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Lúnasa 2020 August
31/8/2021
    Education and ResearchAutomation's Role Supporting Your Company's ESG Efforts - The news continually reports on climate change and social justice issues. These concepts and ESG Efforts have pervaded the culture and are affecting how companies behave and operate. (ARC Advisory)

    PRODUCT Simultaneous dual-port 400GbE measurement & 200GbE. - The 400G Dual/100G Quad Channel Expansion MT1040A-020 option offers upgraded functions for Anritsu's popular Network Master Pro. Installing this new MT1040A-020 option in the MT1040A supports simultaneous dual-port 400G Ethernet (400GbE) measurements using a combination of two 400G measurement modules. As a result, since data Tx and Rx tests can be performed simultaneously, it is possible to both test networks as well as measure the latency and execute quality tests of 400G equipment efficiently using just one MT1040A unit. Additionally, testing of 200GbE used in data centers is also supported.

    Events Table-top exhibition to accompany seminar. - The slow take off after almost two years of closure and zooming includes the return of face to face conferences and exhibitions. Taking place at the National Conference Centre in Birmingham (GB) on November 17th 2021, The PROFIBUS and PROFINET International (PI) free-to-attend seminar will be supported by an exhibition with live product demonstrations.

30/8/2021 28/8/2021
    Education and ResearchSix steps to improve computer hardening. - Computer hardening is about making systems resistant to cybersecurity attacks, which is something engineers are becoming more aware of. Six tips are highlighted in this article from Control Engineering.
25/8/2021
    NEWS High camera order intake & promising new products. - The industrial camera manufacturer, IDS Imaging Development Systems, was able to exceed industry expectations in the first half of 2021. Instead of the 7% increase in turnover forecast by the VDMA for the machine vision industry, the company has so far generated more than double this growth.

    PRODUCT Universal connectivity. - Their complete line of interface modules, used to simplify and improve reliability of automation connections and signal conversions, in a compact form factor has been announced by Dinkle International. Users will realize many benefits in their designs by taking advantage of these universal interface modules.

    Education and Research Traps impeding OT data acquisition. - Oliver Wang, Product Marketing Manager, Edge Connectivity and Computing at Moxa explains the Three Types of Traps That Impede OT Data Acquisition Industrial digital transformation seeks to break down the silos between an enterprise’s information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT), translating the physical behavior of OT devices into digital data, and distilling insights with the help of IT’s analysis.

    Organisations Former president speaks to young APs. - To celebrate 75 years of ISA, the Young Professional Committee met with former ISA Presidents to learn more about the history of the Society and hear their perspectives on where ISA is headed in the future. During June the YPs sat down with former ISA President Brian Curtis to discuss his term in 2018.

    PRODUCT Starter Kit Options for IT/OT Convergence. - Advantech and Lynx Software Technologies have partnered to offer multiple Mission Critical Edge Starter Kit options that enable the convergence of IT (Information Technology) and OT (Operational Technology).

    APPLICATION Data communications on U-Bahn. - Stadler Deutschland GmbH has awarded Westermo the contract to supply data communications technology for a new fleet of trains for the Berlin U-bahn metro in Germany. The data networks will support mission-critical systems on-board the two- and four-carriage trains, including the train control and management system (TCMS) and systems that ensure passenger comfort and safety.

    APPLICATION Resolving media disruptions in data transfer. - The project created with systems of the Eplan Platform – Eplan Electric P8 or Eplan Fluid, for example – is now transferred to the control cabinet manufacturer. This manufacturer creates the virtual prototype of the switchgear system in the form of a 3D assembly of the control cabinet using Eplan Pro Panel. The control cabinet is then built, approved and commissioned by the operator.

24/8/2021
    EventsLive remote monitoring stations virtually. - Meteor Communications will provide a virtual exhibition booth at this year's Water, Wastewater & Environmental Monitoring event, WWEM 2021 (13/14 Oct 2021). Visitors to the booth will be able to view live examples of continuous, real-time remote monitoring stations and integrated data in the Meteor Data Cloud.
    People
    Raoul Wijgergangs
    Raoul Wijgergangs has been appointed as EnOcean's new CEO.

    APPLICATION Bicycle market presents new opportunities for automation providers - In contrast to the many makes of bicycles available in the market, the manufacture of frames and associated parts is dominated by a few large OEMs. They generally supply various bicycle brands in addition to selling their own brand directly. These days the manufacturing facilities are state-of-the-art and make full use of automation, robotics, simulation, computerized design, and testing.

