Articles and News

A control system upgrade at the Rabbit Lake processing mill, the longest-operating uranium milling operation in Canada, will use I/A Series automation in the acid plant and powerhouse. These are the first implementations in a phased program that will next deploy Foxboro controls replacing outdated equipment for the remaining milling processes.

The Fieldbus Foundation today announced that Hans-Georg Kumpfmueller, president of the Siemens AG Process Instrumentation & Analytics Division, has been named to its board of directors. Kumpfmueller joins other leading executives in the key automation industry post.

The company received net proceeds of approximately $16.8 million from the sale of its building and land in Sugar Land, Texas, which was used to repay a portion of its outstanding debt. Concurrent with the sale, the company entered into a seven-year operating lease agreement for approximately 50% of the building. This transaction allows Suntron to reduce its outstanding debt levels and right size its manufacturing footprint. Suntron also expects to benefit from eliminating future interest costs and the fixed overhead costs related to the portion of the building that was not utilized.

This new program reduces product lead times from weeks to just a few days. The MDM-5000 can be purchased directly from Torque Systems or from a participating distributor partner. The MDM-5000 high-energy brushless servomotor was released in October 2005. The new state-of-the-art motor offers the highest available torque density available in a platform that is easily customized to fit any application. Versatile and economical, the MDM-5000 can be used with nearly all manufacturers’ amplifiers and controllers; offers multiple voltage capabilities; includes NEMA, IEC motor mounting or custom mechanical interfaces; and is CE/UL Compliant.

Both Omron and Pioneer PMC have been independently developing, manufacturing and marketing backlight units (BLU) primarily for use in small size LCDs. Forecasts suggest that the global LCD backlight unit business is set to grow rapidly. Aiming to be a leader in this expanding market, Omron has decided to integrate its technical expertise, production capacity and sales forces with Pioneer PMC's, to create a world class manufacturer of BLUs for small to large size LCDs.

The refineries, which are among the largest in the Petrobras system, will each employ multiple Tricon safety systems in their cracking units. The emergency shutdown systems are being installed as part of a refinery modernization program. The new systems are replacing existing relay panels, and were selected to simplify maintenance, and to provide increased asset availability, safety and efficiency.

Emerson Process Management announced that it has been chosen as Main Automation Contractor (MAC) for the Altamira LNG Regasification Terminal, currently under construction near the city of Tampico on the Gulf of Mexico. Emerson will provide essential automation systems and services for the first import terminal which will receive liquid natural gas (LNG) shipments in Mexico, and convert them back to natural gas to be distributed by CFE, Comisión Federal de Electricidad, and PEMEX, Mexico’s state-owned, nationalized petroleum company.

Matrikon’s Alarm Management Hands-on Workshop is designed to help process control professionals resolve alarm problems such as nuisance alarms. At the end of April, engineers, operators, and managers will be traveling across North America to attend this two-day workshop in Houston, Texas. After the workshop, participants will be able to resolve their plant's current alarm system problems and take action to ensure stability, accountability and profitability in their plant.

CAD data exchange expert Theorem Solutions has announced the immediate availability of its CADverter data exchange application for UGNX4 - to coincide with the new PLM system’s launch.

The city of Atlanta, owner of the airport, initiated the Hartsfield Development Program (HDP) in 2000 to enable the airport to meet future demands - a projected 121 million passengers annually by 2015. It is the largest public works project in the state of Georgia. Currently, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport serves more than 80 million passengers annually with air service to 192 cities in 31 countries.

The Schneider Electric North American Operating Division was presented with Grainger’s prestigious Partners in Performance Supplier Award for 2005 at its Partners in Performance Supplier Conference held March 9, 2006, in Itasca, Ill. Grainger, the leading broad line supplier of facilities maintenance products serving businesses and institutions throughout North America, presents the award annually to a select group of suppliers for outstanding performance throughout the year.

The move is part of a global plan to centralize services currently managed separately by sales and product divisions in order to ensure that customers receive consistent, rapid, first-class service wherever their operations are based. Beginning operations from April 3, 2006, and based in Mishima, Japan, the new Global Service Center (GSC) will combine customer support and contents functions. Over the next few years, IAB plans to roll-out regional customer support centers modeled on the GSC customer support division and customized to match local needs.

