Articles and News

It is time to think of a drone as more than a flying camera. It is a mobile platform for easily delivering sensors to various locations.

Total E&P Denmark is replacing the existing wellhead platforms with new and elevated topsides. The 13-meter-high jacket extensions and new topsides will be installed on top of the existing jacket structures.

The TC Router permits remote access to SCADA networks and control systems over the cellular network. Since these networks typically involve critical infrastructure, the TC Router VPN and firewall have been updated to increase network resiliency and protect against cyberattacks.

IO-Link to CIP connectivity works to reduce engineering effort and ease the acquisition of data and information, leading to a connected plant that is better able to meet the demands that IT/OT convergence are bringing to the factory floor. IO-Link devices can now be recognized within EtherNet/IP without the end user having the burden of data conversion.

IDTechEx has recently seen competitors joining hands and forming some unlikely-sounding alliances to reduce the cost of autonomous driving development, as well as to share resources and capabilities. In July 2019, BMW Group signed a long-term strategic cooperation with rival company Daimler AG that begins with bringing Level 4 capability to market in the mid-2020s.

By Robert Glass, Exel Composites Composites have transformed the technologies of many industries —although the materials used to manufacture them have evolved. This article examines the progress of composites and their advantages over traditional materials like steel.

The reasons for this downturn are a global economy that is losing momentum and saturation effects in important markets. For example, worldwide sales of smartphones are stagnating, which is also having an impact on investment in machinery.

The future of the oil & gas industry will depend on operators that can survive the industry’s highly volatile nature and still achieve operational excellence in all areas of business, including mainte

As the project’s main automation contractor (MAC), Honeywell will deliver all systems, detailed engineering and lead procurement for the integrated control and safety system. The solution will be based on Honeywell’s flagship control system, the Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS)

The certification shows that the security capabilities Rockwell Automation uses when quoting, designing, integrating and maintaining automation systems meet the standard’s requirements. ISA/IEC 62443 is the world’s only consensus-based cybersecurity standard for industrial control applications.

As the project’s main automation contractor (MAC), Honeywell will deliver all systems, detailed engineering and lead procurement for the integrated control and safety system. The solution will be based on Honeywell’s flagship control system, the Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS)

The arrival of new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) is transforming the way industries have been operated from decades. These technologies are bringing revolutionary transformations that are impacting industries at large.

The fieldbus intrinsic safety concept simplifies the rules governing energy storage in field cables and makes more power available to the fieldbus trunk.

The engagement is designed to capitalize on the expertise of both companies to deliver new capabilities for greater industrial supply chain optimization. By providing customers with a single, trusted provider of digital solutions, the collaboration intends to enable clients to leverage the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and ultimately drive measurable growth outcomes.

Siemens’ AM Network is designed for enterprises, suppliers and partners that are looking to accelerate the adoption of AM for industrial processes and applications.

Every motion control problem begins with a need to move a certain payload over a certain distance. However, there are many types of moves possible, and determining the right motion control solution may require some calculations to match the specifications found on a given motors data sheet.

By Jonathan Wilkins, director, EU Automation Errors in the pharmaceutical supply chain can lead to late delivery, increased costs and poor-quality products, which can have a detrimental impact on consumers. This article explains how organizations can use digital technologies to improve the pharmaceutical supplychain and minimize the risk of errors.

The trade show for industrial technology gives attendees a roadmap to tomorrow’s connected, automated and globally oriented industrial landscape, and the show’s forums play a major role in this, as does the Industry 4.0 Forum.

Malone Group will operate as a trusted implementation partner and value-added reseller for Senseye, driving adoption of Senseye PdM with large-scale FMCG producers, packaging manufacturers, and heavy industry organizations.

Through the new partnership, Bastian Solutions will utilize Tompkins Robotics’ t-Sort systems to help its clients optimize warehousing and fulfillment operations across a range of end customer applications and sites.

Industrial automation is no longer limited by the walls of a production facility. More and more automation is being handled via remote communication, whether it’s from the office or from the comfort of your own home. Today’s PLCs give you the ability to access your control system to handle such tasks as monitoring via a website to determine the condition of a machine or check other statistics.

For the first time worldwide, energy companies will be able to access a supply of up to 100 megawatts of power, over distances up to 600 kilometers and down to 3,000 meters water depth, at pressures that could shatter a brick.

Through the Digital Partner Program, businesses can consult with industry advisors to create roadmaps for their digital initiatives and learn how industrial IoT concepts like digital twin, the factory of the future and a connected workforce can improve their uptime and efficiency.

Through the Digital Partner Program, businesses can consult with industry advisors to create roadmaps for their digital initiatives and learn how industrial IoT concepts like digital twin, the factory of the future and a connected workforce can improve their uptime and efficiency.

