Articles and News

Signal characterization in a DCS can solve problems resulting from signal characterization in the valve positioner.

IDTechEx says the RFID market - including tags, readers, software and services, for passive and active RFID - will grow from $7.88 billion in 2013 to $9.2 billion in 2014

Previously, Guitart led a large global R&D team at TECO-Westinghouse Motor Company.

Quest Components will be a franchised distributor of high-power standard, fast and super-fast recovery rectifiers, low-power and bridge rectifiers, diacs, IGBT modules, SCRs, Triacs, TVS and Zener diodes.

IniTECH incorporated the Assured Automation stainless steel angle body valve into batching systems for the flavor, fragrance and beauty care industries.

The PLC/Programming Learning Package provides Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) hands-on training for schools, universities, individual study and company employee education.

By Alex Mills, Chess Logistics Technology Warehouse management systems have come a long way in the last 25 years and the latest versions far surpass their predecessors in terms of performance, sophistication and the value they can deliver to a business. And yet the market is slowing down.

Bürkert Werke, KHS GmbH, Phoenix Contact, SAG GmbH and Sensitec GmbH have been nominated for the Hermes award.

The survey found that supply chain executives want to invest in powerful new technologies and business innovations to improve their supply chains, but are hampered by a shortage of qualified talent and never-ending pressure to cut costs.

The order includes Metso's Neles rotary and globe valves and Jamesbury valves, including control, on-off and safety valves.

Sandhöfner took over from Frank Winter, who led the company in Germany since its founding in 1983. Winter will continue to assist the company in an advisory capacity.

Honeywell's HBS Building Solutions and HPS Process Solutions have been appraised at Maturity Level 5 of Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI).

Metso will supply a DNA automation system, a safety system, and links to Neste Oil's existing systems, as well as automated on-off and emergency shutdown (ESD) valves.

Are Smart Devices in a Plant Your Most Valuable Assets?

The building automation & control systems market in India is anticipated to grow threefold in revenue terms by 2019, at a rate of 21.7% during 2014-19.

SIS hardware was the largest market in 2012, accounting for 49% of total revenues. However, now the SIS services market is set to become the highest dollar value safety market.

The C RS T cable entry seals are for single cable or pipe penetrations and allow the routing of pre-terminated cables without cutting or splicing.

Deutschmann attained certification to the current PROFINET 2.2 and GSDML 2.25 specifications for the UNIGATE IC and UNIGATE CL series.

Toth is vice president and managing director of Rosenberger-Toth in Pennsauken, New Jersey.

The system will ensure the fully automated transport and storage of finished Moduleo vinyl flooring between production, warehouse and dispatch.

By Bill Lydon, Editor Pharmaceutical automation leaders from around the world gathered to discuss a number of automation challenges, including how their companies are dealing with reduced personnel and the need to support multiple technologies at multiple sites. This article highlights those conversations and addresses the automation support models and the use of managed services.

MAC Solutions uses an eWON Talk2M Virtual Private Network router to provide remote diagnostics with good security.

MA and NAM say they are making significant progress toward achieving a five-year goal to award 500,000 industry-based certifications to individuals.

MotionCompass web-based application helps provide mini motor solutions based on unique motion requirements for various applications.

A Sneak Preview of ISA’s New Website and Enhanced User Experience

Lambert is a manufacturer of conventional palletizers for over 66 years, introducing the first automatic palletizer to the North American market in 1948.

UL introduced the new norm to test appliance switches (previously under UL1054). By mid-2015 new products have to comply to UL61058.

The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) will use the SCADA system to monitor the city’s water distribution network and wastewater facilities.

Do not let the integrator take the system through a scripted test sequence to prove its functionality.

The seminar on 18 April, 2014 titled, “Protecting Our Nation’s Critical Infrastructure: How are your mitigating the risk of a cyberattack?” will take place at the Northern Illinois University Naperville campus.

InTech Plus mobile app for the Apple iPad enables automation professionals to rapidly access, scan and digest a diverse range of technical and educational content.

