Control Engineering articles from November 2006

Control Engineering archives from November 2006

Fundamental models and process control.
November 1, 2006... Thomas F. Edgar, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, tfedgar@austin.utexas.edu Fundamental dynamic models play a central role in process dynamics and control. Such models can be used to: Improve...

Ultrasonic transducers.
November 1, 2006... Toan Nguyen and Christopher Frail Ultrasonic transducers are used for a variety of instrumentation and control applications, most commonly for flow measurement, non-destructive inspection of materials, and level measurement. In...

Decide and communicate.(programmable logic controllers )
November 1, 2006... Mark T. Hoske, Editor-in-Chief Programmable logic controllers (PLCs) dominate among available manufacturing computing hardware, and Ethernet physical media is becoming the primary way to communicate those decisions, suggests recent Control...

Learn another language.
November 1, 2006... Renee Robbins, Editorial Director Knowledge and influence. In many companies, engineers have too little of both when it comes to affecting the bottom line. And let's face it: the bottom line is the line against which everyone is being...

From Math to Models.(mathematical models )
November 1, 2006... Vance VanDoren, Ph.D., P.E., Control Engineering Using mathematical models and simulations, engineers can predict the future and test continuous processes in a virtual world. Unlike a plastic or clay model that shows the appearance of...

IT-Savvy Engineers Retool Careers.(information technology)
November 1, 2006... Frank O. Smith, Control Engineering Contributing Editor Danger or an opportunity? The people who have undergone career alterations say it depends largely on how you look at it--coupled with a willingness to move beyond your comfort zone....

Make the Network(s) Fit the Application.
November 1, 2006... Peter Welander, Control Engineering If you have never created an industrial network in your plant, this tutorial can help direct your analysis. For all the discussion of industrial networking and all the installations around the world,...

Digital Output.(BP Canada Energy Co.)
November 1, 2006... Hank Hogan, for Control Engineering Exclusive: Making use of the digital process variable output of HART-enabled transmitters, BP Canada Energy improved its process control and saved substantial time and money. Bonuses are less aggravation...

SERCOS III in real time.
November 1, 2006... Ronald Larsen SERCOS III is the latest version of the interface, using industrial Ethernet as its transport mechanism and copper and fiber-optic physical media; SERCOS I and II versions only used fiber-optics. SERCOS is an acronym for...

Qualify an Advanced Control Project.
November 1, 2006... Lew Gordon Qualify and execute financially successful advanced control projects: understand process characteristics, performance objectives, contracts, and schedules. A financially successful advanced process control (APC) project...

Machine Vision Sees Through the Heat.
November 1, 2006... David Crump Monitoring molten glass extrusion takes sophisticated vision technology and control. Fiber glass, as its name implies, is made from extremely fine fibers of glass. As early as the 1890s, experimental glass fibers had been...

Ease of Use in Engineering.(engineering management software )
November 1, 2006... Kurt Polzer and Todd Stauffer Part 2: Using engineering management software to design complex control systems with integrated safety functions. In the last installment, (September issue, Inside Process) we discussed how engineering...

Is anti-virus protection for you?
November 1, 2006... Dennis Brandl, BR&L Consulting If the question is, "Should it run anti-virus software?" the answer is usually an easy "yes" when the applications are commercial databases, historian systems, or other non real-time control applications....

ISA 2006: Free standards, addition of wireless group.
November 1, 2006... Staff Among announcements at ISA Houston 2006 last month: ISA members will get to download the group's standards for free as of January, and adding the Wireless Industrial Networking Alliance (WINA) joined the Automation Federation. More...

Nanotechnology challenge from FIRST.(For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology)
November 1, 2006... Staff Volunteers are recognized as an integral and vital part of the way in which young people connect to the real world, and volunteering to promote science can be particularly rewarding. Volunteers are helping the biggest-ever FIRST (For...

PLC market expected to hit $10 billion by 2010.(programmable logic controller )(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Staff Demand for the Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), a key automation component in the discrete, hybrid, and process industries, will grow robustly, says ARC Advisory Group. The worldwide PLC market is expected to grow at a compounded...

GE, SAP agreement to improve enterprise integration.
November 1, 2006... Staff End-users and original equipment manufacturers could have an easier time moving information between the plant floor and the enterprise after a GE Fanuc Automation sales and marketing agreement with SAP America announced Oct. 18. The...

