Control Engineering articles from February 2007

Control Engineering archives from February 2007

Fix it before breakdown.(digital process control equipment)
February 1, 2007... Frank J. Bartos, P.E. The old adage, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," may have had its day--and may still apply to some situations--but is unacceptable in today's lean manufacturing environments. Critical production processes and...

Getting in tune with Ziegler-Nichols.(engineering control equipment)(Column)
February 1, 2007... Thomas R. Kurfess I recently visited a production facility of one of my former students and heard he was doing a fair amount of controls work. The professor in me was proud that some of what I taught in the classroom was being implemented....

User group meetings.
February 1, 2007... Renee Robbins, Control Engineering Just as car enthusiasts prefer to talk with and learn from owners of similar vehicles, automation and instrumentation engineers tend to gravitate toward others with the same hardware and software. While...

What"s Your RFID Spin?(radio frequency identification )
February 1, 2007... Mark T. Hoske, Control Engineering Despite standards, radio frequency identification isn't close to plug and play. Control engineers may run the RFID game, collaborate, or defer to IT with supply chain mandates. Design options abound to...

Managing Alarms.
February 1, 2007... Jeanine Katzel, Control Engineering Migration from analog to digital systems has led to abundant, sometimes uncontrolled, alarms. An on-going program to reduce unwanted alarms and monitor, prioritize, and respond appropriately to the rest...

New Ways to Power Instrumentation.
February 1, 2007... Peter Welander, Control Engineering Increasing use of wireless networks and remote instrumentation calls for new approaches to supply current with no strings attached. In the hard-wired world of traditional instrumentation, getting...

Industrial Fuel Cells.
February 1, 2007... Peter Welander, Control Engineering Is the hydrogen economy headed your way? Implications abound for uninterruptible power supplies, industrial battery replacement, and related controls. Green power proponents are looking ahead to a...

More power over Ethernet.
February 1, 2007... Peter Welander and Mark T. Hoske, Control Engineering Ethernet technology is moving closer to the instrumentation and device level, but progress has largely stalled at the programmable logic controller (PLC) "barrier" for several reasons....

Automation industry looks to Asia.
February 1, 2007... By David Brakenwager and Mark Knebusch Buyers of automation, control and instrumenation systems, in general, want their suppliers to offer the best combination of efficiency, reliability, and safety; they are not evaluating them on their...

Poetry in Motion.
February 1, 2007... Peter Welander, Control Engineering Automation and motion control, Las Vegas style. If you are planning a trip to Las Vegas, I suggest you visit one show where the industrial technology will impress you just as much as any of the other...

Upgrade Streamlines Application Software.(Magnum Engineering & Controls )
February 1, 2007... Rick Hannasch In this semiconductor application, the original system split interface, security and configuration utilities between HMI and PLC. The objectives of the control system upgrade request were clear: make process flow diagrams...

Cold standby a hot problem.
February 1, 2007... Dennis Brandl It seems that as soon as we solve one problem, changes in information technologies cause new ones. The latest change is due to the new Microsoft Window Vista and Longhorn Server operating systems and their anti-piracy...

Memo to your attorney.
February 1, 2007... Mark Voigtmann Here's a ghost-written memo to your attorney for this first column of 2007 about the legalities affecting the control engineering business. Now don't clip this out of this magazine; that would destroy the purpose. No, just...

2006 top 10.
February 1, 2007... Mark T. Hoske, Editor-in-Chief Many factors determine what gets read online; you're one of them. Here's why I think you helped make the following articles the most popular of 2006, as measured by number of clicks during each calendar month...

Material handling, motion-related sensors.
February 1, 2007... Staff Trends and technologies in material handling were among the topics under discussion at ProMat 2007, Jan. 8-11, at McCormick Place, Chicago. Motors, drives, and motion control-related technologies--including proximity sensors,...

Outlook sunny for control and automation.
February 1, 2007... Staff In two recent statements, ARC Advisory Group has drawn a sunny picture for industrial automation and control system suppliers, projecting that customer demand will remain strong and push annual growth higher than 6% over the next...

Safeguarding data: Group seeks to protect IT infrastructure.
February 1, 2007... Staff Helping to safeguard critical infrastructure security through policy initiatives is a primary goal of IEEE-USA's new Critical Infrastructure Protection Committee (CIPC). Set to launch this month, CIPC intends to look at all aspects...

Combined forces: Schneider business unit joins sensor control brands.(Schneider Electric S.A.)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Staff Schneider Electric has assembled a number of separate, well-established brands in the motion-control market to form a global enterprise under the name Custom Sensors & Controls (CST). Control engineers will continue to see the...

