocol standard and carries the “HART Registered” mark.

Brian Stewart was promoted to Executive Vice President & COO and Jonathan Ball was promoted to Corporate Advisor.

Electric Motor Education & Research Foundation elected John Morehead as a Director.

SEL uses Mu Dynamics’ Mu-4000 service analyzer to reduce potential security vulnerabilities for control and automation systems.

TMACH-ProCom and MACH-ProSys controllers meet or exceed the BACnet Testing Laboratories (BTL) requirements for the BACnet Building Controller (B-BC) designation.

Citect was acquired by Schneider Electric in 2006. Since then the companies have achieved an average annual growth of 20 percent in the SCADA business.

Site contains information on moving coil actuators, controllers and other products.

Compact Application Protocol (CAP) expands ZigBee applications to any IP-enabled device, regardless of the type of network, wired or wireless. Arch Rock submitted the CAP spec to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).

Moog acquired Berkeley Process Control for $14 million. Berkeley makes motion control software and hardware.

Cypress Envirosystems partnered with Honeywell to create a OneWireless version of its Wireless Gauge Reader.

Boise enhanced safety at its paper mill in St. Helens, Oregon, by using Smart Wireless products to monitor its eye wash and safety shower stations.

Students at Chico are working on projects with industrial hardware donated by B&R Industrial Automation.

The group will develop a common method for data exchange and an analyzer data model for process and laboratory analyzers.

Geometric provided the infrastructure for housing coordinate measuring machines (CMM), 3D scanners, robotic measuring arms and other metrology solutions.

Invensys will supply I/A Series automation and Triconex safety controllers for the world's first hydrogen-fuelled power plant, to be constructed in Fusina, Italy.

Siemens will make energy efficiency improvements to 5,500,000 square feet of city facilities.

OpenScale now helps businesses improve the security of their Unified Communications (UC) solutions.

Wurldtech and Matrikon signed an agreement focused on introducing cyber risk management solutions for real-time industrial environments.

ICONICS' list of compatible OPC Unified Architecture (OPC-UA) and Data Access (OPC-DA) servers is available on line.

The last Webb retires from Jervis B. Webb Company. Ryuichi Kitaguchi takes over as CEO.

Information on the website includes how industrial Ethernet fits into oil and gas production, transportation, storage, and distribution.

Carter, former president and CEO of Pavilion Technologies, was named president of Rockwell Software.

Grand opening on October 22-24 includes demos of milling machines, technical workshops, supplier representatives discussing their products, and Oktoberfest food and drink.

Mouser will stock AXSEM’s universal and long-range sub 1Ghz ISM RF transceivers, as well as the associated evaluation and development kits.

DS1000B scopes are certified by the LXI consortium, provide over-the-web programming and have 2GSa/s real-time sample rate.

Catalog provides extensive selection, details, data and specifications for NFPA cylinders

Hastings joins Emerson from Rockwell Automation. He's responsible for concept and execution phases of large global projects across the Life Science industry.

The acquisition added 60 technology patents and 10 product lines to Microscan’s portfolio. The acquisition was finalized on September 19, 2008.

Sentient Computing is the now the sole owner of MacroView, an established SCADA/HMI product originally developed in Australia.

Nivis and Apprion will collaborate on providing industrial facilities with secure wireless networks, devices, applications and services.

On-line configurator helps process engineers select the ideal level indicators.

Semaphore obtained Class I, Division 2 hazardous area approvals for its Kingfisher G30 compact, remote terminal unit.

wSNAK kit confirms the significant advantages and simplicity of condition monitoring systems powered by vibration energy-harvesting.

Perry A. Pederson, former Director for the Control Systems Security Program at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is now Vice-President of Wurldtech Labs.

Interactive video game set in an imaginary industrial workplace makes it fun learning how thermal imaging technology helps solve system maintenance problems.

Metso will deliver metsoDNA automation systems,control room stations and equipment, redundant process control stations, integrated HIMA safety systems as well as field equipment maintenance stations.

Portable test kit for CAN protocol versions of M-series linear position sensors assist cylinder manufacturers and equipment OEMs to verify functionality of the sensors after they are installed.

Allied will be a catalog distributor of Eaton’s industrial control and automation products.

"The Six Most Common PID Configuration Errors: How to Find and Fix Them" white paper identifies the most common PID configuration issues, and provides techniques to help find and fix these issues.

3S will integrate CoDeSys SP, the run-time environment for CoDeSys applications, with the Green Hills Platform for Industrial Safety.