    PRODUCT Service to process industry completely changed. - Process Insights Inc., has enhanced its customer support with the launch of GO Remote Connected Service (GO).

    NEWS Electrical podcast success. - Schneider Electric has reached 10,000 listeners with 'The Electrician Podcast'. Launched in March 2020, the podcast welcomes business leaders and experts from the electrical sector to discuss how electricians can grow their knowledge, skills and business.

23/8/2021
    Events Virtual booth serving environment protection. - OTT HydroMet is to host a virtual exhibition booth at this year’s WWEM 2021 event; providing visitors with access to a world of expertise in sensors, dataloggers, telemetry and data management software for monitoring water and meteorology.

    Events Focus on hydrocarbon monitoring. - This year, the main focus of the Signal Group booth at AQE 2021, will be hydrocarbon monitoring because the 3010 MINIFID is currently undergoing MCERTS testing and a new portable Methane/Non-Methane FID analyser will be unveiled with a video explaining the clever design features that have been built into the new unit – the SOLAR Xplore.

    PRODUCT Concentrator system with multipoint analog alarm. - Moore Industries' NCS MAAThe NET Concentrator System® (NCS) has a new versatile Multipoint Analog Alarm (–MAA) option that allows users to quickly set up simple or dynamic alarming schemes. The -MAA option utilizes a built-in ISaGRAF program providing a flexible alarm configuration that is accessed via easy to use web pages through the on-board web server.

    PRODUCT Filter options for machine builders. - Schaffner has extended its popular FN3270 series to provide more options for machine builders. Building on the strengths of the very successful FN3270 filter range the new FN3271 filter is an extremely compact and lightweight filter design requiring minimum mounting space in installations and cabinets.

20/8/2021
    PRODUCT Process monitoring for medical apps. - Increased interest from the MedTech sector since the introduction in late 2020 of the new medical compliant versions of Kistler's ComoNeo cavity pressure monitoring and maXYmos manufacturing process monitoring systems make Stand G26 at Interplas 2021 the ideal opportunity to show the new products to the British plastics industry.

    APPLICATION Indoor air quality (post COVID). - Vaisala, a Finnish technology company, commissioned a survey of over 4,000 people in 4 countries and found that people are worried about indoor air quality when they return to work, and this worry extends to public places and their motivation to travel.

19/8/2021
    OrganisationsNew name new direction same service. - The Industrial Internet Consortium® (IIC®) has changed its name to Industry IoT Consortium® (IIC®). They also have a new logo and tagline: "Technology Innovation. Business Transformation."
18/8/2021
    Education and Research How to achieve effective process safety. - Automation systems and people can work together with a corporate safety culture in place that emphasizes zero-risk tolerance and proper understanding of engineering principles such as using proper alarm management strategies and systems, regulatory procedures and industry best practices. (Control Engineering).

    Education and Research Robotic training courses. - ABB continues online versions of its popular classroom-based robot training courses, helping organisations ensure that staff still get training on robots.

    PRODUCT New flow control app for compressed air and gases. - Filling containers with compressed air or other gases such as nitrogen can be achieved more profitably and economically with the new Flow Control Motion App from Festo, developed for use with its VTEM Motion Terminal. As a leader in industrial automation, the company is continually developing new Motion Apps for the VTEM in order to reduce complexity and time to market for machine builders.

    NEWS Industrial Cybersecurity Training in Germany - ISA and Maschinenbau-Institut GmbH (MBI), a service company of the VDMA, are joining forces to offer a unique cybersecurity training program for German speakers. (InTech)

17/8/2021
    PRODUCT Switch range in Industry 4.0 arena. - EAO Ltd has introduced a new family of capacitive switches that enable new generations of digital machine systems to be intelligently connected via an IO link controller to higher level bus systems or a programmable logic controller (PLC).

    Events Virtual event unites automation industry for digital technologies in Britain. - Following the recent announcement from the British Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, where £53 million funding is being made available for manufacturers to boost competitiveness through digital technologies, Rittal and Eplan have partnered with the likes of GAMBICA, B&R, Machineering, Omron, Panasonic, Phoenix Contact and Rockwell Automation, to bring The Future Forum, an online event.

