31/10/2006

Bulk import Utility to ease migration of legacy applications - Wonderware has announced the release of the ArchestrA Bulk Import Utility 1.0. The new utility simplifies the conversion of legacy system applications to Wonderware's Industrial Application Server, which is built on the ArchestrA software architecture and improves the productivity and maintenance of industrial information and automation systems. The ArchestrA Bulk Import Utility is available at no charge for use with a Wonderware development license and the Industrial Application Server 2.1 Patch 01 or higher. "The ArchestrA Bulk Import Utility eases the process of integrating information when migrating existing manufacturing systems to those that leverage ArchestrA technology," said Steve Garbrecht, marketing program manager for Wonderware's product infrastructures and platforms.
Marketed and supported in Britain and Ireland by Pantek.

Motor driver with serial interface and overcurrent protection - The new A3992 from Allegro MicroSystems Europe is a DMOS full-bridge microstepping PWM motor driver integrated circuit designed for the pulse-width-modulated (PWM) current control of bipolar microstepping stepper motors.

Chemical company chooses software - Ciba Specialty Chemicals chose GE Fanuc's Proficy Batch Execution software, operating on a Proficy HMI/SCADA - IFIX platform, for two main pigment manufacturing processes at its Paisley plant. Key factors in the decision were the recipe consistency, the flexibility and the ease-of-use offered by the software, part of the Proficy Intelligent Production Solutions suite.

Users conference draws record attendance - More than 2,100 delegates from 48 countries, all of them decision makers in the automation industry, attended the 2006 Emerson Global Users Exchange in Nashville (US). This year's conference was themed "Learn, Lead and Unleash," and, as always, was arranged by Emerson's dynamic community of users.
The Emerson Global User Exchange is recognised as one of the premier user events for process automation in the world. The five-day conference is characterised as providing excellent user presentations, industry-specific sessions, topical management round table discussions, and a large, trade-show size exhibit area.
On the spot reports were written by Walt Boyes and we provided links to these in our news page earlier this month. These links are also available on the right column on our Events Page - below the Google Ads!
Picture shows Emerson President John Berra addressing the conference.

5-row Type C female connector - Harting has added a 5-row Type C female connector to its family of DIN 41 612 products, rounding off its range of devices for applications based on the VME64x Bus.

Engineers and managers content with careers, salaries aren't bad either! - This is a item in the October issue of ISA's Intech and reports on the American Experience.

Drivers extending to wireless sensors from Accsense, Accutech and Crossbow Technology - National Instruments has announced LabVIEW drivers for wireless sensor networks, giving engineers and scientists working with these devices the ability to fully integrate their ZigBee, IEEE 802.15.4 or proprietary wireless sensors into the National Instruments LabVIEW graphical development environment. The free driver software works with sensors from three wireless-sensing leaders - Accsense, Accutech and Crossbow Technology - and includes communication functions and example programs compatible with sensors from each vendor.

New acquisition atrengthens company's position In power quality market - Schaffner has announced the acquisition of JACKE Transformatoren GmbH by the Swiss based Schaffner Group. This development strengthens Schaffner's presence in the growing Power Quality market and offers JACKE an immediate international presence.

Opportunity for Automation in Central Europe - Frost & Sullivan will host an exclusive interactive briefing on 1 November, 2006, at 11 a.m. GMT to provide manufacturers, distribution channels, end-users and other industry participants with an overview of the Automation Market in Central Europe.

Inspired IT award - Temetra, (part of Hanley Controls Clonmel) has won the 2006 Inspired IT Award in Business Services, presented recently in Dublin IRL) by Tom Kitt TD, Irish Minister at the Department of the Taoiseach and Government Chief Whip. The award recognises the business benefits of Temetra - the ability to aggregate many of the Local Authorities under one management tool and provide a long-term, fully supported service.

High speed camera range grows - Firstsight Vision's range of cameras for high speed applications has grown with the addition of the CamRecord 1000 camera from Optronis. Ideally suited for a wide variety of high speed industrial inspection applications, the Camrecord 1000 CMOS camera provides colour images at frame rates up to an impressive 1000 frames per second (fps) at 1280 x 1024 pixels, and higher frame-rates of up to 200,000 fps can be achieved if windowing is used to sample a smaller number of pixels.

New patented right-angle Connecter is first to swivel - Lapp, the European manufacture of cables and connectors, has added two new connectors to its market leading EPIC® range. For use by machine tool, motion drive and robotics manufacturers the CIRCON LS1 A3 is suitable for power connections and the CIRCON M23 A3 is for data and control signals. Both are unique in the market because of their patented swivel base. Right-angled connectors are commonly used in the manufacture of industrial systems to save space. In many cases final assembly of complete systems can be difficult and time consuming because of the location and inaccessibility of the connectors.

Wireless bridge now with range up to 40 Miles - MaxStream today announced the availability of the XBee XTender wireless bridge that extends the range of ZigBee and 802.15.4 networks up to 40 miles. Because the ZigBee and 802.15.4 standards focus on low-cost, low-power wireless monitoring and controlling of electronic devices, ZigBee modems typically must be located within 100-300 feet to communicate.

Motion control catalogues build into complete library for machine builders - Baldor has published a series of motion control product catalogues designed to make life easier for OEMs and machine builders implementing automation systems. Comprising nine separate publications, each dedicated to a specific area of motion control, the series builds into a comprehensive and accessible library of up-to-date system building information.

Displacement transducers for extreme environments - RDP LIN displacement transducers have been designed to operate accurately and reliably in extreme circumstances, including high radiation, high temperatures and even cryogenic environments. They have been proven reliable in working temperatures up to 600°C and able to survive high nuclear radiation doses.

New water treatment company - ProMinent UK's thriving custom-designed dosing and water treatment package business has received a substantial boost following the announcement of the formation of ProMinent ProMaqua GmbH by ProMinent Dosiertechnik GmbH to handle all aspects of the water treatment business. ProMaqua's and service experts will provide industry-appropriate, application- and case-specific solutions for water disinfection, oxidation and hygiene users in the food, beverage, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries as well as operators of swimming pools. The availability of an even greater range of turnkey packages will provide extra sales opportunities to ProMinent UK, whose water treatment package sales is already an important part of its overall business.

Non-contact temperature switches - The new Convir DL series from Calex Electronics is a range of high temperature fast response non-contact infrared temperature switches. They are designed for use in the detection of hot metal parts, or as part of a counting or positioning process. Typical applications include billet positioning in steel forging and rolling, positioning and counting of gobs in glass production, and monitoring the opening and closing of furnace and oven doors.

Innovative early testing and verification with embedded software verification platform - S2 Technologies has announced the release of the STRIDE 2.0 embedded software verification platform, with enhancements to support enterprise-wide deployments. This announcement represents a major step in revolutionizing the market for software verification for complex embedded multimedia consumer devices and wireless handsets. The STRIDE 2.0 platform provides infrastructure and tools that enable development teams to accelerate continuous integration, testing and verification of embedded software.

A first in in water sector - Prestigious MCERTS Award - Hach Lange is one of the first companies in Britain's water sector to receive an MCERTS Certificate. Commenting on this achievement, Product Manager for Sampling, Flow and Level, Ian Smith said "Our range of stationary samplers are extremely popular because of their flexibility - a wide range of dosing heads helps to ensure that we are able to supply the best sampler for every application. Process Authorisations stipulate that MCERTS equipment shall be used where available and customers are therefore delighted that our samplers are now certified."

Industrial Web gateway with alarm manager and data logger improved - IntelliCom, has extended functionality to the NetBiter webSCADA gateway, a web gateway with built-in alarm manager and data logger. The new web Gateway is an industrial serial to Ethernet gateway. It gives remote access to serial devices over Ethernet, Internet, LANs, Telephone modems, GSM and GPRS. The gateway contains built-in features for alarm handling (SMS, E-mail, SNMP), data logging and web-based data access.

