Articles and News

By John Krajewski III, Schneider Electric Human Machine Interfaces started as point solutions, but are now progressing to company-wide Operations Management Interfaces to leverage Industrial IoT and Industry 4.0 strategies.

The production capacity of the Japanese suppliers has reached 153,000 units in 2016 – the highest level ever recorded. Today, Japan´s manufacturers deliver 52 percent of the global supply.

The partnership is intended to provide OPC UA Toolkits and extended consulting, training and development services to North America.

DCS selection for an industrial application is critical to the successful integration of plant assets, people & processes for improved business operations.

The resistance of a length of a conductor can be determined using the specific resistance and the cross-sectional area by using the equation R = r L/A

RACO has joined the Dream Report Proven Partner Program and is recommending Dream Report as their solution for custom reports and dashboards.

Due for delivery in spring 2018, two fast chargers will be installed at Sahlgrenska University Hospital and Eriksberg Square, on line 16 of the city’s bus network, on which two prototype electric articulated high capacity buses from Volvo will operate.

The 52-page publication, which is offered in an interactive online version or as a download, features detailed descriptions, specifications and schematics of DENSO’s entire lineup of four-axis SCARA and five- and six-axis articulated robots, robot controllers and programming software.

The manufacturing system - combining smart equipment, improved processes, plant automation and MES software - delivered on traceability and compliance requirements as well as on efficiencies.

BA Systèmes has completed the partial automation of Sappi’s Maastricht paper mill in the Netherlands. The fleet of 7 counterbalanced AGVs constitutes an automated solution for integrated production and storage flows.

This link gives users of the Engineering Base (EB) software system direct access to data throughout the service life of the measuring devices concerned, including such items as instruction manuals, certificates, and details of maintenance and calibration procedures.

The least frequently used mode in a PID controller, derivative is more useful when dead time is not pure dead time but is a series of small time constants.

By Bill Lydon, Editor, Automation.com Cyber security remains a prominent concern for many organizations as we continue to move towards a connected industrial future. In this vein, Honeywell recently made a big commitment to Industrial Cyber Security at the 2017 Honeywell Users Group Americas,

HARTING garnered the award from DESIGN&ELEKTRONIK trade magazine in the electromechanics category for its ix Industrial connector. The connector was jointly developed by the Espelkamp-based family-owned business together with Japan’s HIROSE technology group and placed on the market.

The webinar, which will be held from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., EST on Nov. 21, will feature two subject matter experts: Eric Cosman, Co-Chair of the ISA99 Committee, and Shivendra Mishra, Global Product Marketing Manager at Honeywell Process Solutions.

By Bert Williams, ABB Wireless As we move toward industrial things being digital and connected, putting in place the right communications infrastructure is a critical piece of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) equation. Connectivity is required to ensure that data is meaningful and actionable.

Students benefit from active participation in ISA section activities. They can network with working professionals and learn about career opportunities.

Rockwell Automation has announced automotive manufacturer Honda of Canada Manufacturing and U.K.-based equipment builder A.M.P Rose as the winners of its fifth annual Manufacturing Safety Excellence Awards.

If a differential pressure cell is not at an elevation that corresponds to zero percent level in a tank, calibrate to account for difference in elevation.

If thoughtfully planned and implemented, leadership transition can preserve the best of what is in place and open a path to new ways of thinking.

ABB has reached an agreement with Reykjavik Energy for the delivery of 15 fast chargers. The fast chargers will boost the country’s charging infrastructure for electric vehicles and will all be commissioned by the end of 2017

This global strategic enterprise agreement allows BP to leverage the full range of AspenTech’s solutions, including Aspen PIMS-AO for refinery planning, Aspen Advanced Process Control (APC) solutions and Aspen HYSYS solutions for engineering and optimization.

These automation and instrumentation solution providers will increase responsiveness to channel end users by offering local application engineering and product availability. The companies include Eastern Controls, Andrews Industrial, ControValve, CB Engineering and BBP.

ISA book is an authoritative resource for anyone responsible for selecting & implementing measurement & control devices for process automation applications.

In connection to Kamstrup’s visit in Iran, the company signed both a partner contract and an agreement of two pilot projects with the local Iranian company Iran Ensheab Co. The projects include intelligent water meters and remote reading system.

