Articles and News

By Brian Joe, Emerson Automation Solutions Until recently—when engineers wanted to monitor plant equipment such as steam traps, pumps or heat exchangers—they were often faced with difficult, complex and expensive projects. New apps and wireless instruments make equipment monitoring much less expensive than with traditional methods

The research, conducted by serialization system provider SEA Vision and life science technology specialist Zenith Technologies, highlights technology selection as the biggest challenge currently faced by the industry, cited by 28 per cent of respondents.

Improvements in pressure-measurement technologies are opening up new application areas, leading to operational improvements

The operating system that supported the Tyson Foods' Wisconsin plant's human machine interface (HMI) application was facing obsolescence. The new solution is based on the Rockwell Automation Integrated Architecture system that incorporates both the Logix control platform and FactoryTalk production management software

The Foundation, Shape Corp. and Grand Haven Area Public Schools will collaborate through SME’s Partnership Response In Manufacturing Education (PRIME) initiative, to develop and launch an advanced manufacturing education program at Grand Haven High School in Grand Haven, Michigan, beginning in the 2018 academic year.

Together, the three events address disciplines central to automation—robot safety, motion control, motor technologies, vision systems, and collaborative robots.

The purpose of pressure taps is prevent gas or vapor accumulations in the connections between the pipe and differential-pressure (dP) measuring device.

By Steve Gansen, Cisco With manufacturing there has been a real struggle with a slowing demographic and attracting new talent, causing a considerable amount of institutional knowledge to walk out the door into retirement. Manufacturers can no longer be complacent in dealing with talent.

The compact optoNCDT 1750 laser sensor for displacement and distance measurements offers new features combined with robustness and reliability. Based on an innovative web interface, the new laser sensor stands out due to its ease of use and intuitive commissioning using presets for different surface types and colors.

With the creation of a separate business unit for the process industry, HIMA aims to focus their business strategy on stronger global growth and closer customer contact.

By Rick Delgado, Freelance Automation Writer Using Artificial Intelligence for cyber security is a relatively new idea that still is undergoing its incubation phase. Actualizing the significance of AI in data assessment and predictive analysis, advancements are being made in the technological sector to utilize this potential in addressing the growing challenge of cyber security.

The Purdue team made a solid showing at the first Hyperloop competition this January in held at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, CA, finishing 7th out of a field of 27 universities. The team spent the Spring semester refining its original pod in preparation for the second competition set for August 25-27, 2017.

Study of a novel teleoperation controller for a nonlinear master-slave robotic system with constant time delay in communication channel.

The Product Knowledge Workshop will take place on October 4-5 in San Marcos, California, and October 17-19 in Beijing, China. These workshops are designed to provide customers comprehensive training on FCI thermal dispersion mass flow meters, flow switches, and level switches.

Two students from the Izmir Institute of Technology, who used Honeywell’s simulation software to demonstrate how to produce petrochemicals from algae, have been named the winners of Honeywell Process Solutions’ (HPS) annual UniSim Design Challenge.

Hundreds of participants from all corners of the globe took part in a hackers contest aimed at cracking a game protected with Blurry Box, the encryption software recently launched by Wibu-Systems. The outcome: No one could break the latest software protection technology introduced by the provider of secure license management.

The DENSO North America Foundation (DNAF) funds programs across the continent each year providing hands-on learning opportunities in areas from robotics and thermodynamics to design and materials development.

Nowadays, data will be generated and copied quicker from IoT, fog computing, and big data analysis. Central clouds, data centers, micro servers, and other server oriented applications play an important role in processing and transmitting the massive data. However, the current COM Express type was designed to fulfill embedded solutions.

DFI’s EC500-SD series is a embedded system equipped with 6th Generation Intel Core i7/i5/i3 processors and Intel® Q170 chipset. It targets machine vision applications requiring high computing power and accurate real-time data transition with minimal footprint.

By Jonathan Wilkins, Marketing Director, EU Automation The need for the latest technology is also visible in the manufacturing sector as those working within it look to improve efficiency through Industry 4.0. This article discusses how the latest industrial trend, digital twinning, is shaping the future of manufacturing.

The MAR Series provides detailed information and in-depth analysis on the worldwide PLM market during 2016. It contains analyses of major trends and issues; revenues of PLM providers; and revenue analyses for geographical regions, industry sectors, and historical and projected data on market growth.

The survey found that over half (54%) of ICS companies interviewed have experienced at least one cyberattack in the last 12 months – with one-in-five (21%) experiencing two incidents in the same time frame.

Prior to accepting his leadership role at Dematic, Vercammen served as CEO and Managing Director of Egemin Group, headquartered in Zwijndrecht, Belgium, responsible for leading its team in the development, design and delivery of warehouse distribution systems.

