Articles and News

Automation.com, February 2012 By Bill Lydon, Editor OPC UA is emerging as a fundamental technology for implementing Digital Factory concepts to increase production efficiency. The concept was reinforced at the ARC Forum in a session titled, Transforming Manufacturing with OPC UA: From Embedded to the Enterprise.

The OPC Foundation says TopView successfully demonstrated OPC excellence in compliance, interoperability and robustness in the OPC Foundation Certification Test Lab.

Starting with version 5.10, Softing is including a one-year free-of-charge OPC Foundation membership for every company buying a new OPC toolkit.

Validation of Holt's CAN controller at C&S group guarantees conformance and correct protocol response when operating within a CAN network.

Emerson will supply a PlantWeb system, including Foundation fieldbus communications, digital automation systems, asset management software, and intelligent field devices

Aaxeon Europe has been established to offer greater service to European customers.

Automation.com, February 2012 By Bill Lydon Rockwell Automation firmly believes there are users that only want simple controllers and users that want integrated control and information products. In order to meet these requirements Rockwell has two separate product and software architectures, Connected Components and Logix.

The critical selection and proper configuration of an uninterruptible power supply SNMP/HTTP agent option is vital to network security.

FDT Group, Fieldbus Foundation, HART Communication Foundation, PROFIBUS & PROFINET International and OPC Foundation founded the company.

Automation.com, February 2012 By Eric Byres, Tofino Security Today’s attacks show a different focus – attempts to steal valuable information that can be used to make a counterfeit product, out-bid a rival, or coordinate a short selling campaign against a company’s stock.

The water and wastewater products company installed a MicroLogix PLC, PowerFlex 4 drive, and EtherNet/IP to automate its demonstration plants.

With virtualization, users can safely run several operating systems and applications at the same time on a single computer, with each having access to the resources it needs when it needs them.

WINA will present the results of its recent survey on the Application of Wireless Technology via a live webinar on February 9.

Automation.com, February 2012 By Adam VanOort, DataNab ModBus and BACnet are the best protocol options to support on open I/O and control devices. Both protocols use RS485 as the communications backbone, i.e., the physical network that supports the data traffic. But what about IP?

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.

Automation.com, February 2012 By Paul Didier, Cisco In production environments, typically the order of priority is Availability, Integrity and then Confidentiality. This is opposite of the priority in IT, where it's Confidentiality, Integrity and last is Availability. That makes a big difference in the way security is approached.

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.

Automation.com, February 2012 By Jessica Forguites, Rockwell Automation Embedding Ethernet switch technology into devices brings new advantages to high-performance applications. It simplifies machine design, configuration and maintenance.

Automation.com, February 2012 By Bill Lydon, Editor These results of the Pharmaceutical Automation Roundtable (PAR) Emerging Technology Benchmarking Survey addressed major automation topics including DCS vs. PLC, Fieldbus Technology, Smart Devices, VFDs, PAT, APC, Wireless, Operator Interfaces, Computing Technology, Validation and Skills gaps.

In co-operation with the University of Applied Sciences, Salzburg, students have six months in which to complete penetration tests of the zenon control system.