More than 70 automation and control professionals gathered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA at the inaugural ISA Food and Pharmaceuticals Industries Division (FPID) Symposium.

Tom J. Donohue, CEO and President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Jay Timmons, CEO and President of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) will attend.

January U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $158 million, up 14.5 percent from December’s total and down 10.6 percent from January 2013.

PENTA manufactures medical embedded PC systems and monitors.

The guide covers flow measurement in six major industries: power, chemical, oil and gas, pulp and paper, metals and mining, and food and beverage.

Cybersecurity – one of the 10 trends impacting the future of ISA

The “Drag & Drop” Flat Cable Configurator allows a user to easily design a custom cable in just minutes.

Industrial Defender is a provider of cyber security solutions for control systems in the oil and gas, utility and chemical industries.

By Bruce Nicolson, Intelligent Plant EEMUA 191 Revision 3 has revised requirements in terms of generating and representing KPIs. Alarm Management professionals and engineers responsible for control systems on process plants should therefore be aware of these changes and how to interpret them

The Design Group Columbus office will specialize in process design, process automation, regulatory compliance, control system integration, and other technology services.

Modular liquid-cooled drives and PLCs from ABB have been included in VARD ELECTRO’s innovative, application-specific propulsion and thruster power solutions for offshore supply vessels.

MAVERICK Technologies has joined MESA as a Platinum Keystone Sponsor.

By Macro Sensors Temperature effects can be significant in certain specific applications such as aircraft, subsea and turbomachinery. That’s why it is is important to know the effects that temperature has on LVDT Sensors.

FIELDVUE DVC6200 Series digital valve controller has racked up more than 1 billion hours of on-line use within the process and energy industries since its introduction in 2010.

ISA Training and Education Programs for April

The Dow Chemical Company specialty chemicals plant located in Deer Park, Texas, USA, won the 2013 HART Plant of the Year Award.

ISA will conduct a conference in June 2014 to help corporations and operators of critical infrastructure better protect their systems and networks from potentially destructive cyber attacks.

Rotork IQ electric valve actuators and a local control centre control three sluice gates at Canford School, protecting it from flooding by a river.

MicroStrain Sensing Systems provides embedded sensing systems for aerospace and industrial markets.

Overall industrial growth in Asia is higher than that of the American market, as has been the case for a number of years. Machine-safety in Asia is also playing catch-up.

By Chad Sullivan, 5 Star measurement, et al Five Star Measurement of Weatherford, Texas uses Software Toolbox's Electronic Flow Measurement (EFM) Suite to remotely monitor and manage more than 700 wellheads as an initial stage that may eventually expand to 6,000 sites.

By Mike Roberts, LNS Research Today’s manufacturing environment exudes more data than most companies know what to do with. While this data can be one of your greatest assets, in many cases it’s surfacing as a source of confusion and proving too difficult and costly to manage. For many, IT architecture is actually the foremost challenge for achieving visibility into manufacturing operations.

AIS HMI Embedded Technology Designed To Meet Challenging Substation IEC 61850-3 Compliance Standards for Shock and Vibration Resistance, EMI and Wide Temperature Ranges

Güdel is a manufacturer of robotic automation products, including linear motion modules, robot track motion units, gantry robots and components.

January U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $365.06 million, down 25.2% from December but up 1.3% when compared with the total of $360.31 million reported for January 2013.

By Bill Lydon, Editor Late last year, Siemens rolled-out of its new Cyber Security Managed Services in the United States. This new offering is aimed at providing continuous, comprehensive cyber protection for production environments. Siemens plans to subsequently introduce this service in Europe and Asia.

The agreement covers lifecycle management services, remote diagnostic services and scheduled maintenance for two gearless mill drives (GMD).

Jaw crusher is one of the most common crushing devices internationally, which is ideal for primary and secondary crushing. The maximum compressive strength of the machine can provide is 320Mpa. It is mainly used in industries of mining, metallurgy, construction, civil engineering and chemistry.

What are the Benefits of Multiproduct Manufacturing in the Biopharmaceutical Industry?

