Articles and News

Automation.com, December 2011 By Gregory Wilcox, Mike Hannah and Mark Devonshire, Rockwell Automation The rise of Ethernet and emerging technologies such as integrated plantwide architecture and Common Industrial Protocol (CIP) have lead to the increased popularity of converged network infrastructures . These infrastructures allow innovative designs, specifically layer switches, that allow manufacturers to combine the simplicity and maintainability of many individual networks with the power and flexibility of a single network design.

Many of the real costs of plant or facility downtime are hidden in other cost areas and do not show up unless you account for them properly.

Automation.com, November 2011 By Bill Lydon for Automation.com Rockwell Automation introduced the new low-cost Micro800 PLC product line suited for standalone machine applications - a completely new architecture and not based on or compatible with the Logix Platform and Integrated Architecture.

Automation.com, November 2011 By Nuris Ismail, Aberdeen Group In today's economic environment, manufacturers are under immense pressure to contribute value to the organization's bottom line by cutting costs and improving productivity wherever possible. In fact, in the Aberdeen Business Review study of over 170 manufacturers revealed that their primary goals for 2011 were profitability and cost reduction.

Robust PID Tuning Strategy for Uncertain Plants Based on the Kharitonov Theorem

Automation.com, November 2011 By Eric Byres, Byres Security Inc. On one hand, industry is becoming increasingly concerned about just how vulnerable control systems have become to outside attacks. At the same time, new tools and applications that improve efficiency, but increase that exposure, are appearing daily. So must we sacrifice these gains in efficiency if we want to be secure?

Automation.com, November 2011 By Rick Kaun, Honeywell Process Solutions Security is thought of as physical protection against intrusion or the detection of hackers when, in fact, little thought is given to the security threats that exist inside the fences of any given facility.

Automation.com, November 2011 By Roy Kok In the terms of Automation, a crisis can be characterized as a loss of production (downtime), possibly of a simple piece of equipment, or it can be extensive, affecting major portions of the plant. Are we giving enough focus to the right areas, not focusing on the level of a "worst case scenario" type of crisis?

Energy harvesting is the ideal solution for indefinite long-term powering of wireless sensor nodes or networks (WSN) without maintenance.

Automation.com, November 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor Discussion of the industry issues and trends with Steve Sonnenberg, Emerson Process Management's Executive Vice President, and Peter Zornio, Chief Strategic Officer. Topics include Emerson's energy initiative, the economy, PLC/DCS debate, disposable automation, and more.

Automation.com, October 2011 By Bill Lydon Since the 1980s, the automation industry has been adopting standards for networked industrial communications, software, and applications. Have users gained all the benefits originally envisioned?

Automation.com, October 2011 By Thomas R. Cutler Sophisticated 3-D machine vision technology transform industrial pallet trucks and tow tractors into robotic industrial trucks. These robotic trucks "learn" their surroundings, making them flexible, simple, and affordable for a variety of applications.

The time is right for manufacturers to change the way they approach and manage their human capital.

Automation.com, October 2011 By David Collier, Pilz Why machine builders should resist the temptation to save money in the short term by using Category 2 architecture on machine guard safety circuits that require Performance Level d.

Nearly all companies now use social media to recruit employees and most either “always” or “sometimes” check the online profiles of potential candidates.

Liptak to reveal automation irony in technical world

Automation.com, October 2011 By Kevin Davenport, Cisco Systems This article shows how organizations are cutting the wire and deploying collaboration, security, cloud and sensor wireless and mobility technologies to achieve operational and production excellence throughout their entire corporate value chain.

PID gain scheduling using fuzzy logic

Automation.com, October 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor The CArS architecture is a modern systems level approach defined by the joint Chrysler and Fiat Manufacturing Engineering Council that improves the process flow for designing and implementing production lines.

A Little About Valves