Articles and News

OSHA initiated an inspection at the company’s automotive aluminum castings manufacturing facility in August 2018 after receiving a medical referral. OSHA cited the company for failing to protect the employees from exposure to airborne metalworking fluids during machining operations, and failing to evaluate respiratory hazards.

The joint solution of Lanner’s validated white-box gateway integrated with the edge computing software by Interactor is developed to enable interoperability and connectivity on both hardware and software levels in industrial automation and smart city deployments.

By Scott Fawcett, Essentra Components In a world where digitisation and automation are completely transforming traditional processes from the very core, the supply chain can hugely benefit from these developments which will help businesses futureproof themselves in this new world.

The report states that over 55 per cent of automation distributors do not believe collaborative robot technology is advanced enough to deliver the performance demands of manufacturing or packaging industries. This coincides with over 80 per cent of distributors witnessing no decline in industrial robot sales since the dawn of the cobot.

The Journal of Innovation highlights the innovative ideas, approaches, products and services emerging within the industrial internet such as Data, IoT and digital transformation, AI, smart cities, the smart factory and edge computing.

ISA's up-to-date work on final control valve elements presents theoretical and practical information in an easy, conversational style,

Kevin, who will celebrate his 25th year with Phoenix Contact later this year, will oversee the company’s U.S. Sales Subsidiary, including sales, marketing, channel operations, and service functions within the United States.

To scale the analog input, calculate the "% of the raw counts range" that is represented by the analog input, and multiply by the EU100% range, since the EU0% value is 0.

BP has appointed ABB as one of its global Main Electrical Contractors (MEC) for the provision of engineering, procurement and construction of electrical equipment for BP Upstream Major Capital Projects.

By John Fryer, Stratus Technologies Modern SCADA and HMI systems are essential tools that go way beyond traditional control loop applications. The data they collect, process and display is increasingly an important element for historians and emerging analytics and IIoT applications.

This acquisition is intended to strengthen both companies by providing customers a broader range of industrial engineering and system solutions to meet their needs from a single source solutions provider.

The ISASecure certification provides assurances that development of the WDMY is managed under a secure development lifecycle and will maintain its security capabilities as the product is changed and maintained over its lifecycle.

From July 22 - 26, 2019, the event will be held at Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida. The CMSC is designed to meet the continuing education needs of the portable and traditional CMM communities.

The conference program will feature technologies and best practices that apply to multiple infrastructure sectors. Today’s challenges include leveraging data analytics in a meaningful way, navigating the new world of IIoT with safety and cybersecurity in mind, and applying the insights of recent Smart Cities Initiatives to improve operations.

The program replaces internal valve components to return valve function while restoring the removed parts for future use.

Understanding how the process system and automation equipment work is crucial in pipeline leak detection.

TM Robotics will exhibit a range of Toshiba Machine’s robots, including the THL500 SCARA, which will be creating free artist impressions of visitors at booth number 6763.

The young inventors, from technical disciplines of universities and technical colleges, have the opportunity up to 31 July 2019 to participate in the Engineering Newcomer 2019 with their project designs created within their study work.

RIA will honor Catherine Morris, group leader and director of automotive sales at ATI Industrial Automation and long-time RIA board member and former chairperson; and Dr. Howie Choset, robotics professor at Carnegie Mellon University and co-founder of the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Institute.

Mr. Graves brings 20 years of experience as an engineering executive, working closely with various prime contractors on several key Electronic Warfare, SIGINT, and radar programs.

The Nord Modules product line includes the Top Mover that mounts on MiR100 and MiR200 robots to deliver material to and from Nord Modules’ gates installed at production lines, storage systems or conveyors.

In cooperation with Shadow Robot Company Ltd, HARTING AG will use the Geneva Motor Show (March 7-17, 2019) to demonstrate how to achieve greater safety by integrating 3D-MID components/smart surface inside the vehicle, for example via the recognition of driver vital signs.

FieldComm Group and The Open Group Process Automation Forum have completed a liaison agreement to leverage FieldComm Group specifications within the OPAF ‘standard of standards’

ARM is a collaborative in robotics and workforce innovation, focused on increasing U.S. global manufacturing competitiveness by progressing robotics innovation and the availability of skilled workers. ARM’s 189 members participate in project calls.

