Automation Portals

Programmable Controllers (PLC & PAC) Portal

Application Stories

		ITAC installs control system at tobacco company - 05/17/12 System integrator ITAC installed Rockwell Automation ControlLogix, RSLogix, PlantPax, drives, DeviceNet and EtherNet/IP hardware and software at an unnamed tobacco company.

		Control the Roll - 05/20/12 Control Design, May 2012 By Aaron Hand Wynright, in Elk Grove Village, IL, uses EtherNet/IP and Rockwell PLCs to control movements of its AutoRoll+ conveyor systems.

		Microbrewery Grows Big With Micro PLC - 04/21/12 Control, April 2012 By Jim Montague Green Flash Brewing in San Diego uses an IDEC PLC to control its five-vessel production process, and can turn around a 50-barrel batch in three hours.

		The challenge of implementing process control in sterile environments - 04/07/12 Process & Control Engineering, March 2012 Atherton in Australia manufactures stainless steel infection control equipment including sterilizers. It controls the sterilizers with a color touch screen from Global Automation and PLCs from Omron.

		Opto 22 PAC goes to the bottom of the Mariana Trench - 04/05/12 SNAP PAC acts as a central controller that manages more than 180 interconnected onboard systems aboard director James Cameron's Deepsea Challenger submersible.


		BASF Benefits from Fast Implementation and Reduced Maintenance Costs - 03/25/12 Automation.com, March 2012 By Rockwell Automation Rockwell installed three ControlLogix PACs, FactoryTalk, and a 100Mbit network with two Stratix 8000 switches to replace five old PLCs and ControlNet at a BASF shipping facility in Germany.

		Rockwell Automation controls Kingston wastewater treatment plant - 03/20/12 PACs and MCCs from Rockwell Automation helped standardize plant-wide control and contributed to UK completing the project under budget and six months ahead of schedule.

		Industrial PC Serves as PLC, CNC, HMI - 03/14/12 Plant Engineering, March 2012 By Shane Novacek, Beckhoff Engineering By using industrial PCs for PLCs, CNCs, and HMIs, Seal Tech’s FIP Polyurethane Dispensing Systems cost as much as $100,000 less than the competition and require 20 to 30 hours less wiring.

		A Taste for Troubleshooting - 03/12/12 Industrial Networking, February 2012 By Joe Reilly, Comtec Industries Comtech, a builder of crust-forming machines, uses eWon’s cloud service to provide remote diagnostics for its PLC-based control systems.

		IS Ethernet applied in coal mining - 03/12/12 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, March 2012 UK Coal’s Daw Mill installed intrinsically safe PLCs and intrinsically safe Ethernet systems on all underground production and conveying.

		Oh Crumbs, Solved At Last - 03/10/12 Process & Control Today, February 2012 Control Freaks automated a machine for producing biscuit crumbs, breakfast cereal and snack foods using a Mitsubishi FX3U PLC, which controls a number of 15 kW E700 and D700 variable speed drives on the mixer axes over an RS485 network.

		Industrial PC streamlines SCADA system and reduces costs - 02/27/12 Automation.com, January 2012 By Phoenix Contact Trimax Systems upgraded the PLC-based SCADA system and operator interface terminals at Western Municipal Water District with Phoenix Contact’s Valueline industrial PCs.

		Bag placer retrofit - 02/25/12 European Process Engineer, February 2012 Nottingham, UK-based Chronos installed a Siemens S7 PLC to upgrade an automatic bag placer at their Langley flour mill that had been operating with a near obsolete PLC.

		Wireless Keeps Irrigation System Flowing - 02/21/12 Energy Systems Engineering installed Phoenix Contact TWE radios, PLCs and EtherNet/IP as part of Lindmore Irrigation District’s extensive SCADA system upgrade in Lindsay, California.

		Motion control synchronization - 02/17/12 Control Engineering, February 2012 By Bob Davis and Craig Nelson Sunnen uses Profibus and Siemens PLCs, HMIs, software, drives and servomotors in its bore sizing and finishing systems.

		Omron automation the best thing for sliced bread - 02/17/12 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, February 2012 Ibonhart, a UK manufacturer of automatic bread slicing and packaging equipment, updated the control system for its IB360 bagging machine. It used an Omron CP1L-M PLC, G9SA safety relays, E3ZM photoelectric sensors and Modbus.

		Legacy system upgraded to support future manufacture - 02/15/12 Control Engineering Europe, January 2012 A Honeywell batch control system at the Alloa glassworks in Scotland, was replaced with four Siemens S7 PLCs and WinCC SCADA.

		Eight-head filling machine uses single PLC control configuration - 02/15/12 Process & Control Today, February 2012 SF Filling in Llandrindod Wells in Wales, UK, uses a Mitsubishi PLC and flatscreen HMI to control a syrup filling line.

		Rockwell Automation automates Meurer Research pilot plant - 02/06/12 The water and wastewater products company installed a MicroLogix PLC, PowerFlex 4 drive, and EtherNet/IP to automate its demonstration plants.

		Integrated Architecture streamlines cable manufacturing in Spain - 02/04/12 An unnamed manufacturer of cable and conductors in Spain used Rockwell Automation’s Integrated Architecture, including CompactLogix PLCs connected to PanelView Plus operator terminals via EtherNet/IP.

		Cheesemaker Uses PACs to cut the cheese - 02/04/12 Automation.com, February 2012 Barbers Farmhouse Cheesemakers in the UK uses Rockwell Automation’s ControlLogix PAC and 3D laser scanners to control an Arcall C52 cheese cutter. Another PAC controls a suite of conveyors driven by servo motors. All communications are via EtherNet/IP.

		Rockwell Automation System controls Chocolate Manufacturing - 01/19/12 Automation.com, January 2012 By Rockwell Automation By using Rockwell Automation’s controllers, EtherNet/IP, servo drives and FactoryTalk software, Hershey brings together all aspects of its chocolate production line.

		Mechanical Machines Bending Horizontal - 01/15/12 Control Design, January 2012 By Dan Hebert Industrial Technology Solutions modernized the control system of its horizontal bender with an HMI, PLC and sensors.

		Michelin Tire Automates Production Facilities to Achieve Real Time Views - 01/06/12 Michelin Tire in Sandy Springs, SC, manufactures rubber compounds. It uses an automated system from OPC Systems.NET for HMI, trending, data logging, and alarm logging.

		Overcoming obsolescence issues with minimal disruption - 12/18/11 Control Engineering Europe, December 2011 TOTAL E&P UK has succeeded in safely upgrading a number of vital systems on two of its Alywyn Area fields platforms. A number of obsolescence issues led the company to call on Rockwell Automation to supply engineers, components and support

		Optima Control Solutions boosts production performance of Biax line - 12/18/11 Process and Control Today, December 2011 Optima’s solution for Biaxal geogrid production included PLC remote I/O units, a redundant Siemens WinCC Scada package, and Optima’s Infoserve365 Data Acquisition product

		Winemaker blends timeless tradition with high tech comms - 12/18/11 Process and Control Today, December 2011 Shabo, a Ukrainian winemaker, is using CC-Link to help automate and expand the production of its wines and spirits. The system has a supervisory level computer running a SCADA program, and five PLCs communicating via two CC-Link networks.

		Ice Cream Specialist Focuses on Reliable Operations - 11/23/11 Automation.com, December 2011 Gram Equipment in Denmark is a manufacturer of equipment for industrial ice cream production. To simplify system complexity, it based its control topology on an Allen-Bradley GuardLogix platform and EtherNet/IP.

		Manufacturer Bags Significant Savings Thanks to EtherNet/IP - 11/23/11 Automation.com, December 2011 Askim Mek Verksted in Norway builds Battpacker wool production machinery. It upgraded to Control Logix PLCs, PanelView Plus HMIs, Festo plug-in pneumatic valves, and EtherNet/IP communications.

		Time for an Upgrade - 11/18/11 Process Heating, November 2011 By Matt Koch, Sukup Manufacturing An automation technology upgrade from Phoenix Contact, involving a PLC, HMI and VFD, allowed a grain dryer manufacturer to improve product quality and throughput while increasing uptime.

		Lonmin system platform upgrade - 11/18/11 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, November 2011 Lonmin’s Marikana complex is one of the largest platinum mining and processing operations in the world. It uses uses five ArchestrA Galaxy Repository servers, 43 ArchestrA Object Servers, 42 view stations, 14 Wonderware Historian servers and 68 PLCs.

		Building Your Own 20kW Hydroelectric Power Plant - 11/18/11 Design News, November 2011 By Joel Froese, Red Bank Hydro A PLC, sensors and I/O from AutomationDirect control this home-built hydroelectric plant, which will provide a complete return on investment after only eight years.

		Solar System Boosts Oil Field Output - 10/21/11 Control, October 2011 By David R. Llewellyn, TJ Cross Engineers The beauty of the GlassPoint solar water heating system lies in how its simplicity translates into greater efficiency, less maintenance, and lower installed and operating costs. A PAC from AutomationDirect controls the system.

