Articles and News

Construction will be conducted in two phases and is expected to be completed by 2024. The company also plans to add 350 jobs in the fields of engineering, mechatronics, purchasing and material management, as well as production and logistics operations, over the next five years.

Voith Robotics will offer self-teaching robots made by Franka Emika, along with software solutions, apps, services and process consulting, to customers in various industries and markets throughout the world.

By participating in “Girls Day” and “Future Day,” the pneumatics specialist hopes to draw the interest of children and youth in compressed air as a technology.

Type K (chromel–alumel) is the most common general purpose thermocouple with a sensitivity of approximately 41 µV/°C.

Civionics were the creators of Percēv IIoT predictive sensing technology. Artificial Intelligence (AI) built into each Percēv wireless sensing node works to maximize battery life and enable predictive maintenance capabilities to be deployed on both new and legacy assets.

With double-digit sales growth in 2017, Phoenix Contact has exceeded the two billion euro mark, achieving a turnover of 2.205 billion euro. At the same time, the number of employees increased to 16,500 personnel worldwide.

The Palo Alto Networks NGFW aims to put in place protection to secure the complex interfaces between office and automation networks. The NGFWs allow Siemens customers to select from a variety of security levels and adjust them in-line with their own specific needs.

By Chad Smith and Carol Ptak, Demand Driven Institute Manufacturing needs Lean methods to stay competitive in the more complex environment of the twenty-first century. Lean needs an effective customer-centric planning approach to bring that vision to reality.

The framework was developed with a focus on industries vital to national and economic security, including energy, banking, communications and the defense industrial base.

Modak will join both the Global Marketing and North America Operations Leadership Teams, reporting directly to Annette Clayton, CEO and president, North America Operations and Chris Leong, Chief Marketing Officer.

The plant is designed to extract 99 percent of ethane and 100 percent of propane and heavier hydrocarbons from natural gas in the Permian basin. Honeywell’s UOP Russell solution includes design, supply and installation of a modular cryogenic plant, refrigeration, dehydration and acid gas removal units

Georgian College students will be able to put their knowledge into practice by using a new set of programmable logic controllers (PLCs) to simulate assembly line production in one of the college’s electrical labs.

Stadium designs and manufactures products for a range of applications including the smarter home, industrial robotics, medical equipment and aircraft cabin controls, working with customers in the industrial, aerospace and defence, medical and transportation sectors.

Nukon leveraged historical data in TasWater’s OSIsoft PI System using ananalytics application from Seeq, (an OSIsoft Gold Sponsor and ISV). Nukon delivered a proof-of-concept and solution, specifically a detection model for Midway Point’s sewage pumping stations and surrounding areas.

The informative isa eBook, Calibration Essentials, covers everything you need to know about today’s industrial and instrumentation calibration processes.

By Larry Smentowski, Rockwell Automation Safety hazards, aging assets and security threats can negatively impact your business, including your employees, revenue, plants, intellectual property, vehicle quality and customers. You can help improve risk management by setting your sights on four key areas: safety, quality, obsolescence and security.

ABB’s microgrid solution includes a 30 megawatt (MW) battery energy storage system, which is one of the largest of its kind to be deployed in a gas-fired power plant. A 30 MW battery energy storage system can supply 6,000 homes with the power supply, where the average supply would be 5 kilowatt (kW).

By Bill Lydon, Editor, Automation.com Initiated by Siemens, the Charter of Trust calls for binding rules and standards to build trust in cybersecurity and further advance digitalization. Will this elevate the industrial cybersecurity discussion?

TSN is designed to provide advantages for automation applications in industries such as automotive, mechanical engineering and food & beverage. The first Siemens products are expected to be available towards the end of 2018

By Larry Turner, HANNOVER FAIRS USA The HERMES AWARD is an industrial technology prize awarded at HANNOVER MESSE, the manufacturing technology trade show held annually in Hannover, Germany. This year, Washington, D.C.-based Upskill is the only American finalist.

By Jonathan Wilkins, EU Automation With the rate of technological change faster than ever, companies can’t leave their research and development (R&D) to chance. This article explains how artificial intelligence (AI) is playing a role in product development.

Glass manufacturing is energy intensive. The majority of energy consumed in the process is from natural gas combustion used to heat furnaces to melt raw materials, which then turn into glass.

ABB has developed a solution for modularization with plug and produce capabilities and a pilot is currently ongoing with one of the major life science companies, Bayer AG.

The expansion allows ANCA to serve its customers and user base in North America and South America with a larger demonstration floor, classrooms for training, machine assembly and process development, and an enlarged reception area.

