Articles and News

Mack Molding will use KUKA shelf-mount robots to handle machine tending requirements on injection molding machines ranging in size from 500 to 3350 tons. Mack Molding is a custom plastics molder and supplier of contract manufacturing services.

Under the terms of the agreement, Kay-EE has the right to market and manufacture products using Duraswitch electronic switch technologies. Guangzhou Kay-EE Membrane Keyboard Switch Co. (Kay-EE) is one of the largest suppliers of membrane switch panels in mainland China.

An editorial panel will be held at the 2nd Annual Marketing & Sales Summit on 5-7 September 2007 at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare in Chicago, Illinois. Panelists include Walt Boyes, David Broussard, Greg Hale, Gary Mintchell and Renee Robbins.

"The Road to Integration: A Guide to Applying the ISA-95 Standard in Manufacturing" by Bianca Scholten, explains how to apply ISA-95 in manufacturing enterprise systems (MES) and vertical integration projects, as well as reveals the most important ISA-95 models and terminology.

"Network Infrastructure for EtherNet/IP" provides an introduction to the network infrastructure and gives users a framework for identifying the considerations that are most critical to their specific applications. It references specific switch features that users of EtherNet/IP would require for proper communication.

Emerson changed the brand name of Solartron densitometers to Micro Motion. Emerson acquired the densitometers product line in 2005.

FANUC was presented the General Motors 2006 Supplier of the Year award for its overall business performance in providing GM with world-class parts and services.

Honeywell held its 2007 Middle East Users Group Symposium on April 9 -10 in Dubai. Topics for the symposium included industrial security, third party migration and alarm management.

Invensys broke ground for a brand new, 15,500 square foot regional headquarters facility in South East Calgary. It will be twice as large as the present Calgary facility and will have three times the staging area to accommodate staging, testing, and verification of customers' automation systems.

MAVERICK and Solving International will collaborate on business strategy, performance improvement and technology implementation with a focus on improving operations management, manufacturing, logistics and supply chain management.

Schneider Electric will significantly increase its level of support for ODVA by becoming one of its principal members. This coincides with ODVA's plans to extend the CIP Network specifications to provide compatibility with Modbus/TCP devices.

By Anto Budiardjo, President of Clasma Events Inc. Buildings 2.0 is a vision that intricately intertwines buildings with Internet technologies. It says the future of buildings is one which is controlled, managed and connected to the Internet in a way that goes far beyond simply placing a web server to the control system or in the use of IP. This article describes the concept of Buildings 2.0.

The conference series was co-sponsored by Microsoft and was conducted worldwide with 19 events throughout the U.S., Latin America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

"IEC 61499 Function Blocks for Embedded and Distributed Control Systems Design," by Valeriy Vyatkin, is a practical guide for component-based development of distributed embedded and control systems as proposed by the new international standard. Each chapter is designed as an independent study unit, making the book ideal for use in university courses, industrial training, or self-study.

Fieldbus Center at Lee College (Baytown, TX) and Tri-State University (Angola, Indiana), have signed a license agreement for sharing fieldbus training resources. The alliance will expand FOUNDATION technology instructional opportunities across the U.S.

Kratville will launch new, expanded service offerings in the areas of direct consulting, customer support and education services.

RFI will acquire the the Universal Vortex Flow Meter and FloSonex Ultrasonic Flow Meter product lines from Asahi/America. RFI will take full ownership of stock and warranty responsibility for both Vortex Flow Meter lines.

Emerson will provide a wide area data gathering system to connect 19 active wind farms to npower's corporate headquarters, operations center, and regional centers in various locations in the UK.

Part of the expansion features a new circuit design and simulation option, as well as a student install option that gives students the opportunity to use software included in the license on their personal computers. The Academic Site License covers NI software that fitsd the needs of academic institutions.

The topics that EWE will present (Hall 13, Booth C 30) are under the slogan of "Energy, Vision, Future." The focus will be on future energy production and energy efficiency, research and development, as well as IT solutions for the energy industry. Each day will be devoted to a particular focus.

G Systems delivered the second of two NLOS-LS Test Sets to Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control (LMMFC). NLOS LS consists of the Precision Attack Missile (PAM) and a highly deployable, platform-independent Container Launch Unit (C/LU) with self-contained tactical fire control electronics and software for remote and unmanned operations.

Robots, including dogs, two-legged humanoid robots, soccer robots, and service and rescue robots, will be competing in eight different leagues at the RoboCup German Open 2007.

The "Application Park" in Hall 17 will bring together around 50 high-tech German companies in a total display area of 3,000 square meters. This major new highlight has been organized jointly by the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) and Deutsche Messe.

The contest is open to users of LXI instrumentation who have interesting or effective applications in test and measurement system design and operation that incorporate LXI products in the system. First prize is $2500.

