Articles and News

Manufacturing companies continue to increase investments in capital expenditures for automation equipment as they recognize the role of automation in the global market. As a result, the worldwide market for total process automation will grow robustly, with ARC expecting a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.4% over the next five years, to reach nearly $79 billion in 2010.

Souriau SAS will acquire the US operations of Pacific Aerospace & Electronics Inc. PAE designs and manufactures hermetic connectors, ceramic and metal components and assemblies, and advanced microelectronic packages. Souriau S.A.S. is one of Europe’s leading connector manufacturers. The transaction remains subject to US governmental authorizations and is expected to be completed by March 2007.

Just 25mm (0.98 in.) wide x 82mm (3.23 in.) long, the T2008 tongue-operated safety interlock switch is designed to provide a minimum of one million actuations in severely space restricted applications, and can be installed on one inch square tubing. 1 N/O and 1 N/C, or 2 N/C, contact configurations are available to satisfy Dual Channel Safety Monitoring requirements.

The new business division was formed to serve the requirements of system integrators and OEMs operating in the professional security market.

Shinden Hightex will distribute Imsys’ line of reconfigurable microcontrollers for the consumer and professional electronic product markets. Shinden Hightex is a leading distributor for electronics devices, LCD panels, various custom boards, etc. The head office is located in Tokyo, Japan, and eight local offices are located in industrial areas in Japan

Amplicon signed a rep agreement with Militram Israel. Militram, an expert in network and multi-process systems has sales expected to exceed $130 million this year. Based in Tel Aviv, it has over 30 years experience in both the medical machine vision and industrial control fields in Israel. Amplicon supplies Computing, Data Communications, Measurement & Control, and Security Automation solutions.

This year, Control Design sent out more than 15,000 surveys to its subscribers who are eligible to vote asking them for the industrial equipment suppliers that provide best value. Targeted readers included industrial machine builder professionals and system integrators.

The American Welding Society will release two new resistance welding standards: AWS D8.1M:2007, Specification for Automotive Weld Quality—Resistance Spot Welding of Steel; and AWS D17.2/ D17.2M:2007, Specification for Resistance Welding for Aerospace Applications. These ANSI-approved standards will be part of an extensive collection of technical documents related to resistance welding.

Intermec's donation includes the company's 761 ruggedized mobile computer and IP4 portable RFID reader along with a custom Intermec RFID application. The center works primarily in the retail, manufacturing and transportation domains to examine the use of RFID (radio frequency identification), its effects on business and society, and how best to use the technology within the supply chain.

Webinar presents results from a survey of 275 manufacturers and an in-depth analysis of what it means for your company. There are no vendors or sales pitches.

ABB has won a $4 million contract to supply an Integrated Central Control System for a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in the Peoples Republic of China. It includes 800xA systems for the terminal integrated control system and safety systems and a SCADA Vantage system for the centralized Human System Interface that will be used on the pipeline and terminal.

The eAutomation Group of Advantech has been selected by M2M magazine as a top technology and service provider in the machine-to-machine technology area.

Emerson's Brooks Instrument Calibration laboratory is now in compliance with the ISO GUM and certified by the NMi. GUM is the Guide to the Expression of the Uncertainty in the Measurement. NMi is the Dutch Weights and Measures agency, and is internationally recognized as a competent authority in the measurement arena.

Nominations are open for the Matrikon Achievement Awards in technology innovations within petrochemical and refining, pulp and paper, mining and mineral, oil and gas, and power industries.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry asked National Instruments President and CEO Dr. James Truchard to chair the Industrial Advisory Council for the Texas Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (TSTEM) initiative, which directly addresses the declining interest and preparation of young people to pursue careers in technical fields.

The 240-page, full-color guide covers the Bayside brand of motion and control systems products, incluidng linear and rotary positioning stages, frameless kit motors, gearheads, integral gearmotors and a special section devoted to Parker Bayside's Engineered Solutions Group.

With the new LabVIEW toolkit, more advanced MINDSTORMS NXT users, including adults, students and secondary school and university educators, now can program the NXT using advanced programming tools available in LabVIEW.

'Twas the night before Christmas and all though the site, no visitors were browsing, not even one byte.

ABB has been awarded a $3.9 million contract to supply System 800xA Extended Automation for Australian Paper's Maryvale mill in Victoria, Australia. In addition, ABB has secured more than $782,000 in orders for MV switchgear, LV relays, and variable drives systems.

Berend Bracht, former CEO of Bosch Rexroth China and former head of the company’s U.S. industrial hydraulics operation, will take over as president and chief executive officer effective January 1, 2007. Bracht replaces Wolfgang Dangel, who has led the U.S. subsidiary of the German-based company since April 2003. Dangel is leaving to accept a leadership position with the Schaeffler Group.

International Climbing Machines (ICM) uses igus products in its climbing apparatus that removes lead paint or chemical toxins from tall surfaces. ICM develops portable, remote-controlled devices capable of removing lethal materials on virtually any vertical or inverted surface.

This Joint-Venture, dedicated to the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of Low Voltage products, will be named Delixi Electric and incorporated in Wenzhou (Zhejiang Province) as soon as the conditions, precedent and regulatory approvals are satisfied. Schneider Electric will own a 50% interest in the company while Delixi Group will hold the other 50%.

Wavetrend appointed RC Group (Holdings) Limited (RCG ) as an Accredited Channel Partner for the Asia/Pacific region. RCG combines expertise in both biometric and RFID technologies to offer solutions that enhance security and increase convenience for enterprises and end-users alike.

Advantech's Data Acquisition I/O modules will be sold through the Cole-Parmer catalog.

The 5 day class will help skilled trades and engineers learn the fundamentals of operations, troubleshooting, error recovery, program touchup and safety procedures. The program is designed to help line builders and OEMs bring up automotive assembly lines and integrated cells and includes training on robot programming, PLC debugging, safety systems and setting up weld guns and other peripheral equipment.

Honeywell won the 2006 Pioneering Innovation Award at the Governor's Celebration of Innovation (GCOI) in Arizona. The award is presented each year to a company that has gone to great lengths in contributing to Arizona’s technology industry through sustained business presence, corporate citizenship, community involvement and business success.

Matrikon has acquired Industrial Control Software Limited (ICS), a private company based in Matlock, England. Established in 1989, ICS provides process control software and alarm monitoring and analysis solutions which are complementary to Matrikon's solutions. The purchase price was £1.78 million in cash for all outstanding shares of ICS. The net assets of ICS are estimated at £0.78 million.

PAN-STEEL Metal Embossing Hand Tool (MEHT) and Metal Indenting Machine (MIM) have been enhanced to provide durability and allow embossing or indenting of alphanumeric text onto aluminum or stainless steel marker plates, tags, tape and cable ties.

The full-day Industrial Ethernet Training Course covers: Networking Essentials; How Industrial Ethernet Is Different From Traditional Office Ethernet Networking; TCP/IP Tutorial; Comparison of Popular Ethernet Protocols including Ethernet/IP, Profibus, Modbus, etc.; Industrial Network Design and Hardware; Real-Time Ethernet; Achieving Deterministic Communications; and Best Practices When Implementing an Industrial Ethernet Network.

The Distributed Control System (DCS) market experienced the strongest growth in a decade between 2004 and 2005, increasing at a rate of close to 9%. This strong growth is expected to continue through 2010, with the global market increasing at an average annual rate of almost 7%, according to the new ARC Advisory Group study, “Distributed Control System (DCS) Worldwide Outlook”