Get your head out of the clouds! - Henrik Arleving, Product Line Manager, HMS Industrial Networks presents three ways to reduce maintenance costs of power generators.

Product family grows to more - National Instruments has expanded the NI FlexRIO product family, built on FPGA-based reconfigurable I/O (RIO), to more than 20 modules.

Leading industrial communications experts dazzle! - A group of veritable who's who of industrial communications experts helped attendees at ISA's 2013 Communications Division Symposium, held last week in Washington, D.C. (USA), sort out the maze of communications-related changes and challenges occurring in the marketplace.

Using software configuration accurately to set I/O options - Acromag's new TT339 frequency transmitter converts the rate of pulsed, sinusoidal and other periodic waveform input signals to a proportional 0-20mA, 0-10V, or +/-10V DC output.

Magnetic rotary encoders with outstanding performance - Absolute rotary encoders with magnetic detection principle from Pepperl+Fuchs combine compact designs, robustness, and service life with high resolution and accuracy, and in so doing open up new fields of application.

New Services and Collaboration Tools in the Spotlight at symposium - The future of manufacturing, in terms of technology and the state of the workforce, will be the primary theme when Honeywell hosts many of the world’s most prominent manufacturers at its annual industrial customer conference June 16-22 in Phoenix (AZ USA).

Busbar systems design software - RiLine60, a fully shielded flexible busbar system with a wide range of busbar adaptors, provides a cost effective solution for power distribution within control cabinets.

Weighing systems expansion in Europe - Rice Lake Weighing Systems has announced that their Arnhem-based European division, Rice Lake Weighing Systems Europe B.V., has acquired the Dutch belt-scale manufacturer Master Engineering, of nearby Heteren.

New technology for onsite 'lab analysis' for Ireland & Britain - Torion Technologies (USA) has appointed Quantitech (GB) to distribute a unique portable gas chromatograph toroidal ion trap mass spectrometer (GC-TMS), in the territories of Ireland and Britain.

Combating the largest cost element of most automation projects: software - ABB has launched a new engineering development tool-suite for industrial automation projects.

25 years of leadership in handheld field communicator technology - The 475 Field Communicator Silver Edition represents Emerson's deep industry expertise in device diagnostics and troubleshooting in the field

European packaging machinery market - New analysis from Frost & Sullivan's, "Analysis of the European Packaging Machinery Market Industries" focus on process control & efficiency which European packaging machinery market

New video highlights wireless I/O solutions - Moore Industries has released a new video showing the advantages of wireless I/O solutions in industrial facilities.

New belt drive - Festo has introduced a new cost-effective belt drive ELGA-RF with increased speed and load capacities that sets a new high standard in industry.

Software product ensures transparent management of starting materials in pharmaceuticals development - The research-based international pharmaceutical company Grünenthal will deploy the PAS-X process development package.

Virtualised platforms highlighted at sports venues - Leaders from some of the biggest names in industry in Ireland and England turned out in force to learn more about maximising uptime in virtualised environments, at a series of events organised by SolutionsPT.

Functional Safety Management - MTL is now certified as a Functional Safety Management (FSM) Company. The International standard IEC 61508:2010 mandates that everyone involved in the safety systems lifecycle must demonstrate Functional Safety Management.

New software simplifies data logging - National Instruments has announced Chameleon for NI CompactDAQ, a software package developed by NI Gold Alliance Partner PVI Systems and available on the LabVIEW Tools Network, to create turnkey systems for NI data acquisition hardware that are simple and intuitive to set up and operate.

Reference pressure gauge - The 2700G Reference Pressure Gauges from Fluke, provide best-in-class measurement performance in a rugged, easy-to-use, economical package. Improved measurement accuracy allows it to be used for a wide variety of applications.

Pressure/DP transmitter released in Nth America - The enhanced version of Yokogawa's DPharp EJA series pressure/differential pressure transmitters, one of its core sensor products was released earlier this month (May 2013).

SNMP-Manageable Ethernet Media converters - B&B Electronics has released its iMcV-Giga FiberLinX-III gigabit intelligent Ethernet media converter.

World land speed record attempt - Stemmer Imaging has become a sponsor of the exciting 'Bloodhound SSC' project which will be attempting to set a new world land speed record in 2015.

Hose continuity tester - The OhmGuard® Hose Continuity Tester, manufactured by Newson Gale, is a device designed to ensure that a string of assembled hoses have good electrical continuity with a grounded truck.

Navigating the maze of customer connections - The International Society of Automation (ISA) announces today that early-bird registration is open for its 8th Marketing and Sales Summit, which will be held 11-13 September 2013 at the W New Orleans hotel, just steps from the famed French Quarter.

