Articles and News

Orders were up 11.3% from February but down 1.4% when compared with the total of $502.89 million reported for March 2011. 2012 is up 12.9% compared with 2011.

PROJECTUS has extended its AVEVA PDMS with the addition of AVEVA OpenSteel and AVEVA Global.

The Automation Federation announced that the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) approved and fully support the creation of a U.S. Automation Community College Consortium.

Excelerate, an end-to-end engagement with customers, makes it easy for them to find enclosures for all their design needs.

Kosmala joins Okuma from ABB Robotics where he led the southern US sales team.

ABB remains the leading EAM supplier in Asia and Latin America, and was ranked second in North America.

Darius Adamczyk replaces Norm Gilsdorf who was named President of High Growth Regions for Russia, Central Asia, and the Middle East.

Alarm system optimization for increasing operations productivity

The Manufacturing Institute and its partners, including ISA, plans to award 500,000 credentials to individuals, positioning them for employment and advancement in manufacturing jobs.

Linear actuators are playing a vital role in helping Kluth, a manufacturer of roof panels, to eliminate virtually all sources of defects in its machining processes.

Automation.com, May 2012 By Bill Lydon, Editor Hannover Messe was again an impressive event that brings together people from the many isolated "silos" in manufacturing to one event for learning and sharing. China was the partner country this year providing yet another dimension to the event.

The website is a hub of information about robotic solutions for customers in diverse industries engaged in a variety of processes.

Based in Guangzhou, Aeromat is a control systems integration company, serving consumer goods, pharmaceutical, water treatment and automotive industries.

In addition, two OEMs have joined the Rockwell Automation OEM Program.

The SunSpec Alliance is dedicated to establishing information standards for renewable energy. Its mission is to drive data- and communications interoperability standards.

By P. Jason Ward, RSR Partners The US economy exhibits all of the attributes of an underpowered engine struggling to push a heavily laden truck up a long, low grade.

Automation.com, May 2012 By J Timothy Shea, Senior Analyst Due to expected increasing demand for level measurement and inventory tank gauging technologies as tools to help companies to continue to improve operational efficiencies, increase productivity, gain greater control over inventories and enhanced accuracy, VDC is forecasting a 5.2% CAGR through 2016.

Automation.com, May 2012 By Jeanne Schweder, Freelance Editor Predicting the reindustrialization of the U.S. over the next five years, Global CEO Joe Hogan said that the company is in the "sweet spot" to take advantage of the many megatrends driving the American economy.

The best way to classify process simulators is to look at the original intent of the simulator software when first released, who are the software developers, who configures the models, and how are the

Automation.com, May 2012 By Dr Harry Zervos, IDTechEx EnOcean Equipment Profiles (EEPs) lays the foundation for fully interoperable, open wireless technology comparable to standards such as Bluetooth and WiFi.

The main steam isolation valves will be installed in Unit 1 of the Sanmen Nuclear Power Plant, located in the Zhejiang Province of China.

Sensors Expo & Conference takes place June 6-7 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL.

The push-pull quick die change systems were made up of three floor mounted and two cart mounted die transport and positioning systems, using Serapid’s Rigid Chain Technology.

HP30 high-pressure disc valve motors power standard drillheads on the all-hydraulic, tophead-drive rotary drills used for water-well, geothermal and auger drilling.

This year’s FRC challenge, “Rebound Rumble,” required robots to shoot as many foam basketballs as possible into various hoops located on the field.

IEEE 802.11-2012 supports devices and networks that are faster, more secure, while offering improved Quality of Service and improved cellular network hand-off.

The two-volume edition features PLCs, PACs, touch screen monitors, AC and DC motors, text panels, sensors, encoders, pushbuttons, switches, drives, and more.

The training center in Istanbul will serve both Turkey and its neighboring countries, acting as a training hub for the region and offering an extensive range of Honeywell training courses.

Automation.com, May 2012 By Jeanne Schweder, Freelance Editor "First, do no harm" sums up the approach global engineering giant ABB took to its January 2011 acquisition of Baldor, the leading U.S. motor manufacturer. Just over 12 months later, the company has shown record profits as well as profit-sharing for employees, and a 50 percent improvement in customer satisfaction rates by year’s end.

PTC ASIA 2012, held from October 29 to November 1, 2012, is the largest manufacturing technology exhibition geared towards mechanical, electrical and fluid power transmission and control in Asia.

infoteam Functional Safety Management Process (iFSM) is now officially certified by TÜV SÜD according to IEC 61508:2010.

Automation.com, May 2012 By TURCK Identifying Tray Cables for Your Next Installation helps operators in defining, selecting and understanding tray cable uses and standards.

The Process Training Unit features Endress+Hauser instruments and Rockwell Automation PlantPAx process automation system for educating field technicians, engineers and sales personnel.

The 205.5 MW greenfield power plant fueled by natural gas is scheduled to start up by the end of 2012.

Linamar deployed KEPServerEX Communications platform to gather data from sixty production machines controlled by six disparate systems.

Verhappen will be responsible for overseeing all Yokogawa business operations in Canada.

Automation.com, May 2012 By Bill Lydon, Editor Participants of the Pharmaceutical Automation Roundtable discussed the topic of networking approaches while considering the differences between manufacturing automation control system networks and business IT networks.

G3-PLC is a global, open powerline communication protocol specifically designed for smart grid communications and recently standardized by the ITU.

The Mechanical Product Assembly & Logistics Center in Glendale Heights supports electro-mechanical product manufacturing operations for the Americas region.

The site identifies common packaging challenges and how Mitsubishi Electric solutions are designed to overcome them.

Catalog covers Valco and Cheminert GC, LC, HPLC, and UHPLC valves, fittings, and accessories, as well as Metronics calibration devices and Precision Sampling products.

MEA is Alaska’s second largest electric cooperative, providing services to 57,000 customers via more than 4,000 miles of transmission and distribution lines.

An I/O checkout on a DCS system is rather difficult because there is no means to “force” the I/O as you can most PLCs

ISA announces the opportunity to attend an exclusive, behind the scenes technology Walt Disney World tour in conjunction with ISA Automation Week 2012, held 24–27 September 2012.

Automation.com, May 2012 By Mark Howard, Zettlex Article lists 10 simple rules for design engineers when selecting position and speed sensors that must cope with shock or vibration.

US Veterans Administration deployed the Infometrics continuous, monitoring-based commissioning program at its 650,000 square foot Caribbean Healthcare system facility in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Attendance totaled 472 for the three-day event. Conference attendance has grown 32 percent in the past three years

PowerScan D Cabled Barcode Reader System is now certified for use in Class I/II/III, Division 2 hazardous locations.

The system will be installed on BM8, one of the largest board machines in the world with an annual production amount of over 400,000 tons.

The system will replace an existing ERP system to support the company's growth and improve operational efficiency through realtime information and reporting.