		Retro Fits - 10/18/11 Control Design, October 2011 By Jim Montague Three application stories—including replacing legacy PLCs with new PLCs from AutomationDirect—show that it’s possible to renovate an old machine with new controls.

		Open, modular control system cuts waste, adds throughput - 10/15/11 Control Engineering, October 2011 By Gary Sherman, Schneider Electric Meat processor gains line flexibility with new PLCs, reduces scrap 10%, increases throughput 15%, and cuts troubleshooting time by 20% with anticipated 12-month return on investment.

		Controlling Wind Farms in Inner Mongolia - 10/12/11 Automation.com, October 2011 By ICP DAS The Inner Mongolia Wind Farms Project uses large inverters and PLCs with ICP DAS TCP Server / RTU Slave to CANopen Master Gateway, RS-232 to RS-485 Converter and Industrial Ethernet Switch to monitor and control the wind turbines.

		ABB controls ‘natural cooling’ data center in Iceland - 10/04/11 ABB PLCs control the modular natural free cooling system at the Thor Data Center in Reykjavik.

		Teamwork, New PLCs Improve Printer Control - 09/29/11 Automation World, September 2011 Rock-Tenn’s printing plant in Jacksonville, Fla. was experiencing gradually increasing unreliability of its automation systems. All the old PLCs were replaced with DirectLogic D2-260 and D0-05 models connected to C-More touchscreens, all from Automation Direct.

		Striving for Perfection Through Workflow-Instruction Technology - 09/29/11 Automation World, September 2011 By James Koelsch Managers at Chivas Brothers and elsewhere are using Rockwell’s FactoryTalk ProductionCentre software to capture and disseminate the expertise of their star operators.

		Automating the Perfect Game with E.A.R.L., the Bowling Robot - 09/27/11 ARM Automation developed this ultra high precision, EtherCAT-enabled robot for bowling equipment testing. The United States Bowling Congress uses E.A.R.L to help uphold the game's credibility, preserve its future and enhance the bowling experience for millions.

		More Water Savings Through Automation - 09/24/11 Control, September 2011 By Mike Crabtree, Forshock PLCs from AutomationDirect control pumps and video surveillance cameras at Mission Springs Water District in California.

		Alaskan Hatchery Nets Automated Alarm and Monitoring System - 09/22/11 Automation.com, September 2011 By Benjamin Smith, Hidden Falls Hatchery PLCs from AutomationDirect provide a fully functional automation and alarm system to monitor the processes vital to keeping fish alive and healthy at this hatchery in Alaska.

		Direct connection from shop floor to database improves efficiency - 09/08/11 Process & Control Today, September 2011 Kawasaki Precision Machinery uses a Mitsubishi MES module in a PLC to interface their production control systems directly to a MES database.

		Control system integrates PLCs and PACs - 08/18/11 Plant Services, August 2011 With most of its technology more than a decade old, Evergreen upgraded its production machinery with EtherNet/IP, CompactLogix PACs and PowerFlex ac drives from Rockwell Automation.

		Transparent cybersecurity - 08/18/11 Plant Services, August 2011 By Mike Bacidore, PlantServices Gerdau Ameristeel, a mini-mill steel producer and steel recycler uses KepServerEX communication technology and OPC server to connect PLCs, ERP, Wonderware and an historian through firewalls.

		VAKUMIX adds EtherNet/IP to its Machine Solutions - 08/14/11 VAKUMIX builds mixing and homogenizing systems using Allen-Bradley CompactLogix PAC with Distributed Point-I/O, PowerFlex variable-frequency drives, PanelView Plus HMIs and industrial components.

		Metals business reduces risk and improves performance - 08/13/11 What’s New in Process Technology, August 2011 Nyrstar’s Port Pirie smelter in Australia replaced 20 Modicon PLCs that had been installed in the 1990s with Modicon Quantum PLCs. The PLC migration was completed in 12 months with minimum downtime.

		EtherNet/IP goes to press - 08/12/11 Cerutti selected EtherNet/IP and Rockwell Automation to automate its flexographic printing machines. The system handles 500 nodes and 13,000 I/O.

		Chemical plant replaces outdated PLCs with automation system - 08/07/11 Control Engineering Europe, August 2011 AkzoNobel Functional Chemicals is modernising its production facility in Herkenbosch, The Netherlands, using Emerson Process Management's DeltaV digital automation system.

		Rockwell Automation automates Furnaces at IFCO - 08/01/11 IFCO uses a combination of Allen-Bradley ControlLogix programmable automation controllers (PACs), control components, and Rockwell Software RSLogix 5000 to control industrial furnaces.

		Burkert Globe Valves entertain in Copenhagen - 07/23/11 Process & Control Today, July 2011 The valves control 40 individual vertical water jets, each valve receiving a position signal from a central PLC to control the height of the water jets in time to music.

		GE controls power at eBay’s Topaz Data Center - 07/18/11 The Quad PAC controlled switchgear was designed with a voting scheme where triple inputs are sent to the PLC system. The best of the three dictates the state of the device.

		Taking Control - 06/27/11 Process & Control Today, June 2011 Wessex Water tackled a legacy control system upgrade at its sewage works in Poole, UK. Siemens provided control and monitoring system components, including PLCs, HMIs, SCADA and other associated networking and communication equipment.

		A move to AC drives negates the need for a separate PLC - 06/12/11 Control Engineering Europe, May 2011 Meltech Engineering in the UK has eliminated the need for a separate PLC and reduced the need for maintenance of its semi-automatic cable manufacturing equipment by switching from DC to an intelligent AC drives solution.

		Wessex Water undertakes control system upgrade - 06/12/11 Control Engineering Europe, May 2011 Siemens provided PLCs, HMIs, SCADA and other equipment to replace a 20-year old control system at Wessex Water in the UK. The site’s SCADA system was completely replaced with a system that now contains nearly 30,000 tags, over 4,500 alarms and over 300 mimics

		Omron delivers savings at hatcheries - 06/12/11 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, June 2011 Chick Master’s heat recovery control systems uses the Omron CJ1-M series programmable controllers with extensive use made of the PID control options.

		Don’t Get Caught Short - 06/12/11 Process Heating, June 2011 By Tim Hanes, AutomationDirect In many applications, single-loop temperature controllers are sufficient to provide control of heating and cooling. But in some applications, such as this meltdown machine, closely coordinated control among many temperature control loops is needed. In those cases and others, PLC-based temperature control can be the best solution.

		Chocolate bars uniquely packaged - 06/10/11 Automation.com, June 2011 By Bosch Rexroth Packaging containers can sometimes be quite elaborate. The faster, the better, the more accurate so as not to damage delicate products. This is the challenge for pick-and-place robots and the control technology behind them. Chocolate, for example, is one such product that must be handled with care.

		Bale Hay While the Sun Shines - 05/18/11 A PLC from AutomationDirect helped this farmer/inventor develop a new kind of hay baler that lets farmers harvest hay day or night, regardless of the weather.

		Siemens automates automobile transmissions in Toldeo - 05/09/11 Siemens provided the PLC, CNC, HMI, RFID, Profinet and safety systems to Toledo Powertrain for a Flexible Assembly Configuration System (FACS) to build the GF6 six-speed, front wheel transmission.

		Nyrstar's Port Pirie smelter migrates PLCs painlessly - 04/24/11 Process & Control Engineering, April 2011 By Paul Cooper Nyrstar's Port Pirie smelter in Australia had an automation platform that consisted of over 20 Modicon PLCs that had been installed in the 1990s. All were replaced with Modicon Quantum PL.

		Remote Wind Energy SCADA Control System - 04/17/11 Control, April 2011 By Harm Toren, Iberdrola Rene Iberdrola Rene installed a SCADA system supplied by PcVue. Among other things, each wind turbine has a control box containing a PLC, power converter, control boards and I/O device. Sensors for wind speed, wind direction, shaft rotation speed and numerous other factors collect and transfer data to the PLC.

		Distillery retains tradition, but upgrades control system - 04/17/11 Control Engineering, April 2011 By Ken Keiser, Siemens Industry The distillery began a migration strategy that upgraded to a Siemens Simatic PCS 7 DCS, while retaining the existing controllers, I/O, and field wiring.

		Getting an Energy Boost - 04/17/11 Control Engineering Asia, March 2011 By Bob Gill Coca-Cola in Vietnam upgraded its obsolete Siemens S5 PLCs to S7-300 controllers and Profibus.

		Factoring Safety into Factory Controls - 03/26/11 Automation World, February 2011 Toledo Productions in Toledo, Ohio, installed a safety programmable logic controller (PLC) and put it and the machine controls onto a fieldbus from Siemens.

