News
Big splash at company launch!
Minister announces new Internet initiative
Tom Kitt TD, Minister for Labour, Trade and Consumer Affairs spectacularly launched Millenium Controls Ltd at a recent function in Dublin. This company founded earlier in the year employs seven people providing integrated systems solutions for a wide range of process and general manufacturing industries in a number of technical areas such as Management Information Systems in the field of control systems, robotics, industrial automation and software.
The well attended launch heard the Minister announce a new initiative to ensure to ensure that Ireland has a consolidated internet presence to boost access to information about Ireland as an investment, source of goods and services location and a tourist destination. This initiative is to build on the Ireland House concept by developing a network of virtual Irish Houses on the web.
The minister's own department may be found at http://www.irlgov.ie/entemp.
Contact Millenium Controls.
Hanley's new subsidiary
Hanley Air Systems Limited, a newly created subsidiary of Hanley Controls, has been appointed authorised CompAir BroomWade and CompAir Hydrovane distributors for the whole of Ireland. The company supports the full range of compressors and downstream compressed from these Siebe companies. Products include small reciprocating and rotary vane compressors for light and medium engineering and automotive applications to large rotary vane, rotary lubricated and oil free machines for heavy duty industrial applications.
The head office of this new company is in Westpoint Business Park in Mulhuddart, Co Dublin. The market will be comprehensively served from the head office and two satellite operations in Cork and in Lurgan.
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Automation moves!
The electrical distribution business of M Kelliher and Sons (1935) Ltd have been acquired by GE Supply. They have eleven branches throughout the country.
An automation Division will be created within the company to support the GE product portfolio including the full range of GE Fanuc, SCADA, OI and Motion products. During the setting up of this division to provide the levels of support required customers should continue top interface directly with GE Fanuc in Milton Keynes for the moment according to a statement from Chris Milburn of GE Fanuc.
Job well done!
Engineers from Moore Products have recently earned special thanks from Danny Drennan, operations Manager at Nycomed Ireland for their support during a process problem at their plant in Cork. A Moore APACS system was installed at Nycomed in 1997 to control production of their pharmaceutical products but following a violent overnight electrical storm, a problem on a Monday morning resulted in a total shutdown and loss of production in the plant sterile area.
Moore were alerted immediately and Richard Liddle, Senior Systems Engineer caught a plane to Ireland and reached Nycomed's site the same afternoon. He quickly traced the problem to two burnt-out network cards which had disabled a section of the Ethernet network and further investigation suggested that the damage had been caused by the storm.
The cards were irreparably damaged and so early the next morning a second engineer, Paul Silcox, flew in bringing replacement cards. They both worked through the day, repairing the damage and testing the system before starting production again that evening.
Danny wrote to Mike Eyre, Moore's MD, "I want to thank you for your companyÕs excellent service and also to compliment the engineers, Richard Liddle and Paul Silcox on their professional approach."
See also People Section.
New agency for ProsCon
ProsCon Automation has been appointed Flowline agent. Flowline is dedicated to providing customers with the most effective and technically advanced solutions for the measurement and control of liquid level. Their broad range of sensing technologies and modular product architecture, provide complete application coverage with an unparalleled standard of flexibility. All the products are packaged in advanced plastics for rugged chemical compatibility and long process life. With innovative design, easy installation and low cost maintenance, Flowline quality has been proven world-wide.
Their patented technologies include ultrasonic, alphasonic, RF capacitance, tuning fork, optic, buoyancy and thermal dispersion devices, combined with modular product architecture, allows each sensor to be packaged with a variety of relay controllers and fitting accessories, making system selection fast, simple and cost effective.
The range is divided into families of level switches and transmitters and a range of accessories for various applications.
Write Proscon.
"Fieldbus OnLine"unveiled
The Fieldbus Foundationª has raised the electronic curtain on its redesigned web site, which is intended to serve as the definitive resource for controls and instrumentation suppliers and end users seeking fieldbus information on the internet.
Named ÒFieldbus OnLineÓ, the web site provides FF news; technical data relating to the organisationÕs open, non-proprietary Foundation fieldbus protocol; and information on the international fieldbus standard. In addition, the site features an online catalogue of suppliersÕ Foundation-registered fieldbus products; technical tips; a ÒFieldbus TheatreÓ with multimedia presentations on fieldbus technology and benefits; real-time chat groups; and other advanced features.