Making It Easy For Municipalities To Solve Water/Wastewater Operational Needs With Municipal Water Package - GE Fanuc Automation has announced a set of Municipal Water Packages specifically designed for the water/wastewater industry. Combining award-winning Proficy HMI/SCADA - iFIX, Historian and Portal products together in a variety of sizes, GE Fanuc makes it easy for municipalities to obtain the solution they need for their water facilities. The packages address the needs of munipalities to perform the monitoring and control operations to gather and store operational data needed to gain insight and make the tough decisions regarding reducing energy and chemical costs.

Onward and upward! - National Instruments has reported record revenue in Q3 2006 of $164 million, a 16 percent increase over Q3 2005. Geographically, the growth of revenue in U.S. dollar terms for Q3 2006 compared to Q3 2005 was as follows: up 11 percent in the Americas, up 14 percent in Europe and up 30 percent in Asia, equaling overall growth of 16 percent. In local currency terms, revenue was up 10 percent in Europe and up 28 percent in Asia, for an overall local currency growth of 14 percent.

License-free industrial wireless Ethernet modem - Westermo Data Communications has expanded its range of wireless products with the release of an industrial WiFi (802.11b compliant) 2.4 GHz license-free wireless Ethernet modem. Capable of transmitting data up to 11Mb/s over distances of 1km, the RM-240 is a reliable and secure stand-alone module that provides high-speed wireless Ethernet connectivity across a broad range of applications in the utilities, process control and manufacturing industries.

PLC market to hit $10 billion mark - Manufacturing companies continue to increase investments in capital expenditures for automation equipment as they clearly recognize the role of automation and its contribution to the profitability and success in the fierce global market. As a result, the demand for the Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), a key automation component in the discrete, hybrid, and process industries, will grow robustly. The worldwide market for PLCs is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.1% over the next five years. The PLC market was nearly $7.5 billion in 2005 and is forecasted to grow to over $10 billion in 2010, according to a new ARC Advisory Group study, Programmable Logic Controller Worldwide Outlook by Himanshu Shah.
Other recent reports from ARC include, Food and Beverage Industry Automation Worldwide Outlook and Logistics Service Providers Drive Growth in the Transportation Management Systems Market

Half millionth mass meter goes to brewery - Emerson Process Management proudly delivered the company's 500,000th Micro Motion meter to Anheuser-Busch at a recent ceremony, marking the continued leadership of Micro Motion technology throughout the world.

25 years a-growing! - VITA, the leading trade association in the critical embedded computing industry, has marked the 25th anniversary of the VME technology open standard. VME is the only open set of computing standards for the modular construction of embedded computers that are used in applications spanning commercial products to extremely harsh environments. Because it is an open specification, VME technology is found in more than 25 million myriad products where precision, reliability and durability under demanding real-world conditions are mandatory requirements.

Modular automation system is compact, and very scaleable - With programming options for Step7 and Step5, an extensive range of expansion modules, and with a wide choice of master/slave fieldbus options, the compact VIPA System 200V PLC control system is a well matched, scaleable solution for small to medium sized, centralised or decentralised automation applications.

Additional functions in new release - CAN in Automation (CiA) has released version 4.1 of the CANopen application layer (CiA 301). The specification is - for the time being - available to CiA members only. The international users' and manufacturers' group has been maintaining the higher-layer protocol since it was developed in 1994 in an Esprit project.
CANopen devices, especially programmable ones, may implement further functions of the application layer described in the specification CiA 302. Further functions beside the SDO Manager are the Flying NMT Master, the Configuration Manager as well as the usage of redundant bus lines. These specifications have been partly edited and reworked and are available to members of CiA as version 4.0.

Controling eight units of hydro generation and pumped storage in central Taiwan - Invensys Process Systems today announced that Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) will implement I/A Series distributed control systems (DCS) from Foxboro for a hydro power generation and pumped storage automation upgrade project. Located at the 1,088-megawatt Takuan Hydro Power Station in Nantau County in central Taiwan, the new implementation will utilise the Foxboro high-speed mesh control network backbone to maximise system availability and reliability. Invensys Taiwan will also provide a range of professional services.

Digital controller module brings piezo and galvo motor control capability to automation platform - Aerotech's Nservo digital servo controller was developed to provide interconnectivity between existing analogue servo drive systems and the Firewire based, A3200 Digital Automation Platform as a performance and function upgrade. The Nservo has been further improved to include command and feedback interfacing between the A3200 and piezo/ceramic servo motor drives and galvo based servo systems. This feature will be of interest to users of existing piezo and galvo drives but will also be a benefit to system designers considering new-build motion and machine control applications using this technology. It will also provide manufacturers and system integrators using any mix of servo, piezo, ceramic or galvo driven multi axis positioning systems, the potential to upgrade and extend the life of their capital investment - by replacing their performance and function limited motion and machine control systems with the award winning A3200 Digital Automation Platform, whilst retaining their existing servo drives, motors and positioning components.

FPGA-based satellite platform - Nallatech, a leader in high-performance FPGA (field programmable gate array) computing solutions, today announced its collaboration for developing a test platform for space borne processing with Northrop Grumman Corporation's Space Technology sector, a developer of systems at the leading edge of space, defense and electronics technology. Northrop Grumman Space Technology creates sophisticated products that contribute significantly to the nation's security and leadership in science and technology. Work on the FPGA system development for Northrop Grumman aligns with their focus on the U.S. defense and aerospace markets.

Low-cost compact industrial Ethernet switches - Harting has introduced a new range of low-cost industrial Ethernet switches which combine low-profile mounting with ease of installation in IP30 industrial environments. The new eCon2000 Series offer an unmanaged Ethernet switch configuration for use with 10 Mbit/s or 100 Mbit/s Ethernet networks conforming to the IEEE 802.3 standard, and feature automatic detection of the data-transmission rate.

Support for show - Trident Exhibitions have announced the official support of the British Fluid Power Association (BFPA) for their forthcoming Machine Building, Drives & Automation exhibition at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, 14th & 15th February 2007.

Outstanding accuracy for new digital temperature indicator - The Jofra DTI050 handheld digital temperature indicator, offering a measurement accuracy of +0.005°C, has been announced by Ametek Calibration Instruments. This simple to use instrument with a clear graphical display, offers great flexibility, being able to work with both 'smart' and standard temperature sensors. A fast response time ensures precise monitoring of temperature stability and low drift reduces uncertainty of measurement between calibration intervals.

Special materials testing systems a speciality! - Lloyd Instruments' "Customer Specials" Department has recently produced special versions of its 50kN LR50KPlus and 10kN LR10KPlus twin column universal testing machines. To meet their customer's exacting application requirements, the LR50KPlus was produced with a wider distance between the columns, whilst a shortened version of the LR10KPlus was manufactured to fit into a particularly small laboratory space.

Trainers get faster and faster - Training shoe giant Adidas has slashed its product development time to thirty days from ninety, by adopting the most advanced rapid prototyping systems and applying them on a global scale. Trends in sports footwear move faster than possibly any other market, so Adidas-Solomon AG has given priority to any technology that can speed up its marketing, commercial and manufacturing processes. It has just completed a four year mission to implement a complete digital process that will allow it to share three dimensional data in real time between its twin headquarters in Germany and Oregon (US), all its global corporate units and its contract factories in Asia. The final piece of this jigsaw was the adoption of Objet Geometries PolyJet rapid prototyping technology, which is available in Britain through Unimatic Engineers.

