3D Line Profile Sensors. - LMI Technologies (LMI) has released the Gocator® 2430/2440/2450 blue laser line profile sensors. This latest addition to LMI's popular 2400 series, these new blue laser models are designed for 3D scanning of shiny metal surfaces in electric vehicle (EV) battery inspection, rail inspection (rail geometry), small to medium-size electronic and automotive parts, and general factory automation applications.

Virtual robotics. - ABB has created a virtual exhibition stand demonstrating its latest products and solutions for processing and packaging applications since the PPMA exhibition this year has been cancelled. The stand is built around a panoramic tour that enables you to discover the benefits robots can bring to many industries worldwide.

Cutting-Edge applications in artificial intelligence. - Mouser Electronics has released Artificial Intelligence: The Next Wave in Life Sciences, the first eBook from The Intelligent Revolution series. In the new eBook, experts from Mouser and the life science industry explore cutting-edge applications for artificial intelligence (AI) in areas such as speech therapy, flu prevention, and wildlife protection. The captivating new AI series is the latest addition to Mouser’s award-winning Empowering Innovation Together™ program.

Visualising gases. - Building on the previous methane-detecting GF77 camera release, FLIR now offers two lens types for finding a wider variety of gases with just one camera.

Software supply chain security - Software supply chain security is a hot topic today. Malicious code can get injected into smart industrial control system (ICS) devices and systems at multiple points during their design, manufacture, distribution, and use. (Sid Snitkin - ARC Advisory)

Building automation award. - Delta Controls, Inc., has won Frost & Sullivan’s 2020 Global Building Automation Systems Company of the Year Award. The honor by the prestigious market research firm recognizes Delta Controls’ ability to provide superior value to worldwide customers with its industry-leading technologies that offer a full suite of smart features and functionality, as well as with its best-in-class technical support.

Check valve. - The new model CV check valve from WIKA is designed for a wide range of applications in the process industry. Its sealing system with a self-centering piston reliably prevents backflow of liquid and gaseous media.

Miniature CO2, temp & pressure sensor. - The new EE895 sensor module from E+E Elektronik measures CO2, temperature and ambient pressure. The small 3-in-1 module is an ideal choice for measuring instruments used for ventilation and climate control, in building automation or for process control. Due to its low power consumption, the module is also suitable for battery-operated devices such as hand-held meters, data loggers or wireless transmitters. The temperature and pressure compensation ensures high CO2 measurement accuracy under changing environmental conditions.

Support safe reopening! - Omron is supporting the safe reopening of spaces after lockdown with a wide range of optical sensors. These components can form a vital part of an effective infection control regime within buildings, rooms and even crowd-controlled spaces by monitoring body temperature measurement, counting the density of people in an area and reducing the need to touch surfaces.

Collaboration to accelerate adoption of continuous pharmaceutical manufacturing. - Emerson has signed a joint commercialisation agreement with Integra CMS, a specialty consulting company focusing on specification and implementation of continuous pharmaceutical manufacturing systems, to provide comprehensive technologies and services for continuous processes. The two companies aim to quicken adoption of continuous manufacturing processes throughout the industry.

Wastewater treatment teams searching for COVID-19 - Researchers are sifting through raw sewage in wastewater treatment facilities for traces of COVID-19 to find out how it spreads. (Control Engineering 9/9/2020)

Supporting the digital transformation journey - Whether it's metrics, use cases, technology assessments, organizational impact, resource requirements, or some other key piece of information, digital transformation research is never specific to your company. ARC's new Vanguard Service is changing that for industry.

Sensor for laser output. - The new HP60A-15KW-GD power meter from Gentec-EO, through Laser Components, is designed for the high intensities of powerful lasers with comparatively small beam diameters (>50 mm). With a damage threshold of 10 kW/cm², it withstands continuous output powers of up to 15 kW. A gold cone reflector directs the incoming light to the sides of the aperture to spread the intensity of the beam effectively over a larger area.

Ultrasonic Imaging Camera. - FLIR has made its Si124 industrial acoustic imaging camera available for purchase globally, thus enabling customers to take advantage of the benefits of ultrasonic imaging.

