AutomationDirect's new C-more remote HMI application is available through the iTunes App Store for $4.99 and provides remote access and control to mobile users who have a Wi-Fi or cellular connection.
Tolomatic has added a new size to its line of ERD rod-style electric actuators to provide higher forces and longer stroke lengths to serve more application requirements.
Microchip Technology introduced their MCP6N11 CMOS instrumentation amplifier. The Microchip MCP6N11 chip features mCal technology, 1.8V operation, 500 kHz gain bandwidth, hardware shutdown pin, and rail-to-rail input and output. The Microchip MCP6N11 instrumentation amplifier is available in an 8-pin SOIC package and an 8-pin 2mm x 3mm TDFN package. The IC is priced at $1 [...]
Power.org announced that the latest version of the Embedded Power Architecture Platform Requirements (ePAPR) specification is available for download. ePAPR version 1.1 includes some incremental changes and clarifications to ePAPR 1.0 and adds a new chapter on virtualization. The ePAPR specification defines standards for Power Architecture system regarding how a boot program starts a client [...]
The new V Series from Oriental Motor uses a gear cut and an extra machining step with the motors output shaft, which produces minimal noise. (Approximate Time 1:05)
Trio Motion has expanded its Motion Coordinator range with two new motion and machine controllers based on the latest 533MHz ARM11 processor - flexibly and economically providing new levels of multi-tasking servo or stepper control for high performance automation.
VIA Technologies introduced the EITX-3002 Em-ITX form factor board. The VIA EITX-3002 features VIA VX900H media system processor, 1.2GHz VIA Nano X2 E-Series or 1.0GHz VIA Eden X2 dual core processor, 17cm x 12cm Em-ITX form factor, onboard DC-to-DC converter, HDMI port, VGA port, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, dual COM ports, two USB ports, two [...]
With the launch of its inaugural list of the " (http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2011/fortune/1110/gallery.best_companies_global.fortune/19.html)Worlds Best Multinational Workplaces," (http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2011/fortune/1110/gallery.best_companies_global.fortune/19.html) the Great Place to Work Institute has ranked National Instruments number 18 among the top 25 multinational companies to work for in the world.
Omron Industrial Automation expanded the industrial communication options for compact Omron 3G3MX2 AC Drives to simplify integration into production lines and work cells.
Altera Corporation and Eutecus come together to offer a single-chip solution that performs video analytics at 1080 pixels and 30 frames per second (fps) resolution.
Space Codesign® Systems announced the support for ARM-based FPGA design in its SpaceStudioTM 2.2 virtual platform technology. Pioneering hardware/software codesign technology enables electronic engineers to enjoy a higher level of abstraction and executable representation for embedded systems design in commercial multimedia applications. System architects and design engineers can now efficiently exploit the high performance ARM [...]
Beijer Electronics showcases HMIs and Industrial PCs for rugged environments to withstand extreme temperatures; NEMA-4 & IP 66 certified. (Approximate Time - 2:19)
Eaton Corp.'s soft starter's open chassis and user-friendly interface makes commissioning process quick and easy. A water/wastewater pump algorithm gradually brings pump to rest, minimizing or eliminating water hammer effect. (Approximate time - 4:47).
Mitsubishi showcases a wide variety products at the Weftec Show, Los Angeles, Calif. Video includes variable frequency drives, HMI, SCADA, and PLCs through a complete process automation controller. (Approximate Time - 1:08).
Memo Sense by Endress + Hauser replaces typical Ph sensors which usually have cables that can suffer impedance loss under water. User can disconnect sensor with no chance of moisture getting in sensor, send to lab, then return to field. Also stationary and portable samplers. (Approximate Time - 2:11)
Wago Corp.'s To-Pass Device sends SMS text messages to control device and confirmation messages. 8-channel digital/analog input allows you to set threshold (i.e. tank level) and you will receive a text message when state is achieved. (Approximate Time - 1:40)
Replacing human inspection with machine vision can go far in automating factory operation, but implementers need to carefully match machine vision options with application requirements. Learn how to choose the right system for your needs.