Power Plant Construction Maintenance by Peter G. Hessler Type: Paperback Book Publisher: New Standards Institute A unique set of management skills is necessary to supervise construction or retrofitting of a power generation plant, given today's bottom-line emphasis on environment, fuel efficiency, up-to-date technical features, and the industry's loss of experienced craftsmen and supervisory personnel. This book explains the power of economics behind the industry and how to manage the finances of work activities.

Bench-top spectrofluorometer - Horiba Jobin Yvon has announced the new FluoroMax-4 as the replacement for the legendary FluoroMax-3. With a superb sensitivity of at least 400,000 cps for the water-Raman peak at 397 nm, and an industry-leading signal-to-noise ratio of 3000:1 minimum, the FluoroMax-4 stands out from the crowd.

New temperature transmitters - Siemens' new line of head-mounted temperature transmitters are the first such systems the company has manufactured itself, a move analyst firm Flow Research believes is designed to help better position Siemens in the instrumentation market. Called the Sitrans T-TH Series, the transmitters support applications in the process industries, including chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, and energy generation.

Industrial networks group to support emerging technologies in the area of hazardous areas - MTL announced the formation of an Industrial Networks group within the Hazardous Area Business Unit of the company. With the increasing role that open systems and digital communication components have in modern control systems, MTL has formed this team, under the direction of Ian Verhappen, to provide the support mechanisms warranted by such missioncritical processes.
See also our ISA EXPO Review for details on the development of the MTL & Byres Security revolutionary new product for securing both new and legacy SCADA and process control systems.

Five instruments in one for faster, easier indoor air quality testing - Fluke, the world's leading supplier of handheld test and measurement equipment, has introduced the Fluke 975 AirMeter test tool, a rugged handheld instrument with all the features required for fast and easy testing and monitoring of HVAC output and indoor air quality (IAQ). Part of Fluke's growing line of test tools designed specifically for indoor air quality inspections, the Fluke 975 simultaneously measures, logs and displays temperature (wet bulb and dew point), humidity, carbon dioxide (CO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) levels on a bright, backlit display. It also includes airflow and velocity capability using the optional air velocity probe. Data can be downloaded to a PC for further analysis using software included with the product.

Project awarded - Invensys has been awarded a project by Petrofac Facilities Management to enable migration of the ageing Emerson Fisher Provox system on the Kittiwake production platform in the central North Sea to a new process control systems (PCS), namely, a Foxboro I/A Series system. The project is due to be completed in 2007.
Invensys Migration Web Site.

New process model to configurable machine vision software introduced - National Instruments has announced NI Vision Builder for Automated Inspection (AI) Version 3.0, the latest upgrade to the interactive software for configuring, benchmarking and deploying complete machine vision applications without programming. This version introduces a new state-machine process model that gives engineers one of the most flexible environments available for configuring vision systems. With this process model, engineers can customise the execution flow of their inspections to meet a wide variety of machine vision challenges, from component alignment to part inspection and verification. Through the use of state machines, Vision Builder AI now combines the flexibility of a programming language with the ease of use of a configuration environment.

New enhancements to connectivity management system - Tyco Electronics has introduced a number of enhancements to the AMPTRAC connectivity management system from its AMP NetConnect Business Unit, including a new generation of analysers, added features and innovative software. The AMPTRAC connectivity management system consists of port sensors, patch cords, patch panels, I/O cables, link cables, software and analysers, which together turn a network cabling system and its connected devices into an intelligent network. By revolutionising the way in which networks are controlled and documented, such intelligent networks reduce downtime, increase productivity, and improve asset utilisation.

First SCADA software to support IEC 61850 - IEC 61850 is a new worldwide accepted standard that defines the communication between electrical switchgear, control equipment in substation automation and the related system requirements. European software innovators COPA-DATA are the first to develop a driver which implements IEC61850 - and thanks to the openness of their zenOn SCADA/HMI software it can be integrated into all existing systems, protecting valuable capital investments.
More about IEC 61850

Resolving low emissivity question in glass tempering - At glasstec 2006 in Düsseldorf (D), Raytek will launch of its new GS110 Infrared Thermal Imaging System for Low Emissivity (Low-E) Glass. This system is specifically designed to monitor one-side coated flat glass during the tempering process. It addresses a rapidly increasing need as Low-E glass becomes more widely used in the construction industry.

High-reliability thermocouple sensor optimized for high-purity processing applications - A new design of thermocouple assembly from the Partek division of Parker Hannifin provides an exceptionally reliable temperature monitoring sensor for high-purity fluid systems which traditionally use fluoropolymer components has been launched at ISA EXPO.

Cooperation to ease enterprise integration, improve quality and drive productivity - GE Fanuc Automation has announced the completion of a sales and marketing agreement with SAP America to jointly market GE Fanuc Production Management solutions and SAP applications - easing plant floor and enterprise integration to increase quality, drive productivity, and enable success in key business initiatives such as Lean Six Sigma, regulatory compliance and efficiency.

Free standards a major contribution to automation professionals - ISA's Executive Board voted this week to approve a financial commitment to support standards development activities as well as to provide a new member benefit of free downloadable ISA-developed standards. "Because of this action, our current and future Members will benefit professionally from our standards at no cost, and they'll be able to bring value to their employers by introducing best practices into their business," said ISA President-elect Secretary Steve Huffman. "This will serve both individual Members and their companies, and we're excited about its positive impact on the industry as a whole."

Industry leadership awards for superior customer value and market leadership - Flowserve has received two prestigious industry awards from global growth consulting company Frost & Sullivan honoring its market leadership in the pump sector. The two awards cite Flowserve's excellence in providing superior value to its customers and its global penetration in the oil and gas industry. For the first award, Frost & Sullivan honored Flowserve as its 2006 North American Growth Excellence in Customer Value Leadership recipient in the pumps solutions market space. With the second award, Flowserve was honored as the 2006 Frost & Sullivan Global Vertical Market Penetration Leadership Award recipient for its market-oriented and strategic approach to offering highly reliable and efficient pump systems to the oil and gas industry.

Prestigious Support Centre Practices Certification awarded for fourth consecutive year - Wonderware has announced that it has achieved certification from the Support Centre Practices (SCP) certification program for the fourth consecutive year. Wonderware again met the SCP compliance requirements, as well as the SCP community benchmark average.
Wonderware is marketed and supported in Britain and Ireland by Pantek who are hosts at the WonderWorld Seminars in Daventry (GB) later this month.

Security solution's worldwide distribution expands - Verano, the SCADA security company, announced today that it has expanded the worldwide distribution network for its security event management solution, Industrial Defender, with the addition of six new resellers in EMEA and Australia. New Industrial Defender partners include ATGS in Russia, CSE-Uniserve in Australia, Emte Sistemas in Spain, Ferranti in Belgium, Qpit in the Netherlands and Vision Automation in Italy.
More about cyber safety on our Cybersafe Page

New member for automation body - The Automation Federation has just announced that the Wireless Industrial Networking Alliance (WINA) will join the umbrella organization as a charter member. WINA is a coalition of industrial end-user companies, technology suppliers, industry organizations, software developers, system integrators, and others interested in the advancement of wireless solutions for industry. The organization aims to communicate the benefits of using wireless in industrial applications, to improve confidence in wireless technology and access to solutions, and to focus on the end user.

Push on push off switch for lighting and motor control applications - Lorlin Electronics has announced the introduction of its new MDSP Push Button Dimmer Switch. The MDSP is a push-on, push-off switch with a potentiometer mounted on the same spindle. Widely used in domestic lighting dimmer controls the MDSP is now finding acceptance in many other industrial and professional switching and control applications.

New vibration energy harvester generates more power from low levels of vibration - "PMG17 from Perpetuum, is the next major breakthrough in vibration energy harvesting technology." The wireless and battery-free device is capable of generating useful energy from levels of vibration that are 35% lower than previously possible, and across a large bandwidth of vibration frequencies. OEMs, sensor manufacturers and end-users can benefit from using the generators to power easy-to-install devices that accurately monitor machinery and processes such as the condition of plant equipment. This allows them to make significant savings in installation time and cost, often without shutdowns, as well as achieving the operating benefits from increased monitoring and control.