		IS Ethernet in Coal Mining - 03/24/11 HazardEx, March 2011 By Roger Highton, MTL Instruments UK Coal found that they needed to take a complete review of their control and monitoring and find newer and more supportable technology. They decided to use Intrinsically Safe PLCs and Intrinsically Safe Ethernet systems on all underground production and conveying.

		Networked plant sets standard - 03/24/11 Process & Control Engineering, March 2011 By Hartley Henderson The MidCoast Wwater treatment plant in New South Wales is controlled using a redundant ControlLogix PLC and a Citect SCADA system for the operator interface, data recording (trends/historical data) and reporting.

		Airfield Lights Using Wireless POINT I/O and Mobile Operator Interfaces At the heart of the lighting systems are ControlLogix PACs utilizing Ethernet/IP wireless communications modules. Airfield lighting circuit status is served to a FactoryTalk SCADA operator console located in the Air Traffic Control Tower.

		Absolute positioning on a budget - 03/06/11 When the Rock-Tenn paperboard mill in Aurora IL wanted to automate the positioning and tensioning of the belts on its paperboard dryer conveyor system, it took an innovative combination of high-end, absolute encoders and basic, low-end control and drive technology to get the job done.

		One man’s waste is another man’s energy - 03/06/11 Granger Electric operates a landfill-gas-to-energy program that extracts methane from decomposing waste and supplies it to customers as an alternative "greenhouse" fuel. This story highlights the communication system used between the control center and customers’ sites, to remotely access and monitor energy consumption.

		Cellular provides cost-effective addition to satellite SCADA system - 03/06/11 This article describes how a midstream oil company sought to improve their pipeline integrity by adding a dozen non-critical data points to their satellite SCADA monitoring system using cellular technology.

		The Bright Side to Energy Conservation - 02/21/11 By Beckhoff Beckhoff Automation industrial PCs, I/O and TwinCAT PLC software help Fifth Light deliver up to 80% energy savings via intelligent lighting systems for buildings.

		Pick-by-light system implemented in a panel PC - 02/17/11 What’s New in Process Technology, February 2011 By Kontron Australia The i-Pick system consists of pick-by-light (PBL) rails with pick faces; line controllers that can handle up to 200 pick faces; and the panel PC that is in direct interaction with a central SQL database, serving XML data files via USB, wireless or wired LAN.

		Upgraded Barrier Controls Protect Against Terrorists - 02/17/11 PD&D, February 2011 By K12 Defense Consultants Military bases, embassies, government buildings and airports around the world are protected by hydraulically-operated vehicle barriers K12 converts them to electric operation thanks to servo actuators and rugged industrial PLCs from Phoenix Contact.

		Audi Plant Claims Technological Lead with PROFINET - 02/14/11 Thanks to a large-scale PROFINET network the new Audi A1 manufacturing line at Brussels in Belgium is the newest and most modern Audi plant in Europe.

		Paint Manufacturer Turns Up Volume - 02/14/11 IMPO, February 2011 Dunn-Edwards, a paint manufacturer, uses a slurry system and PcVue SCADA software that automates the process. The software is integrated with three PLCs based on ISaGRAF, which are fully compliant with both IEC 61499 and IEC 61131 industrial control standards.

		Powerful PAC Upgrades Wastewater Treatment Centrifuge - 02/07/11 Control Engineering, January 2011 By Jeremy Poarch PAC and HMI from Automation Direct help Moccasin Bend wastewater treatment plant improve operations, increase redundancy, and save time and money.

		Technologies cooperate to control critical mixing operation - 02/07/11 Control Engineering, January 2011 By Adrienne Lutovsky and Danetta Bramhall, ProSoft Technology Mixing ablative coating for space shuttle rocket boosters requires very high levels of precision and repeatability. NASA uses PLCs, PACs, and Modbus communications.

		Control platform inks the deal - 02/07/11 Process & Control Engineering, January 2011 By Jason Thelander The ink cartridge filling machine developed by Precision Mechatronics fills five 50 ml ink cartridges every 20 seconds. A PC- and EtherCAT-based Beckhoff control platform with integrated Motion Control functionality controls it.

		Siemens provides ‘e-stop’ safety solution for coal preparation plant - 02/07/11 Process and Control Today, January 2011 Siemens provided a SIRIUS 3RK Modular Safety System (MSS) as the solution for use in the coal washery. It combines the functionality of a simple safety relay with that of a fail-safe programmable logic controller (PLC).

		Optima improves Tullis Russell's Coating Performance - 02/07/11 Process and Control Today, February 2011 Optima designed, supplied, installed and commissioned the complete control system retrofit of a Siemens S7-400 PLC and WinCC SCADA package with Parker SSD, DC and AC drives,

		D&R Packaging builds Filling Station with Avery Weight Indicator - 01/16/11 D&R Packaging designed and built a two-head liquid filling station in three weeks, using a PLC and an Avery Weigh-Tronix E1070 indicator.

		Choose Your Case-Packing Option - 01/16/11 Control Design, January 2010 By Joe Feeley The modular design of Elliott Manufacturing's Case Packing System, which uses Rockwell motors, remote I/O and a PLC, allows packagers to run a pick-and-place module today and switch it out for a drop-pack module tomorrow, or even to break the line apart and redeploy the erector to another location in the factory.

		Brewery guards against obsolescence - 01/16/11 European Process Engineer, January 2011 son Coors Burton-on-Trent brewery in the UK completed a major control system upgrade by bringing all systems into an iFIX SCADA environment and converting PLCs from Allen Bradley 5250s to Controllogix.

		Wireless Ethernet, PLCs add productivity to Blue Bell Creameries - 01/09/11 Control Engineering, December 2010 Upgrade with Siemens Scalance WLAN and Simatic PLCs adds productivity and eases training on aging automated storage and retrieval system for Blue Bell Creameries, a Texas-based ice cream maker.

		Original thinker redefines bioreactor control - 01/09/11 Process & Control Today, December 2010 I4Innovation in Thetford, UK, married four Mitsubishi Electric Alpha PLCs with the GT15 HMI to constantly monitor and adjust pumps, propellers, inlet and outlet valves and multiple sensors to manage the growth of cell cultures in bioreactors.

		Upgrade at Everaz Highveld Steel - 01/09/11 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, January 2011 Control Techniques upgraded M/C4, a continuous casting machine at Evraz Highveld Steel in Mpumalanga, South Africa. All of the switchgear had become obsolete causing major maintenance problems. The decision was taken to switch to AC control and a Modicon PLC.

		More Water Savings through Automation - 12/12/10 Control, December 2010 By Mike Crabtree PLCs from AutmationDirect control the water distribution system for Mission Springs Water District in California. The PLCs also control video surveillance systems to monitor intrusion and security events.

		Gathering Remote Data at a Water Treatment Plant - 12/12/10 Control Engineering, November 2010 The Onondaga County Water Authority in NY upgraded its legacy control system with Emerson’s ControlWave programmable automation controllers and I/O from Moore Industries.

		Motion Controller Perfects Yorkshire Pudding Recipe - 12/12/10 Process and Control Today, December 2010 Western Mechanical Handling developed a new technology for depositing Yorkshire pudding batter into baking moulds. Using peristaltic pumps and a Mitsubishi Q170M motion controller running on a Q series PLC, the batter delivery is now accurate to +/- 0.1g.

		Siemens solution provides textile company with improved reliability - 12/12/10 Process and Control Today, December 2010 Textile manufacturer W.T. Johnson in the UK upgraded its 15-year-old controls with 9 Siemens SINAMICS S120 drives, a SIMATIC 317T CPU, and a SIMATIC MP377 operator panel.

		Softing Technology helps make Pizza - 11/30/10 Softing integrated pizza production information in SAP R/3 via a Siemens S7 OPC Server to enable automated fault logging with precise time information.

		Upgrade of legacy control system can improve productivity - 11/21/10 Plant Services, November 2010 By Michael Deitz, Graham Packaging Graham Packaging upgraded controls with a new touchscreen HMI, Rockwell Automation’s Allen-Bradley on-machine PLC, two Allen-Bradley VFDs/encoders, and remote monitoring so senior management could see the process variables. By upgrading, they saved four hours to six hours of downtime each month in nuisance problems.

		Innovator Sorts Its Controls Options - 11/15/10 Control Design, November 2010 TGW Systems provides integrated logistics solutions and material handling equipfment. The PLC-based AS/RS machines are connected by means of wireless communications from off-board, fail-safe PLCs to onboard distributed control components. For integrated safety/safety-over-bus, TGW uses Profisafe technology.

		Copper Mine Optimizes Water Recovery with Honeywell Wireless - 11/03/10 Codelco needed to optimize the water recovery process of the thickener pools at its Norte mine in Chile. It used wireless to connect field devices in the mine to its PLCs and control system.