When Tarmac asked Elite Control Systems to assist Siemens in providing them with a way to monitor the Stacker and Reclaimer’s activities through the plant’s existing control system, Elite devised a custom solution.

By Dr. Oliver Kleineberg, Hirschmann Automation and Control, a Belden brand As the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) continues to expand, its need for reliable and efficient control networks, free of bandwidth and latency issues, becomes even more important to support the large volumes of data – with and without real-time requirements – on which the phenomenon depends.

The modular CK design enabled the operator to tailor the actuator specification to precisely match the requirements of the application. The selection of CK actuators complete with Centronik digital control units required only the provision of a mains electricity supply to provide automation of the previously hand operated valves.

One of the top priorities for any manufacturing operation is the safety of workers and people living within the surrounding community.

The seminar titled “Siemens RF600: A Case Study,” will be co-presented with Caterpillar Inc. and will feature a recent project. The Siemens Automation Summit will take place June 26-29 at the Boca Raton Resort and Club, Waldorf Astoria Resort in Boca Raton, Florida.

A new suite of capabilities improves functionality across its portfolio of scalable MES applications based on the FactoryTalk ProductionCentre platform from Rockwell Automation. The portfolio includes FactoryTalk Production, FactoryTalk Performance, FactoryTalk Quality and soon FactoryTalk Warehouse applications.

The Digital Change Survey polled 750 decision makers in 16 countries, including more than 120 in North America, to assess the maturity of digital transformation in sectors such as manufacturing, oil and gas, aviation, construction and contracting, and service.

NFPA's mission is to reduce fire and other hazards via scientifically based consensus codes and standards, research, training, and education.

FG05M, an overview course that provides technicians, engineers and managers the basic understanding of industrial process measurement and control and a foundation for communicating with other control systems professionals, is now offered in a training format that delivers the same valuable information in small, computer-based chunks.

By Bob McIlvride, Skkynet Cloud Systems More and more companies are recognizing the value hidden in their process data, and are looking at ways to tap into it. If you need to provide access to OPC data on your plant system, say for analytics, predictive maintenance, or real-time dashboards, you'll need to secure your system from the kind of threat that WannaCry poses

By Scott A. Kortier, Schneider Electric Software Automation applications are benefiting from HMIs that have moved well beyond panel device replacers and are now collecting, filtering and displaying data from multiple machines or processes.

The result is intended to be a SCADA alarm notification and management solution with minimal development and configuration time.

Construction will be managed using Hexagon’s own enterprise construction solution, HxGN SMART Build, and is slated to begin this year, with completion targeted for 2020.

The challenge of the lack of interest in industrial careers by millennials is daunting.

A partnership announced between Rockwell Automation and ManpowerGroup will upskill 1,000 veterans per year by 2018, investing in the future workforce and creating a pool of certified talent for in-demand advanced manufacturing roles across the United States.

In this position, Cosio will be responsible for the company’s strategic direction and sales growth in Mexico. Additionally, he will be responsible for the operation of Yaskawa’s three facilities located in Mexico (Aguascalientes, Apodaca and Queretaro).

The event outlined GE's intended path to greater productivity for customers who take advantage of advances in the company’s Asset Performance Management (APM) and ServiceMax industrial applications, powered by Predix, GE’s platform for the Industrial Internet.

ASGMT is the largest gas measurement school in the United States devoted to natural gas and natural gas liquid measurement, pressure regulation, flow control and other measurement related arenas.

By John Rinaldi, Real Time Automation In their latest series of announcements, it’s clear that OPC UA is key to Microsoft’s strategy of entering and dominating the factory floor through its Azure cloud services.

Panacea Update Manager automates the process of deploying Microsoft patches on industrial networks by allowing only automation vendor approved patches to be deployed on the appropriate computers.

By Stefan Hoppe, OPC Foundation In November 2016, the Industrie 4.0 Platform published a checklist for classifying and advertising products as Industrie 4.0 “Basic,” “Ready,” or “Full”. To comply with the “Industrie 4.0 communication” criterion, even the lowest category requires the product to be addressable over the network via TCP/UDP or IP and to integrate at least the OPC UA information model.

The 2016 Process Instrumentation and Automation market in the United States, valued at $11.7 Billion, is projected to grow 3.6 percent by 2021 to a total of $14 Billion.

The 2017 Hannover Fair taught us one thing above all others. Manufacturing winners and losers will be defined by their understanding and application of Industry 4.0 and IoT solutions.

The data that is really needed when selecting and sizing a control valve is rarely understood and specified.

YuMi was a guest of ROBO Global LLC, which offers The ROBO Global Robotics and Automation Index Series, the index series to track the global robotics and automation market.