While the web site contains a great deal of material specific to FF it also contains a wide range of generic fieldbus information.
New Internet Resource
National Instruments (IMEX) has announced a new, independent internet resource containing the latest industry news, add-on products, and reference material for PC-based measurement and automation. Vimarket.com is sponsored by VI Technology, G Systems, LTR Publishing, and Viewpoint Software Solutions.
One Million Units
E+H announced the shipment of the one millionth Liquiphant vibrating level switch recently.
"Often imitated but never equalled!" says Tony Donnelly of Flomeaco. And as he says himself, he is never wrong!
Talk to him about it yourself on 045 868615 or email him on flomeaco@iol.ie
Inside Front
What is a PLC?
The first of a series of articles on computer-based automation devices. and systems by David Palmer
Since the steam age, no other development has had greater impact on the manufacturing and processing industries than the introduction of computer based auto-mation systems. It is fair to say that without such systems, the quality, range and cost of the many everyday items that serve to increase our quality of life would either not exist, or be out of the financial reach of all but a few.
David Palmer is Automation Specialist Engineer with HAWCO Limited.
Literature
T & M on tap!
Neltronics have produced a new 28 page T&M catalogue featuring their Fluke and Hewlett Packard instrument and test equipment. They provide a one stop shop service under the title of T&M Store. Their web site is .
Irish Author
A sensor is an extreme-ly sensitive measur-ing device. The measuring can be done by chemical, mechanical, optic or electronic means. Sensors are encountered everyday, be it the bomb detector at the airport, the gas gauge of the car or the smoke detector in the home. In industry sensors are responsible for the advances made in product automation and quality.
The book, Principles of Chemicals and Biological Sensors, is the work of Dermot Diamond of Dublin City University.
All sensors discussed in this hardback were selected for their importance to both laboratory research and industry. It evaluates the principles, uses and the applications. The discussions are in terms understood by anyone with a scientific background including analyti-cal chemists, chemical engineers and physicists.
The book contains state-of-the-art information on elec-trochemical sensors covering amperometric, modified, potentiometric and volta-metric electrodes, optical sensors, (fibreoptic devices, photo-diode arrays etc), combination sensors (electro-chemical and optical) sensor arrays and intelligent sensoring systems.
Principals of Chemicals and Biological Sensors; D. Diamond, Publisher John Wiley & Sons; June Ô98, ;
ISBN 0-471-54619-4; Hbk approx 300pp ca£70.00stg
Tom Reaney of Pentek Gives an application story from France involving Wonderware products.
Fieldbus
Fieldbus - Fact or Fiction
In June we received a document from Fieldbus Foundation with the above title and we asked Profibus to comment. This Article is the result.
People
ISA Ireland brought their Y2K Seminar to Galway earlier in the year. Pictures
Richard Ahearne has been appointed as System Sales Manager - Ireland for Moore Process Automation who are best known for their APACS+ Distributed Control System and QUADLOG Safety Critical control system. email: ahearner@mpco.com
Fieldbus Foundation has named Lionel Bridle as Vice-President Europe. He will be responsible for directing the foundationÕs marketing, communications, and technology activities within Europe and will have a key role in the function of the executive committee. This appointment is a signal the FF is assuming a more active presence in Europe accord-ing to a Foundation source.
Henk van der Biezen, well known in the Netherlands and throughout Europe from his work with ISA European Region and as Chairman of the International Instrument Users Association (WIB), has been appointed as Director of European Operations for Fieldbus Foundation. He is also vice-chairman of the Interkama-ISATech'99 Conference Organisational Committee.
Automation Research Corporation (ARC) has just announced the opening of a new sales, support and research office in Britain. Headed by Alan Williams, formerly with Mitsubishu Electric Europe, "this move strengthens ARC's position as the leading market research and management consulting firm dedicated to the worldwide IT and automation market." Alan may be contacted at awilliams@arcweb.com
Due to an unfortunate oversight the name of John Quirke was overlooked during our listing of the new members of the ISA Ireland committee which assumed office last June. We would like to apologise to John for this.
Flomeaco launched Bartec's EXD PC featured in the last issue of Readout. Initial enquiries both from the Readout feature and from initial forays into the market by Flomeaco show a quite remarkable interest. Picture shows Tony Donnelly (Flomeaco) keeping a firm hold of the new unit as ISA Ireland President Declan Lordan tries to appropriate it while Ulrich Hšminger of Bartec nervously smiles at the camera!