		Whitecourt receives superior drinking water - 10/13/10 InTech, October 2010 By Wally Ingham, Stantec Consulting The Town of Whitecourt’s Water Treatment Plant in Alberta, Canada, was updated with a ControLogix PLC, DeviceNet, a variable speed pump, MCC, and Rosemount flow, level and pressure instrumentation.

		Automation Strengthens Supply Chain - 10/13/10 Control Engineering, September 2010 Personal wash producer PZ Cussons in the UK built a fully-automated plant from the ground up, using control equipment engineered and supplied by Rockwell Automation, along with instruments and fieldbus networks designed and commissioned by Endress+Hauser.

		Detection system improves factory safety - 09/10/10 HazardEx, August 2010 ATEX's ACOM detection system monitors process air for the presence of volatile pyrolysis components, indicating the potential presence of thermal decomposition or smoulder spot development. An Allen-Bradley L32E CompactLogix PAC connects to a CO analyser and a PanelView Plus 600 HMI.

		Beverage Can Plant Upgrades with Integrated Safety - 08/26/10 Reliable Plant, August 2010 By Rockwell Automation Amcor was able to leverage the benefits of its controller while fast-tracking a safety upgrade at its Revesby manufacturing facility. Instead of interrupting or slowing production, the transition has yielded optimized operational safety and efficiency

		ABI chooses Wonderware - 08/23/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, August 2010 Amalgamated Beverage Industries installed Wonderware software, a Siemens PLC, and PLC software from Software Toolbox to automate its soft drink packaging line in Pretoria.

		From Sweet to Squeaky-Clean - 08/13/10 Control, August 2010 By Jim Montague A new PLC System and interface software lets L&S Sweeteners customize its Clean-In-Place (CIP) application for trailer tanks.

		Selecting Suppliers for Global Ambitions - 08/13/10 Control Engineering, July 2010 By Rich Chmielewski, Siemens Orbitek uses a Siemens Simatic S7 315 controller, drives, flow meters and pressure transmitters to control its biodiesel plant.

		Efficient engineering on one PLC platform - 08/13/10 Control Engineering Europe, July 2010 By Sandra Pringnitz and Mirzan Elmazi, Siemens Emcon Technologies Germany installed a S7-1200 controller in an existing application in three days, including sequential control and Ethernet communication with the vision system and an SAP computer.

		Pet food manufacturer focuses on eliminating I/O failures - 07/24/10 Reliable Plant, July 2010 By Rockwell Automation Hill’s Pet Nutrition migrated to Rockwell Automation ControlLogix PAC. This solution offered Hill’s a cost-efficient way to convert its existing I/O to the Allen-Bradley Flex I/O platform also communicating with other controllers in the plant.

		Schneider Electric PLC controls Waste Management System - 07/10/10 Process & Control Today, June 2010 The Cawleys plant in Luton, UK, uses a M340 PLC to control 80 Tesys Model U direct on-line integrated motor starters, 18 ATV71 variable speed drives and four racks of Advantys fieldbus I/O.

		Mogale Gold - 07/10/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, July 2010 Opto 22 rack mount and standalone programmable automation controllers (PACs) and I/O, connected via wireless, control mine tailings in a processing plant situated between the gold mine and the dump.

		OI With Calculator Cards a Hole in One - 06/23/10 Control Design, June 2010 By Darrell Fiegenbaum, Kays Engineering Kays Engineering converted from PLCs to PC-based controls and TwinCat NC PTP software from Beckhoff for its drilling machines.

		Motion control solution raises reliability, integrity of food production - 06/23/10 Reliable Plant, June 2010 FR Drake builds loading equipment that prepares individual frankfurters for packaging. They installed MP-Series stainless-steel motors, plus an Allen-Bradley ControlLogix PAC, industrial computer, and FactoryTalk software.

		Upgrade at Pilsner brewery - 06/12/10 Control Engineering Europe, June 2010 Czech beer Pilsner Urquell updated its existing SIEMENS S5 to an S7 system with wireless and Profinet communications, and eliminated 14 PLCs in the process.

		Rotork in storage project to secure Baltic gas supplies - 06/12/10 Process & Control Today, June 2010 Actuators operate ball valves controlling the receiving of gas and its injection into the storage wells. Additional IQM modulating actuators are installed on ball valves in the site’s metering plant. All actuators are connected to PLCs and controlled by a centralised SCADA system.

		Reducing manufacturing costs through .NET enabled device communications By Chuck Karwoski, CimQuest INGEAR A medical device manufacturer used CimQuest INGEAR and the RSLinx server to communicate with numerous Allen Bradley PLCs deployed throughout the plant.

		How .NET Helps Transitions Optical to See Better By CimQuest Transitions Optical has successfully applied off the shelf .NET technologies in manufacturing using programming tools from CimQuest INGEAR.

		Opto 22 controls water in Leadville By Opto 22 The Bureau of Reclamation installed Opto 22 SNAP PACs and I/O to replace older Opto 22 Mistic controllers in a water treatment system to cleans up water from mines near Leadville, Colorado.

		Opto 22 Controls New Belgium Brewing Wirelessly By Opto 22 SNAP PAC systems handle 10,000 digital and analog I/O, use a wireless Ethernet system, and control seven brewing processes at New Belgium Brewing, makers of Fat Tire beer.

		Opto 22 upgrades furnace control system By Opto 22 Older Opto 22 controllers on a furnace control system at Advanced Energy were upgraded by Malisko Engineering to SNAP I/O and controllers.

		Wake Up And Smell The SCADA System - 03/26/10 Food Manufacturing, March 2010 Luigi Lavazza coffee uses a PcVue SCADA system to monitor its system and communicate with numerous PLCs from Telemecanique, Siemens and Beckhoff using Ethernet.

		Oystar Jones Puts the PLC in Packaging Equipment - 03/19/10 Control Design, March 2010 By Mike Bacidore Oystar Jones’ soap packaging machines use PLCs, servo motion, discrete I/O, analog I/O, variable frequency drives and operator touchscreens, and a mix of hardwired and digital networking, depending on the vintage of upstream and downstream equipment.

		Schneider Electric provides interface for Nicholl Food Packaging - 03/13/10 Process and Control Today, March 2010 Nicholl Food Packaging in the UK had problems with failure of HMIs, some apparently caused by machine vibration. They installed Magelis HMIs with touch screens and interfaced them to the plant’s old PLCs.

		Farmers profit by controlling biogas - 02/19/10 Process and Control Today, February 2010 CC-Link fieldbus control is helping farmers extract valuable biogas from slurry to fuel cogeneration plants. The controller is a MELSEC FX3U PLC which communicates with the system’s various automation components via a CC-Link master module and standard serial ports.

		Schweppes control in the can - 02/19/10 Process & Control Engineering, February 2010 By Sarah Falson Schweppes Australia upgraded its syrup room DCS control system at its Huntingwood facility to a control system based on PlantPAx and FactoryTalkView SE software from Rockwell Automation.

		The automation of the largest and fastest machine in the world - 02/16/10 Control Engineering Europe, January 2010 The CERN accelerator and its safety will be controlled and monitored by 130 control systems featuring Simatic S7-300 and S7-400 PLCs and safety controllers from Siemens.

		What Wireless Network? By Boss Automation The Cockrell Ranch Waterflood project in Texas recovers oil from wells that would have once been considered ‘tapped.’ Its SCADA system includes HMIs, PACs and PLCs from Rockwell Automation, and a wireless system from Prosoft Technology.

		Redundant PLC controls heart-mapping machine - 01/20/10 Control Engineering, January 2010 A Siemens PLC controls the Magnetecs Catheter Guidance Control and Imaging System, used to create three-dimensional graphical displays of cardiac structures and arrhytmias.

		Turbine retrofit adds remote monitoring - 01/10/10 Plant Services, December 2009 When a large Southern utility dusted off a fleet of unused combustion gas turbine engines, four General Electric MS5001 (Frame 5) turbo-generator packages were fitted with Allen-Bradley ControlLogix controllers. The utility wanted to retain the existing vibration probes, so it used Rockwell XM-120 dynamic measurement modules.

		Corrugator Retrofit - 12/18/09 Control Engineering, December 2009 International Paper hired systems integrator Concept Systems to rebuild a corrugating machine. Concept replaced the PLC with a Rockwell unit, upgraded the motors, and replaced the I/O and HMI.

		Bottom Line-driven Integration - 12/18/09 Control Engineering, December 2009 By David Sanders and Bob Cheek, Metcam Metcam specializes in custom sheet metal fabrication. They installed a control system based on a DL260 PLC, analog I/O, signal conditioners and an HMI, all from AutomationDirect.

		Panel Build Technology Sets Pace - 12/15/09 Control Design, December 2009 By Mark McCartney, Stacon Stacon builds custom control solutions and predesigned configurable pump panels. They switched to Siemens motor starters, a Web server and an integrated HMI/PLC—all configured for serial Modbus and Modbus TCP Ethernet.

