Powerstax has appointed Phil James as Sales Director.

Efficient utilization of unused device data. - Endress+Hauser is to highlight the intelligent utilization of data and information from field devices and show how the vast potential hidden in plants can be unleashed at Aprisl Hannover Fair. The foundation of this strategy is innovative diagnostic information generated by Heartbeat Technology, a wide selection of digital interfaces and connectivity modules, as well as the Netilion IIoT ecosystem.

Petrochem event in new venue! - This year the event, the 3rd international PEFTEC conference and exhibition on testing and monitoring in oil, petrochemical, refining and environmental applications, will take place on 22nd and 23rd May at the Rotterdam Ahoy exhibition centre (NL). The Industrial Methane Measurement (IMM) Conference will run alongside.

Cost-effective and multi-capable test equipment for Fibreoptics! - The new Yokogawa AQ1210 OTDR (Optical-Time Domain Reflectometer) only resembles the existing AQ1200 in appearance - internally it has been completely re-engineered to bring the features and user-friendly operation of the AQ7280 flagship OTDR to the installers and testers of Passive Optical Networks (PON) and Fibre To The Antenna (FTTA).

Love all! Grass court tennis sponsors. - The Harting Technology Group is once again the "Official Technology Partner" of the GERRY WEBER OPEN. The technology group thus continues its successful 2017 and 2018 partnership for the 27th tournament edition of the renowned ATP 500 series grass-court event at the Gerry Weber Stadium in Halle/Westphalia (D) from June 15-23, 2019.

Arne Dehn is taking over as CEO with Stemmer Imaging.

The flow market analysed! - Flow Research are about to ship one of the most comprehensive studies ever published of the worldwide flowmeter market. This study is called Volume X: The World Market for Flowmeters, 7th Edition. This All-in-One Study gives 2018 market size and market shares, and forecasts through 2023 for all flowmeter types used in process environments.

Can Robots learn to set their own goals? - A project funded by the European Union (EU) aims to improve the ability of robots to set their own goals and develop autonomous skills. According to the European Commission, this would increase EU’s competitiveness in the field of artificial intelligence and advanced learning. The research team has already demonstrated the basic open-ended learning process for solving tasks using Goal-based Open-ended Autonomous Learning Robots (GOAL-ROBOTs). Could this technology soon be used in the manufacturing environment?

Linear actuators. - With the recently announced increase in maximum dynamic load from 10 kN to 16 kN for stroke lengths to 500 mm, and with static loads to 18 kN, Thomson’s Electrak® HD series linear actuators are now an even more compelling alternative to hydraulic and pneumatic cylinders for positioning tasks on heavy-duty machinery and equipment.

Rise of the machines threatens 40% of jobs in Ireland. -

ASi digital modules. - ASi-5 is the latest generation of the proven standard AS-Interface for the efficient networking of sensors and actuators at the automation base. The product range from Bihl+Wiedemann currently contains the following ASi-5 products: ASi-5/ASi-3 Gateways, a counter module, an ASi-5 Slave / IO-Link Master as well as digital I/O modules.

Design, selection, and functioning of control valves. - The first-edition release of Fluid Mechanics of Control Valves: How Valves Control Your Process, a practical reference guide to proper control valve design, selection, and operation has been published by ISA.

Strategic partnership with Japan. - Werum IT Solutions is pleased to announce a new strategic partnership with Toyo Business Engineering Corporation (B-EN-G), a leading and highly experienced provider of integrated enterprise and manufacturing solutions headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

5 Year partnership for talent development! -

High-performance drive controllers. - Aerotech has introduced two high-performance single-axis controllers: the digital XC4 and XC4e PWMs. They are suitable for driving brushed or brushless DC motors as well as moving coil actuators and stepper motors. A special feature besides the position-synchronized outputs (PSO) is the HyperWire® fibre optic interface.

Intelligent water systems challenge. - For the second year in a row, the International Society of Automation (ISA)—through its Water and Wastewater Industries Division (WWID)—is supporting an initiative designed to demonstrate the value of intelligent water systems, smart water technologies, and leveraging data for improved decision-making.

DC energy meters certified! - LEM has become the first company to receive the German certification for the EM4TII (Energy Meter For Traction) DC energy meters. Mathieu Béguin (Product marketing engineer) summarises, "Originally developed for railway applications, we identified an opportunity to adapt the EM4TII DC Meter to comply with German regulations. Information about the new DC Meter will follow in due course."

Machine Vision event! - Visitor registration for the UKIVA Machine Vision Conference and Exhibition is now open. The one-day event will take place in Milton Keynes (GB) on Thursday 6th June 2019. The Conference program for 2019 will feature around 60 speakers, delivering the richest and most diverse program offered to date.

Good results! - Endress+Hauser's business developed very positively across all regions and industries in 2018. The Group has reported new highs in net sales, income and employment. According to preliminary figures, Endress+Hauser increased net sales by more than 9 percent to over 2.4 billion euros in 2018.

Telema S.p.A has appointed Andrew Keith as its new group product development director. .

