Articles and News

Widely known as the ‘Father of the PLC’, Morley was the initial designer of the first PLC, produced by Modicon nearly 50 years ago. Morley was also a fervent entrepreneur, and heavily active in engineering and automation education, especially with the International Society of Automation.

Lifecycle dynamic simulation, the virtual plant, is a proven technology to help plant operations address challenges.

The webinar, which will be held from 12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m., EST will focus on how to address cybersecurity concerns in gas metering and data management.

Of the technology trends that I have observed in recent years, few developments have been more exciting than Industry 4.0 for Process Automation. But what does Industry 4.0 mean for your facility?

By Eric Ehlers, Cisco Entering a factory in this day and age is a bit like taking a dive into the ocean. There is a plethora of different ecosystems and constant movement. Both can be mind boggling when you view them for the first time. So how can manufacturers protect their ecosystem?

The 2,300-square-meter facility contains modern office space, an auditorium, conference rooms, a training center and a calibration laboratory.

For industrial plant migration to a new system, the challenge is to create a transition plan and minimal-risk implementation roadmap.

The third annual cyber security workshop and competition, CyberArabia, to be held Oct. 11-12, 2017, is part of the company’s global commitment to cyber education and workforce development, and will include a cyber defense competition that recognizes winners on both the men’s and women’s campuses across Saudi universities.

This will enable remote monitoring of functionality and availability of the electrical devices and electrical systems through Metsä Fibre as well as ABB experts and allow real-time collaborating to achieve availability and performance.

The Telit IoT Platform connects, manages and delivers the environmental data in a ready-to-use format. In cooperation with Husqvarna, Quantified Planet, an organization that links innovation to science, receives the data and publishes it for citizens to review.

According to IEC 61511-1, embedded software, which is part of the safety device/ controller, should follow software guidelines in IEC 61508-3.

The new Robotation Academy in Foshan will bring together 21 partner companies in the fields of robotics, automation and Industrie 4.0. The Academy sets its focus providing trainings, conferences and presentations on future technology trends for companies in the Guangdong region.

Dell Technologies unveiled its Internet of Things (IoT) vision and strategy, a new IoT division as well as new IoT specific products, labs, partner program and consumption models

By Jon Moscovic, Lead Reliability Engineer, SABIC SABIC’s situation proved to be harder than most typical applications due to a mix of specific conditions. For many years operators struggled while working with paramagnetic and electrochemical cell sensors.

Process Analyzer Systems Project Engineering and Management by Gary Nichols, PE, CAP®, includes specific recommendations for defining hardware and documentation deliverables, adhering to procurement policy, working with team members in other disciplines and in the supply chain, and communicating among project teams.

Through demonstrations, presentations and one-on-one discussion with leak test experts, the Nov. 8 Leak Test Workshop will give practical information and ideas that attendees can take back to their factories and implement for a better, faster and more reliable leak test.

Quantitative analysis and practical scenarios of implementation of the thermoelectric module for heat flow detection

Weeks after the devastation from Hurricane Harvey and Irma, leaders at Rockwell Automation are confidently moving forward with plans to host the annual Automation Fair event in Houston.

Emerson predicts the next 10 years will see exponential growth in the adoption of wireless and pervasive sensing applications that help companies maximize safety and reliability, optimize production and enable Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) strategies.

The center will function as the central focal point for expert resources and for systems that are equipped with ABB technology. It will leverage ABB’s pulp and paper expertise to provide true data-driven solutions for its customers by providing remote connectivity, secure access to process performance information, and technical support.

The company was seeking a turnkey package consisting of two 1400-ton hydraulic presses and two automated stamping die handling systems to load and unload the presses more efficiently than the conventional forklift and manual labor-intensive system this customer was currently utilizing.

In this position Rodriguez will continue to teach free hands-on classes at the company’s headquarters in Temecula, California, and will expand the company’s current online training videos and tutorials into a structured series of online courses for customers.

By Bill Lydon, Editor, Automation.com Reducing downtime has been one of the most relevant, shining examples of how Internet of Things (IoT) technology can have a real impact on today’s factory. The recent collaboration between OSISoft and Petasense aims to enhance this effort as this article explores.

Running GE Digital’s APM solution will help further prevent power outages by increasing the reliability of the thousands of power producing turbines and generators monitored by the M&D Center.

