Control and Instrumentation articles from August 1998

Control and Instrumentation archives from August 1998

Glasnost from Stockport. (an interview with Pantek Managing Director John Bailey)(Interview)
August 1, 1998... John Bailey, md at Pantek, the award winning Wonderware distributor tells Matthew Peach that openness is the key to successful control systems and that service is the key to Pantek's progress Bill Gates gave DNA a new twist, recalls Pantek's...

Putting a plug-in for I/O for PC-based control. (input/output)(includes related article on the upgrading of Conner Peripherals' sputtering equipment)
August 1, 1998... Dave Cawthray, systems development engineer with System Devices, discusses the importance of doing your groundwork before choosing plug-in I/0 PC-based control and data acquisition systems are easily built as modular structures using plug-in...

Alarms for life not just for light duties. (survey of process control equipment)
August 1, 1998... All things to all process engineers, alarms and annunciators come as basic or as sophisticated as you want them, from a small programmable box of lights to fully-fledged computer based SCADA systems. Alarm annunciators have developed and...

Take the bus ... but don't get on the wrong one. (fieldbus upgrading at Norgren)(includes related articles)
August 1, 1998... Norgren UK's control and automation products need to be compatible with the latest fieldbus technology. Managing director Mike Welburn, casts some light on the fieldbus developments and some of the protocols available. A recent user-survey...

Emerging technology turns up the heat. (trends in industrial control systems)
August 1, 1998... On a plant-wide basis, what can emerging technologies and open networking standards offer temperature measurement and control? Temperature control strategies and techniques now pen up a myriad possibilities for plant-wide manufacturing...

Focusing on the main chance
August 1, 1998... Matthew Peach FOCUS Dynamics has taken its first step towards be coming what chief executive Mike Gulliford hopes will be 'a global force in industrial control products', targeting what FD estimates is a GBP48bn market. The former ceo (Asia...

Scaled-down growth for PLCs
August 1, 1998... Market research company Intex Management Services (IMS) has published a new survey of the European market for PLCs and Industrial PCs which refutes the 7% projected market growth rate implied by a number of other studies. Its forecast for the...

And the winner is ...
August 1, 1998... Eight industry leaders have scooped prestigious awards. Winner of the Cremer & Warner medal for the process, project or service which best shows excellence in safety and environment was Fluor Daniel GTI for its remediation of the old British Gas...

Robot star brought to sensors
August 1, 1998... Here comes trouble! Or, more specifically, here comes 'Robot' propelled on two rubber caterpillar tracks and waving four moving arms - two large hydraulic ones with fingers and two smaller electrically-controlled ones. But Robot wouldn't be...

Industry studies Brown
August 1, 1998... Chris Webb Chancellor Gordon Brown's pledge of an extra GBP19bn for education and GBP1.1bn more for science and research teaching received a mixed response from industry chiefs last month, following the much awaited public spending review....

GBP26m R&D supercomputer project
August 1, 1998... A GBP26m Private Finance Initiative contract for a high performance computing service for the next six years has been signed by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the UK Research Councils. The service...

Upgrades fuel growth
August 1, 1998... Barbara Gledhill The US industrial controls market is projected to increase 6.6% annually through the year 2002 to $13.7bn, according to Industrial Controls, a new report from the Freedonia Group, a Cleveland-based industrial marketing firm....

Siemens' GBP100m deal in China
August 1, 1998... Siemens has won a GBP100m-plus contract to supply all the process control equipment for a new nuclear power station in China. It will be Siemens' first foray into China's fast emerging nuclear industry. KWU, Siemens' power generation group,...

Gambica challenges EMC plan
August 1, 1998... Gambica has called for the European Commission (EC) to run a thorough assessment on the EMC Directive's impact on the electromagnetic environment before any changes are made to the Directive's requirements. Ian Clasper, senior executive at...

Germany biggest DCS consumer
August 1, 1998... Although the market for building large new process plants in western Europe may be regarded as saturated, European industry continues to automate its processes at a steady rate, particularly when dealing with toxic or hazardous materials....

