SCADA software maker, Telvent Canada, Ltd, a subsidiary of Schneider-Electric, confirms that its corporate network was compromised and files used by customers were also accessed. ABB and Zenith Technologies to collaborate on life sciences solutions for Asian market.A lot has been written about energy management and how manufacturers can turn fixed energy costs into a variable cost and improve efficiency at plants, factories or commercial buildings. At a recent energy management software conference in Chicago, I talked to Arun Sinha, Dir. of Business Development, Opto 22, to gain insight on the energy management culture and technology trends. When land-based oil & gas processing is not an option, or when existing fields no longer have enough pressure to release their reserves, oil & gas companies look to undersea technology to help them extract every drop of oil and molecule of natural gas they can. “I see the trend in traceability growing for the foreseeable future in automotive, as more automakers and suppliers see the cost benefits of traceability,” says John Keating, product marketing manager for Natick, Mass.-based vision-systems-and-sensors-manufacturer Cognex’s (www.cognex.com) ID (identification) products business unit. Globally, everybody in packaging—original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and consumer-goods providers—has an emerging market growth strategy, says Mike Wagner, manager of global business for the packaging industry, for OEMs, with Rockwell Automation (www.rockwellautomation.com), Milwaukee.“The business of chemistry is at the heart of U.S. manufacturing, and access to shale gas has the potential to dramatically boost America’s competitiveness,” says Cal Dooley, president and CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based American Chemistry Council (ACC, www.americanchemistry.com). The domains of wireless and cellular connections in automation have long been distinct entities. But just as your smartphone easily toggles between cellular and Wi-Fi, automation systems are beginning to do the same.This 5-page whitepaper by Peter Martin, vice president, Invensys Systems Inc. discusses the changing role of plant historians. These industrial databases are evolving from reporting- and decision-based structures to become performance-based structures that support real-time industrial decision-making at the highest (enterprise) levels. The production cost advantage that China currently holds will be gone in late 2015, and the need for continual improvement should fuel the automation industry for years to come. In general, this is the time to think about loading up the pipeline in order to ride out most of the late-2013/2014 downturn.Data exchange among mechanical plant engineering, electrical design, process engineering, process control engineering, HMI development, PLC programming and other engineering tools is difficult. A European initiative lets users exchange data by exporting it into a common AutomationML format.Opto 22 expands its SNAP PAC offering to include PC-based control.Intermec Inc. looks to gain business leverage in the warehouse distribution space by offering select, handheld mobile computers with HTML5 browser technology, providing greater interoperability with Distribution Center software platforms. We envision the future of multitudes of intelligent, connected sensors and other devices feeding data about the status of every facet of plant or factory operation. In this manner, plant operations managers and engineers will be able to control and optimize more than just a single loop.The engineering career ladder has respected positions such as Distinguished Technologist or Fellow. The ladder to a management career seems tougher to climb, but automation engineers are the best possible candidates for management.
Conemtech unveiled their instantPTP product line for packet network synchronization. With the chip, designers can now obtain high accuracy synchronization via the IEEE 1588-2008 standard by just adding a single component to their design. instantPTP technology will be introduced in new and existing compatible products in the fourth quarter of this year. Read more: Conemtech [...]Some estimate that 50 billion devices will be IoT-connected by 2020. We previously discussed the broad concepts of IoT, but here we focus specifically IoT in the world of automation.Lenze Americas, a global manufacturer of electrical and mechanical drives, motion control and automation technologies, officially debuts its 100,000 square foot assembly and logistics facility in Glendale Heights (outside of Chicago), to the business press. This year’s Yokogawa User Group Conference and Exhibition, located at the Hyatt Regency hotel, New Orleans, highlights the theme of “Integrated Solutions for a Sustainable Future.”Resource-focused costing based on cause-and-effect modeling is the only approach that can effectively connect manufacturing metrics with costs and allow the real time calculation of marginal cost and profitability.As manufacturers take steps to expand their workforces, many are finding that the skills they require now are different from those that were needed prior to the recession. In this environment, industrial products manufacturers need to develop talent strategies that not only address their most immediate workforce needs, but also plan for future growth.The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation has released the September 2012 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI) today. Designed to collect leadership data, the index reports a qualitative assessment of both the prevailing business conditions and expectations for the future as reported by key executives from the $628 billion equipment finance sector.Acquisition of this Canadian partner designed to strengthens Yaskawa’s position in the oil & gas industry.With the national Plug-In-Day event on Sept. 23, ABB unveils its direct current (DC) fast charger, called the Terra 51, for electric vehicles. The fast charging technology reduces the time to "charge" to 15 to 30 minutes, compared to three to five hours with a standard 240 VAC home battery chargers. Advantech releases two new open architecture embedded controllers featuring isolated chassis and logic grounds.
Texas Instruments launched the LMH6881 and LMH6882 programmable differential amplifiers (PDAs). The LMH6881 is a 2.4 GHz single-channel PDA, and the LMH6882 is 2.4 GHz dual-channel PDA. The devices optimize noise, distortion and bandwidth performance over a 6-dB to 26-dB gain range. The TI LMH6881 PDA is available now in a 24-pin, 2.6 mm by [...]
Texas Instruments launched the LM25066I/A server monitoring, protection and control IC. The device features on-chip PMBus support. The LM25066IA and LM25066I are offered in a 4-mm by 5-mm, 24-lead LLP package and are priced at $2.95 and $2.45 respectively (in 1,000-unit quantities). The LM25066IA and LM25066I are sampling now with full production volumes scheduled for [...]
Microchip Technology introduced the DM320014 and DM320413 PIC32 MCU-based development boards. The DM320014 is a USB digital audio accessory board, while the DM320413 is a digital audio mixer board. The two development boards are powered by Microchip’s PIC32MX250F128 32-bit MCU. The DM320014 and DM320413 enable audio and voice device development for a broad range of [...]
GreenPeak Technologies introduced the GP710 dual-protocol ZigBee communications controller. The GP710 IC offers simultaneous support for ZigBee RF4CE and ZigBee IP/ZigBee PRO protocols. The GP710 communication controller includes special hardware features that enable multi-protocol support. The single chip minimizes the interrupt load on the set-top box processor. Read more: GreenPeak Introduces GP710 Dual-Protocol ZigBee Communications [...]