Articles and News

"Automation and Control Systems Economics, 2nd Edition" covers the economic aspects of automation and process control like its predecessor, but expands on how the tools of economic and financial analysis can be applied to automation projects, especially those concerned with continuous processes.

ISA's 7th Annual Fugitive Emissions - LDAR Symposium will be held 5-7 June 2007 at the Doubletree Austin Hotel in Austin, Texas. The event will focus on compliance with today's complex leak detection and repair (LDAR) requirements, methods, and management.

The PTO (PROFIBUS and PROFINET North America) and the PIC (PROFI Interface Center) announce free webinars and one-day training classes held in various cities throughout North America.

The new hall, with an area of 850 sq. m, will house a dozen plastic injection presses. The La Ferté Bernard site has expanded from 50 persons in 2003 to more than 100 today.

At the ARC Forum, Rockwell Automation and Endress+Hauser demonstrated progress in their strategic alliance. The two companies provide comprehensive solutions for plant engineering, operations and management and support a range of standard bus technologies, including the HART Communication Foundation, Fieldbus Foundation, FDT Group and ODVA.

The papers are aimed at embedded software developers and provide advanced techniques for software development and debugging for the DSP and ARM processors found on both TI DaVinci technology and OMAP technology.

Shepherd's responsibilities will include the company's operations including engineering, sales, marketing, and customer service for the United States of America. Prior to joining KUKA Robotics, Mr. Shepherd was founder and president of Shepherd Solutions, a business development and management consulting firm.

According to a study prepared by the ARC Advisory Group, Foundation fielbus accounts for over two-thirds of process fieldbus revenues. ARC says the global market for fieldbus solutions in the process industries reached $831.7 million in 2006 and projects current growth trends will expand the fieldbus market to over $2.279 billion in 2011.

The 4th annual Safety Division Symposium will be held 22-23 May at the Wyndham Mount Laurel in Mount Laurel, New Jersey.

The Web site, "Manufacturing is Cool," was created by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) Education Foundation with the goal of inspiring pre-teens and teens to pursue careers in engineering and manufacturing. It provides an inside look at how kid favorites - such as snacks, fashion, cars and cell phones - are designed and produced by engineers.

UK's Defence Aviation Repair Agency (DARA) upgraded its facility for the storage of parts and tools involved in the servicing of RAF and naval aircraft with 11 Lean-Lift automated vertical lift storage systems.

The web site has a keyword search to help process, plant, municipal water and agricultural engineers find the most up-to-date flow meter information. Revamped top navigation and side toolbars make it easy to locate target information in one to two clicks.

Cyco's third Americas User & Reseller Conference will be held at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Florida, USA from June 3-5.

Ethernet Direct Latin America will serve the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking regions in Latin America.

Fully searchable CD-ROM provides complete product and design information contained in the company's print catalogs. More than 1,000 pages of technical specifications, product numbers, dimensions and application tips on 28,000 products are fully searchable by keyword or product number.

KD-Rig advanced diagnostic testing system provides NASCAR teams with detailed data about the chassis and suspension in a variety of simulation scenarios. It provides precise suspension motion while measuring bump steer, camber change and wheel loads. The KD-Rig also easily allows interference checking throughout the travel range.

The TiPS User Conference is scheduled for April 17-19, 2007 in Austin, TX. A highligh is an alarm management panel seated by founding members of the ASM Consortium; contributing authors of the EEMUAR 191 guideline; and people who have been involved with assessment and analysis of the world's most notorious incidents and who remain on the leading edge of alarm and upset management.

The European Collaborative Production Management (CPM) software market is in flux. Over the next five years, the market is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.7%. In 2006, the CPM software and service market was worth $889.6 million and is forecasted to exceed $1.6 billion by 2011 according to a new ARC Advisory Group study.

The booth layout will feature purpose-built kiosks offering an extensive overview of key fieldbus applications and FOUNDATION technology solutions through displays and demonstrations of registered devices, host systems, tools and services available from more than 20 of the world's leading automation equipment suppliers. The Interkama 2007 International Trade Fair is held April 16-20 in Hannover, Germany.

