Control Engineering articles from May 2006

Control Engineering archives from May 2006

Valuing talent.(engineering is behind finance and sales)
May 1, 2006... A news article in our February issue (CE, Feb. 2006, News, "90% of the world's engineers Asian residents by 2010?") generated this comment from a U.S. chemical engineer: "I recently read an article in another magazine about how engineers have...

Efficient stepper motor modules.(stall detection mechanism is integrated to analyze the motor load)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... X67 stepper motor modules are said to give machine builders a more cost-effective way to control stepper motors, providing high torque level, operation without position feedback, and ability to hold the last position when power is disconnected....

Digital valve positioner for harsh use.(product EXCLUSIVE)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... SVI II AP (advanced performance) digital valve-positioner is the latest in a series of enhancements to the SVI II positioner family. New device retains the philosophies and physics of the existing SVI II positioner, but adds modular...

'Ethernet' isn't a protocol; something needs to run in the wire.(industrial Ethernet installation)
May 1, 2006... Installing industrial Ethernet requires selecting one or more protocols. Because application requirements differ and because vendors invest more in one technology than others, multiple protocols have emerged to operate through the Ethernet...

Why industrial Ethernet?(INDUSTRIAL ETHERNET)
May 1, 2006... A number of trends have moved users toward greater implementation of industrial Ethernet. These include: 1. Control: from centralized to distributed. At one time, PLCs (and DCSs) were big, monolithic, rare, and expensive devices. All...

Make this or make it do this?(engineering and the law)
May 1, 2006... Sometimes looking at the legalities side of your business is just a matter of figuring out all the various things that can go wrong. But anyone in the automation or control business who decides to spend an afternoon actually making a list of...

Basics of temperature measurement--thermistors.(APPLICATION UPDATE)
May 1, 2006... Whether in industrial applications, process industries, or in laboratory settings, accurately measuring temperature is a critical part of success. Temperature measurements are needed in medical applications, materials research in labs,...

Scales: weighed down by high accuracy requirements?(technology UPDATE)
May 1, 2006... Today's trend is toward higher-accuracy, lower-cost weigh scales, creating greater demand for high-performance, analog signal-processing circuitry. Initially, the performance requirement is not obvious. Most weigh scales output final weight...

Manufacturing informatics - what you need to know.(IT & engineering INSIGHT)
May 1, 2006... Applying information technology in manufacturing is becoming a vital part of many control and automation engineer's jobs, but it is often difficult to communicate the multiple skills required to manage. Other engineering areas can be more...

Process control: what to teach?(academic)
May 1, 2006... There is an ongoing debate in chemical engineering departments on what should be taught in an undergraduate process control course. How can we better prepare students for what they will see in industry upon graduation? Topics covered in a...

Record year for North American robotics.(NEWS)
May 1, 2006... Ann Arbor, MI -- Continuing growth cited by the Robotic Industries Association (RIA) should be welcome in the manufacturing sector. North American robotics companies posted record new orders in 2005, surpassing the previous high of 1999,...

Network monitors Chinese train safety.(NEWS)
May 1, 2006... San Jose, CA -- China Academy of Rail Sciences and Sifang Rolling Stock Research Institute have standardized on Echelon's LonWorks networking platform for safety monitoring on next generation passenger trains--effectively making it a de facto...

Bristol Babcock acquired by Emerson.(NEWS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Austin, TX -- Emerson Inc. has acquired Bristol Babcock from Lough-borough, U.K.-based FKI plc for $121 million. Bristol Babcock has a worldwide presence in the supply and commissioning of products, services, and engineered systems to the oil,...

Tips to validate, verify software.(software testing)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Anaheim, CA -- When verifying, validating, and testing software, you need to figure out if the software is regulated or not, how severe a software failure would be, and how much and what type of validations are needed. Above all, "always do the...

Kamen: innovation follows a different path.(Dean Kamen speaks at Embedded Systems Conference Silicon Valley)
May 1, 2006... San Jose, CA -- At the Embedded Systems Conference Silicon Valley, attendees heard what it takes to innovate. Companies and developers need to follow a different path than the conventional product development schedule, which inherently is...

Yokogawa expands in Houston.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Houston -- Yokogawa dedicated its 100,000 sq ft sales and service complex in Sugar Land, TX, on March 8. Top management and other officials participating in a "spiritually refreshing" sake ceremony, offering blessings, happiness, and good...

Automation is key to keeping Chinese bullet trains on track*.(NEWS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... China has aggressive plans to leap to the forefront of passenger rail service. According to the Minister of Railways, Liu Zhijun, some 5,400 km of high-speed rail is slated for construction before 2010, at a cost of 1-trillion yuan (about $125...