Classes typically are a combination of classroom and hands-on training covering various aspects of process safety, including P&ID drawings, hazard and operability (HAZOP) studies, Safety Integrity Level (SIL), Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS), Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA), and similar topics.

Catalog covers signal conditioning, data acquisition, and data communication products, including descriptions, block diagrams, specifications, and ordering information.

Valve position control can be implemented in a matter of hours to start optimizing the efficiency or capacity of a unit operation.

By Bill Lydon, Editor The OPC Foundation held their General Assembly meeting on December 4, 2013. Dr. Grant Wilson of Emerson Process Management and Foundation Chairman of the OPC Board opened the meeting, and Tom Burke summarized the Foundation’s current successes as accelerating adoption of OPC technology, successful OPC certification program, IEC standardization, and continuous improvement.

The European Smart Pumps Market for the Water and Wastewater Industry earned revenues of $192.4 million in 2013 and is predicted to reach $267.9 million in 2018.

The Field Communication Lounge creates a single area for visitors to learn about and experience the latest in field communication and integration technologies.

ISA developed a course in March and August for non-maintenance personnel with little or no background in the field of process measurement and control.

Economist Alan Beaulieu will deliver the keynote address at the 2014 Executive Conference of the Control System Integrators Association, April 23 – 26, in San Diego, Cal., U.S.

The US Food and Drug Administration incorporated ISA/IEC 62443 series of security standards to its recognized consensus standards list.

Spirax Sarco provides expertise, service, products and turnkey solutions for the control and efficient use of steam, air, and other industrial fluids for industrial and commercial users worldwide.

Symach Palletizers, based in Terneuzen, The Netherlands, supplies end-of-line palletizing and load-securing technology.

The unit offers a range of services for material handling and mechanical power transmission systems that includes diagnostics, education/training, system design, installation, monitoring and repair/rebuild.

Energy Metrics uses EXELE TopView alarm management and notification software to monitor measurements from HVAC, temperature control, chilled water systems and electrical distribution systems.

B&B's Spectre 3G cellular router starter kit now includes a 3-month data plan from KORE's GSM or CDMA North American 3G cellular network.

Since adopting KEPServerEX communications platform, the food production system integrator has been able to improve interoperability and reduce production facility downtime for its customers.

What Test Equipment Should You Use in a Hazardous Area?

Universal Robots was able to embed the motors directly into the articulation axes of UR 5 and UR 10 robots without need for additional housings.

The survey results indicate that educational programs are helping to increase awareness of the dangers of counterfeit electrical products.

Astronics acquired the assets and liabilities of EADS North America's Test and Services division (EADS T&S) for approximately $53 million in cash .

The brochure highlights the actuator’s performance capabilities in process control applications, including power plants and oil and gas.

By Mike Fahrion, B&B Electronics Ten commandments—rules, that is—for wireless communications. Covers RF power, frequency, long range reception, noise, rain, interference, antenna placement and more.

Total sales of machine vision components and systems grew over nine percent in 2013, more than double the initially forecasted growth according to AIA, the industry’s trade group.

SSG Series Industrial UPS and SSG-RP Series High Temperature UPS product families have achieved UL 508 listing.

Cyber attacks on industrial operations are a growing concern with potential to disrupt the economy and do harm.

By Bill Lydon, Editor Big data is a term used to describe large, complex collections of data sets. Big data is a hot topic in business, manufacturing, and IT circles because, if utilized correctly, it provides an opportunity for companies to improve efficiency and productivity. The challenge for many organizations is that in order for big data to be used most effectively, the organizational silos within companies need to cooperate.

Carometec produces touch screen control panels, contained in a stainless steel enclosure, for use in slaughterhouses where they get pressure hosing at a temperature of over 80°C to kill all bacteria.

PcVue HMI software monitors and supervises 400 fermentation tanks at champagne maker Veuve Clicquot in France.

Lauren Robeson will be overseeing product launches and communicating with the media in her role as the company's Public Relations Specialist.