Training & Education
"Co-Operation not Confrontation"
This quote from one of the papers could encapsulate what this SeptemberÕs ISA Conference is about.
Entitled Managing Future Projects using Innovative Delivery Techniques, will highlight more productive and effective methods for managing future projects.
Tim Cahalane the ISA Ireland contact for this conference (021 515777) tells us that they have located speakers who are drawing on their years of experience in project in different Countries. Speakers are from from Ireland and abroad, including the United States.
They will highlight what they consider to be the most important aspects of team work and co-operation within a project.
They will also show how new techniques have proved to be very beneficial.
The presentations are based on practical examples and the methods which have been refined through their experiences over the years.
By the end of the seminar, attendees should have information to enable them to develop more effective project delivery strategies.
This conference is aimed at everyone who will form part of a team involved with Managing projects. Whether you are an Engineer, Consultant, Contractor or Client, the way you approach a project will inevitably affect the overall success or failure of your project.
The conference is organised in association with Jacobs Engineering and takes place on 24th September 1998 at the Maryborough House Hotel in Douglas, Cork.
Cost is Ir£150.00 for members of ISA and Ir£195.00 for non members (including one years subscription to ISA).
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Product News
Small price big performance
The Micropilot II is a top mounting level transmitter for storage vessels containing liquids. The measuring tech-nique is microwave and the transmitter emits a micro-wave impulse with a frequency of 5.8 Ghz. This pulse is reflected by the surface of the liquid and is detected by an antenna mounted on the transmitter. The runtime or PTOF (Pulsed Time Of Flight) is measured and since we know the microwave speed, the distance to the product in the vessel can be calculated.
The unit was developed by Endress + Hauser (Flomeaco) on the back of valuable experience gained from tens of thousands of PTOF instal-lations and microwave transmitters over the last 12 years. The instrument is very cost effective for storage vessels as it combines a maximum in performance from an operation and service point of view and as it is a loop powered 4-20 mA transmitter installation costs are minimal. It is available with PTB Approval to Eex ia IIC T3ÉT6.
It is a non-contact alternative to floaters, displacers, hydrostatic pressure and differential pressure level transmitters, for the following reasons:
Universal application in any liquid storage vessels as the microwave measurement principle is independent of product density and tempera-ture and highly accurate even in vessels with up to 40 bar over-pressure.
The transmitter is a 2 wire loop powered 4-20mA compact device. This makes it cost effective from an installation point of view and make it easy to substitute existing transmitters as the wiring does not need to be changed.
As it is a non-contact mea-surement it is for most applications maintenance-free and easy to calibrate.
Applications include storage and buffer vessels or in by-passes or surge pipes.
Prices for this small, compact unit starts at Ir£1200.00.
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Dedicated and complete
John Sampson, of JJ Sampson & Son, states , "with the new VLT¨6000 series speed drive, Danfoss is lifting control and monitoring of HVAC applications to a higher level - and at the same time offering value for money."
The objective of the brand new user-friendly VLT 6000 HVAC Series is the same as the well known VLT 3500 Series. Optimum control of heating, ventilation and airconditioning installations - offering maxi-mum comfort in buildings for the people living and working there.
First and foremost the unit is complete. All functions are built-in and no external equipment is needed to obtain optimum operation and safety. This means no unpleasant and costly surprises adding filters, devices, options and software after installation and commissioning.
Energy savings are one of the overall reasons for installing VLT drives in HVAC applica-tions, because the drives match the speed of the pump and fan motors to the actual demand. Thanks to the Automatic Energy Optimiser (AEO) the savings are even greater with this drive. The AEO function adjusts the output voltage of the drive according to the actual load of the motor under all operations, thus improving motor efficiency by optimizing magnetisation. In addition to considerable energy savings audible noises are also reduced. Peripharal savings include wear on belts, bearings and valves.
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CENELEC approved switch
Dwyer Instruments (Manotherm) reports one of its most reliable and popular controls, the compact Low Differential Pressure Series 1900 is now available in a CENELEC approved, explosion-proof housing (Eexd IIB T6).