The addition of Nextnine’s security solutions and secure remote service capabilities will enhance the Company’s existing range of cyber security technologies.

The acquisition will better serve the needs of Meyer Industries’ customer-base by providing a larger platform of research, engineering and manufacturing resources

A rotary valve has a flow closure member that rotates in the flow stream to modify the amount of fluid passing through the valve.

This capability will enhance ABB’s ability to address trends toward bigger, more power-hungry data centers and industrial plants that require ever-larger UPS systems.

The lab will be used for proprietary research and development of cyber security technologies and products, hands-on training and certifications, and testing and validation of industrial cyber security solutions.

This tool provides a self-guided assessment for machine builders to measure their performance in the three pillars of industrial safety: culture (behavior), compliance (procedure) and capital (investment in contemporary technology).

An R&D program has been initiated there to discover new uses for the TC with help from a new automated process for winding coils.

By Matt Rendall, Host of Drive Manufacturing Summit The convergence of advanced technology and manufacturing processes requires an organizational leader. Someone who will research, advise, and embrace on capability and process. This leader will emerge as the Chief Robotics Officer (CRO).

Wireless Sensor Network for Building & Home Automation Market Viewed as Key For Successful Implementation of Smart Cities

The collaborative dual arm robot solution is designed to ensure the safety of those around it and elevate the nature of work at the plant by performing repetitive tasks to perfection.

Manufacturing technology executives will focus on ‘Empowering Manufacturing’s Future’ during the 2017 Global Automation & Manufacturing Summit on Tuesday, November 7 at the Integrated Automation, Motion & Drives trade show (IAMD USA) co-located with FABTECH 2017 in Chicago.

Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Cologne, Germany, FASys is a vendor of manufacturing software solutions, including DIN 4000/4003-based tool and resource management, and the integration of presetting and CNC machines (DNC).

By Kent Lennartsson, Research Manager, Kvaser AB The use of CAN began in the automotive industry and has since branched out into a multitude of sectors, including industrial automation. However, CAN in itself is not equipped to handle the control processes needed for this complex industry. Instead, a secondary, higher layer protocol was required to make adoption possible.

This intermediate-level book explains the application of basic and advanced regulatory control strategies for the wet process industries.

Safety professionals will hear how contemporary technologies that combine machinery and safety control into one platform can help to identify the root causes of downtime and stoppages. This can help increase efficiencies, improve product quality and make operations more responsive.

For the fourth consecutive year, Schneider Electric, a specialist in energy management and automation, was recognised as a Leader in ADMS systems by Gartner, Inc. in their Magic Quadrant for Advanced Distribution Management Systems report.

By Bill Dehner, AutomationDirect.com A recent study by the Identity Theft Resource Center concluded that in 2016 U.S companies and government agencies were breached 1,093 times. That’s a new record and a 40% increase from the 780 breaches in 2015.

The two organizations will work together to support cybersecurity workforce education and development for industry, energy, utilities, government, academia, and infrastructure.

ISA President Steven Pflantz encourages ISA members to make a more conscious effort to talk about ISA and their experience.

It may seem intimidating to sell to the government, but the opportunity is there if you are financially sound, well prepared, and persistent.

NEC 2002 defines an enclosure Type 4x as ideal for outdoor use and resistant to splashing water, windblown dust, hose directed water, and corrosion.

Over two days, Festo's course will assist leaders to identify opportunities for change within their own workplaces and help them recognise how and where to apply the principles of Industry 4.0.

ABB’s delivery includes mechanical equipment for the hoist plants and shafts, electrical and control equipment, construction, electrical installation, installation supervision, site management as well as commissioning.

The Rockwell Automation TechED event will feature over 750 hours of training, including hands-on labs, technical sessions and discussion forums. Attendees can learn about the techniques and technologies to maximize their manufacturing and production operations.

The move augments Thorlabs’ current research collaborations with Vincenzo Spagnolo, an expert in optical gas sensing and associate professor at the Technical University in Bari.

Focused on customers in the manufacturing, energy, building technology, healthcare and railway industries the partnership is intended to enable customers to benefit from new data insights and services based on MindSphere, the cloud-based, open IoT operating system from Siemens.

DTN is an independent source of insight and analysis, and decision-support solutions to more than 80,000 subscribers worldwide in agriculture, oil and gas, trading and weather-sensitive industries.

The industrial IoT solution is built on the FactoryTalk Cloud platform from Rockwell Automation, powered by Microsoft Azure. Rockwell Automation and Microsoft have long collaborated on solutions required for industrial digital transformation. The Metso solution is a direct result of these efforts.

The Liwa Plastics Industries Complex is being built in Sohar, on Oman’s northern coast. This package order is for 15 analyzer houses and associated analysis systems consisting of process analyzers and sampling instruments.

