Control Engineering articles from December 2006

Control Engineering archives from December 2006

10-centimeter undersea precision.(Nexans)
December 1, 2006... Halvor Snellingen, Nexans In 1997, the Ormen Lange gas field was discovered off the western coast of Norway. It was the second-largest natural gas discovery on the Norwegian shelf and has the potential to produce around 20 billion cu m of...

Matching moments of inertia.
December 1, 2006... Charlie Masi Actuators have to develop forces to overcome both dissipative forces (friction) and inertial forces. That is, to move anything from position A to position B, you have to first apply force to accelerate the thing from a state...

Programmable automation controllers (PACs).
December 1, 2006... Pietrusewicz Krzysztof, Ph.D. and Pawel Dworak, Ph.D. When ARC Advisory Group analyst, Craig Resnick, proposed a new term for an emerging class of programmable devices for automation in 2001, few expected such growth of related...

Constraints or resources?
December 1, 2006... Mark T. Hoske, Editor-in-Chief Wait or implement? A lot of what we do depends on perspective. Do you see constraints or resources? Limitations or opportunities? If your cup is half full, are you going to complain or offer a toast, drink,...

New resources for now, 2007.
December 1, 2006... Renee Robbins, Editorial Director If there's anything I've learned about helping to create, shape, and relay knowledge to engineers for 20 years, it's that engineers love to know things. When you don't know something, you'll dig until you...

Understanding Pressure Instrumentation.
December 1, 2006... Peter Welander, Control Engineering Pressure measuring devices are everywhere, but do you really understand them? Measuring pressure is one of the most basic instrumentation functions in any industry. From an oil refinery to a...

Macsea Improves Navy Ship Reliability.
December 1, 2006... Kevin Logan and Chuck Harrell Large, civilian-operated U.S. Navy fleet operator deploys software agents to help maintain ships at sea. In the popular motion picture The Matrix, Agent Smith is a software object sent out to monitor and...

Mobile System Stops Contamination.(Red Wolf system)
December 1, 2006... Tom Noble Automated system keeps truck tires from spreading contamination. Olli Lamminen, a Finnish expatriate who has been around motor vehicles all his life, knows the dirt, so to speak, on the U.S. trucking industry. Whether it is...

Goodbye Windows NT.
December 1, 2006... Dennis Brandl, BR&L Consulting Jan. 1, 2007, is a significant day for automation and control systems. It is the day that Microsoft drops all support for Windows NT 4.0. Microsoft stopped general support (security or bug fixes) of...

Silence can be binding.
December 1, 2006... Mark Voigtmann, Baker & Daniels LLP An invoice arrives in the mail. It's from your equipment supplier. But you are involved in a bit of a disagreement with the supplier and you ignore it. A month goes by and yet another statement is in the...

Be open to change, say speakers at Pack Expo.(Pack Expo International)
December 1, 2006... By Staff Advice on how to succeed, greater flexibility, speed to market, and training effectiveness were among concerns discussed at Pack Expo International. The 50th anniversary show, produced and sponsored by the Packaging Machinery...

Baldor buys Rockwell motion unit for $1.8 billion, stock.(Baldor Electric Co., Reliance Electric Co.)
December 1, 2006... By Staff Baldor Electric Co. signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Reliance Electric Co. and certain of its affiliated companies from Rockwell Automation for $1.8 billion. The Rockwell Power Systems business, previously reported up...

4 tips for motion control.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... By Staff Swedish lubricants and seals giant SKF offered advice recently on motion control applications. 1. Use operators to drive reliability. Since machine operators are closer to their machines than anyone else, they are in the best...

Podcasts: projects, data, 3-D, PLM, encryption.(Website list)
December 1, 2006... By Staff Podcasts are not just for entertainment these days. Continuing education opportunities abound for engineers who find it easier to listen than read a book or attend a class. Recently available tutorials include information on...

Correction.
December 1, 2006... By Staff A Control Engineering news story "Small, remote-controlled robot searches to destroy explosives" (CE , September, p.38) should have said that the Technical Solutions Group is a sector of Applied Marine Technology Inc. (AMTI). ...

NEMA: More sustainable growth for controls expected in North America after torrid pace.(National Electrical Manufacturers Association)
December 1, 2006... By Staff A declining housing industry is tempered by a recent overall gain in business confidence, according to recent reports from the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA). The mixed economic indicators translate into...

SPS/IPC/Drives 2006: Ethernet, safety, security.
December 1, 2006... By Staff Ethernet in automation, safety and security in automation, and motion control were among key topics discussed at SPS/IPC/Drives 2006. The exhibit and conference for automation technologies, ran Nov. 28-30, 2006, in Nuremberg,...

