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Newsletters received in week ending:
3 June 2011

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Bealtaine 2011 May
31/5/2011
    PRODUCT Power protection - A complete solution for control, protection and monitoring of grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) plants is available from Carlo Gavazzi.

    PRODUCTWorld's highest resolution FE-SEM! - The new SU9000 Field Emission (FE) Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) from Hitachi High-Technologies features novel electron optics which allow 0.4 nm resolution to be achieved at an accelerating voltage of 30 kV, with a usable magnification up to 3 Million times.

    PRODUCT 3-CCD RGB Colour Cameras Now Available With GigE Vision - The JAI AT-140GE and AT-200GE 3-CCD cameras are available from STEMMER IMAGING. Bringing the connectivity benefits of GigE Vision to 3-CCD technology, these new cameras feature a newly developed prism-block assembly to support the three CCDs, ideal for a wide range of applications where colour is critical, including: print inspection, paint matching, medical diagnostics, flat panel quality verification, semiconductor production and food sorting and have the performance and features to support a wide variety of machine vision applications.

30/5/2011
    PRODUCT Pressure range expanded - The especially accurate Sitrans P500 pressure transmitter supplements the family of sensor products offered by the Siemens Industry Automation Division. Thanks to an accuracy level of 0.03%, the transmitter delivers precise results over the entire measuring range and works with a response speed (T63) of 88ms. Measuring inaccuracies can be minimized by an additional sensor for static pressure, as well as precise temperature compensation.

    PRODUCT New Coriolis meter sensor - Siemens Industry Automation Division has developed a new coriolis flow meter sensor for compressed natural gas (CNG) applications.

27/5/2011 26/5/2011
    APPLICATION Volcanic ash on aircraft? - Advanced borescopes from Ashtead Technologies are being employed to investigate effects of volcanic dust as Europe again struggles with the latest Icelandic eruption!

    PRODUCT Measuring diesel flow rate, running time, fuel theft etc - The launch of the new multifunctional Fuel-View digital meter from Bronkhorst, which monitors flow rate and fuel consumption, engine operating times, diesel theft volumes and other parameters, should be of considerable interest to owners and operators of commercial vehicle fleets.

    EVENTS Atmosphere event success! - Despite the last minute change of venue, the organisers of MCERTS 2011 have been delighted with the result.

25/5/2011
    People New marketing guy for Ireland & Britain! - National Instruments has announced the appointment of Kyle Voosen as its new Director of Marketing in Britain and Ireland.

    People "Most powerful woman" takes chair! - Premier Farnell has appointed Valerie Gooding CBE as a non-executive director and Chairman of the Board with effect from 15 June 2011.

    APPLICATION Ancient principle combined with state-of-the-art technologyBLOG - As wind power stations continue to increase in size, the demands for more sophisticated technology is also increased in order to ensure a high degree of efficiency and thus maximise profitability for operators. This primarily affects the automatic adjustment of blade angles, for which some particularly interesting solutions have been developed.

    PRODUCT Same day gearbox assy! - Baldor (now part of ABB) has enhanced its fast turnaround gearbox assembly operation, which now has access to a large extensively-equipped machine shop, to the point where it can provide European customers with a same-day build service.

24/5/2011
PROFIBUS: A Pocket Guide By Ron Mitchell
Need to get up to speed on one of the leading fieldbuses on the market today? This pocket guide provides a basic overview of PROFIBUS operations, installation and configuration, wiring schemes, troubleshooting, and tips and tricks
    NEWS Acquisition to increas capability in RF & MicroWave - National Instruments has acquired Phase Matrix, Inc. (PMI). The acquisition brings key RF talent, technologies and manufacturing capabilities to NI and will significantly increase the capability of NI products in high-frequency RF and microwave applications, extending the frequency range of NI products to 26.5 GHz and beyond.
    In a second announcement National Instruments has announced that it has signed a definitive merger agreement under which they will acquire AWR Corporation (AWR).

    PRODUCT Eliminate control cabinets! - Festo's new CAFC protective valve terminal hood provides a highly cost-effective and elegant alternative to large and cumbersome control cabinets.

    PRODUCT Watertight connectors for signal & control - Marechal Electric has introduced watertight connectors to applications requiring signal and control contacts with the PNC series, which combine contacts for electrical power and control signals, in a single rugged housing.