Monitoring shock and vibration on oil rigs - Damage deterrent specialists Lamerholm Electronics has installed a number of its impact and environmental data recorders, the ShockLog 298 on oil rig platforms throughout the United States. The RD298 units are currently being used by US oil companies for measuring the shock and vibration on the top drives of rigging platforms. The RD298 Shocklog is a fully programmable, re-usable electronic event data recorder and is used throughout industry to help companies reduce the cost of shock and vibration damage. Packed full of features, the RD298 monitors and reports on where and how equipment has suffered an event outside preset thresholds and real time date stamping provides detailed arbitration evidence.

'Green' Innovation Award locked in! - Fortress Interlocks has won the prestigious 'Green' Innovation Award at this year's innovation & Design Excellence Awards (iDEA) against strong competition. The award, announced at a gala reception at the Hilton Hotel in London at the end of September, was for Fortress' eGard, a unique new product which combines both machine safety and control modules in one flexible unit. The iDEAs, organised by Eureka, New Electronics and Cranfield School of Management, recognised that the innovation behind eGard opens up a new, large market sector for Fortress. The award also recognised that Fortress designed and manufactured eGard along environmental principles following advice from Envirowise, taking into account the whole life-cycle of the product.
We reported an iDEA award also presented to Triteq on 6th October 2006.

Pulse generator advanced features and options - Since 1993 Quantum Composers has been developing features for our pulse and delay generators to meet the most demanding and specialized applications including: performing flow analysis-triggering a laser with complex multiplexed waveforms, simulating radar timing using an external clock source at high frequencies, optical in/outputs for triggering pulse power.

"The industry's most open and complete SCADA software suite" - Silverteam now offers a full control, HMI and SCADA solution, having formed a strategic partnership with Wizcon based around its new Version 9.2 Supervisor package. Combining both discrete and process control with HMI and SCADA functionality, plus full internet connectivity, Wizcon Supervisor delivers all the software tools needed to build a complete and powerful automation solution.

Water leak detection system - HWM Radcom has introduced an update of the company's popular SoundSens correlating logger system, enabling quicker, more efficient water leak detection. The SoundSens 'i' system now features infra-red communication, so there are no cables, and set-up and download can now be done without the need for a PC. In addition, cases of loggers can be linked to allow simultaneous set-up and download.

The world's first fieldbus calibrator - Fieldbus installations are growing rapidly worldwide. The reasons are extremely clear - fieldbus systems increase efficiency and cost savings by lowering commissioning costs and by delivering better and more detailed information to support maintenance operations. The fieldbus market itself is large, but two systems stand out above all others: the Foundation Fieldbus (FF) and the Profibus. They both already have a very large installed base at present. Although fieldbus transmitters represent advanced technology; they still need to be calibrated. Until now, calibrating fieldbus transmitters has been complicated and time-consuming ­it has required typically two persons and a fieldbus system that is in operational use. Because of this, there has been an evident need for a practical calibration solution that would allow fieldbus transmitters to be calibrated easily and efficiently. Beamex's new MC5 Fieldbus Calibrator is a solution to this need. The MC5 is the world's first fieldbus calibrator, which can be used for calibrating Foundation Fieldbus H1 or Profibus PA transmitters.
More on fieldbus on our Fieldbus pages

Micropower linear Hall-effect sensor ICs for battery-powered applications - The new A1391 and A1392 linear Hall-effect sensor ICs from Allegro MicroSystems Europe are micropower devices that feature a power consumption of only 10 mW in active mode. Despite the low power consumption, the features required to produce a highly accurate linear Hall effect IC have not been compromised.

Thirty years in Britain - Flow and level measurement specialist Krohne celebrated thirty years of technical innovation and business success in the UK at a special event held at the company's manufacturing plant in Wellingborough. Lady Juliet Townsend, the Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire, helped to mark the occasion by switching on the company's latest investment - a new UKAS approved, state-of-the-art, calibration rig. She was joined by directors and other members of staff as she initiated the calibration process on the company's award winning OPTIMASS Coriolis mass flowmeter.

PMMore on management buyout - Following the successful management buyout of Gowmac Instruments Co Ireland by the present management team at the Irish operation the name of the company has been changd to AGC Instruments. All current Gas Chromatographs, Gas Analysers, Thermal Conductivity, patented Discharge Ionisation and Argon Discharge Detectors, Hot wire filaments etc will continue to be produced by AGC. With strong continued and renewed R & D investment planned, 2007 will see new products launched to increase AGC's turnkey capabilities with particular emphasis on the Pacific Rim and Americas market.

PM-10 Approval for dust monitor - Quantitech, tells us that the 'Grimm 180 Environmental Dust Monitor' has been approved for the measurement of PM-10 particulate matter under the European Standard EN 12341. In order to achieve this Approval, the instrument had to undergo extensive tests both in the field and in the laboratory. Field tests involved two units measuring against two reference units at both urban and rural locations and during both summer and winter months in order to check performance during a variety of climatic conditions.

Improved infrared thermometer provides accurate, reliable temperature measurement of glass - The glass industry's "most successful infrared thermometer for glass melting applications" with over 6000 systems installed world-wide - the Land Fibroptic Model FG - has had a major update. The newly improved Model FG fibre optics based, two-wire infrared thermometer is a simple, cost effective alternative to conventional thermometers that require water-cooling and can also be installed without difficulty to upgrade or replace thermocouple installations.

Automation Standards Compliance Institute created - The Automation Standards Compliance Institute is an ISA-owned non-profit organisational entity that will assess automation-related standards compliance. The institute's charter includes a wide range of standards compliance assessments including, software or hardware products, implementation methods, solutions, companies and individuals.

New operator terminals make it possible to have manuals and instructions directly in the machine - With the release of EXTER Pro+ operator terminals, Beijer Electronics offers new possibilities for information sharing between people and machines. Features such as PDF-viewer and Internet browser make it easy to ensure that operator manuals, trouble shooting and service instructions always are at hand when they are needed

Industrial power bus installations - HanPower T from Harting is a family of industrial connector products which facilitate the installation of a 'pluggable' serial power bus for powering a number of devices such as motors. The design of the new system allows the use of pre-assembled fully tested cables, guaranteeing fault-free wiring and minimising installation time.

New hand-held device detects methane up to 150 metres away - Crowcon has been named as the worldwide distributor for the new Laser Methane, a unique, hand-held methane detection device from Tokyo Gas Engineering in Japan. Crowcon will have exclusive distributor rights across Europe, the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and parts of the Far East. The lightweight (1.35kg) Laser Methane is highly selective so does not give false readings, even if other gases are present. It can detect methane at concentrations between 10 - 10,000ppm up to 150 metres away in less than 0.1 seconds, even through glass. Applications include gas transmission network surveys (including compression stations), landfill site monitoring and other areas where methane leakage or build-up is a risk. The unit can also be fixed in a permanent position to periodically scan a given area.

VP Worldwide Sales appointed to chemical and biological systems company - Sionex Corporation, a company focused on commercialising breakthrough chemical and biological sensors and systems, today announced that it has appointed Eric Kirleis as vice president of worldwide sales based at its corporate headquarters in Bedford. Following the recent announcement of the availability of the Sionex microAnalyzer and its debut at the ISA EXPO 2006 in Houston, TX (US) next week, Sionex continues its strategy of providing microDMx sub-systems to OEMs in the process control sector. Eric will provide a sales focus for the company strategy concentrating on the microAnalyzer.

