30/4/2007

New lens specialist appointed - Industrial lens specialist, Nigel Paine, has joined Firstsight Vision from Pentax UK. Nigel has a high profile in the UK CCTV, industrial lens and machine vision markets and has established an enviable reputation for providing excellent support to British customers. His achievements include achieving record levels of sales and profit while at Pentax. His new role at Firstsight Vision will enable him to extend he ability to advise both existing and new customers offering Pentax lenses, together with other brands from Firstsight's comprehensive stock of over €3 million Euros.

A new generation of shock and vibration monitor - Lamerholm Electronics is pleased to announce the launch of the new RD398 ShockLog Recorder. This enhanced tri-axial shock, vibration and environmental recorder is the latest addition to the ShockLog range of equipment monitoring solutions from Lamerholm and has been designed for advanced research into environmental events that occur while transporting fragile and sensitive goods. Data gathered from the RD398 can be used to establish the optimum modes and routes of transport as well as for assisting in the initial packaging design stages.

New low-profile accelerometer - The new low profile accelerometers from Kistler have been developed for use in harsh, dirty or wet environments where space is at a premium but high temperature stability is essential. Mounting is by a single, central hole with a side-mounted connector to allow 360° cable orientation. The new accelerometer is ideal for a wide range of product testing applications including product qualification/acceptance testing and structural/vibroacoustic and shock testing for lightweight structures.

Five-pole M12 connector uses easy-assembly IDC technique - Harting has introduced a 5-pole M12 connector which uses the company's HARAX® easy-assembly IDC technique. The new HARAX® M12-L 5-pole device has been designed to meet growing industry requirements for sensor applications where five connections are involved. It is also compatible with industrial bus systems including the thin-cable DeviceNet and the Safety Bus P.

Improving process units and plant operations - ExperTune has announced ProcessApex™, providing real-time advice for process unit operations, based on the expert advice of Greg Shinskey and others. This system builds on the success of their PlantTriage system, delivering specific diagnostics, advice, and improvement suggestions for process unit operations. Further, it allows direct benchmark comparisons between unit operations across an entire company. This data drives daily decisions to improve plant operations, as well as high-level decisions such as capital spending, at the corporate level.
"Plants are awash in real-time data. With this, we automatically provide context to real-time data, and combine it with embedded engineering expertise. The result is some very concentrated, very powerful information. Each unit operation becomes a 'smart'’ unit operation, capable of self-diagnosis and self-improvement." says John Gerry, President and Founder of ExperTune.

Joint validation management application for Life Sciences sector - Invensys Process Systems and Centric Software has announced the availability of an application that co-ordinates the management of the regulated validation process in the medical device, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical industries. In partnership with Centric Software, Invensys Validation Technologies developed the validation application on Centric's industry-leading Product IntelligenceT software. This application enables life science companies to automate the documentation of validation processes to help reduce the time required to obtain FDA validation for new process plants. The critical validation process documents all evidence that a system is performing according to exact specifications and that all related equipment is implemented and tested correctly.

Enhanced version of network-based control system released - Yokogawa Electric Corporation has released an enhanced version of the STARDOM network-based control system with new features including CSA explosion protection certification. STARDOM has already been certified as meeting the FM standard in the United States and the Type 'n' explosion protection standard in Europe. This latest version has been certified to comply with Canada's CSA standard. Yokogawa will use this opportunity to strengthen its sales efforts targeting oil upstream processes in North America.

Low-cost halogen-free cable and cable gland product ranges - Cable solutions provider, Lapp Ltd, announces the joint launch of its ÖLFLEX® 130H control cable family and its SKINTOP® ST-HF-M easy to assemble cable gland range. Both are low-cost, totally halogen-free products designed to be used together in a variety of applications where human and animal life as well as valuable property are potentially exposed to high risk of fire hazards. These include public facilities, airports, train stations and hospitals.

A simple low-cost method of vibration monitoring - The VibeTracker from Environmental Equipments is a small, low cost device that can be attached to virtually any piece of equipment from compressors, turbines, fans and motors to cars, trucks, coaches and boats to provide an alarm when a preset vibration level is exceeded and a complete record of vibration levels stored on the internal EPROM memory.

Engineer's choice - National Instruments has announced that Control Engineering magazine awarded NI LabVIEW 8.20 a 2006 Engineers' Choice Award, calling the graphical development platform one of the most significant innovations of 2006. Control Engineering subscribers were asked to select winners based on three criteria ­ service to the industry, technological advancement and market impact.

Plug-in and DIN-rail versions of drives - Based on the MotionChipTM technology, Technosoft's ISCM4805 / ISCM8005 Intelligent Servo Control Modules combine motion controller, drive and PLC functionality in a single compact unit. They are flexible solutions, particularly adapted for distributed and coordinated control of brushless, DC, linear or step motors up to 240W, 80V. Configurations include two mounting styles: the ISCM4805 / ISCM8005 plug-ins for direct mounting on printed circuit boards (PCB) and ISCM4805 DIN for attaching to a standard DIN-rail using incorporated DIN-rail clips.

Super-efficiant, all stainless steel AC motors offer optimum solutions for washdown and corrosive manufacturing environments - In a move likely to prove popular with equipment manufacturers serving European and allied markets, Baldor has added IEC-frame models to its range of all-stainless-steel washdown-duty AC motors. Offering exceptional energy efficiency, combined with special construction features that assure users of extended life and reliability, the unique new SSE motors are ideal for applications involving exposure to caustic chemicals.

To a successful show! - "Look, I hesitate to write the words because if you believe everything you read, every event is a great success..." gushes the enthusiatic release to mark the report of Britain's WWEM 2006. It goes on "but, WWEM 2006 really was. A meaty Conference, Workshops on almost every monitoring issue, over 100 exhibitors and loads of visitors. No mean feat in today's business climate." The organisers are determined to make WWEM 2008 even better and work has started already. The venue and dates have been set; WWEM 2008 will take place at the Telford International Centre in the UK on 5th and 6th November 2008. Fuller details will be listed on the Website in due course.

