Control Engineering articles from January 2007

Control Engineering archives from January 2007

Laser sensors.
January 1, 2007... Stephan Petronio Lasers can be used in non-contact distance sensors. In industrial machinery or for plant-floor applications, triangulation-based laser displacement sensors are used most often. Laser-based triangulation displacement...

Ask questions, build credibility.
January 1, 2007... Chuck Sherman, The Benham Companies, LLC Early in my career, I'd spend a substantial percentage of time performing on-site troubleshooting. To this day, it's one of the more rewarding aspects of the job--an engineer's crossword puzzle, if...

Visualizing temperature.
January 1, 2007... C.G. Masi, Control Engineering Industrial thermography has grown beyond predictive maintenance to become a primary sensor technology. Process industry applications include the manufacture of glass and plastic packaging film. Just as...

KPIs Made Easy.(key performance indicators)
January 1, 2007... Frank O. Smith, Control Engineering Behind the data walls and executive dashboards, metrics increasingly link to real-time, plant-floor data. Do you know enough about key performance indicators (KPIs) and manufacturing execution systems...

Partners with global perspective.
January 1, 2007... Renee Robins In many respects, the historical outsourcing model is broken, says Bruce Rayner, director of research and consulting for Technology Forecasters Inc. (TFI). With notable exceptions, most of the industry is "failing in the most...

Select the Best Process Control.
January 1, 2007... Lew Gordon Choosing between PID and model predictive control depends on understanding your process and all its interactions. When designing a new process, it is important to exercise some decision-making restraint. One critical area to...

PLC-Based Control Systems Go Off-Shore.(programmable logic controllers)(Prism Systems Inc.)
January 1, 2007... Michael Darnell Modern industrial automation & controls bring efficiency to oil platform supply vessels. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 devastated the lives of people in the Gulf States and affected oil and gas production for the...

What's your energy level?(Energy-using Products directive)
January 1, 2007... Dennis Brandl Yet another regulation will soon affect manufacturing companies. In July, 2007, the European Union Directive 2005/32/EC for Energy-using Products (EuP) will become effective. If you manufacture or design energy-using products...

Almost unified.
January 1, 2007... Mark T. Hoske, Editor-in-Chief Those using automation to transfer data need to embrace OPC Unified Architecture (UA) to increase security and data integration, suggests Dave Emerson, principal systems architect, U.S. Development Center,...

SPS/IPC/Drives 2006: The beat goes on.
January 1, 2007... Staff A record 43,000 visitors--24% increase over 2005--topped off positive results for the latest staging of the focused electric automation show SPS/IPC/Drives in Nuremberg, Germany, Nov. 28-30, 2006. This added to new records for number...

Big-screen safety at a theater near you.(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Staff On Jan. 23, 2007, a 45-city educational effort begins, sponsored by a dozen companies and organizations offering machine-safety advice. The effort, running through Feb. 27, includes a 45-minute "big-screen" high-definition movie...

Reaching its limit?(Mesago Messe Frankfurt GmbH )(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Staff Show organizer Mesago Messe Frankfurt GmbH recognizes the success of SPS/IPC/Drives, while it focuses on maintaining the show's core technologies. Further dramatic growth of exhibitors is not envisioned, as management believes 95% of...

Power Gen 2006: Electric utilities go digital.(Emerson Process Management Inc.)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Staff Growing popularity of digital plant architecture in the electric utility industry is reflected in contracts announced by Emerson Process Management at Power Gen 2006. Orders for seven such systems slated for installation at new U.S....

Tech Tip: Current loop architecture.(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Staff Did you get your Tech Tip of the week? Control Engineering offers a fresh Tech Tip every seven days, at www.controleng.com (upper right). This one shows how 4-20 mA offers a simple means of analog communication. The advantage that...

Feedback: Matching moments of inertia.(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2007... Staff Dear editor: I read your article (CE, 12/06, p. 18, "Technology Update: Matching moments of inertia") with interest. Having spent 38 years in R&D on machine tools at G&L I am quite familiar with "inertia match" indexes of...