By Markus Brettschneider, ABB Food and Beverage This article explains how food plant managers can add a similar level of connectivity to retrofit most motors with smart sensors to bring their plants to the digital age.

By Jan Pingel & Matthew Burd, Honeywell Process Solutions One of the most important characteristics of a connected plant is the ability to increase and enhance collaboration to help solve previously unsolvable problems. The emergence of the cloud-based historian is a key component, therefore, to bringing the connected plant to life because it greatly enables this type of collaboration.

Edwards will begin his tenure at the Automation Federation on 26 June. Current Automation Federation Managing Director Mike Marlowe will continue with the organization as Managing Director Emeritus until his retirement in December.

The first step of the CLPA Security WG focuses on network security, especially when the user adopts the SeamLess Message Protocol (SLMP) and CC-Link IE Field Basic where general IP communication is used for both cyclic and transient communications.

As part of the investment, OSIsoft and SoftBank will collaborate on developing new products and services enabling digital transformation and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and strengthening OSIsoft’s presence in new markets.

Powerful market forces are driving exciting changes in the use and design of laboratory automation and robotics.

For this project, ABB will supply the production hoist and all related mechanical and electrical systems at the South shaft of the K3 mine. Mechanical equipment for the friction hoist will include ABB’s synchronous motor and ABB’s SIL 3 rated Safety Brake System to provide safety, security and reliability for hoist operation.

By George Schuster, Rockwell Automation Many safety teams, in comparison, are stuck in the dark ages. That’s because they still rely on antiquated data-collection and reporting techniques. A Connected Enterprise provides an opportunity to close this disparity – and revolutionize industrial safety through the use of safety data.

Mr. van Vuuren has been certified as a Certified Licensing Professional, and is currently in charge of service sales in the EMEA and APAC regions for Silicon Valley-based Harmonic, and will be a valuable asset in assisting Skkynet with complex partnership and sales negotiations.

One significant order involves the supply of 70 LP range linear pneumatic actuators for the operation of large gate valves. The order for these actuators includes the assembly and factory testing of local control panels with digital valve positioners.

Standardization has changed the game in many industries, making life easier for engineers and manufacturers alike. Nowhere has standardization been more keenly observed than in frame grabbers.

The technology cooperation agreement is aimed at testing and improving the use of technologies in power transmission, power distribution, telecom networks, control and instrumentation applications.

By Jonathan Wilkins, EU Automation The combination of data from multiple platforms is now possible because of the OPC UA protocol - an in-demand feature - as the Internet of Things (IoT) gains traction. This article discusses how the open source protocol OPC UA is beneficial for automation.

The program focused on how E&P companies can improve history matching, uncertainty management and quantification across the entire reservoir characterization workflow through Roxar Tempest ENABLE, Emerson’s history matching and uncertainty estimation software solution.

By Cory Fogg, Automation.com Smaller manufacturers wishing to automate, may not have all the specialists they need on staff. With hiring processes taking days or weeks, the FactoryFix automated platform is working to connect these manufacturers with specialists in minutes

The Rate-Predictive Control (RPC) algorithm earned a United States patent in 2016 and is an inherently adaptive (or “naturally self-tuning”) process control algorithm.

Real-time analytics enable manufacturers to make smarter, better, faster decisions to achieve greater productivity from existing equipment.

Okuma’s donation of $100,000 in machine tools to the engineering technology programs at Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC), enables students to gain valuable hands-on machining experience and the skill set needed to enter the manufacturing workforce

Fahrion will assume this role in addition to his leadership of the Edge Intelligence Communications Product Division of the company.

According to the Global IoT Decision Maker Survey published by International Data Corporation (IDC), nearly one-third (31 percent) of those surveyed have already launched IoT solutions, and another 43 percent are looking to deploy solutions in the next 12 months.

Using the Coriolis effect that causes a laterally vibrating tube to distort, a direct measurement of mass flow is obtainable using a Coriolis flowmeter.

The objective of the gathering was to examine operational technology/Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) cybersecurity challenges facing both the US and the UK.

The Fluke Pressure Calibration Tool Grant Program lets educators have a chance to win Fluke pressure calibration tools for their labs by giving Fluke’s product design team input on the specific challenges facing technicians working in the process industries.

This follows the acquisition of the Automated Technology Group (ATG), one of the UK’s largest independent suppliers of control and power solutions for industrial automation, in September 2015.

PCB's accelerometers were used by Lockheed Martin to measure the dynamic environment of the instrument platform in flight, and to characterize that environment to improve the interpretation of instrument data.

Nemaska Lithium is developing the Whabouchi spodumene deposit to meet the growing global demand for lithium batteries to be used in electric vehicles and energy storage systems, as well as in various consumer electronics.