ABB will supply burner management, boiler controls, and BOP controls for two 330 MW circulating fluidized bed boilers at Cleco Power's new $1 billion Rodemacher Power Station, a 660 MW generating unit near Boyce, LA. ABB will provide System 800xA with operator stations, Harmony Bridge controllers for monitoring and control, and PLC interfaces to the turbine controls via standard OPC technology.

Emerson won a $7 million contract to automate the four unit, 4,000-MW, coal-fired plant in April 2005. The plant, which is owned by Huaneng Power International, is the first 1,000-MW-per-unit power plant in China, as well as the country’s first to use ultra-supercritical technologies. Two of the four units recently went on line.

The online SIL Resource Center has examples of how to determine Safety Integrity Levels and Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS), links to associated standards organizations, an extensive Questions and Answers section on the background and requirements of SIL and SIS process industry practices, along with a Common SIL Myths section.

Xycom Automation is adopting Pro-Face as its new corporate name. Xycom will remain a product brand name fully supported in the Pro-face family of Operator Interface and Industrial PC products.

Kuka Robotics has been selected by Transbotics Corporation to provide robotics to work with a new line of Automatic Guided Vehicles (AGV). The robots and AGVs streamline material handling processes for manufacturers by offering a complete solution for material handling from receiving to production to shipping.

The worldwide market for magnetic flowmeters is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.5% over the next five years. The market was $730.4 million in 2006 and is forecasted to be nearly $866 million in 2011, according to an ARC Advisory Group study.

The worldwide market for servo drives is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.6% over the next five years. The market was $3.07 billion in 2005 and is forecasted to be over $3.839 billion in 2010, according to an ARC Advisory Group study.

The "Next Generation CAD Configurators Save Time and Money" whitepaper details five key trends in the manufactured products market that have converged to create a new opportunity for manufacturers and distributors. The white paper explains how the company's comfigurator software helps.

The Consortium plans to work on new identify schema that provides more detailed information about an instrument, new requirements for event logging, an enhanced discovery mechanism that makes it easier to identify LXI devices over the Ethernet, and more.

Dr. James Truchard, CEO, president and cofounder of National Instruments was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering. Truchard was recognized for creating virtual instrumentation, which enabled the rapid development of customized measurement systems in industry, academia and classrooms.

Phoenix Contact was honored as the top manufacturer-supplier of passive components by the National Electronic Distributors Association.

Integrys will offer the full line of JAI and PULNiX camera brands to customers in the machine vision, medical, and scientific communities. Integrys is a supplier of specialized products and support services for OEMs and system integrators with locations in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto (Mississauga), Ottawa, and Montreal.

ABB won a $2 million order to upgrade the Control System at Australian Vinyls PVC resins plant located in Laverton, Victoria. The project will evolve the existing control systems to ABB's IndustrialIT System 800xA with Batch Manager and MOD AC460 controllers. Installation and commissioning is scheduled to be underway by January 2008.

The Dickson Calibration Club service is designed to help those with NIST-certified instruments ensure their instruments retain their original calibration specifications. Members of the Club are able to create an online database for all of their instruments and assets such that they receive an e-mail notification when instruments or assets are due for calibrations.

Emerson changed the brand name of TankRadar gauging systems from Saab Rosemount to Rosemount. The only change for customers will be the disappearance of the Saab name from the product brand.

Green Hills Software has teamed with Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing, who will offer developers complete embedded hardware/software solutions based on the Green Hills INTEGRITY RTOS and the MULTI development tool suite for modular computing and integrated subsystem applications in the defense and aerospace markets.

Temposonics catalog for the fluid power industry covers R-Series products for motion control applications and G-Series products for upgrading and retrofitting legacy Temposonics products.

K-TEK acquired KAB Instruments and their line of non-contact ultrasonic level measurement equipment. KAB, located in South Africa, serves the mining, plastics, pulp and paper, and aggregates industries with a family of ultrasonic transducers, transmitters, and controllers.