The Khazzan Project in Oman is one of BP’s seven major projects in 2017, and started its production in September 2017. BP Oman was selected as a finalist from more than 400 nominations of projects around the world, and as the winner out of the three finalists in its category.

By Daniel Koprowski, Mechatronics Technician Apprentice, Phoenix Contact Apprenticeship opportunities are available for many career paths including technicians, electricians, plumbers, machinists, welders, sales, information technology, and others. This story tells of one such apprenticeship opportunity

The 12-week program launched in August combines classroom learning with hands-on laboratory experience. Veterans are trained in Rockwell Automation’s facility in Mayfield Heights, Ohio for in-demand jobs in advanced manufacturing.

By Bill Lydon, Editor, Automation.com A common topic of debate revolves around how process system architectures will be shaped in the future. One architectural vision would enable a shift of focus from process efficiency control to business performance control, with increasing levels of monitoring and control.

With effective security controls, 4G LTE wireless technology can serve voice, video, and broadband industrial data and applications simultaneously.

The scholarship fund will be funded by ISA with a $50,000 endowment. ISA has also pledged to match the next $50,000 of donations. Morley was an engineer, inventor, entrepreneur, consultant and author who contributed to a range of high-technology advancements over more than four decades.

By Graham McGregor, Siemens Industry All the flashy bells and whistles in the world can’t make up for knowledge gained through experience. And in the world of industrial automation, nowhere is this more applicable than in the battle for the world’s best level measurement technologies.

Ball, butterfly, and pinch valve body style have straight-through flow, and they are less likely to develop blockage.

The survey is intended for managers and operators to benchmark the extent to which automation has influenced production, purchasing habits, cost controls, and future strategies.

OSADL coordinates the development and funding of open source projects on behalf of its members, who enjoy many benefits, including quality assurance, software development, technology support, legal compliance, marketing, training, and above all support in licensing in the form of legal support through the OSADL general counsel, auditing, and certification

The terms of the deal between the two privately owned companies were not disclosed. Sciemetric will continue to operate as an independent Canadian corporation.

By Jonathan Wilkins, EU Automation As the industry grows, smaller countries are beginning to emerge as competitors in the industry. This article will explore the role of countries that are emerging as leaders in manufacturing.

The Group has acquired Blue Ocean Nova AG, a manufacturer of innovative inline spectrometers for monitoring quality-relevant process parameters. The company’s 15 employees located in Aalen, Germany will be retained.

The overall objective of the delivery is to provide Paul Wurth with an advanced real-time data management and historian solution based on Apis.

In this leadership role, Nardecchia will provide strategic vision, operational excellence and change leadership to develop and implement information technology initiatives and architecture throughout the company.

Dream Report version 4.81, technically a maintenance release, is available to all 4.8 customers. Along with an array of Customer Software Change Requests (SCRs), this release delivers on a theme of Productivity.

120 employees of the power supply specialist PULS now have a new home. The innovation that drives PULS in the design of every power supply also flows through this new office.

By Robert Miller and John Browett, CLPA While there may still be some debate about what Industry 4.0 really means, there is no denying that greater interconnectivity of devices and increased network capability will be the key drivers behind achieving the goals it sets out. This article outlines the network requirements that will enable Industry 4.0.

Research offers an improved tuning methodology of PID controller for standard second order plus time delay systems

The Ovation controls will be installed at each unit during a 13-day outage – a compressed timeframe for a turbine controls replacement project. This marks the first time a vendor other than the turbine OEM has been selected to retrofit GT13 combustion turbine controls.

The data clearly shows that OT networks are ripe targets for adversaries, whose motives range from criminal intent to operational disruption and even threats to human and environmental safety

Rockwell Automation goals include co-creating to solve customer problems, accelerating innovation and identifying new emerging technologies that can help its manufacturing customers improve business performance by bridging the gaps between plant-floor and higher-level information systems.

By Martyn Williams, COPA-DATA UK In the era of smart manufacturing, valuing independence can be the difference between failure and success. This article explains why manufacturers should consider independence when striving for more collaborative facilities and supply chains.

RSA has certified PAS Cyber Integrity as interoperable with RSA NetWitness Suite. Industrial process companies that have RSA NetWitness can access security intelligence for both corporate and process control networks (PCNs) via a single application.

In general use the highest valve positioner gain that does not cause oscillation. For pipeline flow and pressure control, oscillations are not filtered.