Control Engineering articles from January 2003

Control Engineering archives from January 2003

Stadium scores with GE-controlled retractable roof. (Up Front).(retractable roof for Reliant Park football stadium in Texas was designed by Uni-Systems)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Houston, TX--When the National Football League's newest team, the Houston Texans, kicked off at Reliant Park last fall, they began playing in the world's first retractable-roof NFL stadium. The fully automated, 2-million-pound retractable roof,...

Sealevel launches Ethernet-to-serial device servers. (Up Front).(Sealevel Systems)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Liberty, SC--Sealevel Systems Inc. introduced Dec. 13, 2002, its new SeaLink family of serial device drivers, which it reports easily connect serial devices directly to an Ethernet network. The firm says SeaLink makes networking devices...

Curtiss-Writhg buying Tapco International. (Up Front).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Lyndhurst, N.J.--Curtiss-Wright Corp. announced Nov. 25,2002, that it has agreed with Triten Corp. to purchase the assets of Triten's subsidiary, Tapco International Inc. (Houston, TX) for $10.5 million in cash and assumption of some operating...

Berkeley adds OPC, ActiveX to automation products. (Up Front).(Berkeley Process Control)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Richmond, CA--Berkeley Process Control Inc. announced Nov. 21, 2002, that it's adding OLE for Process Control (OPC) server and ActiveX controls capabilities to its BX and BAM motionand-machine controller products. The firm expects these open,...

AAA, ICT to help integrate plant-floor, corporate systems. (Up Front).(new joint venture, Network Vision, will provide users with manufacturing intelligence and communications intelligence)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Exton, PA; newburyport, MA--Advanced Automation Associates (AAA) and Industrial Communications Technologies (ICI) announced Dec. 2 that they've formed a joint venture, Network Vision Inc., to provide users with manufacturing intelligence and...

Industrial Ethernet software aims for 'revolution'. (Exclusive).(Network Vision's new IntraVue network and device visualization tool)
January 1, 2003... Ethernet continues to make inroads on the factory floor with additional momentum from major automation suppliers' solutions such as EtherNet/IP (implicit messaging) and ProfiNet (version 2). To support time-critical applications, network...

Package supports test and evaluation applications. (Software Review).(Data Translation's DT Measure Foundry software)
January 1, 2003... Industrial control projects are not always large with hundreds of data points with extensive control action and display requirements. Many applications exist where the number of input and output (I/O) signals is small and only few display...

Intrinsic safety--fieldbus style. (Back to Basics).
January 1, 2003... Devices and barriers for intrinsically safe areas are designed so the energy released by an electrical fault is insufficient to cause ignition, even in a single- or double-fault condition. The ignition point is a function of available...

Rockwell sues Schneider, Solaia, law firm over patent lawsuits. (News).
January 1, 2003... Milwaukee, WI--Rockwell Automation Inc. filed a lawsuit on Dec. 10 in the U.S. Circuit Court's eastern Wisconsin district that charges Schneider Automation (North Andover, MA), Solaia Technology LLC and the law firm of Niro, Scavone, Hailer and...

Worldwide demand for material handling products.(for 1996, 2001 and 2006 )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Worldwide Demand for Material Handling Products (in billions of $) 1996 2001 2006 United States 15.0 18.2 23.5 Canada & Mexico 2.8 3.1 ...

'Finding Gold' supplement features 2002 editors' Choice award winners. (In Business).
January 1, 2003... The 35 winners of Control Engineering's 16th annual Editors' Choice Awards delivered innovative and useful solutions to customers and readers, even while facing 2002's ongoing economic challenges. These winners and their solutions are featured...

SPS/IPC/Drives 2002 posts positive results. (Industry View).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Nuremberg, Germany--Unlike so many recently shrinking tradeshows, SPS/IPC/Drives 2002, Nov. 26-28, showed gains in virtually every statistic over last year's event, which is also known as the Electric Automation--Systems and Components...

Square D marks 100 years in power, control fields. (In Business).
January 1, 2003... Palatine, IL--Square D celebrated D its 100th birthday on Dec. 15, 2002. One of America's best-known brands of electrical distribution and control equipment, Square D accounts for the greatest share of $2.7 billion in annual sales by Schneider...

Endevco, NI developing open standards with sensors program. (Best Practices).(National Instruments )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... San Juan Capistrano, CA; Austin, TX-Endevco announced Dec. 9 that it's working with National Instruments to promote widespread adoption of IEEE P1451.4. This plug-and-play sensors program aims to create an open sensors standard, giving systems...

Foundation fieldbus to be used at one of world's largest pulp mills. (In Business).(Celulosa Arauco y Constitucion S.A. )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Austin, TX--The Fieldbus Foundation announced Nov. 29 that Celulosa Arauco y Constitucion S.A. (Santiago, Chile) recently selected FOUNDATION fieldbus to help automate its new pulp mill near the city of Valdivia, Chile. The project will be one...

Resolve to evolve. (Editorial).
January 1, 2003... People who make resolutions are 10 times more likely to make a specific change than those who don't, according to psychologist John Norcross, a researcher at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania (www.usatoday.com, Dec. 29, 2002). ...

Making valve controllers/positioners smarter is smart business.
January 1, 2003... Adding digital intelligence to 'workhorse' final control devices adds capabilities that help reduce process variability, increase production uptime, reduce operating costs, and improve safety. Talk to a group of instrument engineers about...

Learning from the other guy: Benchmarking and best practices.
January 1, 2003... How best-in-class companies become best in class isn't rocket science, it's a culture that benchmarks competitors and applies best practices to address competitive pressures and continuous improvement. How does your company respond to...

Advanced control saves energy: adapting new techniques can optimize plant operation and benefit the environment.
January 1, 2003... Advanced control techniques can be used to extract additional energy from the by-products of chemical reactions known as "off-gases." Off-gases produced by chemical, petrochemical, and metallurgical plants can be reused or sold, depending on...

New Standards In High-Performance Vision.
January 1, 2003... Legend 520 The most affordable machine vision sensor in the industry utilizes CMOS imaging technology for complete machine vision inspections, barcode reading and OCR. Ethernet-ready and value priced. Legend 540 Real-time machine...