The Honeywell OneWireless IoT Module will deliver ISA100 Wireless and WirelessHART multi-protocol connectivity, extending the Wi-Fi connectivity delivered via the Cisco Catalyst IW6300 Heavy Duty Series Access Point, the successor to the Cisco Aironet 1552S Outdoor Access Point.

Robotic manipulators in industry perform repetitive tasks in manufacturing processes, and ensure a high production volume along with high quality standards.

Whatfix is collaborating with Automation Anywhere to streamline customer onboarding during trial and post-trial RPA deployments. The relationship between the two companies is also intended to help improve user engagement and internal sales productivity on Salesforce CRM applications.

By Bill Lydon, Automation.com The 2019 Inductive Automation Ignition Community Conference was another high energy, creative, and stimulating leadership event. With the company illustrating the power of the next level of software technology and leveraging this with a new business model, Inductive Automation illuminated their progression to be more responsive to industry and customer requirements.

Whatfix is collaborating with Automation Anywhere to streamline customer onboarding during trial and post-trial RPA deployments. The relationship between the two companies is also intended to help improve user engagement and internal sales productivity on Salesforce CRM applications.

A growing list of partners starting with Jabil, KIMYA, Polymaker, and Mitsubishi Chemical are working to qualify filament for use with the MakerBot METHOD platform.

By Darcy Simonis, ABB food and beverage With research showing that only 21 per cent of all product recalls over the last decade were detected by the company themselves, it is more important than ever that food and beverage manufacturers review and prevent contamination and mislabeling. This article explores the rise of recalls and what food companies can do to mitigate this alarming trend.

The company plans to integrate MultiMechanics into Siemens Digital Industries Software, which will add the ability for customers to create a digital twin of materials by closely integrating materials engineering with part design, performance engineering, and manufacturing through the unique TRUE Multiscale technology for a range of material-driven applications.

This performance includes a year of achievements spanning customers and use cases, innovations designed to accelerate the integration OT and IT systems, and industry recognition for the two companies’ combined industrial software suite, FactoryTalk InnovationSuite, powered by PTC.

Northwest Analytics' board of directors announced that Peter Guilfoyle has been appointed chief executive officer, president and director. Robert Ward, former CEO, will assume an advisory role. These changes were effective November 12, 2019.

The enhancements to the Syncron Service Cloud are designed to work to empower manufacturers to optimize their current break-fix after-sales service operations as they simultaneously lay the foundation for the inevitable shift to servitization and delivering products-as-a-service.

Coriolis meters provide the only true mass flow measurements, which offer a very accurate density measurement as well.

The two companies aim to roll-out and continually develop a microgrid control system that enables the integration of power from renewable energy to a mine's off-grid power supply.

The proprietors of the HARTING Technology Group have expanded the scope of their entrepreneurial activities and will now be active as a partner of PerFact, the software development company, as from December 31, 2019.

This cooperation highlights industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) innovation in scaling Ansell PPE and striving to create a safer work environment. Ansell and ProGlove are working for a breakthrough in enterprise safety management by combining smart PPE to address customer frustrations.

ITM 2019 showcased smart manufacturing and digital transformation in Mexico, drawing more than 30,000 attendees from Mexico and abroad during the three-day event held from October 9-11 at the Poliforum León in Guanajuato, Mexico.

by Gabriel Smith OEE is a quality systems management tool which enables manufacturers to assess a plant’s effectiveness. Used wisely, OEE allows a manufacturer to identify major losses, create a road map to find problems, and enhance capacity.

As part of a joint project, members of the VDMA OPC Machine Vision Initiative together with the OPC UA Foundation, have developed a hardware demonstrator that includes the practical implementation of the "OPC UA for Machine Vision (OPC MV) Part 1 Companion Specification".

Hydraulic actuators are driven by a high-pressure fluid (up to 4,000 psig) that can be delivered to the actuator by a pump that is remote from the actuator itself.

With a maximum annual production capacity of 400 high precision machining centers, the nearly 150,000-sq ft Chiron Precision Factory in located in Neuhausen, Germany.

AutoGuide’s products work to deliver deployment andefficiency of industrial and warehouse material-handling operations.

The tested and certified joint Indegy-Owl solution gives customers the confidence of knowing that their OT network is physically inaccessible from the external network while being monitored by the Indegy Industrial Cybersecurity Suite.

The tested and certified joint Indegy-Owl solution gives customers the confidence of knowing that their OT network is physically inaccessible from the external network while being monitored by the Indegy Industrial Cybersecurity Suite.