LIN Bus analysis added to digital oscilloscope - An analysis function for the LIN Bus, widely used as an in-vehicle LAN protocol for automotive applications, has been added to the large set of serial bus analysis functions available on the Yokogawa SignalXplorer DL9000 Series of digital oscilloscopes. As with the existing CAN bus analysis function, the oscilloscope displays the analysis results as waveforms, at high real-time speeds.

System is hot! Hot! - Moore Industries has been continuously running its NET Concentrator System® (NCS) data acquisition system at temperatures hovering around the boiling point of water for more than two years in an environmental chamber, just to prove a point. Fred Adt, director of quality assurance at Moore tells us that conventional testing and life-test procedures are not enough when products are intended for use in severe operating conditions, such as in the Middle East. The NCS is intended for use as a remote control and data acquisition system in unheated and un-air conditioned enclosures, so it has to endure wide temperature extremes.

Contractor appointed - The AMP NetConnect Business Unit of Tyco Electronics has appointed LightAge Communications Ltd. of Mid Glamorgan (Wales) as an authorised NetConnect Design & Installation (ND&I) Contractor in Britain.
Appointment as an ND&I Contractor means that the company is authorised to install their open cabling systems in compliance with ANSI/TIA/EIA 568-A and IEC/ISO 11801 as well as to the rigorous AMP NETCONNECT brand quality standards.

Product of the year! GE Fanuc Automation has just learned that its premier Production Management solution, Proficy™ Plant Applications 4.3, has been awarded the prestigious Product of the Year award from Plant Engineering magazine. This product focuses on Efficiency, Quality, Production Execution, Genealogy and Batch Analysis to enable visibility across process, discrete and hybrid environments. With Proficy Plant Applications, companies can gain clear insight into their operations to efficiently manage to peak performance.

Mass storage module supports drives - Concurrent Technologies has announced an AdvancedMC™ (AMC) mass storage module supporting either two 2.5" Serial ATA hard disk drives (HDD) or two CompactFlash™ drives - Raid 0 and Raid 1 support is also available. The AM 600/20x is designed to add user definable mass storage drives into a double-width full-size or mid-size AMC slot in a system, e.g. MicroTCA™, where functionality, power, space and cost are key elements. The AM 600/20x AMC form factor is compatible with the open-standards AdvancedTCA® and MicroTCA system architectures. Applications include telecommunications, defence, aerospace and medical markets. 

Magnetostrictive accuracy to the drop! - The new Jupiter® 200 from Magnetrol is the safest magnetostrictive liquid level transmitter on the market today. With a SFF of > 90%, the unit is suitable for SIL 2 instrumented loops as a 1oo1 device and exceeds the rating of any other equivalent device. Jupiter is a highly accurate (0,4mm) transmitter with repeatable measurement (0,13mm) over a measuring range of 5,7m. It is a loop-powered level transmitter and simultaneously measures top and liquid-liquid interface levels. The end user can easily select which primary variable should control the loop signal via the Eclipse® look alike menu. The use of a Moore HIM® loop card enables both top and liquid-liquid interface levels to be available as an analog output.

Optimising software development and enhancing customer support - Thermo Fisher Scientific has announced it has chosen the BMC AppSight Application Problem Resolution System to provide the highest level of support for customers using its Thermo Scientific LIMS and CDS, as well as to optimize the development of those laboratory software solutions.
With thousands of Thermo Scientific laboratory information management systems (LIMS) and chromatography data systems (CDS) licenses sold to date, Thermo Fisher is committed to delivering outstanding service to its worldwide customer base. BMC AppSight leverages patented technology that will be used to record LIMS and CDS activity in the customer environment and capture a log of user actions, systems events and more to determine "quickly" the root cause of any unexpected application behavior. This speeds triage for customer support personnel and enables timely resolution for the customer.

Workshop programme announced - The highly regarded Instrumentation South exhibition from Trident Exhibitions is taking place again in Reading (GB) on October 3rd & 4th 2007. This year's event will have the added bonus of a separate co-located event entitled Displays Technology South 2007. The National Physical Laboratory (NPL), Sensors KTN and PERA who will all be contributing to the supporting Workshop Programme. This programme promises to add significant value for all visitors to the event.

Gas metering that you can trust - Krohne presented the new generation of ultrasonic gas flowmeters for custody transfer applications at this year's Interkama+. The ALTOSONIC V12 sets new standards for accuracy and cost efficiency. The flowmeter has twelve measurement chords of which two are reserved exclusively for diagnostic functions. Once in operation, the ALTOSONIC V12 continuously monitors its own operating status. The layout of the chords on each of the five parallel levels compensates for any turbulence and therefore guarantees reliable measurement results even with turbulent flow profiles. The diagnostic functions reliably detect any deposits, dirt or changes in surface roughness and thus reduce maintenance to the absolute minimum.

New distributor in Slovakia - Meech International has announced the appointment of Kasi s.r.o. as its new distributor in Slovakia. Based in Bratislava, the company will be responsible for the sales of Meech's market-leading static control systems throughout the printing industry and related industries.

New wireless products enhance building automation range - Carlo Gavazzi has introduced a room temperature controller, wireless light switch and wireless base station to its Smart Building range for automation and management of domestic, industrial and commercial applications.

New website unveiled - Britain's longest established switch manufacturer, Lorlin Electronics, announces the launch of it’s new website. In response to the growing need for fast access to technical and commercial information the new website offers unrestricted open access to full product technical information, direct sales enquiries, franchised distributors throughout the world and latest company and product news. A full search facility has been provided to find products by either function or application.

