Articles and News

The Sercos robotic guitar is played by a system that interprets MIDI files using an MLP industrial control from Bosch Rexroth and bus terminals from Phoenix Contact to actuate a group of lifting solenoids via Sercos commands.

Automation.com, March 2012 By Mark Howard, Zettlex Resolvers are good. Encoders are good. But which is the best? This article examines the strengths and weaknesses of each and offers some alternatives.

Rockwell will supply process skids, automation architecture, a PlantPAx Process Automation System, software, power control and engineering/startup services.

Automation Federation Honored for Workforce Development and STEM Advancements

The National Development and Reform Commission of the People’s Republic of China and the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards adopted EtherNet/IP.

Vernay plans to replace an aged legacy ERP system that was unable to support the company's growing global operations.

The Manufacturing Institute ia a 501c3 foundation affiliated with the National Association of Manufacturers.

ISA Communications Division to host Wireless Factory Automation Workshop

Automation.com, March 2012 By Rockwell Automation Rockwell installed three ControlLogix PACs, FactoryTalk, and a 100Mbit network with two Stratix 8000 switches to replace five old PLCs and ControlNet at a BASF shipping facility in Germany.

Digital Factory, April 23 to 27, 2012, during HANNOVER MESSE, moves closer to two other exhibit halls on related themes: Industrial Automation and Industrial Supply.

Nanotec Electronic US will offer Nanotec’s Plug and Drive Servo stepper motors, BLDC motors, stepper driven linear actuators and intelligent motor controllers.

The permanent pressure loss is less for an annubar than an orifice flowmeter.

The Automation Federation is recognized for its AutomationSTEM program and its initiatives and collaborations, including the alliance with FIRST.

Process safety expert Paul Gruhn will deliver a keynote address at the 58th Annual International Instrumentation Symposium (IIS) on Wednesday, 6 June 2012, in La Jolla, California, USA.

The Water Innovations Alliance (WIA) is an industry association focused on developing new funding, increasing collaboration and raising awareness for cutting-edge water technologies and the problems they solve.

An STS400 reads bar-codes on tires. It replaced laser technology, which was not able to guarantee an effective read rate because of the low aspect ratio codes.

Lab 360 contract manufacturing platform helps customers develop custom wiring.

The company’s facilities are ISO 13485:2003-certified for the design and manufacture of wire, cable and assemblies for medical devices.

Prior to joining GE, Biederman served as the Director of Public Works for the Township of Waterford, Michigan.

Automation.com, March 2012 By Bill Lydon, Editor The goal of FOUNDATION for Remote Operations Management (ROM) is linking people that understand the processes and equipment in a secure fashion around the world to achieve faster start-up time and reduced operating costs.

Microsoft will help Invensys develop its Wonderware Historian and Workflow applications to enable them to run on the Windows Azure cloud.

Since its founding in 2005 Certec has specialized in the development of state-of-the-art web HMI and SCADA systems.

Seniw holds a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacology from the University of Alberta (Edmonton, Canada) and a Master of Business Administration from McGill University (Montreal, Canada).

Guide outlines the essential principles of explosion-protection with respect to electrical equipment installed in harsh, hazardous environments.

Selected models of Mobrey Horizontal Magnetic Float Level Switches have been certified in accordance with IEC61508 to attain SIL 1 for a single device and SIL 2 for a pair of devices.

The e-scrap recycling process at Boliden's Rönnskär copper smelter is controlled by ABB’s 800xA Extended Automation System.

PACs and MCCs from Rockwell Automation helped standardize plant-wide control and contributed to UK completing the project under budget and six months ahead of schedule.

With the global economic downturn now predominantly in the past, capital spending on information technology has rebounded vigorously.

The wireless market is affected by competition between standards that leads customers to fear that wireless is emerging as the next platform for the automation fieldbus wars.

Automation.com, March 2012 By Staffan Dahlström, HMS Industrial Networks Despite a turbulent market, we saw a growing interest in industrial communication solutions in 2011. Trends include the growth of networks (70 at last count), the need to save energy, integrated safety networks and remote access.

Ametek expanded the Center of Excellence for electronic instruments at its China headquarters in the Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Pudong Shanghai.

Titus will present “Using Functional Safety as Part of your Machine Safety Plan” on April 24th and 25th of the four day event.

After adopting EPLAN Electric P8 and EPLAN Data Portal, it has been able to reduce project design time significantly and eliminate common editing errors, leading to faster turnaround times.

Blake Moret, senior VP at Rockwell Automation, was elected vice chair of The Manufacturing Institute's Board of Trustees.

EVSC opened the Motoman Robot Laboratory at the Southern Indiana Career and Technical Center (SICTC) with eight HP3JC robots and NXC100 controllers.

Automation.com, March 2012 By Bill Lydon, Editor Tom Koulopoulos discusses innovation, big data, connections and collaboration at the recent PROFINET Executive Forum. If we open our minds and use data, connections and collaboration, we create a recipe for intelligence (success).

