- Six new regional offices - Steeplechase Software, producers of the Visual Logic Controller (VLC), have announced the opening of 6 new regional offices throughout the US. These are in Atlanta, Cleveland, Boston, Kansis City (MO), Indianapolis and Philadelphia. the company's HQ is in Ann Arbor.
- Conversion Devices Inc (CDI) appoint franchisee - Amplicon Liveline has entered into a franchise distribution agreement with CDI, world leaders in the development and manufacture of power conversion products. This strengthens their position in marketing these products and they hope to greatly increase their sales.
- "Manufacturing into the Next Millennium" - The 4th International Conference on Computer Integrated Manufacturing, ICCIM'97, will be held between 21-24 October 1997 in Singapore. There will be plenary and tutorial sessions. The event will be held in conjunction with the 5th Asia Pacific Industrial Automation Exhibition (IA'97), the 4th Asia Pacific Exhibition on Material Handling, Warehousing and Distribution (LOGISMAT'97) and the Asia Pacific Association for Intelligent Manufacturing (APAIM'97) Seminar. More details from Ms Lim Lai Lee of the ICCIM'97 Technical Committee in Singapore.
- Real-Time Computer Shows tour Europe - Active Exhibitions Europe has announced a show schedule for the Real-Time Computer Shows to be held throughout Europe (and Israel and South Africa) during 1997. A series of Embedded Computing Shows are programmed concurrently at many of the planned locations. These shows will also feature exhibitor product seminars with visitor participation. Check details on our Exhibition and Conference Page.
- Data acquisition with automatic setup - Field Electronics has released a new automatic setup, configuration and data logging PC software package for their 1000 data acquisition system. Called FieldView, the Windows software scans and RS485 communications link to interrogate and identify any Series 1000 instruments connected, then automatically sets up a matching logging and display configuration in th PC. More information from Kerry Barnard at +44 1273 729361.
- CHP plant contract awarded - Kenda Electronic Systems has been awarded a six-figure (Sterling) contract to supply a complete tariff metering system for the new CHP plant at Conoco's Immigham (Kent) refinery.
- Most popular I&C training - ISA, a world leader in measurement and control training, was recently honored for the second consecutive year with Control magazine's Readers' Choice Award for best training products and services.
- New VMEbus board - ICS (Interactive and Circuit Systems Ltd have announced the ICS-151, a 2-channel 50 MHz VMEbus analog input board which has been designed for high-precision applications in the Radar, Communications and Instrumentation areas. The ICS-151 includes a powerful VME64 master/slave interface and a 200 Mbytes/s FPDP interface for fast transfer of ADC data to industry-standard processor board(s).
- Presence of transparant objects - The ClearSight sensor from Rockwell Automation, can detect minute changes in the light pattern returned to the sensor's photodetector, enabling a control system to more accurately monitor the presence of transparant objects such as glass bottles etc.
- Open DeviceNet Vendor Association (ODVA) and Fieldbus Foundation have agreed on a joint fact sheet. ODVA's Annual meeting is scheduled for 27th February. (See our Fieldbus Page for more details.
- British manufacturers' site - GAMBICA, the British association for manufacturers of instrumentation, control and automation equipment has established a web site for its enclosures group on http://www.gambica.demon.co.uk You can see the enclosure guide and other group details.
- Virtual instrumentation papers required - NIWeek'97, the annual worldwide conference on virtual instrumentation is seeking papers. Abstracts should be submitted by March 3rd and final abstracts by May 3rd. Contact Teresa Whalin.
- New Literature on electricity meter - New informative literature is now available from Northern Design on +44 1274 729 533.
- Snap-in mains filter modules - Schaffner's latest IEC 950-compliant mains filter modules combine the convience of snap-in panel fixturing with what are claimed to be "superb EMI suppression capabilities."
- Repeat Show in London - The InControl Exhibition held last year in London is to be repeated again this year. The venue is the Grand hall Olympia and the dates are 17th and 18th September. The last show was predominantly from London and the South East of England. 8.4% were foreign and the balance came from other parts of Britain. Full details are available from Larry Spieler on +44 1799 528292.
- Emerging strategies in European power generation - is the name of a new study from MDIS Publications. Their e-mail address is sales_desk@mdisinfo.com.
- Watthour meter accuracy tester (for European meters Type A) - Consulab Instruments' VCE 895, marketed by X-Mentor, present a high precision portable measurements instrument specifically designed to test single phased, on fixed base (Type A) watthour meters in the field. Complete with alphanumeric keypad and data storing capabilities, it is lightweight and easy to use complient with ANSI C12 standards.
- Improved data acquisition and analysis software - Fluke Corporation a world leader in compact, professional electronic test tools, now offers two improved 32-bit data acquisition and analysis software packages for use in research and development and industrial applications.m
- Launch at British Show - Lucas Schaevitz is launching its new range of non-contact LSL Series laser sensors. Theuy will also launch their LSO series inclinometer with a 4-20mA output. The MTEC show for sensors, measurement and control is being held in Birmingham 22nd and 23rd of January.