125 Amp adaptor. - Rittal has launched a new 45 mm RiLine Compact adaptor, which is rated at 125 amps. It has two rear contact rows enabling users to easily and quickly plug the adaptor into two power boards mounted adjacent to each other.

5G Protocol conformance. - Anritsu Corporation has announced the submission of the industry’s first Protocol Conformance test in the Sub-6 GHz Frequency Range 1 (FR1) to 3GPP RAN5 working group for approval. The test defined by 3GPP TS38.523 has been verified with Exynos modem 5100 5G New Radio (NR) modem developed by Samsung’s System LSI Business on Anritsu ME7834NR Protocol Conformance test system.

Connecting IIoT! - Harting has developed a number of innovative, targeted connectivity solutions for the IIoT world of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). The fourth Industrial Revolution is witnessing the ever-advancing convergence of the physical with the digital world.

AC line reactors. - The Schaffner Group has introduced a new generation of AC line reactors with optimised design and best cost-performance ratio.

Optical screwdriver! - AFL's lightweight, ergonomically-designed FOCIS WiFi2 fibre optic connector microscope does not require any cables or displays. All you need to operate the "optical screwdriver" sold by Laser Componants is a standard iOS or Android mobile device. The corresponding app is available for free download.

Servomex Strengthens Sales Teams With New Regional Sales Managers.

How OPC UA and TSN Are Driving the Creation of a Universal Industrial Network - Summary The future of industrial networking just got a lot brighter. After a year of uncertainty surrounding the future direction of industrial Ethernet, recent announcements appear to have settled a looming rift in the industrial networking community. In a significant move, the OPC Foundation announced in late 2018 that it will now actively promote its Publish-Subscribe model for communication with devices at the field level. In addition, time-sensitive networking (TSN), a mechanism for time synchronization and determinism, is quickly gaining acceptance among industry players.

Selecting semiconductors! - A new Discrete Semiconductor Selection Guide has been released by Anglia, guiding customers through the vast range of industry standard discrete devices available. The interactive guide is Internet-linked – each product category has an associated Website Data Reference which takes customers straight to the associated page on Anglia Live.

OPC Unified Architecture. - Red Lion Controls has announced new capabilities for their award-winning Crimson® software, including an OPC UA Client driver with encrypted password support, OPC UA Historical Access, an MQTT connector for Google Cloud and store and forward buffering for all Crimson cloud connectors.

Precision RF connectors. - A new precision connector series to meet the increasing demand for proper RF-connections up to 90 GHz has been introduced by Rosenberger. The newly developed RPC-1.35 connector series – the "E connector" – is characterised by a highly robust mechanical design, minimum 3000 mating cycles, high connector repeatability, maximum return loss values and is designed for high-performance RF measurements in the E-Band.

Process analysis added to event! - PEFTEC 2019 has been expanded to include a full Process Analysis Conference, as well as the hugely popular Analytical Conference. In addition, both conferences will merge for a joint session on 'Big Data/Big Analysis'.

Asset management made less complex. - A new release of Emerson’s AMS Device Manager helps improve plant reliability with better organised data for more informed and proactive management of field devices. New embedded tools allow project and operations teams to customise plant device hierarchies, project tracking, and device alerts, delivering improved decision support - a key competency of digital transformation. With AMS Device Manager, Emerson is helping teams effectively use device data to deliver more reliable operations and shorten project engineering timeline.

New electronics components website! - JPR Electronics has launched a new website. Its modern design offers customers simple navigation, fast response, a great user experience and simple online purchasing.

SMIs not ready North or South - The AIB Brexit Sentiment Index for Q4 2018 reveals that 35% of SMEs in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) and 40% in Northern Ireland (NI) that had planned to expand or invest in their business have either cancelled or postponed investment plans due to Brexit.

Power devices & developments kits stocked! - Anglia is now offering an extensive stock profile of Analog Devices' (ADI) Power by Linear devices and development kits.

Robust switchgear passes tests! - .steute commissioned the Fraunhofer IFAM (Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials) in Bremen (D) to conduct a 1-year exposure test on their "Extreme" range at its site on the small German island of Helgoland.

Dive into industrial automation software. - SolutionsPT is hosting a free Tech Day event for manufacturers, allowing them to take a deep dive into the latest Wonderware software, explore the digital modelling of operational assets and the very latest OT cyber security advancements. (26 Feb Cheadle GB).

Power monitoring in Data Centre. - The HuiShang bank enhanced 24/7 operational security mains power quality monitoring in a data centre using with Camille Bauer instrumentation. The bank decided to invest further in securing its 24/7 operations. To do this, they installed extra equipment to monitor the electrical power quality.

Measuring many gases! - Pyroelectric detectors are ideally suited for gas analysis. Until now, this has been complicated if many gases should be measured. There were often simply too few measuring channels for this purpose. The new LRM-278 from InfraTec now offers exactly the right solution for this. Combining eight channels in a TO8 housing with a diameter of 15.2 millimetres this detectors is the first of its kind worldwide.

Quick release terminals. - JPR Electronics offers a wide range of quick-release terminals manufactured by market leading connector manufacturer Schützinger. Since the launch of their first quick-release terminal an entire product family has emerged and successfully established itself in the market. Quick-release terminals provide the ideal connection in any situation where a safe and rapid connection must be created quickly between a conductor or cable and another device.