		Wireless technology helps Sun Chemical improve ink quality - 12/07/09 Rosemount DP wireless transmitters communicate to PLC, allowing producer of printing inks and pigments to reduce product rejects and comply with environmental regulations.

		Brewing Up in Vietnam - 12/06/09 Control Engineering Asia, November 2009 By Bob Gill The Hue Brewery in Hue, Viet Nam, is controlled by a Siemens PCS 7 running Simatic Batch and Route Control. S7-400 Series PLCs are connected to ET 200 remote I/O stations, with engineering and operating HMI stations.

		PLC System Guides Cylinder Assembly - 11/17/09 Assembly, November 2009 Alfing Montagetechnik in Germany built an automated cylinder head assembly machine for one of its automotive customers, using an IndraLogic CML40 programmable logic controller from Bosch Rexroth. The finished system consists of two lines working in parallel. It can complete a finished workpiece every 30 seconds.

		Dairy safety in control in China - 11/11/09 Control Engineering, November 2009 By Yiuliu Liu, Control Engineering China China’s melamine-contaminated milk scare of 2008 serves as a product safety lesson for all manufacturers. The Yili Group’s embrace of GE Fanuc control and production technology in the aftermath of the event is helping to ensure a similar scenario never again occurs.

		Panel PCs handle extreme heavy lifting - 11/11/09 Control Engineering, November 2009 By Renee Robbins Integrated Beckhoff control system helps Wheelift automated guided vehicles move turbine generators, transformers, and other massive payloads.

		Intelligent valve actuation at Severn Trent Water’s “beacon project” - 11/11/09 Process and Control Today, November 2009 Rotork has supplied over 250 Profibus network-enabled IQPro intelligent electric actuators for valve control throughout the new and refurbished plant areas. The actuators are linked on fully redundant Profibus field networks to Allen Bradley PLC platforms at intelligent motor control centres (iMCCs) throughout the site.

		Tarago reservoir automation improves Melbourne water supply - 11/11/09 What’s New in Process Technology, November 2009 The water treatment control system can monitor and control more than 50 drives and 80 valves simultaneously. SEMF’s Melbourne-based automation group was responsible for designing and commissioning the PLC and HMI software programs (including various interfaces for SCADA and third-party plant and equipment).

		Moving On Up - 10/22/09 Control Engineering Asia, October 2009 By Bob Gill Increasingly frequent breakdowns and difficulties in sourcing spare parts for its ageing control system finally made this Thai cement producer decide to migrate to Siemens and its PCS 7 Cemat process control system, PLCs, Profibus DP, and remote I/O stations.

		Keeping Sellafield ponds chilled and clean - 10/10/09 HazardEX, October 2009 Schneider Electric bolstered the reliability of Sellafield with the upgrade of the PLCs and software which control the Ion Exchange Effluent Plant. The facility is responsible for safely carrying out the decommissioning of the UK's nuclear legacy as well as reprocessing and nuclear waste management.

		Vital Ingredients - 09/20/09 Control Engineering Asia, September 2009 Unilever Vietnam’s factory in Ho Chi Minh City makes shampoo. It uses the ISA S88 batch standard, Siemens PCS7 control system, and Simatic S7-400 PLCs linked via Profibus DP to eight ET 200 remote I/O modules.

		New production line in record time - 09/13/09 Control Engineering, September 2009 The Southland Tube mill in Birmingham, AL (USA) is an all-Siemens plant that uses PLCs, dc drives, motor starters, Profibus, WinCC software and Step 7 project management software. The line started up in only two weeks, and the second piece of steel tubing that came off the mill was sellable.

		Optimizing Energy and Operations for Cement Production - 09/13/09 Control Engineering, September 2009 By Iltaf Khan, Lehigh Cement, and Moin Shaikh, Siemens Lehigh Cement Company's Union Bridge, MD (USA) plant integrated process control and energy management to improve efficiencies across the facility. They installed Simatic PCS 7 and the Cemat application library from Siemens to control raw material processing, preheater and kiln, clinker grinding, packaging, and storage.

		Saving the world, one controller at a time - 09/13/09 Process & Control Engineering, August 2009 By Martin Kolos, Yokogawa Australia The Australian National University has developed technology that makes large scale solar thermal power generation commercially-viable. And a Yokogawa PLC is playing a critical role.

		A Thirst for Technology - 08/27/09 Control Engineering Asia, August 2009 By Bob Gill The brewery’s shift to advanced automation included implementing Profibus along with migrating from the legacy Simatic S5 PLC based system to one based on Simatic S7 PLCs and the Braumat process control system.

		Software Key to New Web Converting Machine - 08/20/09 Control Design, August 2009 By Todd Bauernfeind, Summit Machine Summit built a servo-driven web converting machine for a manufacturer to the electronics industry that was launching a new product but had antiquated machinery incapable of production of the new line. Summit used a Synax 200 control platform, a PLC and motion control solution from Bosch Rexroth.

		Vintner Saves with Distributed Architecture - 08/16/09 Control, August 2009 By Jeremy Pollard All of the automated equipment at the Bronco winery is controlled by Rockwell Automation PLCs, with Factory PMI and Factory SQL software from Inductive Automation.

		Mission-critical control at Parnell pharmaceuticals plant - 08/16/09 Process & Control Engineering, August 2009 By Sarah Falson Equipment for the New South Wales laboratory and manufacturing facility is from Wonderware (HMI and historian); Rockwell Automation (PLC); HachUltra (particle counters); Vaisala (humidity instruments); Titan (pressure transmitters); and HP (servers and PCs).

		Rolls with speed - 08/16/09 Process & Control Engineering, July 2009 By Sarah Falson Fischer Brot’s new high-tech bakery factory in Australia is controlled by VIPA Speed7 PLCs, with programming via Step7 by Siemens; and visualisation and recording of data using WinCC.

		Reliable Operations for Perishable Products - 08/14/09 Control Engineering, August 2009 By Dan Hornbeck, Rockwell Automation As it designs and deploys its industrial ice cream plants, Gram Equipment uses Rockwell Automation’s GuardLogix platform to help provide the monitoring and control it needs to ensure process optimization and product quality.

		Keeping Sellafield ponds chilled and clean - 08/14/09 HazardEx, July 2009 Schneider Electric bolstered the reliability of Sellafield with the upgrade of the PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers) and software which control the Ion Exchange Effluent Plant. The facility is responsible for safely carrying out the decommissioning of the UK's nuclear legacy as well as reprocessing and nuclear waste management.

		Migration Boosts Batch Operations - 07/16/09 Chemical Processing, July 2009 By John Bryant, Arkema, and Mike Vernak, Rockwell Automation Arkema was running half of its plant on a 28-year-old legacy distributed control system (DCS) and the other half on a 15-year-old version of the same system. Akema replaced both with a PlantPAx process automation system from Rockwell Automation.

		AngloGold Ashanti - 07/10/09 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, July 2009 AngloGold Ashanti’s Geita gold mine in Tanzania installed an Expert System to be which would run with Wonderware’s Information Server, Active Factory reporting tool, InTouch SCADA and Historian. 17 Allen-Bradley PLCs were upgraded to cope with the new environment.

		Brew-house implements Profibus system for plant communication - 07/09/09 Process & Control Engineering, July 2009 Coopers Brewery in Australia commissioned an entirely new brew house, using Profibus DP to link the PLCs and SCADA, Profibus PA for the measurement and control of level, temperature, flow, pressure and valves, and ASi bus for the digital I/O. Also installed were power meters, temperature, pressure and level transmitters and flow control valves.

		Dairy Crest relies on vision solution for perfect bottling - 07/09/09 Process & Control Today, June 2009 Dairy Crest is the UK’s leading chilled dairy foods company. They installed a vision system to check the presence, colour, height and angle of each milk bottle cap, running at a speed of 220 bottles per minute. The system has a DVT 545 colour camera, Mitsubishi PLC, Touch-panel PC and a high speed reject unit.

		Cost-effective pump control solution saves energy - 06/16/09 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, June 2009 This project manages the electrical supply by ensuring successful load shift from peak to off-peak times. Equipment includes Siemens S7300 PLCs, with touch panels for operator interfaces underground, and an Adroit SCADA for the HMI interface for the control system.

		Orlando uses automation to improve wastewater operations Plant Engineering, May 2009 Orlando's three advanced wastewater treatment plants process more sewage and gray water than ever before. Standardized on the Siemens S7-300 programmable logic controller and Siemens PROFIBUS and Industrial Ethernet networks, the automation platform controls everything from the flow of electricity to the amount of reclaimed water being safely discharged from the plant.

		Full-color control in print PACE, May 2009 Shepparton Newspapers tripled its color printing capacity, implemented a complete Rockwell Automation drive, ControlLogix, and integrated safety control system overhaul, and maximized plant uptime when it’s most needed--in the dead of night.

