Automation Weekly - December 5, 2007

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Sponsor: WAGO

Unlimited Potential with JUMPFLEX

The new 857 Series from WAGO offers a system approach to relay and signal conditioning applications...

System Features

“True” 6mm width – industry's smallest
Shared jumper system for easy potential commoning
Maintenance-free wiring with CAGE CLAMP® S

Signal Conditioning

Dedicated and configurable modules
3-way Isolation (2.5kV) for safe operation
Accurate signal transmission with error <0.1% of full scale value

Pluggable Relays

Pluggable relays for easy replacement
Coil: AC/DC; Load: 250V/5A

Click here for more product information

Sponsor: Northwire

Stop throwing money down the conduit

Northwire custom-configured ITC/PLTC cable for exposed-run applications reduces material and installation costs in industrial control and instrumentation circuit applications. Seven platforms with millions of possibilities – general purpose or extreme use. Low minimums, factory-direct pricing built and shipped in 10-15 days.

Complimentary Samples! 1-877-210-9941 or www.northwire.com/itc8

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Product Search

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In this Issue

From One Techie to Another:
How Virtual can we get?

Featured Article:
Follett Ice: Three years of Demand Driven Supply Chain Efficiency - Still Part of Continued Process Improvement

Product Announcements:
-Moore introduces TFZ Fieldbus Temperature Transmitter
-NI announces LabWindows/CVI 8.5
-TURCK extends range of M8 proximity sensors
-Beckhoff announces AM3500 Series Servo Motors
-Control Microsystems introduces Bluetooth Adapter and Transceiver
-Emerson adds Foundation fieldbus to Brooks instruments
-Advantech releases TPC-68T XScale Touch Panel Computer; and much more

Resources & Literature:
-ITT Interconnect offers Rack & Panel connector catalog

Events, Seminars & Training:
-Robotics Learning Institute
-IEEE Sensors Applications Symposium 2008
-2008 Motor, Drive & Automation Systems Conference; and much more

Company & Organizational News:
-ABB plans major expansion in India
-ARC predicts Control Valve market to Exceed $5 Billion by 2011
-Software Toolbox acquires OPC Business of Northern Dynamic
-Emerson promotes Jim Nyquist to President of Global Sales
-Adept signs agencies to continue channel expansion in North America; and much more

Application News:
-ABB helps optimize Basel’s water supply system
-ABB wins $45 million power order in Angola
-Honeywell to upgrade controls at KRONOS pigment plant
-DSPCon Wins Four NASA Contracts for Data Acquisition and Analysi
-IFS supplies ERP to Hydroelectric Power company in India; and more

New Job Opportunities

Humor of the Week

Sponsor: OPC Foundation

What is OPC? Want your company to be an innovator leader, and maximize your product and resource utilization? Learn more about OPC, and how to achieve secure reliable interoperability with high performance quality products from hundreds of vendors.

For End-Users and System Integrators: the OPC Foundation provides no-cost seminars providing the solid foundation for what and how to use OPC-based products.

Click Here for more details, schedule and registration for these and other important OPC Events.

From One Techie to Another

How Virtual can we get?

The latest trend in the virtual online worlds like Second Life, Utherverse and Stardoll is buying virtual gifts for online personalities. According to a CNN article yesterday, Reality-check or rip off?, people are spending millions of dollars on virtual gifts. Social networking sites like Facebook are even jumping on the band wagon by selling icons depicting virtual shoes, beer, champagne, and the list goes on.

The logical, grounded engineer in me can’t believe people (a lot of people) are spending this kind of money on gifts that you can’t touch. Maybe I’m getting old or maybe my attitude is the result of a generation gap. I’m all for virtual, but there has got to be a limit. Doesn’t there?

In automation, the word "virtual” has been used to describe certain capabilities. National Instruments, for example, has used the term “Virtual Instrumentation” for the last 25 years to describe much of their product offering. According to National Instruments, “Virtual instrumentation combines mainstream commercial technologies, such as the PC, with flexible software and a wide variety of measurement and control hardware, so engineers and scientists can create user-defined systems that meet their exact application needs.”

Over a year ago, Jane Gerold of Automation World wrote an article called “Merging Virtual with the Real World.” In the article, Jane discussed an emerging area called digital manufacturing. As defined by ARC Advisory Group, industry analyst and consultant, “Digital manufacturing represents an integrated suite of tools that supports process design, tool design, plant layout and visualization through powerful virtual simulation tools.” According to ARC analyst Greg Gorbach, “Computing technology has advanced to the point where we can deploy virtual equipment, such as robots and assembly lines, to simulate the production process and generate control code.”

With the availability of today’s tools, virtual automation has become a reality. Manufacturers can create factory models and ensure they operate at peak efficiency before a single piece of physical equipment is purchased, installed and commissioned. You see, I’m all for “virtual” because it can be applied to the automation industry to help manufacturers design and optimize their factories and improve their bottom lines.

The problem I have with “virtual”, is real people are pumping real money into these virtual worlds. I fear that our society is becoming too disposable and too intangible. Unfortunately, the virtual world sites are going to take advantage of this opportunity and make every attempt to maximize revenue. This virtual has gone too far. There are thousands of real charities out there that support millions of real people with real problems. I’m all for virtual fun, virtual automation, or just about anything else virtual. But when it comes to dumping money down a virtual drain, I think it’s time to get real.

Enjoy the rest of this Automation Weekly!