Free computer program - seepex offers a free computer program that will allow users to compare the electrical consumption of a progressive cavity pump to that of an air-operated double acting diaphragm pump. The calculations are based on the published literature of a number of pump manufacturers and use the efficiency and energy consumption formulas from recognized engineering texts. The program is designed to operated from Microsoft Windows or the Palm OS operating systems. The program will accept inputs for fluid flow, differential pressure, system air pressure, number of compressor stages, assumed compressor efficiency, pump operating cycles and the cost of electricity in several currencies. It will calculate to amount and price of energy consumed on an annual basis.

Level measurement in the aluminium industry - Hindalco Industries (IND) has several KROHNE OPTIWAVE radar level gauges installed in its plant in Belgaum. One OPTIWAVE is installed on a tank with an agitator with 4 stages of blades. The product layer contains a great deal of foam, so that a considerable quantity of fumes is produced. These fumes can make a 15mm thick antenna coating in just 15 minutes; KROHNE therefore recommends a cone-like structure with holes. The tank has more pressure than atmosphere and because of this the fumes are pulled away from the antenna towards the holes and emerge from these holes. The instrument is programmed to take care of the rotating agitator. Another application is an open tank where maintaining a full level is a mandatory requirement of the customer. This is a hazardous area where humans can not stay for more than two minutes even with protective masks. In another open tank caustic lye falls from 5 inlets, producing more fumes. The antenna is continuously kept clean with air to prevent the fumes from entering the antenna. A metal casing is placed around the instrument to protect it.
auf Deutsch!

New family of compact DMMs with functions optimised for specific users - Fluke has extended its 110 Series of rugged, compact, true-RMS digital multimeters (DMMs) with a family of four, each designed to meet the specific needs of different users. The Fluke 117 is an electrician's DMM with non-contact voltage detection: the Fluke 116 includes temperature and microamps measurement for HVAC engineers: the Fluke 115 has extra functions for field service testing and industrial applications: and the Fluke 114 is an electrical troubleshooting tool for residential and commercial applications. The backlit displays are 30% larger than the existing 110 Series, and feature big, easy-to-read digits. All three models enable ergonomic one-handed operation and are CAT III 600 V safety rated.

Latest-generation power supplies and DC-DC converters being premiered - Emerson Network Power will be exhibiting the latest Astec and Artesyn power supplies and dc-dc converters at electronica 2006, including a number of products that are being shown for the first time in Europe. Electronica is the first major European exhibition that Emerson Network Power has attended since its recent acquisition of Artesyn Technologies.

Free, Downloadable White Paper: "Introduction to Fieldbus" - The "Introduction to Fieldbus" white paper, from Moore Industries, explains, in terms any engineer, technician or operator can understand, how fieldbus works. It strips away all the jargon and confusing terminology.
Paper downloadable from our Fieldbus News page

New ultra-low profile push button mass market tact switch - knitter-switch, has introduced the new TSS 309 surface mounted push-button tact switch. At only 2.5mm high and with a space-saving footprint of 3.8 x 6.0mm the TSS 309 is 50% smaller than comparable products. Two actuator forces are available, 180 and 300gm and operational lifetime is better than 100,000 operations. The TSS 309 may be soldered at 260degC, is RoHS compliant and features contact ratings of 12VDC @ 50mA, a maximum contact resistance of 100m‡ and an operating temperature range of -40 to +85degC.

Grapevine communications from the home of Country - The latest issue of Industrial Automation Insider (IAI) features the announcement, at the Emerson Exchange Users Conference in the Nashville, of their "victory in the race to introduce 'In-Plant Wireless for Mainstream Use'". This is to be launched in Europe next January. If you want a sneak preview then you could do worse than subscribe to this invaluable publication. We have given details of Walt Boyes account of the happenings on our news pages under the date 6th October 2006(6/10/2006).

Human-machine interface standards committee moves forward - The ISA Human-Machine Interface Standards committee has identified 5 key areas, based on their scope statement, on which their standard will be focused. They will divide into working groups next week at ISA EXPO in Houston, TX (US), to work on the development of each topic. The topics that the committee will focus on are information display, process visualization, user interaction, performance, and documentation and training.

Three different limited time offers for plant-level performance services - To encourage users of Foxboro or other vendors' control systems to take advantage of innovative performance services designed to help improve plant performance and safety, Invensys Process Systems has announced three different limited time offers for plant-level performance services:

• Control Performance Analysis provided at no charge for the first 50 plants that submit appropriate data by November 30th, 2006 (no purchase required)
• One Industrial WiFi wireless hot spot provided at no charge for customers who sign up for a paid Wireless Site Assessment Study by November 30th, 2006, or,
• Elimination of up to 20 nuisance alarms at no charge for customers who sign up for a paid Alarm Management Study by November 30th, 2006
Readers should visit www.foxboro.com/LTO for complete details and terms and conditions of these attractive offers.

Successful spalsh down for wireless system! - Low Power Radio Solutions, the wireless systems specialist, has had its market leading Easy Radio modules designed into a handheld device for marking competitors in sports such as swimming. Manufactured by MazingTree Design the Wireless JPAD (Judges Pad) System was originally developed for High Board Diving. The Amateur Swimming Association (GB) has now used the system for running all of their Diving events, from Club level right up to the top International level events in Britain. Recently the system was used at a the high profile GB Championships in Southampton where the system was used to Judge the Olympic Men's Gold Medallist, Tian Liang competing against Britain's own Bronze Medallist, Peter Waterfield and other International level Divers.

The Consumer guide to industrial pH and ORP measurement by David B. Mills ISBN 1-932095-09-8 (100 pages) The foreword by Greg McMillan states that this book " contains the information that users need to improve sensor selection and provides a framework for creating more realistic expectations for operation and maintenance of pH and ORP instruments." Further, this book "serves as a basis for users and suppliers to work together to create and publish meaningful performance specifications."

Exclusive two-part tester features single person remote or local continuity testing and wire/cable identification - Extech Instruments, a major supplier of test and measurement equipment for the industrial marketplace, announces its new CT20 Continuity Tester Pro. This extremely affordable test product features the unique capability for single person operation of wire and cable continuity checking and identification, eliminating the need for someone to be at both ends of the wires under test. The Continuity Tester Pro is the perfect tool for electricians, cable TV and audio systems installers, alarm technicians, HVAC installers, auto repair technicians, handymen and do-it-yourself homeowners.

Analyser to be launched for process control - Sionex Corporation, a company focused on commercialising breakthrough chemical and biological sensors and systems, is exhibiting new microAnalyzer product at the ISA Expo in Houston next week.
Designed for incorporation into OEM end-user products, the Sionex microAnalyzer combines Sionex's breakthrough patented microDMx technology with a miniaturized gas chromatographic module. The microAnalyzer will be available to OEMs for a wide variety of applications including: process control, air monitoring, building monitoring, fenceline monitoring, environmental monitoring and other situations requiring the detection and identification of trace chemicals.
More on this and other happenings at ISA EXPO 2006

Lightning-current and surge arrester has modular design - The new DEHNventil(r) M from Dehn is a range of combined lightning-current and surge arresters based on a modular concept for ease of installation. Designed for 'all in one' installation, combining protection against direct lightning impulses with protection against surges for terminal equipment in a single device, the new family is based on the DEHN patented RADAX-flow spark-gap technology, designed to provide maximum system availability and a high follow-current limitation.

Device description library enhanced - The Fieldbus Foundation (FF) today announced the availability of Device Description (DD) Library Version 3.1. This standardized source code library has been enhanced to make it even faster and easier for developers to build Device Descriptions (DDs) for new FF instrumentation.
More on this and other fieldbus news on our Fieldbus News Page

Packaging guidelines in action - OMAC Packaging Working Group (OPW) will highlight the business value of implementing their industry automation guidelines on packaging machinery at the upcoming PACK EXPO International being held in Chicago (US) from 29 October - 2 November 2006.

