Articles and News

This is to help companies address the growing workforce and supply chain disruption created by the Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic.

By Sean Beeker This article discusses the top ten reasons most often cited for ordering online and it will also present specific examples of how industrial end user purchasers are benefiting from online ordering.

Hospitals and medical facilities are experiencing shortages of N95 masks due to COVID-19. Companies are boosting production in unprecedented ways.

Emerson announced that it has completed the purchase of American Governor Company, maker of technologies and services for hydroelectric turbine controls.

The CoVent-19 Challenge is open to teams and individuals anywhere, and finalists will work directly with Stratasys 3D printing experts and the CoVent-19 Challenge team to turn their designs into prototypes for testing.

The collaboration between ODVA and the OPC Foundation will result in secure communications between devices that are a part of a CIP-enabled Industrial Control System (ICS) and other OPC UA enabled applications allowing communication between CIP devices and OPC UA devices as well as with cloud and enterprise level services.

The latest issue delves into the topic of intelligent transport systems (ITS). In this edition, experts discuss important issues for ITS, including over-the-air updates, security and logistics.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced a delay in the crucial standardization work that would make 5G available for enterprise use cases. The relevant standardization body, 3GPP, has formally announced a deferral of this standardization until at least June 2020, which would delay commercial rollout of industrial 5G until at least 2022.

By Bill Lydon While the April Hannover Messe event is cancelled, industrial companies remain focused on digital transformation techniques, methods and ideas.

The model will cover several intersecting dimensions including business intelligence, product lifecycle management, value chain management, manufacturing operations, the Industrial Internet of Things, asset management, workforce and cybersecurity.

The three-volume set focuses on developing a strong understanding of the basics of MicroStation and follows a step-by-step approach that includes exercises and real-world examples complete with illustrations.

From Friday March 27, ABB’s Robotics and Discrete Automation business will make key software services available free of charge to its customers until December 31st, 2020.

All the partners are suppliers of control technology, fieldbus infrastructures, measurement technology or actuator technology: Auma Riester, Bürkert, Festo, Flowserve, Hima Paul Hildebrandt, Honeywell Process Solutions, Mitsubishi Electric, Pepperl+Fuchs, Phoenix Contact, Rockwell Automation, Schneider Electric, Turck and recently Softing Industrial Automation.

The annual ARC European Industry Forum, “Driving Digital Transformation in Industry,” May 18-20, 2020, will move online as ARC’s first-ever virtual forum. The event will use virtual event tools to offer live streaming of user presentations, expert panel discussions, and audience interaction.

The ISA Global Cybersecurity Alliance's "Quick Start Guide: An Overview of the ISA/IEC 62443 Standards" is now available for download.

The Siemens AM network is available globally and covers the entire value chain – from upload and simulation to checking the design up to the printing process and associated services.

It is the first time in HANNOVER MESSE’s 73-year history that the event will not take place. However, the organizers will not let the show completely vanish.

While bottlenecks still exist in today’s manufacturing environment, the good news is that the Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) is providing new ways to solve them.

The company has been driving the creation of a Single Pair Ethernet standard for the Industrial marketplace since 2015 along with other industrial companies and global standards bodies, such IEC and IEEE.

Opto 22 supports the manufacture of materials and products needed for essential medical supply chains, transportation, energy, communications, food and agriculture, chemical manufacturing, nuclear facilities, the operation of dams, water and wastewater treatment, emergency services, and the defense industrial base, all deemed vital by CISA

The guide explores how and why IT and OT/ICS need unique types of protection against cyber threats and offers recommendations on patch management.

As more experienced workers retire from the manufacturing workforce, the sector faces a future with a growing skills gap and a greater number of unfilled jobs.

Richard “Rich” Jesse Merritt died Saturday, February 8, 2020, at his home in Cedar Rapids. He was 76. He was a giant of industrial automation and control technical communications, serving countless publications and clients over his long career, including Automation.com and ISA’s InTech magazine.

By Bill Lydon, Automation.com One of the last automation events to occur before the coronavirus shut down business gatherings around the world was the ODVA 20th Annual Meeting of Members in Palm Harbor, Florida, USA on March 5, 2020. More than 120 industry professionals attended to focus on supporting industrial digitalization through the association’s device connectivity technologies, which include the Common Industrial Protocol (CIP) and the network adaptations of CIP: EtherNet/IP, DeviceNet, ControlNet and CompoNet.