This precision built unit is designed for air conditioning, refrigeration, oven, dryer and fluid services. Six operating ranges from 0.07 to 20 inchsWC cover applications for process air and non-combustible, compatible gases.
These sturdy units also withstand 10 psi surge pressure. The rugged SPDT snap switch is rated at 14 amp, 120-480 volts, 60 Hz AC(10 Amp at high cycle rate), 1/8 horsepower at 125 Volts, 60 Hz AC and 1/4 horsepower at 250 Volts, 60 Hz AC. Wiring connections are three screw-type terminals.
Other durable high sensitivity 1900 Series models are available for indoor, weatherproof (NEMA - 4), and explosion-proof (NEMA-7-9) Service carry UL, CSA, and/or FM approvals.
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New Distributorship
Soft Control is the distributor in Ireland for Intellution products. Established in 1997 and backed by Intellution Inc., Soft Control's goal is to promote the Intellution product range among the wide range of industries and applications that exist for software based automation control.
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Any non-Y2K products to get rid of?
Intellution is providing a practical way of dealing with the millennium bug by offering to buy back any manufacturer's non-compliant SCADA or batch software (up to a maxi-mum of £50,000) if the user replaces it with an Intellution product.
"The millennium bug is potentially devastating to the process control industry because of the widespread use of scheduling and other date-related functionality," commented Gerry Hamill of SoftControl, Intellution's distributor in Ireland.
"Up to now there has been much talk about the bug, but few tangible solutions. What we're offering is a practical way in which users can address the problem."
In addition to the buy-back offer, Intellution has teamed up with some of the process control industry's leading experts to provide a consultancy and engineering service to help the customer in managing the change. Also low cost FIX training will be offered along with free ESS (Extended Support Services) for one year.
Overall the complete package is designed to help users determine the impact of the bug on their business, identify possible solutions and implement them as painlessly as possible.
Aid in Validation of pharmaceutical plant
Leading pharmaceutical manufacturer Merck Sharp & Dohme has used Intellution's FIX SCADA package as a key part of the control system for an advanced new tableting facility in Britain. Purpose-built for the production of a major new pharmaceutical drug for the worldwide market, the new facility needed a high level of automation because the potency of the drug meant that it had to be produced in a contained area. In addition, MSD wanted to be able to achieve a paperless environment, in which batch reports could be viewed on screen and then stored straight on to optical disk.
Working together with Cotec Computing Services, MSD devised a sophisticated control system for the plant, consisting of MRPII, MES (manufactur-ing execution system), SCADA and PLC levels. As the drug was developed for international sale, the control system had to be validated and approved by the US FDA. This can be a costly and time-consuming process, so, in order to supply the product to the market as quickly as possible, it was decided to use a standard, well proven software package at the SCADA level.
"It had to be a package that had been validated to FDA guide-lines," said an MSD spokesman. "The FIX package was chosen mainly because it is utilised fairly heavily through-out the pharmaceutical industry in the USA and is proven and well established."
Cotec's industrial automation manager, Roy Hartland, added that the FIX SCADA package also offered a wide range of PLC drivers and could be integrated seamlessly to higher-level MES systems. "In a two-way control system like this, we could not allow any corruption of data, so the SCADA package had to be one with a proven track record of preserving data integrity," he said.
The FIX SCADA package now provides equipment monitoring alarms for the whole manufac-turing process at the new tableting facility, including the dispensing of ingredients, granulation, compressing and film coating. It also carries out target/actual data transfer to and from equipment PLCs.
The control system has two modes of operation Ñ CIM and LOI (local operator inter-face). The plant is normally operated in the fully automated CIM mode, which enables the production of several different batches to be controlled from a single console. The LOI mode, on the other hand, was used during the initial development work and now operates as a back-up system, utilising FIX as the operator interface.
Using FIX has helped MSD to ensure validation of their very sophisticated control system for the production of a key new product.
Use the Internet for industrial automation
As part of the Intellution's overall Internet strategy, they have introduced two new software products that have been designed to address the needs of decision makers and operations personnel.
The first product, known as FIX Broadcast Network, is a powerful Windows-based package that automatically delivers business operations information directly to management desktops via the latest advances in Internet Broadcasting, utilising the PointCast Network. This innovative software provides managers and executives with easy access to critical business and plant information including data from Intellution industrial automation software. For example, using information generated from software, up-to-date output reports from a single production line, plant, or even a company's entire manufacturing operation can be delivered on a regular basis.