This free June 6 session will explore emerging trends in material handling and the best ways to ensure that equipment is designed and operates reliably and safely.

The Puget Sound Electrical JATC team — students Matthew Pulk, Andrew Wissink, Pavel Lutsyuk, and Xerxes Shelly, and advisor Steve Uhrich — used Fluke Connect Wireless Sensors and software to provide the information necessary for re-commissioning a customer's solar photovoltaic system and confirming that the photovoltaic system generated the power anticipated.

Dual-simultaneous dispensing enables two Nordson ASYMTEK dispensing valves or jets mounted on a single Z-head to simultaneously dispense fluid at two locations to increase throughput. Automatic Dual Simultaneous (ADS) systems automatically adjust the relative positions of the two valves in X, Y, and Z axes.

In the U.S., the plan will add large-robot assembly capabilities to the systems integration and service operations already in place at the Sepro America operation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Leveraging ISA standards during the industrial project design phase can enable companies to achieve sustainable benefits.

ABB’s solar conversion technology is suitable for power ranges from small kW to multi-MW, and is backed up by a comprehensive package of communication, monitoring and control solutions, designed to maximize solar power profits and support across the entire life cycle of a project.

This addition of North Hills Signal Processing to the DDC family expands DDC’s transformer product and technology portfolio with MIL-STD-1553, RF wideband, interface and power magnetic solutions, along with expanded manufacturing capabilities and engineering resources.

Harris, is the winner of the International School of Hydrocarbon Measurement (ISHM) Memorial Award for his technical paper and presentation in 2016 discussing improving field calibration through integrated technologies.

Level 1 DCS overview displays can help eliminate keyhole & tunneling effect some operators may experience from focusing on level 2, 3 & 4 control graphics.

The AMCI by IDEC product line includes controllers, stepper motors, and integrated solutions for the FC6A MicroSmart PLC. Integration is a combination of two or more components that usually make up a system.

By Katherine Brocklehurst, Belden IT and OT are very different organizations that have begun to converge very rapidly. This convergence has led to conflict, perhaps which has even been felt in your organization. This article addresses a major cause of their conflict and how to start resolving the growing pains.

CBV expects to reduce plant operating costs by up to 30 percent and maintenance time by up to 40 percent when ABB Ability Electrical Distribution Control System is fully implemented at other locations.

SETPOINT’s technology gives BKV a solution for applications that require a fully API 670-compliant machinery protection system. It also provides BKV with condition monitoring solutions

DeVry University is expanding DeVry Bootcamp to include 11 online Advanced Manufacturing Programs in collaboration with 180 Skills, an online career and technical education company for the advanced manufacturing industry

The companies plan to offer RPA consulting services and solutions to customers in a broad range of industries, including banking, retail, security, healthcare and education.

The scope of the working group will include examining the overlap between business and production processes, engineering and process automation solutions.

DesignSpark Mechanical 3D modelling software tool was used in the development of the ‘Daedalus’ jet-engine flight suit, which was demonstrated at a recent TED conference in Vancouver

FCI Co-founders, Robert Deane and Malcolm McQueen along with Magnetrol’s Judy Stevenson were inducted into the Measurement, Control and Automation Hall of Fame during the MCAA Industry Forum last month in Atlanta.

Winners will be selected based on the three key pillars of a comprehensive safety program: a strong safety culture, well-executed compliance procedures, and effective use of current, machine-safety technology.

Comtrol’s IO-Link Masters are available in three industrial Ethernet protocols: EtherNet/IP, Modbus TCP and PROFINET IO, which are all capable of running OPC UA with MultiLink.

By Marius Mützel, Kistler Group In the past, fiber-reinforced plastics (FRPs) were mainly used in the aerospace sector −but in response to the trend towards boosting efficiency and optimizing resources, their use in the automotive industry is now increasing as well. It is essential to use lightweight construction materials so as to achieve the increased efficiency levels required by law, and also to reduce CO2 emissions.

According to the joint CIGI, ISOC and UNCTAD Global Survey on Internet Security and Trust, conducted by global research company Ipsos, before the latest attack, 6 per cent of Internet users globally had already been personally affected by ransomware, with Internet users in India, Indonesia, China and the United States the most likely to be affected.

The automotive sector is one of the main driving forces modernizing the French economy: with a robot density of 940 units per 10,000 workers, France currently ranks 2nd within the European Union - the UK ranks 10th with 606 units

This hands-on, interactive workshop is an extension of the Telecommunications Industry Association’s (TIA) Connectivity Jam and takes place June 8, 2017 in Dallas, Texas.

An improved cascade control structure with a modified Smith predictor is proposed for controlling open-loop unstable time delay processes.