By Bill Lydon, Automation.com One of the last automation events to occur before the coronavirus shut down business gatherings around the world was the ODVA 20th Annual Meeting of Members in Palm Harbor, Florida, USA on March 5, 2020. More than 120 industry professionals attended to focus on supporting industrial digitalization through the association’s device connectivity technologies, which include the Common Industrial Protocol (CIP) and the network adaptations of CIP: EtherNet/IP, DeviceNet, ControlNet and CompoNet.

The International Society of Automation (ISA) recently provided guidance to a Newsweek Vantage report on cyber risks to critical infrastructure.

With digitalization, OT, IT, and wireless communications are intertwining, increasing the complexity of effective cybersecurity and management.

The virtual event for PTC’s products and strategy will include some examples of how customers are using PTC technologies in the war against COVID-19.

By Louis Columbus To stay competitive, manufacturers must continually reinvent themselves and find new ways to improve—whether by delivering differentiated products, controlling costs, or improving quality.

By Bill Lydon The current state of pharma manufacturing maturity and the future of automation in the sector were important topics at the annual Pharmaceutical Automation Roundtable (PAR) held October 2019 at a Novo Nordisk facility.

Members of the annual Pharmaceutical Automation Roundtable (PAR) held October 2019 reflect on workforce skills, training, certification and development.

In his new role, Lyles will use his extensive experience in process control applications to assist customers in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

The IQ part-turn actuators provided are used on two fireboats, ‘Firefighter 2’ and ‘Firefighter 343’. The actuators have the important duty of controlling the flow of water to the fire nozzles on deck, meaning that they are vital in the event of an emergency.

To meet customer quality expectations, ARANIA was looking to implement an automated inspection system, with the goal of assuring its customers in the automotive industry that the delivered material met top quality requirements.

With the invention of smart field instruments, device drivers associated with them have become crucially important to fetch valuable diagnostic information to improve operations and performance saving valuable time and money.

Despite the current social and economic turmoil surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, ARC Advisory Group remains optimistic that the global market for industrial asset performance management (APM)-related solutions will rebound strongly over the long term.

The author of 'Quick Start Guide: An Overview of the ISA/IEC 62443 Series of Standards' hosts a webinar to review these automation cybersecurity standards.

The web-based solution gives plant operators and management teams real-time monitoring and control access to plant operations and performance over a secure-by-design connection such as VPN. This allows critical infrastructure to operate with a reduced crew on site, while being able to coordinate with their wider teams remotely.

The competition finals, held at the Hyatt Regency Washington in Washington, D.C., is organized by DiscoverE and sponsored in part by Bentley. Sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade students from 1,500 schools in more than 40 regions, as well as teams from Canada, have imagined, designed, and built cities for the 2019-2020 Future City Competition.

Auto manufacturers may soon produce medical equipment for COVID-19 patients. Standards will be crucial to ensure that products are made safely and quickly.

The merit-based scholarships are awarded on the candidate's potential for leadership and for making a significant contribution to the engineering, instrumentation, systems, and automation professions. Recipients may also be eligible for an Emerson internship.

TMHNA announced the recipients of grant funding during a joint press conference at MODEX 2020 held in conjunction with Material Handling Institute (MHI).

The CMMC 1.0 Reference Guide is intended to help defense suppliers understand the U.S. Department of Defense cybersecurity compliance program. The online guide is available to members of the Academy.

As all industries figure out how to carry on while limiting the spread of COVID-19, new technologies like smart glasses present timely solutions.

Milton succeeds Steven Wyatt (ABB, Switzerland), who is leaving ABB. Steven held the rotating post of President since December 2019 and prior to that served on a two-year term as IFR´s Vice President.

Bentley’s SVP for asset and network performance, has been elected to the board of MIMOSA, the not-for-profit industry trade association dedicated to developing and encouraging the adoption of open standards for physical asset lifecycle management.

COVID-19 has significantly affected manufacturing plant activity in China. Full manufacturing capabilities will likely not return for several months.