- Ultra-high performance VME backplane - Bustronic Corporation and Arizona Digital announced at the Realtime Computer Conference in California, (US), the debut of their patent pending VME320 backplane designed for high-performance systems currently using VME backplanes. The new backplane transfers data at a rate of 320-Mbyte/second and is also available in a 160-Mbyte/second version, the VME160. With radically new backplane technology allowing synchronous data transmission, the VME320 is more than five times faster than conventional VME64. Unlike the 'extended' VME64X, the innovative VME320 is fully compatible with the existing base of VME boards, twice as fast and is much easier to use.
- Instant Ruggedization - Cetia Inc unveiled a technology breakthrough that overcomes one of the most difficult problems facing developers of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) systems - ruggedization of systems for field deployment. "The Ruggedizer" is a board-level heat drain attachment that fits onto their high-performance PowerPC SBCs, extending the thermal and mechanical operating range of the original commercial hardware.
- 103,000 people attend show - There was a very satisfactory attendance at the Elec'96 show in Paris undeterred by strikes. There was a 14% increase in attendance. 57% of the exhibitors were from outside France and there were over 10,000 foreign (non-French) attendees. In addition to the trade visitors over 8,000 students also attended.
The next ELEC will be 7-11th December 1998. - 40% growth for Intellution - At the end of it first12 months as part of Emerson Electric, Intellution achieved an overall revenue growth of 47% taking the company over the $50m mark.
In Britain this growth achieved a staggering 87% causing heavy investment in extra personnel including more thaen doubling the size of the technical support department. - Extension to high-integrity tube fitting range - Parker Hannifin's high integrity Suparcase tube fitting range, developed to assure corrosion-free performance in instrumentation applications, has been extended with versions in four new exotic materials.
- New MD for Fisher-Rosemount Ltd - Kevin Jackson has been appointed Managing Director of Fisher Rosemount ltd, the sales arm of the Fisher-Rosemount Group in Britain. He was formerly with Siebe Control Valves where he was Vice President of sales and marketing for Europe.
- Belgian micromache system used by Irish University Institute - The National Micro-Electronics Research Institute, based in University College Cork, is establishing a laser micromachining laboratory which will use the LightDeck Micromachining System from Optec of Hornu, Belgium.
- New products being launched at MTEC - Lucas Control System Products are to show a totally new range of laser sensors. Applied Measurements will be launching their new custom-build Transducer Service. Theta Systems' new Pressure Transfer Standard (PTS) based on precision quartz transducers, has the accuracy of a field DWT, but lighter, and without gravity correction. For details on MITC, the UK's dedicated Exhibition and Conference for Sensors, measurement and Control contact Trident Exhibitions Ltd.
- New free data acquisition software - National Instruments has announced the 1997 version of their DAQ Designer Software configuration utility for Windows NT/95/3.1 is now available.
- Engineer of the Year - CONTROL magazine is in the process of identifying candidates for their annual "Engineer of the Year" awards, which is scheduled for the March issue. Can anyone recommend some likely candidates?
What they are looking for are folks who have made significant contributions to the real-world practice of process control over their careers--either to their own company's manufacturing operations or to professiona as a whole. Please e-mail CONTROL editor-in-chief Keith Larson directly. with your nomination, along with a brief description of why you think they'd make a good candidate, as well as other people that you think could attest to the nominee's qualifications. - Digest for researchers - The Institute for Scientific Information publish Current Contents, a multidisciplinary research tool giving subscribers the table of contents pages from the most recent issues of influential journals, providing complete bibliograpfic information as well as fast, easy ways to order the full-text documents you need.
- Newsletter - Hewlett Packard's Test & Measurement News for December 1996 has just arrived at the Readout Office. It deals with Digital/Analogue signal generators: affordable quality & performance.
- IOL taken over by snail-mail!- The country's largest and most successful Internet service provider, Ireland On-Line (IOL), has been taken over by PostGem, a subsidiary of An Post (The Irish State Post Office Company). The two companies have worked together for some time.
According to IOL co-founder Colm Grealy, "the takeover secures the future of IOL ... and means that the Irish Internet user will benefit in the long term". While the value of the deal was not disclosed by An Post, a spokesman said that it represented "a good deal ... and value for money". The move represents a new departure for PostGem, and will set it up in competition with another state agency, Telecom Eireann, which announced its new Internet service just last month.
Ireland On-Line was founded in Galway in 1992 by Barry Flanagan, and now employs approximately 30 people. PostGem said the takeover deal will not result in redundancies in either company.
