Articles and News

The AS5243 is used to measure the absolute position of the barrel shaft in the gearbox to ensure an optimized gear change. The Audi R10 is the first diesel powered car to win the Le Mans 24 hours, one of the most famous races in the world.

GainSpan provides Wi-Fi semiconductor and software solutions that enable sensors and other devices to run up to 10 years on a single AA battery.

KEPServerEX communications solution has passed the latest OPC certifications tests administered by the OPC Foundation independent test laboratory.

According to the Underwriter’s Laboratory (UL), UL916 is the UL standard for safety for energy management equipment.

Autodesk reported revenue of $599 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2009, an increase of 18 percent over the first quarter of fiscal 2008.

Automation Federation will manage a roundtable of manufacturing executives and business leaders for the Piedmont Triad Partnership.

The R&D work can result in an intelligent actuation control solution critical for controlling future energy plants.

The ISA100 Wireless Compliance Institute is working to develop supporting compliance programs for the universal family of ISA100 standards.

Futek experienced difficulty assembling some of their load cells to specifications. Using Pressurex sensor film, they found fluctuations in clamping pressure.

The Modesto office is the Design Group's 12th office and the third engineering office opened within the last year.

The ISA100.11a Working Group sent its first letter ballot on its draft standard, the first step in getting approval for the ISA100 standard.

Suncor will use Honeywell’s UniSim simulation technology at its Oil Sands Upgrader Operation in Northern Alberta.

SNAP provides customers with customized solutions to meet unusual signal interface needs in industrial process control, systems integration and factory automation applications.

Model CRDV removes condensation from any point in a pneumatic system.

Using Tridium’s Sedona Framework, Belimo will build a Variable Air Volume controller that is BACnet compliant and wireless over a 802.15.4 mesh network.

Elatec will distribute Azure's embedded computers in East Central Europe and Russia.

Online configurator enables users to select a connector that best suits requirements for their industrial application.

ABB will supply an automation system based on System 800xA and cpmPlus to improve the operations of PA Resins' phenolic and amino resins plant in Perstorp, Sweden.

Making the list are automation companies such as SAP, Siemens, AutoDesk, ABB and Rockwell Automation.

ASHRAE President Kent Peterson spoke before the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming of the U.S. House of Representatives.

ABB will supply two HVDC (high-voltage, direct current) converter stations for the Fenno-Skan 2 power link in Sweden and Finland.

GigE Vision Cameras GC650, GC660 and GC1380H are being tested by NASA as the Agency is looking to upgrade its space shuttle video/camera recording systems.

CD contains sourcing and measurement resources, including application notes, articles, white papers, and product demonstrations.

NorthwireDirect is an e-commerce website for ordering off-the-shelf, factory-direct cable.

The Hartfiel Company was founded in 1958, and has distributed automation and motion control products for 50 years.

Patent 7,343,684 was awarded to the zero backlash traction drive currently used in three and four axis PrecisePlace Cartesian robots.

Innova acquired CoroWare Technologies in 2006 and prefers its logo and brand recognition.

Software includes INTEGRITY RTOS, C/C++ compilers, MULTI integrated development environment (IDE), virtual prototyping platform, and DoubleCheck static analyzer.

The event includes three days of tutorials, technical presentations, forum discussions and trade fair exhibits. Campbell will serve as host and conference moderator.

Plansee Group of Austria required a system that was capable of distinguishing silica from tungsten background at low levels and achieving specific detection limits on silicon and potassium.

By Darren Barratt, Omniflex Alarm annunciators which involve the human operator in safety functions can only be targeted at SIL 1 level.

An analyzer for dissolved organic compounds monitors raw river influent and automatically controls aluminum sulfate (alum) additions at a water plant in New Jersey.

The Lifecycle services program provides network infrastructure design, analysis, maintenance, management, compliancy and consulting for wired/wireless- based systems.

