Analog Devices has announced the appointment of Alan Lee to the position of Chief Technology Officer (CTO).

Thermocouple or pyrometer? - Whether to use thermocouples or a portable pyrometer for temperature measurement in liquid metal applications is a decision long-debated in the industry. Now, AMETEK Land can help make the decision with its new download, 'Thermocouples vs Cyclops L Portable Pyrometers – Frequently Asked Questions and Other Information' (pdf)

Importance of occupational safety equipment. - Employers have a duty of care to protect the health, safety and welfare of employees, so it is vitally important to keep workers' occupational exposure to harmful gases within permissible limits. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) help their customers lower risk, and as such cannot utilise unproven or low-cost sensors that could increase risk. For this reason, ION Science's mission is to provide premium quality, highly accurate sensors that are the most reliable in the world.

Paul Brooks (top), Rockwell Automation; and Rolf Birkhofer, Endress+Hauser have been voted in by the FDT Group member community to serve in leadership roles on the FDT Board .

Reducing cybersecurity risk to critical infrastructure examined. - Over 800 cyber security delegates attended ABB's Ransom-Aware OT Defense Summit on April 19 2023, organized in partnership with the global technology advisory board Industry IoT. The event focused on strategies to reduce risk of ransomware attacks and identify security threats to critical infrastructure.

Industrial panel PC. - A new range of fanless multi-touch Panel PCs from Axiomtek have been announced by Impulse Embedded. These industrial quality devices feature the Intel Elkhart Lake Celeron J6412 processor, a 10W quad core 2.0GHz processor with 2.6GHz boost and full HD 1080 resolutions. These Panel PCs are perfect for digital signage, self-service, POS systems and light factory automation applications.

Motion control leader moves! - Thomson Industries is moving its Kristianstad (S), operations into a larger space to meet growing demand for its motion control technology. The Kristianstad plant has been a steadily growing supplier of Thomson electric linear actuators and linear motion systems to European customers and is on track for further growth. The new facility is larger, more advanced and will effectively support future business growth.

Sturdy portable printer. - Inelco Hunter has announced the availability of a new Fujitsu 3" mobile printer for use in environments where a regular mobile printer just doesn't cut it. With a rugged design, the FTP-638WSL201 printer is exceptionally strong, durable, hard-wearing and shock-resistant, making it suitable for use in harsh environments, inside or outdoor.

Nuálaithe is cumasai teacht le chéile. - Chruinneoidh grúpa idirnáisiúnta de núalaithe óga le chéile do chomhdháil MIT Nuálaithe Faoi 35, agus formhór na comhdhála á óstáil ar Pháirc Ghnó Ghaoth Dobhair agus gteic@Gaoth Dobhair. Is i nGaoth Dobhair ar an 11-12 Bealtaine 2023 a bheidh an comhdháil ar siúl, agus na núalaithe óga seo ag tabhairt léargais ar na réimsí ina bhfuil siad ag obair agus ag taispeáint na bealaí ina bhfuil a gcuid oibre ag cuidiú le feabhas a chur ar an saol, tríd úsaid cheannródaíoch na teicneolaíochta.
The most talented innovators in Europe are coming to the Donegal. - A group of young innovators from all over Europe will gather in Gaoth Dobhair next month for the the MIT Innovators U-35 Festival, with many of the events being hosted by Páirc Ghnó (Industrial Estate) Ghaoth Dobhair and gteic @Gaoth Dobhair. The conference will take place on the 11-12 May 2023, with these young innovators giving an insight into their areas of interest and demonstrating the ways in which their work is helping to improve society, through the use of cutting-edge technology.

Documentation and Industrie 4.0. - Specialist articles on Industry 4.0 generally emphasise the feasibility of consistent, intelligent networking of machines, processes and personnel. However, one aspect that is often overlooked is that digitalised plants can only be reliably managed if available documentation reflects the current status of the production processes. Rösberg Engineering GmbH from Karlsruhe – already active in these sectors for decades – developed digital solutions many years ago in order to keep an overview of the flood of information in these types of plants.

Identifying orphan well. - ABB's emissions monitoring technology which is typically used for gas leak detection by oil and gas companies and natural gas utilities is now employed to identify and monitor orphan wells in the United States. With the help of ABB technology, organizations such as The Well Done Foundation, the nonprofit organization that works to plug orphan oil and gas wells in the country, can detect leaking wells and, once the wells are capped, continue to monitor the sites to ensure they no longer emit harmful greenhouse gases.