As the safety I/Os are controlled by the safety module inside the robot controller, there is no need for third party stand-alone safety PLCs to be used. It also reduces the time associated with the set-up and operation of robotic production cells.

Schneider Electric’s expanded APM assessment delivers a comprehensive view of asset health as a first step of an asset reliability strategy that takes into account business context to benchmark current performance and identify areas for improvement.

Built on the foundation of process control and safety systems, Plantweb expands on existing automation infrastructure to make the promise of Industrial IoT scalable and achievable, with a portfolio of Pervasive Sensing technologies, a suite of analytical software tools, secure data infrastructure devices and expert services.

Timur Dunaev, BioAir Solutions Odor problems at manufacturing facilities can be unexpected, and can work against the production the facility is meant to accomplish. Solving the problem requires analyzing how a facility’s processes generate and disperse odorous air, and then identifying an appropriate odor control solution.

The Danish company says communication modules and meters with integrated NB-IoT have already been developed and successfully tested. Pilot tests are planned for spring 2018 and a commercial solution will be available in the next 12-18 months.

Sager Electronics, a North American distributor of Interconnect, Power and Electromechanical components and provider of value-add solutions, announced that it has acquired the distribution and supply business of Power Sources Unlimited, Inc.

For plants that use automated fuel control, a pressure-based controller is the most common.

The goals of the OSHA/NIOSH/RIA Alliance are enhancing technical expertise about robotics within OSHA and NIOSH; improving awareness of workplace hazards associated with traditional industrial robots and the emerging technology of human robot collaboration (HRC) installations and systems; and identifying research that may be needed to help reduce workplace hazards.

Despite the amount of communication done long-distance nowadays, travel is an important part of business. With the advent of technology-based business information, security is no longer limited to just your own safety -- the security of your data is top priority too. Here are some easy tips for data protection.

The inherent flow characteristic is the relationship between valve capacity and valve travel, and it is usually expressed graphically.

Emerson opened its annual Emerson Global Users Exchange event with a focus on the resources that will enable manufactures to drive greater business performance in the future

Under his leadership, the Baumüller firm grew from a local company to a global, independent group of companies. Today, Baumüller employs over 1,800 people. It is based in Nuremberg.

The main symptom of EcoClean's heating problem was excessive heating times. Due to the heaters consisting of several heating elements, the issue might have been a blown fuse or an open element pulling less current than it should.

Kailash Desai has been promoted to this position and will take charge of the India business. In his stint with Endress + Hauser since 2003, he worked in various management roles focusing on marketing and sales, while also gaining experience in human resources and the projects business.

The report examines the technological advances propelling our future faster than ever before along with some of the biggest challenges engineers face looking ahead to 2018.

These walls show the power of the Microsoft commitment to embrace the OPC UA interoperability standard as the secure solution for integration of OT and IT.

Through this relationship, Telit and Wind River are reducing the complexities of IoT device management, helping companies realize the full solution benefits of IIoT.

ISA book on safety instrumented system design helps industrial automation professionals meet the requirements of international safety standards.

It is a simple fact in today’s industrial environment that the world needs more automation professionals. Closing this skills gap has been a well-documented priority for a number of organizations, as a result.

Today, the KarmaCap manufacturing process features automated production using Emerson’s Branson SW300 servo-driven spin welders to produce caps that are free from the issues associated with snap-fit seals –improving production efficiency and eliminating nearly all rejects.

As a registered partner, IVC is now a member of their global network of partners offering automation solutions that are complimentary to Schneider Electric’s Wonderware software portfolio.

As Manufacturing Day, 6 October 2017, approaches, the International Society of Automation (ISA) and its affiliate association, the Automation Federation, celebrate the importance of manufacturing to the world’s economic health and future.

The hands-on, 40-foot, interactive showroom will travel to nearly 20 U.S. cities and educate original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), facilities managers, commercial customers, end users, contractors and others about Eaton’s newest energy efficient innovations for heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R), pumping, process industry and machinery applications.

As part of their service contract with Lenze, machine builders can collect all the data that is available inside the Lenze controllers. They can then evaluate this data and make it available to their own customers, either as an up-to-date dashboard or in the form of reports providing performance figures.

The new applications are hand guiding, presence detection, and center pointing and will be utilized by both end users and systems integrators.

Mr. Sorelle brings over 30 years of experience as a defense electronics executive across a variety of roles, with deep professional experience in manufacturing, engineering, program management, and business development