Articles and News

The upgrade will help the agency fulfill the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and other executive orders mandating significant reductions in energy consumption, emissions and electrical demand by federal government agencies. The GSA’s Energy Center of Expertise (ECOE) will integrate web-enabled PowerLogic ION EEM energy analysis software into an existing network of PowerLogic ION 8600 intelligent revenue meters and power management software.

A test of the Power Genius™ power controller on a metal stamping press at Check-Mate Industries was performed on a 10 horsepower motor powering a 60 ton stamping press producing handgun magazines. 23% energy savings were measured during a test conducted over two hours--one hour without and one hour with the product.

JIMTOF is a trade fair widely recognized and attended by all manufacturers in Japan, the world's largest producer of machine tools in the world. The JIMTOF2006 fair features choice state-of-the-art manufacturing process technology on a grand scale at Japan 's largest exhibition hall, Tokyo Big Sight, which provides over 82,660 square meters of exhibition area.

Bruno Schiavello, director of fluid dynamics in the technology department of Flowserve Pumps, has won the 2006 Fluid Machinery Design Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

This white paper offers practical "Good System Implementation Practice" tips to help improve your validation documentation and ensure your system's Part 11 compliance. MasterControl's recommendations cover five key areas: System SOPs; User Authentication; Access security; Audit trail; Record retention

Telemecanique® Automation and Control Repair Services can maintain more than 120,000 products from more than 2,500 manufacturers. Customers now have a single source to repair or replace their entire automation and control equipment line, regardless of the manufacturer.

The flowmeter selection chart shows the technology that provides best value in a typical application of a fluid. The chart also compares various technologies and fluids on the basis of cost, accuracy, installation requirements, output type, on-unit display availability, power requirements, flow switching availability, rangability, fluid conductivity and response time.

ISA will host a special event for young automation professionals at ISA EXPO 2006 in Houston, Texas. YAPFEST, the Young Automation Professional Festival, will be open only to automation professionals and students aged 30 and under, and will feature networking opportunities with industry executives, food, entertainment, and prizes.

The LXI Consortium’s recent PlugFest, held July 25-27 in Cleveland, Ohio, was highlighted by the testing of products meeting Class A and Class B requirements in a simulated real-world environment. Class A devices are the most advanced LXI instruments that include time synchronization via the IEEE 1588 precision time protocol as well as a hardware trigger bus.

Schneider Electric's Initi@tive 2006 trade exposition in the United States, to be held September 28-30 in Orlando, will include seminars on automation and control, electrical distribution and energy efficiency.

Jason Klann has been promoted to senior vice president, business development and strategy. In this role, Klann and his team will continue to drive external growth through acquisitions, as well as working with the North American Operating Division business leaders to continually develop and grow Schneider Electric business strategies in a competitive and changing marketplace.

ABB has signed an agreement with Cooper Tire and Rubber Company to manage maintenance operations at Cooper's Albany, Georgia plant in the United States.

FKI Logistex has won a contract from Hamburg Library (Hamburger Öffentliche Bücherhallen (HÖB)) in Germany to deliver a fully automated RFID-based item-handling and sorting system for the Hamburg central library and 17 city libraries.

ControlAir Inc. announces the current-to-pressure (I/P) and voltage-to-pressure (E/P) Type 900X transducer is now available with zero-based units ranging from 0-7.5 psi to 0-60 psi outputs. The Type 900X approved by Factory Mutual (FM) and the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) as intrinsically safe, is also now compliant with the ATEX directive 94/9/EC for equipment intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres in Europe.

The leading PLM integration specialist in the area of product data integration and supplier communication, announced that it has expanded its global presence by opening a new office in Michigan’s Automotive and High Tech Corridor, in the Detroit regional city of Troy, effective July 1, 2006.

ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc. today announced the launch of a significant reorganization of its Automation Systems Group (ASG) as part of the continuing implementation of its strategic plan and improvement initiatives.

Emerson Process Management received a contract to modernize the instrumentation and control systems for Unit 3 of the Karlshamn power plant in Sweden. The contract, which calls for the installation of Emerson’s PlantWeb digital plant architecture with the Ovation expert control system, was awarded by Karlshamn Kraft AB, a company within E.ON Nordic and partly owned also by Fortum Generation.

Ethernet Direct will sponsor a worldwide Industrial Ethernet Survey being developed by Network Vision. To better understand how companies look at and approach industrial Ethernet technology, Network vision has developed the Worldwide Industrial Ethernet Survey to help recognize key issues and how companies are addressing them.

During this two-day, hands-on course, attendees will learn how to assemble and configure instruments from a variety of vendors into an efficient test setup, and control all of them from a single software interface. Attendees will be able to avoid costly delays by learning how to recognize common test system data communication issues and to steer clear of measurement errors by learning how to coordinate the operation of multiple instruments.

Worldwide expert Jane Lansing, Vice President of Marketing at Emerson, will give a keynote address at ISA's first annual Marketing and Sales Summit, held 13-15 September at the Omni Hotel in Austin, Texas. Lansing's topic, "Engineers are People, Too," will focus on marketing to engineers and technical customers. Her presentation will explore methods of communicating effectively with audiences, implementing efficient marketing in a challenging environment, and developing effective tools for a sales force.

CompoNet meets the requirements of applications using large numbers of simple sensors and actuators by providing high speed communications with configuration tools and combining this with efficient construction, simple set-up and high availability – all on a single network.

Safety light curtains are an advanced method of safeguarding personnel around many hazardous machines. Also called light screens, optical guards, and presence sensing devices, safety light curtains offer freedom, flexibility and reduced operator fatigue when compared with traditional guarding methods such as mechanical barriers, sliding gates and pull-back restraints.

"Instrumentation Technician" will be the featured profession as topic of discussion. The meeting will provide an opportunity for women involved in the instrumentation industry to discuss their daily work life and share common insights and experiences.

Seminars in multiple locations around the world in September and October illustrate how PAT and other technologies can help today's pharmaceutical manufacturers drive manufacturing excellence. The first seminar is September 19 in Billerica, Massachusetts.

Engineering Procurement Contractor, GSEC of Seoul, Korea, has awarded Invensys Process Systems a multimillion dollar automation contract to provide an integrated process control, safety, asset management, and plant information system solution for the grassroots Laffan Refinery under construction at the Ras Laffan City in Qatar.

The Federation, formed last year, is an umbrella organization under which associations and societies engaged in manufacturing, business integration, and process automation activities can work more effectively to fulfill their missions.

Under the agreement, the companies will co-market dcLINK, DSI’s automated data capture (ADC) and RFID solution, to Lawson customers worldwide. DSI will also be a one-stop source for Lawson customers to purchase handheld and vehicle-mounted data collection devices, RFID portals and interrogators, labels, tags, implementation services, and support.

The workshop will provide potential PROFINET developers with a wide range of technical information including PROFINET vendor presentations to help them select the best tools to develop their PROFINET compatible products. The workshop is designed for device developers, development managers and product marketers.

ABB, the leading power and automation technology company, announced it has acquired the assets of the manufacturing and industrial contracting units of Raffin Electric Company Ltd., in Canada. Based in Calgary, Raffin Electric is a leader in custom pre-manufactured Power Distribution Centers and other electrical distribution equipment used primarily in harsh outdoor environments.

Emerson Process Management won a contract to install its PlantWeb digital plant architecture with the Ovation expert control system at We Energies Oak Creek Expansion Project.