Articles and News

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

Call for Papers invites authors to submit abstracts for presentation consideration at the conference, which will be held 5-7 March 2014 in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA.

Add comments through the software during programming. People will be very glad that you did.

Flea3 USB3 Vision cameras interface to NI Vision Acquisition Software, Vision Builder for Automated Inspection (AI) and LabVIEW Vision Development Module.

LXI Consortium approved Rigol Technologies as a LXI test house in China capable of testing the core LXI Standard as well as all of the LXI Extended Functions.

LLC GSE-Giprokauchuk is a Russian company that does design and research for the chemical, petrochemical and synthetic rubber industries.

NEMA TS2 is a standard for traffic control assemblies, such as traffic lights, emergency road condition signs and walk/don't walk signs.

The actuators have been supplied to valvemakers in India for installation on Phase 2 of the Kochi-Koottanad Bangalore-Mangalore Pipeline project.

SPEC (System Plast Engineering Calculator) evaluates applications for steel or plastic chain and modular belt conveyors.

Pringle, who has been serving as President of Fluke Industrial, is now responsible for all Fluke global businesses. Pringle succeeds Barbara Hulit, Fluke President since 2005.

Moxa received Underwriters Laboratories (UL) certification of its VPort 36-1MP-IVA-T surveillance camera for Class 1, Div. 2 hazardous locations.

Emerson will automate equipment and processes for two environmental projects at DC Water’s Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant in Washington, D.C.

Raveon will support existing RF Neulink customers with a continuing supply of RF Neulink products, technical support, spare parts, and product enhancements.

By Mike Roberts, LNS Research With mobile-enabled quality management at our doorstep, it’s important to know what’s coming and what’s already available at some levels. There are three key functionalities you can expect to see in the not too distant future.

Belden previously was Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at the Rockford site as well as heading the PCI operations in Hay-on-Wye, Wales in the United Kingdom.

No numbers reported, but increased regulations on food and drug safety are fueling the growth in the batch management software (BMS) market.

The vendor-neutral seminar includes presentations by technology experts, live demonstrations of WirelessHART technology (IEC 62591; EN 62591), and firsthand experience of the technology’s interoperability, reliability, applications and ease of use.

Peggy Smedley, Editorial Director of Connected World magazine will be the keynote speaker at ISA’s 8th Marketing and Sales Summit, which will be held 11-13 September 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.

Catalog covers descriptions, specifications and technical drawings of DENSO four-axis SCARA and five- and six-axis articulated robots, as well as controllers, teach pendants and programming software.

Exida certified the Detcon DM-700 Toxic Gas Sensor for Safety Integrity Level (SIL) 2 capability per IEC 61508: 2010.

Model predictive control (MPC) offers several advantages for control of chemical processes. However, the standard MPC may do a poor job in suppressing the effects of certain disturbances.

Regulatory exemptions that allow motors of lesser efficiency to be produced beyond dates stated in legislation have slowed both annual sales and the global installed base of motors.

Mohd Shariq Khan, a student from Yeungnam University in South Korea, won the annual Asia Pacific student competition.

The Netherlands have been named the “Partner Country” for HANNOVER MESSE 2014.

Gene Haas Foundation Machining Championship Award certificates were presented at an awards ceremony in Kansas City, Missouri.

TÜV Süd confirmed that the B&R X20 safety I/O modules and controllers satisfies all of the requirements of EN 50156 "Electrical equipment for furnaces and ancillary equipment."

Version 3.0 gives users better access to products from the company’s focused delivery program.

By Jon Irvine, Valin The rule of thumb in a heating application like heat trace is to place the sensor in the most extreme location-- the lowest expected location for minimum temperature control and the highest expected location for maximum temperature control. The temperature sensor can only process the information supplied to it and placement is everything.

Advantages of using Foundation Fieldbus on floating production storage & offloading project, analyzing results as if implemented using Foundation Fieldbus.

IHS says the Southeast Asian general motion controls market is forecast to grow to more $90 million by 2017, and the computer numerical control (CNC) motion controls market to more than $70 million.

Given the growing need among companies to better integrate their manufacturing processes with their overall business strategies and operations ISA announces the formation of an enterprise-focused educational track at ISA Automation Week 2013.

Everyone else predicts Asia is booming, but ARC says it's suffering. Who's right?

The company’s executives, sales leadership, marketing and product management staff are relocating to the new location in Schaumburg, IL.

Classes typically are a combination of classroom and hands-on training on either the Endress+Hauser Process Training Unit (PTU) or live instruments in training stands, both designed to simulate operating conditions.

The two are Robin McKee, formerly from Par Nuclear, and Matt Besser who previously worked at Aspect Automation.

Through automated, frequent measurements of zeta potential, the on-line system enables continuous monitoring of the coagulation processes used in the treatment of the water.

Readback control of valve position compensates for a host of unknowns in connection with valve response but a positioner, like a controller, must be tuned.

Compliance with ever tightening safety and environmental regulations will play a positive role in the growth of the radar level transmitter market.

The global market for Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) grew by 8 percent in 2012, thanks to e-commerce.