China names Profibus standard.(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Staff Profibus and Profinet received a boost in China, as they were recently named among national standards for networking platforms there. These standards provide a critical degree of official preference, which will influence end-users as...

Correction: PLC providers.(Correction notice)
January 1, 2007... Staff Siemens, AutomationDirect, ABB, and Omron should have been on the list of leading vendors in Product Research, November 2006, p. 72. The December Machine Control e-newsletter includes products from those companies. The leading PLC...

Closing the skills gap: Grant to help build competitive workforce.(The Manufacturing Institute/Center for Workforce Success )(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Staff Washington, DC--A half-million dollar grant to a manufacturing organization seeks to bring higher education opportunities to more people. The Lumina Foundation awarded $538,000 to the Manufacturing Institute/Center for Workforce...

OPC, PNO, FF, HART continue EDDL work.(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Staff ISA SP104 Committee released Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL) "draft for ballot" this fall, part of an effort to adopt generic device description language specified by IEC 61804 for device integration. "The committee...

Product design: ZigBee specification, platforms released to all.
January 1, 2007... Staff ZigBee 2006 specification and the first four platforms supporting this wireless technology standard are now available to the public, according to the ZigBee Alliance. The organization released the latest specification to members in...

ODVA: new EtherNet/IP, DeviceNet, and SERCOS safety.
January 1, 2007... Staff ODVA made several announcements at SPS/IPC/Drives in Nuremberg, Germany, including next editions of EtherNet/IP Ethernet protocol and DeviceNet industrial network protocol, SERCOS adoption of CIP Safety, and DTM configuration for...

40 Gbps Ethernet.
January 1, 2007... Staff A blazing fast 40 Gigabit/s network was unveiled at the Yokogawa Technology Innovations Fair, part of its 7th Annual User Conference, Nov. 29-Dec. 1, 2006. This first known 40 Gigabits/s (Gbps) ultra-high bandwidth data transfer...

Environment a top effort for new NEMA chairman.
January 1, 2007... Staff Environmentally sound manufacturing immediately was named among top priorities for the new chairman of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), S&C Electric president and CEO, John Estey. Environmental issues for...

Need speed? Is there a delta robot in your future?
January 1, 2007... Staff You've seen them at shows. You've marveled at their speed and agility. Perhaps you've even thought one might be useful in your application. They are delta robots, and one just might be in your future because the patents on the...

By the Numbers.
January 1, 2007... Staff 1869 was the year the Russian chemist Mendeleev noted that repeating patterns of behavior could be arranged in a sequence of elements, giving rise to the "Periodic Table." See a copy of the original, part of the online periodic...

Communication gateway for online monitoring.(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Staff ICM8 communication gateway module from Red Lion Controls Inc. implements online data monitoring of the company's temperature controllers and PAX Series panel meters. Device offers RS-232 and RS-485 serial ports and a 10 Base-T/100...

High-density signal conditioners.
January 1, 2007... Staff Line of modular, high-density signal conditioners from Automation Systems Interconnect Inc. (ASI) includes analog converters and isolators, RTD and thermocouple converters, analog-to-frequency signal converters, and threshold...

Small-engine test system.
January 1, 2007... Staff VersaDyne small engine test system from Sakor Technologies Inc. tests 2- and 4-cycle engines. Available in sizes from 5 to 30 kW, it features a regenerative ac motoring dynamometer in a convertible, horizontal/vertical package....

Orifice fitting targets safety, maintenance.(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Staff Daniel Senior Model 2000 orifice fitting from Emerson Process Management is intended to improve safety, maintenance, and up-time (compared to the original device) while meeting applicable API 14.3, AGA 3, and ISO 5167 specifications....

KPI software promotes data access.(Transpara Corp.)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Staff Visual KPI for 2007 from Transpara Corp. is a composite key performance indicator (KPI) engine that works with the 2007 Microsoft office system, including Excel Services and Office SharePoint Server 2007. Software delivers on-demand,...