		Bionic Tonic Transforms German Brewery Into Health Beverage Titan Control Design, April 2009 By Matthias Falk, Bionade Abfüll Bionade transformed Germany’s struggling Peter Brewery in Ostheim into a European powerhouse. Programmers, engineers, electricians and production managers purchased and blended used components including old PLCs, pasteurization equipment, material handling and unpacking equipment and a case washing system into one fieldbus-based system.

		Automated Interface Solutions uses PAC for Polypropylene - 05/14/09 By Opto 22 A polypropylene manufacturer called on system integrator AIS to help solve control and integration problems involving Measurex, Foxboro and Rockwell hardware. AIS installed an Opto 22 SNAP PAC to replace the Measurex I/O and communicate with the PLC and Wonderware HMI software.

		Rockwell Automation controls Green Planet Farms food plant - 04/30/09 PlantPAx process automation system manages more than 100 batch and continuous process phases. System includes HMI software, instrumentation and wireless equipment.

		Automated water treatment plants South African Instrumentation & Control, April 2009 Three plants in Egypt each have approximately 1200 I/O points. The process and system control uses Beckhoff PLCs, Profibus, PCs, control panels and soft PID controllers.

		OPC Feeds Data from PLC to DCS The Georgia Pacific paper mill in Yalova, Turkey, uses Kepware Technologies’ LinkMaster and KEPServerEX OPC Server to transfer data from a Siemens programmable controller to an ABB distributed control system.

		Purely Performance-Driven Control Design, March 2009 By Rich Gaston, Heateflex For 18 years, Heateflex offered Power-to-Flow technology in its Aquarius line of deionized water heating systems. The algorithm was programmed in assembly language in an embedded temperature controller, a custom-designed board running a 6809 microprocessor. Heateflax relaced the 6809 with an Omron CJ1M PLC, and gained Ethernet, DeviceNet and Profibus connectivity.

		ABB supplies PLCs for solar trackers - 03/26/09 Solar power plants using solar trackers typically generate 30% more energy than fixed systems. ABB supplies PLCs and HMIs for solar trackers.

		Cutting energy consumption InTech, March 2009 By Joel Shaprio and Thirumalaichelvam Subramaniam By controlling the temperature of chilled water with a PAC, users were able to save up to 30% of air conditioning energy costs in tropical countries where cooling costs typically consume 45% to 60% of building energy expenses.

		DL06 PLC puts heaters to the test By Tom Brickey & Mike Sabatine, Pyromatics Automation Systems Pyromatics built a Life Cycle Test Station for electric heating elements. If a heater failed, the test had to be shut down and QC alerted. Pyromatics used a DirectLOGIC DL06 PLC to control eight PID loops, DirectSOFT ladder logic editor, and a C-more EA7-T10C 10-inch TFT touch-screen operator interface.

		Retrofitting Ethernet Connectivity to Simatic S5 By Softing One of the largest manufacturers of tobacco connected 40 production lines, each being controlled by up to 8 legacy Simatic S5 PLCs, via Ethernet to the MES system by using Softing’s Echolink, a serial to Ethernet converter.

		Cummins JEP uses Ubisense tracking to follow engines - 02/25/09 By recording when an engine enters or leaves a test or work cell Cummins can see how quickly an engine moves through the testing process and identify any differences between engine types and options.

		Balance of power InTech, January 2009 By Kevin Geraghty, PT International Nickel Indonesia. PT Inco operates its own hydro power stations to produce the large quantity of electric power the nickel process requires. It upgraded the governor and control system on the plant’s hydro-electric generator with PLCs, HMIs and PCs.

		Welder takes safety to next level Process & Control Today, December 2008 Lamba Welding Systems in Richmond, North Yorkshire, uses the QS safety relay in a Mitsubishi Q series PLC as the basis of a new integrated control and safety system for a refurbished resistance welding machine.

		Pump technology advances on automated processing lines European Chemical Engineer, December 2008 Selden Research manufactures cleaning and hygiene chemicals. It has two automated blending plants designed by SPX Process Equipment that bring together alcohol, water, colourings, perfumes and surfactants in preset quantities and flowrates. The system uses PID control from the PLC to adjust automatically the relevant pump via speed control inverters.

		Nestle Purina plant reduces downtime by saving configurations By MDT Software Before MDT AutoSave was installed at the Nestlé Purina plant in Mechanicsburg, PA, the plant used a “home grown” program to track changes in their programmable devices. AutoSave ensures that, if a device fails or a program results in undesired performance, a prior version of the program is readily available.

		Open-source Software Controlling Japan’s Top Particle Accelerator Control Engineering, December 2008 By Shin Kai The KEK B-factory double-ring electron-positron collider in Japan has begun using Linux-based PLCs and open source EPICs software for beam mask and magnet controls.

		Buhler's Grain Milling Automation Relies on OPC Technology By Wolfgang Langer, Softing Buhler standardized on Softing’s S7/S5 OPC Server to provide reliable connectivity between its WinCoS.r2 grain milling automation system and multiple S7-400 PLCs.

		Software Interprets between Rockwell Automation and Siemens By Softing Krones, a packaging manufacturer, uses control systems based on Siemens and Rockwell Automation equipment. Using Softing software, Krones can communicate between Simatic, ControlLogix, CompactLogix, PLC-5 and SLC-500 controllers.

		Pump control bolstered with remote systems Control Engineering Europe, December 2008 Aberdeen Control is using Bosch Rexroth PLCs in nine systems for the remote control on two oil rigs, Rowan Gorilla VI and Leiv Eriksson.

		Securing Remote Internet Maintenance Services By Innonimate Applications in various industries illustrate how TCP/IP connections provide remote maintenance capabilities via secure links.

		Moving controls to safety Process and Control Today, October 2008 Aberdeen Control specialises in the manufacture of hazardous area equipment for the offshore oil, gas and petrochemical industries. It uses a Bosch Rexroth PLC to allow remote control of diesel engine driven pumps.

		Automation and Ethernet Combine for 3D Disney Attraction Control Engineering, October 2008 Disney’s new 3D “Toy Story Midway Mania” ride uses a Simatic S7 315 PLC with centralized I/O for vehicle control. Communication between the onboard and wayside computers is handled over Ethernet via Profinet cabling and protocol using Scalance X208 switches.

		Communicating from the HART By Adrienne Lutovsky, ProSoft Technology Valspar, a paint and coatings company, installed Micro Motion flow meters, a Rockwell Automation ControlLogix PAC, and ProSoft Technology’s EtherNet/IP-to-HART multi-drop communication gateway to connect everything.

		Change management software at Coca Cola minimizes production downtime - 09/28/08 The CCE Wakefield plant has 93 Siemens S5 PLCs, 11 Siemens S7 PLCs, 20 Allen Bradley ControlLogix PACs, 31 Allen Bradley SLC500 PLCs, and 26 universal Devices. MDT AutoSave software tracks all changes.

		Employee Monitoring System uses AutomationDirect Touch Panels By T.J. Johns BG Industrial Control in Placentia, CA, uses AutomationDirect's touch panels, Terminator IO, DirectLOGIC 205 Ethernet-based controllers, and Think & Do Studio PC-based control software in its Greer Monitoring System to monitor employee efficiency and productivity.

		Gateway to process automation Control Engineering, September 2008 Valspar Corp. is the third largest paint and coatings company in North America. To handle its paint blending process, MMCI uses Emerson Process Micro Motion flowmeters, a Rockwell Automation process automation system, Ethernet communications, and a ControlLogix PAC.

		Sweetening Ethanol, Sugar Mix Control Engineering, September 2008 By Brandon Henning, GE Fanuc One of Brazil's largest sugar producers GE Fanuc's Proficy Plant Applications efficiency module provides a comprehensive view of key factors including equipment downtime, quantity, and event sequences. The system also uses Proficy HMI/SCADA Cimplicity, PACSystems controllers, and Series 90-30 PLCs.

		Controlled Size Reduction Control Design, August 2008 Modern Process Equipment in Chicago designs and builds roller-style granulizers based on Allen-Bradley PLCs. PLC control allows them to provide 25 different recipes that control all of the important grinding parameters.

		Geo SCADA Makes the World a Smaller Place Automation World, August 2008 Equitable Gas in Pittsburgh automated its engines and compressors with PLCs and a WinCC SCADA HMI from Siemens. All of the process sensors, electric actuators and other devices in the system plug directly into a Profibus network, which eliminated much of the wiring to the PLCs.

		It's all in the LANs InTech, August 2008 By Fereshteh Fatehi and Yuqiu You In one of our latest projects, we integrated the PLC control process and data transmission by applying the local area network (LAN) technology in PLC control. We set up the communication of the remote PLC control by establishing a LAN connecting computers and PLCs.

		STARDOM revitalises integrated control system South Africa Instrumentation & Control, July 2008 The compressor control upgrade project for a polymerisation plant operated by Safripol in South Africa replaces existing PLCs with a STARDOM network-based control system.