23/5/2011
    PRODUCT Air-air heat exchangers! - Rittal air-air heat exchangers can lead to attractive cost savings over refrigerant based air conditioners due to their simple design, low energy consumption and minimum maintenance. Air-air heat exchangers utilise the ambient air to cool the air within the enclosure interior using only two working parts.
20/5/2011 19/5/2011
    PRODUCT Reducing troubleshooting complexity! - Emerson Process Management has a new icon-based user interface for the industry-leading 475 Field Communicator that simplifies the work of field maintenance technicians.

    NEWS European expansion - AFCON's subsidiary in Czech Republic has established the Software Division to distribute their software products, especially Pulse SCADA/HMI, and to provide system integration services to its customers.

    NEWS Wireless & green! - Dust Networks® has for the second consecutive year been listed by JMP Securities, a San Francisco-based (US) investment bank, in its published report, "The Green 100: The Top 100 Most Promising Privately Held Clean Technology Companies in 2011."

    PRODUCT Current transducers - LEM has introduced the CTSR family of current transducers for use in a range of safety-critical applications including solar installations

    NEWS Strategic cooperation agreement - Under the terms of an agreement just announced, infoteam Software becomes a distributor of the ISaGRAF product and a preferred Engineering Services provider in Europe, Germany and China, gaining access to advanced tools for IEC 61499 and IEC 61508 safety.

18/5/2011
    NEWS British gas storage automation contract - ABB has won a Main Automation and Instrumentation contract for a new natural gas storage facility in Cheshire (GB).

    NEWS This company's a gazelle! - Magnetrol International NV, based in East Flanders (B), has again nominated in the category "large companies" by the Belgian economic magazine "Trends" which searches annually for "Gazelles" - fast growing companies that symbolise competitive entrepreneurship.

    PRODUCT SCADA upgrade! - Yokogawa Electric Corporation has released version R9.04 of the FAST/TOOLS web-based SCADA system.

    EVENTS Plans for user event released! - National Instruments has announced plans for NIWeek their system design conference and exhibition that attracts more than 3,000 of the world's most innovative engineers, educators and scientists.

    PRODUCT Precision and safety in pressure control - Baumer's double adaptor, ARID, enables the combination of their MEX5 safety pressure gauge and their PBSN pressure transmitter. Both instruments are designed for harsh industrial environments with high media temperatures where precision and failure-safety are particularly important.

    PRODUCT OPC redundancy solution - MatrikonOPC™ has released the most powerful version of its OPC redundancy software - OPC Redundancy Broker which adds features sought after by users, including support for 64-bit editions of the Windows operating system and expanded redundancy protection to include historical data transfers based on the OPC Foundation's Historical Data Access (HDA) specification.

    STANDARDS Fieldbus enhancements - Updates to H1 physical layer specifications in Foundation Fieldbus aims to promote better device installation and integration.

    PRODUCT Can integrate with Ethernet! - "The easy way to integrate CANopen-enabled automation devices into EtherNet/IP networks," from HMS Industrial Networks.

    Answers in mechanical and electromechanical motion technology - Thomson has just launched its new "Solution Center". This website provides developers, designers and end users of linear guidance and motion systems with an interactive online knowledge base that offers sound technical answers to their many questions in and around the topic of "linear motion".

    PRODUCT Helping meet standards and regulations - Emerson's DeltaV Analyze software is an ntegrated program which helps process plants measure, report, analyse and optimise alarm systems and responses and it eliminates nuisance alarms while meeting industry best practices, government safety requirements.

17/5/2011
    EVENTS Nick Denbow of IAI comments on conference!BLOG - An about turn as ABB resurrects Symphony, after seven years telling customers to move to 800xA.

    PRODUCT Automating M&C tasks - Windmill Software has a major new version of its Test Sequence software. Test Sequence automates measurement and control tasks by running a text file of commands. No programming knowledge is required.

    PRODUCT Batch control - The Endress+Hauser RA33 Batch Controller provides precise sensing and dispensing of liquids into a container or process vessel in food, chemical, pharmaceutical, oil & gas and other process industry applications.

    EVENTS Instrument financing! - Visitors to Sustainability Live 2011 (24/26 May 2011) are invited to discover why a limited budget does not necessarily mean limited access to the latest environmental monitoring instrumentation from the Ashtead Technology experts on their stand!