Making fieldbus experience easier, more application-centered - The Fieldbus Foundation has announced a new technology development initiative - Project Gemstone - intended to make the digital fieldbus automation experience easier than conventional analog control systems in every conceivable way, from device setup to device replacement and daily maintenance practices

Record sales - Mantracourt Electronics Ltd is celebrating a record sales performance for April 2013. This achievement comes on the back of its ongoing development of new products and expansion of its overseas network of technical partners.

New industrial connector series - The new Han® HMC industrial connector series from Harting combines the capability for more than 10,000 mating cycles with protection against harsh environmental conditions.

Field wireless systems partnership - Yokogawa has announced that its subsidiary Yokogawa America do Sul Ltda. has signed a partnership agreement with Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) on the evaluation of field wireless technology based on ISA100.11a.

Noncontact temperature measurement system - Raytek has introduced the Equipment Monitoring System (EMS), a noncontact temperature measurement system that enables round-the-clock condition monitoring of actively powered components or operating machinery, supporting predictive and preventive maintenance.

Optimise Automated Test Systems - National Instruments has announced its newest general-purpose programmable power supplies, which offer the highest power density available in PXI and form the foundation of automated test systems.

Mercury emissions monitor - Gasmet has a new continuous mercury monitoring system (CMM).

22/5/2013

LXI for Collider Signal Monitoring at CERN - David Owen, Business Development Manager at Pickering Interfaces talks about an application in one of the most complex scientific sites on the planet.

Cybersecurity provider makes appointments - ISC8 Inc has named three new executives; Scott Millis as chief security strategy officer; Kelly Anderson as vice president of sales for North America; and Gev Pestonji, vice president of sales for Asia Pacific

Trade up your LIMS - Recognising the high purchase price and ongoing support costs of many competitive Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS), Autoscribe has devised a payment scheme that would significantly reduce capital budget costs.

Another symposium success - A joint conference of the International Society of Automation (ISA) and the Machinery Failure Prevention Technology (MFPT) Society attracted more than 200 attendees last week to learn about the latest advances in instrumentation and mechanical failure prevention, and to discover practical synergies between the two long-standing professional associations.

Embedded vision system - Adlink Technology has released its new EOS-1220 GigE Vision-compliant embedded vision system, featuring 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7 quad core processors, four independent PoE (power over Ethernet) ports, full compatibility with GigE Vision cameras and support for smart PoE APIs, allowing remote switching of PoE status.

High speed web inspection for laser-machined holes - Olmec-UK has partnered with web handling specialists, Universal Converting Equipment, to produce a vision system capable of real-time measurement of laser machined holes in film.

Level controller helps increase reliability & accuracy - The new Fisher® L2e from Emerson uses a rugged force-balanced displacer sensor to detect the level of a single liquid or the interface of two liquids.

Compact thermal imager - Omega has introduced a new line of compact thermal imagers powered by FLIR®.

Final effluent monitors protect wastewater treatment efficiency - Richard Reeves, Principal Process Scientist, Southern Water, and David Ballinger, Optimisation and R & D Manager, Southern Water discuss this application. Southern Water supplies water and wastewater services for Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in the south of England.

ISA forum draws 400 attendees - Nearly 400 attendees and more than 60 exhibitors gathered at the International Society of Automation's (ISA) 58th Analysis Division Symposium, which was held in April 2013 in Galveston (TX USA).

Enclosures for high-security cells - Shown at Cebit 2013, Rittal's Modulsafe Level E is an enhanced version of the existing Safe platform and is ideal for critical data that requires total protection.

Smart Wireless solutions - Emerson Process Management is making it easier for the process industry to maximise productivity and reduce downtime by incorporating its Smart Wireless technology into the Rosemount® 3051 Pressure Transmitter.

First plug-FEST - In the first CAN FD plug-fest, Bosch, Peak, and Vector proofed the interoperability of their CAN FD implementations. The FPGAs implementing the CAN FD data link layer as submitted for international standardization were tested using different network topologies and transmission speeds.

Spot checks of moisture ensure safety of surgical air and reduce risk of infection - Michell's MDM300 portable dew-point hygrometer takes high-speed measurements of moisture in compressed air systems for surgical instruments and breathing air in spot-checks to ensure safety in hospitals.

New PXI chassis - Geotest-Marvin Test Systems has added two new PXI chassis to its product line - the GX7200, a 21-slot PXI Express chassis and the GX7800, an 8-slot, low cost PXI chassis.

Oscilloscope enhanced - A number of new enhancements have been introduced to the DLM4000 Series of 8-channel mixed-signal oscilloscopes from Yokogawa.

