Articles and News

Microsoft has awarded Beckhoff the status of Gold Partner in the Windows Embedded Partner program. To qualify as Microsoft Windows Embedded Gold Partners, companies must demonstrate first rate embedded technology knowledge.

OST was appointed an Integration Partner for the Sick/IVP range of high speed line scan cameras and profiling systems. Currently OST is installing a multiple camera system at a leading vehicle manufacturer.

The SERCOS trade organization completed the I/O profile for SERCOS III, the Ethernet-based version of the SERCOS interface. This specifies a device profile for decentralized I/O modules, which can be used for block I/Os as well as modular I/Os. This lets SERCOS III be used as a drive interface and a universal Real-time Ethernet solution for all kinds of automation applications.

KMT has acquired Robotic Production Technology, a robotic trimming solutions provider, as well as H2O Jet, a manufacturer and distributor of pumps, spare parts and components for waterjet equipment including diamond nozzles. The combined annual revenue of the acquired companies amounts to approximately SEK 300 million. Both companies will be consolidated in the KMT Group as of 1 December 2006 as part of the Waterjet Product Area.

MOXA has received Vista certification for its multiport serial board and serial device server products from Microsoft's Windows Hardware Quality Laboratories (WHQL) for Windows Vista x86 and x64 editions

PAS integrated Intergraph's SmartPlant Instrumentation with PAS' Integrity Automation Configuration Management (ACM) software to provide Configuration Visualization, Change Management Reporting, and Configuration Integrity Checks. As a result, customers may track signal flow from any instrument through all automation assets and advanced applications used in process plants.

The Fieldbus Foundation 2007 General Assembly will be held in Houston, Texas, on February 22-23. Planned for the Houstonian Hotel, the annual event will be attended by FOUNDATION technology suppliers, end users and other industry participants from around the world.

Both located in Münster, Germany, Embedded-Logic Design & More GmbH (ELDM) and BeDeHa GmbH are developers of Embedded PC technology. ELDM specializes in the development of PC motherboards while BeDeHa distributes and adapts BIOS software. The two companies will remain based at their current locations and will continue to act independently in the market.

Cimetrix says its CIMPortal software product has been selected for Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International's (SEMI) Interface A standards compliance by 50 percent of the top 20 largest semiconductor equipment suppliers in the world.

Based on the safety- and security-certified INTEGRITY real-time operating system and its U.S.-developed IPv4/v6 networking stack, the Platform for Secure Networking delivers secure communications and access that allow networking equipment developers to completely secure their devices and the information flowing through them.

The Magni Group, a manufacturer of protective coating systems for metal products, has chosen the DEACOM Integrated Accounting and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Software System to standardize all business processes, including quality control, batch formulation, and production scheduling.

Emerson has won two contracts from KCP&L to install PlantWeb digital plant architecture with the Ovation expert control system at Iatan Units 1 and 2 in Platte County, Mo. Emerson will digitally automate Iatan Unit 2, a new 850-MW, coal-fired unit, and control a new FGD system that is being added as part of a pollution control upgrade project for Iatan Unit 1.

Emerson will use Mtelligence products to integrate PlantWeb with enterprise asset management (EAM) systems such as SAP's Plant Maintenance system and IBM's MAXIMO system. Mtelligence's technology provides a bi-directional bridge to connect plant asset management information with EAM systems based on the Open O&M (Operations and Maintenance) Initiative.

Honeywell won a contract with Norsk Hydro to supply a Production Control Center (PCC) to their central onshore support center that remotely monitors oil and gas production in the North Sea. The order also includes offshore installation on the Njord platform.

The SimSci-Esscor unit of Invensys and OLI Systems, Inc. have extended and enhanced a partnership for electrolytic process simulation. The agreement extends the twenty-seven-year alliance between the two companies, which integrates OLI's electrolyte algorithms and databanks with SimSci-Esscor's process simulators.

In January 2007, the SimSci-Esscor unit of Invensys marks the 40th Anniversary of its simulation solutions business. The milestone is being celebrated at a reception with SimSci-Esscor users at the 2006 Invensys Process Systems Annual Customer Conference in Dallas December 4-7.

"SAFETY: Uncover the Competitive Advantage" will be held in movie theaters in 45 cities across the U.S. beginning January 23, 2007. Highlighting the event is a full-screen movie production, featuring a who's-who cast of safety industry experts and leading-edge companies. The movie provides a big-screen approach to the education and tools needed to turn machine safety into a competitive advantage.

Pavilion Technologies, a world leader in model-based software, today announced Sinopec Yangzi, a leading petrochemical producer in China, has achieved considerable production benefits from the deployment of Pavilion's Polymer Solution. As part of the initiative, Sinopec Yangzi deployed Pavilion's Polymer Solution on a polypropylene line at its Nanjing, JiangSu Province facility. This project marks the first deployment of Pavilion's model predictive control (MPC) technology in China.