Creating radio waves
August 1, 1998... EC plans to harmonise the European market for radio telemetry equipment could stall further development of the technology in SCADA and other process applications. At least that's the view of some UK manufacturers and suppliers which fear a...

ERP: could do better
August 1, 1998... Enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendors enjoyed a massive revenue growth between 1996 and 1997, from US$7.3 to US10.6bn - with predictions of a further 37% growth this year, according to a report published by Advanced Manufacturing Research...

Druck delivers
August 1, 1998... Druck last month reported another strong financial performance - its 26th. successive increase in turnover and profits in as many years - apparently impervious to the continuing strength of sterling despite 83% of sales being derived from...

Aydin looks to better future
August 1, 1998... US group Aydin predicts a return to profit in the fourth quarter of 1998 after reaching agreement with Lockheed Martin, the company which won a US$17.2m (GBP10.5m) arbitration award in April. Aydin has agreed to pay LM $5m a month. The company...

GLASNOST from Stockport
August 1, 1998... Matthew Peach Bill Gates gave DNA a new twist, recalls Pantek's managing director John Bailey, in his unassuming Stockport office. Digital nervous architecture is Gates' alternative interpretation of the acronym, which he applies to operating...

Digesters get capped in GBP5m investment
August 1, 1998... Siemens Industrial Projects & Systems has capped out the roofs of two digesters as part of the construction of a GBP5m sludge digestion and thickening plant at Anglian Water's Tilbury sewage treatment works. Work included the erection of...

Software to cut internet abuse
August 1, 1998... INTERNET Omniquad has developed a software-only solution to cut the GBP1.2bn in business which is lost each year through computer abuse, such as the down-loading of pornography and e-mail misuse. Omniquad Desktop Surveillance automatically...

Softech buys Adra Systems
August 1, 1998... BUSINESS Softech Inc has acquired Adra Systems in a move that will expand Softech's product range. By acquiring Adra Systems, Softech adds the Cadra range to its systems portfolio and wins additional representation for its Prospector...

F-R, Foxboro reach out
August 1, 1998... NETWORKS Fisher-Rosemount is in the throes of developing OPC-compliant 'plug and play' software as a common interface for SCADA applications using ROC and FloBoss. Based on Windows NT and 95 platforms, the package aims to complement...

Module links FX2N I/O direct to the fieldbus
August 1, 1998... FIELDBUS Mitsubishi has introduced a fieldbus networking module to enable users of its FX2N PLC family collect data and control industrial plant up to 1200m away using Profibus DP. The stand-alone module oPerates directly with standard FX2N...

Putting a plug-in for I/0 for PC-based control
August 1, 1998... Dave Cawthray PC-based control and data acquisition systems are easily built as modular structures using plug-in I/O elements. The best systems designs usually incorporate one or more intelligent I/O units into which various signal...

Sputtering process is under control
August 1, 1998... One company that has put theory into practice is Conner Peripherals, a Californian manufacturer of disk drives and other total storage solutions. The intrinsic nature of the company's business means that it is constantly refining and modifying...

Software library speeds up custom vision applications
August 1, 1998... VisionBlox has been launched by Integra, Vision and Wintriss Engineering, as a support for the Wintriss Engineering OPSIS 1300AS MegaPixel Vision System. It is a 32bit, vision-specific, OCX software library, which is said to simplify and...

CPU power boost to range
August 1, 1998... The latest addition to the BVM series of VMEbus modules, the BVME4500, is based on a 33MHz 68040 processor. It offers a 3U form factor and comes in an extended temperature version. The BVME4500 supports various memory options, all of them dual...

Solution monitors and manages networks
August 1, 1998... VitalSigns' Vitalsuite is an enterprise-level solution for monitoring and management of applications and end-to-end networks, including Internet/intranet and dial-up connections. Based on VitalSigns' Visability into Applications (VIA)...

Data system is born out of signal modules
August 1, 1998... The Gould DAstar data-acquisition system, based on the 7700 series of programmable, signal-conditioning modules, is available from Nicolet Technologies. Features are said to include high gain, low noise, selectable filters, auto-zero...