Foxboro HART pressure transmitters are now SIL 2-certified by TÜV Rheinland, and all differential, gauge and absolute pressure transmitters meet the new Canada CEC/NEC Dual Seal certification.

PACSystems SafetyNet can now be used in safety applications, including fire & gas, emergency shutdown and burner management for marine, offshore and industrial applications.

Level Plus Model MR liquid-level transmitters are AMS aware, meaning that they work in tandem with Emerson's AMS Suite.

The 12,000-square-foot facility has a demonstration laboratory containing mass spectrometers and other laboratory instruments and consumables.

Siemens will supply a DCS in a project to improve the processes used to convert non-food-based biofuel feedstocks into liquid bio-fuel intermediates.

As part of the wireless backhaul network initiative, the Fieldbus Foundation and ISA will develop a standard to interface between different technologies.

EDUCATIONAL LINK offers information on Industrial Ethernet related topics like Ethernet Term, Network Architectures and recommendations, Industrial Ethernet Software Tools and more.

IPS will supply Tricon control systems for three gas turbine units that John Brown is currently repairing and overhauling at its East Kilbride site in Scotland.

Technical Representatives will cover Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania as well as the District of Columbia.

Lowry will provide Passive RFID hardware, software, and professional services to the U.S Department of Defense (DoD), U.S Coast Guard, and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

In a recent study, 83 percent of the end users across process and factory automation rated interoperability as a medium to high concern.

TÜVRheinland is now able to provide ZigBee compliance testing for the ZigBee Smart Energy Public Application Profile, 50% faster than using the manual process.

ABB to supply $15 million worth of 670 Series Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs) to TVA.

The catalog contains 800 pages with more than 4,800 products, including hundreds of new items.

MINI SAC cordsets meet Fieldbus Foundation's FF-844 requirements for H1 Type A cable.

ASHRAE’s newly renovated headquarters serves as a laboratory without walls to extend the Society’s knowledge and information worldwide.

Fourteen Rosemount wireless pressure transmitters monitor levels in tanks at Technochem Environmental Complex Pte Ltd (TEC) in Singapore.

Winners include Ontario Clean Water Agency, Portland General Electric, New Belgium Brewing Company and Cytec Engineered Materials.

Innovation Partner Program now has a new tier of “endorsed” system integrators (SIs).

ASHRAE and the International Facility Management Association are entering into an agreement that increases cooperation between the two groups.

Belden, Northwire, Phoenix Contact and Rockbestos-Surprenant Cable are the first cable suppliers to pass the Fieldbus Foundation registration process.

The Eclipse Ganymede for ARM Cortex-M3 processors is available immediately as a free download.

Mouser Electronics will distribute Electronic Assembly's LCD function modules.

Toshiba Teli's CSL8000CL linescan camera is being used in the OneTouch-LS station to scan parts with a stroke of 150mm (x axis) and 75mm (z axis).

System 800xA provides a platform for unified operations to increase productivity and power reliability for process manufacturing customers in all industries.

Catalog has over 115,000 products plus technical information and product photos.

Emerson will supply PlantWeb, 31 Ovation controllers, AMS software, and 47 Rosemount pressure transmitters.

SAP software can be installed on THe Intelligent Numeric Control (THINC) instead of relying on a stand-alone computer to provide the necessary link.

Christensen manufactures ruggedized, industrial-grade, flat-panel monitors for the process and industrial control markets.

The event will offer workshops, technical sessions, industry forums, hands-on labs and exhibits.

Siemens Building Technologies designed Techwell's TW2815 into multiple video surveillance products to be distributed worldwide.

ThreadX RTOS meets the Multicore Association’s recently released Multicore Communications API (MCAPI) specification.

Free Eclipse Ganymede-compliant embedded debugging solution runs on many standard evaluation boards for hosting on Windows and Linux platforms.

Jointly developed solutions will increase security at municipal and industrial sites

Wireless instruments enabled one analytical team to cover 10 percent more plants, adding annual service revenues of $512,000 and improving power production per unit of fuel consumed.

Webb will supply four SmartCart AGC Automatic Guided Carts to Western Container’s new facility in Fife, Wash.

Stories cover environmental monitoring, power automation, FAB management, solar energy, factory automation, and security.

Fieldbus Foundation established the Central and Eastern European Marketing Committee (FFCEEMC) to promote an increased awareness and adoption of FOUNDATION technology.