The April 2017 event was a part of a regular schedule of interoperability events. It featured more than 20 devices from 13 different suppliers. These events provide ISA100 WCI member organizations an opportunity to validate the ISA100 Wireless brand promise of assured interoperability.

Bob and Mac began their partnership in 1964 with the development of a thermal flow switch designed to provide service in the the oil/gas industry. Starting in Mac’s home garage, the two engineers improvised with a kitchen candy thermometer, soldering iron, and a bowl of water to prove the validity of their initial sensor concept design and then began manufacturing the devices for a major U.S. oil company.

VIRES is a German-based, provider of simulation software solutions that support the development, testing and validation of driver-assisted and autonomous driving technology.

By Alan Grau and Dave West, Icon Labs Just as cyber-attacks take many forms and exploit a wide range of vulnerabilities in the target device, so too is cybersecurity multi-faceted. A fundamental, but often ignored, aspect of cybersecurity for IIoT devices is strong authentication.

Kepware and Microsoft’s industrial IoT solutions integrate with the help of OPC UA. KEPServerEX can move industrial control data to the Azure cloud platform by utilizing both OPC UA and MQTT via the Azure IoT Gateway SDK and Azure IoT Hub.

OMEGA Engineering sponsored the Sim-City robotics team from Simsbury High School. The team ranked 19 out of the 68 teams in their division at the 4-day FIRST Robotics National Championship in St. Louis, Missouri from April 26 through April 29.

By Alex West, IHS Markit Overall, a number of themes could be discerned at HANNOVER MESSE this year, including cost-cutting, production efficiency, downtime reduction, quicker time-to-market, product customization, and lower development costs.

The directive now provides a recognised, international common basis if there is need for clarification among project partners. Furthermore, the directive will help mitigate language barriers: Each paragraph is printed in both languages side by side. The tables have the same structures in both languages.

The objective is to strengthen and further build up the business area of material logistics with the broadened product portfolio. Super Dry Totech offers solutions in dry storage with a broad range of desiccant dry cabinets and the automated Dry Tower handling & storage system.

The study found more than three-quarters (76 percent) of Americans surveyed believe the U.S. should invest further in the manufacturing industry.

An enhanced PID controller simplifies tuning and improves loop stability and reliability for loops dominated by discontinuous measurement updates.

Transitioning from Manual to Automated Conformal Coating, by Michael Szuch, Nordson ASYMTEK and Optimizing the Plasma Treatment Process Prior to Conformal Coating to Eliminate ESD Induced Failures, by David Foote, Nordson MARCH, will be presented on Wednesday, May 24, 2017.

The industrial routers mbNET, mbNET.mini and the remote service portal mbConnect24 now support the discovery facilities of different PLC systems, also over the Internet. The thinking behind these features is the ability of common programming systems to find existing controllers in the network without known or assigned IP address.

The company will award free Extrovert 4G-equipped Logic Supply industrial computers to as many as five of the most exciting project proposals submitted to their "Be an Extrovert" contest.

The three-day class, from June 6-8, will focus on physics of flow and various flow measurement technologies available, along with a basic understanding of digital communications. The course will be a combination of classroom and hands-on training.

The core components of the new EDC are the 20m-high high-bay warehouse and the highly automated picking. The high-bay warehouse’s area of 4,500 square meters offers space for 6,500 pallets and around 120,000 warehouse containers and is operated fully automatically and in a paperless way, among others by employing RFID technology.

Prior to joining 3eTI, Iyer was vice president with at Honeywell Aerospace where he led international and domestic aerospace and defense programs. Before joining Honeywell, he served in the US Air Force for more than 17 years in several top leadership positions.

Lenze has joined forces with the IoT specialist ei3 to offer a combination of remote analysis and remote maintenance services. It is a white label product which means that there is no visible evidence of the ei3 brand, and the product appears under the name and logo of the OEM.

A magnetic flowmeter is a volumetric flowmeter, which does not have any moving parts and is ideal for wastewater applications or any dirty liquid.

FCI offers a range of application solutions from off-the-shelf devices to custom-engineered systems. They combine flow measurement accuracy with a design that is compatible with caustic, corrosive, humid and high temperature environments.

Using the TaskMaster infeed system with Braille module, cartons are fed, aligned, embossed, and transferred to the folder gluer all in one operation – at up to 1000 feet per minute. This unit can either run offline or be put directly in front of an existing folder gluer.

By Rick Delgado, Freelance Automation Writer Threat hunting is becoming more and more popular in the business industry. When it is done correctly, the concepts, processes and strategies are of critical importance to the security of an organization.

Smart Industry Solutions India from 13 – 15 December 2017 in Mumbai will target end-to-end solutions that will address the needs of smart manufacturing. This new exhibition format will cover future factory, automation systems, technology and solutions, as well as hydraulics & pneumatics.