Robust laser module. - The FLEXPOINT® laser module ILM12IP from Laser Components is specially designed for outdoor use. Its housing complies with protection class IP67. This means that even the finest dust particles cannot penetrate the housing. Even a half an hour of submersion in water does not bother the module.

Process measurement video channel! - Krohne has opened a new dedicated YouTube channel, "KROHNE Tutorials," for explanatory videos on industrial process measurement devices. It contains user-oriented Installation-Commissioning-Verification (ICV) videos, starting with H250 M40 and OPTISWIRL flowmeters.

CO2 sensor on track! - The EE8915 from E+E Elektronik meets all relevant railway standards for reliable CO2 measurement in railway vehicles, e.g. in the passenger compartment or driver's cab. On-board sensors ensure high CO2 measurement accuracy independently of temperature, altitude or weather conditions.

Board-level cameras. - USB 3.1 Gen 1 board-level cameras from the uEye LE family from IDS are available as variants with the use and control of liquid lens lenses. The cameras focus in milliseconds on different object distances – for millions of cycles, wear-free and without moving parts. This makes them particularly suitable for applications where the working distance changes frequently.

Chris Kaye as Business Development Manager with Meteor Communications, with specific focus on the Drainage Authority sector.

Integrated systems for power distribution. - With the new Rittal VX25 large enclosure system, low-voltage switchgear and distribution boards can now be easily and safely manufactured in accordance with IEC 61439. This means that electrical engineering companies can set up central and compact power distribution systems ideally, with a rated current of up to 2,100 A using the "VX25 Ri4Power 185 mm busbar system".

Brexit! Robots to the rescue! - At a time when apprehension about Brexit is reaching fever pitch, an innovation company is helping British businesses to stay competitive by launching a robotics hire scheme alongside its existing robotics sales operation. Under the scheme, Bots Automation is offering a range of robotic arms for hire that can help perform tasks including assembly, CNC machining, painting, injection molding, screwing, picking and placing.

Connector stack heights added. - Harting has added two new stack heights to its compact har-flex® 1.27 mm pitch connector family, allowing designers to optimise the use of space in PCB and device design by enabling a broad range of PCB spacings from 8 to 20 mm.

Biogas flowmeter. - Krohne has updated the OPTISONIC 7300 Biogas ultrasonic flowmeter for the measurement of dry and wet (raw) biogas with variable composition. Besides the standard temperature sensor, it now features a pressure sensor that can be ordered optionally with the flowmeter and comes mounted on the flow tube.

Anti-cavitation valve trim. - Emerson's Fisher Vee-Ball™ Rotary Control Valves are now available with Cavitrol™ Hex Anti-Cavitation Trim to reduce or eliminate vibration caused by cavitation. The Cavitrol Hex trim option provides improved performance in severe service applications while maintaining valve efficiency, resulting in increased safety.

Reliable turbidity measurement. - In its EXspect 271 backscattering sensor, Exner is launching a compact measuring device for reliable and economical turbidity measurement. One major benefit of the new sensor is in the spherical design of its optical measurement system. This minimises the attachment of air bubbles and the build-up of deposits.

Dr Attila Bilgic, CTO Krohne Group, has been elected as the new Chairman of the VDI/VDE-GMA Executive Board for the period 2019-2022.

Photoionisation detector. - Ion Science has launched its ‘world first’ FalcoTAC fixed photoionisation detector (PID) with 10.0eV lamp for fast and reliable detection of highly toxic total aromatic compounds (TACs), including benzene, in high humidity environments.

Tips for IT security. - Rittal’s teams work closely with leading industrial companies to create IT infrastructures for use with Industry 4.0 technology, including edge computing platforms. They have put together several tips to help companies implement fast-deploying and secure IT for production environments.

Who knows? The Brexit dilemma! - It would appear that industry in Britain has by and large been in a state of stagnation – “torpor” is the word used in a recent article – waiting hoping for a favourable and non-disruptive result to the interminable negotiations. This would appear to be confirmed by Dharshini David of the BBC when he says, “Business investment is stagnant…”. In our experience no native instrumentation and control body or publication, with few notable exceptions, such as Processing Talk and GAMBICA, seems to realise exactly what is going down the line still less really understands what the implications of BREXIT are! The majority seem to think that everything will be alright on the night!

Wireless Solution for IIoT for Europe! - Yokogawa will release the Sushi Sensor, an OpreXTM brand wireless solution, in markets other than Japan, starting with Europe (March 2019). Already available in Japan, the Sushi Sensor is a compact wireless device with integrated sensing and communication functions that is intended for use in the monitoring of plant equipment vibration and surface temperature.

Monitoring ship carbon emissions. - Krohne Marine has introduced a new version of EcoMATE: the software system for fuel consumption monitoring now also includes monitoring and reporting of carbon emissions for ships. It enables crews, operators and fleet owners to monitor all vessel types with a single integrated software tool that provides automatic calculation and reporting of emission and efficiency data.