Omron begins full-scale entry into India.(NEWS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Tokyo, Japan -- Omron Corp., a $5.5 billion/yr, manufacturer of automation and sensing products, has established Omron Automation PVT Ltd. (OEP-IN), a wholly owned subsidiary in New Delhi, India. The move marks the beginning of a full-scale...

Whale of an application: 25 mi. of control wiring.(RCK Controls Inc. handles control wiring automation at Georgia Aquarium exhibition)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Atlanta, GA -- What you do get when you mix 6.2 million gallons of water, 1.8-million-lb of "Instant Ocean," 3,106 I/O points, 62 control panels, and motors, drives, and pumps? Answer: An inland home for whale sharks, dozens of cow nose rays,...

HMI hardware market grows fastest in Asia Pacific.(human machine interface and automation hardware industry forecast)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Wellingborough, U.K. -- HMI hardware market is growing fastest in the Asia Pacific area, a recent IMS Research study indicates. World market for operator interfaces is expected to increase to more than $1.9 billion by 2009, a compound annual...

Corrections.(Correction notice)
May 1, 2006... * Control Engineering, March 2006, p.48, "Healthy Machines" article should have listed the title for Vishnu Raman of Veits Group as CEO. * In Control Engineering, April 2006, p. 10, Product Exclusive, the two photos appeared in opposite...

By the numbers.(10 states adopts clean-car programs )(robotics industry forecast)(services at www.product-lifecycle-management.com )
May 1, 2006... 75 government and military standards on product data management, configuration management, engineering drawing practices, product materials content, manufacturing quality, and units of measure have been collected, and are available for free...

Get a techno-attorney.(Editorial)(Editorial)
May 1, 2006... A) Putting too many engineers on one project can complicate things unnecessarily. B) Putting too many attorneys in one room can complicate things unnecessarily. C) Putting engineers and technology-minded attorneys on the same team from project...

Measure more ... without wires: wireless sensors are enabling more temperature, pressure, level, flow, and other measurements to be made in more mission-critical applications than ever before. Are you ready for wireless?(Cover story)
May 1, 2006... Salt air slowly corrodes the internal cooling passages of a U.S. nuclear plant's 2,500-hp water-circulation pumps. Corrosion leads to clogging and inefficient heat transfer, and, if undetected, will ultimately result in equipment failure. As...

Enterprise integration, Part 2: building bridges to the enterprise; Leveraging plant automation data at the enterprise level is now vitally strategic. Although it's a long way from being easy, it can be, and is being done.
May 1, 2006... A convergence of business pressures is creating a perfect storm of circumstances set to alter the role and function of control engineering in the plant. Control engineering's historic charter, to ensure the safe and efficient operation of the...

Process standards: Pursuing best practices; In the race for the highest quality solution, standards lower the hurdles so individuals can achieve more. Results may vary, but innovation lives on.
May 1, 2006... Most professionals know that ISA-84 is a safety-instrumented benchmark-standard. Interestingly, while the committee was chartered in 1984, it took until 1996 for first version to appear, largely due to the considerable, well-intentioned efforts...

Can two worlds combine? Standards, vendor software frameworks aim to bridge automation & IT worlds.(Special Report: Plant-Enterprise Integration)(Column)
May 1, 2006... The roster of manufacturing companies pursuing a more standards-based means of linking plant-floor systems with enterprise systems grows every day. Companies across industries are beginning to leverage standards such as ISA S95 to pass...

Global is as global does: Simplistic approaches to globalization require a careful new look.(Special Report: Plant-Enterprise Integration)
May 1, 2006... Global business doesn't come much more global than privately held Tetra Pak. One of the world's largest makers of packaging solutions for the food industry, it operates in 165 countries and employs 21,000 people worldwide. On March 3, the...

Medium-voltage drives shine offshore: Among many diverse applications for medium-voltage (MV) ac drives, offshore deep-water oil/gas exploration projects pose one of the harshest and most demanding environments.(MV DRIVES APPLIED)
May 1, 2006... Less numerous than their ever-present low-voltage "cousins," medium-voltage (MV) ac drives are out there in growing numbers, doing heavy-duty motor control in diverse, rugged applications. They span industries from mining, sugar-cane...

