See Archive Page for earlier news.

31/12/99

• Has the Millennium Bug hit you? - If it's after midnight when you are looking at this then you've got through it ok - and so have we! Enjoy the rest of 2000 - The Great Jubilee.

• Review confirms award - In a recent review update, Doras has confirmed the 3-Shamrock Award given to our site some years ago. Here are the Details of their judgement.

• Safety success leads to follow-on order - Safety control Systems are now being delivered for Abu Dhabi's second largest gas gathering project, the Bab Gas Field, by ICS Triplex. The 51 wells that form this field feed into three remote manifold stations and then onto the central receiving station. The £1m safety systems integration order was placed with ICS immediately following completion of a similar project for Asab, the biggest gas field in Abu Dhabi.

• Improving intellectual property rights (IPR) awareness - The IPR-Helpdesk is a European Commission initiative whose mission is to improve IPR awareness among the R&D community in Europe. The main target audience consists of contractors participating in R&D activities funded by the European Community, but we are able to help all SME's and innovators in Europe. All our services are free and we provide a telephone Legal IP Helpline as well as an extensive website.

• Product catalogue on CD-ROM - One of the most comprehensive combined catalogue, application and engineering tools ever developed for control valves, actuators and accessories is now available from Dresser Valve Division (Masoneneilan).
• New flat panel monitors for industry - Xycom Automation introduces the new 3015 Flat Panel Industrial Monitor for plant floor operator interface applications. The 3015 industrial monitor meets the rigorous requirements of the plant floor with a high-resolution flat panel display housed in a rugged enclosure with an optional analogue restrictive touchscreen.
• Brochure details benefits of digital mass flow controllers - Kinetic Fluid Systems - Unit Instruments has published a new full-colour brochure detailing the benefits of user-programmable mass flow controllers (MFCs). The document looks at how the enhanced performance and versatility of a digital MFC translates into reduced cost of ownership. This is illustrated with a case study, where in one installation inventory costs were cut dramatically by 97% over a 12 month period, by replacing conventional MFCs with Unit's MultiFlo models - which can be programmed to store up to 26 gas and flow configurations. It is avaialble for downloading as a pd file at www.uni.com/MuItibro.pdf.

• Catalogue 2000 - The National Instruments' Measurement and Automation Catalogue 2000 is the leading resource for engineers and scientists seeking the most effective computer-based measurement and automation Solution for their application. The catalog details the complete line of National Instruments products with comprehensive tutorials, product specifications, and selection guides - all designed to help engineers and scientists develop integrated computer-based measurement and automation applications.
• New documenting pressure calibrators - Druck announce a new series of rugged portable pressure calibrators which complements and further expands their range of field documenting instruments, providing a wide choice of product specifications to meet individual user requirements. The market for intelligent documenting calibrators is growing rapidly as more and more industries adopt integrated software solutions to help meet quality assurance approvals. At the same time, plant and factory workshop managers are striving to improve calibration and maintenance efficiency.

• Plant audit and ROI assessment service launched - In a move to focus on delivering a higher return on investment for manufacturing and related IT spending, ARC has added Plant Audit and Assessment Services to its range of advisory services. This move is in response to the difficulty manufacturers face in determining what investments to make in order to achieve the maximum return on investment (ROI).

• Low-cost, low-power telemetry - Westermo Data Communications has added the RM-505U radio telemetrv module to its range, which provides a verv low-power, cost-effective solution for remote monitoring ofdata up to 10km (or up to 50km when used with "repeaters"). The RM-505U can handle digital, pulse and analogue signals, as well as internal status information. The power consumption is very low, as the transmitter reverts to 'sleep'mode between transmissions. The unit can be powered from an external 12V DC supply or internal M batteries, which can power the unit for more than four years. There is an internal alarm for low battery voltage - this alarm may be transmitted by radio.
• Belgium company achieves way into 2.5 million business deals worldwide! - BARCO, a Belgium-based leading developer and manufacturer of multi-screen monitoring solutions, today announced that a 2-years sales agreement has been undersigned with ABB Automation. BARCO's professional wallboards will be marketed and sold as part of ABB's integral automation solutions, worldwide and is regarded as an extension to BARCO's traditional end-user sales.

• The European Temperature Sensors and Instruments Market - Product miniaturisation and bus networking is to to energise temperature sensors and instruments markets according to a new Study by Frost & Sullivan. The European temperature sensors and instruments market has reached a fairly critical point in its existence, where many of the technologies are becoming mature. The highly competitive nature of the market has forced prices downward, which is currently hindering revenue growth.

• Record number of speakers and exhibitors at sensor and transducer event - Gas and Humidity Sensing and Physical Sensing will be the focus of debate at the MTEC 2000. International Conference for Sensors and Transducers due to be held on Wednesday, 16 February and Thursday, 17 February 2000 in Birmingham, England. The exhibition for Sensors, Measurement Instrumentation and Control, which happens in conjunction with the conference, provides the biggest collection of sensor equipment in the whole of Britain and reflects Britain's position as an innovator in this field. It has attracted a broader range of exhibitors and a record number of international conference speakers than ever before. Combining the world of Academia with that of Industry, some 30 papers will be presented by leading industry and academic figures travelling to the event from as far afield as the Ukraine, Belarus and Romania as well as Britain itself.