Force sensor and load cell in aerospace. - Strainsert has a comprehensive standard product offering but characteristically for the aerospace industry, its custom design service comes to the fore – led by a proven multi-stage approach that is supported for British customers by its exclusive distribution partner, Ixthus Instrumentation.

New vortex flowmeter. - The OPTISWIRL 2100 has been added to Krohne's OPTISWIRL family. The new vortex flowmeter aims at basic utility applications in the process industries and is an economical solution for the measurement of liquids, (wet) gases, saturated and superheated steam where high accuracy is not required.

More PLC options. - IDEC Corporation has expanded the already capable MicroSmart FC6A All-in-One PLC family, with three new 12V DC CPUs. End users, designers, and OEMs now have more options for automating battery-backed equipment, traffic controls, and heavy equipment vehicles.

Monitoring hazardous agents. - In line with China’s new occupational exposure limits for Chemical Hazardous Agents in the Workplace which took effect on 1 April 2020, Purolite Corporation China is using a Mercury Vapour Indicator (MVI) from Ion Science to help ensure the health and safety of its employees.

Programmable power supply units. - The PSB series of programmable digital power supplies/loads from Interpro Systems, are microprocessor controlled bi-directional supplies that feature two devices in one: an auto-ranging DC power supply and an electronic DC load with energy recovery. The bi-directional package replaces individual programmable sources and loads, and the regenerative load returns up to 95% of test energy to the grid.

Pressure reducing valve on virtual show! - The pressure reducing valve series 9000 Edition G06F, from Goetze, sets new standards on the Building Technology market. Two intensive years of development and innovation result in a new product, which cleverly combine high-quality materials with impressive performance. Customers are now able to discover this product immediately with all its facets in their newly set-up virtual showroom.

Virtual users' group highlights a new reality! - Given the recent global events, it was of little surprise that the first key-note focused on remote operations. Unlike most of its competitors, Honeywell International has its own chemical processing operations that faced some of the same challenges as other HPS customers and provides a greater level of intimacy for problem solving. The event itself highlighted Honeywell Process Solution's continued focus on technology enablement to address the process manufacturer's pressing business challenges. (ARC Advisory report)

More than 150 business leaders and investors urge EU heads of state to set higher 2030 emissions reduction targets - As the European Commission sits down to discuss proposals for a new 2030 emissions target in time for the State of the Union address tomorrow (Wednesday Sept 16), more than 150 European businesses, investors and business networks, are calling on EU leaders to back the ambition set out in the European Green Deal and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030. (CLG Europe intervention).

Scholarship announced! - The ISA water/wastewater division (WWID) has announced the ISA WWID Michael Fedenyszen Memorial Student Scholarship for 2021. Students can apply by filling out the application form and attaching a 200-word essay on why they should win, a copy of their academic transcript and confirmation of enrollment. The application deadline is January 31, 2021.

Redundant encoders provide cost-effective safety. - Wachendorff has recently launched redundant versions of its well proven WDGR and WDGE series incremental and absolute encoders. Available from Variohm EuroSensor the new series combine disparate optical and magnetic measurement principles that are independently correlated yet fully synchronised through separate processing electronics.

IIoT monitoring and automation almost anywhere. - Quantum Automation has developed and is shipping a standard, yet customizable, off-grid remote monitoring and control hardware and software solution. The QRTU and QSolarBattery, individually or together, can be easily deployed by end users to monitor and control machines and processes located almost anywhere.

Digital twin technology for machine tool manufacturing. - NUM has launched digital twin technology that enables machine tool manufacturers to reduce their time to market dramatically, by using powerful Industry 4.0 simulation techniques.

Office safety with COVID-19. - Tenants of serviced offices are starting to ask questions about environmental monitoring in their office spaces. Temperature, humidity, CO2 and ventilation levels are known to have an impact on comfort and even productivity of occupants of an office building. Add in safety concerns about COVID-19 transmission in the workplace and this becomes a trend that Facilities Managers need to be paying attention to now.

EMC filter -low leakage versions for RCD and medical applications. - Schaffner are reintroducing the FN2415 - single-phase EMC filter for control equipment with extended capabilities.New low leakage versions for RCD and medical use.