More than 150 industry professionals from 17 different countries participated in the European WBF Conference held at the Elewijt Center in Mechelen, Belgium, on 13-15 November 2006. WBF is an association of end-users, vendors, consultants, and academics with a strict, non-commercial agenda

Comtrol will sponsor Insight in the next DARPA Grand Challenge race, the Urban Challenge. Comtrol sponsored Insight in the 2005 Grand Challenge where Insight was a finalist. The DARPA Grand Challenge is a series of robotic vehicle races. Computer driven vehicles compete to demonstrate new advanced automotive control technology. Comtrol's server products aid communication with all sensors and computers in the race car.

The service and repair center, located at the company's headquarters in Tempe, Ariz., can calibrate almost all types of industrial flow measurement devices, including turbine, coriolis, positive displacement and variable area meters. A variety of calibration procedures can be performed, including Reynolds Number and Universal Viscosity Curve (UVC) calibrations.

Honeywell will provide National Grid Grain LNG with automation solutions at two locations. The two projects are valued at a collective $2.8 million. The first involves installation of an Experion PKS and two safety systems into Grain LNG’s importation terminal at the Isle of Grain, in the UK. In the second, Honeywell will provide a process control and safety system for Grain LNG's importation terminal near London.

The Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited 3 (RL3) in Qatar awarded Invensys Singapore an automation contract for the LNG Trains 6 and 7 onshore expansion project. The project includes Foxboro and Triconex control and safety systems; integrated asset management, alarm management, and control loop performance monitoring systems; plus associated engineering services. When both new trains come on line the complex will be the world's largest with a total LNG capacity of 36.3 MMTA.

Invensys Process Systems has become a global re-seller and a certified implementer for Cutler Technology's Adaptive Dynamic Matrix Controller (ADMC) technology. ADMC was developed by Dr. Charles Cutler, inventor of DMC (Dynamic Matrix Control) and DMCplus. ADMC is claimed to be the world's only Adaptive Multivariable Controller.

A business system integration module for the Avantis.PRO enterprise asset management(EAM) software provides integration between Avantis.PRO R4.1 and Microsoft Dynamics AX Release 4.0 and Microsoft Dynamics GP Professional 9.0 business management applications. This will eliminate much of the time and effort typically involved with integrating plant asset management systems into enterprise-level financial applications.

The Avantis unit of Invensys Process Systems today announced new software enhancements that further improve Avantis' award-winning maintenance and purchasing analytics for manufacturing and executive decision-makers. The new software builds on the Avantis.DSS web-based decision support solution, which transforms transactional data into visible, meaningful and actionable business analytics based on the individual's specific role in the organization.

Measurement and Automation Catalog 2007 describes software and hardware for test, control and design applications. For 2007, NI has made it even easier for customers to find what they need by providing the catalog in a searchable, downloadable eBook format.

Invensys will upgrade existing Foxboro distributed control systems (DCSes) at Saudi Aramco's Shedgum and 'Uthmaniyah Gas Plants to the latest Mesh Control Network technology. Invensys Middle East will provide all engineering, procurement (hardware and software), and site services for the DCS upgrade project.

Invensys will provide Foxboro distributed control systems (DCSes) and Triconex safety systems and fire & gas systems for the Yemen LNG Company Ltd. plant being built at Balhaf, on Yemen's south coast. The new $2+ billion grassroots plant is the first LNG plant in Yemen, and the Foxboro implementation will be the first major DCS in Yemen.

Enhancements to DIAdem 10.1 interactive software for inspecting, analyzing and reporting test data, extend the platform’s data mining and data management functionality so engineers can share data among groups with DIAdem 10.1 and DataFinder Server Edition.

The Fieldbus Foundation held its inaugural EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) conference in Mannheim, Germany during the last week in September. The meeting was hosted by Pepperl+Fuchs at the company's headquarters.

Patrick Gouhin, Executive Director and CEO of ISA, joined 169 US business leaders in the banking, insurance, energy, aerospace, automotive, pharmaceutical information technology and service sectors who attended a two-day summit in Mumbai.

Academia RFID offers courses in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Quebec City, Saint-John, Halifax and at their head-office, which includes a classroom and state-of-the-art RFID lab, in Montreal.

Carlo Gavazzi is using RTP's PermaStat PLUS compounds to meet ATEX requirements in its Tripleshield Capacitive Sensors. This compound is permanently static dissipative and provides the necessary surface resistance to meet the ATEX requirement of less than 1 Gohm.

The University of Kansas will be presenting "Intelligent Asset Management using RFID: Real ROI in Asset Management and Closed Loop Systems" on Wednesday-Friday, February 28 to March 2, 2007, at the Hampton Inn and Suites, Country Club Plaza, Kansas City, Missouri.

