• LON-based BMS - In the first release for an exhibitor at October's FieldComms'98, Weidmueller states it will be showing its complete control solution for management and automation of environmental, energy and security conditions throughout a building. The Room Control Device (RCD) together with Integrated Room Controller (IRC) enable communication between all individual LON based components within a building.
• Processing of permanent magnets - The UK Magnetics Society is arranging a one day seminar on this topic at the University of Sheffield for Tuesday 30th June 1998. More details from The UK Magnetics Society.
• WIB International Instrument Users' Association news - 3 guidence documents on Ergonomics in Process Control Rooms has been developed by WIB aimed to provide practical engineering and design guidance on ergonomics in control rooms for process industries.
  They have also released 'EMC Implimentation Guideline for Process Control Installations, Report No: M 2674 X 98. It is available on CD ROM.
• Anything but soft! - Mitsubishi's MELSOFT MX Computer Control a flexible automation solution "that combines best in class PC based control software and intelligent distributed I/O with a real time operating system that is anything but soft."
• Worldwide conference on measurement and control - National Instruments has announced plans for its annual, international conference on measurement and automation. To accomodate expected record-setting attendance NIWeek 98 - Your Passport to Success, which takes place from Aug 25 - 27 '98, will change venues this year to the Ausin Convention Center in Austin, Texas (US).

• European office opens - To accommodate increasing world-wide demand for its established "Adroit" real-time Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) package, South Africa-based Adroit Technologies (Pty) Limited has opened a new European office. Located at Nantwich, Cheshire, in Britain, the new office is to bring enhanced levels of support to existing Adroit users and integrators. Its opening also coincides with the launch of Version 4.0 of Adroit, - earlier releases of which are in widespread revenue-earning service across Britain and France.

• Immunity test solution latest- The latest addition to Schaffner's BEST range of self-contained systems for testing immunity to conducted interference, BESTemc, is specified to meet the requirements of the generic European Standards EN 50082-1 and 2, and full level 4 specifications of the Basic Standards series IEC 1000-4.
• True distributed I/O - Until now, distributed I/O which can operate in the arduous conditions common to the process industry has been either unavailable, too complicated or too expensive. MTL claims to change all this with their new didtributed I/O for all plant environments - MTL8000 Process I/O.
• Moore selected - Air Products has selected Moore Products as their preferred supplier of control systems for their worldwide Gases & Equipment Group (GEG).
• Pneumatics in Europe - A recent report from Frost & Sullivan reports a positive growth in revenue in the pneumatics market in Europe since the beginning of the decade with revenues worth US$3.21b.
• Frequency inverter uses the motor as its own sensor - Emotron, the Swedish/Dutch drives manufacturer has introduced a new frequency inverter range, VECTORFLUX VFB/VFX. The product was presented at the Hanover Fair, Germany. The company claims that the new inverter gets the highest possible torque per ampere from a standard sensorless asynchronous motor. Closed loop speed and torque control is achieved by using the motor as its own sensor.

• Explosion Protection Engineering for all Controlsystems - Safety is a very important consideration in modern production, chemical, pharmaceutical, other processes, offshore and building automation. The Schischek Explosionproof have a very interesting site with interesting equipment, dampers, actuators etc etc in all these areas.

• $4.25b in VMEbus sales - VITA - the VMEbus International Trade Association hasannounced the availability of a market analysis of the world market forVMEbus. Based on a full report produced by Venture Development Corporation(VDC) of Massachusetts, the report shows that VMEbus sales totalled over $4.25 billion in 1997, an increase of 11% over 1996.
  Fieldbus news on our Fieldbus Page
• European shows - EFIMA (European Fairs, Instrumentation Measurement Automation, the umbrella organisation for European International I&C Fairs has published a guide to fairs for 1998, 1999 and 2000. Copies may be obtained from Monika Wiss at the EFIMA Secretariet.
  See also our Exhibitions and Conference page.
• Flight test - A new flight test accelerometer that combines an airborne charge amplifier, filter module and piezelectric accelerometer in a single integrated package has been introduced by Endevco.

