Articles and News

As the year draws to an end, we wanted to take the opportunity to recap on the trends QA Graphics saw in 2013 and share what’s coming up in 2014. QA Graphics has been involved in the building automation industry for 10 years, driving the change for more realistic graphics and interactive solutions. The industry has taken a big leap this year, embracing high-end graphic solutions, and it will only continue in 2014.

By Jonathan Wilkins, European Automation If the IoT becomes a fully fledged reality, system compatibility would no longer be an issue. Automation parts would be able to recognize whether they are reconcilable with equipment or overall systems without being shipped to the customer.

The test tool offers the possibility to automatically test the full CIP Safety on Sercos protocol functionality of a device in order to prove the compliance with The CIP Safety specification.

As part of its trade mission to CeMAT Hannover 2014, The Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity is funding and supporting up to 10 eligible companies who apply.

By Bill Lydon, Editor Dr. Peter Martin, Invensys Vice President, gave a passionate keynote by combining the elements of engineering, business, and evangelism. Martin believes the future of our profession is as bright as ever if we all work together to put knowledge to work and drive the great problems of the world out of existence.

The free mobile constructor app for iOS and Android provides the possibility of timed assembly of interesting three-dimensional models with differing degrees of complexity – from a meat grinder to a helicopter.

What Factors Affect Your Salary in the Automation Industry?

A future PV value can make setpoint response, reset & feedforward smarter and help operations understand consequences of the dynamics on current actions.

Japan’s Control System Security Center (CSSC has joined the ISA Security Compliance Institute (ISCI) as an Associate member.

DMG MORI SEIKI USA, ITAMCO, Mazak, and Okuma America will support the MTConnect Challenge 2 by providing participants access to data generated by their equipment for development and testing of manufacturing intelligence applications.

By Robert Golightly, AspenTech Adaptive Process Control provides a set of innovative, patented techniques for automatic adjustment of the controllers in real-time and elevates maintenance to a built-in and continuous part of the management process.

A software algorithm/package for control loop configuration and eco-efficiency

Seeq provides software and services that enable data-driven decision making from industrial process data.

With CIP Safety, users will be able to deploy networked motion control systems using EtherNet/IP and Sercos III in applications requiring safe motion functions.

By Thomas R. Cutler During 2013 the past-paced, ever-changing elements of automation impacting manufacturing, material handling, and logistics was remarkable. The prognosis for more automation innovation in 2014 is axiomatic and transformative companies will illuminate the possibilities of great efficiency, productivity, and profitability.

Illinois is launching a dedicated pavilion at the World of Industry (WIN) 2014 trade fair in Istanbul, Turkey, and will provide funding and support for 10 eligible Illinois automation companies.

Rogers worked for ABB and Honeywell, managing the implementation of process control and on-line optimisation solutions in the oil, gas and petrochemical industries globally.

By Softing The San Jacinto Tizate geothermal project in Nicaragua is using Foundation Fieldbus connected to pressure and temperature transmitters and control valves to move the actual control function from the control room to the field devices.

The MTConnect Institute and the OPC Foundation announce the MTConnect-OPC UA (Unified Architecture) Companion specification.

In the study, 54.8 percent of respondents said they thought integration with social media would be an important factor in ERP software selection in the future, whereas 58 percent had expressed that sentiment in 2010.

By Bill Lydon, Editor Emerson’s Sonnenberg and Zornio discussed pervasive sensing as a growing trend. They framed the discussion around the idea of pervasive sensing as the way to achieve the pursuit of actionable information to improve operations and maintenance.

Exlar is a business unit of Curtiss-Wright Controls. Exlar designs, manufactures and sells linear and rotary motion products worldwide.

Averna will provide automated testing equipment for the PMA certification program of wireless charging devices.

As cyberattacks and threats to network security continue to rise, so does the need for securing industrial control systems for water and wastewater systems.

ARC forecasts solid growth for the safety system market, which will exceed $3 billion worldwide in 2017.

Firms in Mexico spent $535 million on packaging machinery imports in 2012, making their nation the world’s seventh-largest importer of packaging machinery.

By Bill Lydon, Editor Foxboro has dramatically stepped up the power of their controller with the Foxboro Evo process automation system introduction. This controller is a great example of the new breed of controllers that leverages the latest technology.

Kaiser Optical Systems makes Raman sensors and instrumentation, and advanced holographic components for spectroscopy, telecommunications, astronomy and ultra-fast sciences.

Savigent’s Catalyst Enterprise Historian will provide a fault detection solution for Seagate’s wafer fabrication data collection, storage, contextualization and analysis.

In this video case study, Dynagen, a Canadian control panel manufacturer, explains how they use Netbiter to remotely monitor gensets, pumps, compressors etc. in the field.