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| Sponsor: AutomationDirect |
Worry-Free Pressure Sensors
ProSense pressure sensors and transmitters from AutomationDirect monitor relative system pressure in hydraulic, pneumatic, and vacuum system applications. They are smaller and easier to install than traditional mechanical pressure switches. ProSense pressure sensing solutions provide high accuracy using capacitive sensing and strain gauge technology. With prices starting at $89 and no moving parts, such as pistons or springs, ProSense pressure and vacuum sensors are a worry-free, low-cost, solid-state alternative to mechanical switches.
More Product Information
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| Sponsor: Festo |
High Speed, High Precision, Continuous Duty Rod Actuators
Festo EGSA actuators offer a precision ball screw driven, roller bearing guided axis that handles loads up to 10Kg and delivers repeatability of +/- 0.01mm, speeds up to 1.5m/s, accelerations up to 15m/s2, strokes up to 300mm, RoHS compliance, and a 100% duty cycle.
Visit www.festo.com/us/egsa/a
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Our Product Portals organize information by topic and include new products, company news, articles, white papers, application stories, training, resources, events, and more. |
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| From One Techie to Another |
Collaboration in Action
It seems that everywhere I go these days, I hear about the importance of collaboration. Last week’s ABB Automation World in Houston, Texas, was no different. Only this time, IBM's John Brantley put it in terms of dollars and cents that everyone can understand. Brantley is the general manager of IBM's Global Chemical and Petroleum/Industrial Products Industries, a group that presents $4B of IBM's total revenue. Interestingly enough, this revenue breaks down to 70% services, 15% hardware and 15% software.
According to Brantley, "Innovation resides at the intersection of 'invention' and 'insight,' leading to the creation of social and economic value." Brantley cites that 76% of CEOs believe collaboration is important, but only 51% say they do it well. There is definitely room for improvement. Statoil is one example of a company that is executing innovation that matters. Statoil is an integrated oil and gas company based in Norway with 25,400 employees and activities in 31 countries. The group is operator for 60 percent of all Norwegian oil and gas production, and is one of the world’s largest sellers of crude oil.
In April 2006, the Norwegian Oil Industry Association (OLF) published a report stating oil and gas companies on the Norwegian continental shelf would increase their revenues by $41.5B if they quickly integrate their operations by using advanced information and communication technology. If they did not integrate their operations, they would risk losing $10B in potential revenue within the next three years.
Statoil saw Norway's economic reliance on petroleum production as an incentive to improve production efficiency. Statoil teamed with key industry players like IBM, ABB, Aker Kvaerner and SKF to create a new process framework that links advanced real-time sensing capabilities in the field to powerful, collaborative and analytical resources accessible across the enterprise.
With integrated operations, Statoil expects to see a 5% increase in oil and gas production through planned and improved maintenance. Plus, they expect a 30% reduction in costs through the use of predictive maintenance practices. As you can imagine, these percentages translate into big numbers in the oil and gas markets.
For more information on the Statoil project:
In order to compete in the 21st century, companies must openly collaborate, partner aggressively and innovate continuously. And on top of all that, they need to do it quickly or another company will beat them to the punch. According to Adolfo Henriques, head of Integrated Operations at Statoil, "Innovation is about using what we have learned in the past, building up on that, and looking at the new technologies and applying that to a new competitive environment." He makes it sound so easy, doesn’t he?
Enjoy the rest of this Automation Weekly!
Rick Zabel
Vice President, Publisher |
| Featured Article |
OPC Drives Overall Equipment Efficiency from 65% to 75%
"Supporting OPC creates great new opportunities for collecting data from production equipment in real time, performing statistical analysis on the data and then feeding information back to operators, engineers or to the equipment itself," says Byron Shetler, Chief Technology Officer for Hertzler.
Read full article by Thomas R. Cutler
Read more articles by Thomas Cutler
Browse Portals for more articles, white papers and application stories by topic |
| Salary Survey |
2008 Automation.com Salary Survey
Automation.com is surveying automation professionals about current salaries. Find out how you stack up. Please take a minute to complete our survey and then pass it on to your automation friends and colleagues. Survey results will be published in early spring 2008.
Take Salary Survey
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| Product Announcements |
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ExperTune releases ProcessApex benchmarking software
ProcessApex software benchmarks and tracks the business results of fired heaters, heat exchangers, and dryers. |
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AutomationDirect introduces ProSense pressure sensors
ProSense pressure switches and transmitters are smaller and easier to install than traditional mechanical pressure switches.
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ABB releases cpmPlus Loop Performance Manager
Loop Performance Manager software collects, optimizes, tunes and monitors the performance of a control loops.
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ABB releases cpmPlus Smart Client for System 800xA
Thin client helps process customers securely access automation systems via an Internet browser for real-time visibility into the process from any location.
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Phoenix Contact releases connectors for pharmaceutical and food
Sensor/actuator boxes, cables and connectors meet strict requirements of the pharmaceutical and food and beverage industries.
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Emerson introduces CSI 9330 Vibration Transmitter
CSI 9330 Vibration Transmitter continuously monitors critical rotating machinery for early detection of developing mechanical issues.
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TURCK Factor 1 prox sensors handle washdown environments
Uprox+ Factor 1 sensors now include IP 69k rated washdown versions with temperature ratings from -40 to 100° C.
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National Instruments announces two USB-631x I/O devices
USB-6212 and USB-6216 have a 60 percent improvement in analog sampling rates, sixteen 400 kS/s analog inputs, and two 250 kS/s analog outputs. |
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Opto 22 lets OEMs encrypt PAC Project software
Secure Strategy Distribution System gives Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and machine builders the ability to encrypt firmware and control programs.