    PRODUCT Waterproof medical connectors - Intelliconnect (Europe) Ltd manufactures a wide range of standard RF connectors suitable for medical applications.

16/5/2011
    PUBLICATIONS Managing closed loop PLM - The International Society of Automation (ISA) has just published Closed-Loop Product Life Cycle Management--Using Smart Embedded Systems, edited by Markus Frey, PROMISE Interregional Coordinating Partner, Bombardier Transportation, Zurich, (CH).

    PRODUCT Liquid flow switch - The FSW300 Series is a NEW trim to size liquid flow switch from Omega, suitable for pipe diameters from 20 to 200mm. It is available in a low maintenance Brass construction with a pressure rating of 25bar.

    PRODUCT Ion sective measurement - The new ion-selective measuring system ISEmax CAS40D is part of Endress+Hauser's platform concept for liquid analysis. It speaks the same language as all sensors of their platform: Memosens. The digital protocol guarantees reliable, comprehensive data transmission and an easy-to-use system.

    PRODUCT Circular connectors - Harting has expanded its range of M12 circular connectors to include field-installable versions with larger cross-sections as well as new receptacles for 10 Gbit/s data transmission.

    PRODUCT Enhanced safety instrumented system - Yokogawa has announced the development of an enhanced version of the ProSafe-RS safety instrumented system that is used to ensure the safety of plant operations.

13/5/2011
    EVENTS BLOGSo good we're doing it again! - The 6th ISA Marketing & Sales Summit is scheduled for 7th & 8th September in the Gateway city of St Louis in the heart of the USA. It asks the pertinent question: Are You Ready for Customer 2.0? This year the Read-out Instrumentation Signpost is again sponsoring this important event!Ready for Customer 2.0?
    The Read-out Signpost has agreed to sponsor the 6th ISA Marketing & Sales Summit in St Louis this September!
12/5/2011 11/5/2011 10/5/2011
    PRODUCT Precision temperature data logger - MadgeTech has released the RTDTemp101A a precision temperature data logger. This low-cost state-of-the-art device is perfect for use in applications such as calibration chamber monitoring, research and development, process validation and other application in which high accuracy is critical.

    PRODUCT Diaphragm gauge for hygenic applications - DP100 diaphragm pressure gauge with hygienic process connection Baumer's DP100 diaphragm pressure gauge is a pressure measuring device specially designed for hygienic processes encountered in fields such as the production of pharmaceuticals and foods.

    APPLICATION LIMS development - Eastman Chemical Company has expanded its use of Thermo Scientific SampleManager LIMS to streamline business processes and deliver enhanced automation benefits.

    EVENTS Money for click registrations! - Air Monitors received a #500stg (€570) cheque at MCERTS 2011 (March '11) for attracting the highest number of visitor registrations via their website to this year's event at the Telford International Centre.

    PRODUCT Embedded software tools - Ashling Microsystems has recently announced a new range of tools for NXPSmartCard SmartMX (P5) and SmartMX2 (P60) families. Developed in close co-operation with NXP, the tools include the Ashling SmartICE hardware emulator, Ashling PathFinder source-level debugger and Keil uVision4 plug-in driver.

9/5/2011
    NEWS Northern Ireland duo progress in mechatronics - Mechatronics duo Chris Downey (left) and Mark Maginty from Northern Regional College in Northern Ireland have set their sights on selection for Team UK to go forward and compete in the 41st WorldSkills Competition in London later this year.

    NEWS Acquisition to broaden software portfolio! - ABB is acquiring the Australian company, Mincom, from Francisco Partners, a private equity group that invests in technology businesses, for an undisclosed sum. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

    NEWS Thermal power for India! - Yokogawa Electric Korea has won an order from Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction to supply the control systems for a supercritical pressure coal-fired power plant that is being built in Raipur (India),

    APPLICATION Technology investment to be "Best of the best!" - The recently completed implementation of Aegis Manufacturing Operations Software allows Concept 2Market, Inc. (C2M) to improve efficiencies and quality by streamlining and controlling process planning and launch, process tracking and control, and quality and test management.

    PRODUCT New DCS system launched - Symphony™ Plus distributed control system (DCS), recently launched by ABB is is specifically designed to meet the total automation needs of power generation and water utility applications.