Food Automation and Manufacturing Conference and Expo Addresses Plant Technology and Automation - Food Engineering's Food Automation and Manufacturing Conference and Expo, held earlier this month through in Orlando, (FL US), attracted 200 participants from across the US. They included many large and small food and beverage companies and their technology and services providers. Over fifty process equipment, automation, and service suppliers sponsored the conference, exhibiting and participating in this annual three day event. (ARC Report)

Sell More Through Effective Technical Presentations: A Pocket Guide(Paul Gruhn, P.E., C.F.S.E; Published by ISA) provides helpful tips and real-life examples on how to give effective technical presentations from a sales perspective. It will help you become a more competent speaker and let you face a crowd with confidence.

"The best of Ethernet, PoE and fieldbus technology - SIXNET's latest technical innovation is the Etherbus® line of industrial PoE (Power over Ethernet) products. Etherbus® combines the best of Ethernet, PoE and Fieldbus technology into a powerful series of Ethernet switches, power injectors and splitters, power supplies, Kevlar-rugged cabling and IP67 connectors.
At the heart of Etherbus® are standard Ethernet (802.3) and PoE (802.3af) making it truly open. Etherbus® is "Every bus" because it passes any and all Ethernet message packets regardless of origin or protocol. Etherbus works with Modbus/TCP, Profinet, and Ethernet/IP... (the list is endless). Etherbus® works with PoE devices as well as non-PoE devices. It can even deliver standard +24 VDC to your field mounted devices - even non-Ethernet devices.

Automotive grade relay driver IC integrates power-supply and watchdog functions - The new A2550 from Allegro MicroSystems Europe is an automotive grade relay driver IC which incorporates a 5 V voltage regulator, watchdog and reset circuitry, and three low-side DMOS relay driver outputs, providing robust performance over extended voltage and temperature ranges.

Where industry and technology come together - Matrikon Summit 2007 is the technology conference for industry executives, process control engineers and other professionals. Come see the latest in process data technology for industries including petrochemical, pulp and paper, mining, oil and gas, and power and learn how it will transform your business. Through presentations, case studies, panel discussions, demonstrations and networking events, you'll be immersed in new ideas for making a step change in operational and business excellence.

"Intake Protection System is Simply Better!" - Severn Trent Water was one of the first utility companies to try YSI's new multiparameter Intake Protection System, the 'HydroSAM', and works manager Natalie Horton says "The performance of the new water quality monitor has been absolutely brilliant." The HydroSAM employed by Severn Trent Water upstream of the Shelton WTW near Shrewsbury monitors pH, temperature, conductivity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen and ammonia. However, it would be possible to add other sensors such as those for chlorophyll and blue/green algae.

Innovative sensor measures lower temperatures with more accuracy regardless of emissivity - Raytek, a leading worldwide provider of infrared thermometry, has introduced the Marathon MM 3M infrared (IR) sensor. It measures low-to-medium temperatures with more accuracy regardless of changing emissivity. This innovative sensor was specifically designed to meet temperature measurement challenges in the metals processing industry.

Keynote speaker announced for major Pharmaceutical conference - The eyes and ears of Irelands Pharmaceutical Industry will be trained on the Cork's Radisson Hotel this September when Charles Leadbeater, one of the World leading authorities on innovative and creative thinking address delegates at the first Pharmatex Conference on "The Impact of Asian Innovation on the European Pharma Sector". Charles Leadbeater is the leading authority on innovation and creativity. He has advised companies, cities and governments around the world on his strategy and drawn on that experience in writing his latest book, which deals with the power of mass creativity.

FSM certification for safety instrumented system engineering operations awarded - Yokogawa Electric Corporation and its subsidiary Yokogawa India Ltd. announce that their safety instrumented system engineering operations have obtained Functional Safety Management (FSM) certification from TÜV Rheinland, the German certification body.

Full range of Coriolis high temp flowmeters now available - Emerson's new Micro Motion high temperature F-Series sensors deliver performance and drainability where resistance to high temperatures is required Completing its family of high temperature Coriolis flowmeters, Emerson Process Management has introduced the Micro Motion F-Series range of high temperature products. The Models F025, F050 and F100, are now available in Stainless Steel or Hastelloy, all rated to 350° C for best-in-class measurement in a compact, drainable style. Together with the highly-acclaimed ELITE™ high temperature meters, the new F-Series high temperature meters complete the range of line sizes from Micro Motion for high temperature applications, offering 6mm to 100mm (1/4" to 4") in 316L Stainless Steel or Hastelloy C-22 (available in all sizes up to 80mm/3" size). The electronics for both meter lines are attached at the end of a flexible conduit and away from the heat of the sensor. This means that customers are able to choose any transmitter option for integral transmitter mounting.

New recommended practice for HMI task analysis - ISA announced recently that ISA-RP77.60.05, "Fossil Fuel Power Plant Human-Machine Interface: Task Analysis," has been approved as an ISA recommended practice. The document provides guidance and suggests an approach for conducting a task analysis as part of the design and development of new control rooms/systems for power plants and for supporting major control room upgrade programs. Task analysis data, when collected early, is beneficial throughout the design process and serves to identify instrumentation needs, assist in evaluating design options, and in validating completed designs for human-machine interface concerns.

Major Scottish water order placed - ProMininet Fluid Controls' wholly-owned subsidiary, Proshield, based in Motherwell Scotland, has been awarded an order for £750.000 from GMJV for monosodium phosphate dosing packages for lead removal in water distribution pipes. GMJV is a part of Scottish Water Solutions (SWS) Ltd and SWS was formed by Scottish Water to manage and deliver some 70% of its Quality & Standards 11 (Q&S11) capital investment programme.

The vision thing!! - The UKIVA (UK Industrial Vision Association) has just celebrated its 15th anniversary. It was established on 18th March 1992 as a not-for profit trade organization whose prime objective was to promote the use of imaging in industry. Over the years it has expanded its remit a number of times to reflect the dynamics of the imaging world and now includes applications of imaging in science. Members include vision component suppliers, 'full system' suppliers, or system integrators, consultancy services and academic research groups.