GreenPeak opened its U.S. sales office in Austin, Texas. Barry Blount, Director of Business Development, has been named to head this new office.

MVC-800 FireWire Cable surpassed 11 million flex cycles in rigorous bending, rolling and torsional tests.

900-page catalog covers P+F's family of capacitive, inductive, weld immune, special application, NAMUR, ultrasonic and photoelectric sensors.

The Trusted T6300 system will be installed onto CNRI’s Murchison platform in the North Sea in 2009 to monitor and control a gas-lift process.

RFM and Dust will integrate Dust SmartMesh-XD embedded systems into OEM modules, gateways and other products which RFM will configure and sell.

Tevet is an integrated metrology company serving the worldwide semiconductor and solar manufacturing industry.

Increasing foreign investments in SE Asia demand certified safety systems in process industries.

PEI builds finished connector products from ITT components, catering to customers who require low volumes and a quick turnaround.

Emerson’s PlantWeb architecture enables TARKÝM plant to start up a month early and produce almost thirty percent above target levels.

Equipment includes PLC-based control panels, Proficy HMI/SCADA, CIMPLICITY, and VersaMax I/O to control ash material handling at Macawber Beekay's plant in New Delhi, India

CD includes a large variety of semiconductor test application information such as applications notes, white papers, presentations and an Applications Guide.

ControlNet, one of the family of CIP Networks, is now wholly under the management of ODVA.

Improvements to the website include a new look and better functionality and product search capabilities.

"RFID: Tool Tracking Solutions" shows the infrastructure and technology behind RFID as well as real-world practical applications, challenges and advantages of using RFID.

Leonhardt worked at Endevco in positions including Senior Project Engineer for some 24 years until 2003.

"Industrial Ethernet for the Plant Floor" provides guidance on how to select components, layout, install, test, certify and troubleshoot a network system.

New specifications are to be published for CIP Networks, including EtherNet/IP, DeviceNet, CompoNet, ControlNet and CIP Safety technologies.

Testa joined Cognex in 1983 as a sales engineer, held various positions and, in 2007, was promoted to Group Business Manager of the Modular Vision Systems Division.

The relationship combines the process automation knowledge of Emerson, with the power-generation and vessel-automation products of Wärtsilä.

Infor donated software licenses for Infor SCM Network Design, supply chain planning, and analysis software to the University of Arkansas.

Swedish bio-refinery SunPine will use Invensys SimSci-Esscor's PRO/II simulation software for modeling a new biodiesel refining operation.

MAPAG Valves GmbH makes high performance butterfly valves for the petrochemical, air separation and liquefied natural gas (LNG) industries.

Moore Industries is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year, and is trying to find the oldest of its products that are still in service.

Wittenstein had been Vice President of the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) since 2004 and a member of the Main Board for eight years.

Web service helps engineers and designers find building products.

Catalog showcases Banner’s industrial product line, including photoelectric and special-purpose sensors as well as measurement and inspection sensors.

Meier first joined the Barry-Wehmiller organization in 1990 and spent 17 years with Barry-Wehmiller Design Group,.

Honeywell installed Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS), PMD Controller, Machine Control System, and line drives control to manage key production processes at the mill.

The ICONICS OPC-UA KEPServer integrates HMI/SCADA and visualization with device connectivity from Kepware.

SmartSignal and General Physics will link their products, so equipment problems identified by SmartSignal can be fixed by EtaPRO from General Physics.

Integration of Encelium's Energy Control System (ECS) with Tridium allows the system to communicate with other building systems in intelligent building applications.

Baltimore-based Encelium provides integrated lighting control systems designed to save energy in new and existing commercial buildings.

Microprecision Electronics now builds its microswitches at Wilbrecht Electronics’ Huron, S.D. plant.

The IMI Sensors division of PCB Piezotronics appointed John M. Sperrazza as North American Sales Manager.

