See Archive Page for earlier news.

28/6/02

• New I&C laboratory equips students with state-of-the-art engineering tools - As part of National Instruments' ongoing commitment to education, the company today announced a joint effort with Institute of Technology Sligo (Ireland) to equip engineering students with state-of-the-art engineering tools, such as LabView graphical development environment and NI data acquisition hardware. They are sponsoring an instrumentation and control laboratory there to help engineers develop a wider range of experience with precise instrumentation and control tools. The combination of IT Sligo's strength in engineering education and the leadership of NI in measurement and automation helps better prepare students for careers in science and engineering fields.

• Unbiased flow resource - Finally, there is an unbiased look at the world's magnetic flowmeters written especially for engineers and end-users! Copperhill and Pointer Inc. and ISA--The Instrumentation, Systems, and Automation Society announced a co-marketing agreement to sell a unique series of Copperhill and Pointer published books through ISA Press. Called "The Consumer Guide to..." series, this set of books provides a detailed and unbiased guide to the most commonly used flow, level and pressure sensors throughout the world.
  The first in the series is "The Consumer Guide to Magnetic Flowmeters" by Spitzer & Boyes, and is now available. It is hoped to have the second volume on Coriolis meters within the next two months.

• Diminutive drives pack powerful punch - Parker Hannifin's Electromechanical Division has launched a series of remarkably small high-performance brushless servo drives. The new SLVD drives measure just 141 x 86mm, with a depth of 140mm, and the family includes models that can deliver shaft powers of up to 1 .5kW. The drives are particularly powerful when teamed with their new MB and 3MB series brushless servo motors, enabling exceptionally high torque and acceleration/deceleration figures to be obtained from small frame size units.
• Well that clears that up! - "The new business unit is focused on delivering PLM solutions that provide organizations with a scenario-driven information continuum to facilitate collaboration both internally and externally among multiple roles, constituents and stakeholders throughout a product's lifecycle." This comes from a recent release from BAAN (part of Invensys) which was highlighted by the irepressible Jim Pinto in his newsletter.
  I wonder what the question was!

• New temperature programmer - To meet the developing needs of research, Aabspec has introduced a new software based temperature programmer. The new STP-6 provides multi-ramp capability within a single program. All variables within each segment of tha program can be independently selected to_ meet user experimental requirements. Program status is displayed during the experiment. The unit provides memory for several stored programs and is PC compatible. The stylish all-metal instrument housing is ergonomically designed for laboratory use. In addition to driving all Aabspec products, the #STP-6 can also be used with other variable temperature products where precise temperature control and profiling is essential.

• Portable infrared thermometers - Eurolec Instrumentation has introduced a new robust, portable IR series infrared, non-contact thermometers. The instruments are housed in their 'trademark' very strong, metal case used for the Eurolec portable contact thermometers, and manometers. Two models are available: Model No IR151 Sensor located in the top end cap. Model No IR152 Sensor located in a metal probe handle attached to the thermometer by 1 metre of cable to access temperatures in difficult locations.
• A new family of OEM modems suited to Machine-to-Machine (M2M) applications - Comtech has announced a new family of OEM modems optimised for use in Machine-to-Machine (M2M) applications. They provide footprint compatible interchangeability between low speed V.22Bis (2400bps), V.32Bis (14.4Kbps), V.34 (33.6Kbps) and high speed V.90 (56Kbps) operation. Compatibility is maintained with their Internet-enabled mWEB communication modules and existing OEM modem, ISDN and GSM module range, thereby providing flexible upgradability. This family supports AT-Commands for call control, V.42bis data compression, V.42 error correction, caller identification (CLI), parallel phone detection, pulse/DTMF auto-dial, DTMF detection, auto answer and RING Detection. They offer low power modes offering power down to 35mA, with typical operating current at 25mA.

• User-friendly ESD discharge pistol meets all EMC test needs - The NSG 438 ESD simulation system from Schaffner generates standard-conform discharge pulses of 200V to 30kV, in both air discharge and contact discharge operation. The new instrument fulfils the requirements of all known ESD commercial, telecom, military and automotive standards including IEC, ANSI, SAE, ISO and MIL.
• Better than free: electric motor payback software details how to save energy costs - Baldor has published a new software program which analyses in cost terms exactly what benefits electric motor users can gain by installing new generations of highly energy-efficient products. Called BE$T, the software - which is provided free - calculates the annual electricity cost of the typical nominal efficiency motor installed today, and then compares it to the consumption of equivalent motors manufactured to achieve high operating efficiencies - including the 'premium' grades which meet CEMEP standards. It then recommends a replacement commercial motor for the application in question, showing the payback period in months.
• Protect user investment during migration fmm HART to FF - Smar International recently announced the introduction of the HI302, a powerful and flexible interface that integrates HART devices into Foundation fieldbus networks. Designed to fit virtually any network topology, and provide full access to all HART variables, the HI302 protects the user's installed HART investment when migrating to FF technology.
• New monitoring and protocol head - Bob Agnes has been appointed VP in charge of the Monitoring and Protocol (MPT) buisness of Tektronix.