Historical textiles in focus. - The French start-up company S-MA-C-H has studied the Bayeux Tapestry* as part of a research project and, with the help of IDS cameras, has developed a system that provides valuable insights for the conservation-optimised storage and presentation of this delicate and extraordinary artefact. The expertise of conservators, combined with state-of-the-art technology, helps to identify potentially damaging factors at an early stage, to minimise them or, at best, to exclude them altogether.

Cybersecurity systems. - A Dutch organization issued a tender for supplying the purchase of cyber security systems To withstand any possible cybercrime. In close cooperation with their long-term Dutch distributor Arcobel, MPL AG completed an extensive design process that resulted in a cyber security system which offers an optimal solution for the requirements and needs of the customer. As a result, MPL and Arcobel have been awarded the contract for the high-tech security hardware. The contract will operate for a four-year period.

Compact positioning system. - The AMS 100i from Leuze is one of the smallest laser positioning systems available on the market. This makes it the perfect solution for tight installation spaces.

Mike Hill has been appointed as President of Global Sales with Danfoss Power Solutions.

Integrated and distributed safety for motion control. - With emerging robotic and mobile industrial automation technology, maintaining operator safety has become increasingly more challenging. Traditional approaches to safety fall short of protecting operators from autonomous equipment that share the factory floor with them. To keep workers free from injury and harm, safety requires an integrated and distributed approach. (Control Engineering)

OEM pressure sensor. - WIKA's MH-4-CAN, based on their MH-4, is a powerful, reliable and extremely resilient pressure sensor for mobile working machines. Even under demanding conditions, the sensor delivers constant, precise measured data and ensures high operational safety.

Andrew Smulski has been appointed as President of Fluid Conveyance at Danfoss Power Solutions.

Mini PCI express boards. - The CP-102N Mini PCI Express multiport serial board, from Moxa, is to fulfill the need for customized expansion of industrial automation systems, plus enables faster time to market for OEMs and integrators, with minimal increase in power consumption or system footprint.

Pure & ultrapure water analysis. - A new compact version of its Swan Analytical's AMI LineTOC monitor for pure and ultrapure water applications has been launched.

Chemical vessel production. - A highly flexible ABB robot is helping a major British chemicals company produce accurate laser welds on chemical production equipment. The solution, developed by Cyan Tec Systems, is designed around an ABB IRB 6700 industrial robot carrying a laser welder to produce highly accurate welding on production vessels used in the manufacture of chlorine.

Control strategies for dead time dominant processes. - In a continuous process, the operators have to manually adjust the actuators of an extrusion machine to get the product within spec. However, the width and thickness gauges are located hundreds of meters further down the line, due to process related reasons, and cannot be moved. The dead time for the width and thickness control is between four and eight minutes, depending on the line speed. What would be a good control strategy to fully automate this dead time dominant process? (ISA Interchange)

Interoperable interfaces for Industrie 4.0. - The digital association Bitkom e.V. and the OPC Foundation want to contribute to the establishment and implementation of interoperable interfaces in the context of Industrie 4.0 in a constructive exchange of views. The overall goal of the cooperation is to formulate requirements for interoperability with the digital economy to jointly promote harmonization efforts for machine and plant engineering.

Facilitating high data transfer rates. - The Anybus® Wireless Bolt™ II, an industrial Wi-Fi 5 access point (AP) and wireless distribution system (WDS) client has been released by HMS. While remaining as user-friendly as its predecessors, the Wireless Bolt II features even better durability, security, and performance. With faster speeds and increased throughput, it is an excellent complement to the existing range of Wireless Bolts and an ideal choice for applications that demand high data transfer rates.

Promoting hydrogen safety. - Given measurement's critical role in process safety, Endress+Hauser has joined the Center for Hydrogen Safety (CHS) to offer its voice to advance the promotion of hydrogen safety and help CHS ensure safety information, guidance and expertise is available to all stakeholders.

Integrated polarization-maintaining (PM) adapters. - Laser Components is now selling feedthroughs that can be used to guide linearly polarized light into high vacuum and ultra-high vacuum chambers. Polarization-maintaining (PM) adapters have already been integrated into the flange. This allows patch cables to be connected quickly and without additional components.

