You are visitor number
FastCounter by LinkExchange
to directly access this site.
Details of awards received by the Signpost are here.
All contents copyright © 2000 Readout Publications
|
The Read-Out Instrumentation Signpost
Measurement, Control and Automation Resources throughout the World
 
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center , New Orleans, Louisiana, USA 21-24 August 2000
|
This page last changed:16/9/00
Previews and Exhibitor News
Get used to new Logo and name -  Reinventing ISA for the 21st Century - was the theme as the Council of Society Delegates and the ISA Executive Board made several major decisions at this year's ISA EXPO/2000 in New Orleans . Among the changes: a new Society name and logo, a new structure for the Executive Board, creation of the European District, addition of Member Societies and a brand new logo.
New module connects micro and nano controllers to Ethernet -  GE Fanuc Automation introduce the VersaMax SE, a versatile, cost-effective programmable logic controller accessory that enables Ethernet connection via the serial port on the controller The new Versax SE complements their growing line of controllers, including the recently released VersaMax Nano and VersaMax Micro controllers. It allows users to solicit and send information, upload/download programs, and monitor and control devices over Ethernet.
Handling inquiries - The Control Zone Inquiry System was introduced to the industry. This feature, dubbed myInquiries, allows buyers a way to manage multiple inquiries to vendors without have to deal with email, voice mail or fax. An Inquiry can be generated directly from a Product Detail page within The Control Zone and can be marked as either General, Technical, Request A Call, or How To Buy. In addition, a General Inquiry can be sent to multiple vendors.
PC control speakers - Steeplechase Software, the PC-based control company, will participate in educational sessions at the show. Their products may be seen in the DVT Corporation booth #5227 and the SBS Technologies booth #1847. DVT will show how its vision systems integrate with the Steeplechase logic control for error-proofing on the factory floor. SBS will display a recently upgraded PC7 embedded PC system running with Steeplechase PC-based control for a best-of-class low-end automation solution.
Analyser applications displayed - Gensym will show application examples
of two of its leading technologies, its soft analyzer applications (emissions monitoring) and the plant utility applications (hydrogen network management). (Booth No 5143).
Rugged trackball - ITAC Systems produces an entire family of ruggedized, superior trackball devices capable of significantly improving the operational reliability of user interfaces to the control system in any production or control environment out there. If a place has "dirt" or needs "productivity," ITAC has the survivable input device designed to handle the conditions and improve the precision and control for those in the process automation industry. (Booth No 5519).
Bamboo Solutions announces the release of its Info.trak(tm) 2.0 enterprise information management software. This advanced new product enables non-programmers to easily automate virtually any shop floor process and gain a new level of control over the management of daily application details and tasks. Info.trak 2.0 can manage any type of workflow data transmitted via network, Web or WAP-enabled device, and is easily adaptable to an array of individual shop floor requirements. (Booth No 5301)
Broad showing for thin client! - Automation Control Products are going to be taking 800 square feet of the exhibit hall to show the manufacturing world the technology of Thin Clients. They are very excited to be bringing in their Alliance Partners, who will be showing off their Thin Client systems enabled with ACP technology. These will be running under servers located in the booth, and all shown under the latest release of their management and configuration software, ThinManager. They will show applications from several different vendors, with a live presentation explaining what it takes to make a Thin Client system work. (Booth No 1633)
Shop floor meets business systems -  Automsoft International is the maker of RAPID (Real-Time Access Plant Information Database) Historian, plant information management software that bridges the enterprise gap between shop floor and business systems. (Booth No 5501)
Automsoft have very kindly offered free admission to the Exhibition to all visitors to the Instrumentation Signpost. Contact Donatella for your free entrance ticket.