A record 3,300+ customers, distributors, channel partners, original equipment manufacturers and ABB employees attended the three-day trade show and conference that ran from April 29 through May 1 in Houston, Texas.

Handbook covers fundamentals of the switching function in test and measurement applications, providing useful, tutorial information on how to optimize switching test systems.

Website provides technology updates, applications support, expert help, product information, free downloads and literature, training information, and news about the hydraulics industry.

Cook will oversee sales operations, expand the focus of marketing, and build strong relationships with the company's OEM suppliers and solutions providers.

Moldflow software predicts how plastic components will perform during design and manufacturing. Autodesk will acquire Moldflow for $297 million.

As the federally designated Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) in the United States, NERC develops and enforces reliability standards for the planning and operation of the bulk power system.

The 31,000-square-foot facility provides companies with an effective way to train maintenance and operations staff off-site, avoiding costly system downtime.

Partnership combines Siemens Motion Control Information System (MCIS) software with ROY-G-BIV's XMC machine connectivity software.

Still privately-held by founder and CEO Leonard W. Moore, the company has come a long way from humble garage beginnings when Moore designed and built the company's first electronic signal converters. Today, the company builds signal conditioners, temperature transmitters, fieldbus interface devices and much more.

Net income for Q1 2008 was $17.6 million with diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.22.

Thiel will oversee terminal blocks and connectors, PCB connectors and similar products.

Rautaruukki will use Experion PKS with PMD Controller to control its steel-making processes in Raahe, Finland.

In January 2008, Emerson installed Scenario simulation technology at this 40-year-old, oil-fired power plant in the UK to train operators.

Avnet will distribute austriamicrosystems' high performance analog ICs in North America.

Wilson will lead JMP's business development, sales and marketing initiatives across North America.

Pitotech will distribute CoroWare robots in Taiwan.

Sean Keeping of ABB, Mark Schumacher of Emerson, Frank Hils of Endress+Hauser amd Hans-Georg Kumpfmueller of Siemens offer their views of WirelessHART.

MTpro integrates CAD and layout tools to save planning time in any assembly or packaging application with Rexroth products.

Phoenix Contact is the new owner of Innominate Security Technologies, a provider of embedded security devices in industrial applications worldwide.

The CIP Safety on SERCOS specification is being released as a function-specific profile (FSP Safety) for Industrial Ethernet-based SERCOS III.

Yolande Burnham was appointed President of AW-Lake Company & Sheepscot Dispensing Systems (SDS), companies of TASI Group.

The project is the 1,000th Exaquantum PIMS system.

The group provides customers with focused robotic palletizing and depalletizing solutions, including system design, manufacture, programming and support.

ABB's first-quarter net income reached $1 billion, an increase of 87 percent compared to the same quarter in 2007.

BlueCielo acquired CAD & Company’s ECM division and its ImandrA suite of products

CoroWare's Microsoft Practice combines release management, project management, systems engineering and marketing consulting.

Dainan Tech in Singapore will rep Endevco products in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.

UniSim to train operators at Kuwait Paraxylene Production Company’s aromatics plant in Shuaiba, Kuwait.

While some companies are slowly seeing the financial benefits of investing in safety, other companies view safety as an encumbering and expensive task.

Branden brings specialized experience in the Life Science industries, particularly in the areas of FDA, HPFBI, and cGMP regulations and guidelines.

Hortimax, a Kronos VAR, built a harvest administration system that monitors the activity and location of individual mobile harvesting carts in greenhouses.

Series 5F and 5J DIN solenoid valve connectors have been awarded Canadian Standards Association approval in Canada and the United States.

AMG will be responsible for the Central USA region, including Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska and southern Illinois.

Mustang will market and deliver alarm management and rationalization services from TiPS and UReason.

Part 4 of the PLCopen suite of specifications has been released for comments as version 0.99 and can be downloaded from the PLCopen website.

Document provides examples and guidance for the combination of the different technologies, making it easier for a user to integrate safety in a motion and logic application.

