Control and Instrumentation articles from May 1998

Control and Instrumentation archives from May 1998

SCADA on the Internet. (Wizcon SCADA system)
May 1, 1998... Is the Internet rugged enough to allow end users to benefit from access on line? According to the net consultancy NUA there is a world-wide net population of more than 100 million people, of whom around 70 million are located in North...

Hints of a 'micro DCS.' (digital control system)
May 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...

Don't put a controller in a PC, put a PC in the controller.
May 1, 1998... There's a new way to configure small control systems, and numerous benefits can follow Specifying best-in-class hardware and software has always been an option open to users of large control systems at the configuring stage. But the solution...

Oiling the wheels: oil and gas sectors benefit from automated sytems. (includes related article on radio-controlled refining)
May 1, 1998... Asset management software can help cut costs in oil and gas services offshore. Meanwhile, radio control of a refinery is doing the same onshore. Wood Group Engineering is confident that oil industry players will be interested in a novel...

A weight off your mind. (weighing system accuracy standards)
May 1, 1998... Whither weighing? Well, fieldbus is again at the centre of the debate as to how users can sharpen up their act. More accurate calibration, wider connectivity, better resolution and digital communications. These are the bywords in weighing...

PISTEP - an overview of requirements and features. (process control software)
May 1, 1998... STEP technology for the process industries (PISTEP) is now backed by some of the big hitters There is a requirement to standardise the way in which data is stored and used in computer systems, to allow optimum use of database systems, and...

Integration of control and safety systems brings big benefits.(Moore Talk)
May 1, 1998... It stands to reason that Safety Systems for shut down, fire and gas etc. must be quite separate from the regular control systems. Integration of the two goes against every basic safety principle - so what do we mean by integration in this...

Nitrogen plant is controlled remotely in Germany.(Moore Talk)
May 1, 1998... Mike D Eyre describes how a CRYOSS Nitrogen Generator operated at a semiconductor company in Heilbronn by AGA Gas GmbH is controlled from the company's facilities in Hamburg, Bremen and Meitingen. Aga Gas GmbH operates Air Separation Plants...

APACS plays a major role at Drax power station.(Moore Talk)
May 1, 1998... When an important part of a plant shuts down, perhaps due to a failure or a safety trip, it is vital to know which of the many events surrounding the trip was the cause rather than a consequence. APACS process control system now features...

Rockwell/Honeywell's 'new breed' of control
May 1, 1998... Controlling medium-sized process applications has always been a problem because the choice has traditionally fallen between stretching a PLC, which is primarily intended for simpler applications, and the downgrading of a DCS, thereby forfeiting...

Pushing PLC on a PC
May 1, 1998... After much talk in the industry about replacing PLC systems with software solutions driven by PCs, Siemens Automation has entered the arena with WinAC. WinAC is intended as a supplementary package to existing Siemens Simatic hardware and...

Telecoms liberalised
May 1, 1998... Industry minister Barbara Roche has unveiled a number of developments arising from the liberalisation of the European market for telecoms. The EU Telecoms Council has reached agreement on a common position on the proposed Terminal Equipment...

Processor's patent case raises IP questions
May 1, 1998... The recent ruling by a German court upholding a patent infringement claim by a British environmental process company has again highlighted how exposed the industry is to raiders of intellectual property. This time it was good news for Azur...

Industry back pedals on IT
May 1, 1998... British industry risks failing behind its competitors because it is failing to invest in technology to help its employees work together in teams. A survey of 400 businesses across all sectors of industry shows that companies are slow to...

Takeovers set to take off
May 1, 1998... Can too much cash in the bank ever be a problem? Maybe. For a company to keep its shareholders happy it must look for alternatives to a fat bank account in order to obtain the best return for its investors. With a strong pound hampering...

FSB warning that small firms fear the euro
May 1, 1998... A third of small firms are looking towards the single currency with scepticism or trepidation. They believe the euro will have a damaging effect on their business, and are totally unprepared for its introduction, according to a survey...

Experts team up to build 'double decker' mezzanine
May 1, 1998... BOARDS MEN Mikro Elektronik and SBS Greenspring have teamed up to develop a new mezzanine concept - PCMIP, an acronym derived through the route PC + M (module) + I (industry) + P (pack) = PC.MIP. The novel mezzanine concept combines the...

35% drop in the price of VMEbus
May 1, 1998... NETWORKS Performance Technologies Inc (PTI) has cut the price of its Motorola 68060-based VMEbus wide area network communications controllers by up to 35%. The company is able to pass on savings to its customers, thanks to a number of...