Rick Zabel
Vice President, Publisher

Featured Article

Follett Ice: Three years of Demand Driven Supply Chain Efficiency - Still Part of Continued Process Improvement
Follett wisely identified the key variables when selecting a demand driven supply chain three years ago. They needed a commitment from management to support lean manufacturing and supply base that is open to change. They also recognized that if the method of ordering changed, order quantities and lead-times would be reduced, yet needed people available for implementation and had to generate enough savings to cover start-up and monthly fees.

Read full article by Thomas R. Cutler
More articles by Cutler

Browse Portals for more articles, white papers and application stories by topic

Product Announcements

	Moore introduces TFZ Fieldbus Temperature Transmitter The TFZ saves wire and installation costs by allowing up to 126 devices to be networked onto one, low cost FOUNDATION fieldbus H1 segment.
	NI announces LabWindows/CVI 8.5 With LabWindows/CVI 8.5, programmers can achieve increased performance on multicore systems with full control over thread management, built-in multithreaded libraries and drivers, thread-safe analysis functions and advanced debugging tools.
	TURCK extends range of M8 proximity sensors M8 sensors are available with extended 2 mm sensing ranges for flush mount versions or 6 mm ranges for non-flush applications.
	Beckhoff announces AM3500 Series Servo Motors Motors have a higher moment of inertia without requiring an additional gear unit.
	Control Microsystems introduces Bluetooth Adapter and Transceiver Products include 5913 Serial to Bluetooth Adapter and 5914 USB to Bluetooth Transceiver.
	Emerson adds Foundation fieldbus to Brooks instruments Foundation fieldbus I/O communications have been added to Brooks Instrument thermal mass flow meters, mass flow controllers, and pressure controllers.
	Advantech releases TPC-68T XScale Touch Panel Computer TPC-68T has a 10/100Base-T Ethernet port and Windows CE OS that supports Thin-Client solutions and an open HMI solution. Price: from $988.

Other Product Announcements

Product & Supplier Search

Featured Products for December
Search Products by keyword, category, manufacturer or release date
Search Suppliers by keyword or product category

Resources & Literature

ITT Interconnect offers Rack & Panel connector catalog
Rack & Panel connector catalog includes shielded, co-axial, modified co-axial products.

Events, Seminars & Training

Robotics Learning Institute
ICR’s Learning Institute offers an accelerated robotics training program where students get the opportunity to work hands-on in a real world environment performing tasks associated with actual work scenarios. Students are given case studies to perform specific tasks to train for a career as an automation controls or robotics service technician.

Other Upcoming Events & Training

OPC Training Workshops: Workshops begin October 22, 2007
Continuous and Emissions Monitoring Systems: A Process Analytical Sample Conditioning & Technologies Overview: December 10-11, 2007
Webcast: OPC and DCOM: Five Things You Need to Know: December 13, 2007
The Electronics West Show: January 29-31, 2008
ATX - Automation Technology Expo West: January 29-31, 2008
ARC's Twelfth Annual Orlando Forum - Winning Strategies and Best Practices for Global Manufacturers: February 4-7, 2008
BlueCielo’s European User Conference: February 10-12, 2008
IEEE Sensors Applications Symposium 2008: February 12-14, 2008
MTEC Sensors, Measurement & Instrumentation: February 13-14, 2008
2008 Motor, Drive & Automation Systems Conference: February 14-15, 2008
MEASUREX: February 17-21, 2008
Instrumentation & Control Master Series: February 25-28, 2008
Design of Experiment (Six Sigma DOE) 4 Day Workshop: February 26-29, 2008
Fieldbus Foundation General Assembly 2008: February 27-29, 2008

Go to our Calendar of Events to see other upcoming events. Add an event to our calendar.

Company & Organizational News

	ABB plans major expansion in India ABB plans to develop its Indian operations by investing $100 million over three years to expand business, engineering and R&D capacities, build new factories and broaden its automation and power product range in India.
	Software Toolbox acquires OPC Business of Northern Dynamic Software Toolbox Inc. announced today that is has completed the acquisition of the OPC business assets, trade names, and goodwill of Northern Dynamic Inc.
	ARC predicts Control Valve market to Exceed $5 Billion by 2011 The market, which approached $4 billion in 2006, is forecasted to exceed $5 billion in 2011, according to a new ARC Advisory Group study.
	Emerson promotes Jim Nyquist to President of Global Sales Nyquist will direct sales operations for all company divisions, which includes systems, software, instruments, valves and services.

Other Company & Organization News:

Go to our Daily News Headlines page for the latest automation news.

Application News

	ABB helps optimize Basel’s water supply system The customized solution is part of ABB’s OPTIMAX plant control portfolio and runs on top of ABB’s award-winning automation platform, Extended Automation System 800xA.
	ABB wins $35 million drives contract in Chile ABB will supply gearless mill drive systems to increase productivity and lower energy consumption at a new mine in northern Chile.
	Honeywell to upgrade controls at KRONOS pigment plant The project will migrate the plant’s existing Honeywell process control systems to Honeywell’s Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS).

Other Application News:

Go to our Daily News Headlines page for the latest automation news.

New Jobs

Here's a list of new jobs posted on Automation.com:

To view other recent job postings, please use our Job Search Function. For recruiting and contract staffing services, please visit www.automationtechies.com.

Humor of the Week

Dilbert - That facial hair may not be so cool after all.

Goin' Fishin' - New products are featured in the easy-to-use catalogue (View entire series)

I hope you enjoyed this Automation Weekly update. If you have any comments or suggestions regarding the content in this e-newsletter or on Automation.com, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Rick Zabel
Vice President, Publisher
Automation.com

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