Wedron Silica has chosen Westermo's high-security Lynx switches for a full industrial Ethernet redundancy ring that monitors and controls the entire mining facility. This network exchanges data from hydraulic high pressure mining cannons, and from cameras linked to the control center via fiber-optics help to control and adjust truck loading and sand drying rooms.

Rockwell Automation sold two medium voltage drive turn-key solutions to zinc and iron ore mining operations in the Swedish mining industry, valued at 4 million Euros.

Velocity Group will sell IFS Applications' ERP software in the Midwest. Velocity Group has been selling another ERP solution throughout North America for the past seven years.

Kepware's KEPServerEX suite will be used to supply device connectivity for TriA Solution's A3 Core, used in power monitoring and testing management solutions in Power and Distributed Generation.

Castors and wheels manufacturer Tente has selected Barco to provide a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) for their plant in Ballymote, Co Sligo, Ireland. The PLANTMASTER MES will be installed at Tente's injection moulding facility in Ballymote to provide real-time visibility of all Key Performance Indicators (KPI.

Dynomax built a new three-story facility in Croatia to house both production and engineering within a single building.

Broler is a mechanical engineer who has spent the last 14 years working within the automotive industry and has a through understanding of precision machinery and auxiliary systems. He will provide technical support, consult on custom concepts, and design new spindles.

Hal Williams was appointed Global Sales & Marketing Manager in the Bellevue, WA corporate office.

Tim Kilty, Graham Hooper and Kent Lorenz have assumed all executive committee responsibilities. CEO Jim Ellison, will remain as chairman and CEO. Founding partners and executive committee members Don Bendix, Klaus Rindt and Len Atkins officially retired at the close of 2006. Ellison is a provider of advanced manufacturing solutions to North American metal-cutting manufacturers

Rosemount Analytical flue gas analysis products are helping to maintain efficient operations at the major RWE npower Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant in Barry, South Wales. This npower Cogen plant supplies electricity, steam and treated process water to the adjacent Dow Corning manufacturing facility.

FKI Logistex,completed a $10.8 million project with Internet shoe and apparel retailer, Zappos.com, to supply an automated material handling system for its new Shepherdsville, Kentucky distribution center (DC).

The site features a new homepage, an overall fresh, professional look and feel, and a navigation menu allowing visitors to access almost any web page within one click, no matter where they are on the Hardy site.

Laplace Technologies is a global provider of advanced process control, engineering and instrumentation services. Based in Houston, Texas, Laplace specializes in process, DCS, PLC and fault-tolerant systems. MAVERICK Technologies is an engineering, systems integration and operational consulting firm.

Moore Industries signed Arjay Automation in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as a manufacturer’s representative for all Moore Industries product lines, including MooreHawke. Arjay will be responsible for covering Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and western Wisconsin for Moore Industries.

FDR-800 Series compact diffuse reflectance probes can view a sample at normal incidence through a dryer or blender widow without introducing stray light. The viewed spot diameter and target offset distance are optimized for use in a typical pharmaceutical drying or blending application.

BuilConn will be held at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai 26-28 February, 2007 and will focus on the trends, drivers and opportunities in real-estate developments in the Middle East region, with particular emphasis on the role of connectivity in building systems and with IT.

Electroimpact, a U.S. aerospace tooling company and supplier to Airbus UK, opened a facility in Wales to provide engineering support and maintenance service.

"Measurement and Control Basics, 4th Edition" by Thomas A. Hughes is a newly-revised version of the best-seller. The text is ideal for classroom use or self-study, because it provides a practical introduction to the technologies, systems, and strategies involved in industrial process control.

Agilent will deliver an advanced, next-generation automated manufacturing test platform to Raytheon, Tuscon. Raytheon will initially use the system for functional and diagnostic testing of components within missile guidance systems.

American seminar locations include Detroit, Charlotte, Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis, Chicago, Toronto, Rochester, Philadelphia, Boston, Montreal, Nashville, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Grand Rapids, Denver and more. ICONICS will also bring its seminar to Thailand, Indonesia, New Zealand and other locations around the world.