Leveraging eBusiness in complex manufacturing- Business-to-business eCommerce has leapt to the forefront of the new economy with the evolution of numerous eChannels now available to companies for generating revenue. Ten North, Inc will present information and insight on the evolution of B2B eCommerce and its application in manufacturing industries (Tuesday, August 22, 1:00-3:30 ). They will highlight the business benefits and challenges associated with the explosion of eBusiness . They will also discuss the use of dedicated extranet solutions with third-party channel partners as a springboard to an integrated multi-channel eBusiness initiative. The presentation will end in a moderated panel discussion. (Booth No1937)
Improve Your Processes - Process Intellect from BioComp Systems, q put your process understanding on-line to improve your manufacturing processes. Process Intellect is our top-of-the-line system for process enhancement. (Booth No 5416)
Cutting the wires - Quatech is releasing a new wireless data acquisition and control system. Building on their popular QTM-8000 Series of remote data acquisition and signal conditioning modules for serial networks, the new QTM-8524 Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) RF modem modules take the system wireless! The system is unique in three ways, combining a multiplicity of frequencies and data formats, variety of antennae choice and a software package to bring the whole system together.(Booth No 1955)
Joe Plant" to explain benefits of fieldbus to booth visitors - The Fieldbus Foundation will stage the largest exhibit in its history - approximately 2,400 sq. ft. - at the New Orleans show. They will feature more than 60 registered FF devices, as well as compliant host systems, tools and accessories. (Booth No 1727)
An old-timer participates in an upcoming show -  Messe Duesseldorf is promoting Interkama 2001, the world's biggest international trade fair for solutions for automation in production and business processes, September 24-28, 2001 in Duesseldorf, Germany. (Booth No 1664)
Bringing the power of the Ethernet to OCS - The new Ethernet SmartStack Module from Horner Advanced Products Group (APG) provides direct connectivity from a Homer OCS (Operator Control Station) to an Ethernet network, allowing OCS users to leverage the benefits of an Ethernet network.
Improving plant networking - Intrinsyc Software announced an engagement by Ford Motor Company, one of the world's largest car and truck manufacturer, to provide networking solutions, engineering services and licensable technologies. Intrinsyc's networking solutions will reliably and efficiently connect factory floor machines to the systems that monitor Ford's production quality.
Platform for the automation of the future - IDA Group has b3een formed to develope a standard Ethernet TCP/IP-based interface for distributed automation solutions. Modern automation solutions are dominated by central control Systems that combine all the tasks in an application. The complexity of control programs is increasing which may results in high engineering costs throughout the entire lifecycle of a system. Users are therefore asking for simpler and more powerful control structures to control the complexity of systems. Future automation solutions require modular function units that play an independent part in the overall system and intercommunicate via suitable networks.
|
A threat to standard! - In a strongly worded statement issued at ISA's annual conference and exhibit in New Orleans in August, Diether Schaudel issued a strongly worded statement which included "Suppliers who are not called Rosemount or have obtained a proper licence and are offering a field device with Fieldbus Foundation connection in the US or some other countries are infringing on the patents of Fisher-Rosemount or its affiliates." Basically he said that the international standard was been used as a Trojan Horse in carrying the patents of commercial concerns under the guise of a truly open standard.
Extended Temperature CompactPCI PC/AT Board extends Range From -40 to 70 Degrees Celsius -  SBS Technologies, Inc., announced an extended temperature range 3U CompactPCI processor board based on the 333 MHz AMD K6-2. The cPRO3XT now offers an operating temperature range of -40 to 70 degrees Celsius and a non-operating temperature range of -40 to 85 degrees Celsius.
Best of Show Award - CyboCon CE
eCommerce and control- CyboSoft's vision of the role that control is playing in the e-Commerce revolution and the direction the control industry is heading is the theme. Learn why their patented Model-Free Adaptive control is a key technology in today's control world. Witness the introduction of CyboCon CE, the first general-purpose advanced control instrument. (Booth No 3803)
|
Statistical Engine Statware will be previewing their unique statistical engine, StatitAE e-Server, designed to power the analytical functions of Internet-deployed or web-based applications. (Booth No 5217-9)
Speaker - ARC President Andy Chatha, the featured speaker at the co-located IMS EXPO, will
present "E-Business Challenges and Opportunities for Manufacturers and Retailers."