This document covers user guidelines, and is the third part of a set of documents of the PLCopen Task Force Motion Control.

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers Education Foundation committed $1.4 million for youth programs in 2008.

The office will service European, Middle Eastern and African markets for embedded I/O products. The office is headed by Stefan Baginski.

Macrina will be leaving his role as Director of the Electronics Assembly group at Panasonic Factory Solutions at the end of April to join Microscan Systems.

Report presents alarm management best practices guidelines for improving safety and reliability in power generation industry.

DRB will sell Precise Automation products in Korea and China, including PrecisePlace Robots, Guidance Motion Controllers and PreciseVision Software.

PLC Metrics allows automation engineers and technicians to automatically analyze PLC programs, such as the number of rungs, I/O and steps, hardware configuration, and Grafcet steps and macros.

“Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Data Acquisition” explains the overall concept of data acquisition and considerations for analog input systems.

More than 60 short and informative SME videos have been uploaded to YouTube and generated more than 200,000 hits.

ABB installed a System 800xA process control system at Jura Cement Fabriken in Wildegg, Switzerland.

The new center at Reynosa City, Tamaulipas State, has all the resources necessary for Invensys to support PEMEX in the Burgos basin.

Adaptive Instruments markets Accutech wireless instrumentation products. In 2006 SCADAgroup acquired Control Microsystems, and earlier this year acquired Trio Datacom.

The contract focuses on identifying concurrent programming defects, which are notoriously difficult to identify and manually debug.

ManualTesting.com is a community site with free resources designed to alleviate the headaches caused by the burden of time-consuming manual testing on QA departments.

Modernization at Petrobras Zarate included Foundation fieldbus, DeltaV, AMS asset management, flow, level and temperature instruments, and Fisher valves with FIELDVUE digital valve controllers.

Industrial Controls Distributors is the exclusive representative for Honeywell Analytics, experts in gas detection.

Graduation for Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC) certificate students will be May 9, 2008 at Bison Gear headquarters.

Autodesk made $17 million worth of software available to student competitors, including Autodesk Inventor, 3ds Max and Autodesk Combustion.

The application note, “Metal Coatings Analysis Using the Exoscan Hand Held FTIR,” explains how it does non-destructive analysis of samples.

ThreadX has been used to power a wide variety of products, from printers to wireless devices.

Keynote speakers include Dick Morley, father of the PLC, and Dr. John R. Bratten, Nautical Archaeologist.

XLReporter enables reporting in Microsoft Office Excel to be performed automatically and in the background.

CD Rom contains product information and application notes related to biodiesels, feed stocks and general analysis.

The pharmaceutical industry in Europe is struggling with price pressures and severe competition, making it a stro0ng growth market for automation and control.

The CENTUM; CS 3000 Production Control System and STARDOM Network-based Control System will use the Tofino Industrial Security Solution.

OPC wants system integrators who routinely use OPC to sign up for a program to help raise the overall quality and reliability of OPC products.

Siemens provided product lifecycle management software and services for digital product design, simulation, analysis, manufacturing and product data management.

Included are presentations on future technologies, software, hardware, controls, vision, robots etc.

Students at Lake Superior State University (LSSU) in Sault Sainte Marie, MI, developed a vision-based robotic workcell as a senior project.

The program enables technology companies in the process control/SCADA market to provide their customers with integrated Defense in Depth cyber security solutions.

GE Fanuc will offer iPower as a standard Proficy HMI/SCADA - iFIX option.

The market for wireless devices and equipment in process manufacturing will grow to over $1.1B in 2012, a growth rate of 32% per year, according to ARC Advisory Group.

The largest optical telescope in the northern hemisphere, the Gran Telescopio Canarias (Grantecan) on La Palma, Spain, uses HEIDENHAIN model ERA 780C angle encoders.

In accordance with DIN EN ISO 14021, an Efficiency Label is now being affixed to all TopTherm PLUS cooling units.