Temperature and process control - With its improved interface, technical functionality and field flexibility, the FUZYPRO 6100 gives you the best in comprehensive control for most temperature and process control loops. Full PID with Pre-tune, Self-tune, manual tuning, or On-Off control. Heat only or heat & cool. Selectable from front panel or via digital input, with bumpless transfer. Up to 3 possible, for control, alarm, 24VDC transmitter power supply or retransmit of process value or setpoint. Process high, process low, SP deviation, band, logical OR / AND. Also 1 loop alarm for process control security. Process alarms have adjustable hysteresis. 4 button operation, dual 4 digit 10mm & 8mm high LED displays, optional choice of colours (Red/Red, Red/Green, Green/Red or Green/Green), plus 5 LED indicators.

Numerical mathematics consortium updates open standard for algorithm development - The Numerical Mathematics Consortium has announced the latest revision to a technical specification introduced earlier this year that defines an open mathematics semantics standard for numerical algorithm development. This update includes newly ratified functions from classes that include polynomials and vector analysis. In addition to the new function definitions, the consortium resolved significant technical issues that simplify ratification of new functions."The Numerical Mathematics Consortium has made significant progress since introducing the original technical specification," said John Pasquarette, National Instruments Director of Software Marketing. "The new revision reflects the consortium's efforts to bridge theory to real-world applications as well as expand the opportunity for others to get involved. Recent efforts of the consortium provide a powerful framework for future development."

New web site for instrument hire - Ashtead Technology Rentals has announced the launch of a new web site www.ashtead-technology.com offering easy access to hundreds of instruments for environmental monitoring, remote visual inspection and non-destructive testing.

First, powerful, lab quality, handheld RF power meter - Keithley Instruments has released the Model 3500 Portable RF Power Meter, the first lab-quality, handheld RF power meter on the market. Designed to make RF power measurements in both field and R&D lab environments, the compact Model 3500 provides the accuracy of a benchtop RF power meter with the convenience of a portable instrument at half the cost of competing products. With its features and very attractive price, the Model 3500 truly redefines superior value. The Model 3500 is an important addition to Keithley's expanding family of RF test and measurement solutions, which also includes the Model 2910 Vector Signal Generator and Model 2810 Vector Signal Analyser.

Software package now available in Chinese and Japanese - GE Fanuc Automation has announced the availability of Proficy HMI/SCADA - iFIX 4.0 in Chinese and Japanese languages. iFIX is a premier industry solution for the comprehensive monitoring, control and distribution of plant-wide data. A key component of the Proficy automation software platform, iFIX 4.0 delivers enhanced functionality including improved third-party PLC integration, and both Developer and Operator productivity enhancements.
iFIX is now available in Chinese, Japanese, German, French, Polish, and Russian

Key account aanager, Central Europe appointed - Identco International,the worldwide vendor of advanced industrial identification materials and solutions, has expanded its European engagement. The newest member of Identco's European sales team is Gunter Enne. He was recently appointed Key Account Sales Manger, Central Europe.

Power quality analysers offer class 0.2 accuracy for revenue-grade applications - Carlo Gavazzi has introduced a range of three-phase power quality analysers offering the highest class of accuracy, available as either standalone instruments (model WM5 96) with a backlit liquid crystal display, or the PQT H transducer version. These new utility-grade analysers are powered by ARM RISC processors, which significantly speeds up signal processing and data communication compared with existing instruments. Both WM5 96 and PQT H are designed for demanding applications, coming with revenue grading and approval. They are also suitable for billing purposes thanks to their 0.2 accuracy class and compliance with standards including ANSI/IEEE C12.20-1998 and CAN3-C17-M84.

Enabling seamless integration of shipboard navigation systems - Real-Time Innovations (RTI), The Real Time Middleware Company, announced that Sperry Marine, a Northrop Grumman Company, has incorporated RTI Data Distribution Service into the development of a versatile and scalable Navigation Data Distribution System (NavDDS) that seamlessly interfaces a wide variety of electronic navigation sensors with shipboard systems and equipment requiring navigation information. The product was released and shipped to Sperry Marine's first customer in August 2006. The NavDDS solution can be configured to support anything from a simple half-duplex interface with a single sensor up to a large-scale system with dual- redundant servers running complex software that distributes time-critical data from multiple sensors. NavDDS can also disseminate navigation information via traditional transport mechanisms such as RS-422 and synchro and via Ethernet by leveraging RTI's real-time publish-subscribe messaging capabilities.

New product to control the speed of forklift trucks - Lamerholm Electronics has added to its range of ShockSwitch equipment for monitoring and controlling the safety of forklift trucks. The new ShockSwitch ImpactManager SL (Speed Limiter) system has been designed to stop speeding drivers by limiting the forklift travel speed, without affecting the hydraulic lifting power. Installation of this new device will result in improved site safety, decreased damage and lower fuel expenditure.

Powerful notification tools to meet customer needs - GE Fanuc has announced the availability of its second Productivity Pack for Proficy HMI/SCADA iFIX, Cimplicity and View customers. This release continues GE Fanuc's commitment to continue to deliver new tools, utilities, and add-ins for its HMI/SCADA products in the form of Productivity Packs available to its GlobalCare customers. "Today, customers need to be able to receive critical information regarding their systems at any time and anywhere," said Bernard Cubizolles, European Product Manager for the GE Fanuc Proficy Suite. "We have created Alarm & Event Express, an email notification tool for sending alarms to users based on the OPC A&E standard that works with our Cimplicity, iFIX, and View products as well as other OPC A&E compliant applications. We've also worked with Specter Instruments to validate and integrate support for Win911 in our iFIX product, allowing for alarms to be sent to paging devices and phones, similar to the Pager option that exists for Cimplicity."

New I/A Series Field Device Manager employs both Enhanced EDDL and FDT technologies to provide unmatched performance management for Foundation fieldbus devices - Invensys' recently introduced Field Device Manager for Foxboro I/A Series distributed control systems provides the industry's first solution that takes advantage of both the latest Enhanced Electronic Device Description Language (Enhanced EDDL) and FDT technologies. This combination provides comprehensive lifecycle support to configure, calibrate, commission, diagnose, and optimise the performance of any vendors' Foundation fieldbus device.

Future of the hard drive 'secure' - With all the developments in memory technology you could be forgiven for thinking that the lowly hard drive is dead. But it ain't! (BBC Report)

Legionella prevention In public buildings - ProMinent Fluid Controls has launched Legio Zon, a new chlorine dioxide generator aimed specifically at the prevention of legionella in smaller and mid-sized buildings such as hospitals, care homes, hotels or sports complexes. The new unit offers extremely low cost of ownership. With the ability to dose up to 5 g/h chlorine dioxide, Legio Zon can also be used in aerated/agitated water attractions, ventilation systems with wet gas scrubbers, cooling towers and any areas where water is sprayed.

New EMEA VP appointed by automation leader - Invensys Process Systems announced this week the appointment of Ken Fox as Vice President of Marketing for Europe, the Middle East and Africa and regional marketing worldwide following his successful role as Marketing Director of the same region.
"Ken's enormous experience in the Process and Control industry will be invaluable in helping Invensys Process Systems achieve its ambitious growth plans in the EMEA region" said Patrick Buffet, President of Invensys Process Systems EMEA.

Innovation and Design Awards presented - Triteq has been named as the winner of two Innovation and Design Excellence Awards (iDEA). The awards, in their inaugural year and organised by Cranfield School of Management, Eureka and New Electronics, were made in London (GB). The first award was won for design collaboration and the second named Triteq as the Most Innovative Small Company.
Following the awards ceremony Steve Lane, Triteq commercial director commented, "I am honoured to receive these awards on behalf of everyone at Triteq, they are testament to the whole team's enthusiasm and dedication. Recognition within the design engineering community is also very positive."