The 200 MW (megawatt) LNG-fired gas turbine combined-cycle (GTCC) power generation system will be built at the existing Tamar Valley Power Station site in Tasmania. It consists of a M701DA gas turbine, steam turbine, generator, heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) and other components.

The InterTech Development Company web site has an online library of leak test and functional test applications. It explains how factors such as fixture design, systems integration, and customization of test instruments bear on Gauge R&R in real world applications.

The free handbook offers practical assistance in making precision low level DC and pulse measurements on nanomaterials and devices and provides an overview of the theoretical and practical considerations involved in measuring low currents, high resistances, low voltages, and low resistances.

It is anticipated that the Lumberg Automation Components acquisition will be completed in June or July of 2007.

Emerson products will be used at the Industrial Measurement and Control (IMC) training laboratory at New Zealand's Waikato Institute of Technology. The college is the only provider of IMC training at Level 4 and Level 5 of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority National Framework.

ICONICS received the Microsoft ISV Trailblazer Partner of the Year Award.

Experts from Invensys' pharmaceutical and biotechnology practices will help explore the relationship between enterprise integration and operational excellence in three separate workshops during the INTERPHEX 2007 conference at the Jacob K. Javits Center, New York, April 24 -26.

ISA will describe the ISA-SP18.02 standard addressing the development, installation, and management of alarm systems in the process industries at the Matrikon Summit, May 7-10, Chicago, IL.

Ethernet Direct's Industrial Ethernet Switches have been approved by the new Korean MIC certificate regulation. The new surge test has already been effective since January 1, 2007, concerning immunity, signal ports and telecommunication ports.

Mitsubishi will integrate Wonderware software into its e-F@ctory MES solutions and PLCs.

ISaGRAF is compatible with Beck's IPC@CHIPR SC123/SC143 series of embedded web controllers. By using ISaGRAF 5, IPC@CHIPR users have the option of using the IEC 61499 standard to easily create distributed control applications.

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) Education Foundation announced the winners of its annual Directors and Family Student Scholarships. The top award is a full four-year scholarship.

Bosch Rexroth will supply hydraulic drives for the 678-foot high Great Beijing Wheel at the 2008 Olympic Games. Bosch will provide project engineering, shipment and installation of the complete hydraulic drive and control systems, as well as the automation for the passenger boarding stations.

Invensys is providing Foxboro I/A Series distributed control systems (DCS) for two new Husky Energy grassroots ethanol refineries in western Canada. Each of the two new plants will produce 130 million litres (34.3 million gallons) of ethanol annually, to be blended up to 10 percent into gasoline products.

SDI's A2LA accredited laboratory can calibrate force levels up to 300klbs/1334.4kNewtons and torque levels up to 360kin-lbs/40.6kNm. It uses a combination of NIST traceable force standards and NIST traceable dead weights to perform calibrations.

Omron merges safety equipment acquired from STI last year into a new category brand called 'STI' (Safety, Innovation & Technology). Its OS3101 Laser Safety Scanner would be the first product marketed under the new brand.

At a recent ISA-SP100.11a working group meeting in Karlsruhe, Germany, 60 attendees unanimously approved the scope and systems architecture of Release 1 of the draft standard. Release 1 will assure multi-vendor device interoperability, and will include only 2.4 GHz 802.15.4-2006 radios.

The fully searchable site is broken down into various product groups: Sound Level Meters, Data Acquisition Systems, Human Vibration Meters, Spark Dosimeters, Acoustic Calibrators, Microphones & Accessories, and Software Products.

Annual sales of PROFIBUS nodes reached a new high of 3.4 million in 2006 according to figures just released by PI (PROFIBUS and PROFINET International). This brings the total number of PROFIBUS nodes installed worldwide to 18.8 million. PROFIBUS remains on track to surpass 20 million nodes by 2008.

Metso Automation will supply automated on-off ball valves to Chiyoda-Technip, a Joint Venture formed by Chiyoda Corporation, Japan and Technip, France. The value of the order is well over EUR 10 million.

Audco India Limited (AIL) won an R&D award from the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) of India. AIL is a joint venture of Flowserve and Larsen & Toubro Limited.

Ethernet Direct now provides 4 support locations in Pune, Mumbai, Bangalore and soon in Delhi.

OMRON acquired the semiconductor business assets of Seiko Epson's consolidated subsidiary, Yasu Semiconductor Corp. The acquisition was completed on March 30, 2007.

Classes are free and train attendees on the use of AS-Interface technology for actuator and sensor networking. Classes are in Houston, TX in November.

Met-Mex Peñoles, SA de CV wili install Cyco Software’s AutoManager Meridian ECM solution with the Cyco AutoManager Maximo Module. Met-Mex is the largest non-ferrous metallurgical complex in Latin America, and the fourth largest in the world in terms of production value.

