Articles and News

The D10 Series consists of three high-performance models that service a range of application demands. Models include the D10 Expert™ with Numeric Display, D10 Expert with Bargraph Display and D10 Discrete Output. The D10 Expert models also feature intuitive push-button TEACH that allows static, dynamic or single-point programming.

AlarmAnalyst presents graphical on-line representations of the state of a process plant using alarms, events and operator actions. Time stamps on all values are obtained from the control systems, as part of the acquired data, for a true root cause analysis. Plant stability can be assessed using real-time displays of trends in alarm behavior.

Clark, an industry veteran with more than 20 years of material handling experience, was previously director, international and newspaper operations. Clark joined FKI Logistex in 1999, and was instrumental in developing the company's manufacturing-based business in the United Kingdom. He has played a major role in building the customer base in Mexico and Canada for FKI Logistex Manufacturing Systems North America.

This white paper prepared by MasterControl discusses why SOPs are more than just a tool of operation. SOPs directly affect product quality, and therefore, compliance. Once established, an efficient and effective SOP management system will serve as a foundation for an organization's sustainable compliance and long-term success in the market.

The Nanotest Weblog keeps visitors abreast of the latest news in the nanotechnology and MEMS industry through frequent posts of technical and business developments. Linda Bell, Publisher of Nanotech Briefs, said she expects the new blog to be an important contribution to the emerging field of nanotechnology.

This acquisition follows the acquisition of Invensys Advanced Building Systems (ABS EMEA) completed in July 2005 and will be very complementary with Schneider Electric’s building automation platform. IBS generated revenues of $142 million for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006, with operating profit of $20 million. The company is a leading provider of building automation products and services in North America with interesting positions in Asia.

Emerson will supply 220 Fisher control valves with Fisher DVC6000 digital valve controllers. The $1.4 million order includes the Fisher high-pressure globe valves and Vee-Ball® rotary valves as well as Baumann general service control valve products. Of these, 30 Fisher control valves on critical applications will be supplied with advanced diagnostics.

As of the first of April, METRO suppliers have been able to ship tagged pallets with Gen 2 RFID technology. Metro Cash & Carry, the market leader in self-service wholesale, is using a new Gen 2 RFID infrastructure that includes Intermec's Gen 2 IF5 UHF RFID reader coupled with IBM middleware. The Intermec RFID Gen 2 technology deployed in METRO Group's Cash & Carry stores creates a platform on which to build interoperable RFID products and systems that will effectively track and trace pallets to ultimately improve inventory management.

The Innovation Award, created to recognize excellence in the Asian electronics industry, was presented at the magazine's awards ceremony on April 5, 2006. The Model 2910 features an unrivaled combination of high-performance, speed, flexibility, ease of use, and compact size. Its design includes a patent-pending synthesizer, Software-Defined Radio (SDR) architecture, unique power leveling techniques, and a touch-screen user interface.

This is the second consecutive year Intermec has been named a Cisco U.S. STI Partner of the Year. The Cisco Partner Summit Theater Awards are conferred to partners who meet and score the highest on a specific set of requirements that are designed to identify the best channel partners by theater. These include customer satisfaction, year-over-year growth of Cisco sales and complying with the Cisco Channel Partner Program.

Honeywell announced the agenda for its 2006 Users’ Group Americas Symposium, which will be held June 11-16 in Phoenix with the theme, “Adapting to Change.” Honeywell customers from around the world will meet to exchange ideas, share their experiences and create strategies for meeting their toughest business challenges, including those related to security, energy efficiency and the integration and management of new technologies. Honeywell’s Experion® Process Knowledge System (PKS) R300, wireless technology and life cycle management will be the focus of this year’s event.

AssistWare's LDW system uses a small video camera and machine vision technology to watch the road ahead and alert drivers if they unintentionally leave their lane, or if their driving pattern becomes erratic. In a recent U.S. Department of Transportation study, AssistWare's LDW technology was shown to significantly reduce unintended lane departures, which are known to be a major cause of truck accidents.

The report provides the reader with an instantaneous snapshot of the basic performance parameters of all available finished inventory, including DC Motors, Servo Motors, DC Gear motors, Linear Actuators, Motor Speed Controls, Servo Amplifiers and DC Power Supplies.

Frost & Sullivan presented the Award in recognition of Siemens' consistent focus in providing innovative solutions that add value to its automotive customers. Additionally, Frost & Sullivan commended Siemens for addressing the challenge of developing worldwide industry standards for the automotive industry by providing customers with a single hardware platform for diverse manufacturing applications.