• New advertisement on Events page -
  
  This is the lates advertisement to appear on the Signpost. Prices may be found on our Prices page.
• Batch Controllers - The 300-Series range from Fluidwell represents a powerful selection of modern batch controllers well suited for applications in tough industrial environments. Fluidwell has been manufacturing liquid control related instrumentation for over a decade, and the 300-Series represents the culmination of all of their experience to date. Designed for use with a variety of flow metering technologies, the 300-Series range is available in a modular format with several standard models and a selection of upgrade options. The basic model features 2-stage control with rate, total and various alarm functions, housed in either: wall or panel-mount enclosure options.
• Industrial Ethernet forum - The online Industrial Ethernet Book has added a new technical forum to its website that provides access to technical advice from some of the leading international industrial ethernet companies. Technical expertise and a wealth of experience is available from Belden Wire & Cable, GE Cisco Industrial Networks and Hirschmann Electronics, who together form our panel of experts
• Real-time communications monitor and protocol analyser - PacketView Pro from Computer Solutions is a low cost PC-based real-time monitor and protocol analyser that allows developers, field engineers and network managers to capture and decode network traffic for most popular TCP/IP links.

• New CD catalogue - Haven Automation Limited have released their product catalogue on CD for the first time. The free CD provides the user with full information on Haven's complete range of products and services. The CD has been designed for ease of use whether the requirement is for portable calibrators, test bench systems, calibration workshops, laboratory furniture, UKAS calibration services or instrument repair and hire.
• Campaign measurement and web page delivery tracking system - speed-trap Limited, the client-side data experts, announced today, the latest release of their Prophet system (version 3.2) which allows site owners and brand managers to understand which campaigns and content really deliver results. "Until now web owners had to operate a 'send it and pray' approach to web content - traditional web trending and performance analysis tools could only record the server's view of what was happening. You would know that you tried to send the page, without any idea as to whether it was delivered or how long it took to arrive." Explains Jeremy Barker, CTO of Newbury based speed-trap, "Prophet 3.2 changes all that. Now you know if the page arrived, you know how long it took to arrive, you know if the user waited long enough to see it all and you know how long they read it for - and what actions they took next." 17/6/02
  • 15-Year Anniversary celebrated - GE Fanuc Automation has just celebrated the fifteenth anniversary of the joint venture between parent companies GE Industrial Systems and FANUC LTD of Japan. In the past 15 years, GE Fanuc has grown to have representation in more than 55 countries with major operating subsidiaries in the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific. With its empowered workforce, the company has doubled its sales, reduced costs, improved productivity and quality, and reduced cycle times. The company shares these results with employees through an annual profit-sharing program.
  15/6/02
  • Cambridge firm offers British sales coverage - Ion Technologies, a leading data collection software company, has announced that it has signed up its first UK reseller, Barcode Solutions, a Cambridge-based supplier of barcode equipment and solutions. The deal allows Barcode Solutions to offer a comprehensive range of stock management and data collection solutions suitable for businesses of all sizes. With affordability being the major consideration of both companies the price of complete solutions is extremely competitive. IonData Lite software allows goods to be received into stock and labelled, pick lists to be created and downloaded to handheld terminals, shipping labels and documents to be created and full and partial stock takes all using simple PC software and Palm based portable. The data can easily be integrated with many standard applications such as Excel and Sage.
  • Mobile Access to Automation, Production Data - GE Fanuc Automation has introduced the new CimPlicity PalmView, a handheld Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) with collaborative production management software and a wireless Ethernet card. Using the latest Thin Client, wireless Ethernet technology, PalmView allows operators and managers to view real-time graphical automation and production data from anywhere in a plant without additional screen configuration. The bi-directional data capabilities of PalmView permit users to interact with their production systems through the popular Compaq iPAQ Pocket PC.
  • Smart positioning gets even smarter! - Baldor has upgraded its intelligent servo motor drive for industrial positioning applications, Flex+Drive II. Now featuring an integrated motion controller compatible with the Mint language, the 'one-box' control solution has the real-time performance to execute much more complex movements like software gearing, sequenced moves and on-the-fly adjustments - as well as PLC-style machine control functions.
  14/6/02
  • PWM motor control circuit for DC motors - Designed for pulse-width modulated (PWM) current control of DC motors, the new A3948 integrated circuit from Allegro MicroSystems can deliver a continuous output current of up to ±1.5 A and an operating voltage up to 50V. The new device features internal fixed off-time PWM current-control timing circuitry that can be programmed via a serial interface to operate in slow, fast, and mixed current-decay modes.
  • Cooperation to leverage resources - ISA- The Instrumentation, Systems, and Automation Society and Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) have joined in a memorandum of cooperation designed to spawn mutual efforts of the two organizations on projects that could range from conferences, exhibits, and workshops to publications, educational programs, and standards.