- Call for Papers - The fourth annual conference on Massively Parallel Processing Architectures using Optical Interconnections (MPPOI'97) will be held on June 22-24, 1997 in the Le Centre Sheraton Hotel, Montreal, Canada. Authors are invited to submit manuscripts which demonstrate original unpublished research in areas of computer architecture and optical interconnections. Contact Eugen Schenfeld for full details.
- New man at ARC - Adding to their base of analysts that provide strategic and planning and technology assessment services to the industrial automation marketplace, Automation Research Corporation, John Moore has joined them as a senior analyst. He was formerly Marketing Director with HNU. Also joining ARC are Rich Mullen (from Keithley), and Bill Thompson from Intec Controls.
- Next generation Internet Directory - Worldwide Directory Online a leading on-line directory powered by O2 Web from O2 Technology.
- Low cost gas meter - Flotech Solutionswho are independant distributors for Brooks Instruments has announced the introduction of a brand new, low general industrial applications mass flow meter for gases.
- Papers available - the AIChE papers presented at the 1996 Annual Meeting in Chicago are now available from Linda Hall Library Document Services.
- OLE for Process Control reference - For those interested in the new OLE for Process Control (OPC) specification, the first chapters have been converted by Randy Thompson of FactorySoft Inc, to HTML format so it can be read from a browser. Go to http://www.factorysoft.com/OPCSpec.htm. The complete spec in MS Word format from FTP Site and get the file OPCFinal.zip.
- Two Courses on-line from ISA - Online Courses are now available at ISA's Online Campus. The Online Campus features downloadable course materials, course-specific interactive email lists, and online exams. Two courses are presently available, Overview of Measurement Systems and Devices is free, and Process Control systems is $50 ($40 for members).
- Product Survey Directory'97 - The fifth edition of C&I's Directory of Surveys (UK) has been published. Its purpose ids to provide an up-to-date reference covering 24 product ranges surveyed during recent years. It is not exhaustive since all entries are paid for but nonetheless there is a wealth of information available. An editorial introduction is provided for each of the product sectors. Ask C&I for your copy.
- New Magazine - Launching a new magazine is always a testing task. FibreSystems is a new arrival at the Institute of Physics stable. The magazine is to reflect the specific interests of the fibre-optics industry in Europe.
- 1997 Training Course Programme - Phillips Omnicom Training Spring 1997 Course Programme has been released. These courses include "Effective Internet for the Workplace," as well as other communicating topics.
- All at Cybersea! - "The Cybersea is the unlimited potential that lies behind your computer screen. The expoloration of this potential is not so much a voyage into space as it is a voyage at sea, a place teaming with life, wide and unpredictable, yet bounded by the familiar and known. I don't call it Cyberspace. I call it Cybersea." Thus says George Marcowsky in an introduction to the Cybersea Seminar which is scheduled for Orlando Florida in the US on 22 to 24 January. Call them on 1800 8011225 or e-mail Cybersea Seminar for all the details.
- Looking for a Job? - We have added a new section to the Readout Signpost. This is the Jobs Section and it lists some places where I&C jobs may be found. It is not complete by any means and we would welcome suggestions for more entries.
- Get Published! - FieldComms USA may just be the vehicle for your words and the current edition of their newsletter gives lots of details. The technical programme committee reads like a who's who of fieldbus expertese. Ask Joanne Harris to make sure you get your own copy. (See also our award-winning Fieldbus Page.)
- Powerful datacom/protocol analyser - The new COM-Watch 200 software enabvles the user to visualise and analyse data communication. This is available in Werstern Eurpe through Amplicon Liveline
- New General Manager & other Intellution News -
Andrew Ballard has been appointed Intellution's new General Manager in Britain. Already he has arranged a password-protected, closed forum on the InterNet for UK customers, allowing on-line access to an application knowledge base, drivers and software improvement modules.
" Inside Intellution" has won an Ozzie award for excellence. Putman Publishing, the company that creates this publication for Intellution , says the Ozzie is "the Oscar of the Publishing Industry". The Ozzie is awarded by Folio, a magazine that addresses trends in publishing production.
They have also announced announced that a world tour is scheduled to roll out VisualBatch, their next generation batch control software. The series of international seminars to be held in over twenty-five cities will be cosponsored with Microsoft and regional Intellution representatives. - A new software class - A new class of instrumentation software for distributed logging is now available from Windmill Software Ltd. Designed from scratch for networked systems, Windmill Enterprise Logging Software (ELS) is robust, versatile and supports a vast range of hardware.
- "Understanding Device Level Buses" - is the title of a volume published by Turck Inc. The author Bob Svacina has over 17 years experience in the electrical industry serving in positions in the oill and gas, food and agri-chem and other chemical industries. Call your local Turck rep for a copy. (See also our award-winning Fieldbus Page.)
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The Internet Directory of Instrumentation is the world wide Directory of Instrumentation and Control launched by BDI in May 1995.
The Instrumentation Signpost has interesting pointers for the I&C Professional.