By Bill Lydon, Editor, Automation.com The convergence of Information Technology (IT) & Operations Technology(OT) has been a growing topic of importance in manufacturing. Many times, however the focus on IT/OT convergence can be too narrow in scope to leverage the increasingly advanced technologies to achieve a manufacturing competitive advantage

Cloud Based Asset Monitoring for Field Devices, Out-Of-The-Box Supported by PACTware.

White paper focuses on mobilizing field device management in the era of connecting IoT with Field Xpert.

By Lee Lane, FDT Board of Directors Chairman Security team focuses on end-to-end information integrity.

FDT Server-based architecture enables comprehensive data security for IIoT applications

The release of the FDT 2.1 specification in 2018 set the FDT Group’s Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) transformation path to connect and empower the intelligent enterprise based on industry-driven feedback across the process, hybrid and discrete manufacturing markets.

Students seeking to submit a scholarship application must be enrolled full-time in an undergraduate or graduate program in an instrumentation, systems, electrical, mechanical, or automation engineering discipline at an accredited U.S. educational institution for the 2019/2020 academic year.

Automation projects are the final stage of a bigger project and have time limitations; team member qualification and project scope definition are critical.

"It's the story of how and why EtherNet/IP was conceived and its rise to dominance in the automation world. It's also a real-world, hands-on handbook for the technology and how it relates to other technologies like Modbus TCP, PROFINET IO and the rest‚" says Rinaldi.

A pressure transmitter is connected to the analog input card of a PLC. The 4-20mA input value from the transmitter is converted into equivalent raw counts.

Written by Douglas H. Rothenberg, Ph.D.,—an expert in alarm management and operator support technology—the book explores control room management as a discipline, focusing on the applicable tools, technology, and methodologies that foster safer, more effective control room functioning and improved industrial production.

The paint robot course will be an instructor-led, five-day seminar with practical exercises to teach participants how to program a robot safely.

The Year in Infrastructure Awards are an integral part of Bentley’s annual Year in Infrastructure Conference. The deadline for nominations is April 30, 2019.

Automation.com in cooperation with the PLCopen standards organization is doing a PLC Programming Preference Survey to gain knowledge about programming preferences.

ISA offers a variety of technical and educational resources to advance your career and make your company more competitive in the process industries.

ISA offers two training workshops led by industry experts who have real-world experience applying the technology. On Sunday, 5 May, ISA will hold both introductory and advanced ISA process analyzer courses. On Thursday, 9 May, vendors will provide hands-on training on their solutions and applications

The certifications are based on the IEC 62443-2-4 and IEC 62443-3-3 standards, which represent the expertise of a large group of global experts to reduce cyber vulnerabilities by laying a solid foundation of cyber defense mechanisms for automation system networks and cover the specific requirements for developing and designing secure systems.

By Chris Leone, Erran Kagan, and Luna Koval, Electro Industries/GaugeTech Over the past few decades, cyber security has become a serious concern of banks and large commercial corporations. But what about the energy sector?

With the integration between Mocana TrustCenter and EJBCA Enterprise, IoT companies can support one-touch and zero-touch provisioning of keys and certificates with data/code authenticity and confidentiality throughout the lifecycle of IoT devices and embedded systems.

Control performance is affected by wireless link quality, which in turn is adversely affected by severe propagation loss in harsh industrial environments, co-channel interference, and unintended inter

This combination will allow the incorporation of functionality such as chatbots, call transcription, intent analysis, workflow automation, and fraud detection.

During a January preview for the event, over 120 journalists, including yours truly, gathered for presentations and discussions from the Hannover Messe team, and over 40 exhibitors, expanding on the topics and technologies that so many will experience

Hardy wanted to abandon the dependency on just a few raw materials and instead use other nontraditional materials that were untapped in the marketplace. To do this, Hardy needed to overhaul the outdated controllers and distributed control system (DCS) that existed in the plant.

The TRICOR TCM 0325 Coriolis Mass Flow Meters detect air bubbles by monitoring the paint’s specific gravity. When the paint in pressure vessels begins to empty, air is introduced into the paint stream that results in a downward spike in paint gravity. Low paint specific gravity levels serve as an early warning for over-agitation and out-of-paint conditions.