Physicists purchase materials testing machine in support of pioneering particle physics experiments - The Particle Physics Group at Liverpool University (GB) has purchased an LRXPlus single column materials testing machine from Lloyd Instruments, which will be used to help characterise the carbon-fibre support frames for detectors used for state-of-the-art particle physics experiments. The LRXPlus is a 5 kN (1125 lbf) instrument and has been supplied with NEXYGENPlus materials test and control software and 3-point bend test jig.
The Group continues to focus on the development and construction of high precision tracking detectors for recording the position of charged particles in two of the four experiments currently being constructed for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, Geneva, Switzerland. The LHC is a particle accelerator, which will probe deeper into matter than ever before and is expected to be operational towards the end of 2007.

Agreement to end "Fieldbus War II!" - The EDDL Cooperation Team (ECT) and the FDT Group have just announced (17/4/2007) that they have reached agreement to combine efforts and work toward a unified solution for device integration that is compatible with both technologies. This would satisfy one of the most frequent customer requests. The representatives of the FDT Group and ECT have seized this historic opportunity for cooperation and will develop a common technology to benefit both users and manufacturers.
FDT, EDDL unite for device integration
The Fieldbus Foundation at a press briefing at Interkama+ praised this agreement to combine efforts and work towards a single, unified solution for device integration compatible with both technologies.
More on this on our Fieldbus News Page

New member on Fieldbus board - In another announcement at Interkama Fieldbus Foundation, announced that Dr. Gunther Kegel, chief executive officer of Pepperl+Fuchs, Mannheim, (D), has been named to its board of directors. Dr. Kegel joins other leading executives in the key automation industry post.

Microplate reader announced for fluorescence spectrophotometer - Lambda Advanced Technology has announced a new microplate reader accessory for the Hitachi F-7000 Fluorescence Spectrophotometer. Designed for use with commercially available 96-well microplates, the new accessory allows comprehensive measurements from each well, including emission and excitation wavelength scans, photometry and time scan. Kinetics measurements can be made simultaneously from all 96 wells in just 60 seconds.

New website on EDDL launched - ISA's Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL) standards committee, ISA-SP104, has launched a new website, www.eddl.org, that gives information about the standard and offers resources for learning more about EDDL technology.

New technology establishes wireless communication standard for process industry applications - The HART Communication Foundation (HCF) announces the completion of draft specifications for WirelessHART™ Communication and their release to HCF member companies for review and approval. WirelessHART is the first open and interoperable wireless communication standard designed to address the critical needs of the process industry for reliable, robust and secure wireless communication in real world industrial plant applications.
More on this on our Fieldbus News Page

Support for new platform - National Instruments (NI) has announced the availability of a new version of LabVIEW, the graphical design platform for test, control and embedded system development, for use with Windows Vista. LabVIEW 8.2.1 includes both the desktop development environment as well as related application software including the LabVIEW Real-Time and LabVIEW FPGA modules. They have also released new 32-bit and 64-bit hardware drivers with support for the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Vista. For the first time, NI is offering PXI embedded controllers with Windows Vista pre-installed as the default operating system.

Benefits of PMBus™ digital power management - Emerson Network Power and Intel Corporation are jointly promoting the benefits of the PMBus™ digital power management standard at the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing, where Intel is hosting a live public demonstration of a rack of servers configured with PMBus™ compliant ac-dc power supplies from Emerson Network Power.

Supervisory control for wind farm network - Emerson Process Management announced today that it has been awarded a contract by npower renewables, one of Britain's leading renewable energy companies, to provide a wide area data gathering system to connect 19 active wind farms to its corporate headquarters, operations centre, and regional centres, all in various locations. The wide area data gathering solution will utilise Emerson's Bristol® OpenEnterprise software and will provide process efficiency with access to real-time operational data and historical information for all of the turbines throughout the network. The npower operations personnel and asset management and corporate users will all be connected through this wide area network.

Red herring reachs Summit! - Red Herring has announced that Summit Microelectronics is a finalist for the "Red Herring 100 North America" award, a selection of the 100 private companies based in North America that play a leading role in innovation and technology. The Red Herring editorial board diligently surveyed the entrepreneurial scene throughout the North American region and identified the top 200 out of more than 800 closely evaluated companies that are leading the next wave of innovation.
Red Herring is a media company whose mission is to cover innovation, technology, financing and entrepreneurial activity. "Its staff of award-winning journalists tell readers what's first, what matters and most importantly, why."

Remote configuration PLCs - IntelliCom has announced the NetBiter® Serial Server that provides remote configuration of Siemens S7 PLC's over Ethernet, LANs or the Internet. The gateway makes a transparent connection between standard Siemens Step 7 Windows tools and the Siemens S7-200/300/400 PLC's. The system works completely transparent and does not affect with the installation in any way. This provides instant access to remote installations 24/7 without traveling to the sites, which saves time and money.

Wireless systems - VEGA are launching a new wireless signal transmission solution for industrial measurement and switching applications with their new PLICSRADIO system. It is ideal for use when installation of a signal cable from the sensors to a processing unit is either not possible or extremely costly. Saving on cabling, for speed of installation or overcoming obstacles like roads, railways, rivers and buildings can be easily solved and save costs. Remote sites like effluent plants, mobile equipment - stackers, conveyors or tanks are key areas of application.

Submittal of control valve standards - ISA has submitted three control valve standards to ANSI for approval as American National Standards.

Also submitted is ISA-12.12.01, "Nonincendive Electrical Equipment for Use in Class I and II, Division 2 and Class III, Divisions 1 and 2 Hazardous (Classified) Locations" for ANSI approval.

Semi-permanent environmental noise monitoring - The Larson Davis division of PCB Piezotronics (PCB®) has announced the release of SoundTrack LxT® firmware version 1.3, with added functionality for occasional and semi-permanent outdoor noise monitoring of city, factory and construction site noise. This latest release provides a lower-cost alternative to the high performance Model 831. It allows for overall statistical history, and provides enhanced data interval logging to measure every 100 milliseconds, allowing events to be captured with sufficient resolution. Community noise calculations may also be conducted right from the sound level meter itself.