The first step in any power quality strategy is developing a complete understanding of your electrical environment, implementing a good power distribution system design and using good grounding techniques. If you want virtually maintenance free protection from a wide range of power problems, the constant voltage transformer, correctly applied, is still one of the best forms of total power conditioning.

Advanced ID Asia incorporated the AS3990 UHF RFID “Simply Gen2” Reader Chip into their latest product, the PR110 handheld RFID reader.

The wizard builder creates connection wizards for communication between process controllers (DCSes and PLCs) and PC based software.

Manufacturers can learn about the GS and CE Markings, with details about their purposes and differences, in a new white paper by TÜVRheinland.

AirSprite Technologies joined as a founding member.

Wolowec is Vice-president, Solutions Business at Endress+Hauser. He is replacing former PTO Board member Todd Hubbell.

ABB is supplying a System 800xA for the Sri Chamundeswari cogeneration plant in Karnataka state, southern India.

Graham Partners partnered with Inverness Graham Investments on the transaction.

SoftBrasil is the South American distribution channel for MatrikonOPC products and solutions.

CD includes product animations, handbook, white papers and catalogs covering the structural design, operating principles and characteristics of linear motion technology components.

Honeywell will supply Profit Suite and engineering services for the S-OIL Corporation Onsan refinery.

The brochure highlights specific sensor and instrumentation available for pressure monitoring, diagnostics, troubleshooting, and control applications in hazardous factory environments.

Prior to joining IMI, he worked at Accutech Instrumentation Solutions, FCx Performance and IRD Mechanalysis.

Transformers are IEEE802.3af-compliant and available in three sizes (EP7, EP10 and EP13) for 3W, 7W and 13W applications.

Fifteen educators from across the United States have won awards sponsored by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) Education Foundation and 3M.

The two will co-market Eagle's ProTeus maintenance management solutions and Prime Technologies' ProCalV5 calibration management solution.

Siemens will install a SIMATIC PCS 7 distributed control system at the Bayer CropScience site in Institute, West Virginia.

The Citrix Alliance Program includes more than 1,800 software and hardware manufacturers and service providers who complement and extend the Citrix Application Delivery Infrastructure.

Site has 80 application case studies, selectable by industry and application, to show how Cognex customers are benefiting from machine vision.

Yokogawa Corporation of America acquired all the stock of ASI on April 3, 2008. ASI was established in 1994 and developed the TruePeak family of laser based analyzers.

ClassPack is for educators who cannot purchase multiple robots. By using ClassPack, students can write robotics code that will run in simulation and on a real robot.

Danatec will be using DELMIA PLM Express to conduct production verification for robotic tools and fixtures in the design stage, thereby limiting changes in later stages of production planning.

Pinnacle Sales is Semaphore's authorized distributor for markets in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, and Wisconsin.

Sullivan previously was with Commtest, where he served as Regional Sales Manager for Latin America.

Wasting valuable chemicals by using concentrations that are too high means wasting money. The best solution for this application is an inductive conductivity sensor, says Mettler Toledo.

Toffler will kick off the event with a keynote and Q&A session. Toffler's latest book, Revolutionary Wealth, focuses on the globalization of society and trends that affect the conduct of business globally.

Kaliburne designs and manufactures plasma arc cutting equipment and consumables in metal fabrication.

MatrikonOPC's Eric Muphy was selected by the OPC Foundation to launch the official OPC Foundation Technical Advisory Council (TAC) Blog

Siemens is ramping up its Preferred Solution Partner program, through which Siemens CNC, motor and drive packages will be brought to the machine shop market by a nationwide network of qualified retrofitters.

ScanSource Security signed up as a distributor, and will provide GE's broad line of security solutions to its dealer partners.

The coalition will meet with dozens of lawmakers to bring visibility to the automation profession's challenges and opportunities.

Nigrelli Systems is a supplier of high-speed continuous motion packaging and tray handling systems for a diverse array of industries.

