Articles and News

Version 5.1 of ISaGRAF has been confirmed by TÜV Rheinland to be compliant with the requirements detailed in the IEC 61499 standard.

ABB will create a foundation with total funding of $16.6 million to sponsor talented and needy students in engineering and natural sciences.

Siemens appointed Dennis Sadlowski President and CEO, succeeding Aubert Martin, who is retiring.

The 15,000-sq-ft center has a demonstration room, training facility, application lab, office space and a warehouse.

Lockhart has more than 20 years of R&D experience and more than 10 years in management. Previously, Lockhart was a Program Manager at BAE Systems, where she was responsible for projects based on MEMS technology with real time embedded systems.

ABB's first-quarter net income rose 163 percent to $537 million from $204 million in the same period of 2006, driven primarily by continued strong market demand and further operational improvements.

Free catalog introduces UEIPAC Programmable Automation Controller Cubes and UEIModbus Cubes with Modbus TCP support.

The portal site is a 'one-stop-shop' for the latest information in English on OMRON's industrial automation products and services

The goal is to define a test bed and a set of routines, implementing a set of software tools and scripts to perform these test, and making this available to the public in order to be able prove a level of networking security within a broad set of control systems.

ISaGRAF is compatible with Beck's IPC@CHIPR SC123/SC143 series of embedded web controllers. By using ISaGRAF 5, IPC@CHIPR users have the option of using the IEC 61499 standard to easily create distributed control applications.

Mitsubishi will integrate Wonderware software into its e-F@ctory MES solutions and PLCs.

Bosch Rexroth AG increased sales in 2006 by 7.1 percent to approximately $6.2 billion (4.9 billion Euros). Sales grew 16 percent in Middle and Eastern Europe and 14 percent in Asia, including 33 percent growth in China. Sales in North and South America declined slightly in a difficult economic environment.

A committee of industry leaders and academia met at ISA headquarters to begin work on the learning objectives for an automation engineering curriculum for universities. "Our goal is to develop curriculum content for a 4-year automation engineering degree program," said committee chair Randy Buchanan of the University of Southern Mississippi.

According to the study, 83% of respondents had outsourced some or all of NPD activity, confirming that outsourcing of core product development is extremely important in today’s market.

The real automation highlight this year is the new Application Park, a project run jointly by the VDMA (German Engineering Federation) and Deutsche Messe. At this show within a show, mechanical engineers, robot manufacturers and automation service providers will be showcasing complete production solutions.

The new subsidiary will be headed by Ramon Diaz. Diaz has gained extensive experience in automation and drive technology in Germany and Spain.

"Programmable Controllers, 4th Edition" by Thomas A. Hughes discusses all phases of programmable controller applications from systems design and programming to installation, maintenance, and startup.

Jim Pauley has assumed the role of vice-chairman of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). He will also continue serving as vice-president, industry and government relations for Schneider Electric North America.

ABB will supply burner management, boiler controls, and BOP controls for two 330 MW circulating fluidized bed boilers at Cleco Power's new $1 billion Rodemacher Power Station, a 660 MW generating unit near Boyce, LA. ABB will provide System 800xA with operator stations, Harmony Bridge controllers for monitoring and control, and PLC interfaces to the turbine controls via standard OPC technology.

ABB's net income rose 89 percent to $1,390 million in 2006 amid strong demand for technology to increase power grid reliability, industrial productivity and energy efficiency. Revenues for 2006 reached $24,412 million, an increase of 11 percent (10 percent in local currencies) over 2005, while orders were 22 percent higher (22 percent in local currencies) at $28,401 million.