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Read the online version or scroll down for this issue of Automation Weekly. |
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April 7, 2010 |
| Sponsor: Opto 22 |
Simple Simple
Controller redundancy just got easier. With Opto 22’s Redundancy Option Kit, you can:
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Use standard SNAP PAC controllers, I/O, and cables.
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Swap controller roles at any time.
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Enjoy flowchart-based and scripting programming flexibility.
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And get free Product Support.
See the SNAP-PAC-ROK.
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| Sponsor: Meridium |
Driving Effective SIS Management
Learn how Meridium and exida are making the management of your safety instrumented systems easier and more effective.
Learn More Here.
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| Sponsor: GE Intelligent Platforms |
What’s in your Data? Enabling the Intelligent Historian and HMI/SCADA
What is your data trying to tell you? Overwhelmed by all the data your process produces? So what else lies in your data? Unfortunately it doesn't speak your language and you don’t speak its. Let Proficy Troubleshooter unlock the secrets your data is keeping from you and expose the correlations in your data that directly affect your process performance and quality!
Learn More.
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| Sponsor: ISA |
ISA Automation Week
Call for Papers
Enhance your professional reputation while gaining powerful market exposure for your organization by sharing your technical expertise at ISA Automation Week 2010. ISA is now accepting abstract submittals for consideration to present at this prestigious technical conference and product showcase. Closes: 16 April 2010.
Click here for more information.
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| Featured Articles |
Applying Coriolis technology to high pressure applications
By John Daly, InTech
Coriolis technology is highly desirable for its accuracy and low maintenance costs, but many designs have inherent pressure limits. Omega tube designs push through the pressure barrier with some unique engineering.
Leveraging predictive maintenance to achieve greener field operations
By Jim Fererro, InTech
Announcements in the energy industry about efforts to go "green" are often met with skepticism and resistance, largely due to fears of high cost or implementation difficulty. However, even basic steps, such as changing how field personnel operate and integrating equipment into existing SCADA systems, can produce efficiencies that directly benefit the bottom line.
$250 million effort for science, math teachers
InTech
The White House announced a $250 million public-private effort in January to improve science and mathematics instruction, aiming to help the nation compete in key fields with global economic rivals. |
| Browse more Articles by topic on our Automation Portals. |
| Application Stories |
The Sound of Music: How Musical Instrument Companies Automate Distribution Centers
By Thomas R. Cutler
Fender Musical Instruments is a musical instrument firm that organized and automated their distribution center. This 550,000 square foot distribution facility contains approximately 2 miles of conveyor, a broken case order selection module and a full case picking module. Fender increased throughput by 30% while improving order accuracy, all without adding labor.
Moxa Ethernet switches help distribute power in Guangzhou, China
Moxa installed PowerTrans PT-7828 and PT-7710 series Ethernet switches to power its new power distribution automation project in Guangzhou, the third-largest city in mainland China.
_thumb.jpg) Alabama Power upgrades 90 damper drives on 720-MW generators
Replacing 90 vintage actuators with new electric drives from ABB eliminates high maintenance costs and offers large fuel savings on coal-fired boilers.
_thumb.jpg) MCI Electrotechnics employs explosion-proof enclosures
MCI Electrotechnics uses explosion-proof enclosures from Cooper Crouse-Hinds to protect a variety of electrical equipment destined for offshore and onshore oil, gas and petrochemical applications.
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Browse more Application Stories by topic on our Automation Portals. |
| Resources & Literature |
_thumb.jpg) Rockwell Automation publishes EtherNet/IP design guide
Design guide provides engineers and IT professionals with detailed guidance on deploying plantwide EtherNet/IP, a standard Ethernet and IP network technology.
_thumb.jpg) Pepperl+Fuchs offers free diagnostics for CompactLogix and ControlLogix
Available as a free download, this Add-On Instruction enables PLC programmers to retrieve detailed diagnostic data from an AS-Interface SafetyMonitor with just three instructions.