The testing was undertaken with Tandberg in order to verify the ability of the Universal Wi-Fi Gateway to providing reliable, secure, high quality videoconferencing over 802.11 Wi-Fi networks in telemedicine applications. The use of the Gateway allows for the use of videoconferencing in a mobile environment, allowing for the unrestricted use of the videoconferencing system within areas covered by Wi-Fi networks.

ISA Automation West 2006 will be held at the Long Beach Conference Center in Long Beach, Calif., on 2-3 May. The technical conference will feature more than 20 tutorials, panels and papers. Eight continuing education and training courses will offer rigorous professional education to enhance skills and performance. A product and technological exhibition will showcase the latest automation and control solutions.

Green Hills Software, Inc. announced that it will present a series of technical training classes at the Embedded Systems Conference (ESC) at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, April 4 – 7, 2006. Green Hills Software will also unveil and demonstrate several new technologies in its own booth #820 as well as in five partner pavilions.

Currently under construction at Sohar, the US$638 million Sohar Fertiliser Project of Sohar International Urea & Chemical Industries SAOC (SIUCI) includes a 2000 mtpd (metric ton per day) ammonia plant, 3500 mtpd urea synthesis and granulation plant along with related utilities and offsite facilities. It is one of the world’s largest private sector greenfield fertilizer projects and is being built under an EPC contract by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) of Japan.

With this acquisition, Schneider Electric will get significant access to low voltage installation and control systems market in Germany, which is the largest in Europe. Merten products will enable Schneider Electric to complete its ultra terminal offer with a comprehensive and complementary range of wiring devices and home control solutions. In 2005, Schneider Electric generated revenue of €1,2 billion in Ultra Terminal.

Electronics Workbench Corporation announced that DesignSuite 9 is one of the top three products of 2005, according to readers of Elektronik magazine, one of Germany’s premier electronics publications. The circuit design software suite, which was competing against 10 other products, received second place in the 2005 Product of the Year CAD/CAE category. DesignSuite 9 is a collection of four Electronics Workbench products – Multicap 9, Multisim 9, Ultiboard 9 and Ultiroute 9 – that, together, create a tightly integrated, end-to-end solution engineers can use to efficiently take electronics projects from initial concept through capture and simulation to final layout and production.

The NI LabVIEW Embedded Development Module was named a co-winner in the Digital Control/Embedded Computing category. NI SignalExpress 1.1 interactive measurement software and an NI CompactRIO dynamic signal analyzer (DSA), cRIO-4408, were named runners-up in the Analog Control and Digital Rapid Prototyping Tools categories, respectively.

DeltaV OTS is a complete simulator-based learning environment designed to prevent operator error which can result in accidents, product loss, or costly plant shutdowns. The need to prevent operator error was recently confirmed by a study of chemical manufacturers which indicated that 37% of plant incidents could be categorized by incorrect operator actions.

FANUC Robotics America, Inc. was named a preferred supplier of industrial robots by PACCAR, Inc. Since 1998, FANUC Robotics has installed robotic painting systems at PACCAR’s North American Assembly plants and a chassis painting system at PACCAR’s Leyland Truck Plant in England.

The Green Hills Software presentation will provide an overview of systems software technical requirements for use in next-generation in-car digital infotainment applications and explain how virtualization architecture provides an ideal solution to these varied requirements, while still minimizing size, weight, power, and production cost – a strict business requirement for automotive systems. The virtualization architecture will be described in detail, focusing on how it addresses the stated requirements and why it is a promising new technology in this space.

Located in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), the Habshan complex is one of the largest gas processing plants in the world. The expansion is designed to process an additional 1,306 MMSCFD of condensate-rich gas at the Habshan complex. The new systems will be used to monitor and control all gas wells and remote manifold stations associated with the Habshan complex. This includes replacement and expansion of existing SCADA systems with the latest Foxboro SCADA technology.

Designed to optimize system stiffness without sacrificing life or increasing drag torque, these nuts can be used in conjunction with HSI's existing line of linear actuators or as a standalone product along with HSI's extensive selection of Acme lead screws. HSI has developed a patent pending method of preloading the threaded nut halves to provide a system that maximizes system stiffness while reducing drag torque.