DS2 is a self-contained start-to-finish production facility for small and medium lathes, and grinders. This is the second smart factory built at Okuma’s headquarters, following the Dream Site 1 (DS1), which was completed in May 2013.

By Johannes Petrowisch, COPA-DATA Today, advancements in connectivity and the introduction of cloud computing are making monitoring industrial environments a lot more sophisticated. As we enter the era of the smart factory, this article will discusses the benefits of cloud computing for the manufacturing industry.

The competition – created to recognize and reward the high levels of innovation in the packaging industry – was split into five categories: ease of use, modular machines, smart machines, sustainability, and traceability and product safety.

The IPS Corpus Christi Service Center is one of seven IPS service centers supporting industry in the Gulf Coast Region including Houston, TX, Beaumont, TX, Sulphur, LA, Shreveport, LA, Birmingham, AL and Dothan, AL.

Telit IoT University, part of the company’s IoT Know How suite of consultative services, is designed to teach customers and partners how to succeed in launching IoT solutions that deliver measurable business outcomes.

Learn how to document “one-sided” calibrations, such as pH/ORP and gas sensors/analyzers. The approach can apply to meters, DCS and PLC inputs.

This recently completed extension offers an additional 25,000 square meters of space for offices and production, which brings the facility to a total of 74,500 square meters. Endress+Hauser Process Solutions AG, the competence center for process automation and digital communication, is also housed in the new facility.

Red Trident, an industrial control systems (ICS) cyber security and process automation firm focused on protecting critical infrastructure, has joined the Bedrock Automation Systems Integration Network.

The webinar, which will be held from 12PM to 1:30PM EST on 8 June 2017, will feature two calibration experts: Ned Espy, Technical Director at Beamex; and Roy Tomalino, Calibration Engineer at Beamex.

On May 11, President Trump and the White House announced a presidential executive order on the strengthening of cybersecurity efforts for federal networks and infrastructure.

ISA President Steven Pflantz says ISA members can learn from the bright, extremely motivated youth participating in FIRST and other STEM programs.

In the new "Arena of Digitalization" covering an area of more than 800 square meters, Siemens is now showing customers and partners how digitalization is used in metalworking and motor production and what results can be achieved with it.

By addressing risk in key areas, companies can effectively manage brand-critical safety, quality, security and obsolescence challenges at their source. An e-book outlining the four key areas of risk management is available on the Rockwell Automation website.

The new website is intended to form the basis for stronger digital interaction with customers. It is also part of a comprehensive, multi-year global digitalization strategy.

By Jonathan Wilkins, EU Automation With the introduction of driverless cars by brands such as BMW and Google, safety is being revolutionised through autonomy. But what can other industries learn from this? This article discusses how new technology and increased automation improves safety across sectors.

The specification provides device manufacturers with an official foundation to implement EtherCAT P technology, which enables data and power transmission on a single, standard cable.

The OPC Foundation European Certification lab has successfully been accredited and the first successful certified product was a Siemens RFID reader.

An all-time high total of 9,773 robots valued at approximately $516 million were ordered from North American robotics companies during the first quarter of 2017. This represents growth of 32 percent in units over the same period in 2016, which held the previous record. Order revenue grew 28 percent over the first quarter of last year

As the future approaches, next generation analytics and artificial intelligence technologies will support data and real time decision making at the point of production. This on demand webinar will discuss this evolution and how to protect the data and drive organizational success with IIoT

This most recent acquisition strengthens Ritter's commitment to providing engineered hydraulic and pneumatic products to its customer base in the greater Detroit area.

Transforming an industrial plant’s calibration system to a fully automated system.

An independent jury, with representatives from the research, business, and specialist media organization, awarded the 2017 golden manus trophy, along with a €5,000 prize to California based Pathway LLC for its design for manufacturing of the Airframe exoskeleton, developed by Levitate Technologies, Inc.

This business and technology will primarily support further development of Aventics’ commercial vehicle sector. In addition, VHtek technologies and the increased R&D capacities provided by the owners and employees of VHtek, will further benefit Aventics core sectors such as Industrial Automation, Life Sciences, Energy, Food & Beverage, and Railway Technologies.

Microsoft has provided, in conjunction with the OPC Foundation, an set of sample applications, inclusive of reference clients, reference servers, an aggregation server, an OPC classic wrapper and a web application to quickly display OPC UA telemetry data sent to the cloud.

Real-time optimization with a detailed process model is the best approach to fining the most efficient operating points.

Turck licensed U Grok It’s technology for its PD-IDENT handheld reader (Turck part number: PD-IDENT-UHF-RUG-MOBILE-860-960) in 2016, allowing customers to use their iOS and Android devices to track, control, and manage RFID applications. By investing in this technology, Turck continues to support the platform and development tools for both Turck and U Grok It customers.