The SP100.14 working group will define wireless connectivity standards optimized for the unique performance and cost needs of a wide range of industrial monitoring, logging and alerting applications. The SP100.11 work group will define wireless connectivity standards addressing a wide range of applications optimized but not restricted to the unique performance needs of control applications ranging from closed loop regulatory control through open loop manual control.

The LXI Consortium’s fifth PlugFest event was the first to be held outside of North America. The event, which took place April 25-27 in Munich, Germany, had 69 registered attendees representing more than 25 different organizations -- manufacturers, system integrators, customers, universities and the press. LXI member Rohde & Schwarz (R&S) hosted the event at its local training center.

The eAutomation eXpress is an informational and educational vehicle that will travel across North America to provide hands-on interaction with Advantech’s Industrial Automation products. The vehicle is a 24’ van with active production demonstrations.

The ISA-95 standards help to reduce the costs, risks, and errors associated with implementing enterprise systems and manufacturing operations systems so that they interoperate and easily integrate. The standards may also be used to reduce the effort associated with implementing new product offerings.

With increasing globalization, large End Users require coordinated service for subsidiaries all over the world. B&R is creating new positions in order to keep up with this trend. Uwe Keiter (42) will be taking over the position as Global Account Manager, making him responsible for international End User service in the Food & Beverage segment.

Invensys Process Systems has recently completed a fast-track implementation of SimSci-Esscor operator training simulators (OTS) being used at a new EO/EG (ethylene oxide/ethylene glycol) plant for TOC Glycol Company (TOCGC), a subsidiary of PTT Chemical Ltd. The new plant, located at the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate in Rayong province, will supply feedstock products to various processing customers in and around Map Ta Phut, Thailand’s key petrochemical industrial cluster.

Manufactured by OTC DAIHEN Corporation, an internationally recognized supplier of arc welding power supplies and industrial robots, the Almega robot is known for its high speeds and smooth movements which shorten production time. The robot incorporates version 4.20 of the powerful and easy-to-use ISaGRAF software and can be used in processes ranging from arc welding to plasma arc cutting.

The ABB Automation World 2006 Users Conference and Exhibition, held in Houston, Texas last week (May 9-11, 2006) exceeded prior event attendance by more than 45%, totalling more than 2,500 attendees. The three-day event (May 9-11) was substantially bigger than ABB Automation World 2005 and featured 400 workshops and a 40,000 square foot exhibition hall with hands-on demonstrations and displays of ABB automation products and systems.

The three-phase project restructures the system architecture to a high speed, fiber-based system, upgrades existing PROVUE consoles to the latest DeltaV consoles and integrates the three existing control rooms into one centralized location. Since 1982, the Emerson PROVOX distributed control system at the Solutia plant has provided flexible and reliable control. It has been well maintained and regularly upgraded with Emerson keeping Solutia fully advised about the continued availability of spares and support.

Larson will assume the leadership role for nuclear quality assurance processes involving groups that serve the nuclear industry. Within Invensys Process Systems, these include Triconex safety instrumented systems, Foxboro process automation, Foxboro Measurements and Instruments, project operations, customer satisfaction, and Invensys Process Systems China. Larson will report to David Golden, Global Director of Quality for Invensys Process Systems.

ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc. today announced that it has entered into a strategic relationship with GD Technologies, a private Chinese-based precision machining company, and is expanding two automation systems facilities in China to further its growth strategy in Asia.

The Global Outsourcing 100 list sets a precedent by providing the first industry-wide benchmark for overall outsourcing excellence. It includes companies in such areas as information technology and business process outsourcing, facility services, real estate and capital asset management, manufacturing, and logistics. ATS was ranked 30th out of the 100 companies listed.

Matrikon Inc. announced that it intends to make a normal course issuer bid to purchase its common shares. Under the bid, Matrikon intends to acquire up to 1,559,248 common shares, representing not more than 5% of the 31,184,959 common shares issued and outstanding as of May 1, 2006. The bid will commence May 17, 2006 and end May 17, 2007.

Emerson, the project's Main Instrumentation and Controls Contractor (MICC), also has begun integration and testing of the digital automation system. Upon completion of integration and testing, the company will install its PlantWeb digital architecture, assist with the expansion project's commissioning and startup, and provide operator training.

The control system is designed to produce consistency in production variability and a single electronic record of operations. The system will be used at Genentech’s Vacaville, Calif. plant, which is currently undergoing a major expansion.