Integration boosts software performance.(CoCreate OneSpace Integration )(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Staff New release of OneSpace Integration for mySAP product lifecycle management from CoCreate is said to more tightly couple the OneSpace product development environment with mySAP PLM. Bi-directional capabilities seamlessly transfer 2-D...

Electromechanical relays for 10-, 16-amp switching.
January 1, 2007... Staff RPY industrial electromechanical relays from Carlo Gavazzi are intended for industrial applications. They offer 16- and 10-A switching in 1- through 4-pole changeover configurations, and come with a test button, indicating LED. A...

Cordsets meet open wiring specs.(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Staff M12 eurofast cordsets from Turck protect against abrasion, cuts, water, oil, and impact and are suited for automotive stamping plant and welding environments. They meet open wiring specifications to allow use in place of conduit,...

Mercury vapor monitoring.
January 1, 2007... Staff Jerome 471 ultra low-level mercury vapor analyzer from Arizona Instrument LLC detects, measures, and reports levels of mercury vapor for environmental and industrial spill and clean-up level assessment. Unit detects levels as low as...

Brushless ac servo amplifiers.
January 1, 2007... Staff ACS300 Series low voltage, digital brushless ac servo amplifiers from Automotion Inc. use a DSP-based architecture to provide software-selectable torque, velocity, or position mode operation. Sine wave commutation is said to provide...

2-wire hydrogen sulfide gas sensor.
January 1, 2007... Staff Model 4501-05 2-wire hydrogen sulfide gas sensor module from Sierra Monitor Corp. eliminates the need for separate power runs and associated power distribution and circuit protection for each device. Features include FM-approved,...

Rotary gripper joins two functions in one.(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Staff MRHQ rotary air gripper from SMC Corp. integrates gripping and rotating functions to save space and simplify wiring and piping. Vane style rotary drive mechanism is said to allow a compact cross section to enable access into tight...

Modular ball valve.
January 1, 2007... Staff Type 546 ball valve from GF Piping Systems comes in sizes 2.5-, 3-, and 4-in. Multifunctional operation, pneumatic or electric actuation, and a wide range of accessories give the unit modularity. Module is suitable for use in a broad...

Industrial DIN-rail PC.(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Staff UNO-1019 RISC-grade DIN-rail PC with Microsoft Windows CE 4.2 embedded OS from Advantech's eAutomation Group is said to simplify application development. Device provides I/O interfaces, including 2 Ethernet ports, 4 serial ports, and...

Transformer needs no external fusing.(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Staff 100 VA Survivor inherently limited class 2 transformer from Foster Transformer features patented short circuit and overload protection to withstand a direct short circuit in excess of 15 days. Unit needs no external protection or...

Protection from surges, transients.
January 1, 2007... Staff TP-Pipe Series surge protection network from MTL Surge Technologies guards against surges and transients from field cabling without requiring additional wiring or conduit modifications. It includes high-power, solid-state electronics...

Power panel performs like PC.(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Staff New Power Panel 300/400 generation expands B&R Industrial Automation Corp.'s Power Panel 100/200 product line. Devices are said to provide more than twice the computing power of the previous generation and cover a performance range...

I/O terminals for Ethernet.
January 1, 2007... Staff EL67xx EtherCAT master and slave terminals from Beckhoff Automation are said to offer manufacturers and machine builders a clear and open migration path to next-generation Ethernet implementation. I/O terminals provide a direct...

Control Valve Actuators.
January 1, 2007... Mark T. Hoske, Control Engineering Ninety percent of Control Engineering survey respondents expect to buy these products in the next 12 months, and they're looking for high reliability and ease of maintenance. Market for control valve...

Let your choice be known.
January 1, 2007... Renee Robbins, Editorial Director Just as Time Magazine 's Person of the Year is "you," you are also one of our best resources for identifying the most innovative and useful hardware and software products for the jobs you do. The...

Model-following process control.
January 1, 2007... Vance VanDoren, Control Engineering All feedback controllers are designed to eliminate errors between the process variable and setpoint. Model-following controllers do so by forcing the process variable to reach the setpoint along a...