Brochure describes nine RoHS compliant, corrosion resistant enclosure families, available in polycarbonate, plus selected availability in ABS, aluminum, and fiberglass.

Tractor trailer with a complete working system that is capable of controlling activities within a paper mill will visit locations in the U.S. and Canada.

'Daily Problem Solving in a Lean Organization' explores principles and work practices that businesses which have already implemented lean can use in daily problem solving to sustain the improvements they've made, and to deepen their commitment to lean.

Genzyme uses wireless temperature, pressure, and level transmitters to protect product quality and to reduce waste at its Therapeutics enzyme manufacturing facility in Allston, MA.

Saint-Gobain Sekurit already implemented Apriso FlexNet OES software in 44 of its worldwide sites, and plans to install it in 19 Float Glass locations.

Plant tours showcase strategies and tactics that improve factory performance, cut costly downtime and protect businesses against recession.

Video shows how the company’s cATM module can configure and exchange data between Allen-Bradley ControlLogix PACs and PLCs without programming.

Automatizaciones Garco S.A. de C.V. of Monterrey, Mexico, is Adept's exclusive distributor for Mexico.

Belden attained H1 registration for part number 3076F IndustrialTuff DataBus Type A 18 AWG stranded cable.

Invensys will supply distributed control systems to Maire Tecnimont Group for two coal-fired power stations currently under construction in Chile.

Jacobs joined Sealant Equipment & Engineering as Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing.

Restructuring involves headcount reductions, primarily in selling, general and administrative functions, involving three percent of the company’s global workforce of 20,000 people.

Fieldbus Foundation released its final Diagnostic Profiles Specification, based on guidelines established by the NAMUR Working Group 2.6.

Reps include Cain White, EG Holmes and Assoc., Theta-J, TL Marketing and WaveSpace. Itnegrators include AISD Inc, Digital AV, LS Research, Software Technologies Group and Talon Communications.

Guillevin will distribute Semaphore products in western Canada, including Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Yukon and Northwest Territories.

TECOM is developing a trusted secure execution environment capable of withstanding the increasing number of external security attacks. Aonix will provide the PERC Ultra virtual machine to the TECOM project.

ABB will supply electrical and automation equipment for SSAB’s steel mill in Borlänge, Sweden, including System 800xA, ACS800drive systems, motors and MNS switchgear.

ABB won orders worth $75 million for technology to maintain the reliability of the grid in the north Texas area while lowering environmental impact.

The AutomationDirect Automation Laboratory supports the Departmental Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) course and the Automation course.

Catalog covers Modbus Ethernet to serial servers, switches,media converters, wireless modems and remote I/O, serial converters, USB, and digital and analog remote I/O.

Jorgen M. Clausen, president and CEO, retired and his successor, Niels B. Christiansen has assumed these positions.

Emerson has begun shipping WirelessHART products from its Smart Wireless range of pressure, flow, level, temperature, vibration, pH, and discrete transmitters and gateways.

End-user judges select Croda Inc’s moving railcar monitoring as “Most Creative” and CFE Lapem’s temporary power unit monitoring as “Most Significant Business Impact.”

Smart Wireless mesh is overseeing BP R&D Naperville Tank Farm, expanding at BP's Cherry Point Washington refinery, and is being installed at BP facilities worldwide

Emerson will install Smart Wireless technology in the Morichal District oil fields for PDVSA, the Venezuelan state-owned oil company.

HIMA’s office in Calgary is managed by Brad Ogilvie, Country Manager.

Honeywell's Safety Manager will be installed at DONG Oil Pipe's facility in West Jylland, Denmark.

Guide details lead screws, inch and metric series ball screws, ball splines and bearing supports/end machining, including all relevant product specifications and performance attributes.

Unno joined RKC as a sales engineer twenty-three years ago and has held various positions in both Japan and China.

O'Neill has extensive international executive management experience with an emphasis on networks and electronics as well as large system integration, communications and computer technology.

G-Tek, a software distributor and engineering firm in Ankara, Turkey, will resell and provide integration services for McObject's eXtremeDB and Perst database systems.

Allied will offer the HyperLink product line, which includes antennas, surge and lightning protectors for WLANs, SCADA Systems, ISM, GSM and RFID design applications.

IPS will upgrade the site from an existing Metso DCS Max1+ to Foxboro I/A Series, InFusion control system, Fieldbus Foundation, four operator stations, Historian and a Hart station.

The Siemens contract guarantees EKU will save 24,665,190 kWh of electricity, 89,329 mcf of natural gas, 1,729 tons of coal, 102,585 ccf of water and 138,584 ccf of sewer.