Position sensors: motion control, continuous product manufacturing, and batch processes use the most position sensors; leading technologies are limit switches, inductive sensors, and safety switches. Vision's growing fastest.(PRODUCT RESEARCH)
May 1, 2006... Position sensing technologies, while diverse, seem to be "well-positioned" in their application spaces--more than 95% of respondents to a recent survey indicate they'll use the same amount or more of such sensors in the coming year. Limit...

Nuclear supplier upgrades controls increasing efficiency, production: distributed control system migration kept prior monitors and other elements, in smooth transition at the world's largest heavy-water plant.(INSIDE PROCESS)
May 1, 2006... What to keep and what to replace were among decisions made during a major control system upgrade at a large supplier to the nuclear-power industry. Empresa Neuquina de Servicios de Ingenieria S.E. (ENSI) operates the industrial heavy-water...

Level measurement and inventory tank gauging; Tutorial and market trends: a variety of technologies apply to level measurement, a prominent process variable.(INSIDE PROCESS)
May 1, 2006... Level measurement devices determine the elevation of liquids and/or granular solids intanks, containers, silos, or any other suitable container. A recent, VDC market study found 2004's worldwide market for process-level measurement devices...

Evaluation: control system security software; Major fossil-fueled power plant cannot afford control interruptions due to security breaches or system glitches.(INSIDE PROCESS)
May 1, 2006... A large, coal-fired electrical generating-station recently installed control system security software, Verano Industrial Defender system (VID), with seamless installation and operation of the continuously run facility in mind. Based on a Sun...

Single-cartridge chemical pump seal.(Inside Process Products)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... GCX single mechanical cartridge seal is designed for ANSI and DIN pump services where pumps and seals must operate in multiple chemical environments without chemical compatibility change-outs. It is suited for intermediate and batch processes...

Remote automation for process industries.(Inside Process Products)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... ControlWave ExpressPAC combines ControlWave Express RTU with a variety of options commonly required in SCADA applications. Flexible remote automation system suited for energy, water, and wastewater industries includes an Express RTU, a compact...

Microprocessor for embedded applications.(PRODUCTS & software)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Rabbit 4000 is said to offer improved features from integrated Ethernet to hardware DMA to meet the needs of demanding connectivity and control embedded applications. Microprocessor comes in two RoHS-compliant packages: 128-pin LQFP and 128-pin...

Dual-core-based COM for embedded use.(PRODUCTS & software)
May 1, 2006... ETXexpress-CD computer-on-module (COM) integrates the new Intel Core Duo processor and is designed in accordance with PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers' Group (PICMG) COM Express standard for basic form factor modules (95 x 125 mm). It is...

Integrated control loop.(PRODUCTS & software)
May 1, 2006... Ez-Zone ST integrated control loop unifies temperature control, power control, safety shutdown, and power disconnect in one package. It features a PID temperature controller connected to a high amperage, solid-state relay. Options include a...

Embedded motherboard saves space.(PRODUCTS & software)
May 1, 2006... Nano I/O Server, among products shown at Embedded Systems Conference 2006, is reported to be one of the smallest embedded motherboard systems on the market. Designed to support Acces I/O's line of USB and PC/104 I/O modules and provide the...

DAQ combines measurement, connectivity.(PRODUCTS & software)
May 1, 2006... NI CompactDAQ USB-based modular data acquisition system is a new platform for sensor and electrical measurements on the benchtop, in the field, and on the production line. System offers an eight-slot chassis that accepts I/O modules capable of...

Manufacturing enterprise software.(PRODUCTS & software)
May 1, 2006... Incuity EMI software lets companies connect to business applications, databases, process histories, and control systems to provide Web-based access, manipulation, and viewing and sharing of information throughout an enterprise. Package lets...

Cable assemblies transmit high-speed signals.(PRODUCTS & software)
May 1, 2006... Eye-Opener DensiShield cable assemblies are said to be designed to transmit high-speed differential signals while reducing size and weight by 40% over similar products currently on the market. Cable assemblies are built with FCI DensiShield...

Explosion-proof WLAN enclosure.(PRODUCTS & software)
May 1, 2006... AW-XAP enclosure system is designed to house WLAN access points, routers, and bridges to extend 802.11b/g network coverage into hazardous locations. System consists of two of the company's AW CTB-2400 Div. 1 antennas mounted atop an...

Data access for embedded, enterprise systems.(PRODUCTS & software)
May 1, 2006... RTI distributed data management (formerly SkyBoard) v. 3, among those products shown at Embedded Systems Conference 2006, is intended for real-time distributed applications that require high-performance and highly available database access. New...