By Simon Gibbs, Intertronics It is important to efficiently create a high-quality prototype. This article explains how design engineers can benefit from UV curing when 3D printing prototypes.

The holistic program is designed to improve the industry’s image and provide educational programs for all age groups across the education continuum.

Building on concepts identified in the IIC Industrial Internet Security Framework published in 2016, the SMM defines levels of security maturity for a company to achieve based on its security goals and objectives as well as its appetite for risk

High-profile cyberattacks and security breaches are reminders that a comprehensive security plan is needed to protect industrial control systems and the critical infrastructure they control.

New research published today in Science, led by researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and Argonne National Laboratory, has identified how and when these gas pockets form, as well as a methodology to predict their formation – a pivotal discovery that could dramatically improve the 3D printing process.

By H2W Technologies Determining the right motion control solution may require some calculations to match the specifications found on a given motors data sheet.

An optical isolation circuit is used to provide a barrier between the field wiring & associated field wiring issues (shorts, ground loops, transients, etc.)

The book reflects the latest understanding of how fluid mechanics and acoustics affect control valve performance.

By Mark Checkley, KEB Automation While feedback devices may be the usual choice for control of motors, sensorless closed loop control can provide design engineers and machine builders with the ability to add value and a competitive advantage to their machines.

The two Cybernet Group companies now have an office in Shanghai that is staffed by local experts to provide products and solutions to their customers within all of China.

The Sensia joint venture will be a fully integrated provider of measurement solutions, domain expertise, and automation to the oil and gas industry. It will offer scalable, cloud and edge-enabled process automation, including information and process safety solutions.

For designing and building an automated Paint Brush Cleaner, this is the second consecutive win and third overall for a Benton Central team

The Industrial Internet of Things offers much greater availability of data to provide the knowledge needed to sustain and improve plant safety, reliability and performance.

The 2nd Annual Valve Industry Knowledge Forum will be held April 9-11, 2019 at the Doubletree Hotel at Perimeter Park in Birmingham, AL.

By Gernut van Laak, Group Automation Solutions Leader, ABB Food and Beverage The need for factory maintenance often goes unnoticed. This article explains how plant managers can budget for maintenance and ensure optimum efficiency for all processes.

As chief executive, Northrop Grumman Japan, Prakash will be responsible for ensuring effective performance on current programs, as well as developing in-country growth opportunities.

Industrial Eye and the Integro team are joining forces to provide vision solution applications to a wide array of industries.

The use of additive manufacturing processes is increasing within industrial applications, as they bring some significant customer benefits compared to conventional processes.

By Bill Lydon, Editor, Automation.com Collaborative robots are re-defining the way manufacturers operate today. To help further that process is Universal Robots (UR), a collaborative robot manufacturer driven by a vision & mission to help industries become more productive, with a particular focus on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

By Viscotec The use of additive manufacturing processes is increasing within industrial applications, as they bring some significant customer benefits compared to conventional processes.

By Jeff Burnstein, A3 The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) reached out to several large automation integrators to get their input on the drivers, challenges, and opportunities in implementing collaborative robots.

Chemical plants demand fault detection schemes to ensure high product quality, reliability and safety under different operating conditions.

University students who have potential in the field of automation should submit an application. All applications must be submitted no later than 24 February 2019 for consideration.

This system with replace an aging SCADA/GMS currently servicing the Balearic and Canary Islands, two Spanish archipelagos in the Mediterranean Sea and off the coast of northwestern Africa, respectively.

The Softomotive Academy is designed to improve the employability quotient of professionals and developers. It provides them with the opportunity to develop and deepen their RPA-focused skills which are in short supply at present as enterprises seek to accelerate their digitization efforts and improve productivity.

By Thomas R. Cutler Digital Visual Management on the manufacturing plant floor is secure by creating virtual meeting rooms for real-time, 24/7, multi-site collaboration.

A well-designed, integrated building automation system seamlessly integrates lighting, elevators, boilers, chillers, fire protection, generators, access control, and HVAC control systems, which may al