Control and Instrumentation articles from December 1998

Control and Instrumentation archives from December 1998

ALARMS FOR LIFE and not just for light duties.
December 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...

PAPERLESS RECORDING empowers industrial data.
December 1, 1998... Paperless recording has revitalised the chart recorder and conventional data logging sector. It is finding many new novel applications Personal computers (PCs) and industrial PCs are ubiquitous on the plant floor and companies are rapidly...

HINTS OF A `Micro DCS'.
December 1, 1998... One DCS package is much like another. So a system that could avert even one unplanned shutdown per year could be an order clincher One could express surprise that the term DCS is still in existence. For some years, the demise of this old...

PCB: PC FACEOFF PCs threaten PCB strongholds.
December 1, 1998... The PCB is being threatened. As the PC moves into industrial control and automation, the PCB must meet demands for robustness and quality. We have gone through years of plugging all manner of PCBs into that familiar black socket in the...

CENTRALISING PLANT control and monitoring.
December 1, 1998... Control and monitoring capabilities of high-end systems have been increasing, but getting the most out of them may require something extra on the plant floor The emergence of the global market and increased competition from all areas has...

The noble art of BOXING.(Weidmuller's custom control system for Britannia Alliance's North Sea oil platform)
December 1, 1998... Complex control systems often need custom enclosures especially in harsh environments such as on North Sea rigs Putting together custom enclosure assemblies can be a major project, especially when a number of complex rail-mounted terminal...

Monitoring gets an ENVIRONMENT MAKEOVER.(Sira Certification Service will operate the UK's Monitoring Certification Scheme for continuous emission smonitoring systems)
December 1, 1998... GAMBICA and the Environment Agency have hatched a new environmental vetting scheme, writes Chris Webb Worldwide, it's worth an estimated US$400bn. So why is the market for Environmental Technologies so lacklustre; so low on the shopping...

FIELD CALIBRATORS boost productivity, quality.(Haven Automation's Spec-Cal Eclipse field calibrator for process control equipment)(Product Announcement)
December 1, 1998... Whether it be for fault location and identification of faulty components in a control and measurement system or for routine calibration of process control instrumentation, field calibrators are now an essential part of the instrument...

Tube talk.(new instrumentation tubing for hazardous materials)
December 1, 1998... Progress is being made in the fight against corrosion and leakage The offshore, chemical and environmental industries are leading the way in developing safer gas and fluid handling processes. Their initiative is, in turn, leading to...

GAS FLOW METER AIDS piston engine development.(Platon Flow Management's Blowby meters)
December 1, 1998... A novel approach to the design of vortex flow meters allows accurate measurement of pulsating flows As research and development specialists realise the benefits of today's successes, so tomorrow's results become even tougher to deliver....

The rise of analytical TECHNOLOGIES.
December 1, 1998... The range of analytical methods that can optimise processes are proliferating-led by process FTIR The range of robust analytical technologies available for process optimisation is on the increase. Process FTIR is at the forefront,...

LEVEL PEGGING the old order changeth.
December 1, 1998... New level measurement technologies are challenging traditional techniques Although some technologies used to measure level have scarcely altered for decades, their hold on the market is formidable. Also, many application areas have...

THE RIGHT WEIGH forward.
December 1, 1998... Modern QA standards have accelerated the development of more accurate weighing devices The biggest influence on the growth in the weighing market is the implementation of modern QA systems such as ISO9001 which make it is necessary to...

Go with the FLOW.
December 1, 1998... Flowmeters get digital comms -- and self-diagnostics. Mass flow rate, rather than volumetric flow rate, is the main quantity of interest in many practical and industrial applications. This is true because it is the molecules of the fluid...

On-line for efficiency.
December 1, 1998... To achieve higher efficiency and product quality, industries are turning to on-line analysis On-line analysis techniques can detect fluctuations during processing and control the properties close to set points. Employing a near infrared...

CONTROL SOFTWARE embraces object technology.
December 1, 1998... Like a jigsaw puzzle, Object Technology allows software from different vendors to interlock To most manufacturers, it has long been clear that access to real-time operational information throughout the enterprise reaps major business...

A smart move FOR PRESSURE.
December 1, 1998... Smart technology is setting the pace in pressure measurement and control In the vast majority of process plants, pressure transmitters still represent the single most important group of field instrumentation. Smart transmitters which offer...