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ASI releases pushbuttons, pilot lights and E-Stops
Industrial switches and pilot devices include push buttons, selector switches, key-locks, joysticks, mushroom-head switches for E-stops, and complete operator control stations. |
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Phidgets announces $75.00 stepper controller
The 1062 Stepper controller controls the position, velocity and acceleration of up to 4 unipolar stepper motors. It plugs directly into a computer's USB port.
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Littelfuse introduces SDP Series DSL surge protectors
SDP Series protects the signal integrity of broadband signals, such as VDSL2 circuits, by strict control of their parasitic capacitance.
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One RF releases TinyOne 868 MHz USB Dongle modem
Modem facilitates the control and monitoring of wireless sensors networks based on low-power 868 MHz Mesh technology.
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RTP enhances Critical Control and Safety System
Enhancements to NetSuite and the RTP2500 safety and control engine have been certified by TÜV for SIL-1 to SIL-3 applications.
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Baumer introduces ETTN-YTTN digital temperature switch
ETTN-YTTN with a clamp-on sensor enables easy mounting at a pipe with two standard clips. It can measure the temperature of a process without direct contact to the medium.
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Encelium ECS communicates with Tridium platform
Integration of Encelium's Energy Control System (ECS) with Tridium allows the system to communicate with other building systems in intelligent building applications.
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For MORE of the latest product announcements, go to our Daily News Headlines page.
Product & Supplier Search
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| Resources & Literature |
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Bosch Rexroth announces Hydraulics Website
Website provides technology updates, applications support, expert help, product information, free downloads and literature, training information, and news about the hydraulics industry. |
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Other Resources & Literature:
Go to our Daily News Headlines page for the latest automation news.
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| Events, Seminars & Training |
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Online Automated Test Summit 2008
The Automated Test Summit 2008 will be hosted live on the Internet on June 5 and will be presented in the Americas, Europe and Asia, giving attendees the opportunity to speak with experts in various languages. At the free full-day event, attendees can view keynote presentations, watch technical sessions, participate in live Q&A forums and interact with vendors in the exhibition area. |
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Upcoming Events & Training
- Cognex Machine Vision Seminars: April - June, 2008
- FDT Technical Seminars: Beginning April 29, 2008
- Montreal Manufacturing Technology Show: May 12-14, 2008
- Extended PLC Training Seminar/Workshop: May 12-16, 2008
- Increasing Agility with SOA in Your Manufacturing IT Strategy: Roadmap to Interoperability and Composite Applications: May 14, 2008
- European Manufacturing Automation Forum: May 14-15, 2008
- ISA100 Wireless Solutions Summit: May 19, 2008
- EASTEC 2008: May 20-22, 2008
- IndConn - Industrial Connectivity: May 20-22, 2008
- Safety Control Systems Conference: May 28-29, 2008
- Passion for Manufacturing Show: May 31-June 3, 2008
- BlueCielo ECM Frontiers 2008 Americas: June 1-3, 2008
- Rockwell Automation RSTechED User Conference: June 1-6, 2008
- ISA POWID Symposium: June 8-13, 2008
- Sensors Expo: June 9-11, 2008
- Honeywell 2008 Americas Users Group Symposium: June 15-19, 2008
- Emergency Power Supplies Conference: July 23-24, 2008
Go to our Calendar of Events to see other upcoming events. Add an event to our calendar. |
| Company & Organizational News |
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National Instruments reports Q1 Revenue of $193 Million
Net income for Q1 2008 was $17.6 million with diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.22. |
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Moore Industries Celebrates 40 Years of Success
Still privately-held by founder and CEO Leonard W. Moore, the company has come a long way from humble garage beginnings when Moore designed and built the company's first electronic signal converters. Today, the company builds signal conditioners, temperature transmitters, fieldbus interface devices and much more. |
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ABB Automation World held in Houston with record attendance
A record 3,300+ customers, distributors, channel partners, original equipment manufacturers and ABB employees attended the three-day trade show and conference that ran from April 29 through May 1 in Houston, Texas. |
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Siemens and ROY-G-BIV combine machine tool controls
Partnership combines Siemens Motion Control Information System (MCIS) software with ROY-G-BIV's XMC machine connectivity software. |
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ICONICS and Kepware announce OPC-UA Partnership
The ICONICS OPC-UA KEPServer integrates HMI/SCADA and visualization with device connectivity from Kepware. |
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WAGO names Cory Thiel Product Manager
Thiel will oversee terminal blocks and connectors, PCB connectors and similar products. |
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Other Company & Organization News:
Go to our Daily News Headlines page for the latest automation news.
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| Application News |
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Go to our Daily News Headlines page for the latest automation news.
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| New Jobs |
Here's a list of new jobs posted on Automation.com:
- Operations Manager-Water & Waste Water Control Systems: Multitrode, Inc. - Boca Raton, FL
- Service & Support Technicians: Beckhoff Automation, LLC - Burnsville, MN
- Mechanical Project Engineer: Racine Federated, Inc. - Racine, WI
- Outside Technical Sales: automationtechies - Cedar Rapids, IA
- Automation Specialist: automationtechies - Omaha, NE
- Project Leader: automationtechies - Raleigh, NC
- Senior Controls Engineer: automationtechies - Minneapolis, MN
- Sales Director: automationtechies - Harrisburg, PA
- Regional Sales Manager: automationtechies - Dallas, TX
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
From lead to failure before the project even starts. (Strip - Note the light blue arrow in the third frame to advance frames.)
Don’t blow the deal with too many details. (Animated)
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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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