    Events In person forum returns. - ARC Advisory Group's 2022 Industry Forum, will be held in person at the Renaissance Sea World Hotel in Orlando, (FL USA) from Feb. 14-17, 2022. The theme is "Accelerating Industrial Digital Transformation and Sustainability."

    PRODUCT Supporting OTA Measurement on Wi-Fi 6E. - Anritsu Corporation and Bluetest are combining their recent product upgrades to create a strong and up-to-date OTA measurement solution for verifying the WLAN RF-performance in this new 6 GHz band, as well as of existing WLAN standards (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) in the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands. The collaboration provides customers with a complete WLAN Over-the-Air (OTA) test solution capable of transmit power (TRP) and receiver sensitivity (TIS) measurements on devices and access points.

    Events IoT and 5G—The perfect combination opened up. - The IoT (Internet of Things) has been around in business for a long time. But now, thanks to the new 5G mobile communications standard, it is able to tap into its full potential. You can find out what Opportunities for this for the electronics manufacturing industry will be opened up "live" at productronica 2021 from November 16–19, 2019 in Munich (D).

    PRODUCT Design of ultrasonic level transmitter recognised and lauded! - - ABB's LST200 ultrasonic level transmitter was awarded best in category for physical, as well as technical, design by Red Dot. The winning ABB transmitter is particularly notable for solving the surface condensation challenge often faced by plant owners, where a buildup of water has historically affected accuracy of essential plant readings.

16/8/2021
    APPLICATION Unbreaking the record for cyber-attacks. - Matthew Hawkridge, chief technology officer at Ovarro, the supplier and manufacturer of remote monitoring technologies, explains why secure RTUs can mitigate threats against critical national infrastructure.

    APPLICATION Upgrading water supply system. - Schneider Electric has worked with Thames Water to upgrade and unify the complex computer system controlling London’s water supply. The project involved moving from a 25-year-old system, composed of multiple legacy and obsolete sub-systems to a new, universal SCADA platform, all while maintaining water supply across the British capital.

13/8/2021
    OrganisationsAI board instituted. - The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) has created a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technology Strategy Board of leading AI experts, part of a major initiative to promote education and adoption of the applications of artificial intelligence in automation industries.
12/8/2021 11/8/2021
    APPLICATION Why does remote access rank so highly among continuous processors compared to other manufacturing industries? - Automation World has been reporting on research into expected automation technology spending trends as the pandemic begins to wind down. While reviewing findings from research focused on the continuous processing industry, we noticed that remote access technologies ranked among the top five for expected spending. It did not rank that highly for discrete manufacturers.

    NEWS Metrology for Ireland. - To provide better local support and metrology solutions to Irish manufacturers, single source metrology specialist, The Sempre Group has opened an office in Balbriggan (Dublin IRL). The office is to provide Sempre's Irish customers, in sectors such as medical and aerospace manufacturing, better access to its product ranges and services.

10/8/2021
    PRODUCT Breakthrough technologies make digital transformation a reality. - ILLIG Assist, is a digital service platform from ILLIG Maschinenbau which actively supports ILLIG customers on the way to Industry 4.0. Digital transformation is increasingly becoming a reality thanks to breakthrough technologies. This also applies to the packaging industry: manufacturing processes are becoming more digital and the entire value chain is being networked.

    PRODUCT Sensors for respiratory applications. - Sensirion is expanding its product portfolio for the MD&M West 2021 medical technology trade fair (Anaheim CA USA). Three new flow sensors for respiratory applications are now available worldwide via distributors. All three products are next-generation sensors that belong to the popular SFM3xxx platform and are suitable for inspiratory applications at ambient pressure. The SFM3003 has an extended flow range between -150 and 300 slm, while the SFM3013 is resistant to overpressure (up to 1 bar) and calibrated for heliox. Lastly, the SFM3119 adds a digital sensor to the SFM31xx series of compact sensors.

    APPLICATION Sensor-to-Cloud Enables Predictive Maintenance - There is a huge base of installed machines in the world, typically referred to as "brownfield." This represents a tremendous opportunity for a predictive maintenance solution that can be "bolted-on" existing equipment to provide condition-based monitoring. For this solution to succeed, it must include: support for many machines in a single eco-system; simple, quick and remote commissioning; flexible choice of attached sensor devices; and built-in security. (Automation.com)

    Standards Global cybersecurity. - Recent discussions have surfaced in the United States and other world governments about how to best secure automation and control systems that affect everyday lives, especially in critical infrastructure. The ISA Global Cybersecurity Alliance (ISAGCA) recently released a position paper that describes the public policies and associated reference standards supported by the alliance.