INAT's range of real-time Ethernet products complements Softing's embedded fieldbus technology.

HART 7.1 was approved by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) as a Publicly Available Specification (IEC/PAS 62591Ed. 1).

The CCE Wakefield plant has 93 Siemens S5 PLCs, 11 Siemens S7 PLCs, 20 Allen Bradley ControlLogix PACs, 31 Allen Bradley SLC500 PLCs, and 26 universal Devices. MDT AutoSave software tracks all changes.

ABB won a $75-million contract from Eskom, South Africa’s national electricity provider, to supply and install circuit breakers to strengthen the country’s electricity network.

Emerson will provide project design and engineering services and Daniel metering skids for Oil Sands Upgrader Operation in Fort McMurray, Alberta.

Power Integrations was found to have acted properly in the process of applying for and obtaining its patents from the Patent Office. The Court rejected Fairchild's claims and ruled the patents enforceable.

Subcommittee IEC SC 65 E approved all 18 parts of the FDT specification.

Catalog covers DC brushed permanent magnet motors and gearboxes.

For power outages, VDC and VDC-XE will seamlessly provide up to 300kW of DC power in a single csbinet. VDC models can be paralleled.

ABB will supply LDK Solar more than $36 million in electrical systems, equipment and related engineering and project management services for a new production plant in Xinyu City, China.

Danfoss is doubling its Loves Park, IL, facility that produces variable frequency drives, adding both production and office space.

Emerson is installing Ovation controls to replace PLCs at a power station that provides electricity and steam to the refinery.

Improvements include web-based tools for dynamic workload planning, detailed productivity reporting, and exporting productivity data.

For control of its effluent stream, AVG in Hamburg, Germany, relies on backscattered light turbidity measurements using equipment supplied by METTLER TOLEDO.

Handbook details the need, design, and implementation of an optimal Human-Machine Interface (HMI) for process operators and automation systems.

The pilot plant and lab will help Massachusetts biomanufacturing companies bring new biopharmaceuticals closer to commercial production.

MIPAC will implement advanced control strategies to improve process performance at Birla’s Nifty Copper Operation in Australia.

By Rick Zabel, Automation.com The proposed name change of ISA (to "International Society of Automation") is up for a vote again during ISA Expo in Houston, October 14-16, 2008. Last year, the change was voted down, but I have yet to hear a compelling argument against the change. And there are many reasons for the change. If ISA is truly the global society of automation professionals, then its name should reflect its cause. It's time for a change!

The facility in Tulare, CA, houses application support, customer support and warranty service.

PlantWeb digital plant architecture with FOUNDATION fieldbus and mass flowmeters reduces annual cost by €300,000 and improves production efficiency by 30 per cent at SABIC Europe B.V.

Invensys donated an InFusion enterprise control technology to the UMass Lowell BioManufacturing Center. With equipment and services from Wyeth Biotech and Dakota Systems, the center will provide a full-scale manufacturing operation.

Tool enables user to inspect CANopen and POWERLINK device description files conforming to the CiA 306 and CiA 311

Kepware will deliver Industrial Defender’s host intrusion detection software as a KEPServerEX Security Agent Driver Plug-in.

ACUSIM computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software now supports Microsoft Windows HPC Server 2008.

The office will provide oil and gas, refining, and chemical companies with service-based consulting and solutions.

The worldwide market for SCADA Systems for the Oil & Gas industry is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.3% over the next five years.

Achilles will be integrated into Kongsberg's regression tests to ensure the quality of the frameworks provided by the Kongsberg Maritime Technology Base.

ABB will supply six complete gearless mill drive systems, transformers, ringmotors, project engineering, installation, training and other related support services.

Allied will carry a broad range of products from MCC, including diodes, transistors, MOSFETs and circuit protection products.

Emerson named Steven A. Sonnenberg executive VP and promoted John M. Berra to chairman of Emerson Process Management

The sensors replace externally mounted pressure switches, infrared switches, and string potentiometers because magnetostrictive technology proved to be more durable and reliable.

Mu Dynamics discovered and helped remediate a dangerous vulnerability within strongSwan’s virtual private network (VPN) solution.

PcVUE HMI/SCADA uses Modbus over TCP/IP switches from Ethernet Direct.

The worldwide flowmeter market totaled $662 million in 2007, with a projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.5% through 2012.

Husen Tu will head a team based in Beijing.