		Mitsubishi helps automate fashion house Per Una Process and Control Today, July 2008 Per Una is reducing the energy consumption of its building management systems at all its UK sites. Central to the system is a Mitsubishi Qn PAC acting as a master controller not only for the main building but also for other design studios in London and Leicester, plus at least two more buildings.

		Adroit heads south to manage water system Control Engineering Europe, June 2008 The six major pump stations at the Adroit SCADA system have PLC controlled MC panels. The telemetry RTU is connected to the PLC via a serial interface using Modbus protocol and provides the ability to monitor all the inputs as well as providing the facility for remote modifications of certain measuring and controlling parameters within the PLC.

		Better hardware, better bottle Control Engineering Europe, June 2008 Amcor, an Australian packaging company, installed Wonderware InTouch SCADA and real-time database InSQL on Advantech Touch Screen PCs. The acquisition of data from plastics machinery required fast data access without affecting PLC cycle time. A pilot design was developed and tested prior to deployment across 28 machines.

		Royal Huisman gives yacht SCADA boost Control Engineering Europe, June 2008 Royal Huisam, a boat building company in the Netherlands, used a SCADA system to boost energy efficiency on its 58m ‘Ethereal’ yacht. The system includes CitectSCADA V7 with integrated clustering, 26 PLCs, 2 servers and 30 display clients.

		CLPA controls eco building Control Engineering Europe, May 2008 In Ely, UK, GB Innomech’s building control is based on a PLC, HMI and distributed networked local controls. CC-Link was chosen as the operating protocol as it is an open system which can communicate with a wide variety of field hardware.

		Emerson automates world's largest pulp mill - 06/18/08 The PlantWeb solution includes DeltaV, 3300 FOUNDATION fieldbus, Profibus DP and DeviceNet devices, MCCs, PLCs, Modbus, Fisher valves with Fisher FIELDVUE digital valve controllers, and AMS Suite.

		Giving Chocolate its Crunch Control Engineering, June 2008 By Mike Jamieson, Rockwell Automation Mars Austria uses an integrated control environment to monitor the exact status of all system components — such as servo drives, I/O, and HMIs—in its new control system in a chocolate plant.

		PCs Cover Coating System Control Control Engineering, June 2008 By Norm Hardy, Semicore To automate its vacuum coating and etching systems, Semicore installed an HMI and control package based on Beckhoff's C6330 industrial PCs, CP7802 control panels, TwinCAT automation software, distributed I/O networked over Ethernet TCP/IP via bus couplers, Ethernet switches, motors, and servo drives.

		Auto Plant Modernization Features Controls Refit Control Engineering, June 2008 By K.K. Mitra, Rockwell Automation To save money equipping the new facility, Tata Motors purchased an existing automotive manufacturing plant in Australia and relocated it to India. Rockwell upgraded the control system to Allen-Bradley SLC 500 controllers to automate auxiliary functions and processes, such as material feeder lines, fixture controls, gantry systems, and disc systems.

		Eyeing Connections Vision Systems Design, May 2008 By Winn Hardin Fast-con, crimp, or lug wire terminators come in a nearly endless variety of shapes and sizes and are used extensively in the automotive and other electronics markets. At a connector-manufacturing facility in Spain, a pair of PPT Vision 5200 IMPACT cameras with tethered C40 processors, photoeye trigger, telecentric optics, mirrors, machined metal supports, and a Rockwell Automation Micrologix PLC supervise the operation.

		Upgrade delivers spare parts Control Engineering, May 2008 By Marvin Coker, Bachelor Controls Golden Triangle Energy Cooperative in Craig, MO, had control system hardware that had been deemed obsolete by the manufacturer, and replacement parts were becoming difficult to find. Bachelor Controls upgraded the system to Rockwell Automation’s Process Automation System, ControlLogix PAC and I/O, and RSView.

		Moeller Electric punches lollipop sticks Process & Control Today, May 2008 ks for the best ice lollipops are still made from wood. Karl Otto Knauf, chose PLCs, motor drives and the SmartWire panel wiring system from Moeller Electric to control its latest stick-punching machine.

		OPC Drives Overall Equipment Efficiency from 65% to 75% By Thomas R. Cutler "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.

		Linux to ControlLogix solution uses OPC Control Engineering Europe, April 2008 At Task Force Tips, product orders are fulfilled by a robotic picker that moves among hundreds of parts bins on a 100-foot-long, multilevel picking line. TFT decided to overhaul the robot, using ControlLogix PACs, servo drives, and TOP Server OPC Server and the Cogent OPC DataHub from Software Toolbox.

		Hot oil, cool control Intech, April 2008 By Ellen Fussell Policastro Austral Pacific Energy in New Zealand installed programmable automation controllers to provide capabilities of a traditional DCS system, and manage thousands of discrete, process, and safety I/O points using a single platform.

		Safety: Tale of Two Applications Control Engineering, March 2008 By Hank Hogan Two applications show how control system safety can be implemented using PLCs for less overall cost.

		Crush control optimizes wine production Control Engineering, March 2008 the Clos du Bois winery in California replaced analog machine controls on its grape press system with a centralized PAC control architecture that governs the entire system, from the conveyors to the pumps.

		Obsolescence Happens Control Design, February 2008 Weiler Engineering, a builder of aseptic, blow/fill/seal machines for pharmaceutical and healthcare applications, confronted serious PLC compatibility issues when its original controls supplier changed its product line. It now uses a Siemens 300 series modular PLC platform.

		Adding Ethernet to Railroad System Increases Reliability By Contemporary Controls A commuter railroad modernized its 20-year-old automated material handling system in one of its maintenance facilities using PLCs and Ethernet/IP. An Ethernet managed fiber optic switch from Contemporary Controls was part of the solution.

		Automated system speeds up time-consuming hose testing By Automation Direct American BOA in Cumming, GA, uses a PLC-controlled system to control hydrostatic and pneumatic tests on hoses of varying sizes diameters and lengths for pressures up to 2,000 psi. The system uses a D2-250 CPU, Ethernet communication module and 10-in. operator interface screen, all from AutomationDirect.

		DL205 used on amphibious dredging machine By Automation Direct "Amphibian" self-propelled amphibious dredge has a control system based on an AutomationDirect DL205 PLC with a color touch screen operator panel. Feedback switches are connected to DC input modules that provide status to help control the ladder boom, spuds, pump, tracks and other components.

		System Integrator Retrofits PLCs for Carton Manufacturer by Chip McDaniel, AutomationDirect CorrTech, a systems integrator, replaced the controls in a 1970-vintage box-making machine for Smurfit Stone Enterprises in Ravenna, Ohio. Corr-Tech removed all the control relays and wiring and reconfigured the system using AutomationDirect's DL06 PLCs. And they did it all over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

		PROFIBUS used in Changi Wastewater Plant By Nick Belardes, ProSoft Technology The Changi Water Reclamation Plant in Singapore has 160 ProSoft Technology PROFIBUS DPV1 modules that handle flow meters, pressure and DP level transmitters, radar/ultrasonic transmitters, dissolved oxygen analyzers, temperature transmitters and electric actuators.

		FlavourCraft standardises on Beckhoff Automation SA Instrumentation & Control, February 2008 By Andrew Ashton The Beckhoff choice allowed FlavourCraft the flexibility to build both small and large systems with the same components and programming languages. They use Beckhoff I/O, Profibus, OPC, PACs and PLCs.

		DL205 Performs in Theatrics By T.J. Johns The University of Arizona School of Theater Arts uses motors, computers and Automation Direct’s DL205 I/O to change scenes rapidly. The set has six hydraulic lifts, a rising "throne wall," seven telescoping metal trees and two steel doors hanging from the ceiling, all of which move independently to various positions.

		Optical Fibers Need Critical Process Control Control Engineering, January 2008 By Kelly Downey, Opto 22 Lumenyte, a fiber optics manufacturer, is using Opto 22 Snap PAC systems to control and monitor a host of equipment used in the manufacturing of its plastic optical fibers, including levels, flows, temperatures, and pressures in a process using more than 35 various sensor inputs.

		Full Transparency Without a Central Process Control System Process and Control Today, January 2008 Instead of an expensive centralized process control system, Follmann & Co, a chemical company in the UK, used compact modular controllers and HMI control terminals from Mitsubishi Electric. Follmann uses MX Sheet software to feed the process data from the controllers directly into the existing office software.

		World's Largest Coca-Cola Plant Uses OPC DataHub By Cogent Real Time Systems Coca-Cola’s Ballina Beverages facility, recently installed the OPC DataHub from Cogent Real-Time Systems to log alarm data and create end-of-shift reports. The plant, located in Ballina, Ireland, sends alarm data from RSLinx to a OPC server, through the OPC hub, and to an Excel spreadsheet.