To minimize interaction between a back pressure loop and a flow loop in series, the pressure drop should be much greater across the flow control valve.

ISA and San Jacinto College have signed a collaboration agreement to offer ISA training on the San Jacinto campus in Pasadena, Texas.

Automation.com, March 2012 By Bill Lydon, Editor An energy savings study at Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz plants based on the use of PROFIenergy of PROFINET showed potential savings per work cell of 5,700 euro and 33.250 kg of CO2 emissions per year.

The CT scanner captures all surfaces, both external and internal, of complex free-form parts and assemblies without harming the object.

Continental Automated Buildings Association (CABA) will promote ISA courses to the CABA membership.

New items in the 144-page catalog include Fluke Ti100-Series Thermal Imagers, Tektronix PSM Series RF and Microwave Power Sensors/Meters, and RES TCT2 Breaker Trip Coil Tester & Timer.

Honeywell will supply Experion PKS control system, Safety Manager, Unisim Operator Training System and Field Device Manager for five coal chemical sites in China.

The Electronic Design Specialty identifies experts for customers looking to extend and customize NI reconfigurable I/O (RIO) hardware products.

Institutions joining RIA as sponsored members benefit by gaining access to many opportunities, including student recruitment, savings on conferences and workshops, and professionally reviewed papers.

Robust PID Controller Design for Non-Minimum Phase Time Delay Systems

In 2012, HANNOVER MESSE will showcase innovations in 8 international flagship fairs, including the premiere of IndustrialGreenTec for environmental technology.

MPI helps smaller companies in the polymer industry by using an NVision MobileScan laser scanning system to re-engineer or inspect parts to a high level of accuracy.

The web site has improved graphics and an updated layout, making it easier to use. A new search engine on the product page provides easier access to updated technical and product information.

The agreement also covers on-going maintenance of existing systems, plus the supply of new systems for all current and future developments.

The system is saving the county more than $227,000 in equivalent annual energy costs.

The program combines ExperTune’s PlantTriage software with expert consultation and training.

Celebrating Pi Day

Free webinar series explains the benefits of integrating operational technology with enterprise IT systems.

The video shows how the STA can monitor potentially hazardous events as well as initiating emergency shutdown procedures or alerting personnel of unsafe process conditions.

Magnetrol’s spillage prevention and tank overfill protection products will be added to Honeywell Enraf Safety Solutions’ Alarm Scout service group.

Located in Mendoza, Argentina, ICSA focuses on manufacturing wind and hydroelectric power sources.

ABB won orders worth around $100 million from Rio Tinto for 17 distribution substations to support increased production at iron ore mines in Western Australia.

Celebrating Excellence honors companies and individuals, members and non-members, for significant contributions in leadership.

Fossil Fuel Committee Publishes Functional Requirements

Automation.com, March 2012 By Tom Plocher of Honeywell, et al. Shift logs are the mechanisms that help coordinate activities across shifts or teams. Industrial research has repeatedly argued for the benefits of imposing structure on shift handovers in the form of structured logs, checklists, and displays.

AerosUSA, located in Harrisburg, PA., is the North American operation for Flexa cable protection systems.

Sales of machine vision components and systems in North America climbed five percent in 2011 to nearly $1.9 billion, according to AIA.

The robotic system for the PEMSERTER Series 3000 press picks up, moves, and positions a work piece for alignment with holes where fasteners will be installed automatically by the press.

Pope will address the ISA Safety and Security Division Symposium, held 25-27 April 2012, on the topic of “Is it a Bug or a Feature?”

Enhancements include support for WAGO’s Frequency Counter Module, 2-channel and 4-Channel 0-20mA Input Modules, as well as 2-channel 0–10V DC Output Module.

The Energy Management Information System shows energy targets for each of the mill lines in near “Real Time” and identifies savings and losses in both dollars and energy units.

This is the first board of directors to be elected following the merger of AMT and AMTDA.

The tool combines technical criteria in gearbox selection-for designers who know their application requirements-and finishes with CAD and technical data options.

SoftSwitching Technologies’ solutions improve uptime in manufacturing production by identifying and correcting brief power disruptions called “voltage sags.”

Automation.com, March 2012 By Bill Lydon, Editor The annual ARC World Industry Forum brings together a wide range of innovative industrial automation users, industry associations, suppliers, system integrators, and thought leaders to learn and share ideas. These are the true believers who understand the impact that automation has on sustaining manufacturing competitiveness.

The EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG) Semi Technical Working Group (TWG) is standardizing EtherCAT usage in manufacturing equipment for chips, displays and solar panels.

The Texas Instruments Sitara microprocessor with EtherCAT slave interface announced in April 2011 is now available with a Beckhoff protocol stack.

Catalog covers sensors, lighting and indicators, machine vision, wireless and machine safety.

The MM LITE automation system will be used to transport lenses in a fast, efficient, clean and controlled manner between the various processes in the plant.