New members to plug and produce! - UAO (UniversalAutomation.com) has welcomed new members to the organisation at this year's Hannover Messe opening this morning. Analog Devices, Armony System, Edith Cowan University, KPI Automation, Master Systèmes, Odot and Westcon become the newest members to drive further development of the ecosystem of portable, interoperable, "plug and produce" solutions.

R&D analysis software. - Teledyne FLIR has announced the version 3.0 release of their Research Studio software, with new features to address key needs in electronics design, high-speed testing, target signature, and many other advanced applications. It features new user calibration, measurement functions, emissivity calculator, and floating camera controller for the most flexible and easy to use R&D analysis software.

Industrial cybersecurity today and tomorrow. - Several hundred people attended the Industrial Cybersecurity – Today and Tomorrow cybersecurity workshop at the 2023 ARC Forum in Orlando (FL USA). This informative session provided attendees with an update on the many developments impacting critical infrastructure security. It also served as the kickoff for a full day of industrial cybersecurity presentations and panel discussions.

3-D for automation of the future. - From industrial automation to autonomous vehicles to care robots, mastering the challenges of the future will require powerful 3-D sensors that capture their surroundings quickly, comprehensively, and with millimeter precision.High-performance distance measurement technology is combined with MEMS technology for the first time. This forms the basis for the R3000 3-D LiDAR/MEMS sensor, which will be presented as a product study at the Hannover Messe 2023. A technological innovation from Pepperl+Fuchs in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicon Technology ISIT enables maximum precision and performance - while remaining highly cost-efficient.

High-performing, resilient, and efficient cloud infrastructure for industry recognised. - Seeq Corporation has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Manufacturing and Industrial Competency. This designation recognizes Seeq for its expertise in providing customers software solutions for an end-to-end Industrial Manufacturing Software toolchain.

Galatian bread knot. - The next on-line technical meeting of ISA Ireland and InstMC Ireland on customising a robot to perform manual handling tasks. The presenter will be Miguel Vilariño Orgeira who will explain how he has successfully designed and developed from scratch a bespoke robot to mimic the complex muscle motions of a human hand to create the iconic knot of the Pan Gallego.

The death has occurred of Pat Farrell, founding partner of Irish Power & Process Ltd. (IPP). RIP.

Celebrating quantum technology. - TOPTICA celebrates World Quantum Day on April 14 to recognize the importance of quantum technology. The company has been serving this technology for 25 years and has become a world leader in laser systems for quantum research and applications. World Quantum Day on April 14th is an initiative of quantum scientists from more than 65 countries to promote public understanding of quantum science and technology worldwide.

Robotics need industrial networks. - RSP (Robot System Products) specializes in developing, producing, and installing the required robot accessories. When theystarted to develop a new range of tool changers, they needed to meet their customers' expectations and provide a tool changer capable of connecting to the factory networks. However, developing the required networking technology is a complicated task outside RSP's expertise. Anybus solutions from HMS provided the solution. HMS helped embed an Anybus communication interface into the tool changer enabling connectivity with the factory's network and allowing RSP to remain focused on making world-leading robot accessories.

Equitus World founder Raam Shankar has been named co-chair of TiE Global's Sustainability and Impact Special Interest Group (SIG).

Robots in the kitchen. - ABB Robotics has been selected by Nobia - the leading kitchen specialist in Europe – to supply robotic automation solutions for their new factory in Jönköping, (S). By securing the contract, ABB Robotics furthers its expansion into new industry segments, helping to make production more efficient and sustainable.

Automation in production - best practice. - Digitalisation and automation in the production are currently billed as the remedy for lack of skilled staff as well as the shortage of energy and resources. However, what does it look like in practice and how can digitalisation solutions really bring competitive and economic advantages through the networking of machines and systems? Messer Cutting Systems will answer these questions at Cutting World in Essen (D) and show best practice solutions on their stand and technical lectures.

Industrial transmitter. - A new industrial Indigo300 transmitter has been released by Vaisala. It will be available globally in the third quarter of 2023. The transmitter has been designed to provide ease of use for industrial applications requiring high reliability. As part of their Indigo transmitter family, Indigo300 is compatible with the company's industry-leading Indigo measurement probes. These transmitters offer enhanced convenience, compatibility, and precision, even in harsh industrial settings.