Low cost wireless condition monitoring system - Perpetuum's energy harvesters power the world's first low cost industrial wireless condition monitoring system at Prüftechnik's stand D16, hall 24, at the Hannover Fair. PMG17-100 energy harvesting microgenerator converts machine and plant vibration into useful electricity, enabling wireless sensors to transmit large amounts of critical data. Perpetuum's microgenerators can be used to power condition monitoring systems enabling end-users to continually monitor plant and equipment allowing them to make significant cost savings.

Automated Test Summit 2007 - National Instruments is hosting the fourth annual Automated Test Summit, featuring technical sessions focused on identifying trends and overcoming new challenges in automated test. The Automated Test Summit 2007 will be hosted live on the Internet May 8, and will be available on demand for 90 days. At the free full-day event, attendees can view keynote presentations, watch technical sessions, participate in live Q&A forums and interact with vendors in the exhibitor area.

European director promoting digital architecture - Emerson Process Management has announced the promotion of Travis Hesketh, a good friend of the Signpost, to the position of Director of PlantWeb for Europe reporting to Jim Nyquist, President, Europe. Travis's responsibilities include sales and marketing of the company's industry-leading PlantWeb digital architecture across a broad range of industries. This challenging new role has been created in response to the growing demand for the latest digital automation solutions. These proven solutions integrate process control, asset optimisation and manufacturing execution based on intelligent networks using open communication standards such as Foundation fieldbus. Innovation continues to expand PlantWeb, with the latest being pioneering of Smart Wireless technologies for in-plant use. Congratulations and good luck Travis, we know you'll do well.

Nanotechnology Measurement Keithley Instruments has published its Nanotechnology Measurement Handbook, a 124-page guide to electrical measurements for nanoscience applications. The handbook offers practical assistance in making precision low level DC and pulse measurements on nanomaterials and devices and provides an overview of the theoretical and practical considerations involved in measuring low currents, high resistances, low voltages, and low resistances. It's useful as a reference and as an aid to understanding low level phenomena observed in the lab.

Grabbing a slice of the piezo action! - To address the increasing demand for miniature components and motion systems, Unimatic Engineers has introduced a new piezoelectric range, which encompasses motors, actuators and resonators. Piezoelectric elements are based on laminated ceramics that expand by a few micrometers when an electric microvoltage is applied. The rate of expansion is entirely predictable and completely silent. Unimatic’s new Elliptec products exploit these characteristics to create useful high precision motion. The design is such that the units are inexpensive to produce and can therefore be used in a huge range of applications, particularly those that require precise control, low weight or small size, portability, or minimal energy consumption.

Fire sprinkler systems get safety torque - Replacing a torque meter with a torque sensor (TorqSense) has revolutionised the validating process for bespoke Fireset sprinkler systems built by Grundfos Pumps in Leighton Buzzard (GB). They design and build a vast range of electric and diesel driven Firesets that form the heart of any sprinkler system. These Firesets have sophisticated control systems that activate automatically when the presence of a fire is detected. They also have to meet the requirements of demanding Loss Prevention Certification Board to fire protection of building and their occupants.

Computer addressable DVD - Aabspec now has a computer addressable DVD showing its advanced products for spectroscopy and microscopy. In the DVD, Val Rossiter presents technical details on each product in the Aabspec range, describing structure, special features and applications. A conversational style provides easy one-to-one information of the sort normally obtained by attending an exhibition, but without the journey!

Free linear motors solutions catalogue - Linear motors provide unique speed and positioning advantages for machine builders, and Baldor has published a useful guide to the technology. The 48-page catalogue includes details of a wide range of linear motors and stages, plus useful engineering sections including a motor sizing guide, a specification sheet to help define requirements, conversion tables for engineering units, and linear motor FAQs. There is also a guide to the components integrated in ready-made, multi-axis positioning stages.

Integrated test systems forfaster and easier semiconductor testing - Keithley Instruments has announced the availability of ACS (Automated Characterization Suite) integrated test systems for semiconductor characterization at the device, wafer, and cassette level.

Robust protection against cyber attack - Yokogawa Electric Corporation announces that tests conducted by Wurldtech Security Inc. have conclusively shown that its CENTUM CS 3000 R3 Integrated Production Control System and ProSafe-RS Safety Instrumented System offer robust protection against cyber attacks.

New 'hands-free; ionisation system - Meech International has a new Model 200 Proximity Sensor Switching System for use with its Series 200 range of ionising nozzles. The Meech Series 200 range of ionisation equipment has been specifically designed to exceed the strict requirements of electronics and industrial cleanroom applications.

Space saving 82mm wide 20A DIN-rail power supply eliminates inrush current - PULS, has introduced the latest model in its market leading Dimension Q series. The QS20.241 provides 24VDC at 20A from a 85-276V wide range AC single-phase input and is 1/3 the size of other comparable DIN-rail power supplies. The QS20.241 offers market-leading performance through innovative design using synchronous rectification topology and digital control to not only reduce the size of the unit but offers efficiencies up to 93.9%, significantly reducing heating effects and overall energy consumption.

User Resources for Control Valve Standards A new CD-ROM series that helps understand and apply important ISA standards for control valves has been introduced. ISA-75 Control Valve Standards and User Resources CD-ROM includes chapters on "Process Instrumentation" and "Control Valves" from A Guide to the Automation Body of Knowledge, 2nd Edition.

Intrinsically safe bus CAN in Automation (CiA) has released the CiA 103 draft standard proposal, that specifies an intrinsically safe physical layer for CANopen networks. Based on 3,3-V transceiver chips compliant to ISO 11898-2 (so-called "CAN high-speed" physical layer), this solution is suitable for explosive environments. The specification has been developed by members of the nonprofit CiA organization (e.g. ABB, Pepperl + Fuchs, Siemens, and Texas Instruments).
More on our Fieldbus News Page

Scalable software automatically turns error-prone process data into consistent and reliable information - The SimSci-Esscor unit of Invensys Process Systems has introduced simulation and modeling software that converts raw process data into consistent and reliable information to support today's asset performance management strategies. The new Material Balance Module (MBM) for their Advanced Real-time Performance Modeling (ARPM) suite is an easy-to-use, flowsheet-based solution that uses advanced mass and volume reconciliation to reveal sources of random error, bias, and gross error that jeopardise the accuracy of real-time plant data.