Endress+Hauser acquired additional shares in German-based Analytik Jena AG and now owns 50.37 percent of the shares.

The MTConnect Institute, which was founded by AMT, is one of the industry partners in the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute (DMDI), to be located in Chicago.

Set a precedent of mutual respect and professionalism from the very beginning. Once the precedent for a relationship has been set, it is difficult to change.

A 10.4% growth in revenues in 2011 was overshadowed by a return to reality in 2012: the Eurozone continues to emerge from a prolonged recession and the Chinese juggernaut showed signs of slowing late in the year.

The Automation Engineering Survival Training: Integrator Version (AESTIV) will take place 31 March 2014 through 4 April 2014 at ISA headquarters in North Carolina.

SCADA systems were traditionally “walled off” from other systems operating independently from the network. Prior to the awareness of possible attacks, this seemed to provide all the protection the SCADA system needed. They were largely proprietary systems with such limited access and esoteric coding that very few people would have the ability to access them to launch an attack. Over time, however, they became integrated into the larger company network as a means to leverage their valuable data and increase plant efficiency. Therefore, the reality is their security is now often only as strong as the security of the network.

eWON offers industrial VPN routers and Ethernet modems for remote access to PLCs and machines.

The system will be used for power optimization and visualization; simulating maintenance operations; incident playback and analysis; and optimizing balance between loss minimization and power system stability.

New members of Sercos include Innovasic, Festo, Beijing Shouke Catchet Electrical Technology, STGCON New Energy Technology and Huangzhou Wahaha Group.

The series of six free seminars and interactive panel discussions will be held 10-11 March 2014 in the New York City area to explain the importance and implications of the US Cybersecurity Framework.

Transparency Market Research says the market was valued at USD 17.12 billion in 2012, and is expected to reach USD 28.69 billion by 2019, growing at a rate of 7.7 percent from 2013 to 2019.

Featuring more than 1,300 items, the 292-page, full-color glossy catalog covers existing and new products in categories such as Specialty Tools, Video Inspection, Electrical and many more.

The companies are officially "joining" through a "strategic alliance" agreement to provide turnkey manufacturing solutions.

The new plant will build compact power substations, motors, generators, drive systems, measurement equipment and low-voltage products.

By Okuma White paper describes Okuma's Super-NURBS programming functionality that meets high-accuracy finish requirements while speeding up cycle times.

Getting Your MES Project Right the First Time

Crestwood will use Flow-Cal’s software as their corporate measurement solution to manage their natural gas and petroleum products.

NGLTech develops solutions for the improvement and enhancement of processes in upstream oil & gas.

20 students were provided scholarships covering tuition and stationary expenses for the first year of their graduation courses in engineering, R&D or manufacturing.

The mSC free web-based service gives OEMs, machine builders and system integrators a secure, easy and cost-effective way to access machines and systems anywhere in the world over the Internet.

This article focuses on the moving magnet voice coil style of actuators and compares it with other short stroke linear motion technologies, in order to choose the best component for the specific application. The discussion includes moving coil voice coil actuators, moving magnet voice coil actuators, solenoids and piezo actuators.

The world market for miniature circuit breakers and residual current devices (MCBs and RCDs) is projected to go up, to nearly $10 billion in 2018.

By Bill Lydon, Editor The term reshoring is being used to describe the act of companies bringing back desirable jobs to the United States – those jobs that have been lost to decades of offshoring. This is all well and good, but U.S. companies should not lose sight of the fact that automation is the key to increased productivity and quality.

A comprehensive asset management system enables operations and maintenance personnel to quickly access and analyze information in response to alarms and incidents.

The calculator, based on Microsoft Excel, allows users to quickly and simply generate an estimate of potential savings on a production line as a result of OEE improvements.

The free workshop teaches the essential elements of Safety Instrumented Systems including how to comply with myriad safety requirements. The workshop is available in a two-day classroom in Calgary, or as a three-day webinar.

Use tieback models, modeling objects and online adaptation of dynamics and parameters to achieve the fidelity needed for simulation applications.