6/5/2011 5/5/2011
    EVENTS Analysis analysed! - The 56th Analysis Division Symposium sponsored by the ISA Analysis Division, offered over 300 international process analyser professionals five days of technical training, including more than 30 peer-reviewed and published papers, technical information sessions, social functions and an exhibition featuring products from 43 supplier companies.

    PRODUCT US meter for high-accuracy liquid measurement - The new Daniel™ 3812 Liquid Ultrasonic Flow Meter has just been announced by Emerson Process Management. Designed for reliable measurement, minimal maintenance and ease of operation, this meter is ideal for many applications in the petrochemical, oil, water and wastewater industries.

    APPLICATION Centre of gravity systems - With its long history of working with the boat racing industry, LCM Systems has had many years' experience developing Centre of Gravity (CoG) solutions.

    PRODUCT Touch-screen PC for food processing - Hoffmann + Krippner has developed a family of 10.4-inch touch-screen industrial PCs that meet the needs of modern food processing environments.

4/5/2011
    NEWS iPad won! - There are so many companies offering iPads as prizes and we rarely hear if anyone wins. So it is a pleasure to get a report on a winner and on the presentation of the prize! The iPad on offer from Hach Lange has been won by an English employee of EDF.

    PRODUCT Signal generator - Aim-TTi has launched a new 6 GHz RF signal generator which is priced at less than half that of the lowest cost 6 GHz generators available previously

    APPLICATION Industry-grade software for schools - National Instruments has introduced LabVIEW for LEGO MINDSTORMS, a new education-focused version of the company's professional LabVIEW graphical system design software.

    PRODUCT Fieldbus tools - PI (PROFIBUS & PROFINET International) is offering its members the new SPIRTA tool for easy testing of IRT functions, thereby allowing comprehensive testing of PROFINET IO device functions.

    APPLICATION Process imaging in cement! - Raytek has introduced the CS210 process imaging system for cement kilns.

    STANDARDS Final flow transducer block spec - Fieldbus Foundation has released the all-new FOUNDATION fieldbus Flow Transducer Block Final Specification (FF-908 FS 1.0), which includes a standardized flow transducer block with a high-performance totalizer function.

    APPLICATION Paper plant control - Tiancheng Paper Company, a subsidiary of Guangxi State Farms Sugar Group companies, has chosen GE's DCS, Proficy® Process Systems, for all plant equipment interlock and data acquisition.

    PRODUCT Custom sensors are standard! - A very wide range of level sensor solutions for liquids; from simple water level switches and units designed as pure water level sensors to the very popular 20 series compact float switch and the advanced LVCS continuous liquid level sensor are available from The Deeter Group.

    PRODUCT EtherCat control - Lenze's ECS servo system can now be ordered with a clock-synchronised EtherCAT interface.

3/5/2011
    APPLICATION Remote monitoring of wind power - Reduced or controlled maintenance is always a valuable contribution to bottom line profitability in wind turbines. Guohua Energy Investment Company are achieving this with the help of SKF's SKF WindCon turbine monitoring system

    Education and Research BLOGGreen shoots? - ARC sees promising signs that point toward a continuing recovery for process automation market during this year and beyond

    PRODUCT Automation software - ISaGRAF has released ISaGRAF version 6.0.1, which includes a free version of ISaGRAF 6. ISaGRAF is the industry-leading IEC 61131-3 and IEC 61499 compliant firmware and workbench for building industrial automation products.

    APPLICATION Online humidity calculations - A free humidity calculator from E+E Elektronik is used for the rapid conversion of humidity measurements.

    APPLICATION Quenching Brazilain thirst! - Krones' largest ever filler is completely equipped with BATCHFLUX filling EMFs from Krohne.

2/5/2011
    NEWS Process Automation System Lifecycle Management Strategies - The refreshing candor of the participants produced robust discussion regarding issues surrounding lifecycle management, and in particular end of life (EOL) issues at the February 2011 ARC Orlando Fourm.

    PRODUCT First 4-tube Coriolis meter - With its 14-inch diameter and accuracy up to 0.05%, the Promass 83X/84X four-tube Coriolis mass flowmeter is ideal for pipeline custody transfer and other high flow rate applications requiring reliability and low maintenance.


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