Service notifies engineers of part changes.
November 1, 2006... Staff Engineers need to wade through a sea of part-change notifications from various manufacturers and vendors, looking for end-of-life notifications for parts in their designs, a process that can be time consuming and error prone. ...

ISA Expo 2006: Wireless technologies dominate.
November 1, 2006... Staff Following its "Automation Without Limits" theme, ISA Expo 2006 hit a wide range of topics at the Houston show in October, discussing everything from secure wireless Ethernet to the need for more engineers. New products and new...

ZigBee to improve wireless mesh networks in 2007.
November 1, 2006... Staff ZigBee networks connect control nodes and target nodes wirelessly in a mesh structure. Each node communicates with its nearest neighbors, so command signals propagate across the network via multiple paths rather than directly. Should...

Pepperl+Fuchs buys intrinsic safety business from Cooper.
November 1, 2006... Staff Pepperl+Fuchs has acquired the Intrinsic Safety Instrumentation business (ISB) from Cooper Crouse-Hinds, a division of Cooper Industries. ISB is located in Buehl, Germany. Both parties agreed not to disclose the purchase price. ...

Robotic vehicles to race on city streets.
November 1, 2006... Staff Open enrollment increased the field for the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge to 89 teams. The "Track B" list drew 78 additions to the robotic vehicle race, which will be held Nov. 3, 2007, at an as-yet undisclosed location in the Western...

ISA Expo 2006: Fieldbus Foundation certification, training.
November 1, 2006... Staff Launch of certified solution provider and training programs were among the announcements made by Fieldbus Foundation at ISA Expo 2006 in Houston last month. The organization also discussed release of its Device Description Integrated...

HMI study: touchscreens are most popular.(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Staff Touchscreens were the dominant input device on operator interface terminals shipped to North America in 2005, a recent market report by Venture Development Corp. shows. The study, "The North American Markets for Industrial Electronic...

Open standards: Math functions defined.(Numerical Mathematics Consortium)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Staff The latest revision to a technical specification that defines an open mathematics semantics standard for numerical algorithm development includes newly ratified functions and lays the foundation for greater industry involvement. The...

Motion firm gets new funding.(MagneMotion Inc.)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Staff More funding for a magnetic levitation technology provider could eventually translate into 80% savings in lifecycle costs for your next conveyor system, according to estimates. MagneMotion, a developer and manufacturer of...

Wireless technology creates self-networking instruments.
November 1, 2006... Staff Using wireless technology, Emerson Process Management hopes to create many new applications for its smart sensors and PlantWeb architecture. The Smart Wireless product line, unveiled at Emerson's Global Users Exchange in Nashville...

Clarification.(Correction notice)
November 1, 2006... Staff Control Engineering September 2006 "Inside Process" section article titled "Avoiding the Culture of Double Fieldbus," should have said: Profibus can support both process instrumentation and discrete devices using Profibus-PA and DP...

By the Numbers.
November 1, 2006... Staff 6 categories of RSS feeds are available at www.controleng.com for instant access to Control Engineering headlines. Learn how it works and connect now. www.controleng.com/LearnRSS 4,761 lightning discharges to ground were detected...

Non-traditional, compact encoders.
November 1, 2006... Staff QD12 compact encoder from Quantum Devices Inc. provides improved feedback for applications that typically use modular encoders. Device features a small O.D. (1.2 in.), an overall height of just over an inch, and the stability of a...

Metal keyboard has integrated trackball.
November 1, 2006... Staff QVP metal keyboard with integrated trackball from MGR Industries is designed to withstand heavy use, abuse, harsh weather, and environments where fluids are common. Sealed to IP65, the keyboard can be spray washed. Engraved key tops...

Wireless starter kit lets users test first.
November 1, 2006... Staff Wireless SmartPack Starter Kit unveiled by Emerson Process Management at its Global Users Exchange in October is a configurable suite of wireless technologies and services intended to give users a risk-free way to experience wireless...

Multi-run flow computer.
November 1, 2006... Staff AutoExec multi-run flow computer from Thermo Electron Corp. reportedly measures and controls the flow of natural gas products on 32 lines simultaneously and calculates flow rate at 10 times a sec. Powered by a 32-bit Freescale...

