Articles and News

Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) launched a $700 million motor rebate bill for an energy-efficient motor rebate program advocated by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA).

Repsol YPF will use cpmPlus Smart Client to improve operational efficiency at its Lube Oil Blending plant at the La Plata Refinery in Argentina.

Commtest appointed Tim Whitacre as a Corporate Solutions Specialist, and Chris Keniston and Shane Smith as Customer Success Engineers.

Site is organized according to three major product classifications: Industrial Ethernet, Industrial Communication and Industrial Automation.

TG200 and TG300 device couplers successfully completed the Foundation Device Coupler Registration Process for the Fieldbus Foundation.

Rockwell Automation is supporting the use of its automation software on virtualization solutions from Silicon Valley-based VMware.

White paper outlines a methodology for industrial energy management that allows manufacturers to strategically and holistically improve energy use.

Most recently, Huber was global Technology Manager for ABB’s Process Industries Products business, and oversaw product roadmaps and forward evolution for ABB’s control systems portfolio.

At $39.6 million for third quarter 2009, shipments of workholding equipment were down 34.1 percent from third quarter 2008 according to the Advanced Workholding Technology (AWT) Group of AMT

by Don Frey, ISA Volunteer Leader Faced with unprecedented declines in demand for training, advertising, and exhibit space, the ISA has had to make drastic cuts in its budget for 2010. Some significant areas where cuts have been made are in the areas of professional staff, frequency of publication of InTech magazine, ISA E-News production and distribution, and future ISA EXPO offerings.

Sponsorship packages will offer year round promotion, prominent association-wide access and recognition, and turnkey service from a dedicated team of professionals.

Rosemount wireless transmitters at three sites measure venting, deliver gas data for AGA3 calculations to balance plants, and provide data for fiscal accounting of sold gas.

GE Fanuc will supply PACSystems RX3i controllers for true dual redundancy data synchronization and automatic switchover for continuous operations.

Equipment includes CNC lathes, vertical machining centers, multi-tasking machines and a horizontal machining center with a Fastems flexible manufacturing system.

The ASHRAE Handbook is now available online to allow for quick and easy access to a vast amount of HVAC&R information.

Campanale will lead the development team and its operations to ensure proper and efficient planning and execution of all engineering projects.

Dan Janka, President, MAG Global, was elected Chairman of the Association of Manufacturing Technology (AMT) Board of Directors.

The Army awarded MicroStrain a contract to develop an active radio frequency identification embedded usage tracking system for helicopter rotating components.

Symyx closed a deal with China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec Corp.) to supply a Zeolite Synthesis Workflow for research in energy and chemical development.

ABB will supply switchgear, ring main units, capacitor banks and resistors, protection panels, fault monitoring systems and substation control and monitoring systems based on System 800xA.

APOGEE Insight and TALON View 3.10 workstation platforms achieved the BTL Mark from BACnet International.

Siemens Industry Building Technologies Division is purchasing green power through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership.

Six general purpose accelerometers were approved for use in Class I Zone 0 hazardous areas.

Key Suppliers recently agreed to enlarge the scope of the EDDL Cooperation Team and will become the FDI Cooperation.

Desselle-Maggard, based in Baton Rouge, LA, will rep HIMA in Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas and East Texas.

The DOE will use EYESim virtual reality training solution in the development of new generation zero-emission integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plants with carbon capture.

AEP-A2000R Series of pure sign wave inverters are now UL60950-1 Listed.

Dresser Masoneilan has been named the preferred control valve supplier for Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power’s Shin Kori reactors currently under construction near Busan, South Korea.

Rockwell Automation has supplied 15 Allen Bradley ControlLogix programmable automation controllers to be located at seven different sites in the Snowy Mountains on the east coast of Australia.

Emerson will install its Ovation expert control system at two power generation facilities in Korea.

The CoDeSys Automation Alliance for IEC 61131-3 programming signed up its 100th member.

Vishay Nobel standard KIS, KOSD, KIMD, and KISD load cells and weighing modules work with Schneider PLCs via Ethernet Modbus TCP communication.

Prosilica cameras will now become an integral part of the overall AVT camera offering.

Omni Cable is a distributor of specialty wire and cable for electrical distribution.

With this system, children as young as 9 years old can design their own robots using new features such as color recognition and Bluetooth support.

In addition to daily and weekly digital and online content, ISA will publish 6 print issues of InTech magazine in 2010. ISA selected Automation.com as the advertising sales representative for InTech magazine’s print, digital, and online editions.

Growth in the mining and metals industry for automation, instrumentation, and software came to a halt in the last quarter of 2008 and hasn't recovered.

Frost & Sullivan says that with Europe’s major economies sinking into recession, major pump suppliers have seen orders go down by nearly 30 per cent.