BOA IDR offers robust 1D and 2D capabilities for part traceability, but it also offers trainable character and pattern recognition tools which customers can combine to satisfy a variety of identification and verification needs.
BOA smart cameras offer a full suite of vision tools and capabilities for inspections tasks requiring positioning, identifying, verifying, measuring and flaw detecting.
A new generation of meteorological satellites employs industrial sensor technology to help advance weather predicting capabilities and provide new data on weather-related phenomena such as El Nino and La Nina.
X-FAB Silicon Foundries introduced their XP018 technology platform. The foundry process features the industry’s lowest mask count for the modular combination of digital, analog and high-voltage features with embedded Flash. The X-FAB XP018 technology is available now for tape-ins. It includes pre-released IP for the memory options. Full qualification will follow in 2012. Read more: [...]
POWERLINK is the world's most widely used Industrial Ethernet protocol in applications where plant productivity depends on fast axes and machine and sensor data is transmitted in hard real time.
New 10 Gigabit Ethernet industrial core switch (ICS) product portfolio,
the ICS-G7000 series, reportedly provides greater reliability, extensive
power and network redundancy for non-stop operation, and long-term
durability via a fanless design.
The Modbus TCP/IP to IEC 61850 gateway provides a distributed solution
for interfacing smart-grid-compliant IEC 61850 Intelligent Electronic
Devices (IEDs) at the process and bay levels with Schneider Electric
PLCs and SCADA systems at the substation level.
PacDrive 3 is a Sercos III-based motion controller for multi-axes
coordinated motion solutions and the latest addition to the companys
MachineStruxure line of automation solutions for machine builders.
New single-slot NI CompactDAQ chassis supports wireless, USB and
Ethernet buses, giving engineers and scientists the portability of a
data logger with the performance and flexibility of modular
measurements.
ProSense mechanical dial pressure gauges are available in a variety of configurations for use in most pneumatic, hydraulic, HVAC, plumbing, industrial and commercial applications.
The affordability and reliability of step motorssteppershas made this technology highly popular among machine builders in many industries, ranging from electronics to aircraft controls to CNC equipment.
With all the new types of WirelessHart devices now becoming available, a facilitys control system must be able to handle the integration of a great mix of devices that already exist and stay up to date with new WirelessHart devices as they become available.
Bill Gaskin says, unhesitatingly, that the biggest challenge facing American manufacturing remains uncertainty. Causes include current domestic and European economic situations, and political bickering and failed leadership in the U.S. government, he says. Gaskin is president of the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA, www.pma.org (http://www.pma.org)), Independence, Ohio.
An Automation World LinkedIn group member seeks advice on how best to convert his packaging machine designs for PLC control and avoid technology supplier pressure to buy all system components from one source.
Celebration of the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Research Centers 20th anniversary is marked by a plan to advance manufacturing in the U.S. through development of collaboratories.
Keyboard, mouse and touchscreen dominate the realm of human interfaces
to machines. Once again the world of information technologies could be a
valuable provider of ideas for automation.
Automation World editor-in-chief Gary Mintchell talked with more than 35
exhibitors at the most recent Pack Expo Show and came away with these
impressions.
In an effort to distinguish itself in the arena of high-speed machine
control, Schaumburg, Ill.-based Omron Industrial Automation, a division
of Japanese electronics giant Omron, is releasing what it calls a new
category of machine controller that seems to take the integration of
high-speed motion, industrial vision and networking to a whole new
level. High-speed packaging machines are the first target for the
companys newly designed, highly synchronized NJ-Series Machine
Automation Controller (MAC).
Half of the respondents to a recent Automation World survey indicate that they do not use the smartsthe advanced diagnosticsavailable in their Hart and Foundation Fieldbus devices. The reasons: cost, complexity and training.