Each of the 120 Intertec cabinets on Shell’s ‘Prelude’ floating liquefied natural gas project incorporates a unique form of semi-passive cooling technology.

Scott Trumbull will retire as Chief Executive Officer effective May 2, 2014 and Gregg C. Sengstack will succeed him in that role.

IFR estimates that in 2013 about 168,000 industrial robots were sold, 5% more than in 2012. Asia and U.S. were up, Europe was down.

Overall, things are looking up for the manufacturing industry in the coming year with an anticipated increase in orders, production and exports.

At Embedded World 2014 in Nuremberg (hall 2, booth 110), Fujitsu will present the whole family.

Ningbo Fortune Petrochemical, a Chinese petrochemical producer, selected UOP's C3 Oleflex process technology to convert propane to propylene.

Prior to selecting Epicor ERP, Taco used a legacy system for the last 17 years that could no longer support increased operations due to a combination of in-house applications and multiple code modifications.

Emerson will provide a DeltaV Operator Training Solution (OTS) for BP’s Quad 204 North Sea FPSO replacement project.

By Bill Lydon, Editor On February 11, 2014, along with dozens of other journalists from all over the world, I attended the 2014 Hannover Fair Preview Event in Berlin, Germany. The primary focus of the preview event, as well as the upcoming Hannover Messe, is the next steps for achieving the vision of integrated industry, also known as Industry 4.0 or the 4th Industrial Revolution.

Armstrong International is a manufacturer of steam, gas, and hot water systems.

Valeo will use LED-based detection technology to develop a new infrared sensor for vehicle road obstacle detection and tracking functions.

Harting's manufacturing plant in Elgin, IL, has been AS9100C accredited by UL/DQS for the manufacture of both backplanes and cable assemblies.

How Can Advanced Calibration Strategies Improve Control Performance?

Simatic S7-1518F has a 10 MB user memory and four communication interfaces: Profinet interface with a 2-port switch for communication with the field level, two Profinet interfaces, and one Profibus interface.

Logo! 8 replaces current series 6 and 7 and is characterized by simplified handling, reduced space requirements with more digital and analog outputs, as well as an improved price-performance ratio.

The Simatic IPC347D industrial PCs are particularly suitable for the production environment where greater robustness is required compared to office PCs.

ET200AL distributed I/Ohas a high IP67 degree of protection, a particularly compact design, a small space requirement and low weight.

Services range from mobile inspection of individual components, such as motors and gearboxes, to continuous online monitoring of the entire drive train.

At Hannover, Siemens presents a drive system in a single product consisting of a Flender standard industry planetary gear unit (SIP), a Simogear geared motor and a Sinamics G110M inverter.

Simotics VSD10 motors are optimized for operation with Sinamics G120 frequency converters.

The liquid-cooled solution transfers its heat almost completely to the cooling liquid instead of dissipating it into the surroundings.

Siemens presents Simogear geared motors with integrated Sinamics G110M frequency inverter at Hannover Messe.

Under the banner “Making things right,” the 3,500 square meter Siemens booth in Hall 9 will be providing an overview of its portfolio catering to customers from all walks of industry.

A team from Walker Career Center in Indianapolis has won a trip to Hanover, Germany, in Phoenix Contact’s Nanoline Contest.

The system will enable Statoil personnel onshore to continuously monitor the new fixed platform’s critical and essential pumps, compressors and other mechanical equipment to maximize efficiency and identify any potential problems before they affect production.

The Absolut Vodka distillation process is now under control of ABB’s System 800xA. It provides trend data, asset monitoring and Smart Client information management.

Statoil will use Proficy SmartSignal predictive-diagnostic software and services to improve the uptime and increase the reliability of heavy rotating equipment such as gas turbines, generators and compressors.

CeMAT will be held from 19 to 23 May 2014 in Hannover, Germany.

A government grant and PMMI’s Mechatronics Certificate program will support training for more than 300 individuals as mechatronics technicians and industrial machinery mechanics at Purdue University Calumet.