Additions to sensor range - Recent additions to the LVDT range from Applied Measurements has increased the extent of applications in which they can be used. There are three main types, Miniature, Economy and Industrial. Each of these types is available in several mechanical and electrical configurations. Mechanical options include; the plain core, the plain core with extension rod ( free or guided), spring loaded or with rod ends.

New pump takes pride of place at show - ProMinent Fluid Controls' Delta precision dosing pump will be the centerpiece of the company's water treatment equipment display at IWEX 2007. The Delta pump features the novel 'optoDrive' controlled solenoid drive system, which provides flexible dosing capabilities including continuous dosing. Also on show will be the Dulcomarin II series of water treatment controllers, including the DULCOMARIN II DULCO-Net which utilises a BUS connection to dosing pumps and sensors, bringing a unique distributed modular control capability with the ability to simultaneously control the key parameters for water quality for up to 16 different processes.
Our report on the Irish Water and Waste show in March

Innovative water recycling scheme achieves MCERTS certification - The East Sussex National Golf Resort and Spa is keeping its championship courses green with an innovative water re-cycling scheme designed by Bio-Bubble, specialists in environment-sensitive wastewater treatment. The scheme, which includes primary, and secondary treatment and final effluent flow measurement, has been MCERTS certified by Emerson Process Management's Mobrey Measurement Division.

"Network Infrastructure for EtherNet/IP™" The ODVA brought together some of its members to assist in identifying and explaining the features of Ethernet technology which are important to EtherNet/IP™ networks with the publication of the document, Network Infrastructure for EtherNet/IP™. Bennet Levine, R&D Manager for Contemporary Controls, was among one of the member companies on the EtherNet/IP™ Infrastructure Task Force who helped to write this document that provides an introduction to the network infrastructure used in EtherNet/IP™ networks and gives users a framework for identifying the considerations that are most critical to their specific applications. Download here (pdf - Contemporaray Controls).

Sound and vibration measurement suite introduced - National Instrumentshas announced the release of the NI Sound and Vibration Measurement Suite Version 5.0, the new interactive sound and vibration analysis software that includes the NI Sound and Vibration Assistant. The Sound and Vibration Measurement Suite 5.0 is the most comprehensive National Instruments collection of analysis and signal processing tools for noise, vibration, harshness (NVH); machine condition monitoring; and audio test applications.
New measurement software increases benchtop productivity, gives engineers Control - And in another developement they announce NI LabVIEW SignalExpress, an extension of the popular LabVIEW graphical system design platform, for acquiring, analysing and presenting data without programming. LabVIEW SignalExpress is interactive measurement software that improves productivity with an intuitive drag-and-drop environment to manage measurements and signals from more than 400 stand-alone and modular instruments. LabVIEW SignalExpress also eliminates tedious off-line analysis with real-time analysis, which engineers can accomplish while acquiring data. They can also publish measurement and analysis results in customised reports.

Lightning/surge arrester offers integration in enclosures using LSA termination - DEHNrapid® is a combined lightning current and surge arrester that is directly pluggable into disconnection blocks based on the standard LSA insulation displacement connection system, allowing easy integration within enclosures. The integrated LSA disconnection block function in the unit's 10-pair plug-in protection block allow for protected testing, disconnecting or patching within the system or the additional attachment of single-pair surge arresters.

Catalogue covers telecom outdoor interconnection solutions - Harting has published a 36-page catalogue giving full product and application information on the company's comprehensive range of interconnection solutions for outdoor telecom applications.

Brand name change - Emerson Process Management has announced a change in the brand name of the company's densitometers product line from Solartron to Micro Motion.
Emerson acquired the densitometers product line in 2005 and added it to the Micro Motion offering, giving customers a complete single-source solution for flow, density and viscosity measurement. Emerson's measurement knowledge and expertise are expanded with the leading Micro Motion technology to deliver measurement problem solving and innovative solutions.

Latest World Touring Car and Le Mans prototype use sealed rotary sensors for precise measurement of gearbox position - Penny + Giles is supplying its SRS280 rotary position sensors to Ray Mallock Ltd (RML) a motorsport and automotive technology company that provides bespoke design, engineering and manufacturing solutions. The Northamptonshire-based company is using the sensors on its MG Lola LMP2 and Chevrolet Lacetti World Touring Car models for the precise measurement of gearbox position: essential for peak performance.

New VP to expand solutions for complex Application Lifecycle Management - OpenMake Software has appointed former Serena and Merant executive Raymond Kratville as vice president of Professional Services. Ray joins OpenMake to build upon an experienced team of consultants and partners to launch new, expanded service offerings in the areas of direct consulting, customer support and education services.

"IEC 61499 Function Blocks for embedded and distributed control systems design" just released - ISA recently announced the publication of IEC 61499 Function Blocks for Embedded and Distributed Control Systems Design by Valeriy Vyatkin.
IEC 61499 is the newly adopted standard for distributed control systems and follows on from the IEC 61131 standard for programmable logic controllers (PLC). Part of the ISA/O3neida series on distributed industrial automation, this book is a practical guide for component-based development of distributed embedded and control systems as proposed by the new international standard. Each chapter is designed as an independent study unit, making the book ideal for use in university courses, industrial training, or self-study.

Fieldbus training centres establish license agreement - The Fieldbus Foundation (FF) has announced that two of its certified fieldbus training centers, Fieldbus Center at Lee College in Texas (US) and Tri-State University in Indiana (US), have established a license agreement for sharing fieldbus training resources. The alliance will expand FF technology instructional opportunities across the U.S.