Enhancements include Startup Sequencing, Mechanical Trip Protection Replacement, GE Trip Protection Upgrade, and Westinghouse Trip Protection Upgrade functions.

Honeywell will install an Experion R300 PKS and other equipment valued at $3.7 million at Huntsman’s new polyethylene plant in Wilton, UK, due to open in 2007. The single plant-wide automation system will be provided through engineering contractor Simon Carves Limited and will include Honeywell C300 controllers, integrated safety systems and process field device integration.

Festo now offers individual services to customers wishing to achieve more efficient use of compressed air. The Energy Saving Service covers everything from consumption and leakage measurements to machine inspection and final analysis.

Rexroth catalog SC-400.10 features 128 pages of technical and ordering information and an overview section on Series QR1 pneumatic push-in fittings.

This announcement endorses the longstanding alliance relationship that DuPont and Rockwell Automation have shared over the last 15 years for PLC-based control systems. It now expands the relationship to leverage Rockwell Automation’s process system capability.

Barry-Wehmiller will purchase the assets of Sandiacre Rose Forgrove, a division of Molins PLC. Sandiacre will be integrated with Hayssen Packaging Technologies to form one of the largest flexible packaging equipment providers, with more than $80 million in revenues. Hayssen is a division of Barry-Wehmiller.

These new editions are the second publication of updates in 2006. More than 20 Specification Enhancements were integrated into these editions, allowing more comprehensive and useful information to be contained within EDS files, adding DTM configuration options, and facilitating the deployment of these networks with increased flexibility.

The "Field Device Tool for CIP Networks: Annex to FDT Specification" provides the schemas required to implement the Device Type Manager (DTM) configuration option for the currently available adaptations of networks built on the Common Industrial Protocol (CIP), which include DeviceNet, EtherNet/IP and ControlNet.

SERCOS International and ODVA announced that SI will adopt CIP Safety as its functional safety protocol for SERCOS. ODVA will extend The CIP Safety Specification to include safety profiles for SERCOS devices. SI will develop the SERCOS III network adaptation to utilize CIP Safety. SI and ODVA, jointly, will develop and establish conformance testing for devices implementing CIP Safety on SERCOS.

To date, the company has been selected to install its PlantWeb digital plant architecture with the Ovation expert control system at seven new coal-fired power plants, all slated to go into commercial operation within the next five years. These new plants represent an additional 5,505 MW of new generating capacity.

Gordon McFarland, senior power plant performance analyst with Emerson's North American Power & Water solutions division, has received the ISA's Standards & Practices Award. The award recognizes McFarland for his leadership in the initial development of fossil power plant standards, and for 25 years of continuous support and direction of those standards.

Emerson will install its PlantWeb digital plant architecture and an Ovation expert control system at Xcel Energy's new Comanche Power Station Unit 3, located near Pueblo, Colo. The 750-MW, supercritical plant is Xcel Energy's first new coal-fired electric generation unit in nearly 30 years.

The Ovation system has a bus platform that supports Foundation fieldbus, DeviceNet and PROFIBUS DP industry standard communications protocols. The bus platform also has the capability to incorporate emerging protocols, such as PROFINET and EtherNet/IP.

This achievement in the Kingdom is being celebrated with a gala dinner for customers and partners at the Sunset Beach Resort, Al Khobar.

The Industrial Automation display area at HANNOVER MESSE 2007 (the Hannover Fair, 16 to 20 April) combines three international trade fairs in one: INTERKAMA+, Factory Automation, and Industrial Building Automation. The range of products and services encompasses all key disciplines in the field of automation - from open- and closed-loop control technology, measuring technology, electronics and electrical engineering, to mechanical engineering, robotics and networking for industrial processes.

Enhancements to Wizcon 9.3 include two features for secure integration into enterprise IT systems and for video security in facility management. It integrates support of Active Directory / LDAP, which gives administrators the option to use their IT infrastructure to control login to Wizcon applications. A video management module enables building and facility managers to integrate video streams into their Wizcon application.

ISA will accept nominations for its 2007 Honors and Awards Gala until 10 February 2007. The Society recognizes the achievements of automation professionals around the world with Society Service and Technical awards. Many of the awards do not require the recipient or nominator to be an ISA Member.

Roberto Tunioli, Vice Chairman and CEO of Datalogic, is the winner of the 10th Italian edition of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, which is given to business leaders who have distinguished themselves for their talent, initiative, commitment and contribution to the socio-economic growth of their country.

AMT is staffed and ready to provide a full range of programming, training and support services for Behr EcoRP6 robots, Behr fixed automation systems and Behr’s 3D-Onsite computer simulation software.

This desktop reference guide offers details and specifications on Keithley's general-purpose and sensitive sourcing and measurement products, DC switching, RF switching and measurement, data acquisition solutions, semiconductor test systems, and optoelectronics test hardware. Tutorials simplify choosing solutions for specific applications.