Low cost LCR bridge has binning capability - TTi (Thurlby Thandar Instruments) has introduced a new version of the LCR400 low-cost precision LCR bridge incorporating a full limits comparator designed for binning applications on electronics production lines. Up to eight pass bins and two fail bins can be defined, and binning can be used to sort different tolerances of the same value or multiple different values. A numeric keyboard allows rapid setting up of binning values. Non-volatile memory is provided for the storage of up to nine complete instrument set-ups.

A new multimarket and multiapplication fiber optic signal conditioner - FISO Technologies, leading manufacturer of high-quality fiber optic sensors and measurement systems for challenging and demanding applications, has introduced the FPI-HR-OEM signal conditioner. This new multiparameter signal conditioner includes significant technical improvements compared to the previous generation in a smaller and easier to integrate package. Designed to measure two parameters simultaneously (temperature, pressure, strain, displacement, and refractive index), the FPI-HR-OEM is intended for OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturers) applications in markets such as medical, scientific, industrial, energy, and oil & gas.

Open and layered approach extended to include the adoption of OPC unified architecture - GE Fanuc has announced that it is building its next generation of Proficy solutions based on the new OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) standards, just released by the OPC Foundation. The announcement was made at the ARC Advisory Group’s 14th Annual Forum "Driving Enterprise Performance Through Next Generation Manufacturing Concepts." "This effort is an extension of the Open and Layered approach that we have been using for years with our Proficy software," said Pete Sage, GE Fanuc Chief Software Architect. "GE Fanuc is committed to supporting standards as a key element of its product development strategy and OPC helps us with that."

Fieldbus device coupler works in hazardous areas - MooreHawke, a division of Moore Industries-International announces TG300 Trunkguard Fieldbus Device Couplers for applications in hazardous areas. The TG300 Trunkguard Device Couplers make connecting Foundation Fieldbus H1 or ProfiBus PA fieldbus devices in Zone 1 and 2 hazardous locations easy and inexpensive compared to traditional methods. The TG300 Trunkguard allows "live" access for maintenance without de-powering the segment and eliminates the need for expensive Exd/Flameproof junction boxes.

Global alliance agreement for control, measurement and data recording solutions and services - Pilkington, one of the world's largest manufacturers of glass and glazing products for the building and automotive markets, has signed a Global Alliance agreement with Eurotherm Limited. The glass manufacturer will now standardise internationally wherever possible on "hot end" control solutions based on Eurotherm's EurothermSuite family of distributed control and information systems, with its associated instrumentation.

In-situ oxygen sensors to improve catalyst regeneration efficiency at Total in Belgium - Rosemount Analytical Oxymitters from Emerson Process Management have replaced the previous sample extraction-based oxygen measurement system used on the catalyst regeneration unit at Total Raffinaderij Antwerpen, Belgium. The more reliable readings from the Oxymitter have improved continuous catalyst regenerator (CCR) performance, helped the plant increase safety, and reduced the maintenance time and effort that needs to be allocated for critical catalytic reformer refinery operations.
The Total refinery in Antwerp is the second largest refinery in Europe, at 360,000 bpd, fed by pipeline from supertankers unloading at Rotterdam. Catalytic reformers are used to improve the octane rating of the gasoline fractions produced. Carbon is deposited on the catalyst during this process, so a portion of the catalyst is continuously extracted and routed to the CCR where the carbon is removed by burning it away in an oxidising atmosphere.

Emerson Users Exchange 2/10/2006 to 6/10/2006 Nashville (US) Walt Boyes at Emerson User's Exchange! - 2nd to 4th October 2006 Monday's Report Tuesday's Report Wednesday's Report Thursday, Friday and Saturday: largely taken up with workshops and short courses. See Pinto on Emerson's Wireless Breakthrough and also Emerson launches Wireless hardware and software solution in Automation.Com From Emerson US Website Emerson launches in-plant Smart Wireless solutions Introduction of Wireless SmartPack Starter Kit These products were launched in the US in October 2006. Launches in other territories will take place later this year (South America) and in 2007. The Signpost will cover the European launch in January 2007.

Wireless energy monitoring system sids compliance to building regulations and saves energy costs - Available now from The PowerSupplyShop.Co.UK is the EMS Energy Management System. EMS is a combined hardware and software package for automated monitoring of energy costs. The system is for use by industrial engineers and premises managers to sub-meter and monitor the cost of on-site utilities such as electricity, gas, water, steam etc. In addition real time monitoring of processes such as, factory equipment, ovens, boilers may also be carried out to maximise efficient energy use. EMS can be simply installed employing existing LAN or WAN networks or by using a secure wireless system. Monitoring may be carried out on users network servers, a laptop PC or via the Internet, ensuring wasteful energy practices may be quickly identified and made more efficient.

Upgrades to true Ethernet converter - Contemporary Controls offers true Ethernet media converters that have been upgraded at a reduced cost to their customers. "The EIMC family takes advantage of new components allowing the company to achieve better cost factors, an enhanced manufacturing technique to minimize production time, and automated testing to provide reliable products at less cost to our customers," explains Joe Stasiek, Sales Manager.

Preview for new tester for conducted and radiated immunity - Schaffner is to preview the new NSG 4070 multi-functional test system for Conducted and Radiated Immunity testing at the EMC UK exhibition, Newbury (GB) on October 17 & 18. The NSG 4070 is an advanced combination of signal generator and compact immunity test system in one compact unit. The integrated signal generator has a wide frequency range from 9KHz to 1GHz available from its 75W internal amplifier. For maximum flexibility additional external amplifiers may be connected to cover a wide range of applications including tests to IEC 61000-4-6, many BCI applications and using the internal four channel power meter, tests to IEC 61000-4-3, IEC 61000-4-2 and IEC 61000-4-21.

Global purchasing agreement - Magnetrol International and Dow Chemicals have decided to seal their co-operation of many years by entering into a two-year global purchasing agreement for liquid level measurement and detection instrumentation.
Magnetrol manufactures made to measure instruments, and offers solutions in extreme process conditions and environments. With success, tests have been conducted within Dow for level measurement in steam drums up to 124 bar @ 327degC. With the co-operation of Dow, Magnetrol was the first supplier of electronic field instrumentation to receive a Stoomwezen type approval in 2000 for use on steam drums.

Low cost hand-held thermometer device measures temperatures from ­35degC up to 900degC A hand-held, infra-red temperature measurement device has been developed that enables engineers to measure the surface temperature of objects down to 1mm in size and is available from Impress Sensors and Systems. The unit is accurate to ±0.75% and so provides plant engineers, maintenance technicians and field and service engineers with an attractive lower cost alternative to using thermal cameras. The optical resolution of the LaserSight' device is 75:1, therefore users can measure smaller targets that are further away. Most competing products on the market only use an 8:1 ratio.

Networking communicationfor drive - The new generation of Technosoft ISM4803 Universal Drive can control several axes in a master-slave structure, through its integrated CAN bus (operating at speeds of up to 1Mb/s). Based on the MotionChipTM DSP Control Technology, the drive covers all applications for AC, DC brushless, DC brush, linear and step motors up to 150 W (48 V, 3 A). Manufactured of ROHS compliant materials, ISM4803 is designed to embed motion control, drive and PLC functionalities in a single open frame unit (size: 64 x 104 x 16 mm, card format).

New training centre - One year after Newson Gale won The Queen's Award it celebrated with the opening of its new training centre (GB). It was opened by Stephen Brice, Secretary to the Queen's Award Office and David Moore, Secretary to the Prime Minister's Advisory Committee.
Newson Gale Ltd supply 'CENELECTREX' electrostatic grounding systems to prevent explosions and fires in the chemical and process industries. It began trading in 1989 and won The Queens Award for increasing its overseas earnings by 70% in three years.