New version software for real-time recording systems - Pentek has released the newest version of its SystemFlow real-time recording and development software for the Pentek family of RTS systems. SystemFlow software provides a rich set of features for controlling data-acquisition and recording functions and ensures a consistent look-and-feel for developers across all RTS systems. RTS systems are flexible and deployable real-time recording systems for acquiring, processing and analyzing signals and are ideal for high-performance radar, wireless, military communications, SIGINT telecom and satcom applications.

Textbook on computer-controlled manufacturing As manufacturing turns more and more to automation and computer-controlled processes, an Institute of Technology Sligo (IRL) lecturer has just filled the gap for an engineering textbook explaining how computers can be programmed to control machines. Engineering lecturer Kevin Collins has published the book called PLC Programming for Industrial Automation, which students and engineers working in industry can use as a self-learning tool on automation control. Automation control is part of the ever-growing area of mechatronics, which is computer- and robot-controlled manufacturing, and the book was launched as part of the National Skills Competition in mechatronics, hosted by Institute recently.

Designed to illustrate the power of PAT for the pharmaceutical industry - GE Fanuc Automation's Life Sciences team and CAMO Software are at the forefront of the PAT initiative. The two companies are hosting an upcoming half-day seminar in multiple locations around the world designed to illustrate how PAT can help today's pharmaceutical manufacturers to drive manufacturing excellence.
Today's pharmaceutical manufacturers are under more pressure than ever to increase capacity utiliasation, reduce cycle times and improve manufacturing efficiencies. The difference between success and failure often lies in a company's ability to adapt to changing market dynamics. Process Analytical Technology (PAT) is well positioned to have a significant impact on pharmaceutical manufacturing and to drive greater efficiency and utiliasation.

Short Duration Force Signals No Longer an Issue for PLC's - Retrofitting old machines for in-process force measurement can present many challenges. Some of these include sensor integration, and high production cycle rates. Sometimes the existing sensing system or PLC just can't respond fast enough for reliable performance. PCB Piezotronics (PCB®) has developed an effective solution for these applications with the new In-Process Force Measurement system, which consists of a Series M240 ICP® Strain Sensor and Model 410A01 ICP® signal conditioner, featuring Peak Hold.

Shielded connector for coaxial cables - Harting has added a new coaxial connector to its Quintax® range of shielded data connectors for industrial applications. The new Han® E-Coax is a Quintax connector with one Han-E®: crimp contact in the coaxial position. It has an impedance of 50 ohms and is ideally suited to use with large-diameter coaxial cables in coaxial data systems such as the Eurobalise data transmission network used in the ETCS rail control system.

Exciting innovation in IR temp measurement - Calex have announced an exciting feature of the Convir VL infrared temperature sensor, Reflected Energy Compensation. This feature of their VL700 enables it to measure reflective targets with a great deal of accuracy and eliminates many of the problems with reflections that standard infrared temperature sensors can face.
Measuring a target with a low emissivity value can be difficult at the best of times, but when the target is inside a hot oven and the sensor is mounted outside the oven, it can be virtually impossible without the right equipment. The emissivity compensation in standard infrared temperature sensors is not equipped for a situation like this as it assumes that the target being measured is in the same ambient environment as the sensor itself, which can lead to large errors in the measured temperature. The VL700 can provide the solution in this situation with its cutting edge Reflected Energy Compensation feature.

New regional sales director to boost European sales - Meech International has appointed Trevor Pimm as Regional Sales Director ­ Europe. Trevor will responsible for sales throughout Britain and Europe of their comprehensive range of products and solutions for static control, surface cleaning and compressed air applications.

New IEC inlet modules impress with their superior attenuation properties and compact design - Schaffner has launched a new family of IEC modules. The FN 9263 filter series provides an EMC filter and a mains switch for single-phase switching. Their compact design allows them to be deployed at low cost in devices with limited space. The FN 9263 filter modules are mechanically compatible with the proven FN 9260 series with integrated fuse, and provide excellent symmetrical and asymmetrical attenuation performance.

Multichannel detectors for every occasion! - HoribaJobin Yvon has introduced the definitive multichannel detector range. The Symphony CCD and InGaAs arrays with LN2 cooling; the Synapse CCD arrays with thermoelectrical cooling and the Sygnature CCD and PDA ambient temperature linear detectors. All detectors are compatible with our comprehensive range of spectrometers, with focal lengths from 140 mm to 1.25 m, for almost any spectroscopic application.

Combining technologies to streamline embedded design - National Instruments, Freescale Semiconductor and Wind River are working together to help engineers simplify embedded design, including industrial control and monitoring, with the release of the latest high-performance, real-time controller for the NI CompactRIO platform. The National Instruments cRIO-9014 controller is based on the Freescale MPC5200 processor built on Power Architecture™ technology and the Wind River VxWorks real-time operating system (RTOS) to deliver the processing speed, memory and storage required for a variety of demanding embedded and industrial applications such as high-speed machine control, machine monitoring/protection, in-vehicle data logging and embedded device prototyping.

Educational Seminar - Distributors are invited to view demonstrations of latest products and applications - InduSoft will host a meet-and-greet event that includes multiple seminars, product demonstrations, and a visit by the Microsoft Across America traveling exhibit. The all day event, to be held in Austin, Texas (US), is scheduled for April 19, 2007.

Digitally programmable dual full-bridge MOSFET driver IC - The new A3985 from Allegro MicroSystems Europe is a digitally programmable dual full-bridge gate driver IC suitable for driving a wide range of higher power industrial bipolar two-phase stepper motors, two-phase brushless DC motors or dual brush DC motors in industrial, medical and office automation applications.

New fieldbus temperature multiplexer can save up to 70% - MTL have launched the 9331-TI fieldbus multiplexer, a field-mounted temperature input block for 2- and 3- wire RTDs, thermocouple, voltage and resistance inputs with each unit supporting eight independently configurable temperature inputs. The 9331-TI offers the lowest cost solution for temperature monitoring measurements, e.g. distillation columns, tanks, reactors, boilers, etc. and can reduce installed costs by as much as 70% per point when compared to traditional single temperature inputs.