The BiSS webinar on December 6 is part of a campaign launched recently by Danaher called the "Campaign for Absolute Freedom," which seeks to accelerate the adoption of BiSS and encourages engineers to petition drive manufacturers to support the BiSS protocol on their drives.

The GRF has been re-engineered to make it last longer. GRF is a pneumatically controlled spring return gripper which is used to secure difficult parts with more force by positioning of the gripper finger. Gripper components are available with three different angles of rotation: 35, 90 and 95 degrees, depending on the grip required.

This new agreement expands Emerson's current use of Intergraph's lifecycle instrumentation engineering software and enhances interoperability and efficiency between Emerson's DeltaV digital automation system, a core component of the company's PlantWeb digital plant architecture, and Intergraph's SmartPlant Instrumentation software.

Rockwell Automation honored its most accomplished engineers at the 24th annual Patent and Innovation awards celebrations Nov. 14 in Milwaukee, and Nov. 16 in Cleveland, Ohio. Keith Nosbusch, chairman and CEO, and Sujeet Chand, senior vice president and chief technology officer, presented the company’s two most prestigious recognitions, the Odo J. Struger Automation Award and the Engineer of the Year award.

Bemis, the world's largest manufacturer of toilet seats, is to implement Barco's PLANTMASTER MES to provide real-time production monitoring, scheduling and operator tracking at its injection molding facility in Burnley, Lancashire, UK.

Ethernet Direct Asia Pacific has offices in Vietnam and agents in Singapore, Thailand and Middle East.

This 150-page guide provides complete technical information, features, benefits and an easy-to-use selection guide for RFID and barcode products, including a new family of barcode imaging cameras.

Leading Edge Controls, San Antonio, specializes in industrial control systems. Stephen Horras, founder of Leading Edge Controls, will direct the new location. The San Antonio location will also support the needs of established JMP clients, especially Toyota and their new 2000 acre truck manufacturing plant opening later this year.

Matrikon's Australian division will supply a Process Information Management System (PIMS) to Xstrata’s Australian copper and zinc-lead-silver operation, Mount Isa Mines. The solution will allow Mount Isa Mines to optimize metallurgical operations and increase production and processing performance through the web-based access to real-time and historical operations data.

The 12 minute on-line Flash demonstration shows how the company's software automates paper-based quality system processes. It covers Automating quality and regulatory processes, Document Control, Training Management, CAPA, Change Control, Quality Audit, Customer Complaints, Nonconformances and Sarbanes-Oxley Act processes.

Airbus selected National Instruments DIAdem data analysis and report generation software as its standard tool for processing wind-tunnel test data, including the effects of specific thermal and aerodynamic parameters on airliners.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), Mitsubishi Corporation and Duro Felguera, a Spanish heavy machinery manufacturer, have jointly received orders for large-scale flue gas desulfurization (FGD) systems from two major Spanish electricity providers: Iberdrola Generacion, SAU and Endesa Generacion, SA. The FGD system for Iberdrola will be an altogether new installation while that for Endesa is to upgrade a previously delivered FGD system.

PackML is a set of packaging machine language guidelines that have been developed by the OMAC Packaging Workgroup. Packaging machines that follow the PackML guidelines can be more easily integrated into a packaging line and their associated manufacturing execution (MES) systems, minimizing engineering costs and reducing project schedules.

The Silver Crescent Foundation and The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) Education Foundation will help South Carolina middle school students explore career opportunities in engineering and technology.

Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, has selected ABB to integrate numerous isolated automation systems at its Andina underground mine in Chile into a single, ABB-managed platform, using System 800xA Extended Automation. Andina is one of four underground mines that Codelco operates in Chile.

This brake and clutch solutions catalog details the complete line of electromagnetic friction brakes and clutches, and The Genuine Wrap Spring™ family of wrap spring clutch/brakes. The new AKB and PMB series power-off spring set brakes are also included.

Industrial Control Software Ltd has been awarded the 2006 Innovation Award by the Northern Offshore Federation in the UK. ICS won the award for a new software product they have just released which will revolutionize the way alarm overrides are handled in the Control Room by eliminating the need for paper logbooks.

ControlNet has been adopted by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of the People’s Republic of China as part of a machinery industry standard for the People's Republic of China. This adoption, by one of the world’s leading technology countries, extends nearly the entire family of CIP Networks to China ’s manufacturing industry.

Emerson won a contract to install its PlantWeb digital plant architecture with the Ovation expert control system at Plum Point Energy Station, a new pulverized coal-fired plant in northeastern Arkansas. The Ovation system will monitor and control the IHI boiler, as well as the burner management system and balance of plant processes.

JetCon 1301 Industrial 10/100Base-TX to 100Base-FX Multi-Mode fiber converter has been passed the EtherCAT system test.