Dirk Finstel is Executive Vice President of MCPS & CEO of AdLink's European headquarters.
Advanced industrial cybersecurity - The ISA has just introduced a new, upper-level course, Advanced Industrial Cybersecurity (TS13).

Speedy samples - Harting's express sample service, which allows customers to order product samples from the Harting eCatalogue quickly, easily and free of charge, has been speeded up so that samples are now dispatched within 24 hours of the order being placed rather than the 48 hours under the previous system.

Partnership in solids measurement - Magnetrol International and APM Automation Solutions (Tel Aviv, IL) have completed a market-changing agreement designating Magnetrol as a global private label distributor of APM's groundbreaking bulk solids measurement technology.

Weighing systems portfolio grows - The Siemens Industry Automation Division has expanded its range of platform and compression load cells.

Imaging and vision handbook updated - Improved technical overviews, easier to use selection guides and over 30% more content are the highlights of the new edition of Stemmer Imaging's highly regarded handbook on imaging and machine vision.

Security partnership - HardwarePT has announced a new partnership with Tofino Security, in response to the growing cyber threats in the industrial automation industry.

Three new families of ultrasonic sensors - Ultrasonic sensor in miniature housing Handling machines usually have a very compact design. As a result, there is hardly any space available to install the sensors. The UB…F77 series, from Pepperl+Fuchs, is well equipped for these applications.

Coriolis flowmeters range expanded - Micro Motion® ELITE® CMFS sensor platform has been added to Emerson's line of Coriolis flowmeters to deliver precise measurement to smaller line sizes (pipelines less than DN50).

Iain Taylor is new Supplier Development Manager with Anglia

Radiation-resistant accelerometers - The MTN/1100-R series of radiation-resistant constant current accelerometers has been launched by Monitran.

Air monitoring in food products - Air Monitors, has launched a new division to cater specifically for the air monitoring requirements of the food industry.

Static motor analysers - The new Baker DX series of static motor analysis equipment from SKF replaces older-generation Baker D-series and ST series surge test analysers.

Thinking big with improved data partnership - SolutionsPT has announced a new partnership with Confio Software to distribute Ignite for SQL Server, as the company puts ‘Unlocking Big data’ at the heart of its strategy.

New technology for gas flow and composition - A unique in-pipe gas flow monitoring technology that also offers the ability to measure gas composition or purity has been introduced by Quantitech.

ICS & SCADA security - July 2010 was when we first heard of Stuxnet - and we're still hearing. Here are listed many links tracing the proliferation of automation malware!

Partnership strengthened - Rittal Limited and HEITEC AG announce a strengthening of their already close partnership for the British market.


Peter Walsh to be SOE chief!

USB adapter for diagnostics and commissioning from Siemens - Siemens has extended its range of Profibus PC modules with the Simatic PC Adapter USB A2.

ISA standards for effective decision support - The Ireland Section of the ISA has landed a big hitter for their May technical talk. Dr Maurice Wilkins is Yokogawa's Head of Global Strategic Marketing on the 29th May 2013.

Remote monitors track river restoration success - The Norfolk Rivers Trust (GB) has installed a remote river monitoring station that has been tracking water quality and flow before and after river restoration work at an area of ecological importance on the River Nar.

Testing total vehicle durability - Ford Europe commits many man hours to acquiring data from prototype test vehicles at its test track at Lommel in Belgium and, during the past 13 years, much of the Road Load Data (RLD) has been derived using Kistler RoaDyn Wheel Force Sensors over a wide variety of road surfaces.

Speeding up and simplification of inspections - Keyance image dimension measurement system puts much faster in-process inspection within everyone’s reach at Timex.

Wireless software development kit! - Nivis recently released an ISA100 Wireless Application Layer Software Development Kit (SDK)

Versitile connector for system & panel builders - Cliff Electronics have a new range of highly versatile Fast-On terminal blocks and accessories for system and panel builders.

New US meter for LNG apps - The new Daniel™ 3818 Liquid Ultrasonic Flow Meter for liquefied natural gas applications is specifically designed for reducing flow measurement uncertainty throughout the LNG value chain.

Representation in Ireland announced! - B&B Electronics have appointed Datalink Communications as Distributor/Agent for B&B Electronics produts in Ireland.

Hot stuff from automation students! - An automatic curry sausage maker named the "CurryMax" has been developed by a group of trainees? The device ensures that sausages pass through every production stage correctly; they are fried, sliced, dressed with a portion of sauce and then exit the sausage maker ready to be eaten.