Embedded computing at fingertips
August 1, 1998... Deeco, part of LucasVarity, has introduced the EM-CO31 workstation, an embedded computer module for OEMs and system integrators, complete with everything for plug-and-play installation. The workstation comes with a choice of three 10.4in active...

Use the Web to browse real-time applications
August 1, 1998... The IntraScada Web Server, BVM's new software development for the OS-9 real-time OS, monitors and controls plant processes using a standard simple Web browser running on any platform. Users can interrogate and control the real-time process over...

Respirometer keeps a close close on cell culture growth
August 1, 1998... Columbus Instruments has launched the 0(2)/C0(2) cell culture respirometer, which allows quantitative measurements of cell growth, using oxygen consumption and CO(2) production of small cell culture samples. It can also be used for measuring...

Three-phase SM PS boost to range
August 1, 1998... A three-phase, 30A version of the SilverLine range of DIN-rail mounted, switched mode power supply (SMPS) is the latest in the Puls UK SilverLine range. The new SMPS is for three-phase inputs, between 400 and 500V AC, the supply has a typical...

Tiny, snappy thermostat for thermal management
August 1, 1998... The Airpax series 6700 is a miniature, bimetallic, snap-acting, thermostat which is suitable for thermal-management applications in power supplies. The device, from EAO, is dimensionally compatible with the standard TO-220 power semiconductor...

Connectors offer heavy duty route
August 1, 1998... The heavy duty Han connector family, from Harting, has been added to Electrospeed's range of connectors. The connectors come in various contact arrangements, ranging from the small three pin and earth Han 3A connector, and increasing to the 108...

Modes made to measure
August 1, 1998... Two built-in measuring modes, the TransFlection mode for difficult, multi-phase fluids, and the transit-time mode for less demanding applications, are features of Panametrics' DF868, TransPort, hand-held flowmeter. The optional...

Machine does a quick strip
August 1, 1998... For use with tape-fed, wire-end sleeves, Takbro's MC25, fully-automatic, strip and crimp machine is said, by the company, to take 1.5 seconds to strip the insulation from the conductor, apply a wire-end sleeve and crimp it securely in place....

MES aids integration
August 1, 1998... USDATA has launched a manufacturing execution system called Xfactory, which allows manufacturers to integrate multiple production areas, inventory management, scheduling, planning and business management. By creating a visual representation of...

Flow computer update
August 1, 1998... A new version of Bristol Babcock's natural gas flow computer, TeleFlow Plus, features full user programmability in ACCOL, and I/O expansion board, and a larger enclosure for additional hardware options. ACCOL is a modular, measurement and...

Vane pumps have long life
August 1, 1998... Bosch has launched a line of enhanced performance, variable displacement, pressure compensated vane pumps, aimed to last for over 10,000 hours. The pumps are designed for the machine tool and general machinery industries, and the pump's noise...

Proximity sensors for stability
August 1, 1998... Patented, flat-coil technology allows the latest range of inductive, proximity sensors, from IFM Electronic, to combine stability with extended sensing ranges. The sensors come in cylindrical and rectangular types and flush and non-flush...

ALARMS FOR LIFE
August 1, 1998... not just for light duties CHRIS WEBB Alarm annunciators have developed and improved beyond all recognition compared to the relay logic that dominated the earliest systems. Relay logic is still sold today for extremely harsh operating...

TAKE THE BUS ...
August 1, 1998...... but don't get on the wrong one Mike Welburn A recent user-survey conducted by Norgren, the principal member of the fluid power group within global engineering giant IMI, confirmed that there is a great deal of confusion in the market for...

Car makers, Russia and US show promise
August 1, 1998... By June 1998, 2million Profibus devices were installed in more than 200,000 end user applications worldwide, worth approximately $4.5 billion. Early results from Profibus-PA (process automation) installations show that the cost savings...

emerging technology turns up the HEAT
August 1, 1998... CHRIS WEBB Temperature control strategies and techniques now open up a myriad possibilities for plant-wide manufacturing improvements. Discrete temperature controllers may be the traditional mainstay of control applications, but it is in the...