Here's how industrial Ethernet can help your facility.
December 1, 2006... By Staff Just as there are choices in industrial networks, various protocols have emerged to serve the industrial Ethernet space. Network experts gathered in Chicago at Siemens' invitation to discuss trends and offer advice. "Don't wait"...

In-Stat says ZigBee is good for wireless mesh networks.(ZigBee Alliance)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... By Staff Because of the clarity of the ZigBee standard, the organizational strength of the ZigBee Alliance, and the involvement of several of the world's largest semiconductor companies, ZigBee will emerge as the dominant wireless mesh...

China adopts ControlNet.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... By Staff National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of the People's Republic of China adopted ControlNet as part of a machinery industry standard. The move expands the use of CIP networks into China's manufacturing industry. The...

Watlow expands in China; Singapore cites global manufacturing trends, Asian nation trade agreement.
December 1, 2006... By Staff Watlow's expansion in China and news from Singapore about additional investments in Asia highlight manufacturing growth in that region. Reflecting its effort to better serve customers that currently have a presence in China,...

New association serves motor-related interests.(Motion Control Association)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... By Staff A new trade association launched recently to serve interests of motors, drives, and controls companies. The Motion Control Association (MCA) says it will promote the use of mechanical and electronic (mechatronics) motion control...

Correction: IAN Head to Head on Pressure Transmitters.
December 1, 2006... By Staff The Aug/Sept issue of IAN Inside Products contained incorrect information in the Head to Head chart on pressure transmitters (page 36). The Yokogawa EJX series of pressure transmitters has: A turndown ration of 200:1 in...

By the Numbers.
December 1, 2006... By Staff 40 "concerned bodies" are on the Japan Electrical Manufacturers' Association (JEMA) link page among more than 60 organizations, including Japan Electric Measuring Instruments Manufacturers' Association (JEMIMA) and Japan Robot...

Pros and cons of global outsourcing.
December 1, 2006... Charlie Masi Outsourcing, in general, is the strategy of contracting with a third party to add significant value to your standard products. The primary reason companies outsource is the dictum, "Do what you do best, and leave everything...

Disconnect enclosure isolates incoming power.
December 1, 2006... By Staff Sequestr external disconnect enclosure from Hoffman is intended to help manufacturers comply with National Fire Protection Association regulations by isolating the fused disconnect switch or circuit breaker from the main control...

EXCLUSIVE: Ethernet mapping software adds data mining.
December 1, 2006... By Staff IntraVue version 2.0 from Network Vision adds features to focus on automating diagnostics and improve asset management. The software supports industrial devices communicating over Ethernet. New release includes data mining...

Pentium M slot-0 controller.
December 1, 2006... By Staff V155 VXI slot-0 controller from KineticSystems features an Intel Pentium M embedded processor. Single-width C-size module with 1.1 GHz, 1.6 GHz, and 1.8 GHz clocking options has dual Ethernet controllers that support 10BaseT,...

Wireless LAN for harsh conditions.
December 1, 2006... Staff F209L wireless LAN module for 3U Compact PCI systems from MEN Micro Inc. is intended for harsh environmental conditions. It operates over an industrial temperature range of -40 to 85 *C and can be coated with a conformal film to...

High accuracy time-stamping software.
December 1, 2006... Staff Software-only implementation of the IEEE 1588 precision time protocol (PTP) from Real-Time Systems GmbH reportedly eliminates the need for hardware-based time-stamping and delivers possible accuracies of A5 [eth]-s or better....

Faster engineering calculations.
December 1, 2006... Staff InventBetter Suite 2007 is a collection of programs from Geomate Co. intended to help automate the engineering calculation process. Suite consists of three Microsoft standard software applications: GrafiCalc 2007, a geometrical...

Ethernet managed field switch.
December 1, 2006... Staff Magnum 6KQ Ethernet managed field switch from GarrettCom can be configured with up to 12 100 MB fiber ports, or user selected combinations of 10 MB, 100 MB, and Gig fiber ports of any fiber port connector types. Copper port options...

Brush, brushless gear motors.
December 1, 2006... Staff Line of 16 mm miniature brush and brushless dc gearmotors and motors from Nidec Copal Corp. includes three types to serve a range of automation instrumentation. Planetary resin gears are well suited for applications where lower...

Precision control of turned parts.
December 1, 2006... By Staff Helio-Scope from Mahr universal optical measuring system is designed to facilitate precision control of complex turned parts automatically. System functions on the shop floor and in the lab, allowing measurement of characteristics...