ABB reported third-quarter net income of $1 billion. Orders declined 15% and revenue was down 5%.

Wind turbine control system suppliers are benefiting from an increasing demand for wind turbines worldwide and recognizing various areas of opportunities where performance can be improved.

The worldwide market for Factory Automation Networks at the device level will decline this year but is expected to strongly rebound in 2010

The collapse of the US housing market and subsequent chain reaction of events made for a very difficult business climate for 2008 and 2009, but it may start to grow.

The European Fieldbus market is expected to grow to $760.27 million by 2015 from $448.00 million in 2008.

The Quattro Robot broke the 300 cycle per minute barrier, allegedly making it the fastest robot in the world.

SABIC Innovative Plastics will use the system to connect and organize people and work processes to drive Lean production initiatives – easing decision making on the plant floor and reducing costs.

Emerson wireless position monitors are helping Harcros Chemicals monitor manual valves in remote, hard-to-reach locations that previously were unconnected to the plant’s control system.

Enraf Servo Gauge received SIL-2 certification from TUV Rheinland for use in safety applications. Existing gauges can become SIL-2 compliant with a simple software upload.

Toyota will use the HC900 hybrid controller to optimize air supply units and deliver greater energy-efficient temperature and humidity control within paint finishing spray booths.

Wonderware software will manage Bruce Power's equipment condition and performance monitoring (ECPM) project at eight nuclear reactors in Canada.

84% of production companies report that they could improve the speed of visibility into their operations performance. IT challenges and a lack of understanding are the main obstacles to changing that situation.

Honeywell’s Experion will be used to control Valorly’s Rillieux-la-Pape incineration system, which transforms waste into both thermal and electrical energy.

The book discusses topics such as engineering, security, enterprise connectivity, advanced process control, plant asset management and operator efficiency.

Schneider Electric will update their machine controller and I/O system using B&R technology.

Brochure provides an overview of ABB's start-up and commissioning services.

Emerson’s wireless network of field instrumentation monitors the process used to reduce NOx emissions inside a rotating cement kiln at CalPortland Company.

Project includes distributed control, safety technology, terminal automation, process technology, process simulation and optimization applications.

PcVue will monitor and control ventilation systems and 200 programmable controllers at CERN, the largest particle accelerator in the world.

In a survey of manufacturing CFOs and senior comptrollers, one-third are reducing health care benefits, more than a quarter are reducing 401(k) matches, and more than half plan to reduce bonuses.

Manufacturing has yet to reap many benefits from the $780 billion stimulus package, but an industry economist has uncovered a program that delivers both financial rewards and environmental benefits for the sector.

ISA Automation Week will feature intensive educational and applications-based technical conference sessions delivered by subject matter experts. The event will have a focused exhibition area for a limited number of companies to showcase products and services.

ABB will provide electrical equipment, including transformers, medium-voltage switchgears, as well as instrumentation and System 800xA automation systems.

2009 Q4 catalog covers the full line of N-TRON products including managed, unmanaged and process control Ethernet switches, plus monitored media converters and wireless Ethernet radios.

The drop-off in bookings experienced through 2009 is expected to result in a decline for field instrument shipments through 2010 and into 2011.

Joe Hogan discussed the importance of developing a smarter grid, and the challenges that remain to be overcome, at the SmarterCities event in New York earlier this month

SIs include E-Technologies Group, DLT&V Systems Engineering, Global Automation Partners, SYSMAKER Engenharia de Sistemas Lda, and Autoware S.r.l. Unipersonale.

Since 1949, EIM Controls has pioneered product innovation and design in the manufacturing of electric valve actuators.

In addition to the traditional print catalogs the company has always offered, PDF versions are also available for download.

ESX10-T solid state overcurrent protector is CSA approved for installation into Class I, Division 2 - Group A, B, C, and D applications.

Automation expenditures by the upstream oil and gas sector, which includes exploration, production, and pipelines, are expected to grow at an annual growth rate of nearly seven percent over the next five years.

The KUKA Development Center near Detroit specializes in joining technologies like laser welding. The center is working closely with automakers on adapting laser welding technologies.

Kravik represents the third generation in her family to own and lead the privately held 37-year old company.

Vishay provided a web tension measurement system to Western Michigan University (WMU) for use in its Coating Pilot Plant. The system precisely measures the sheet web tension between the coater backing rolls and the chill-roll S-wrap.

ABB automation, power distribution, variable speed drive systems and electrification equipment is being used on the PM12 paper line at Stora Enso’s Kvarnsveden paper mill in Sweden.

Invensys will provide distributed and critical control systems, emergency shutdown systems, advanced process control, plant optimization and operator training simulator technology.

OPC Server Simulators include both an OPC DA/HDA server and an OPC A&E server simulator, allowing users to test any third party OPC Client application using simulated data and messages.