Articles and News

Schedule includes a new workshop specifically focused on OPC Unified Architecture (UA) to provide attendees the skills and tools to maximize the benefits of using OPC UA.

HMI information needs to be displayed in meaningful and actionable ways rather than as "raw data."

Wireless technology for industrial automation applications has requirements regarding standards, protocols, methodologies, and support tools

Updates help automate device replacement and enable backwards compatibility among different revisions of FOUNDATION devices used in plant automation systems.

The redesign is now optimized to work with all major Internet browsers including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and Safari.

Automation.com, December 2012 By Bill Lydon, Editor Maintenance strategy is becoming an important topic because of aging systems and the lack of experienced personnel. The goal of a maintenance strategy is to achieve the highest automation system availability consistent with the organization's safety, capital investment and profit goals.

The 2013 General Assembly will be held in Shanghai, China, on March 12-15, 2013.

AMT says with a year-to-date total of $4,753.68 million, 2012 is up 5.3% compared with 2011.

Despite the overall decline, certain machine vision components have enjoyed positive year-over-year growth through the first nine months of 2012.

The Pawnee Station set up a cause code system for their text messages in the event of a shut down or malfunction. Each code represents a cause and is texted to plant managers and maintenance personnel.

Emerson will supply Ovation control and SCADA technology for the Catalina Solar and Pacific Wind renewable energy projects.

ABB will supply the switchyard, switch room and other electrical equipment, together with the control system for the Bozshakol mine.

Automation.com, December 2012 By Rebecca Guthrie, Dan O'Brien, et al. Honeywell Performance Materials and Technologies approached Honeywell Process Solutions for assistance on a solution for a standard manufacturing execution system (MES) platform that would reduce total cost of ownership and take advantage of industry standards.

Be extremely careful to select knowledgeable technicians to install capillary seals. Many a pipefitter has pulled them out of the box and bolted them up without the proper gaskets and spacers. If this

In addition to the obvious needs in power generation, the retirement of generating assets in certain areas will create pockets of grid instability that must be addressed.

Advantech has become an authorized distributor of InduSoft’s InduSoft Web Studio HMI/SCADA software package.

Catalog presents technical information clearly so customers can quickly source standard wire and cable products and custom build-to-order solutions.

Guide covers enclosure solutions for oil refining and purification, biodiesel production, etc., with relevant safety classifications.

Classes on safety, security, surge protection, Ethernet, wireless and I/O run from February through April 2013.

Red Arrow replaced unreliable capacitance-based level measurement devices with guided wave radar (GWR) transmitters from Emerson Process Management.

Honeywell will install its MES solution at four power plants in Kuzbassenergo and two power plants in Yenisei, Siberia, as well as at SGK’s head office in Moscow.

CSIA names four new members, four certified members, and three recertified members.

Subcontractors and suppliers will be showcasing their solutions and services to the international audience at Industrial Supply (8-12 April 2013).

Process integration and interdisciplinary product development are core themes of Digital Factory, 8 to 12 April 2013.

The 564 page catalog covers a wide range of machine safety subjects and the complete line of ABB JOKAB SAFETY products.

Accurate mass flow measurements have improved product quality and reduced production time by 10–15 per cent at the Unilever facility in Gebze, Turkey.

Siemens will supply two Robicon Perfect Harmony variable frequency drives (VFD) to the Big Stone Plant, a coal-fired power plant in South Dakota.

Students will design and construct Rube Goldberg machines, which are overly complex contraptions, for hammering a nail.

Motion, Drive & Automation (MDA) trade fair will be staged at the upcoming HANNOVER MESSE from 8 to 12 April 2013.

A goal for the German government is to explore and develop forward-looking new technologies that will lay the groundwork for Germany’s future. The companies exhibiting at Research & Technology are a crucial part of this effort.

PI welcomes the new basic technology as an important contribution toward the widespread use of drives with PROFIBUS and PROFINET in applications.

ABB's S+ Control PDP800 PROFIBUS Interface is built on FPGA technology and intellectual property (IP) cores provided by Softing and does not require a dedicated ASIC.

The USB3 Vision standard supports easy camera connectivity to newer off-the-shelf computer products with built-in USB 3.0 ports.

DARPA will use aPriori as an automated back-end solution for optimizing manufacturing cycle time and product costs for the Adaptive Vehicle Make (AVM) program.

PI views the announcement by Emerson Process Management that it is expanding its AMS Suite to include connectivity to PROFIBUS PA as good news.

By Mark Howard, Zettlex Inductive sensor terminology and techniques can be confusing. This article explains the various types and operating principles, as well as their consequent strengths and weaknesses.

PROFINET functions for process automation include CiR, redundancy, time synchronization, and time stamping.

The Consortium will use the National Instruments Single-Board RIO General Purpose Inverter Controller (GPIC) as the integrated control system for a new 100 kilowatt intelligent power stack module.

Honeywell will supply an Experion Process Knowledge System and plant security to Alliance Oil Company for its Khabarovsk Refinery in far east Russia.

Automation.com, December 2012 By Bill Lydon, Editor Emerson is expanding their role of providing lifecycle services and achieving the "trusted advisor" status with customers. With the addition of new employees and products, they are positioning themselves to better serve process automation users.

The leaflet covers VA Master FAM540, Armored purgemeter FAM3200, PurgeMaster 10A6100, and VA Master glass tube meters.

Users of the EPLAN Platform can use the macros to create overview drawings, electrical and pneumatic circuit diagrams, and PLC overviews of Festo CPX/MPA valve terminals.

VIPA is a manufacturer of PLCs, I/O modules and HMIs in Herzogenaurach, Germany.

"Advanced Control Foundation: Tools, Techniques, and Applications" by Terry Blevins, et al, provides a more thorough understanding of the concepts and capabilities of advanced control products and solutions.

Study says over the next five years, the United States, Germany and Japan will be challenged to maintain their competitive edge against China, India and Brazil.

The PC-based software tool emulates complete Sercos networks and the connected Sercos slave devices.

The EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG) has attracted more than 2,200 member companies from 56 countries.

The Semiconductor Technical Working Group of the EtherCAT Technology Group published 12 comprehensive profile documents since October 2011.

Automation.com, November 2012 By Bill Lydon, Editor The automation industry has been centered on a five layer hierarchical architecture for years but new technology is making it possible to streamline this model to eliminate layers, increase performance, and lower software maintenance costs.

The organizations will work on the interface between BACnet (ANSI ASHRAE 135 / ISO 16484-5) and OPC-UA (IEC 62541).