Under the agreement, HPS will provide KIPIC with front-end engineering design and advanced process control technology for the complex, which will help KIPIC expedite production start-up and assist with reaching production targets faster and more efficiently.

Under the agreement, HPS will provide KIPIC with front-end engineering design and advanced process control technology for the complex, which will help KIPIC expedite production start-up and assist with reaching production targets faster and more efficiently.

Ricoh approached Evershed Robotics initially, who suggested using a combination of a Toshiba Machine TH650 SCARA robots, a Toshiba Machine Cartesian robot to work with their six bowl feeders and a rotary index table.

Tosibox Oy announced its support for the declaration that sends a signal and manifests a common desire to work together to strengthen everyone’s security in the digital space.

The research shows that growth in the intralogistics and materials handling sector has led to increased demand for decentralised and motor mounted drives, leading them to show the strongest growth over the five-year forecast period out of all seven product types covered.

Cryptography is a good way to enhance understanding of the more esoteric portions of a journey to understand the difference between what is stochastic and what is deterministic.

By Zane Blomgren, Belden Active network scanning can deliver much more information than passive scanning, and can be an incredibly valuable tool in any industrial environment.

The Ground Fault Considerations Tech Guide covers a wide range of topics and includes a selection guide, as well as a variety of case studies and application examples.

A2V is designed to address concerns about protecting the U.S. power grid from cyber threats by promoting collaboration among electric companies. A2V will help reduce the costs associated with cybersecurity regulatory compliance in an effort to cope with budgetary limitations.

Self-study workbooks ensure that all students have been exposed to the same learning objectives and material.

Intelligent Automation will help these companies and their engineers to beat the competition and make an impact in this highly competitive and evolving digital trend of integrated Cyber – Physical world of manufacturing, called Industry 4.0.

By Edward Naranjo, Emerson When plant personnel have a basic grasp of fire and gas system operation, they can recognize factors that compromise safety.

The new report includes a new definition for digital twin and eliminates virtual entity in favor of digital representation. Other terms added to the report include physical entity and physical entity of interest, describing a physical object such as factory equipment that could be monitored or that is already being monitored by an IoT system.

Different ways to design industrial control panels so they do not become potential ignition sources in hazardous working locations.

Magswitch offers single sided gripping systems featuring true on-and-off magnetic technology that can simplify complete automation systems in OEM assembled lines in such applications as robotic welding, pick-and-place, and body-in-white.

Since its opening in August of 2018, Fiserv Forum has quickly become home to many passionate Milwaukee Bucks basketball fans. Yet, aside from the on-court product, the new entertainment and sports center in downtown Milwaukee is an integrated facility, working to enhance fan experience, comfort and safety.

The strategic partnership will enable organisations to gain faster access to the Microsoft Azure Cloud, with the goal of high performance, security and compliance to better transform their business operations.

Industrial control system cybersecurity can be intimidating. Automation professionals can begin with a layered defense-in-depth ICS security approach.

Learn the latest from industry leaders on everything from open automation systems for packaging machines to specifying process control systems using IEC 62603 in this Control Systems edition of Advancing Automation from Automation.com.

Virtual reality is an established technology which has been deployed in various industries including gaming, marketing and manufacturing. But, what about augmented reality?

Major features focus on enhancing connectivity to two vendors, Rockwell Automation and Siemens. In the previous release, Dream Report delivered FactoryTalk Historian Data connectivity.

Under the strategic partnership, Kontrol and RF Controls will jointly undertake efforts to promote and deploy the CS Smart Antenna Real-Time Location System (RTLS) integrated into Kontrol's energy and asset performance tracking software.

By Scott Reedy, Arena Solutions With today’s plethora of cloud solutions and mobile apps, most of us want the ability to configure quickly and easily without having to know how to code. When evaluating new solutions, it’s important to ask software vendors to demonstrate how to configure the application so you can determine the level of effort and technical expertise required to do so.

The DDC cabinet technology is a closed loop liquid-air hybrid cooling system which works to provide environmental conditions and energy efficiency, along with biometric security and rapid-deployment capabilities, for the computing hardware needed to support computing workloads.

By Lee Lane, FDT We just completed our first European Developers’ Workshop focused on the emerging FDT IIoT Server (FITS) standard scheduled to release to the public in the first quarter of 2020.

For most pressure applications, changes in pressure are detected by the change in deflection of a measuring diaphragm.

The interactive landscape is intended to show some of the safe, smart and sustainable solutions that can contribute to the design of a comprehensive ‘smart city’.

Virtual Access Limited, an Irish-based technology company specializes in wireless industrial routers and gateways, and managed connectivity services for customers in the utility, traffic management and telecommunications sectors.