The competition provides students, from grades 9 through 12, with the opportunity to use sophisticated software and hardware, learn from professional engineers, collaborate, earn recognition, and qualify for millions of dollars in college scholarships. In all, approximately 83,000 students on 3,336 teams from 25 countries competed in FIRST competitions during the 2017 season.

By John Murdoch, Alfacon Solutions At lower wages, it was more difficult to cost-justify the automation expense. Management could throw more labor at the volume issue. Now with much higher labor rates (not including health insurance, workers’ compensation, vacation time, and safety concerns), conveyor automation is axiomatic and needed more than ever before.

The Achilles Test Platform helps manufacturers of mission critical infrastructure solutions ensure that their products are less vulnerable to cyberattacks. The Bedrock SCC has achieved Achilles Level 2 certificatio

ANL Plastics is a European manufacturer of thermoformed plastic packaging products. ANL Plastics, headquartered in Wellen, Belgium, has three manufacturing plants in Europe, enabling distribution across the continent.

The awards were presented during ABB’s annual Robotics Value Provider Conference the week of April 4th in Chicago, IL. Accepting the awards were Ryan Okelberry, Co-owner, House of Design; Claudimar Bortolin, CEO, Torfresma Industrial; and Lance Guymon, Engineering Manager and Drew Akey, Project Manager, both of Wolf Robotics.

AES needed an expert integrator who knew the demands of recycling firsthand, with an engineering staff that could coordinate the equipment and automate the entire facility. Vecoplan, an industry provider of building and automating recycling technology, knew it could take on that project.

Exchange is a curated library of reusable IoT elements, including services, products and content, designed to enable industrial manufacturers to solve common IoT challenges

By Tom Gilheany, Learning@Cisco The manufacturing sector has the dubious distinction of being the second-largest target of cyber criminals; only healthcare surpasses it. This article discusses how this may shape manufacturing trends and regulations in 2017

The initiative is aligned around a common goal: the simplification and standardization of Industrial IoT edge computing, while still allowing the ecosystem to add significant value.

Aranda was presented with the award, which is worth 5,000 euros, at the opening ceremony of the WoMenPower conference by Yasmin Fahimi, State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, and Deutsche Messe’s Managing Board Chairman Dr. Wolfram von Fritsch.

Logical & careful planning of loop testing strategies results in improved control performance without compromising plant quality, reliability, or safety.

Each year, ISA’s technical division symposia events bring together innovators, thought leaders and other automation and control professionals from around the world to explore the latest technologies, trends and best practices.

Of the show’s 225,000 attendees (up from 217,000 in 2015 as the most recent comparable event), more than 75,000 came from abroad. The next HANNOVER MESSE will run from 23 to 27 April 2018, with Mexico as its official Partner Country.

In a recent survey published by GBC, the keynote speakers of the IIoT and Digital Solutions for oil and gas conference (OMV, Eni, Petronas and Halliburton) have mentioned that the mind-set change in integrating the IT in the overall business strategy and the breakdown of cultural and technical silos will leverage the speed of the opportunities in this sector and will deeply transform the legacy operations.

The partnership enables device manufacturers to manage PKI certificates throughout the product lifecycle using the OPTIGA TPM, including support for certificate injection during device manufacturing.

Exosite’s combination of Murano and Exchange was designed to help industrial manufacturers like Parker develop a centralized approach to IoT implementation that focuses on standardization, reuse and internal collaboration.

In the first two years, the Chinese government will be inviting all manufacturing companies in South China to attend conferences, training sessions and networking events at the Robotation Academy.

The tech center shares the 75,000 sq. ft. facility with Toyoda’s Remanufactured Products Division (RPD). Dedicated much to the repairing and remanufacturing of machines since the 1970’s, RPD will continue to specialize in returning overworked machining centers to OEM specifications.

The Reshoring Initiative, an organization working to return manufacturing jobs to the USA, estimates that as many as one million jobs can be returned based on objective cost analysis.

Researchers propose a new adaptive neural network based control scheme for switched linear systems with parametric uncertainty and external disturbance.

By Bill Lydon, Editor, Automation.com We've received a number of comments and questions from vendors about The Open Group's effort to push for open process automation standards. Tn the aim of encouraging more discussion on the topic, we're sharing some of these questions in order to provide some more clarity on its importance.

By Alan Grau, Icon Labs Just as societies without strong law enforcement result in higher crime rates and vigilante justice, lax security results in increased cybercrime.

Impulse lines connect the process to the pressure transmitter, to reduce the effect of ambient temperature on the transmitter's operability and life span.