Articles and News

The symposium will be held 19-21 May 2014 at the Astor Crowne Plaza hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.

Targeted at manufacturing executives, IT and plant managers , the survey focuses on the trends in operational metric improvements, the use of Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM) and other manufacturing software applications.

The engineers include Jeffrey Anderson, Calvin Anderson, Cameron Johnson, Martin Tato and Tristan McCormick.

PcVue will make Canary Labs’ Historian software available as part of its HMI/SCADA software.

The IRIS standard is formulated by Union of the European Railway Industries (UNIFE) and combines the general quality requirements of ISO 9001 with stringent process and railway-specific requirements.

Use a sliding stem valve with diaphragm actuator and digital positioner whenever size and process conditions permit.

Pereira began as Applications Engineer for the Rose Forgrove product line at HayssenSandiacre. Pereira will oversee the technical aspects of New Product Development.

The expansion will not only add 200 new jobs it will more than double the robotics tool manufacturing operations to 129,000 square feet.

ARC says economic instability and exchange rate fluctuations caused some uncertainty in 2012 but the market for control valves, actuators, and positioners is still growing. No numbers given.

The Robotics, Automation & Vision Application Park at Hannover Messe will run from 7 to 11 April 2014.

“Electrical Solutions for Commercial and Institutional Facilities” provides product solutions for challenges typically encountered in commercial and institutional buildings.

The symposium will be held 5-7 August 2014 and covers how instrumentation, SCADA and automatic control are vital to the treatment and distribution of water and wastewater.

Raffaele Cefalo, 48, has 25 years of progressive experience in the field of automation and has held several managerial positions in major companies in the industrial software industry.

Rockwell Automation enhanced Connected Components Accelerator Toolkit (CCAT) and Connected Components Workbench software tools.

UCSD installed wireless pneumatic thermostats in McGill-Mandler Hall to allow for centralized control of temperature set points through the existing building automation system. This project will reduce electricity use in the building by an estimated 27% annually and reduce natural gas use by approximately 51% annually.

ARC says the European debt crisis and slowdown in China’s and India’s growth slowed the market, but it will rebound. No market numbers are listed.

The outdoor broadband network transports telemetry data from mining and process equipment to the White Springs Agricultural Chemicals' operations center.

ISA Training and Education in November: Learn, Advance, Succeed

The easy-to-install software enables the simultaneous use of several match, area and/or blemish sensors across various regions of interest in a single inspection.

The 80-page guide lists 125 providers of Sercos-enabled products and serves as a guide for all who use the high-performance Sercos automation bus or intend to do so.

Rockwell Automation has added EPLAN´s Fluid and Harness proD to their approved Encompass products.

Yokogawa will supply the control system that will renovate the first of four 20 MW power generation units at the Lahendong geothermal power plant, which is located in the Lahendong district on Sulawesi Island.

NEC Europe will resell Paradox Engineering’s PE.AMI Smart City solution. The two Companies will work together on joint promotion activities, trade shows, end user and customers’ seminars.

The certification ensures that the valves meet the functional safety requirements for Safety Integrity Level (SIL) 3 capable per IEC 61508.

Use of SCARA robots in industrial assembly processes can help enhance the efficiency and productivity of manufacturing operations.

The transportation and water and waste water industry sectors have both experienced large increases in the number of reported cybersecurity incidents in recent years, up 160% and 60% respectively.

Metso will supply standard, intrinsically safe, and explosion-proof valve controllers to Sino-Venezuela Guangdong Petrochemical Company for its heavy crude processing project in Guangdong, China.

Orders were up 4.9% from July but down 18.1% when compared with the total of $454.19 million reported for August 2012. 2013 is down 8.0% compared with 2012.

Automation offers a key competitive advantage in the dairy industry. It is time to upgrade or replace aging PLCs, drum timers and selector switches. Invest in technologies that will squeeze out 1 or 2

By Bill Lydon, Editor As Industrial Ethernet protocols have proliferated on the factory floor, IP devices have become vulnerable to cyber threats. Ironically, while the importance of cyber security protection is being emphasized, the industrial Ethernet protocol associations have no firm plans to migrate to new Ethernet standards that offer higher cyber security protection.

This article provides an overview of both protocols and discusses their key strengths and applications. It also discusses which one works best in which applications – although there is some overlap in what each can do. What’s more, they can complement each other in joint applications.

SIC Marking created a mechanical system of loading plates on the marking machine for laser marking of the product name, customer's number, serial number and barcode.

An RHI Normag plant in Porsgrunn, Norway, has reduced maintenance costs, minimized plant downtime and improved the accuracy of energy-use measurement by using Micro Motion Coriolis flowmeters from Emerson Process Management.

A good paycheck is nice, but if you find yourself dreading the return to work each morning it may be time to consider job options elsewhere.

Brochure describes Portable and Process Thermal Imaging Cameras, IR pyrometers, Portable Single Point Non-Contact Thermometers, Two-Wire Loop Powered Pyrometers, and precision Blackbody Calibration Sources.

