Articles and News

Free calculator estimates the energy savings that installing a variable speed drive (VSD) on a relevant application can achieve.

Automation.com, July 2011 By Ray Rogowski, Honeywell Wireless has matured to a point where it’s operating around the world in many different industries. And, while its capabilities continue to be uncovered, it’s apparent that wireless assets are influencing users with improvements beyond just cost savings over wired systems.

Automation.com, July 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor Peg Stein, Director of Marketing in the equipment group at UOP, presented industry information, analysis, and opinion about the oil and natural gas industry at the recent 2011 Honeywell Users Group Americas Symposium.

Turner served most recently as Chief Executive Officer of Roundhouse Advisors, a business management consulting and coaching company.

Lab can calibrate pressure and vacuum instruments up to 20,000 psi and thermocouples up to 1300ºC.

ZigBee Gateway provides connectivity to Internet Protocol-based networks, plus access to a variety of cloud and smart phone services.

Invensys will provide comprehensive automation solutions and services to help drive control, environment and safety at TNK-BP’s Saratov oil refinery in western Russia.

The new 60,000 square-foot logistics center has space for a large product inventory, a sales department as well as a customer reception and specialist-training areas.

Enhancements to the Fisher Valve Specification Manager software include the addition of a port diameter attribute to the trim details grid as well as updated product data and literature.

Deutsche Messe expanded its office premises in Tokyo and signed a representative for Indonesia.

3eTI has integrated the Niagara Framework into its EnergyGuard energy management system.

Comax manufactures more than 250 million parts annually for a wide variety of applications, including automotive controls.

Motion control site is available in English, German, Chinese, Italian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish. Il ne parle pas de français.

Low-cost, low-quality products & services can generate a lot of revenue in the short term, but lack of quality will shorten the revenue opportunity.

Automation.com, July 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor There is a continuing discussion about upgrading aging automation systems and TCO is one method used to make decisions. These investments should be analyzed as serious strategic business investments within a defined lifespan. There are a number of factors to consider in this analysis including business, technical, and operations.

GSE Power Systems provides real-time simulation and training solutions for the electric power, oil and gas and chemical process industries.

Videos explain vibration monitoring to beginner and intermediate users and help them understand how to derive the benefits of vibration analysis.

AMS Suite will help EDF Energy access asset health information, view real-time analyses and reports, and develop management strategies to improve plant performance.

Hungerford, the first employee of ProSoft Technology, was promoted from Managing Director of North America.

Prior to Sublett's appointment as CTO he was Tridium's Chief Architect and Director of Software Development for the Niagara Framework.

Wireless Systems and Gas Turbine Engines

Power, control two different issues

Steck Da Amazonia Industria Electrica in Brazil specializes in the design, manufacturing and distribution of products and systems for electrical installations.

RigidChain's ability to withstand high temperatures lets it move parts in and out of the ovens at Precision Quincy, an oven-manufacturer.

Spreadsheets developed for ISA's Applying Motor Controls and Drives course offer a simple calibration tool for process industry professionals.

Contains over 150 pages of products separated into 7 sections: Automation, Sanitary, Temperature, Electric Heaters, Wireless/Data Acquisition, Pressure/Strain/Force, and Flow/Level/Environmental.

What's Happening in the Power Industry

UK 2012, 18-19 April 2012, will be the largest manufacturing event in the UK with over 1,000 exhibiting companies, covering 37,000 square metres of exhibition space.

HART's market share is larger than all other fieldbus devices (Foundation fieldbus, Profibus, etc.), proprietary protocols and 4-20mA combined.

IndustrialGreenTec will premiere at HANNOVER MESSE 2012 and focus on pioneering environmental technology and sustainability solutions.

The MMA is a group of Mechatrolink product developers and users who promote the use of Mechatrolink, the most widely used motion control network in Asia.

BEARINX-online Easy Friction helps users identify and maximise the potential for energy efficiency savings within a machine or system.

ABB reported a second-quarter net income of $893 million. The Discrete Automation and Motion division recorded the strongest growth, up more than 60 percent.

Automation.com, July 2011 Mosaic, a Florida-based fertilizer producer, asked Polk State College (PSC) to create a training program. PSC worked with Rockwell Automation and RWD Technologies to develop the curriculum.

ISA launched its social media site, ISA Interchange. This news-and-blog site provides automation professionals with an opportunity for finding relevant, high-quality technical knowledge.

The survey is open for participation today through August 2 and will gather responses from a wide range of production and manufacturing industries.

Scott Saunders has added Chief Operations Officer to his current role as VP Sales & Marketing, while Gary Prentice has been named the company’s National Sales Director.

Brochure describes Tolomatic linear motion solutions for food and beverage processing and packaging automation.