'Almost instant' SCADA developed
May 1, 1998... SCADA How can you build a pilot SCADA system or MMI solution in just a few hours? It is possible, claims Solartron, by combining a set of LabVIEW and BridgeVIEW drivers with its IMP starter pack. BridgeVIEW from National Instruments is a...

Easier optimisation for chemical plants
May 1, 1998... PROCESS CHEMCAD for Windows (CHEMCAD IV) is a novel process simulation programme, designed by Chemstations, to both design and optimise chemical plants, and for day-to-day trouble shooting purposes. The programme, says the company, covers...

SCADA on the Internet
May 1, 1998... ALAN REEVE According to the net consultancy NUA there is a world-wide net population of more than 100 million people, of whom around 70 million are located in North America and 20 million in Europe. Business transactions are also...

And finally ... software keeps lasers on straight and narrow
May 1, 1998... INDUSTRY Nimbus Laser Systems has placed a GBP24,000 order for the latest Vista 'job shop' manufacturing software suite from DataWorks. In addition to the basic software modules, the order included a Windows NT client/server network of...

Program lets robots cut on course
May 1, 1998... ROBOTS Shape Generation, a new software package from Fanuc Robotics, has made its debut at a number of sites where laser guided robots need to cut accurate profiles with minimum waste. Standard robots need to follow a path that is...

Versatile spectrophotometer
May 1, 1998... TESTING The latest spectrophotometer from Minolta has been launched with a number of new patented features. The CM-3600d is a bench-top machine designed for use in the paint, plastics, ink, textile, paper, detergents and chemical sectors...

Touch PLC station from EXOR
May 1, 1998... EXOR R&D UK has added a touch screen PLC workstation, with colour graphics, to its range of UniOp products. The workstation has a 265mm diagonal STN colour touchscreen display, capable of displaying 16 colours with a resolution of 640 x 480...

Enhancements from HIAC for its NT control system
May 1, 1998... Honeywell Industrial Automation and Control (HIAC) has enhanced its Microsoft Windows NT-based SCAN 3000 system for continuous, batch and supervisory control and data acquisition. The company says that Release 620 of the system makes data...

PC I/O expansion
May 1, 1998... Arcom Control Systems has released three PCIbus I/O expansion boards for industrial PCs, used in control & instrumentation applications. The APCI-RELAY8/IN8 module features eight opto-isolated inputs, and 500V electrical isolation between the...

A gas flow software option
May 1, 1998... Solartron has produced an off-the-shelf software package for its 795x family of flow computers to speed the deployment of metering infrastructure for gas distributors and operators. The 1510 package is designed to simplify the installation of...

A CIMPLICITY SCADA upgrade
May 1, 1998... GE Fanuc has enhanced its CIMPLICITY HMI SCADA monitoring and control solution for Windows NT and Windows 95. Version 3.2 of CIMPLICITY, features an optional module to send alarm messages directly to the pagers of key personnel, whenever...

New HMIs are 'future proof'
May 1, 1998... With more than 80 communications drivers, two new additions to Cegelec's range of MMIs can 'talk' to virtually any PLC, in what is being promoted as an essentially 'future proof' programming package. They join the company's established Alspa...

HINTS OF A 'MICRO DCS'
May 1, 1998... LAURIE BLACKMORE One could express surprise that the term DCS is still in existence. For some years, the demise of this old favourite has been predicted, the threat coming from the increased functionality of lower cost SCADA systems. Yet...

PUT A PC IN THE CONTROLLER
May 1, 1998... RON HIGGINSON Specifying best-in-class hard ware and software has always been an option open to users of large control systems at the configuring stage. But the solution would come with the inevitable costs associated with specifying each...

OILING THE WHEELS
May 1, 1998... Oil and gas sectors benefit from automated systems Wood Group Engineering is confident that oil industry players will be interested in a novel software package, which it believes will cut annual costs by more than GBP150,000. The company...

A WEIGHT OFF YOUR MIND
May 1, 1998... CHRIS WEBB More accurate calibration, wider connectivity, better resolution and digital communications. These are the bywords in weighing today. But like virtually every other branch of the C&I industry, so are fieldbus and the ubiquitous...

PISTEP - an overview of requirements and features
May 1, 1998... LOL BARRATT There is a requirement to standardise the way in which data is stored and used in computer systems, to allow optimum use of database systems, and PISTEP is trying to make it happen. Is data stored on 8in or 5.25in floppies...