Recognition for use of Ethernet switches - Red Lion Control has been recognised by Automation Panorama magazine for the use of its N-Tron industrial Ethernet switches in helping the Yiba Highway Construction Headquarters deliver real-time monitoring and control for a series of highway tunnels in China.

Subsea Automation Protocol - The integration and certification of Honeywell's FMC722 subsea automation protocol with its Experion® Process Knowledge System (PKS) C300 controller as a native interface has been announced.

Stretch wrap packaging - Rittal's TS 8 screw fastened side panels are now packaged in Rittal's new stretch wrap system, which consists of all-round polystyrene edge protectors and stretch film.

LED Drivers & psu in Ireland & Britain - Anglia Lighting has greatly expanded its range of LED drivers and power supplies following its appointment as British and Irish distributor for Inventronics.

Modules & couplers for high voltage field devices - Acromag's new BusWorks® XT Series multi-channel optocoupler and interposing relay modules connect discrete field devices to measurement & control system I/O modules.

Fieldbus device couplers simplify upgrade at chemical plant - MooreHawke has released a new case study highlighting the use of its next-generation TRUNKGUARD Series 200 (TG200) fieldbus device couplers at a chemical plant operated by Ashland Inc. in Ohio (USA).

High-density rectangular connector for harsh environments - The new Harting Han® Q High Density is a rectangular connector for signal contacts which delivers the highest contact density to date in the company's compact Han® 3A size range.

Control & Automation students rewarded! - Mitsubishi Electric Ireland sponsored the Best Academic Performance in the Final Year of the B Eng Tech in Control & Automation Systems in Academic Year 2011 - 2012.

Maximum performance with standard Ethernet Controller - KW-Software is introducing a cost-effective PROFINET solution based on a Standard Ethernet Controller that includes isochronous real-time communication (IRT).

Technological breakthrough in the profile measurment - There has been a real technological breakthrough in the profile measuring field. Approximately 30 times faster than the best standard of the market, with the LJ-V Series from Keyance, it is possible to check instantaneously the results of a scanned target using a 3D view on line.

Karl Miles joins the Peak Group as Technical Sales Manager

A "Never Been Done Before" goal - Dockwise, a global leader in the transport and offshore installation of extremely large and heavy structures, has selected Emerson Process Management to supply the control systems that help maintain stability and structural integrity for their semi-submersible heavy transport vessel, the largest of its kind in the world.

MOM's the word! - The third collection of ISA's Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM) methodology white papers designed to help manufacturers transform their paper-based processes into real-time operations intelligence that drives innovation and optimises global supply chain management.

Free data capture application - ADLINK Technology has announced free download availability of AD-Logger™, its ready-to-run data capture application, and DAQBench®, providing ActiveX controls for creating professional instrumentation applications using ActiveX development environments.

Digital flow sensor - Omron Electronic Components has added a new digital flow sensor offering exceptionally high accuracy and repeatability in monitoring low air flows

Piercarlo (PC) Romano is new chairman of the board of the Control System Integrators Association (CSIA)

Distributors jump into a lake! - FTIR manufacturer Gasmet recently invited its distributors from around the world to attend a training event at a country house hotel outside of Helsinki (FI). During the event, awards were given to the best performing companies and all delegates were treated to a wealth of traditional Finnish hospitality which included a jump into a frozen lake.

Our second FIRST story! - This is the second story (Creating young scientists! 1/5/2013) in as many days on that unique organisation founded to foster science and technology among the youth of today.

Electrical & control systems for PV plant in Kalahari (ZA) - ABB has won an order worth around $25 million to supply electrical and control systems for a new 75 megawatt (MW) photovoltaic (PV) power plant in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. The order was booked in the first quarter.

Exploring the Advancements in energy production, transfer and usage - In a 4-part webcast series, taking place in June, National Instruments will explore the technologies enabling these innovations.

Docking frame features floating mount - A new docking frame with a floating mount has been added to the Harting Han-Modular® series of industrial connectors, allowing users to assemble customised connector configurations using "blind" connection.

Mobile machine control conference - The program for the 1st international Mobile Machine Control (MMC) conference has been published.

Alarm management and actuator capability - Emerson Process Management has released cost-saving new diagnostic capabilities in its FieldQ rack & pinion, fully integrated valve actuator and controls.

Italian company appoints US distributor - Paralan is now the official USA distributor for LAM Technologies.

Creating young scientists - FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) and National Instruments have announced that they are extending their technology partnership through 2019 with the shared goal of creating more scientists and engineers

Integrated temperature Sensor in passive RFID - EM Microelectronic has announced the EM4325V11, a versatile and multipurpose, battery-assisted passive (BAP) RFID chip with a calibrated temperature sensor.