In memorium: Control Engineering's George Blickley dies.(Obituary)
February 1, 2007... Staff George Blickley, an active participant in the world of process control, instrumentation, and automation for more than 50 years, died Dec. 16, 2006, at age 82. His career as a writer and editor for Control Engineering spanned 20...

Reader feedback: Amplifier Question of the Week.(Letter to the editor)
February 1, 2007... Staff Dear Mr. Masi: Greetings! As usual, informative and concise answer to the Jan. 9, "Question of the Week." [What is the difference between an instrumentation amplifier and an op-amp?] You may wish to note a slight variation on...

Expanding RoHS? Uniform U.S. standard favored, one survey says.(Restriction of Hazardous Substances)(Newark InOne's)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Staff Congress should enact an RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) law to create one compliance standard for the U.S., a recent poll by a major electronics distributor indicates. California enacted a RoHS-like law in January; other...

Instrumentation majors buy specialist technologies.
February 1, 2007... Staff Two large instrumentation and technology companies started the new year announcing acquisitions of smaller specialist technologies: Emerson has acquired Damcos Holding A/S, makers of valve control and tank management equipment...

New facility to advance flow control research.(Emerson Process Management Inc.)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Staff A $19-million-dollar renovation and expansion project, beginning this year, will create one of the largest and most advanced flow control research facilities in the industry. Emerson Process Management will build the Fisher...

By the Numbers.
February 1, 2007... Staff 14 categories of Engineers Week activities include Cyber chase; Design Squad; Discover Engineering; Global Marathon For, By and About Women in Engineering; Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day (6 podcasts are available); National...

Servo drive mounted on motor.(Bosch Rexroth Corp.'s drive system)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2007... Staff IndraDriveMi next generation drive system from Rexroth includes the drive, motion control, and logic control mounted on the motor. The motor casing surface acts as the heat sink, reducing the total build space by more than half...

Expanded Ethernet line adds server, switch.
February 1, 2007... Staff Expanded 100 Series family of industrial Ethernet products from N-Tron now includes the 102RAS server, 104TX four-port copper switch, and 105TX five-port copper switch. Server provides secure connectivity via an integrated V.92/56K...

Collision sensors protect robots.
February 1, 2007... Staff SR-61 collision sensor is the latest addition to the line of collision protection devices from ATI Industrial Automation. It reportedly has a lower operating range for increased sensitivity in applications using 3-5 kg capacity...

Software tool boosts analytical productivity.
February 1, 2007... Staff Maple 11, the latest release of Maplesoft's flagship software, features enhancements to its smart document interface, computation engine, and connectivity capabilities that are said to provide the technology for reducing errors and...

Software adds native document viewing.(Cimmetry Systems Inc.'s software enhanced)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Staff Service Pack 3 for AutoVue 19.1 from Cimmetry Systems, an Agile Software Co., provides 2D, 3D, and EDA native document visualization for AutoCAD 2007 SPI, Cadence Allegro 15.7, and Mentor Expedition 2005. Native document viewing is...

Device server responds, reports.
February 1, 2007... Staff IntelliBox I/O 2100 with EventTrak technology from Lantronix monitors and controls remote digital I/O, dry contact (relay), and RS-232/422/485-based industrial equipment with secure remote access. When an event occurs, the industrial...

Valve positioner for SIS uses.(safety instrumented system)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Staff SVI II ESD from Masoneilan-Dresser, an extension of the company's SVI II AP valve positioner, marks the company's entrance into the safety system arena. SIL3-compliant device is designed in accordance with IEC 61508 and suitable for...

Enclosures.
February 1, 2007... Dick Johnson, Control Engineering Design flexibility, lightweight materials, and environmental concerns are among factors most influencing purchase and use of these protective structures. To protect and serve" appears on countless...

A personal differentiator.(importance of communication skills)
February 1, 2007... Renee Robbins, Editorial Director After more than four decades of being an engineer, Herb Flink is retiring. Flink spent 37 of those years with Parker Fluid Control Division in New Britain, CT, most recently as its customer support...

Design for environmental compliance.
February 1, 2007... Mike Adami-Sampson Get ready for some tough new environmental regulations. If you aren't already familiar with them, you'll soon hear the list of acronyms for government directives that will change the way products are developed for the...

Advancements in polymer films expand resistive touchscreen use.
February 1, 2007... Bruce DeVisser Touchscreens are the primary input interface for industrial controls and a variety of other growing markets and applications. Touch input technologies--whether resistive, capacitive, infrared (IR), or surface acoustic wave...