Articles and News

BP presented its Digital & Communications Technology (DCT) Helios awards to BP teams that collaborated with Emerson to develop innovative wireless technology.

MOXA's industrial Ethernet switches, media converters, and serial-to-Ethernet servers have been certified by the DNV and GL classification societies.

“UV Luminescence Sensor Application Handbook” has been updated with new application descriptions, including control of wood optimizing saws, and control of glue dispensing on packaging. The revised handbook also contains new illustrations and updated specifications.

The theme of this year's General Assembly, "Changing the Playing Field," reflects the Fieldbus Foundation's emphasis on providing a total automation infrastructure management solution for industrial end users. The event will address key topics such as open scalable integration, process integrity, and business intelligence.

Automation Systems Interconnect cut prices by 10% during the month of February on the CSF5 5 amp power supply.

JMP Engineering is now a Certified Member of the international Control Systems Integrators Association (CSIA).

Banner Engineering kicked off the 2007 racing season by capturing 2nd and 4th place finishes out of 44 starters in the GT class of the Rolex 24 at Daytona this past Saturday/Sunday.

ABB will supply all the electrical, control and fieldbus communication equipment for the project, including the incoming 132KV electrical substation, medium-voltage switchgear and protection devices, low-voltage motor control centers, variable-speed drives, low- and medium-voltage motors, sectional drives and motors for the new pulp dryer, Industrial IT Extended Automation System 800xA for control and integration, as well as the Information Management System.

GE Fanuc is working with SunBio Systems to provide biodiesel production systems. SunBio Systems' skid-mounted, “quick-start” biodiesel machines range from university grade research and development systems to mid-sized plants that produce up to 15 million gallons of biofuels per year. The SunBio biodiesel machines are based on GE Fanuc controller systems.

CV60 vehicle-mounted computers, IV7 vehicle-mounted RFID readers and IA33E RFID antennas are available for use in real-world RFID scenarios at Microsoft Technology Centers in Austin, Reston, Chicago, Boston, Silicon Valley and New York.

In this new position, Alex Zrolka will be charged with the planning and execution of business development strategies that will be essential for the successful growth of the company in the US life sciences market. Prior to Invetech, he held marketing management, business development, sales and consulting positions with Biotech Envoy, Genicon Sciences, QIAGEN, Bio-Rad laboratories and DNAStar.

Matrikon has been recognized as one of the world’s top five providers of alarm management software by the readers of Control magazine.

Rimrock Corporation, New Berlin, WI, will use the KUKA KR 60 robot in its RoboRouter 200 automated routing, cutting, and trimming system. It uses the KUKA robot inverted and mounted to a Güdel TrackMotion system providing a reliable and cost effective alternative to manual or CNC router operations.

SWF Companies of Reedley, CA, is a provider of automated machinery for packaging products in cartons and corrugated containers and for palletizing complete loads. The addition of SWF to Thiele brings together packaging machinery names as Bliss Machinery, Salwasser, Padlocker, Tisma, Dyna-Pak, McDowell International, Tri-Sterling, and GSMA Robotics and System Integration.

intelligent RollerDrive uses Interroll's RollerDrives and Holjeron's sensorless Zonelink Low Pressure Accumulation (LPA) control module. The result is a conveyor system that provides enhanced control capability, improved diagnostics, and lower installed cost.

The operation has offices in Vietnam, and agents in Singapore, Thailand and Middle East.

The 135,000 square foot facility is now in use for encoder assembly and R&D. The building, designated A30, has five floors each with approximately 27,000 square feet, and currently holds about 600 employees.

ProsCon Holdings Ltd. is a privately held engineering firm headquartered in Cork, Ireland, with an office in Dublin. ProsCon primarily serves major customers in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology markets.

The funding will support the Society of Manufacturing Engineers' Science, Technology and Engineering Preview Summer (STEPS) Camps and Academies as well as Project Lead the Way’s (PLTW) “Gateway to Technology” middle school curriculum. The programs expose students to the exciting possibilities of manufacturing and engineering careers.

Avnet Electronics Marketing will serve as a stocking distributor worldwide for all PITTMAN brand products, effective immediately. Products include brush- and electronically-commutated BLDC motors and stepper motors.

Stratum, Intermec and other industry leaders have helped create an RFID (radio frequency identification) program at Oakton Community College, in Des Plaines, Ill. Oakton's RFID program provides hands-on experience in a simulated industrial warehouse environment to prepare students for opportunities in the workplace.

The 60-page handbook offers an overview of the emerging test technique known as parallel parametric testing, a strategy for wafer-level parametric testing that uses concurrent execution of multiple tests on multiple scribe line test structures and helps semiconductor fabs maximize their test throughput and reduce their cost of test.

The entire 240-page, full-color guide is now available on a CD. The catalog is a PDF file, bookmarked for the user's convenience, and covers linear and rotary positioning stages, frameless kit motors, gearheads, integral gearmotors and a section devoted to Parker Bayside's Engineered Solutions Group. Users can have the catalog in either hard copy or digital format.

Microsoft and the OMAC Microsoft Manufacturing User Group (MS MUG) hosted the Manufacturing Operations Forum in Redmond, Washington, last week. Presentations from the forum will be posted on the MS MUG website next month.

Cyco Software has signed IT Consol, the largest MRO reseller in Central America, and Synapsis, one of the largest IT providers in South America.

Keithley was recognized for outstanding customer satisfaction by VLSI Research Inc, who provides independent customer evaluations of semiconductor equipment suppliers.

The United States Patent Office issued a reexamination certificate upholding the validity of one of National Instruments' patents, U.S. Patent No. 5,301,336 ("'336 patent"), which relates to National Instruments' LabVIEW software. The reexamination process resolves a challenge started on June 16, 2004, by an anonymous petitioner.

Honeywell acquired the Advanced Process Control (APC) and Optimization business of PAS Inc., a leading software provider for the process industries. The acquisition includes all the software offerings related to the APC business. As part of the deal, Honeywell acquires PAS’ Advanced Process Control and Optimization employees and will continue to serve the division’s customers.

The IF5 Fixed RFID Reader was ranked the top performer in adjacent dock door use by U.S. RFID testing lab ODIN technologies.

Part identification markings and tags -- which remain readable after exposure to the extreme levels of ultraviolet radiation, atomic oxygen, hard vacuum, and contamination in low earth orbit -- will be evaluated and then certified for use on future space vehicles and added to NASA's part identification requirements.