Enea acquired Swedish QiValue Technologies, a provider of Linux solutions. QiValue, with 13 employees, offers Linux services to equipment makers in the telecom and medical industry and specializes in development of Linux based embedded platforms and Linux training.

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to Manufacturing Operations Management: ISA-95 Best Practices Book 1.0" shows the way to dramatically lower total cost of ownership for manufacturing IT architectures and manufacturing, as well as reducing supply chain operational costs.

ISA's SP99 standards development committee is making substantial progress on several fronts in its work to develop standards and guidelines for the electronic security of industrial automation and control systems.

Both groups are working to develop processes that will facilitate easier packaging line integration and improve efficiencies by reducing developmental costs and project schedules.

The WBF 2007 North American Conference will be held in Baltimore, Maryland, April 30 - May 3 at the Tremont Grand Conference Center.

Perkins will be responsible for leading, directing and managing LV & MV Drives businesses. Perkins will be based in the ABB facility in New Berlin, Wisconsin.

Rockwell Automation has named John Genovesi vice president of its automotive, tire and rubber industry initiative. Genovesi will lead the company’s efforts helping automotive, tire and rubber machine builders, components suppliers and end manufacturers compete on a global basis.

Rockwell Automation held its 100th Complete Automation on the Move show (CAOTM) in Las Vegas.

FKI won a contract to deliver a fully automated item handling and sorting system to the Malmö City Library in Sweden.

Bopp & Reuther Messtechnik is a flow expert in Germany. The firm offers a proprietary line of oval wheel meters, turbine meters, density and concentration meters, vortex meters and compact orifices for flow and volume metering. It has 7 Offices Across Germany.

Invensys Process Systems and Apprion have successfully implemented wireless applications at the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) Lost Pines Power Park. LCRA recently merged these two plants under one functional management system with a layered WiMax/WiFi wireless infrastructure to help link the two plants.

NEXIQ Technologies has integrated McObject's eXtremeDB in-memory embedded database system in fleet vehicles as part of its eTechnician Web-based remote monitoring and diagnostics application. eTechnician is a wireless Web-based system that enables remote monitoring and diagnosis of on-the-road trucks and fleet vehicles.

Coleman will be responsible for planning, directing and implementing activities in the Product Management, Application Engineering and Customer Service Groups for Bosch Rexroth-Linear Motion and Assembly Technologies Group.

During this virtual conference on The Future of Nanotechnology, leading researchers from academia and business leaders from industry will present Six live audio/visual seminars. Two seminars will be held each day of the three-day conference. Each seminar is approximately 45 minutes long and includes interactive question and answer during each seminar. No charge to attend.

PEC has been awarded a $163,000 contract by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) to provide Motor Efficiency Controllers for 122 transit escalators.

An injection molding cell using a KUKA KR3 robot won the Gold award in its division and was named the “2007 Robot of the Year” at the National Robotics Challenge held March 9-10, 2007. The cell was designed, built, programmed and entered into the competition by the robotics team at Ohio Northern University.

ARC Informatique has been appointed distributor of Network Vision's IntraVue. IntraVue is a tool developed for the support of network equipment and the IP addressable devices connected to it.

Moxa will exhibit at the 2007 Hannover Messe tradeshow in Hannover, Germany, from April 16 to 20, 2007 in Booth C60, Hall 9.

The 3D Model provides individual customers with a customized solution created through a detailed needs assessment that focuses on three dimensions: business goals and objectives, operating environment and the instrument/equipment mix across the enterprise.

Application note describes how MultiComponent 2750 EP-NIR analyzer achieves precise, simultaneous measurement of water, methanol and total glycerin in B100 biodiesel samples.

The OMAC HMI Working Group organized a joint project between Boeing, Okuma and NIST to evaluate the integration of CNC to ERP and determine if part accountability could be achieved with minimal integration efforts using OPC/OMAC technologies.

The contracts specified the replacement work on several boiler burners at GSA managed federal buildings in Minneapolis and Grand Portage, Minnesota. FlowSense will replace several existing burners with high efficiency models and scope of work include replacement of associated controls, steam valves, and repiping work.

This program allow data center managers to know that their building management system has been integrated and proven out with PDI's Branch Circuit Monitoring System (BCMS). BCMS can monitor and report current and voltage measurements on each individual circuit branch breaker which can prevent overloading any of these circuits.

Electronics distributor Mayflex recently installed an automated storage systems for its warehouse in Birmingham, UK. Mayflex is a distributor of networking solutions throughout the UK & Ireland

In this role, Boie will be responsible for providing a strategic vision to the sales and marketing leadership team and will lead the attainment of profitable new machinery revenue growth.

Connect One opened a new office in San Jose, CA, and hired Ehud (Udi) Yuhjtman as President. Connect One manufactures semiconductors and device servers for Internet connectivity for machine-to-machine (M2M) applications.