Users and vendors explain how they have been able to boost the efficiency of their equipment by monitoring and controlling those factors within their manufacturing operations that have a direct impact on cost.
MESA (www.mesa.org (http://www.mesa.org/)), the organization focused on manufacturing execution systems (MES)
and manufacturing operations management (MOM) software, held its annual
conference in September and Automation World Editor in Chief Gary
Mintchell attended.
This issue looks to increase the spotlight on how innovative asset
management strategies can improve plant optimization, and possibly find
cost-savings for an organization.
How devastating is fraud? The financial costs alone are staggering; $2.9
trillion lost annually to fraud by entities, worldwide; $155,000 median
loss in fraud schemes involving an organization with 100 employees or
less; $300,000 median loss for companies in the manufacturing sector.
The global process industries lose $20 billion, or five percent of
annual production, due to unscheduled downtime and poor quality. ARC
Advisory Group estimates that almost 80 percent of these losses are
preventable. In fact, 40 percent of these losses are largely
attributable to human error.
Rendering is the process of recycling waste animal tissue into stable
materials that are used as ingredients in making livestock and pet
rations and other products. Upgrades to a rendering plant are
particularly challenging because the plant receives a continuous stream
of waste tissue from processing plants that has nowhere else to go.
Who can be so bold as to plan and budget for ambitious automation
business growth in these uncertain times? Old growth mechanisms miss the
new paradigms of global markets; these are exactly the times to plan
for innovation and growth, to jump ahead in the competitive rankings.
If tulip bulbs and soft chocolate eggs are gripped with conventional metal grippers or vacuum functions, the result is a high level of loss and damage.
ProComSol, Ltd today announced the release of Rev. 4.7 of their popular DevCom2000 Smart Device Communicator Software for HART instrumentation. This revision adds a trending feature which allows users to trend the parameters of HART devices.
Texas Instruments introduced their Sitara AM335x ARM Cortex-A8 microprocessors. The TI AM335x ARM Cortex-A8 microprocessor offers low power consumption, prolongs battery life, reduces heat emissions, and enables portable, pocket-sized, fanless applications. Pricing for the AM335x ARM Cortex-A8 microprocessors start at $4.99 (in 100,000 unit quantities). Application-specific reference designs based on the AM335x ARM Cortex-A8 microprocessors [...]
In-Stat expects unit shipments for low-cost Android smartphones to reach almost 340 million worldwide in 2015. According to In-Stat, low-cost Android handset segment will cause some fragmentation in the Android platform. Low-cost Android smartphones will most likely be released with Android 2.2 or 2.3 because these versions offer a good blend of features with modest [...]
Nearly 30 couplers, controllers and I/O modules from WAGO Corporation's WAGO-I/O-SYSTEM now carry ATEX and IEC Ex Certifications for operating in temperatures up to +60°C.
On April 29 of this year, a weather front producing the largest number for F-4 and F-5 tornados ever recorded in such a short period slammed the southeastern United States.
Yokogawa Electric Corporation announces the DTSX200 Distributed Temperature Sensor (DTS) was released to the global market on October 19 and the Japan market in April 2012.
The new ARMv8 architecture will feature a 64-bit instruction set. The ARMv8 architecture will expand the reach of ARM processor-based solutions into consumer and enterprise applications where extended virtual addressing and 64-bit data processing are required. The ARMv8 architecture specifications describing all aspects of the ARMv8 architecture are available now to partners under license. ARM [...]
Peter Zornio, Emerson Process Management chief strategic officer, reviewed Emerson's responses to two challenges it sees its customers facing in process industries--increasing complexity of systems coupled with less experienced employees.
Synopsys’ DesignWare 96 dB Hi-Fi Audio IP has achieved first-pass silicon success in 65-nanometer (nm) and 55-nm process technologies for multiple foundries. The silicon-proven audio IP is ideal for consumer electronic system-on-chip (SoC) applications such as portable media players, smart phones, CD/DVD/ Blu-Ray Disc players/recorders, digital TV and digital cameras. The Synopsys DesignWare 96 dB [...]