The Atlas Copco cell has an ABB IRB 6640 robot, three Okuma lathes, SVIA’s PickVision Smart Camera vision system and a Renishaw equator. The IRB 6640 will load and unload the three lathes.

This workshop trains automation professionals on the ”must know” topics that will allow them to properly design and implement secure control networks and OPC architectures.

Those who oversee production facilities are increasingly turning to control system integrators for help with asset lifecycle management (ALM).

The Tamar conveyor system had to handle "green totes" - something the existing conveyor system couldn't do.

ISA-62443-3-3-2013, Security for Industrial Automation and Control Systems Part 3-3: System Security Requirements and Security Levels, addresses risks arising from the growing use of business information technology (IT) cyber security solutions.

RLE has more than 7 million feet of Northwire manufactured leak detection sensing cable installed in a wide variety of systems around the globe.

exida issued a functional safety certification per IEC 61508 for the Neo-Dyn Pressure Switch Series, Temperature Switches Series, Differential Pressure Switches Series, and Low Pressure / Vacuum Switches Series.

Emerson replaced aging turbine and balance-of-plant controls with its Ovation expert control system at Westport 5 Generating Station in Baltimore, Maryland.

What kind of MES do you need?

The Latin American market for low-voltage AC & DC motor drives is forecast to expand to $595 million in 2017, rising at a rate of 7.1 percent from $420 million in 2012.

Softing's Linking Device and Gateway FG-110-FF has been integrated with Emerson's AMS Suite predictive maintenance software application to connect to any FOUNDATION fieldbus network.

LaRue Coffee Roasterie of Omaha, Nebraska, has gone live with the Epicor Tropos enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution.

The valves will be used in an MDI integration project (diphenymethane disocyanate) and a new PO/AE integration project under construction in China (epoxy propane and acrylic ester).

The three-year Global Qualification Certificate is for the Rotork BGS1 subsea gearbox, a specialised product designed for torque inputs of up to 3500 Nm at operating depths of 3000 metres.

Lockheed Martin chose Perle Fiber Media Converters to provide copper to fiber conversion in a harsh Data Imagery application. It's all very hush-hush, though.

BgB Supply, an online distributor of electrical control panel components based out of Omaha, Neb., is launching its new website and branding.

Honeywell will supply an Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS) to control plant processes and general refinery facilities as part of the third stage of construction of the Antipinsky Refinery in Tyumen, Russia.

Barrdega Sistemas is a full-service consulting and systems integration firm that designs, deploys and integrates end-to-end supply chain solutions in Panama.

Forsblad has been named the Project Director of Industrial Automation, one of the 11 trade fairs under the unifying umbrella of HANNOVER MESSE.

The role of technology in warehouses has shifted from purely reducing costs and has increasingly expanded into adjacent benefits that can drive differentiation and profitable growth for businesses.

By Bill Lydon, Editor Doug McCuistion described the challenge that the Mars Exploration Program presented and how they took a “project-by-project” approach to achieve one of the most monumental space exploration feats of the century. This article highlights some engineering lessons that I extracted from his discussion about overcoming their obstacles.

The £1 million pound competition for any start-up from around the world to come to London and set up its headquarters has attracted hundreds of companies, mostly mobile applications, computer networking and Internet software.

The two systems integrators divided the world: JR will service and support customers in the US, Canada, and Mexico, and AWL will support customers in Europe and China.

By Bill Lydon, Editor GE Intelligent Platforms recently announced their Proficy Monitoring & Analysis Software Suite and believes the Suite is the first to address industrial big data by combining industrial Historian technology with Hadoop (High-availability distributed object-oriented platform) technology for asset health with process optimization.

ABB’s integrated automation, fire and gas, and emergency shutdown system enables the station and the terminal to be monitored and controlled by remote from one control room.

ABS (American Bureau of Shipping) approved pressure instrumentation from American Sensor Technologies.

By Macro Sensors While DC-LVDTs eliminate the need for calibration and additional equipment, AC-LVDTs continue to possess their own set of benefits.

Getting real about pressure transmitter accuracy

The global market for pneumatic valves and actuators, estimated to be worth nearly $8 billion in 2012, is undergoing a competitive shakeup as low-cost Chinese suppliers continue to expand into the U.S. and Europe.

More than one hundred valves a day will be assembled directly on-site in Singapore in the future.

“Industry in Transition: The Information Driven Enterprise,” will feature 11 programs and 36 sessions focused on exploring the latest industry trends and hottest new technologies.

Certification program helps ensure customers’ industrial networks are reliable, adaptable and support growing control and information needs.

Oulu Vocational College is the first educational institution in Finland to provide a fully automated, mobile crushing plant for its students. Metso provided the automation.

If a person is extremely intelligent, it will be obvious to everyone after a casual conversation.

Morley will deliver a mid-day presentation on Friday, 13 September titled, “What Does Pack Size Have to Do with Marketing?”

Wynright is a U.S.-based provider of material handling systems, conveyor and sortation systems, order fulfillment technology, warehouse controls, robotics, mezzanines, and structures.