Robotics and smartphone or tablet. - ABB's new RobotStudio® AR viewer provides a quick and convenient way of visualizing where and how robotic automation can fit into your process using a smartphone or tablet.

Validating LIMS. - Autoscribe Informatics has announced the release of a new white paper on the validation of Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS). The white paper discusses what LIMS validation is and the steps involved, the responsibilities of the customer and supplier, how GAMP5 affects LIMS validation, and the deliverables you can expect from a LIMS validation project.

High-Performance handheld barcode readers. - The DataMan® 8700 Series of handheld barcode readers has been launched by Cognex. Built on a completely redesigned platform, this next generation of handheld readers delivers cutting-edge performance and ease of use with no tuning or operator training required.

What’s next for industrialization as the industry begins to prepare for Industry 5.0. - Engineers play a critical role in integrating legacy systems into the digital landscape of today’s businesses. The new-age enterprises thrive on technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), Big Data and analytics, and robotic process automation (RPA). To optimize these technologies, organizations need to either overhaul their operations completely or make use of the existing setup and intelligently transform them as per the business needs. This makes strategizing a very important gamut of the digital transformation exercise. (Control Engineering)

Brexit Readiness Action Plan - The Irish Government's Brexit Readiness Action Plan supports and promotes the necessary preparations for the substantial and enduring changes that will arise at the end of the transition period in less than four months' time, on 31 December 2020. (Rialtas na hÉireann 9/9/2020)

Addressing cybersecurity risks for Mining. - IntelliSense.io has joined The Operational Technology Cyber Security Alliance (OTCSA) to further its aim for the mining industry of a safer future with secure optimization technology that can leverage both OT and Cloud environments.

Water softner alarm. - If hard water is produced at the output of the softener instead of soft water expected, this may be due to the water softener tank. The concentration of salt or water may be too low or there may be other defects in the tank. A direct message may be monitored indicating that maintenance is required on the salt/brine tank of the softener. The WLAN-enabled sensor SALIS, developed by Online Fluid Sensoric GmbH (OFS), enables alarms to be received by e-mail.

Virtual physics conference. - HBK has launched the countdown to its virtual Product Physics Conference, taking place from 13th to 15th October 2020.

First transmitter-style gas chromatograph. - The Rosemount™ 700XA gas chromatograph (GC) from Emerson, is the industry’s first single-analyser solution to provide measurement of sulphur compounds as well as energy content of natural gas, delivering a cost-effective approach to meet gas quality and heating value requirements for pipeline distribution, processing of liquified natural gas (LNG), mixed and high-purity natural gas liquids (NGLs), as well as international LNG commerce.

Compact axial fan. - A compact axial fan that measures just 40mm by 28mm has been released by EAO Ltd. It delivers ample airflow and static pressure necessary to cool the latest space-constrained 1U racks typically used today to accommodate high performance servers, switching power supplies and comms. equipment.

What Is the Current State of Additive Manufacturing? - Manufacturing is changing in ways never thought possible. Technologies like additive manufacturing (AM), material science, and generative design are changing the face of manufacturing more than at any time in the history of making things. Expect new products that could not have been built before. (Dick Slansky, ARC Advisory)

Positioning standard wins major award. - Profibus & ProfiNet International (PI) have congratulated the industrial partners and specialists of the omlox initiative on winning the Hanover Fair’s Hermes Awards 2020. This outstanding achievement was the result of strong support from the initiative’s partnering companies and the extremely active dedication of everyone involved.

Safe sulphur recovery. - A dedicated sulfur recovery unit webpage has been launched by Applied Analytics™ [AAI], to provide clients with a clear picture of the solutions we can provide. The webpage includes a process flow diagram of the sulfur recovery unit and calls out the measurement points of interest with descriptions and pictures of our equipment.

Tariq Bakeer is Regional Managing Director of Endress+Hauser Middle East.

Recognised for energy award. - Seeq Corporation has been named a finalist for the Energy 2020 Microsoft Partner of the Year Award. The company was honored among a global field of top Microsoft partners for demonstrating excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on Microsoft technology.