9/8/2021
    APPLICATION The Path of Grid Automation for 2050 - The smart grid concept is ahead of its time when it comes to grid automation. Utilities complain Smart Meters have been used for little more than replacing meter readers and never performed the functions envisioned by the smart grid standards. Automation is always dependent on the nature of the process that is being automated. When the electric grid equipment or grid regulations change the grid automation must adapt. The electric grid has only started undergoing unprecedented changes.

    APPLICATION Supporting the delivery of low-cost, renewable power. - The completion of a digital transformation project to increase the reliability of clean energy generation at Golden Valley Electric Association's (GVEA) Eva Creek wind farm has been announced by Emerson. The project improves the management of Alaska's largest wind farm.

5/8/2021
    APPLICATION Capping bottles and vials. - TorqSense transducers are used to ensure caps are being properly fitted to pharmaceutical bottles in a high speed packaging line run by the Almac Group.

    PRODUCT Compact NCFT joining module. - Kistler has developed a new version of its well proven NCFT joining module in response to customer demand. The stroke length is increased from 100mm to 250 mm whilst reducing the overall length of the unit from 548mm to 482mm. This has been achieved by moving the drive motor from the end of the module to the side.

    PRODUCT Evaluation kit for flow sensor. - The LD20 single-use liquid flow sensor series from Sensirion, the expert in flow and environmental sensor technology, is suitable for fast, precise and reliable measurements of the lowest flow rates in biomedical applications. The evaluation kit for the LD20-0600L version is now also available from distributors.

4/8/2021
    NEWSSupporting green hydrogen for decarbonization. - Endress+Hauser has announced that it is now a sponsor of the Green Hydrogen Coalition (GHC). The manufacturer has donated to the nonprofit and is committed to supporting the GHC's vision to deploy green hydrogen at scale to accelerate multi-sectoral decarbonization.

    PRODUCT Vacuum transducer evaluation kit. - An evaluation kit for the Posifa Technologies PVC4000 series of digital MEMS Pirani vacuum transducer is now available. This promises to disrupt the portable vacuum gauge market by enabling low-cost, easily replaceable sensor probes that can be switched without requiring the vacuum gauge itself to be recalibrated, since all the calibration data is stored within the probe itself.

    Education and Research An Intro to Industrial Data Modeling. - The data model forms the basis for standardizing data across a wide range of raw input data. But what exactly is a data model, and why is data modeling important for Industry 4.0? This post aims to address these questions and provide an introduction to modeling data at scale. (Automation.com)

3/8/2021
    APPLICATION Smart thermal view of your premises! - Octopus Energy is on a mission to make renewable energy affordable for all. In fact, they're so serious about helping their customers cut costs, they loan out the FLIR ONE Pro completely free of charge.
    People
    Alexander Lewinskey
    Alexander Lewinsky has been appointed to the management board of IDS Imaging Development Systems.

    PRODUCT Precise individual pulse measurement. - Pulsed lasers can be analyzed with pulse precision even at high repetition rates using Gentec-EO's QE12HR and QE25HR product series pyroelectric energy detectors,. The different models are based on the requirements of standard laser specifications and applications

    Education and Research Multivariable control as a core competency - A core-competency is a skill set, mastery of which is essential to success in your business. For example, it is accepted establishing and sustaining a healthy base-layer process control (BPC) system is a core-competency of the process industries. A healthy multivariable advanced process control (APC) layer is also a core-competency of the process industries – or should be. (Control Engineering)

2/8/2021
    APPLICATION Gas sensors accuracy. - PemTech has added NevadaNano's Molecular Property Spectrometer™ (MPS™) technology into its Ultra1000 Series Fixed Gas Sensors.

    APPLICATION Cybersecurity: It's the process that counts not the data! - Control system cyber security is about keeping lights on, water flowing, etc. It is not simply matter of maintaining network availability. If control systems are affected by a cyber incident, whether it's an unintentional incident or a deliberate attack, critical infrastructure reliability, availability, and safety may be impacted. Industrial, manufacturing, transportation, and others rely on Operational Technology (OT) Internet protocol-based (IP) networks to bring significant productivity improvements. However, along with those improvements come significant cyber vulnerabilities. (Joe Weiss, Control Global)

Iúl 2021 July

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