Infor will explain how small and midsized automotive suppliers can improve business processes, increase profitability and gain competitive advantage as part of a live webinar titled, “Experience Rapid ROI with ERP Designed for Automotive Manufacturers,” on Monday, February 26, 2007.

The purchase price is $4.5 million in cash for all issued and outstanding shares of Axonwave, which at closing has net tangible assets estimated at $3.7 million. Axonwave Software is a private company based in Vancouver, BC, that makes Content Intelligence System software for analyzing unstructured data, such as word processing documents, email and PDF files.

Scott McLendon, vice president and general manager of Phoenix Contact USA, has been appointed to the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) Board of Governors.

Williams was ASI's executive vice president and general manager. He succeeds the company general partner, founder and CFO, Peter Cai, who has retired. ASI also promoted Steve Zelenak from director of engineering to vice president of engineering, and Frank Zheng from director of operations to vice president of operations.

DHI is a manufacturer of high performance pressure and gas flow standards, including calibration process software. DHI also offers A2LA accredited pressure and gas flow calibration services, as well as metrology training courses at their facility in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Under the agreement, DHI will become part of the Fluke Precision Measurement division, joining the Fluke calibration product and service teams.

Schneider Electric and American Power Conversion received clearance from the European Commission for Schneider to acquire all outstanding shares of APC, provided that Schneider Electric divests its MGE UPS Systems operations in small systems below 10 kVA.

Schneider Electric announced the completion of the acquisition of American Power Conversion Corporation following satisfaction of the closing conditions of the merger agreement. Under the terms of the acquisition, each share of APC common stock is converted to the right to receive US$31.00 in cash. The total amount to be paid in cash to APC shareholders represents approximately US$6.1 billion.

In the UK, Cyco added Tony Leaver, UK Sales Manager and Paul Hiles, Business Consultant. Michael Sobanski was added to the services team in Germany and Coen Vromans will join Cyco's headquarters in the Netherlands as Pre-sales Manager.

The latest edition of "The Condensed Handbook for Measurement and Control, 3rd Edition" by N.E. Battikha focuses on selecting and implementing measurement and control devices for process automation applications. The resource is intended to be clear and concise in order to help professionals understand the field of process measurement and control.

The application note discusses how ATi's Q45H62 monitoring system measures free chlorine residuals without the need for chemical buffering traditionally associated with such measurements. ATi's pH corrected monitor uses a membrane-covered polarographic sensor that does not require the addition of costly chemical reagents.

Brochure contains information about implementing Banner vision sensors and lighting into factory processes, along with a number of helpful tools for choosing the best vision inspection solution for unique applications.

Application note details how to interface the company's UEILogger data logger to a host computer over a cellular network. Using a high speed Cellular/CDMA/GSM link allows the user to download data from the logger as well as check the logger status from any internet connection.

ABB's net income rose 89 percent to $1,390 million in 2006 amid strong demand for technology to increase power grid reliability, industrial productivity and energy efficiency. Revenues for 2006 reached $24,412 million, an increase of 11 percent (10 percent in local currencies) over 2005, while orders were 22 percent higher (22 percent in local currencies) at $28,401 million.

The website has a global look and feel, and top and left-hand navigation menus that make the site easy to use while retaining quick access to information and downloads. Content is customized for each region, maintaining the local business culture of each major geographical region.

NSK Nakanishi Inc's Industrial Division has changed its name to Nakanishi Inc. Nakanishi makes high-speed rotary instruments.

ATS Electronics will distribute signal conditioners from BASI Instruments and Industrial Process Instrumentation and Display Units from Amalgamated Instruments in the United States and Canada.

The Fieldbus Center at Lee College, a National Science Foundation (NSF) recognized and funded institution, is offering a FOUNDATION fieldbus training course for power and wire installers. The two-day course covers installation and testing of fieldbus physical layer components.

The 50th POWID Symposium, held in partnership with EPRI, will be held 10-15 June at the Sheraton Station Square Hotel in Pittsburgh, PA. It is also considered the 17th Annual Joint ISA POWID/EPRI Controls and Instrumentation Conference.