Emerson installed PlantWeb, DeltaV, Rosemount digital temperature transmitters and AMS Suite predictive maintenance software at a new PVC production facility of the Yichang Yihua Pacific Chemical Co.

PLCopen North America participated with a booth and made a presentation at the 2008 Motor, Drive & Automation Systems Conference February 14-15, 2008, in Atlanta, Georgia.

By PLCOpen Backgrounder article explains what PLCOpen is, and what it does.

Daintree’s commissioning, management and analysis software will be available as a plug-in for Tritech’s TriBee ZigBee Network Coordinator Gateway.

QVC will migrate from its existing Honeywell TotalPlant Solution Systems to Honeywell’s Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS).

Downloadable brochure illustrates complete industrial computing and networking applications.

Regional trains in Germany and the Netherlands are currently being delivered by BOMBARDIER with an on board Ethernet network, using Westermo’s REDFOX railway switches.

The catalog covers Product Testing and Safety, System Auditing, System Testing, Management System Certification, and Specialty Services.

The Microsoft Manufacturing User Group (MsMUG), formerly a part of OMAC, is moving to a working group under the Automation Federation.

Microprocessors and advanced computing platforms have catalyzed the shift from PID to adaptive controllers in petrochemicals, mining, steel, paper, food and many other industries.

PLCopen TC6 first published its XML schema and documentation in June 2005 as version 1.01. After feedback from companies starting to implement this specification, it's been revised.

Lean Registry is a free community connection and collaboration space for lean practitioners.

Building on Windows Server 2008, Visual KPI uses Web 2.0 technology to provide web-based delivery of and access to business-critical data.

The ZigBee Resource Guide focuses solely on products, applications and standards for wireless control in many applications.

The Packaging Technology and Solutions Center (PTASC) in Schaumburg, Ill., has an application lab where customers can work with Schneider Electric and ELAU engineers to design packaging solutions.

GE Fanuc will acquire MTL Open Systems Technology (MOST) product lines including the MTL8000 I/O, intrinsically safe I/O, SafetyNet system, and process control technologies.

By Jeff Hunter, Sealevel Systems Many RS-485 users are completely unaware that they are taking unnecessary risk with their data because of the method they use for driver control. This white paper explains.

Software licenses have been sold to more than 100,000 plants/facilities worldwide, which accounts for 33 percent of the world's 305,544 plants with 20 or more employees.

SME issued a call for entries to the Direct Digital Manufacturing 2008 Competition. All entries are due by April 16, 2008.

ABB won a $53-million contract from Dubai Aluminum to upgrade electrical and automation systems at the company's 480-hectare smelter complex in Dubai.

Emerson will install PlantWeb digital plant architecture to automate Shanghai CP Guojian Pharmaceutical's new API production suite which will have the largest mammalian cell-culture system in Asia.

The brochure presents a variety of sub-micron to sub-nanometer precise compact actuators with ceramic piezo motors as well as classical motors.

White paper explains why mobile device vendors and users can choose to forego today’s pre-standard 802.11n radios and stick with proven solutions that support some combination of 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g.

Catalog includes the latest technical data, application examples and overview of motion control products.

Brochure provides an overview of quality control solutions for biodiesel analysis compared to the costs of sending samples out for ASTM analysis.

The South African DCS market earned revenues of USD 121.4 million in 2006 and F&S estimates this to reach USD 292.4 million in 2013.

The PLCopen Technical Committee 5 (TC5) Safety Software User Guidelines is a reference for control people implementing safety control systems.

Valued at more than $400 million, the project uses ABB's HVDC Light technology, a high-voltage direct current solution that enables the transmission of large amounts of power underwater and underground.

HOOPS allows users to view, select and control product cost drivers directly in the interactive 3D model display.

The Gigabit Ethernet IP solution completed interoperability testing at the University of New Hampshire's Interoperability Lab (UNH IOL).