• Historian selected - Intellution has announced a partnership with OSI Software where OSI's PI historian engine will be fully integrated and sold as the first major third party component within Intellution's new FIX Dynamics. When these are integrated plant wide historian functionality and the facility of movement of this information throughout the enterprise is enabled.
• Factory automation in Italy - The 28the BIAS 1998 international automation, instrumentation and microelectronics conference and exhibition, scheduled for 24th to 28th November'98 in the brand new Portello Pavilions in Milan. It is anticipated that this show will mirror the increase of 5% in the market since 1996 when BIAS was last held.
• PLCs in Europe - The increasing levels of investment in most European economies and the rising costs of employment are providing significent stimulus for growth in the European programmable logic controllers market, driving revenues from US$1.7b last year to US$2.8b by 2004. These details are culled from a new study by Frost & Sullivan.
• Explosion-proof programmable temperature transducers - The new programmable temperature transducer PI/Ex-T/I from Phoenix Contact which is part of the process interface product range transduces the signals of thermocouples and RTDs with high precision into a 4/20 mA signal

• Cork at core of Apple's plans - When Steve Jobs launched new Apple product lines in California last week it emerged that the company's Irish plant is at the centre of the corporation's new strategy. The Cork manufacturing facility has been secretly manufacturing a fast portable computer for several weeks. "These new product lines give people what they want, a lightning fast laptop and a striking new consumer Macintosh" said Apple's chief executive. Apple Ireland in Cork now employs 1,800 and is the company's "centre of excellence" for portable computers. (THE IE PROFESSIONAL.
• HiQ 4.00 free to Matlab users - National Instruments UK has announced that HiQ 4.0, the latest version of the company's award winning analysis and data visualation software, is now available to current Matlab users free of charge.
• Ireland directories - The Kompass Ireland Directory for Ireland (North & South) is now available in both CD and book format.

• An international undergraduate textbook in analytical chemistry - This book (Analytical Chemistry/Kellner,Mermet,Otto & Widmer published by Wiley-VCH) will be essential reading for undergraduate chemists. It will also be of interest to technicians, postgraduate students, academics and professionals who will find the book invaluable as a refresher course in analytical chemistry or to dip into fopr specific techniques.
• Smart Ultra-high purity mass flow meters - Sierra Instruments' 760/780UHP-S Ultra-High Purity Thermal Mass Flow Meters provide a variety of self-diagnostic and field-adjustment features, as well as the ability to confirm or "field validate" the meter's calibration and measurement accuracy in the field.
• New Asian system integration centre - Sakura Endress of Japan has opened a new systems integration centre which combines its expertise in tank gauging with specialist monitoring software and data collection terminals for fluid handling applications. It is the first of its type in Asia and supports all the Endress + Hauser compAnies operating throughout the region based on the enlarged product range resulting from the recent merger betweet E+H and Whessoe.
• PMC recipe for mixing analogue sensors - Pentland Systems has announced the release of the LM4 series of PMC based analog signal acquisition products. It is their latest addition to their LOMAND family of PMC based precision analogue I/O products for the industrial market.
• New deal for IMO - Fast growing IMO Precision Controls has followed its recent European joint venture deal with SoftPLC of Texas by announcing another major joint venture with the British based Industrial Interface Research Ltd. IMO has acquired a substantial stake in Industrial Interface and sole marketing and sales rights for all the company's products throught the EU.
• Data acquisition management team strengthened - Graham Bleakley has been promoted to the newly-created position of Data Acquisition and Hydrastep Contracts Manager at Solartron. The company has also set up a Railway Monitoring Systems business unit with Paul Kaine as its first Product Manager.
• Safety provided by valves in Australia - Whessoe Varec has shipped a safety valve shutdown system to the new LPG cavern storage facility under construction for Elgas at Port Botany in Australia.

Here are some reviews of C & I UK, Britain's premier Instrumentation show.

*Dates follow the European Custom dd/mm/yy

The Instrumentation Signpost has interesting pointers for the I&C Professional.