Wi-Fi measurement system.
November 1, 2006... Staff Wireless Wizard 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz Wi-Fi measurement system from Bantam Instruments includes a handheld spectrum analyzer and directional and omni-directional antennas in a small, lightweight carrying case. System can be recharged or...

Motion system for multi-axis applications.
November 1, 2006... Staff CMS Cartesian motion system from Bosch Rexroth now includes IndraMotion for Handling, said to make it easier to specify, install, and control Cartesian robotics systems. Combination CMS is designed to eliminate the learning curve...

Low-power data conversion technology.
November 1, 2006... Staff PulSar analog-to-digital converter (ADC) from Analog Devices Inc. is designed to lower power consumption and increase portability of medial and industrial monitors and improve performance and throughput of automated test equipment...

Smaller, faster PCs, up to 1.8 GHz.
November 1, 2006... Staff C6920 and C6925 industrial PCs from Beckhoff Automation feature 3.5-in. motherboards that use Intel Celeron M or Pentium M processors up to 1.8 GHz. The C69xx PCs measure 2.6 x 9.1 x 4.6 in. (W x H x D) in the largest housing...

Rugged notebook computer, hot-swap battery.
November 1, 2006... Staff DA-138 ruggedized notebook computer from Dewetron Inc. includes the company's proprietary SideHand battery power system to allow the unit to run indefinitely without an external power source. Batteries are hot-swappable and can be...

Cable tie installation tool.
November 1, 2006... Staff Ty-Rap cable tie installation tool from Thomas & Betts reportedly eases user fatigue with such features as an adjustable grip space that fits any hand and an anti-recoil cut-off mechanism that reduces vibration when installing cable...

Programmable, incremental encoders.
November 1, 2006... Staff DRS21 CoreTech incremental encoders from Sick Stegmann Inc. are now available in a freely programmable version to allow users to program the width of the zero pulse and the number of lines from 1 to 8,192. DRS21 family is provided in...

High-performance FPGA board.
November 1, 2006... Staff ZestSC2 high-performance FPGA board from Orange Tree Technologies can be used stand-alone or connected by USB to a host computer. It is intended for data acquisition, and stand-alone embedded processing and control applications such...

High-performance controller.
November 1, 2006... Staff The latest in the UNO-3000 Series of controllers from Advantech is the high-performance Model UNO-3072, which features a fanless ultra-low voltage Intel Pentium M/ Celeron M CPU and is equipped with two PCI extensions. The rugged...

Gigabit Ethernet switch.
November 1, 2006... Staff New gigabit Ethernet switch from Moxa Technologies Inc. is intended for industrial applications. EDS-510A next generation switch, which meets European Union RoHS standards, is a standalone DIN-rail mounted 7+3G-port managed redundant...

PLC Users Like What They Have.(programmable logic controllers )(Buyers guide)
November 1, 2006... C.G. Masi, Control Engineering The good news is PLC users like their vendors and their products, and see no reason to change much of anything. More than 90% will buy as many or more next year. The old saying "No News is Good News,"...

Mobile platforms - informative or intrusive?
November 1, 2006... Michael Saucier People seem to hold two schools of thought regarding mobile technology in the workplace. Engineers and technicians within process companies and utilities view the proliferation of handheld devices as either informative or...

Environmental showcase.(coal-fired power plant construction in Wisconsin)(Elm Road targets air pollution control)(We Energies working with Bechtel Corp for pollution control)
November 1, 2006... Peter Welander, Control Engineering Building a coal-fired power plant in Wisconsin isn't easy given the state's tough environmental regulations. Visions of smokestacks and acid rain are incompatible with its draw as an outdoor playground...

Optimized vacuum system design improves productivity.
November 1, 2006... Andy Lovell Vacuum pressure (pressure lower than atmospheric pressure) is the method of choice for handling the majority of industrial products. The performance of robotic material-handling systems depends on vacuum flow as well as vacuum...

Model-based design links multiple domains.
November 1, 2006... Paul Barnard The increasing complexity and fast pace of innovation involved in today's design processes places a premium on understanding the interplay between various design domains at an early phase in the design process. Many...