Coriolis flowmeters for cryogenic custody transfer with better than 0.5% accuracy - Emerson Process Management announces that Micro Motion meters have been certified by the Nederlands Meetinstituut (NMi), and approved for custody transfer measurement of cryogenic fluids, such as Liquid Natural Gas (LNG). The cryogenic measurement accuracy of better than 0.5% certified by NMi far exceeds the maximum permissible error of 1.5% for cryogenic applications. This level of accuracy is achieved by sophisticated, patent-pending algorithms and advanced meter design that mitigate the dynamic relationships between super-cold process fluids, highly sensitive measurement technologies, and carefully-selected materials of construction.

A GUIDE TO THE AUTOMATION BODY OF KNOWLEDGE 2nd Edition ISBN: 978-1-55617-984-6 Vernon L. Trevathan, Editor A Guide to the Automation Body of Knowledge, 2nd Edition, has contributions from over thirty-five leading experts from all aspects of automation, this book defines the most important automation concepts and processes, while also describing the technical skills professionals require to implement them in today's industrial environment.

"ABCs of Diagnostics" - Troubleshooting network problems can lead to much confusion for even support professionals. These network problems can be the result of various issues, from disruptions in service to configuration problems. That's why Contemporary Controls has published a document called the ""ABCs of Diagnostics" (pdf) to help answer some of our customers puzzling questions. "The ABCs of Diagnostics will make our customers more aware that our Ethernet managed switches (the EICP_M, EISX_M and EISB_M) are designed with features that can help them monitor the state of their network as well as diagnose network problems," explains Bennet Levine, R&D Manager. "These features include SNMP, Port Monitoring, and Port Mirroring."

Lubricating machines in extreme environments - Control Lubrication, a Yorkshire-based system integrator specialising in lubrication systems for machinery in heavy duty industries, is using AS-I (Actuator Sensor Interface) to network proximity switches, zone valves, pressure switches, flow monitors and mobile plug-in reset push buttons in some of the toughest environments you could imagine. An impressive example of Control Lubrication's use of AS-I in extreme environments can be found at Lafarge Cement, Northfleet, Kent (GB). In this particular application three separate mills undergo the process of washing chalk for cement production creating working conditions that at best can be described as constantly damp.
Full story downloadable from here

Headlines from Tuesday's activities at global users conference! - Walt Boyes is reporting on the Emerson Global Users Exchange in Control Global News:
- Conference Is Also a Really Big Show
- Emerson, Friends Help Gulf Customers Recover from Hurricanes
- The Whole Loop and Nothing But the Loop

Cost effective temperature nonitoring - 0n the move - A new range of temperature strip-chart recorders is now available in Britain from Lamerholm Electronics. Developed and designed by Global Sensors, these new recorders generate a permanent strip-chart record of temperature conditions during storage or transportation of temperature sensitive products. A permanent strip-chart record of temperature conditions is generated during storage or transportation of temperature sensitive products. They are particularly suited to the food and dairy, pharmaceutical and chemical industries.

Dynamic digital mockup analysis - Kineo C.A.M. announces that Skoda Auto has selected Kineo Path Planner , their standalone dynamic collision checking solution, whose ability to automatically find and generate mounting and dismounting trajectories has proved to ideally complement Skoda's existing DMU Analysis Methods and Processes. This new methodology will enable SKODA AUTO's engineering teams to benefit from long-term cost savings and efficiencies by ensuring that such aspects as Serviceability and Manufacturability are analyzed earlier and verified at each and every step of the virtual vehicle development.

Measuring devices now manufactured in China - A new Endress+Hauser production site has begun manufacturing in China. The Group's newest site will manufacture level, pressure, temperature and analytical measuring devices at Suzhou, approximately 100 kilometers west of Shanghai. The company has invested almost 7 million euros in the site, buildings and machinery. "This will allow us to serve our customers in China and throughout Asia even faster, better and more flexibly," explains Klaus Endress, CEO of the Endress+Hauser Group. "That way, we can guarantee our further expansion and at the same time strengthen our established production sites in Western Europe."
At the same time, production centres in Germany, France and Switzerland are being continuously extended.

Headlines from Monday's activities at global users conference! - Walt Boyes is reporting on the Emerson Global Users Exchange in Control Global News:
- Emerson Announces the Start of Wireless Made Easy
- Berra Relates Company Vision to Emerson Users
- Pursuit of Significance Will Unleash Next Generation's Potential
- Former Temple-Inland Chief Outlines Challenges to Industry

Precision digital multimeters deliver performance, accuracy and usability - Fluke Europe, the European sales and service organization of Fluke Corporation, announces the new Fluke 8845A and 8846A Precision Digital Multimeters, featuring 6.5 digit resolution, dual display that shows data in graphic or numeric formats and multifunction measurement capability. These high-accuracy meters are designed to provide industry-leading value for bench or systems applications including manufacturing test, research and development, and service. The Fluke 8845A and 8846A have 14 measurement functions, extending the capability of a standard DMM with wider ranges and features to easily measure temperature, capacitance, period and frequency. The 2 x 4 ohms function uses patented split terminal jacks that allow users to perform 4-wire measurements using only two leads instead of four. The meters deliver best-in-class analog performance, measuring volts dc with an accuracy of up to 0.0024 %, have a voltage range of 100 mV to 1000 V with up to 100 nV resolution, current range of 100 mA to 10 A with up to 100 pA resolution, and have a wide ohms measurement range from 10 ohms to 1 giga-ohm with up to 10 micro-ohms resolution.
Fluke are marketed in Ireland by IPP- Irish Power And Process

European distribution network - Abacus Group today unveiled an integrated European component distribution operation focussed on delivering exceptional design in and technical support to the full spectrum of customers through a Europe-wide network of over 42 local offices and five warehouses. The Group also announced its strategy for its specialist distribution, own-brand component, and value-add businesses. The announcement marks the completion of the integration process of the Deltron and Axess businesses that Abacus acquired earlier this year, making it Europe's fifth largest electronic component distribution organisation. The acquisitions also moved the Group into the top five in UK, France and Italy and brought it a Component Distribution operation in Germany, as well as in Austria and Benelux.

Safety instrumented system certified for shipboard use - Yokogawa Electric Corporation tells us that its ProSafe-RS safety instrumented system has received type approval from certification organisations in the United States, France and the United Kingdom for use on floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessels, liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers and similar applications.

Online operator training with vocal instructor narrations - Emerson Process Management is now offering a comprehensive DeltaV Operator Training Course using eLearning online training. The new operator training course provides in-depth information on the DeltaV system, operator user interface, alarms, trending and module operation. This programme is a cost effective alternative to traditional classroom training, as it eliminates the need for costly travel and lodging. This online course is intended for operators, supervisors and managers responsible for the operation of continuous processes using the DeltaV system. Progress reports to management are offered throughout the course.

New shrouds offer versatility - Harting has introduced a total of 40 new shrouds for its range of DIN 41 612 connectors, enhancing the versatility of the range by offering a range of assembly options. With the new range, users can decide whether they wish to fix the shroud in the usual way with the help of the pre-assembled nuts, or whether the shroud can be assembled onto the connector by a press-in process.

Fluorescence spectrophotometer demonstrates high sensitivity and scanning speed - The new Hitachi F-7000 Fluorescence Spectrophotometer is now available in Britain from Lambda Advanced Technology. Designed to provide unparalleled performance, this new generation spectrophotometer demonstrates both ultra-high sensitivity and high speed scanning. It is ideal for use in a wide range of fluorescence applications in the pharmaceutical, industrial, environmental and biotechnology industries.