Articles and News

By Bill Lydon, Editor A few months ago, I gave a presentation to owners of small to midsize manufacturers about industrial automation technology and how it can improve operations and efficiency. One of the attendees asked why companies don’t apply more automation? The question triggered an interesting and instructive discussion. Here are some key takeaways from that discussion.

ISA Transactions has earned its highest rating ever in a prominent scientific ranking of journal quality and value.

For this growth to happen, new power solutions will be required: power solutions that are small, thin, self-recharging, and never need replacement.

By Roxtec Understanding the behavior of pests, including mosquitos, bees, snakes, rodents, ants, etc., is essential to assist electrical and mechanical designers in designing cable, pipe and conduit penetrations that are protected against infestation.

By Chuck Fuerst, HighJump Software Cloud-based supply chain management software is helpful to companies of all sizes, but not all technology is created equal. This article addresses both the technical and vendor capabilities that manufacturers should understand when considering supply chain software in the cloud.

Decathlon for Data Centers software enables data center staff to evaluate Decathlon’s capabilities for monitoring their critical power path at no cost.

The toolkit allows for easy integration and application development of 3DPIXA stereo camera within the National Instruments LabVIEW environment.

On/off solenoid valves with PWM control are widely used in all types of vehicle electro-hydraulic control systems.

Enerchem’s Slave Lake fractionation plant in Albert, Canada, replaced an outmoded HMI system with an Ignition HMI/SCADA system from Inductive Automation.

Overall, close to $78 trillion is expected to be spent globally between now and 2025 on five industry sectors - extraction, utilities, manufacturing, transport and social.

Four companies joined CSIA, another became certified, and two earned recertification.

Tuning of Industrial Control Systems simplifies modern control system tuning by eliminating mathematical complexity and addressing the real-world needs of control system technicians.

An HMI from InduSoft improves productivity through automated monitoring and tracking of operations at Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee in Fort Worth, Texas.

Metso will supply 140 actuated on-off and emergency shutdown (ESD) ball and butterfly valves to the PETRONAS Gas Berhad's gas processing plant modernization project in Kerteh, Terengganu, Malaysia.

Upgrades to Proficy Mobile allow managers to view and execute workflows, facilitates a tight integration with SCADA systems, and enables geo-intelligence capabilities which can be used with Google Maps.

Yokogawa Electric's confocal image single-cell drug discovery support system has been selected for the Japan Science and Technology Agency’s (JST) next-generation technology transfer program (NexTEP).

Wireless sensors powered by thermoelectric generators in environments where temperature differentials exist will help boost the market to nearly $1 billion by 2024.

Founded in 1989, Columbus now has over 900 employees worldwide, customers in 42 countries, and 6,000 successful ERP implementations worldwide.

More than 53.8 million electronic control relays were sold in 2013, with 13.1 million classified as measuring & monitoring relays. Most were for building automation applications.

Niagara Tools of St. Catharines, Ontario, is a specialty cutting tool manufacturer.

Hoffer will supply turbine flowmeters used for critical cooling flow measurement systems for the new lead ship of the DDG-1000 class, the USS Zumwalt.

In spite of cold as low as -70F, Honeywell will upgrade process control with an Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS) and Foundation Fieldbus at the Molikpaq platform on the Sakhalin shelf, Russia.

Siemens Energy will perform service and maintenance for three Siemens (SGT6-5000F) gas turbines that will be installed at Shell Canada's Carmon Creek project.

By Marcus Koh Leong Hai, Nanyang Technological University Nanyang Technological University is developing an intelligent eco-building management system at Clean Tech One at Clean Tech Park, Singapore’s first eco-business park. Paradox Engineering’s technology will be used to research energy efficiency verification and intelligent control for buildings

What are the Essentials of pH in Industrial Applications?

ProbMe configuration software for Econais Wi-Fi Modules, Development Kits and Reference Designs provides an easy, fast and secure way to add new devices to a network.

The PLM market grew 4.8% to $35 billion in 2013, slowing after several high growth years coming out of the global recession, says CIMdata.

PlantPAx process automation and Ethernet motor control systems will be installed at LSB’s new nitric acid and ammonia plants currently being constructed in El Dorado, Ark.

By Bob Frostholm, JVD Don't build a Frankenstein monster by using "cadaver" electronic parts. Regardless of where in the system analog ICs are found, integration into an ASIC almost always yields user benefits. Stop wasting money with off the shelf solutions.

The STS Developers Kit combines a STS spectrometer, a Raspberry Pi microcomputer, customizable software with Ethernet, and wireless capabilities in single package.

DMLogic is the preferred integration partner for Seegrid Supervisor network appliance installed on-site, which communicates with AGVs over WiFi.

The PLC supports temperature measurement in three, 800 gallon fermenters, records batch data, and automates the circulation pump, transfer pump and 300,000 btu Boiler.

By Ed Romaine, Integrated Systems Design Materials handling process improvement directed at eliminating areas of waste and inefficiency can go a long way in helping manufacturers, warehouse and distribution operations meet lean and green initiatives while improving quality, service--and the bottom line.

Sappi Austria Produktions in Gratkorn, Austria, will use Experion PMD, Safety Manager, Experion MX and the latest version of Process Historian Database (PHD) based on the Experion platform.

Engineering is a wonderful career if you have a technical mindset. Consider your engineering degree as a "hunting license." Much of your college coursework will not be relevant to the actual work you

John Serfilippi was appointed President and Interim Chief Executive Officer upon the retirement of Michael F. Quinn, effective August 1st, 2014.

Profichip´s EtherCAT Master and Slave ASICs can be used in all devices in the factory network.

Byworth Boilers in Keighley, UK, uses ABB’s Freelance DCS to control and monitor its boilers. The DCS replaces discrete stand-alone controllers for each loop, such as the maintenance of water level.

HIMA formed HIMA Segurança e Controle Crítico Ltda (HIMA Safety and Critical Control) and will open an office in Sao Paulo.

By Mark Ingham, Sensor Technology Measuring torque accurately, particularly in rotating shafts, can often be challenging, but new technology is providing a better solution.

By Bill Lydon, Editor Industry 4.0, Internet of Things (IoT), Industrial Internet, Industrial Internet Protocol (IP) all relate to the modernization and improvement of industrial automation. Is industrial automation evolving to become an integral part of enterprise computing, also referred to as IT?

Real Time Simulation of Nonlinear Generalized Predictive Control for Wind Energy Conversion System

The power generation system will operate on the gas from a landfill in Jyvaskyla, Finland.

Kaakani will replace David Eisner, who resigned his seat upon retiring from Honeywell.

The market for sensors in test and measurement earned revenues of $1.10 billion in 2013 and is estimated to reach $1.53 billion in 2020.

Adcole designs and builds Cylindrical Coordinate Measuring Machines ("CCMM") used for the precision gauging of critical engine components such as camshafts, crankshafts, and pistons.

Durex Industries is a North American designer and manufacturer of heaters, temperature sensors, controls and process systems.

The Leddar sensor module has been named the gold winner for Best New Product of the Year — Enterprise category in Best in Biz Awards 2014 International,

By Guido Beckmann The Safety over EtherCAT (FSoE) protocol enables safety-relevant data transmission, in parallel to standard data on the same network. FSoE is a technology certified by TÜV, developed according to IEC 61508, and internationally standardized in adherence to IEC 61784-3. The protocol can be used in applications requiring a Safety Integrity level as high as SIL3.

By Warren Wilson, Ovum Few companies have deployed software that can accurately manage all physical assets across the organization. Asset lifecycle information management (ALIM) is an emerging application category that offers a solution.