Web-based performance management software.(PRODUCTS & software)
May 1, 2006... Suite Voyager 2.6 provides access to real-time production and performance management information. Software reportedly helps companies improve manufacturing operations through performance via dynamic analysis and reporting of key performance and...

Embedded module has wired, wireless capabilities.(PRODUCTS & software)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... ConnectCore Wi-9C is said to be the industry's first embedded core module with integrated wired 10/100 Mbit Ethernet and secure 802.11a/b/g wireless LAN networking capabilities. Device allows manufacturers to design in wired and wireless...

Fan-cooled power supplies.(PRODUCTS & software)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Series of 200-W peak power supplies includes an integral, variable-speed temperature-controlled fan. An extension of the company's high-technology NV-175 family, the single and multiple power supplies are intended for a wide range of...

Wallmount dc/dc, ac/dc converters.(PRODUCTS & software)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... C3700 Series of 1250 W, 6U high, VME/Eurorack/wallmount compatible dc/dc and ac/dc converters is available in 9 standard dc input voltage ranges from 10-800 V dc and ac input voltage ranges of 185-264 and 93-138/185-264 (switchable) V ac. Also...

Subminiature connectors.(PRODUCTS & software)
May 1, 2006... 712 Series subminiature circular connectors are suitable for medical and industrial applications requiring a high level of EMI protection and IP67 sealing in an extremely small package. Field attachable connectors come with straight and...

Pen-sized scope probe.(PRODUCTS & software)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... PicoScope 2105 USB pen scope incorporates the features of many high-performance bench-top oscilloscopes into a small, lightweight, ergonomic probe that fits in the hand. Device is USB 2.0 powered and also works on USB 1.0 ports. Used with...

Small form factor stepper driver.(PRODUCTS & software)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Dual-axis EZHREN stepper motor controller + driver is designed for off-the-shelf implementation in miniature applications. Measuring 1.6 x 1.6 in. (40 x 40 mm), the high-resolution intelligent device with encoder feedback provides up to 2 A...

Condition monitoring platform.(PRODUCTS & software)
May 1, 2006... System 1 condition monitoring, optimization, and diagnostics platform v. 6.0 delivers more than 50 enhancements, including a new commercial structure reflecting user requests for easier purchase, install, maintenance, and use. Enhancements...

HMI integrates control, display, networking.(PRODUCTS & software)
May 1, 2006... NSJ Series HMI controller integrates two of the company's products--NS HMI and CJ1 PLC--into one, eliminating the need for and cost of separate devices and the wiring and labor to connect them. Series features deterministic control and offers...

Image acquisition subsystem.(PRODUCTS & software)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Matrox Nexis integrated image acquisition subsystem features two remote camera heads with a dual camera control unit (CCU) and frame grabber on one PC/104-Plus card. Product is intended for use and sold with the Matrox 4Sight M industrial...

Mobile, high-speed barcode printer.(PRODUCTS & software)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... MB200i mobile printer for barcode printing, labeling, and EPC/RFID operations features a high-speed, 32-bit CPU for high-throughput printing speeds of up to 4 in./s. Maximum roll diameter of 2.6 in. allows for fewer roll changes and less...

Touchscreen with PC-like graphics.(PRODUCTS & software)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Color TFT touch display module for embedded products is suited for industrial and medical applications with short development cycles. Four-inch screen features PC-like graphics, letting users access detailed menus and help screens rather than...

Mathematical modeling environment.(PRODUCTS & software)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... BlockBuilder for Simulink mathematical modeling environment offers automated export to Simulink. Software is said to enable engineers to save time and reduce the risk of error in model-based design of dynamic systems. It lets users develop...

Inductive sensors in many sizes.(PRODUCTS & software)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... New line of inductive sensors comes in a wide range of sizes from 4 to 30 mm. They are also available in short-housing models. Other options include square or rectangular shape, NAMUR compliance, ac/dc or PNP output, NO or NC output, and...

Two-wire electronic vibration switch.(PRODUCTS & software)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... 686A Series two-wire electronic vibration switch is microprocessor controlled with no moving parts or mechanical adjustments required. It is said to combine the reliability and dynamics of an electronic switch with the convenience of a...

Enterprise build-management software.(PRODUCTS & software)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Openmake 6.41 advanced development tool for automated build-management combined with lifecycle activities management incorporates new features for centralizing control of lifecycle processes from scheduling SCM updates to executing test and...

Rugged network connectors.(back to BASICS)
May 1, 2006... Myriad industrial network options are only exceeded by the styles and brands of rugged connectors-designed to protect the points linking measurements, logic, actuation, and points in-between and beyond. Robust network connector design can vary...