Articles and News

Automation.com, May 2012 By J Timothy Shea, Senior Analyst Due to expected increasing demand for level measurement and inventory tank gauging technologies as tools to help companies to continue to improve operational efficiencies, increase productivity, gain greater control over inventories and enhanced accuracy, VDC is forecasting a 5.2% CAGR through 2016.

Automation.com, May 2012 By Jeanne Schweder, Freelance Editor Predicting the reindustrialization of the U.S. over the next five years, Global CEO Joe Hogan said that the company is in the "sweet spot" to take advantage of the many megatrends driving the American economy.

The best way to classify process simulators is to look at the original intent of the simulator software when first released, who are the software developers, who configures the models, and how are the

Automation.com, May 2012 By Dr Harry Zervos, IDTechEx EnOcean Equipment Profiles (EEPs) lays the foundation for fully interoperable, open wireless technology comparable to standards such as Bluetooth and WiFi.

Automation.com, May 2012 By Bill Lydon, Editor Participants of the Pharmaceutical Automation Roundtable discussed the topic of networking approaches while considering the differences between manufacturing automation control system networks and business IT networks.

An I/O checkout on a DCS system is rather difficult because there is no means to “force” the I/O as you can most PLCs

Automation.com, May 2012 By Mark Howard, Zettlex Article lists 10 simple rules for design engineers when selecting position and speed sensors that must cope with shock or vibration.

Automation.com, April 2012 By Bill Lydon, Editor The Pharmaceutical Automation Roundtable group described the overall goal and vision of unified recipe management is to increase manufacturing productivity and accomplish zero day production releases. How far have they come?

Is a VFD or Valve Faster?

Automation.com, April 2012 By John Krasnokutsky, Siemens Industry Machine builders and automation engineers should note that an energy-efficient system can actually translate into higher productivity.

Automation.com, April 2012 By Thomas R. Cutler Somehow the notion of lean manufacturing rarely continues through to the communications and marketing functions. Companies do a very poor job, in general, telling their manufacturing story.

What are the factors that affect VFD rangeability?

Automation.com, April 2012 By Zettlex This article explains what slab resolvers are; how they work; where to use them; and suggests some lower cost options.

Automation.com, April 2012 By Bill Lydon, Editor There is a great deal of discussion about DCS migrations and retrofits these days, raising questions that can be overwhelming for users. Suppliers offer upgrades from their legacy systems as well as upgrades from a competitor’s DCS. I interviewed industry veteran, Paul Galeski, to get his insights on this important topic.

Automation.com, April 2012 By Bill Lydon, Editor The holistic integration from sensor to enterprise for manufacturing to be more competitive requires industrial automation technology that can create linkages to enterprise business systems. You can learn about new, crucial technologies at Industrial Automation North America.

Automation.com, April 2012 By Bill Lydon, Editor Accurate measurements are fundamental for automation and control systems to accomplish precise control. Based on my recent visit to Fluke's headquarters, I can assure you they are passionate about reliable measurements.

Automation.com, April 2012 By Sasan Montaseri, ITTIA What are the important characteristics for selecting an embedded database for an industrial automation system? What can a database offer beyond recovery from power failure, preventing data loss, or reducing flash media wear? What are the hidden costs when selecting an embedded database?

P&IDs should generally follow ISA symbols for the basic instruments. If you follow that symbology, most anyone can read and understand the P&IDs quickly.

Finding the interface between two liquids in a tank is critical for some processes. Modern level instrumentation can solve many level interface problems.

Automation.com, April 2012 By Bill Lydon, Editor The fundamental principal of root cause analysis is to use symptoms as clues to find the real source of a problem. This method requires analysis and/or testing to determine if something is a symptom or problem, but it can ultimately decrease the time to resolution.