Building automation award! - Delta Controls has won Frost & Sullivan's 2020 Global Building Automation Systems Company of the Year Award. The honor by the prestigious market research firm recognizes Delta Controls' ability to provide superior value to worldwide customers with its industry-leading technologies that offer a full suite of smart features and functionality, as well as with its best-in-class technical support. Delta Controls' signature O3 Sensor Hub 2.0.

The factory of the future, batteries not included. - Many analysts have predicted an explosion in the number of industrial “internet of things” (IoT) devices that will come online over the next decade. Sensors play a big role in those forecasts. Unfortunately, sensors come with their own drawbacks, many of which are due to the limited energy supply and finite lifetime of their batteries. (Automation.com)

New version strain sensor. - The Sensor-Technik Wiedemann (STW) strain sensor DMS for measuring deflections, (e.g. of metal arms), has been completely revised and is now available in a new version under the product name SMX.dms-a. The newly developed hardware allows a lower height of the housing.

Humidity & temperature probe. - The EE260 humidity and temperature probe is the latest product development for meteorology from E+E Elektronik. Among other applications, this high-precision sensing probe is perfect for reliable weather monitoring in road traffic or at airports.

Automate image-based inspection with artificial intelligence. - In order to make quality inspection as efficient, simple, reliable and cost-effective as possible, the German company sentin GmbH uses IDS industrial cameras and deep learning to develop solutions that enable fast and robust error detection. This is because, in contrast to conventional image processing, a neural network learns to recognize the features on the basis of images themselves.

Technology days. - CAN in Automation (CiA) has scheduled two CiA technology days online with the topic "CANopen in lift applications (CiA 417)".The 4-hour events take place two times, at different starting times. On October 06 (start 08:30 to 12:30, Berlin time) and October 09 (start 15:00 to 19:00, Berlin time), 2020. Thus, people from all over the world can participate at a suitable local time.

Securing caps on bottles. - TorqSense transducers from Sensor Technology, are used to ensure caps are being properly fitted to pharmaceutical bottles in a high speed packaging line run by the Almac Group at its global headquarters in Craigavon in Co Armagh.

Cameras for challenging environments. - FLIR Systems has a new addition to its premium Quasar™ line of PTZ cameras, the FLIR Quasar 4K 31x IR PTZ. The camera offers 4K visible resolution with 31x optical zoom paired with long-range, infrared illumination (IR) for low-light coverage up to 200 meters in challenging environments.

MES for vaccine manufacturer. - Körber and Walvax Biotechnology have reached an agreement to implement Werum PAS-X MES, the world’s leading manufacturing execution system (MES) for pharma, biotech and cell & gene therapy manufacturing, in their Yuxi plant for vaccine production. With the introduction of PAS-X MES, Walvax takes a key step in initiating their digital journey.

Monitoring/Control analogue & digital. - The new SHD 200 control unit from Krohne can be used with any 4-20mA/HART field device for monitoring of process parameters and additional control functionality in various industries.

Quality assurance for medical device manufacturers. - The maXYmos TL ML, from Kistler, is the first process monitoring system to meet the strict FDA and MDR regulatory requirements for quality assurance in the medtech sector. The new monitoring system can deliver 100 per cent testing; a critical requirement for manufacturers operating in environments where pharmaceutical goods and medtech equipment are produced.

Which IEC 61131-3 programming language is best? - This interesting discussion authored by Gary L. Pratt, P.E., of ControlSphere LLC. and which featured to recent issues on Control Engineering, helps to differentiate between the different PLC programming languages and standards.

Cloud based engineering. - In this new AUTOMATION 2020 eBook, you’ll discover how these tools support digital twins for upstream oil and gas production, learn how to enable a next-generation edge-to-cloud control architecture, and review cloud/edge computing projects that could apply to your facility.

Automotive safety systems enhanced by acquisition. - Allegro has acquired Voxtel, Inc, a privately held company specializing in advanced photonic and 3D imaging technology including long-range, eye-safe Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR). This acquisition brings together Voxtel’s significant laser and imaging expertise with Allegro’s automotive leadership and scale to enable the next generation of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).

Loop powered indicators. - The VPM2000 Series of loop-powered display meters with process current output and alarm capabilities is the latest addition to the Acromag Verty ™range. They supplement the digital indicator functions of a panel meter with optional 4-20mA isolator output and/or alarm trip solid-state relays.