ARC Vice President Dick Caro will present the ISA EXPO Plenary Session keynote
speech on "Automation Systems Architecture for the New Millennium." Three ARC
analysts will moderate four workshops at the IMS EXPO on key issues in supply chain
planning, enterprise integration, and workflow execution. Additionally, ARC analysts
will make at least four presentations a day during the first three days of the ISA
EXPO at Booth #4309. Full details on ARC's EXPO
Sneak Preview! - Available September 1st, Z-World will be sneak-previewing their low-cost, C-programmable terminal that provides OEMs complete design flexibility and is ideal for displaying messages and communicating operator inputs. The Intellicom Series offers direct connection to a 10BaseT Ethernet network, communicates with any Z-World single-board computer via RS-232 or RS485, and is ready for programming using Dynamic C Premier with full TCP/IP source code. (Booth No 718)
Exciting new PC-based control systems - Acrosser (Taiwan) specializes in the manufacturing of high quality Industrial PC-Based Control Systems. Over the past 12 years, they have exported reliable products world wide offering exciting new products which add tremendous value to the industrial market. (Booth No 4340)
SAN People (Pty) Ltd are a South African company producing Ethernet connections (EtherPADs & EtherMODs) which will be shown on theor exhibit (Booth No 5320)
Fully functional OPC network displayed - Triconex Corporation unveiled its OPC network at the ISA Expo 2000 at booth 1435. The network displayed at the booth connects both the Triconex TRICON and Trident PLCs to the Honeywell GUS, Wonderware InTouch, Foxboro I/A and Fisher-Rosemount DeItaV workstations, showing the potential for seamless interaction offered by the OPC standard.
Radar Level Gauge and Reflex Radar Level Gauge - Krohne will indroduce two new 2-wire level products FMCW Radar Level and TDR Level Gauges. Krohne's BM 702 Radar Level Gauge is the world's first two-wire Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar level device, and the BM 102 Reflex Radar Level Gauge is the next generation in high performance two-wire Time Domain Reflectrometry (TDR) technology. Previously up to 10 different technologies were needed to cover all process level applications. With these instruments, they can now cover more than 95% of them, with only two wires. (Booth No 2117)
Keeping real coool at ISA New Orleans! - I must be getting old because the latest press release from ISA tells us that The Drifters will provide entertainment at the ISA H&A Banquet - the Oscars of the I&C world - but feels obliged to add the soubriquet "a 50s-style "do-wop" quartet" by way of explanation. I'm old enough to remember the fifties and the Drifters in their hey-day. So let's move and shake, man, with the movers and shakers of ISA and Book Your Place Here and keep 20th to 24th August free!
Wireless Spread Spectrum Technology Leader to Deliver ISA EXPO/2000 Keynote Address - Spread spectrum technology leader H. Britton Sanderford, Jr., founder and president of Axonn Corporation to deliver the keynote address at ISA EXPO/2000. The keynote address is scheduled for 21 August at 9:00 a.m. at the Convention Center.
Low cost high performance OPC servers feature - Automated Solutions offers high performance, cost-effective OPC servers for industrial connectivity; ATL-based ActiveX OPC client data and graphical display toolkits; and PLC ActiveX/OCX toolkits for development of state-of the-art HMI, data acquisition and operator interface applications. Automated Solutions also develops custom interface tools, front-end products and complete software applications. (Booth #939)
New devices complement company's multifunction Beta Calibrators line - Hathaway Process Instrumentation introduced a line of single-function calibrators. CalTools are intended to complement the company's multifunction Beta Calibrators by offering alternatives to users whose requirements are concentrated within a single parameter. Three CalTool calibrators are being offered initially the universal RTD Model 45; the thermocouple Model 50, and the mA loop Model 60.
Co-operation to offer Internet-enabled visualization and control for WinPLC - Automationdirect.com, a leading Online Automation Superstore, and eMation, Inc., a leading provider of Internet infrastructure that connects embedded devices, machines, buildings, and factories to e-Business systems and the people that use them, today announced an agreement to create a low-cost, Web-enabled, industrial control solution which will enable virtually any industrial device to be remotely accessed, monitored, and controlled via the Internet. eMation's UnityWatch Web visualization, monitoring, and control sofrware will be offered pre-configured on Automationdfrect.com's latest WinPLC industrial control platform. WInPLC with Unity Watch will be available from Automationdirect.com by the end of this year.
Houston, Texas, USA
10 - 13th September 2001
|
|