Advantech releases Programmable Automation Controller website
PAC website clusters all information on the APAX product series with clear illustrations and explanations, including PAC overviews, product offerings, system architectures, etc. |
Browse more Resources & Literature by topic on our Automation Portals. |
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| Product Sponsor: Canary Labs |
 Faster, Easier Trending & Analysis System
Acquire, store, retrieve, view, analyze, extract and report trend data from PLC's, equipment and software through OPC servers, compliant with OPC HDA specification. New InfoLink incorporates industry standard graphics symbols. See real-time graphical representation of your process using over 4,000 symbols. FREE Product Evaluation. |
| Product Sponsor: Marathon |
 everRun 2G Redundancy Software
Ensure that your MES, SCADA, DCS or ERP applications are always available with everRun high availability software. |
| Featured ISA Books |
 Bottom-Line Automation
By Peter G. Martin
This newly revised edition helps today’s manufacturing companies face the challenges of a global marketplace where every part of the operation must become more efficient to enhance the bottom line. Based on the results and conclusions of an applied research project of process manufacturing operations directed by the author, Bottom-Line Automation presents an overview of more than 30 years of industry trends, pointing out the strengths and pitfalls of each.
Control System Documentation: Applying Symbols and Identification
By Thomas McAvinew and Raymond Mulley
This ISA classic provides the symbols and identification commonly used throughout the process industries. It contains sample P&ID and numerous examples of symbols and tagging concepts. It also provides most of the symbols and identifiers that are unique to instrumentation and gives practical examples of their use. Documentation changes and the evolution of control systems engineering and design work over the past decade are included in this edition.
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Browse more Books on ISA's website. |
| New Products |
_thumb.jpg) Moxa releases MXview network management software
MXview supports up to 500 network devices across distributed subnets, including industrial Ethernet switches and wireless products or any SNMP-enabled devices. |
_thumb.jpg) TURCK announces unmanaged Ethernet Switches
The 4-pin unmanaged switch is suitable for EtherNet/IP applications with both managed and unmanaged options, while the 8-pin switch is suitable for standard Ethernet applications. |
_thumb.jpg) Cognex VisionPro machine vision software supports Windows 7
Other enhancements include line scan distortion correction and ToolBlock, a feature that simplifies management of vision tools and enables quicker integration. |
_thumb.jpg) Copa-Data's Chameleon puts "skins" on displays
Easily switchable color schemes make it easy to adapt displays to counter disturbing influences, such as direct sunlight, or different color perception, such as with red-green color blindness. |
_thumb.jpg) Siemens announces Quadlog DP/IO BUS Link
BUS Link allows plants with Quadlog process safety system to upgrade control systems without losing safety I/O. |
 Opto 22 introduces SNAP PAC redundancy Kit
SNAP-PAC-ROK can be used to design an Ethernet-based redundant control system with maximum reliability and distributed intelligence that can instantly recover from failure. |
_thumb.jpg) AMCI releases 7160 Series SSI module for MicroLogix I/O
7160 Series adds the ability to monitor rotary and linear applications to Allen-Bradley 1762 MicroLogix I/O. |
 MatrikonOPC announces OPC server for Mitsubishi PLCs
For integrating with HMI, historians, ERP and MES, the server offers direct access to Mitsubishi A, FX Series and Q series PLCs. |
_thumb.jpg) Rockwell Automation introduces GuardLogix PAC
Allen-Bradley L43S and L45S PACs provide integrated safety, motion, discrete and drive control capabilities in a single controller. The PACs are rated up to SIL 3 and Performance Level e (PL e). |
_thumb.jpg) Emerson announces Rosemount 2160 wireless level switch
WirelessHART switch provides access to difficult to reach measurement points in the chemical, power generation and oil and gas industries. |
Browse MORE new products introduced this week |
| Company & Organization News |
Report says control system cyber security incidents up
Report observes a decline in the incident rate in the petroleum and chemical industries, but an increase in the incident rate in the water & wastewater and the power & utilities industries.