By Bill Lydon Focused on the theme, Driving Digital Transformation in Industry and Cities, the February 3-6 event had over 800 attendees from 20 countries representing more than 300 companies, along with many breakout sessions and workshops.

The partnership establishes AAE as an official Authorized Epson Service Center and will expand beyond selling Epson Robots, automation products and integrated solutions to include maintenance and repair of the installed base of Epson robots.

The definition of Digital Twin has been well vetted over the last few years, yet it seems when it’s time to pilot projects, it is forgotten. By working out these kinks, everything else―including performance monitoring, IIoT, predictive analytics and operational simulation―will fall into place.

InVision will offer Dynamic Infrastructure's AI-based predictive maintenance solution to tollway operators in Greece to help them maintain their assets and improve Opex.

What supply chain issues do you anticipate in your area of the world as a result of COVID-19?

The newly classified pandemic known as COVID-19 will have a dramatic impact on nearly every industry around the world, and automation will be no exception.

What impact will COVID-19 have on the automation cybersecurity industry?

Madison-Kipp Corporation (MKC), based in Madison, Wisconsin, makes precision machined aluminum die castings and subassemblies for the transportation, lawn & garden, and industrial markets. When it wanted to bring down costs and raise efficiency, MKC implemented Ignition by Inductive Automation

The company has invested $10 million USD in the new 128,000 square foot facility where it will design, develop, test and manufacture robotic and safety automation solutions.

Experiential learning is increasingly accepted as the most effective way to develop competency for both operators and field workers. To build truly effective operations, though, we need to bring them together.

Connecting JobBOSS data directly with real-time machine performance is intended to create visibility at an actionable level so that operators and managers can run business operations more effectively.

The traveling tour is designed to bring the latest innovations in automation, instrumentation, networking, and cybersecurity right to the doorstep of the process industries.

The first controller has been completed at Rolls-Royce in the Purdue Research Foundation’s Discovery Park District adjacent to the Purdue University campus in West Lafayette, Indiana, and will be installed onto a Rolls-Royce AE 3007H engine, manufactured at the company’s facilities in Indianapolis.

The Facility Management & Maintenance Library features 69 courses in 3D specifically designed to train facility managers, building engineers and maintenance technicians of commercial buildings.

This article discusses how automated guided vehicles have advanced from simple materials handlers to intelligent autonomous robots.

Research by Salesleads, a company that tracks industrial companies that are planning construction, expansion, or relocation projects in North America, 435 new projects are in the works as of February 2020, an activity increase of 1% from the previous month.

For the most effective management of industrial cybersecurity, it should be baked into a company's culture.

As manufacturers consider investing in robotic technology for productivity, it’s vital they have a clear grasp of ROI validating purchasing decisions.

One of the challenges of this application was the metal and shiny surface of the parts, which the ECCO 55.100 sensor was able to manage perfectly, producing a high-quality profile of the inspected part.

Through this partnership, UniCarriers will manufacture and promote their pallet jacks running Vecna Robotics’ Pivotal automation software.

With the objective of spearheading a machining paradigm able to handle large, complex aluminum parts, the companies have started a strategic cooperation.

The automotive sensor market saw the highest growth in 2018, and the Research and Markets predicts the automotive sector will continue to dominate the sensor market until 2029. So, what can the wider manufacturing industry learn from this?

In his role, Jayaseelan will drive company-wide sustainability initiatives for plant operations, design, engineering, procurement, finance and marketing.

The two companies have agreed that Yokogawa will provide energy management technology needed for the efficient operation and optimization of large-scale storage batteries.

There are a host of advantages in adopting the SaaS model for business solutions such as labeling. Not surprisingly there is both a growing trend for companies to integrate labeling with their cloud-based enterprise applications as well as a distinct move to embrace cloud based labeling solutions.

T-Systems currently offers several solution bundles including LoRaWAN sensors, gateways, Senet network connectivity plans, and integration with T-Systems’ Cloud of Things IoT platform for application management and expansion.

With Plus One Robotics, MSC has deployed a patent-pending 3D-vision and AI-enabled robotic packing system in its Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, customer fulfillment center and now plans to implement the system across its five major centers.

The 2020 product catalog features performance data, sizes, specifications, and technical references for the company’s portfolio of current sensing switches, transducers, transformers, and ground fault protection products.