Articles and News

By Bill Lydon While the April Hannover Messe event is cancelled, industrial companies remain focused on digital transformation techniques, methods and ideas.

The annual ARC European Industry Forum, “Driving Digital Transformation in Industry,” May 18-20, 2020, will move online as ARC’s first-ever virtual forum. The event will use virtual event tools to offer live streaming of user presentations, expert panel discussions, and audience interaction.

From Friday March 27, ABB’s Robotics and Discrete Automation business will make key software services available free of charge to its customers until December 31st, 2020.

The IQ part-turn actuators provided are used on two fireboats, ‘Firefighter 2’ and ‘Firefighter 343’. The actuators have the important duty of controlling the flow of water to the fire nozzles on deck, meaning that they are vital in the event of an emergency.

The web-based solution gives plant operators and management teams real-time monitoring and control access to plant operations and performance over a secure-by-design connection such as VPN. This allows critical infrastructure to operate with a reduced crew on site, while being able to coordinate with their wider teams remotely.

The company has invested $10 million USD in the new 128,000 square foot facility where it will design, develop, test and manufacture robotic and safety automation solutions.

The traveling tour is designed to bring the latest innovations in automation, instrumentation, networking, and cybersecurity right to the doorstep of the process industries.

This article discusses how automated guided vehicles have advanced from simple materials handlers to intelligent autonomous robots.

The Facility Management & Maintenance Library features 69 courses in 3D specifically designed to train facility managers, building engineers and maintenance technicians of commercial buildings.

Counterfeit electrical products are a growing problem that can have serious consequences. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reports fiscal year 2008 seizures totaled more than $272.7 million in counterfeit and pirated goods, a 38 percent increase in domestic value over fiscal year 2007. In the category of Top Safety and Security Commodities for fiscal year 2009, electrical products moved from 5th to 2nd position just behind pharmaceuticals.

ISA past president Paul Gruhn, PE, CFSE, will be presenting at local meetings around the country during the first quarter of 2020. As a global functional safety consultant with aeSolutions, Gruhn has gained extensive experience consulting with sites around the world.

PCT set out to find a solution that would remove the cab from the boom and, instead, allow operators to control and monitor the process remotely. If the company pulled it off, it would be a first for ship loading in North America.

A fuel cell is a device that converts energy stored in molecules into electrical energy. Using hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2) as power, the fuel cell produces water, electricity and heat without creating any emissions other than water vapour. This article explains the possibilities of hydrogen fuel cells.

By Mark Howard, EU Automation To prevent the risks of foodborne illness and improve shelf life, food processors and manufacturers prioritize safety. This article shares three ways that technology is improving food quality.

By Tatjana Milenovic, ABB Food & Beverage Connected automation systems are making food and beverage manufacturing more efficient, productive and cost-effective, but this greater connectivity creates greater opportunities for agroterrorism. This article discusses the need to integrate data protection into a wider plant safety system.

As one of the fastest growing sectors of the robot market, a lack of knowledge could be dangerous. This article will work to quash some common misconceptions about collaborative robot safety.

UR cobots allow employees to move from repetitive, low-value tasks to higher-value activities that increase productivity and quality as well as work conditions.

By Mark Howard, EU Automation Nanotechnology involves the manipulation of matter on the atomic and molecular scale —structures between one and 100 nanometres in size. This article discusses three exciting applications of nanotechnology in manufacturing.

The ControlEdge Safety PLC was chosen as the winner in the Embedded Device category due to many problem-solving capabilities while demonstrating security and resilience.

Ferrero needed a way to confirm that all its employees could be safely accounted when an emergency evacuation was underway.