The Emerson Global Users Exchange has descended on Nashville's Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center this week--and brought record numbers with it.
Texas Instruments announced their bq25504 power management integrated circuit for energy harvesting. The boost charger for nano (ultra low) power energy harvesting features circuitry to protect the energy storage element from over voltage and under voltage conditions and to kick-start the system when the battery is deeply discharged. The TI bq25504 IC manages the microwatts [...]
Understanding how the use of decentralized frequency inverters along with motor gear sets can be used to solve simple machine applications and enhance the performance of existing equipment.
To improve quality control and eliminate waste, a major manufacturer of injection-molded closures upgrades its vision technology. Previous vision systems lacked visual acuity to solve this difficult application.
To achieve fast, accurate communications, ensure quality, and meet tight demands of major automakers, tier one supplier links Omron CJ2 programmable controllers via an EtherNet/IP network.
A look at why the MAC has emerged as a new category of controller, superseding PAC in the evolution of machine control. Packaging machinery to benefit most from MACs.
Investment in people, plants and service centers, building a listening
culture, transparency and trust set the tone for the record crowd of 2,850 in attendance at the Emerson Global Users Exchange in Nashville, Tenn.
The extremely flexible configuration options offered by B&R's new POWERLINK X67 bus controller with IP67 protection make it an indispensable standard component for any demanding automation application.
Omegas new DPG409 series of high accuracy digital pressure gages feature a large backlit display makes it possible for user to read digits from over 10.7m (35 ft).
Acoposmulti65 from B&R is an on-machine-mounted, IP-67-rated, servo motion controller rated to 4 kilowatts that has connections for servo motor, servo encoder, network cable, and connections to on-board machine I/O.
Fresco Microchip launched their FM2150 analog silicon tuner. The Fresco FM2150 is optimized for worldwide analog television. The silicon tuner eliminates redundant functionality found in many silicon tuners and television system-on-chips (SOCs). The chip supports PAL, NTSC, and SECAM analog standards. It is available in an ultra-small 4mm x 4mm QFN package. The Fresco FM2150 [...]
Salvador Dali addressed it in his famous painting "Persistence of Memory," but manufacturers deal with varying perceptions of time as a day-to-day operational fact of life. Devising ways to better synch manufacturing and supply chain operations with customer demand is leading to the increased re-shoring of production operations and the use of cloud technologies.
'Investing in the future of packaging innovation' cites B&R's Marc Ostertag, is the reason why the automation provider sponsored the all-new PACK EXPO Education Pavilion and the Student Design Contest.
Exlar announces its Tritex II AC Powered Actuators Brochure is now available and can be conveniently downloaded from their website or delivered in print form upon request.
Conexant Systems introduced the CX25828 eight-channel video/audio decoder. The system-on-chip features eight high quality NTSC/PAL video decoders, nine audio ADCs and one audio DAC (Digital-to-Analog Converter). The Conexant CX25828 SoC is sampling now. Volume production is scheduled for this quarter. Prices start at $5 in 1000 quantities. The CX25828 video/audio decoder is ideal for high-capacity [...]
Watch this short video on what's coming in the December
issue of Automation World. The December issue addresses workforce and workforce performance, with Renee Robbins Bassett kicking it off with a feature on how to build a continuous improvement team within your organization. Dave Greenfield looks at geographically dispersed workforces and offers tips on how to make it succeed and venerable automation writer, Jim Koelsch, delves into why it's important for engineers to be successful writers within their company. Ad closing
date is November 18th, please contact George Shurtleff at 800-355-5595 to
reserve space. (Approximate time - 2:40).
TTEthernet from TTTech opens the use of Ethernet for all areas of application. From classic Web services to time- and safety-critical control systems, the network makes available all necessary services.