Tompkins Robotics, a division of Tompkins International, and RightHand Robotics announced a collaboration that will combine the portable, automated sortation system, t-Sort, with RightPick, robotic piece-picking systems.

Radiflow and Yanai Engineering, announced that the two companies are offering a new tool set to enable partners to provide managed Security Operations Center (SOC) services for operational technology (OT) networks with industrial control systems (ICS) and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems.

The first stage of cavitation is the formation of vapor bubbles within the liquid system because of the fluid's static pressure falling below the fluid vapor pressure

At the exhibit sponsored by the International Society of Automation (ISA) and its umbrella organization, the Automation Federation (AF), hundreds of young people and their parents as well as other visitors competed in a computerized game based on an actual industrial automation and control system.

Caterpillar creates machinery that powers businesses, builds communities, and enriches lives, from diesel-powered engines and gas turbines to hydraulic excavators and agricultural tractors. With the help of SAP, Caterpillar has manufactured heavy-duty equipment with IoT sensors for several customers

This version expands the “Devices,” “Streams,” and “Interfaces” models, adds many new data items, and includes edits for clarity and usability.

The Dragos Platform integration with OSIsoft's PI System is designed to provide broader visibility of operational data and industrial network data

Once the program launches, the Wyncode Custom Cohort responsibilities shift to actively managing various components such as monitoring student performance, evaluating course progress, coordinating communication between client, instructional staff and participants as well as employment contracts, orientation and housing.

ISA membership costs just $120 per year and gives you access to dozens of benefits. But even more than these line items, it gives you a way to belong to the profession that you’ve chosen for your life

The lab is part of CSU’s Fermentation Science and Technology (FST) program. Support from both the university and members of the Rockwell Automation PartnerNetwork program was vital to getting the brewery operational.

CodeMeter, a solution for protection, licensing, and security, has been selected by Phoenix Contact as the technology to streamline license and entitlement management of their PLCnext control system solution.

Modern leak detection equipment can prevent pipeline theft.

By Bill Lydon, Editor, Automation.com The ISE program offers a range of undergraduate and graduate courses, designing a curriculum that allows students to think laterally, envision and analyze multiple perspectives in the creative design process.

By Benson Hougland, Opto 22 Products developed using open systems technologies are in widespread use throughout the commercial sector, providing a host of benefits to vendors and their customers. But the open systems movement has been slow to penetrate the often closed and proprietary world of industrial automation—denying end users, OEMs and system integrators the same types of benefits.

Membership in the organization will allow Güdel-TSC to expand its reach and make strategic business connections through access to automation trade shows, conferences, other networking events, market research, consensus standards and certification programs.

Tompkins Robotics announced its partnership with SI Systems, a global provider of the picking robots for order fulfillment and kitting. The partnership was formed to create faster, space optimized ''no pick labor required'' solutions.

The recent Indegy poll of nearly 100 executives from various critical infrastructure organizations underscores the lack of preparedness in key sectors including energy, utilities and manufacturing.

A properly designed control system must provide an effective trade-off between performance and robustness. One of the main reasons to investigate the fragility of fractional-orde PID controllers is to

By Siegfried Müller, MB Connect Line Nowadays it‘s difficult to imagine that a new appliance will be developed without a safety risk analysis, or by using safety elements without corresponding certifications. In fact, standards and norms regulate how security components have to be designed and deployed. Within information technology, such regulations don‘t exist yet.

EZ-LINK is available free-of-charge from the Apple and Android app stores for phones and tablets, and provides access to the controller’s parameters with fully spelled out names in plain text with help topics that explain each parameter and option.

The focus will be on developing a corporate culture that influences more innovation and internationalization. Jenoptik will establish or expand local R&D teams and production facilities in all major markets.

Resistance temperature detectors require a temperature transmitter to function. This is not a disadvantage of an RTD, since its function does not require a temperature transmitter to be installed.

The annual championship—which celebrates excellence in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), innovative thinking and teamwork—takes place 18-21 April in Houston, Texas and 25-28 April in Detroit, Michigan.

Agilion is a supplier of industrial Real-Time Locating Systems (RTLS) focusing on applications in production, logistics and maintenance. The company is recognized as a pioneer in the field of RTLS in the Ultra Wide Band (UWB) frequency spectrum.

The RIA Certified Robot Integrator program was established in 2012. The program was designed to set standards for the industry and identify a quality benchmark for robot integrators to meet.

By Rachel Bugaris, Panduit Corp AVTs automate the functions of handheld voltage testers for this specific task and display information about the status of voltage inside equipment without exposure to electrical hazards.