But who'll do the washing up? - Real time process control for food manufacture has come a significant step closer, thanks to pioneering research work at University College Dublin (IRL) into viscosity measurement techniques for characterising the flow and mixability of highly non-Newtonian fluids. At the heart of the researchers' experiments is the TorqSense transducer made by Sensor Technology, which monitors the constantly changing flow characteristics of materials as diverse as tomato ketchup, chocolate, pasta sauce and chicken tikka massala as they are mixed.

High-speed, high-resolution system is ideal for high-speed applications. - Cognex Corporation has released the In-Sight® 3800 Vision System. Designed for high-speed production lines, In-Sight 3800 offers an extensive vision toolset, powerful imaging capabilities, and flexible software to deliver a fully integrated solution for a wide range of inspection applications.

UE Developer tool evaluation. - The release of FDT UE developer tool evaluation software has been announced by FDT Group™. This expidites the ability to build FDT3-based system and device DTM solutions to meet user demands for modern intelligent device management and monitoring initiatives needed to scale next generation Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) architectures.

Floating solar islands. - Discussing harnessing solar energy for countries with smaller land areas but open to the sea or with lakes or other water surfaces. By placing solar panels on floating platforms in the sea, lakes, reservoirs, and rivers, valuable land is freed. In addition, as the cooling properties of water allow the panels to perform well even in high temperature ranges, they are able to function efficiently under duress. Another benefit is that the shade provided by the floating panels reduces evaporation, helping the reservoirs that host them conserve water.

Residential EV-Charging. - E-mobility is a rapidly growing market and regulatory compliance is essential for charging stations. Development of the new RV Series choke from Schaffner is backed by the company's decades of expertise as a global leader in electromagnetic solutions that minimise electromagnetic interference (EMI) and filter out noise.

Accelerate HART data. - Timely knowledge about a process enables better decisions and faster preventive action. Now the process detail that is needed from the Smart HART devices is available to MODBUS/TCP and HART-IP based monitoring and control systems at the speed of Ethernet with the HES HART to Ethernet Gateway System from Moore Industries.

Digital transformation in MES in Pharma. - Körber has welcomed AGU Planungsgesellschaft für Automatisierungs-, Gebäude- und Umwelttechnik mbH (AGU), a leading provider of middleware integrating a wide range of devices in laboratories, to its Körber Ecosystem Partner program as a "PAS-X MSI Plug & Produce" partner.

Solution for Microsoft Sustainability Manager. - The Seeq Solution for Microsoft Sustainability Manager has been announced by the company. The solution enables sustainability teams to extend the power of Microsoft Sustainability Manager, a Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability solution, to integrate time series process data preparation, analysis, and continuous improvement, reducing the environmental impact of process industry operations. This new solution enables sustainability teams to leverage advanced analytics to accelerate organizational efforts to record, report and reduce emissions.

Dr Lars Mechold, technical director at Laser Components Germany, has been elected chairman of the standards committee CEN/TC 123 – Lasers and photonics.

Popular IIoT Systems and Devices catalogued! - Advantech has published a new 28-page product guide highlighting their market leading IIoT Systems and Devices. The brochure contains everything customers need to know to stay ahead of the curve with IIoT deployment, from IIoT hardware to innovative software.

Ultra high purity transducer. - The WUD-2x-E model is a particularly compact, ultra high purity transducer for high-accuracy pressure measurement of ultrapure gases in the semiconductor industry from WIKA. It is the first transducer to use the SDP 5003.2080 and offers maximum security of investment.

Robotics business office for Irish market. - ABB's Robotics and Discrete Automation business is expanding its presence in Ireland with the opening of a new office in Dundalk, Co Louth. Part of a new multi-million-dollar facility, the office will provide customers with access to sales, service, and support for a full range of automated technologies including ABB's industrial and mobile robots and machine automation solutions from B&R, a member of the ABB Group.

Perspectives on Decarbonization. - The energy transition requires that we electrify buildings, industry, and transportation and this puts a priority on decarbonizing the generation of electric power. While fossil fuel use must decline in the future, fossil fuels will remain a critical part of our energy infrastructure for many decades and reducing the greenhouse gases that result from making and delivering products like natural gas, gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and fuel oil are an essential part of our decarbonization journey and already underway. (ARC Advisory)