• Implementing Arrangement - IRecently, Jorma Routti, DirectorateGeneral of the European Commission's Research DG and Ray Kammer, Director of the US Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), signed an Implementing Arrangement for cooperation in the field of metrology and measurement standards. It will facilitate transatlantic co-operation in those technical and scientific activities needed to ensure that the European metrology community can contribute effectively at the international IeveI and support the negotiations between the EU and USA related to the removal of technical barriers to trade.
  Sourced in European Commission's Measurements & Testing Newsletter available through CORDIS.
• New class of robot - A new range of industrial robots, just launched by Mitsubishi Electric, defines a new class of flexible automation solution for general production and precision assembly tasks.
• Compact multi-function instrument system - The new Yokogawa WE7000 Series is a PC-based range of instrumentation modules which combine together to produce a measurement workstation that will replace a mixture of conventional benchtop instruments.

• Image & Vision - The Irish Machine Vision & Image Processing Conference 2000 (IMVIP 2000) will be hosted by the Centre for Image and Vision Systems, School of Computer Science, The Queen's University of Belfast, bringing together theoreticians and practitioners, industrialists and academics, from the numerous related disciplines involved in the processing and analysis of image-based information. Papers are requested.
• Increasingly stringent legislation to buoy water pollution monitoring instruments market - A report from Frost and Sullivan says that growth in the European water pollution monitoring instruments is expected to be driven by increasing concern over water quality and stricter implementation of environmental pollution control legislation. In addition, growth prospects, customer pressures and increasing competition are expected to give rise to a need for innovative technologies at competitive prices.

• New District 12 VP-elect for ISA - Readout has just learned that Declan F. Lordan of the Ireland Section and Douglas Electronics, has been elected as District 12 VP Elect (India and Europe) of ISA - the international society for measurement and control. District VP are also members of the ISA Board and usually serve for a two year period.
• Tube fittings support integrity of Sellafield Dry Pack project - Parker's instrumentation division is supplying all the tube fittings and valves for the fluid instrumentation systems currently being installed as part of BNFL's Sellafield Dry Pack project. The project standardised on Parker components because of their technical performance - in particular, the integrity and long life provided by the fittings' corrosion-resistant Suparcase ferrules - and the company's responsive supply network.

• Single-Slot Pentium III VME Board released - Concurrent Technologies has released what is believed to be the first single-slot VME board to offer the performance of the Flip-Chip Pentium III processor. The VP PSE/P3x is a high performance, versatile CPU board, with a variety of additional features. It is an ideal choice as the central processing unit for applications in the telecommunications, industrial, defense, medical and aerospace markets.
• Chemistry pilot plant automated at R&D facility - Moore Process Automation Solutions has been awarded a contract by Glaxo Wellcome R&D for an APACS+ process automation system. Together with CEL International Ltd., a design consultant/contractor (Coventry), Glaxo Weilcome R&D selected Moore's system as best-suited for its Module 0 1 Development Project, and may use APACS+ to re-automate their Chemistry Pilot Plant at Stevenage, rural north Hertfordshire, in England. The system implementation may have over 6,000 1/0 points in 12 units.

• Scaling the counters market - Incorporating the feature of scalability, the latest LC4H Series electronic counters from Matsushita Electric Works are designed to improve flexibility in a broad range of applications.
• Full-load testing of power drive Systems now available - Schaffner's EMC service and calibration facilities now include full-load testing of power drive Systems with outputs up to 90kW. Following extensive evaluation of the factors affecting real-world performance of EMI filters for motor drives, Schaffner has equipped its EMC laboratory in Luterbach, Switzerland, with a comprehensive full-load test set-up. The new EMC performance evaluation services will be of benefit to all manufacturers, OEMS and system integrators active in the motion control markets, especially those that need to meet the EN 61800-3 EMC product standard for adjustable speed electrical power drive systems.
• Help for solvent recovery plant - Bristol-Myers Squibb have ordered a PlantWeb solution for the Solvent Recovery Project at their Dublin site in Ireland. The plant is a new installation on the existing site and will use the Fisher-Rosemount DeltaV process control system to direct the recovery process.

• European Commission approves merger - AlliedSignal Inc. and Honeywell Inc. have just announced that they have received clearance from the European Commission to complete their merger. The new entity commenced trading under the symbol HON on December 2 on the New York Stock Exchange. marking the historic launch of a new $24-billion global technology company operating under the Honeywell name.

• New model hammer set and force transducer - Endevco has launched a new modal hammer set along with their new ISOTRON force sensors for use in structural testing and modal measurement applications.
• No.1 technology exporter - Ireland is Europe's number one exporter of technology and has the highest spend on R&D as a percentage of turnover, a Pricewaterhouse Coopers survey shows. R&D spend over four years is 10.5% of turnover. This lends to the fastest product development times of 1.1 years for Ireland, compared to the European average of 1.9 years. Ireland also has the third highest number of training days per person at 8.7 days a year.

• Internet visionary - Liam Ferrie was declared the Irish Internet Association's "Net Visionary Award" winner of 1999. The announcement was made at a lunch in Dublin on Friday. Liam produces the Irish Emigrant which provides a link with home for the Irish diaspora. The other e-zine he produces is the weekly IE Professionala free newsletter from which we quote from time to time. Congratulations Liam.

• Fire and gas system for BP Amoco's Magnus platform - BP Amoco has placed a contract with ICS Triplex for a new Trusted Fire and Gas (F&G) system of over 1200 channels for the Magnus platform in the North Sea, and for associated installation and commissioning work. The Trusted system is certified by TÜaut;V to the very demanding AK6 level to provide the highest standards of safety, but critically, the Triple Modular Redundant (TMR) triplicated architecture also offers fault-tolerant operation to allow continuing safe operation of the platform even under system fault conditions. Under the fast track contract, ICS Triplex will deliver the hardware to site in early April 2000.