By Bill Lydon, Editor Ted Krevis of Sherwin Williams gave an enthusiastic presentation about their HMI software implementation at Inductive Automation’s Ignition User Conference last fall. I had the opportunity to talk personally with Krevis and the Lead Software Developer about their experiences using Ignition software. Below is a synopsis of my interview.

ERD electric cylinders are IP69K rated with an USDA Accepted Equipment Certification for meat (livestock), poultry, and dairy food processing applications.

igus retrofit a car with 56 iglide bearings, and now igus is putting them to the test on a 20 country, 9 month world tour.

Yokogawa wil supply a CENTUM VP integrated production control system for the monitoring and control of all plant facilities at a combined cycle power plant being built for UTE in Punta del Tigre.

The ship will be the world’s largest Moss-type LNG carrier and will be used for transporting LNG from an onshore LNG processing plant that is being constructed as part of the Ichthys LNG project.

What's the Best Way to Integrate Packaged Equipment into Plant SCADA Systems?

By Bill Lydon, Editor Cyber-attacks of automation systems are increasing while the industry is broadening the attack surface with more IP-based Ethernet networks. The need to integrate information from controllers with business systems and the implementation of cyber security defenses are working against each other.

In the automated parking system by serva, a robotic system takes over the transportation and parking of cars, making it fast, easy and safe.

The official rollout of the US Cybersecurity Framework represents the completion of a successful partnership effort among The White House, the Automation Federation and ISA.

Roslan joined ProSoft Technology in 2008 as a Product Marketing Manager and has had increasing responsibilities since then.

An engineer is as dependent on the vendors as they are dependent upon the engineer.

Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU will exhibit a model factory and present research on "E3-Research Factory Resource-efficient Production” at Hannover.

The site provides tools, white papers, and energy reduction solutions to address the energy challenges faced by the manufacturing sector.

Easily installed using a single cable network, CC-Link IE Energy can control entire production systems and feed real-time production information to enterprise management IT systems.

HART, FDT Group, Fieldbus Foundation, ISA100 Wireless Compliance Institute, OPC Foundation and PI (PROFIBUS & PROFINET International) will be at Hannover Messe.

Global shipments for motion control products fell by 5% in 2013, according to statistics released by the Motion Control Association (MCA), the industry’s trade group.

To develop specific approaches to the implementation of Industry 4.0, Festo is involved in a number of collaborative research projects that deal with various aspects of future production.

Festo is demonstrating three unique application concepts at the 2014 Hanover Fair.

Beckhoff will show its complete range of solutions and latest innovations in the areas of IPCs, I/O, Motion and automation in 10,800 square feet at Hannover Messe.

Harting Technology Group is a member of "Smart FactoryKL," a consortium of technology leaders and research institutions that has set itself the goal of making the benefits of Industry 4.0 technologies a reality for users.

Harting Technology Group will exhibit three modules from the FlexiMon Flexible Assembly Concept which handle the processes of screwing, stamping and inspecting at Hannover Messe.

Visitors to the two companies' trade fair stands at Hannover will be shown the identical exhibit in the field of SMART SERVICES. Both exhibits will be connected to each other via sensors and the Cloud.

ABB reported record full-year revenues and higher operational EBITDA, net income and free cash flow despite a challenging market environment.

Harting will exhibit an updated Smart Factory at this year's Hannover Messe trade fair.

Enhancements in Version 2.1 include faster tag handling with OPC-UA servers, and improved data exchange with mobile devices for faster response times and lower mobile network costs. Price: $2895.

Setting the Future Direction for ISA at Executive Summit 2014

Hannover Messe will maintain its focus on integration as a challenge of pivotal importance for the future of industry and will map out the next steps along the road to tomorrow’s intelligent, self-organizing factories.

The ISA Security Compliance Institute (ISCI) announced a system-level cybersecurity certification for industrial automation and control systems (IACS) products.

Year-to-date shipments are $2.03 billion, which is down 3.9 percent from 2012.

Prior to his promotion, Banda was a Central Region Manager for Beckhoff in the U.S. Banda will work at the Beckhoff North American headquarters in Savage, Minn.