_thumb.jpg) Sarla Technologies achieves CSIA Certification
Sarla Technologies has engineering centers in Mumbai, India; Dubai, Middle East; Milton Keynes, UK; Pittsburgh, USA; and Oslo, Norway.
_thumb.jpg) ARC says Smart Maintenance Technology market is growing in power industry
Reasons for more SMT solutions include increased demand for electricity, the proliferation of the Smart Grid, and the aging of both the power infrastructure and utility workforce.
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Browse more Company & Organization News by topic on our Automation Portals. |
| Project News |
_thumb.jpg) Moxa to provide Ethernet Switches for electrical substation modernization
Efacec will use Moxa IEC-61850-3 Ethernet switches as part of an effort to modernize a 400 kV high voltage substation in Africa.
ABB to control supercritical power plant in India
ABB will provide a distributed control system for the 2x660 megawatt (MW) super thermal power plant in the state of Bihar in northern India.
Emerson to control Pakistan’s Halmore combined-cycle power plant
Emerson Process Management will install an Ovation expert control system at the Halmore Power Plant, a new 225-MW combined-cycle power generating facility in Bhikki, Pakistan.
_thumb.jpg) Schaeffler to supply condition monitoring system to steel fabrication plant
Corus will install DTECT X1 online vibration monitoring systems on saw lines at its Medium Section Mill in Scunthorpe, UK, to get around safety restrictions.
Honeywell to control supercritical power plant in Thailand
Honeywell will supply an Experion Process Knowledge System to control operations for a new supercritical, 660-megawatt, coal-fired power plant near Bangkok.
OSI Technology to supply SCADA system for water and power in UAE
OSI will supply a SCADA, Energy Management System, and Distribution Management System to the Federal Electricity & Water Authority (FEWA) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
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Browse more Project News by topic on our Automation Portals. |
| New Jobs |
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| Events, Seminars & Training |
Audit-Proofing Your Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR) Program
May 18, 2010
San Antonio, TX USA
This short course will review leak detection and repair (LDAR) compliance obligations under state, federal, and Consent Decree LDAR requirements. Attendees will learn advanced compliance strategies and best management practices compiled from over 100 industry facilities. Frequently asked questions on LDAR compliance issues from calibration to delays of repair will be addressed. This course also includes a review of common and uncommon LDAR audit findings and compliance "blind spots" that should be addressed.
Note: Held in conjunction with the 10th Annual Fugitive Emissions-LDAR Training & Symposium. Click here to register for Course and Event Combo.
Other Upcoming Events & Training:
- ISA - Intro to Industrial Automation Security & ANSI/ISA99 Standards - April 14, 2010
- PROFIBUS One-day Training Class - Richmond - April 14, 2010
- ISA - Project Management for Automation Engineers- April 14, 2010
- Hannover Messe 2010 - April 19-23, 2010
- 55th ISA Analysis Division Symposium - April 25-29, 2010
- CSIA Executive Conference - April 28, 2010 - May 1, 2010
- OPC Foundation Training Class - Santa Clara -
April 29, 2010
- 2010 Safety & Security Symposium - April 29, 2010
- 2010 Niagara Summit -
May 2-4, 2010
- Safety Control Systems Conference -
May 11-13, 2010
- Montreal Manufacturing Technology Show -
May 17-19, 2010
- ABB Automation & Power World 2010 -
May 18-20, 2010
- ConnectivityWeek -
May 24-27, 2010
- EASTEC 2010 - May 25-27, 2010
- 2010 Sensors Expo & Conference - June 7-9, 2010
- Siemens Industry 2010 User Conference - June 8-10, 2010
- Honeywell Users Group (HUG) Americas Symposium - June 13-17, 2010
See our Calendar of Events for other upcoming events. Add an event to our calendar. |
| Humor of the Week |
Dilbert
Leadership is defined.
Automation Cartoons - Caption Contest Winner
The winner of last week’s cartoon caption contest was Jason Sanders of ProSoft Technology in Bakersfield, CA. See the winning caption below. Congratulations Jason - enjoy your coffee mug!
View this cartoon online and email it to a colleague.
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