KEEP COOL under pressure.
December 1, 1998... Pressure and temperature gauges and regulators need careful specification for the best results. The attention in process control instrumentation today seems to focus upon the glamour of microprocessor-based devices. However, when the...

PROGRAMMABLE controllers.
December 1, 1998... Will open systems complement existing controls, such that PLCs can live with PCs? Even though they have been around for some 20 years, the demand for PLCs in the UK continues to grow at well into double digit rates. That's quite a...

Let's get pHysical.
December 1, 1998... Two issues are emerging as prevalent within the waste water industry as environmental laws become stricter It is a matter of fact that environmental legislation is driving the measurement requirements of the waste water treatment companies....

RADIO telemetry.(the outlook for the UK radio communications industry in 1999)
December 1, 1998... New technology and regulations will open up unexpected applications for radio communications It is generally accepted that the early deregulation of low power radio by the Radiocommunications Agency has been a major factor in the UK's...

SCADA sector's GREYING MATTER.(the SCADA market outlook for 1999)
December 1, 1998... The PC-based SCADA market is at a mature stage in its life cycle. Established, leading suppliers -- such as Wonderware, Intellution, Ci Technologies, USData and National Instruments -- hold the majority share, alike in having large existing...

CONTROLLERS single or multi-loop, where next?
December 1, 1998... Ron Higginson considers some of the likely technical developments in loop controllers What is a controller? We tend to think of a small panel mounting box with display, controls and terminals to connect to sensors and actuators. But...

THE HART of the matter.(the HART protocol for level and pressure transmitters)
December 1, 1998... To make smart transmitters smarter calls for re-thinking both the sensors and the HART protocol. With the Millennium approaching, perhaps it is not surprising that level and pressure transmitters covering practically all measurement...

Answering questions of TEMPERATURE.(process temperature monitoring systems)
December 1, 1998... Process monitoring can be expensive. Sometimes a simple dedicated system may serve the purpose Never has there been a greater demand for process information at our fingertips -- particularly in temperature monitoring, where health and...

TEMPERATURE TRANSMITTERS take the lead over direct wiring.
December 1, 1998... Transmitters are now comparable in price to direct wiring Users have traditionally had two ways to get process temperature measurements to the control system. Sensor extension wires can carry the low-level signals (ohm or mV) generated by...

TRANSMISSION: simple and complex.(transmitters for industrial control systems)
December 1, 1998... If ever there was a commodity market in the C&I world, this is surely it. You can get transmitters, conditioners, trip amps, alarms, root extractors, integrators, convertors and isolators of all sorts any way you want them. They're available...

Dumb valves learn to talk.(IMI Norgren's 'intelligent' valve)
December 1, 1998... A broken valve can bring entire systems to a halt. But `intelligent' valves will soon be able to predict failure Many manufacturing operations measure profitability in terms of thousands of pounds a minute. Unscheduled system stoppages...

BTR Siebe: birth of a global engineering giant.
December 1, 1998... Siebe has confirmed that up to 5,000 jobs will go worldwide following its 9bn [pounds sterling] merger with BTR, as the combined group squares up to the challenge of competing head-on with the likes of Emerson Electric of the US and Siemens of...

COMPANIES.(News Briefs)
December 1, 1998... * Lucas Control Systems has formed a new division, Genesis Sensors, which will serve the OEM pressure sensor market. * Linear Drives of Basildon has won a `best of British' millennium product award from the Design Council for its LD tubular...

Northern lights dim in translation.
December 1, 1998... Scandinavian company Borealis reports that the winner of its internal song contest is Mikael Erlandsson from the Stenungsund PE plant. C&I was not supplied with the original Swedish version and something may have been lost in the translation of...

Profits round the corner - Mitsubishi.
December 1, 1998... Mitsubishi Electric forecasts a return to profitability in its non-consolidated financial results for the half-year ended 30th September. Net sales for the period were down slightly at 3% at 1.3 trillion yen but profits decreased by 13% to 4.3...

NEWS IN BRIEF.(News Briefs)
December 1, 1998... Calibration boost Sira Test & Certification, in seeking to widen its customer base, has expanded its facilities to meet the requirements of pharmaceutical companies. Sira's site is now approved by Glaxo Wellcome for calibration in all...