As well as production yield and quality, managers can view a wide variety of operational information such as scheduling, batch reports, & inventory control from MRP data.
In addition, it delivers sales forecasts and financial data from ERP and corporate data-bases. Data can be viewed in customised reports, including spreadsheets, charts and graphs, which can be updated hourly, daily or as often as the user requires. Transmitting the information using push technology to a receiving computer, rather than sending it by e-mail or another format, improves performance on an Intranet system and speeds the flow of information to key people. With FIX Broadcast Network, the information is transmitted directly to the desktop computer and can then be viewed using PointCast 2.0 client software. To view the full report, the user simply clicks on the report's title.
The software also supports Microsoft's Channel Definition Format (CDF), which enables Microsoft Internet Explorer to receive updated information automatically.
A second package - FIX Web Server - is a thin client solution that enables plant, management, production, and maintenance personnel to view real-time process graphics and historical information from a remote location using a standard Net connection.
This Windows NT-based package addresses the needs of operations personnel by providing read-only access to real-time graphics and industrial automation data from IntellutionÕs 32-bit FIX SCADA software. It connects into a cor-porate Intranet or over the Internet using any standard browser. FIX Web Server offers a highly conve-nient way of monitoring either discrete manufacturing or continuous process operations from virtually any remote site, yet protects data because it prevents unauthorised users from changing values.
Designed for Microsoft BackOffice, FIX provides a 'window' into a facility's manufacturing process, allowing users to visualise and control plant operations. It is a true 32-bit application built around Microsoft's Win3.2 specification and includes object-oriented graphics, alarming, historical trending, and the industryÕs largest library of I/O drivers to automation and control devices such as PLCs.
With the use of FIX Web Server, users will have easier, more convenient access to views of plant operations. Through their standard web browsers, they will be able to see animated displays of manufacturing activity, allow-ing faster responses to changing conditions. It enables users to make better decisions that impact critical issues such as product quality, better safety, and improved environmental conditions.
New Operator Interface
Two new text display operator interfaces have been introduced by Matsushita Automation Controls (NAIS). Both are compact in design and give operators the ability to fully control a machine at a very economical cost.
Both ATM units have 2 x 20 back-lit character LCD displays and can accommodate scrolling and flashing messages, bar graphs and they have built-in audible alarms.
Offering both fixed and programmable keys that can be configured for momentary, toggle On/Off, set to reset operation, the ATM units can be used with the complete range of Matsushita Programmable Controllers and are configured via windows based programming software.
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Training & Education
Cleanrooms
With the rapid expansion of cleanroom use in many areas of Irish industry workers new to the tech-nology, find it difficult to obtain concise information on the technology and management of cleanroom facilities. This one day course on Cleanroom Technology is a basic general course for those new to the field or those who wish to Òbrush upÓ their knowledge. The course has been developed and continually updated over the last 10 years by Bill Whyte of Glasgow University and has been attended over the years by about 2500 people. The event held in Dublin last year was a sell out and following the recent inaugura-tion of the Irish Cleanroom Society the response is expected to be equally enthusiastic this year.
The course is being held in the Industry Centre of UCD on 29th October 1998. More details from ElectroMat.
Practical Local Area Networks
The challenge for engineers, technicians, technicians and scientists today is to use proven networking technology such as Ethernet to transfer information efficiently within a control and instrumentation system or the office environment. This system must be correctly specified, designed and implemented to ensure optimum throughout of data and yet be cost effective.
A workshop, scheduled for Belfast (1/2 Oct), Dublin 5/6 Oct) and Cork (8/9 Oct), is designed to benefit I&C Engineers, technicians and scientists who are involved in specifying, commissioning and debugging Ethernet and related systems in the I&C environment but who have little experience of these systems. The workshop also gives significant review of office type systems. It has been structured to cover the main concepts of Local Area Networks (LANs) and Ethernet and their applications in a modern automation, control and office systems environment.
It will be a comprehensive two-day practical workshop covering the main concepts and design requirements of LAN systems.
A comprehensive workshop manual will provide an excellent reference for course delegates at the conclusion of the workshop and much of the material is unique to IDC, the organisers.
Contact Jeff Futcher of Instrument Data Communications (IDC) or call on 01 473 3190.
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