Microchip Technology and Digilent introduced a development kit for the Cerebot MC7 motor control board. The Digilent Cerebot MC7 Development Kit includes a demonstration board with four half-bridge circuits, eight RC servo motor connectors, support for Digilent Pmod peripheral modules, and an integrated programming/debugging circuit that is compatible with the free MPLAB IDE. The Cerebot [...]
Atef
T. Massoud, Omron Industrial Automations motion control expert, was
involved in the development and validation of Omrons NJ-Series
controller and Sysmac Studio Software. Atef discusses motion
simulation and other capabilities of the software at Omron's North
Americas customer demonstration and testing lab. (Approximate time - 3:51)
Omegas new DP8891 series of waterproof digital thermometer features a wide temperature range and can be used as a portable unit or a wall mounted large LCD meter.
Chipworks recently posted the results of their Apple iPhone 4S teardown. Their analysis focused on the die level to provide information that is not readily available at the board level. According to Chipworks, iPhone 4S contains a lot of the same devices observed in the iPhone 4 and the iPad 2. The Apple iPhone 4S [...]
Mike Wagner, Global Packaging Business Manager, Rockwell Automation, talks about the company's offering at the largest packaging show in 2011. Topics include OMAC, PackML, plant-wide optimization for end-users and integrating process and discrete line operations for quicker time to market. (Approximate time - 1:50)
This Siemens Industry, Inc., video, from Pack Expo 2011, showcases a variety of offerings: kinematic capabilities (interpolated motion), industrial protocols, and network remote control and diagnostics. (Approximate time - 2:54)
The company offers four axes through 99 with rack-mounted power supply from this PAC drives controller family. Features include connection modules to integrated servo units and the Sercos 3 communication protocol. (Approximate time - 1:25).
Gary Mintchell, Editor in Chief, provides a recap of the 2011 PACK EXPO trade show, held Sept. 26-28 in Las Vegas, NV. Trends noted by Gary Mintchell include modular I/O, motion buses, modularity and Ethercat. Report also includes information on the OMAC packaging group. (Approximate time- 5:46).
Imsys introduced their Stamp module. It is the latest new member of its Simple Network Application Platform (SNAP). The SNAP Stamp module features IM3910 MCU, SDRAM, flash memory, 10/100 Ethernet PHY (plus RMII interface for a 2nd Ethernet port), 3 UARTs, SPI/I2C, RTC, 8 timers, 8-ch ADC (16 bit), 2 DAC (16 bit), and a [...]
Social media isnt just for personal use any more. Businesses of all kinds, particularly manufacturers, are looking to leverage social media types of connections for easier access to needed expertise, business intelligence insights and new product ideas.
The Automation World staff attended the Pack Expo Las Vegas 2011 show in late September and shot video of the latest automation and control products at the show.
Cadence Design Systems has issued a call for papers for their 2012 CDNLive! Users Conference. Papers considered should address new technologies and methodologies for realizing next generation systems, silicon, and differentiated IP. The deadline to submit a paper is November 11, 2011. The CDNLive! Users Conference helps design engineers stay on the competitive edge by [...]
Imec and Holst Centre developed a fully chip-integrated ultralow-power impulse-radio ultra-wideband (IR-UWB) solution for the 6-10GHz band, which is available worldwide. The radio features fade-resilient and interference-free operation. Imec and Holst Centre’s solution for the 6-10GHz band makes UWB communication available for battery-operated applications in the area of personal area networks and positioning sensors worldwide. [...]
Summit Microelectronics introduced their SMB220 and SMB221 integrated 10A and 20A buck regulators. The new chips feature built-in MOSFET’s, digital programmability and non-volatile configuration. The Summit step-down DC-DC buck regulators are available now in a thermally-enhanced, RoHS-compliant, lead-free 5mm X 6mm, 28-pad QFN. The SMB220 is priced $1.80 each while the SMB221 is priced at [...]
How Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL) can be used to integrate hardwired and wireless devices into a control system for device diagnostics and device version updates.