"Control System Migrations: A Practical Project Management Handbook," by Daniel Roessler, is a clear and practical application guide to effectively managing control system migrations.

Dr. Reddy's successfully rolled out Werum's PAS-X Manufacturing IT Business Platform at their Indian greenfield site in Visakhapatnam, India.

The PLC market for Southeast Asia will enjoy yearly growth in the range of 5 percent, with revenue amounting to $178.5 million by 2017.

August U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $161.7 million, up 1.3 percent from July’s total but down 13.2 percent from August 2012.

Renfro Associates provides valve automation packages encompassing actuators, gearboxes, instrumentation and fabricated adaptation for flow control applications.

By downloading the Catalog App from the iTunes and Google Play Stores, one can search, peruse, and gather all of the information they may need about a product instantaneously

After several weeks of using the new vibration analyzer, the plant reported faster completion of their normal maintenance routes, easier and quicker data analysis, and an overall more comfortable experience working with the unit in the field.

VuWall2 Mobile is an Android application designed to manage and control video walls powered by Matrox Mura MPX Series video wall controller boards.

In addition to sponsoring the annual Georgia Robotics Invitational Tournament and Showcase (GRITS) competition, AutomationDirect also provided the trophies awarded to the winners.

Great things to come: ISA’s new website

The symposium will be held 1-6 June 2014 at the Hilton Scottsdale Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA.

For $125, Mitsubishi Electric Automation offers its customers remote access to a backup of their CNC machine tool information.

An Experion PKS will be installed in all of the mill’s major process areas including wood preparation, pulping and drying, as well as the chemical recovery and combined heat and power plant.

Yokogawa will supply a SCADA monitoring system for a large water distribution pipeline that the Saline Water Conversion Corporation is building in Saudi Arabia between the cities of Yanbu and Medina.

Enterprise batch records expand the idea of electronic batch records to the entire manufacturing operation.

Centroprojekt, an engineering company, uses AVEVA PDMS software for basic engineering and detailed design on major projects including a large pulp & paper plant, and a thermal power station.

This eBook provides insight into how to use reporting, statistical analysis, visual summaries and Manufacturing Intelligence to attain more value from operational data.

SHL in Germany uses Weiss heavy duty rotary indexing tables for its automated grinding, polishing, and deburring systems for the automotive, medical, and processing industries.

This year’s competition is underway, with regional semi-finals due to begin in November and December. BEST’s 2013 “Gatekeeper” theme is aimed around students creating a new CPU for the original BEST Robot, Squeaky.

The SDK enables developers and integrators to develop sensing applications by easily and rapidly integrating Leddar technology into their systems.

Volga NIPITEK experienced positive benefits within only three months by delivering its first project, a 3D model of a short-cycle hydrogen adsorption unit.

Rand-Whitney Containerboard had two goals when it decided to replace the distributed control system at its Connecticut mill - system reliability and a good relationship with the new vendor.

Honeywell will develop a recommendation, called a "bankable feasibility study," for the modernization of Pertamina's five largest refineries.

GTA Group includes GT Attuatori Srl, GT Attuatori Europe and Max Process, manufacturers of rack and pinion pneumatic valve actuators.

ARC says ABB retained its leading worldwide market position in this core automation market based on revenues.

Cowan, who brings extensive executive management experience in software and technology to Epicor, succeeds Pervez Qureshi, who is stepping down to pursue new opportunities.

Process industries can leverage big data to realize value through compelling manufacturing use cases. Get familiar with big data terminology, technologies, and techniques.

Most recently, Crone served in the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Valin Corporation, a provider of process control and automation solutions.

Prior to joining QA Graphics, Ben worked as a test and balance engineer for Precision Test and Balance for over two years, responsible for ensuring new HVAC systems were working as designed.

The building in Sandton, Johannesburg, has offices, training facilities and an auditorium.

Enardo offers safety and environmental control equipment for the oil and gas, petrochemical, wastewater, refining and other industries.

By Bill Lydon, Editor To learn more about the Belden's Certified Industrial Network Program, I talked with Brian Oulton, Director of Initiative and Vertical Marketing at Belden. Here is a transcript of that interview.

Process Automation provider uses KEPServerEX to instantly gather, view, and access data associated with industrial machinery on iPads and iPhones, turning any plant floor into a data-rich environment.

Pipeline and inline control loops have no back mixing and hence no process time constant in the response of the outlet to changes in the inlet.

Robotic Industries Association (RIA) announced that Midwest Engineering Systems received their Certified Robot Integrator designation.

How much radiation exposure do workers at nuclear plants get? Fiatech released the final report from a joint project with the EPRI.

Vaskiluodon Voima is replacing an automation system installed in 1989 with modern technology that further improves plant availability and safety.

OSI delivered a SCADA/GMS system to Basin Electric, one of the largest electric generation and transmission (G&T) cooperatives in the United States.

At packaging plants in Europe, robot arms from Universal Robots use advanced force control to handle even the most fragile and delicate items, and operate with no safety guarding.

ISA announces keynote presenters, presentations, executive panels and technical sessions at its ISA Automation Week Technology and Solutions Event, 5-7 November 2013 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.