Simple, low-cost vibration meter.
December 1, 2006... By Staff Model 240 V-Alert vibration meter from Balmac Inc. is said to take the guesswork out of vibration measurements. Meter features a green LED that illuminates when vibration levels are "good," and a red LED when vibration levels...

Transmitter eliminates blind spots in valve stroke.
December 1, 2006... By Staff D-Epic control transmitter from Westlock Controls is a 4-20 mA, HART-enabled non-contact device that reportedly eliminates position blind spots during the stroke of a valve by supplying continuous feedback of rotary or linear...

Rack-mount power distribution.
December 1, 2006... Staff T982F3 Series rack-mount power distribution unit (PDU) with current monitoring from Pulizzi Engineering Inc. is configured for 208 V, 30 A power input. The 208-V input is said to be a more efficient way to distribute power in a data...

Handheld analyzer for machine diagnostics.
December 1, 2006... Staff VSA-1214 and 1215 vibration spectrum analyzers from Datastick Systems Inc. are said to allow facilities of all sizes to use vibration analysis in machine-condition monitoring, predictive maintenance, and routine troubleshooting to...

Driver ICs for high temperatures.
December 1, 2006... Staff Three driver ICs for high temperature applications (AECQ100, Grade 0) are available from Atmel Corp. ATA6824, AA6827, and ATA6832 are designed using the company's high-voltage Smartis technology, said to enable extremely high chip...

Analyzer measures water vapor in gas.
December 1, 2006... Staff Model 5100-NCM analyzer from Ametek Process Instruments is a tunable diode laser system that directly measures water vapor concentration in natural gas. Unit has a limit of detection of 5 ppmv and an operating range of 5 to 2,500...

Compact, digital IR thermometer.
December 1, 2006... Staff Digital MI series infrared temperature sensor from Raytek is said to offer increased optical resolution to optimize performance in demanding process control environments and allow direct replacement of contact probes. Compact-sized...

Starter reduces mounting space.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Staff Duo Series combination starter from Fuji Electric Corp. of America consists of two components: BM3 series manual motor starters and SC-E series magnetic contactors. Compact, high-performance motor control system conforms to IEC and...

PoE switch extends network.
December 1, 2006... Staff EDS-P308 from Moxa Technologies is an 8-port smart Ethernet switch that features Power over Ethernet (PoE) on ports 1 through 4 and supplies up to 15.4 W of power per port. Combining the network signal and device power in one...

Industrial Ethernet Protocols.
December 1, 2006... Jeanine Katzel and Mark T. Hoske, Control Engineering Growth, use, and understanding of the technology is high, while interest in applications on the plant floor is on the rise. The desire and need to be connected continues to grow--and...

Industry alliances deliver significant value.
December 1, 2006... Dick Verville In today's automation industry, suppliers, customers, and support organizations are forging strategic alliances that deliver significant value to all participants. These alliances, employing cooperative collaboration that...

The integration resource.
December 15, 2006... By Staff How to use Control Engineering's 2007 Automation Integrator Guide in print and at www.controleng.com/integrators High stakes gambling has no place in the world of automation, instrumentation, or controls. To reduce your risk,...

System Integration at its Best.(System Integrator of the Year Awards)(Awards list)
December 15, 2006... By Renee Robbins, Editorial Director Control Engineering recognizes the best in the business with our first System Integrator of the Year awards. Every year since 1993, Control Engineering has published the "Automation Integrator...

Vintage Boilers Get Upgrade.(Frank Lill & Son Inc.)
December 15, 2006... By Staff Frank Lill & Son Inc. reworks five 1949 Oklahoma State University multi-burner boilers to 85% efficiency, moving from old pneumatics to state-of-the-art combustion controls. Oklahoma State University had five 1949-vintage,...

Belt Conveyor Delivers Faster Part Cycle Times.
December 15, 2006... By Staff Three companies collaborate to improve productivity, reduce operating costs, and create innovative new products, millions of parts per year. Key outcomes of a successful automation project include improved productivity,...

Transmission Assembly.(assembly management system)
December 15, 2006... By Staff Better system management, broadcasting, recording, and control increased production by 24% and overall quality by 32%. Solid double-digit increases in production and quality are always welcome. As a result of an assembly...

Mottos, slogans and words.(Control System Integrators Association)
December 15, 2006... By Norm O'Leary, executive director CSIA You might recall Shakespeare's discourse on the word "rose" when he questioned, "What's in a name?" While a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, those who create mottos go to great lengths...