Thoughts from the 57th IIS Symposium

Copalp successfully passed tests performed by the test laboratory of iƒak in Germany, for certification of a system according to PLCopen Conformity Level ST (Structured Text).

Honeywell will supply its Experion PKS control system, Foundation Fieldbus, and Safety Manager for a new central processing platform currently under construction in Vung Tau, Vietnam.

Automation.com, July 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor At HUG 2011, four users shared their remote operations & monitoring experiences along with lessons learned. Included are recommendations of first steps for other companies considering remote monitoring and operations.

Cascade Energy, an industrial energy-efficiency consulting firm, will use the eSight energy analysis suite to manage energy data for their industrial and utility clients.

Emerson will supply a wireless continuous emission monitoring (CEM) system at Singaport Cleanseas Pte Ltd, a large marine pollution reception facility in Singapore.

The Quad PAC controlled switchgear was designed with a voting scheme where triple inputs are sent to the PLC system. The best of the three dictates the state of the device.

Throughput Technologies is now a distributor of the Secomea Remote Device Management solution in South Africa.

Free tech paper week: Methods to Improve Control System Performance

Bayer will use the software for the design, construction and operation of manufacturing plants worldwide.

JAI will provide a UV-sensitive camera and a remote-head camera to PPT VISION for its M-Series embedded machine vision line.

Honeywell's Safety Manager has been awarded ISASecure Embedded Device Security Assurance (EDSA) certification by exida.

Rotork actuators are providing valve control on new gas dehydration units constructed at seven sites in the Transylvanian region of Romania.

Free Tech Paper Week: Calibration & validation philosophy for TDL analyzers

Honeywell will supply its digitally enabled Well Performance Monitor to Ithaca Energy to manage the operational performance of its new Athena oilfield in the North Sea.

Honeywell is working with SAP to deliver collaborative solutions in which data generated from an industrial plant can lead to better business decisions.

Utilizing the increased power of computers, virtual reality simulates real or imaginary environments and situations with a high degree of realism.

Automation.com, July 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor Norm Gilsdorf addressed more than 1000 attendees at the recent Honeywell Users Group (HUG) Americas Symposium. His key message was that Honeywell has evolved from an automation company to a business transformation company so they can better develop their solutions for greater safety, reliability, efficiency, and sustainability.

A CNC system from NUM helped Sinico create a fully automated 9-axis rotary transfer cut-off and end-finishing machine for manufacturing volume batches of parts from metal bars and tubes.

Standard-Knapp supplied a bottle packer that almost eliminates bottle breakage while increasing packer speed.

Flowserve will supply control and on-off valves to Eldorado Celulose e Papel, a Brazilian pulp company, for a new plant.

AWR will operate as a wholly owned NI subsidiary under the leadership of the existing management team.

90+ page resource guide provides helpful technology overviews and selection guides, along with detailed information and technical specifications on the company’s products.

Using Micro-Epsilon’s scanCONTROL 2710 laser profile scanner, the positioning process is performed automatically at Metco, Israel’s largest manufacturer of steel pipe. The calculated profile information is used to directly control the positioning process.

Radiation-tolerant IVC video cameras will monitor operations in the Salt Waste Processing Facility, which is cleaning up liquid waste from nuclear bombs.

With a year-to-date total of $1,984.87 million, 2011 is up 108.0% compared with 2010.

ABB will supply process electrification and power distribution infrastructure as well as equipment for the Montes del Plata pulp mill in southwestern Uruguay.

He is rejoining Intelligrated after a yearlong appointment at Savoye, where he served as director of business development for the company's North American operations.

According to a study of more than 281 manufacturing executives, 75 percent report using desktop spreadsheet software like Microsoft Excel instead of their company’s ERP.

PCC is an industrial automation and control distributor serving Wisconsin's manufacturing industry for over 30 years.

AMT plans to add up to 40 engineers in the next 12 to 18 months.

Flowserve's manufacturing plant in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, has been certified by Saudi Aramco for the supply of control valves.

GE Intelligent Platforms will supply Proficy SmartSignal predictive-diagnostic software and services to Scottish and Southern Energy.

Metso will supply a 100 MWe biomass boiler island and plant automation system to the Gainesville Renewable Energy Center (GREC) in Gainesville, Florida, USA.

Honeywell Process Solutions is pursuing relationships with independent system integrators (SI) for the “Honeywell Experion Implementers” program. I recently spoke with Bill Stevens, Honeywell Channel Manager, to learn more about this program.

Automation.com, July 2011 By Dane Overfield, Exele Information Systems White paper addresses the benefits of adding a monitoring, alarm, and notification system on top of building automation systems.

Over sixty intelligent devices connected via PROFIBUS and PROFINET are being used in a tailor-made paint line at the factory of one of Germany’s biggest car manufacturers.