Sun shines on Java.
December 1, 1998... Microsoft has said it will comply with a US federal court ruling in its contractual dispute with Sun Microsystems over development tools for the Java programming language in Windows98. The order gives Microsoft just 90 days to begin...

Honeywell strikes up Global control deal.
December 1, 1998... Phillips Petroleum has reached a global agreement with Honeywell for the supply of automation systems. The agreement follows the choice of Honeywell to supply automation systems for major upgrades of two refineries in the USA. Honeywell...

$1.5m pumps for Iraq.
December 1, 1998... Sterling Fluid Systems is to supply $1.5m worth of pumps to Iraq under the `food for oil' agreement which allows Iraq to purchase equipment from the West for humanitarian purposes. A total of 160 horizontal split casing pumps from Sterling...

Gambica to host more trips abroad.
December 1, 1998... Gambica president Michael Gutteridge says achieving success in total quality management depends upon `sound supplier/customer relationships'. He was speaking at the association's recent annual lunch in London. During the last year, Gambica...

ABB/Elsag moves to head off antitrust fears.
December 1, 1998... ABB and Elsag Barley are to explain to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) the terms of the former's planned acquisition of EB, in a move intended `to allay any antitrust fears the commission may have'. ABB said it had anticipated the...

Minister `gets to know' Cegelec.
December 1, 1998... Brian Wilson, Minister of State for Trade, put aside regular business in a recent visit to Cegelec's Bauteil Division in Glasgow. The successful exporter manufactures and installs electrical equipment and control systems for oil and gas, water...

Air pollution targeted.
December 1, 1998... The Environmental Industries Commission (EIC) has welcomed an action plan to streamline air pollution control from the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR). An earlier EIC report showed that approaches to control...

PEOPLE.
December 1, 1998... * The best factory award for the small business sector in a contest organised by Management Today and the Cranfield Institute of Management was won by Lamerholm Fleming of Stevenage. Lamerholm Fleming's deputy managing director, Sarah Kellett...

Mixed fortunes for the PLC sector.(Brief Article)
December 1, 1998... There will be `slight overall growth' in the programmable logic controller (PLC) market world-wide over the next five years, according to a forecast by ARC. Key revenue growth in this sector, thought to be worth up to $2bn, will continue to...

Electronic controls for vehicle industry are driving forward.(Brief Article)
December 1, 1998... Sales of automotive electronic control modules in Europe amounted to $101 million in 1997 but by 2004, this figure will grow to $127 million, according to a new study by market consultants Frost & Sullivan (Report 3556). The growth will...

Process analysers market expands.(Brief Article)
December 1, 1998... The electrochemical process analysers business is showing healthy growth. According to a report from MarketLine International European Electrochemical Analysers, the fastest growing sector has been specific ion analysers, showing an annual...

Axe falls at troubled Aydin.(Brief Article)
December 1, 1998... Aydin Corporation, the ailing US telemetry provider, has sacked company chairman and ceo I Gary Bard. Warren Lichtenstein becomes chairman and James R Henderson takes up the reins as president in a major shake-up intended to `jump start'...

Baan storm over losses.(Brief Article)
December 1, 1998... Shares in Baan, the global ERP provider, dipped 10% last month with news of its US$31.7m losses for the third quarter of 1998, combined with an impending management shake-up and a 20% cut in workforce. Though revenues increased 13% to US$195m,...

Siemens: taking a broader view.
December 1, 1998... Siemens last month moved to qualify the news of its global corporate rationalisation and any implications -- or lack of them -- it may have for the group's new Automation and Drives division, its most successful sector. The decision by...

Technology creates high growth for VARIABLE DRIVES.
December 1, 1998... Variable speed drives are undergoing something of a revolution. In particular, AC inverters and distributed motion controllers are thriving Recent reports from IMS highlight predictions of rapid growth in two sectors -- low power AC...

ENERGY management.
December 1, 1998... As the Government appoints a Whitehall taskforce to consider plans for a possible energy tax, control is stepping up its offensive on wastage on every industrial front but nowhere more than in the boilerhouse and steam circuit. Steam loss...

PROCESS turns on & tunes in.(Radio telemetry )
December 1, 1998... Newly available frequencies for telemetry applications are uncrossing the wires of British companies. Deregulation of licensing for low power radio telemetry has prompted an explosive growth of mobile communications, while the other major...