		Inspection Capabilities are Looking Up Automation World, December 2007 By Terry Costlow The Kendall-Jackson winery packages more than 3 million cases of wine each year, so it’s a big challenge to position labels on bottles.. Kendall-Jackson handled its labeling problem with PC-based control and the CIVision 360 Full View inspection system. Four cameras simultaneously examine a bottle as it leaves the labeling space.

		Software For Revising Software Automation World, November 2007 by James R. Koelsch NEC’s semiconductor fabrication facility installed Proficy Change Management software from GE Fanuc Automation. Engineers integrated it into Visual SourceSafe, project-oriented file server-based version-control software from Microsoft, which developers use to manage changes to source code.

		True PC-Based Control American Machinist, October 2007 Fluid Line Products in Willoughby, Ohio, replaced some outdated equipment with true PC-based controls: the P100 THINC-OSP Microsoft Windows and PC-based control from Okuma America Corp.

		Controls Ease Startup Control Engineering, September 2007 Systems integrator Drivex Inc., Livermore, CA, used Siemens Simatic WinCC to replace an automation and control system. Drivex builds web tension controls for the pharmaceutical, converting, and vacuum coating industries.

		Wireless PCs streamline warehouse operations Plant Services, August 2007 Empower operators by installing an onboard computer on each forklift, making the location of items and empty storage space immediately visible. At City Furniture, Tamarac, Fla., all 35 forklifts are equipped with GX-1200 fixed-mount rugged computers from Glacier Computer.

		How to connect a Siemens S5 to USB A SSW5/USB converter cable from Systeme Helmholz can be used to connect a Simatic S5 CPU to a PC with a USB interface. Here’s how.

		Diagnosing NASA’s Deep Space Network Antennas JPL uses load cells and Opto 22’s SNAP PAC system to discover cause of failed bearings in deep space antennas.

		Mechatronics Meets Kinetic Architecture for Arizona Cardinals Stadium Design News, August 2007 At Cardinals Stadium Uni-Systems engineers devised a patented cable-driven system for safely transporting the roof panels along a sloped path. Key elements in the system include: ABB ACS800 drives, ProfiBus, GE Fanuc VersaMax I/O and Series 9030 PLCs, and Turck proximity switches and encoders.

		Improving PLC Compatibility in Aseptic Blow-Fill-Seal Machine Applications A PLC-integration engineering solution by Siemens not only provided the machine-operation interface Weiler Engineering needed, but also significantly expanded its applications flexibility.

		System Integrator retrofits controls to box-making machine By AutomationDirect CorrTech, a systems integrator, updates controls on box-making machines for Smurfit Stone Enterprises using AutomationDirect's DL06 PLCs, C-more touch-panel operator interfaces, a GS series variable speed drive, and a Marathon motor.

		Automated shutter machines use of DirectLOGIC 205 PLC technology By AutomationDirect The machine uses a DL205 PLC to manage the operation of all electro- mechanical components and software communication, including index speed and distance, system stapling, drill and pin sequencing, and parts infeed coordination. An operator interface provides the operator with information such as louver width and machine status.

		PLCs replace CNC on riveting machines By AutomationDirect International Harvester uses automated machines to place aluminum rivets on sheeting that is attached to the frame of the semi cabs. The original CNC machines were becoming antiquated and increasingly harder to maintain. ITS, a systems integrator, replaced the CNC with AutomationDirect 's DL205 PLC with a D2-260 CPU as the controller for the new machines, along with a H2-CTRIO high-speed counter module, which drives a dual axis servo.

		Manufacturing Gels Around Automation - 08/19/07 Control Engineeering, June 2007 By Vance VanDoren, Control Engineering Greenfield gelatin plant creates state-of-the-art manufacturing and automation systems for food and pharmaceutical grade products. Real Time Systems of Toronto completed the programming for the PLC and SCADA systems according to ISA S88 standards.

		Ecopetrol monitors oil pumping stations with PACs By Opto 22 Ecopetrol, the national oil company of Colombia, is using Opto 22 SNAP PACs to maximize output and monitor and control its pumping locations throughout the country. The SNAP PACs communicate via Modbus and Profibus as they regulate valve positioning, pumpjack motors, variable frequency drives and other devices. Data is communicated over wireless Ethernet to Ecopetrol headquarters in Bogota.

		Verizon Monitors Cogeneration System with PACs By Opto 22 Verison used a network of 12 Opto 22 SNAP Ultimate I/O and SNAP Simple IO units to monitor seven fuel cells and dual-fuel engines at its “central office of the future” in Garden City, NY. The Opto 22 systems make use of the hardwired analog and digital signals as well as the serial data feeds from the electrical switchgear, metering systems, engines, control processors and fuel systems.

		CitectSCADA monitors Cheese Maker Process & Control Today, August 2007 By John Houston, Editor AJ and RG Barber Ltd, a 200-year-old cheese maker in Somerset, UK, are using CitectSCADA to provide monitoring, trending and data reporting in the production of its renowned West Country Farmhouse Cheddar.

		The skinny on PC-based control systems Control, May 2007 By Dan Hebert Custom-Flo, a skid builder, has an HMI with SCADA software running on Windows CE. Control is running in a programmable automation controller (PAC), executing IEC 61131-3-based software.

		New SCADA for Power Grid Control Engineering, August 2007 Marcel Van Helten, GE Fanuc To serve its growing population, Dakota Electric had to upgrade its obsolete SCADA system. DEA turned to New Zealand-based Catapult Software, which developed iPower, a product specifically for electric utility SCADA operations based on GE Fanuc's Proficy HMI/SCADA iFix.

		InduSoft HMI monitors Mega-yachts from Nightwatch By Indusoft A modern 120'–150' pleasure craft can require over 400 different analog and digital checkpoints that must be simultaneously monitored. NightWatch needed a better HMI system to meet the needs of the large, multi-screen, glass bridges which are now standard in the megayacht world.

		Middlesex University installs robotic production system Process and Control Today, February 2007 By John Houston, Editor Middlesex installed a Festo MPS 500 modular production system. The system facilitates hands-on training for students pursuing undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in product design and engineering. The system includes 9 different PLC-controlled automated production stages and an intelligent conveyor system.

		Hydraulic Motion Control Control Engineering, April 2007 By Rick Meyerhoefer, Delta Computer Systems Adding PC-based controls improved performance and simplified operation for a powder compacting press machine. The “smart” machine they developed used a multi-axis electro-hydraulic motion controller and PC working together to replace the PLC-based control systems of the past.

		Advanced Controls Working At the Car Wash Design News, January 2007 By Joseph Ogando, Senior Editor With its PLCs, variable speed drives, optical sensors and Ethernet connections, the Tunnel Commander isn’t your grandfather’s car wash.

		Grand Prix Grandees keep cool Process and Control Today, March 2007 By John Houston, Editor A small state of the art industrial PLC (programmable logic controller) is keeping the occupants of a Formula 1 team’s mobile headquarters cool, no matter what excitement happens on the track and even in the blazing heat of a venue like Monaco, Australia, Bahrain or Malaysia.

		Beer Release to Finished Beer Line Modification Approximately six existing process PLCs and two clean in place (CIP) tenor drums were modified on line. Two existing Allen Bradley Advisor CRTs also were modified to allow graphic Operator selection of the new bottle line from about 30 sources. New Tuchenhagen valves were added to the beer release header to allow this selection and to provide for the new sections of pipe to be cleaned in place. The new process was integrated into the existing finishing cellar operation without interruption of production.

		PIMS Rollout and Upgrade Provided necessary FIX 6.0 application programming and associated PLC-5 programming to integrate plant floor controls with corporate WAN system architecture. Coordinated programming efforts with Sybase database programmers.

		Moore's QUADLOG Safety PLC controls Fuel Burners at power plant National Power’s Didcot power plant conversion to gas and coal-fired burners included the implementation of QUADLOG for safe and cost-effective gas firing control and burner management systems.

		Integrated axes crank up cold working Control Design, March 2007 By Marc St. Pierre, Ingersoll CM Systems The rolling machine includes nine to 13 arms of independent rolling axes, each arm applying a different force at a different point along the length of the crankshaft. The overall machine is controlled by a motion controller, which tightly integrates the multi-tasking PLC with the CNC and is capable of controlling up to 64 axes of motion.

		Water Flows in Iraq By Danetta Bramhall, Prosoft The largest water treatment facility in Southern Iraq, the Nasiriyah Plant supplies 10,000 cubic meters per hour of fresh drinking water to approximately three million Iraqis. The plant is controlled by Allen-Bradley and Modicon PLCs with ProSoft software.

		Using Industrial Wireless Ethernet in Mining Systems By Moxa A mine uses a combination of Moxa's AWK-1100 wireless AP/Bridge/AP Client and an industrial Ethernet switch. PLCs connect to the switch, which connects to an AWK-1100 wireless AP. Another switch/AP combination is used at the control end of the system.

Automation.com Real-time Information for the Automation Professional May. 26, 2012

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