E/P Transmitter can use natural gas as its pneumatic supply - The EPX2 E/P transmitter from Moore Industries is designed for use with normal instrument air, but it can also be used with natural gas, making it possible to use the transmitter in remote locations where no electrical power is available to drive air compressors. Its extremely low power requirement of 3mA@12Vdc allows it to be powered by a battery or solar panel at remote sites. Applications include offshore oil platforms, natural gas wellheads, oil wells, pipelines and similar locations that are far from electrical power.

Production-ready embedded system development solution - National Instruments and Analog Devices have announced the release of the NI LabVIEW Embedded Module for ADI Blackfin Processors 2.0, an extension of the LabVIEW graphical development environment that directly targets ADI Blackfin® processors. Since its introduction, the LabVIEW Embedded Module for Blackfin Processors has been adopted by engineers for the rapid development of sophisticated embedded systems ranging from cutting-edge medical devices to subsea monitoring systems. The latest version of the module delivers more than 30% increased efficiency in code generation and expanded Blackfin processor support including the $5 (USD) ADSP-BF531, which provides a price/performance advantage ideal for cost-sensitive applications such as portable test equipment, embedded modems, biometrics and consumer audio.

Platinum Award 2006, top ranking in user feedback awards - Concurrent Technologies has been recognized by consumers as being a top supplier of embedded computer boards. The company has been awarded a 'Platinum' Embedded Board Vendor Rating for 2006 by the Venture Development Corporation, as a part of its Global Market Analysis research report. The ratings were generated entirely by user feedback, with companies ranked on a wide variety of non-product criteria. Concurrent's high placing results from extensive positive user feedback, placing it within the top 5% of embedded board vendors.

Enhanced version of innovative embedded software verification platform released - At Embedded Systems Conference SV S2 Technologies (S2) announced the availability of the STRIDE 2.1 Embedded Software Verification Platform. This release represents a major upgrade in the ability of embedded development teams to engage in software testing and verification early in the development process.


Flow Times The April issue of Dr Jesse Yoder's "Flow Times" has just been circulated. This issue tells about an exciting new study on DP flow and primary elements that was released in January. It brings up-to-date new studies on steam flow and pressure transmitters, and also important new developments in the flowmeter business.

This is designed to reduce complexity and improve code quality by enabling device development teams to accelerate continuous integration, testing and verification. It adds significant new functionality to extend STRIDE's readiness for enterprise-scale deployments. In particular it adds support for controlling and automating C/C++ test code on the target, a new wizard to automatically generate test scripts and an enhanced user interface for capturing and qualifying application programming interfaces (API) to expedite deployment by developers.

Implementing secure wireless infrastructure at power plant - Invensys Process Systems and its strategic partner, Apprion, have successfully implemented a secure, managed wireless infrastructure plus several initial productivity-enhancing wireless applications at the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) Lost Pines Power Park (TX USA).
The power park houses both the LCRA-owned Sim Gideon Power Plant and the Lost Pines 1 Power Project, owned by Gen-Tex, an LCRA affiliate. Together, the two plants can generate up to 1,165 MW, or enough electricity to meet the peak demands of approximately 250,000 homes. LCRA has recently merged these two plants under one functional management system, and with assistance from Invensys and Apprion, has implemented a new layered WiMax/WiFi wireless infrastructure to help link the two plants.

One-day seminar explores in-depth applications for exploration and production - National Instruments UK and Ireland has announced the 2007 Oil and Gas Industry Symposium, a one-day complimentary seminar that takes place on Tuesday 15th May 2007 in Aberdeen in Scotland. This Symposium is part of a series, presented by NI and partners, that reaches 13 major drilling and exploration cities across North America, South America and Europe.
The industry event highlights case studies from Shell Global Solutions, Bjørge and FAG Industrial Services (F'IS). The symposium kicks off on May 8 in Stavanger, Norway and is sponsored by F'IS, Fiber Sensing, Gavea Sensors, National Instruments, Optimation, UT Technology and vibDaq.  The event includes technology presentations and in-depth case studies on how companies in the oil and gas industry have applied the latest measurement and control technologies in service, drilling, distributed measurements and oil field inventory management applications. Participants will discuss technology trends during the panel discussion; explore in-depth case studies for drilling, oil field service and inventory management applications; and have an opportunity to participate in hands-on training with National Instruments LabVIEW graphical development software.

New clamp meter measures ground loop resistance without stakes - Fluke has introduced the Fluke 1630 Earth Ground Clamp, a rugged clamp meter with a wide 35 mm jaw opening that offers time-saving 'stakeless' earth ground loop resistance and non-intrusive ground leakage current measurement for electrical contractors, field service, industrial maintenance and utility technicians.

Industrial automation solutions for LNG applications - Yokogawa is featuring its comprehensive range of industrial automation solutions at LNG 15, - 24/27 April Barcelona (ES) - with particular emphasis on the company's VigilantPlant concept which provides a clear path to operational excellence by enabling customers to 'See clearly', 'Know in advance' and 'Act with agility' to optimise the monitoring and control of their processes.

Extended capabilities includes a 'Bus Health Test' function for industrial network buses - Fluke has introduced the Fluke 125 Industrial ScopeMeter® which offers a number of additional test capabilities compared to other models in the 120 Series. New features include a 'Bus Health Test' for industrial bus networks, harmonics analysis, and power measurements and other functions aimed at troubleshooting motor drives and frequency converters. The new handheld instrument combines a 40MHz, dual-input digital oscilloscope with two 5,000 counts true-rms multimeters, and dual-input paperless recording for intermittent fault finding. With a 600V CAT III safety rating for the meter and accessories and up to 7 hours battery operation, it is the ideal handheld oscilloscope for the demanding plant service, maintenance and installation engineer locating problems in machinery, instrumentation, control and power systems.