A resource for engineers, plant managers and distributors, this catalog provides customers with product specifications, dimensional information, Cv values, and pressure versus temperature ratings.

The survey of more than 200 manufacturing organizations found that 51 percent of respondents believe their DSN maturity is at least "above average" compared to competitors, yet only 28 percent have started implementing DSN solutions.

Self-regulating responses are very common in the process industry. Many flows, liquid pressures, temperatures, and composition processes are self-regulating. This post offers a method for tuning PID c

By Bill Lydon, Editor, Automation.com Digitalization and education were once again at the forefront of the 11th annual Manufacturing in America. Held March 14-15 at Ford Field in Detroit, MI, the summit also saw discussions on the role of blockchain technology, and also provided ideas and solutions to help manufacturing companies to achieve operational excellence.

The FDC is an educational resource for hands-on learning. It aims to inspire young people and to encourage a pipeline of talent into science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) careers.

SCARA robots used in the automobile industry will cross over 33 thousand units by 2024. This can be credited to increasing usage in applications such as high-speed assembly and handling operations.

By H2W Technologies A voice coil actuator, also known as a non-commutated DC linear actuator, is a type of direct drive linear motor. Voice coil actuators are typically used in focusing applications, oscillatory systems, mirror tilting, and miniature position control.

U.S. students pursuing a degree in engineering are urged to apply by the April 10, 2018, deadline for Emerson’s 2018 ASCO Engineering Scholarship program.

As part of the design process, the Shadow Robot Company needed specific bearings with very tight tolerances in dimensional accuracy. This is important for accuracy of the smart grasper’s movements. So, the team contacted SMB Bearings as the business is known for its supply of non-standard bearings.

By Jonathan Wilkins, EU Automation According to Apple, the large green spaces, wellness centre and 805,000 square-feet of solar panels at its second campus makes it the best office in the world. This article explains how large businesses can benefit from renewable energy.

The development of the HART-IP and WirelessHART communications protocols have created a growing need for battery-powered solutions that can operate without maintenance for decades and provide reliable

The first webinar will take place on Thursday, April 19 at 2:00pm eastern time. The series will feature information intended to help manufacturers and utility providers learn how they can protect operations from downtime and errors that can result from unmanaged automation program changes.

As part of the collaboration between Radiflow and RSA, the companies have integrated Radiflow’s iSID Intrusion Detection System and RSA’s NetWitness threat detection and cyber-incident response suite

When a pump control switch is in auto, the storage tank low level switch or the pressure tank high level switch can stop the pump.

Inductive Automation defines Enterprise Integrators as those with a high level of Ignition certification, a global presence, the ability to take on enterprise-wide projects, and 250 or more engineers, among other requirements.

Starting in April, DENSO’s R&D satellite will begin collaborating with local startups to pioneer new technologies. DENSO will tap into Israel’s technology strengths to develop more technologies, both internally and through collaborative research with local companies and universities.

Sensai works to increase throughput and decrease downtime with AI technology that enables manufacturing operations teams to monitor machinery, diagnose problems and implement solutions.

The CRS patents and IP offer Nemalux access to the future of the Internet of Things (IoT) market using existing lighting infrastructure. Some of the enhanced company services included OEM services and customized LED solutions.

The U.S. Small Business Administration recognized Control Station’s international growth with the 2018 Connecticut Exporter of the Year Award. The award is presented annually to a Connecticut-based business that demonstrates consistent growth in export sales and profits.

ISA/IEC 62443-4-1-2018, Security for Industrial Automation and Control Systems Part 4-1: Product Security Development Life-Cycle Requirements, specifies process requirements for the secure development of products used in an IACS. It defines a secure development life-cycle for developing and maintaining secure products.

The FieldComm Group Plant of the Year is an international award presented to end user companies in the process automation industry to recognize exceptional application of FOUNDATION Fieldbus and / or HART Communication technologies.

Wavelet decomposition enables differentiation between faulty & healthy conditions for effective diagnostic procedure for wind turbine condition monitoring.

The Kaspersky Lab report, “Threat Landscape for Industrial Automation Systems in H2 2017,” also found that for all other industries (manufacturing, transportation, utilities, food, healthcare, etc.) the proportion of ICS computers attacked ranged from 26 percent to 30 percent on average. The vast majority of detected attacks were accidental hits.

By Jonathan Wilkins, EU Automation Traditionally, the way to succeed in an engineering career has been to work your way up the corporate ladder, but is the influx of new start-ups changing this? This article looks at how engineering businesses can retain staff in the era of the start-up.