The PLCs will control the sedimentation process of the concentrating mill at Europe's largest gold mine: Agnico Eagle's mine in northern Finland which is 150 km inside the Arctic circle near the town of Kittila.

ISA Education Programs in March Feature Wide Offerings

This tool allows companies to combat the increasing talent shortage and achieve stronger performance from their workforce while providing clear development pathways and career growth opportunities for their employees.

Exida certified the LESV-Flow Sensor meets the functional safety requirements for Safety Integrity Level (SIL) 2 capability per IEC 61508: 2010.

Bestobell Marine will supply cryogenic globe, check and FLIV valves for the 173K LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) Carrier being constructed for Teekay LNG Partners LP of Canada.

Werum is a provider of software for production control and production monitoring for the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industry.

As main automation contractor for the massive upgrade, Emerson provided technologies and services that helped enable the Chicago-area refinery modernize its facility to process advantaged crude supplies.

Simple To Complex Machinery Guarding Solution From a simple to complex machine guarding, Tapeswitch Corporation offers a full product line of trapped key power isolation and machine access solutions that is custom configured to your machinery power type, access point structures doors, hatches, gates, control panel lock-out, and power isolation operation and trapped key access lock-out component configuration.

UOP's 1,000th system for purifying hydrogen is being installed at Ruwais Refinery, United Arab Emirates, and operated by the Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Company (TAKREER).

Tapeswitch Corporation Offers : New Programmable, Mini, Type 3, CAT 3 Safety Laser Scanner For A Simple To Complex Machine Guarding/Area Guarding Solution for Machine Builders and Users.

10 Pitfalls of DIY Control Systems

Mexican manufacturers are the second-largest importers of U.S. packaging and processing machinery, because companies like Nestlé and PepsiCo are expanding manufacturing operations there.

By Bill Lydon, Editor At Automation Fair 2013, I spoke with Rockwell Automation’s Frank Kulaszewicz about the progress on their new architecture developments. The new controller architecture will consist of a backplane and each module will have its own IP address. Every motor drive, intelligent overload, intelligent sensor, intelligent light curtain, and other device will have an IP address.

Application Finder intelligent software tool allows users to search for the appropriate laser profile sensor by considering a number of application-related search criteria.

The HIMax Programmable Electronic System fire & gas detection system will be installed on the Kittiwake Oil Platform in UK North Sea.

Brad Steege and Joe Mustari are Subject Matter Experts that can address custom technical wire and cable, retractile cords, cable assembly and connector needs.

Use a smart transmitter & smart electrodes and do standardization and/or periodic buffer calibrations based on electrode life expectancy.

By Bill Lydon, Editor The improvement of manufacturing productivity and quality requires sharing data and synchronizing controllers. This can now be accomplished by using new standards that were jointly developed by PLCopen and the OPC Foundation.

Codenomicon, a Finland-based cybersecurity company, specializes in identifying unknown software bugs.

ISA will conduct four highly intensive technical training events—comprised of technician, automation engineering and safety courses—in Denver, Houston, and Carson, California during 2014.

Franklin Control Systems moved into a 60,000 sq. ft. engineering and production facility in Hillsboro, Oregon, doubling the company’s space under a single roof.

By Andrew Stuart, Honeywell Process Solutions Today, plant personnel have access to new human-machine interface (HMI) solutions providing the ability to display and interact with system or plant-wide data. This enables high-quality collaboration with the field or with experts in other locations.

ABB replaced all of the electrical equipment including 5500KW motors, converter, transformer, motor control centers, switchgear and mechanical auxiliary equipment such as the cooling system pump skid, chillers and fin-fan heat exchangers.

Northeast Lantern selected Rootstock’s Cloud Manufacturing ERP to track inventory and have vision on its production flow on the floor.

Established in 1994, AP Dataweigh is an American manufacturer of in-motion checkweigher machinery.

The 2014 ISA FPID Symposium will be held 5-6 March 2014 at ISA headquarters in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA.