Low-cost frequency counter operates to 3 GHz - The new PFM3000 from TTi (Thurlby Thandar Instruments) is a hand-held frequency counter which can measure signals from below 3 Hz to above 3 GHz. Its low cost of #115 (less than €150.00) puts it into a similar price category as hand-held multimeters.

Controllers and HMI solution for material handling facilities in India - GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms has announced that it has received a order from Macawber Beekay of New Delhi, India for a hardware and software material handling solution that provides environmental pollution control and energy conservation. The $1MM order includes a complete hardware and software solution delivering centralized digitized data and multi-platform control resulting in a cost-effective control solution.

Worldwide Virtual Instrumentation Conference and Exhibition National Instruments has issued an invitation "to join our community of engineers, scientists, and educators from all over the world." NIWeek 2008 features three full days of interactive technical sessions, exhibitions, and workshops on the latest developments for automation, manufacturing, design, and test. The conference provides in-depth content presented by leading industry experts in these dynamic areas. August 5-7, 2008 - Austin Convention Center, Austin, Texas, USA

Dual range sensor measures peak and average torque - The latest addition to Kistler Instruments' range of torque sensors, the Type 4503A, can measure both peak and average operating torques with a high degree of accuracy. Extreme ratios of high peak to moderate operating torque occur, for example, during starting and abrupt deceleration or braking of presses and elevators. Torsional vibration encountered in combustion engines, pumps and compressors can also create potentially damaging peak loads.

Turkish plant to start early with increased production - Emerson Process Management has announced start-up and operational gains following completion of the second year of operation of its PlantWeb^® digital automation architecture at a new bioethanol production plant operated by TARKİM in Mustafakemalpaşa-Bursa, Turkey.
Bioethanol is the world's largest source of renewable energy, and its use has the added advantage that crops used for feedstock help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by absorbing CO₂ emissions during crop growth. The new plant processes grain, usually corn and wheat, to produce ethanol to be used as a fuel additive. Rapid startup of the plant was critical and the contribution made by Emerson during the startup phase meant that TARKİM was able to start up one month earlier than scheduled. This provided cost savings of €220,000 and helped book early revenues.

20,000 PSI ball and needle instrumentation valves satisfy the control needs of emerging high pressure hydraulics and fluid applications - Parker Instrumentation has launched ball and needle instrumentation valves optimized for high pressure fluid control applications operating at up to 20,000 PSI/1379 bar. Available configured with Parker's innovative high-pressure Phastite® tube connector ends -- which offer outstanding performance in vibration environments - the valves offer exceptional integrity to meet the higher pressure hydraulic control and other demanding instrumentation applications that are increasingly being faced in the offshore oil and gas sector.

CD of Semiconductor Device Test Applications - Keithley Instruments has a new Semiconductor Device Test Applications Guide. In addition to the Applications Guide, this CD also includes a large variety of semiconductor test application information such as applications notes, white papers, and presentations that enables users to reduce their cost of test while simplifying the most challenging applications.

New cables for Gigabit Ethernet applications - Harting has introduced a new generation of 8-wire cables and cords suitable for Gigabit Ethernet applications.

Portable 1g handheld shaker for on-site troubleshooting, sensor calibration & performance verification - The IMI Sensors division of PCB Piezotronics (PCB®) has released the industry exclusive Model 699A02, a portable, lightweight, battery powered industrial handheld shaker, designed to conveniently verify accelerometer and vibration system performance, as well as confirm the operation of interconnecting cables, switching devices and monitoring systems. The unit operates at 159.2 Hz and delivers a controlled, 1 g RMS or 1 g peak acceleration to test accelerometers and vibration sensors weighing up to 250 grams. Model 699A02 is ideal for field troubleshooting predictive maintenance and condition based monitoring systems, and can be used to verify sensor calibration and performance right at the machine, including permanently mounted accelerometers.

High-frequency differential probe for vehicle serial buses - The new Yokogawa PBDH1000 is a high-frequency differential probe designed to meet the challenges involved in the development and testing of in-vehicle buses such as CAN and FlexRay.

Digital temperature switches with clamp-on sensor - With the digital temperature switches of the ETTN-YTTN range, Baumer's Process Instrumentation division offers robust measuring instruments for temperature control for industrial process management. The devices are made completely of stainless steel and are particularly suitable for the use in severe industrial environments. A special design with a clamp-on sensor enables easy mounting at a pipe with two standard clips. It can measure the temperature of a process without direct contact to the medium.

North American Sales Manager appointed - The IMI Sensors division of PCB Piezotronics (PCB®) has announced the appointment of John M. Sperrazza, a 25-year veteran of the industrial marketplace, as IMI Sensors North American Sales Manager, overseeing growth and development of new and existing industrial sales channels throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Integrated PXI monitor and keyboard accessory for portable applications - National Instruments has announced the NI PMA-1115 portable touch screen monitor with integrated keyboard that attaches to any NI eight-slot PXI or PXI Express chassis. When used with a new or existing PXI chassis, this accessory is ideal for a variety of portable PXI applications, such as in-vehicle test, mobile diagnostics and personal ATE in the automotive, ATE and aerospace and defence industries.

High-grade steel connector housing offers added protection - The new Han® 3 A INOX from Harting is an industrial connector housing made of high-grade steel to provide protection against corrosion for use in food manufacture and related process industries.

Latest Hall-effect sensor developments - At Sensor & Test 2008 this week (Nüremberg, D), Allegro MicroSystems Europe is featuring its latest families of Hall-effect sensors, including a number of precision current sensors designed for automotive and industrial applications.

To join cybersecurity drafting team - Wurldtech Security Technologies, a leading provider of cyber-security solutions to vendors and operators of SCADA, process control and mission-critical systems worldwide, today announced that the company's VP of Security Services, Bryan Singer, has been selected to join the North American Electric Reliability Corporation's (NERC) cyber-security Standards Action Request (SAR) drafting team. Singer was one of eleven appointments made by the NERC Standards Committee.
See our Cyber Secuirity Page

Automation standards update - ISA, the instrument, systems, and, automaation society publish a a periodic report on the latest developments in the world of automation standards. The latest issue was distributed this week.
They have also just updated their comprehensive Books and Standards Catalogue! This provides access to the latest technical publications written and reviewed by industry experts along with updated editions of several existing titles in the latest digital format.

1U High 1200 W configurable medical power supply for low noise environments - Excelsys Technologies, the world leading specialists in high efficiency configurable power supplies introduces the new Xzite 1200W modular power supply approved for use in medical applications. The Xzite family of low noise power supplies has measured background noise of just 59dBA while providing up to 1200 watts output in an extremely compact 1U x 260 x 127mm package.

Busy show for fieldbus organisation! - Fieldbus Foundation were very busy during last month's Interkama, which is now part of the Hannover Fair. Among the highlights were:
ExxonMobil Instrumentation Executive (Timm Madden) Named To Fieldbus Foundation's Board Of Directors
Fieldbus Foundation Announces EMEA Executive Advisory Council (EAC) Posts

T/C data logger with LCD display - MadgeTech has announced the TCTemp2000, a thermocouple temperature data logger with LCD display. This N.I.S.T. traceable device has user-selectable measurement units, programmable start and stop time, and displays the current ambient and thermocouple temperature readings. The large screen provides convenient access to the minimum, maximum and average statistics, as well as displaying battery level, external power status, sampling and recording status. An easy to use front panel key pad offers a quick and efficient way to change settings.

4Precision flow measurement company acquired - American Industrial Partners (AIP) has acquired Brooks® Instrument, from Emerson Process Management. Brooks is the world-leading supplier of precision low flow measurement and control instrumentation with headquarters in Hatfield, (PA USA) and manufacturing locations in Hungary, France, The Netherlands, and Japan.
Brooks products are aimed mainly at laboratory, pilot plant applications and process applications. They include mass flow meters and controllers based on Coriolis or Thermal technology, high pressure and glass and metal tube rotameters.

Report on Day One (29/4/2008) Report Day Two (30/4/2008) Report Day Three (Final day 1/5/2008) Report from Walt Boyes' Control Global.com

Supervisory control solution - GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms has announced the latest version of its industry-leading supervisory control solution, Proficy® HMI/SCADA - CIMPLICITY® 7.5, offering more diagnostic tools, security, development tools, connectivity and flexibility than ever before.

Wafer level reliability testing up to 5 times faster - Keithley Instruments has enhanced its Automated Characterization Suite (ACS) software to include optional wafer level reliability (WLR) test tools for semiconductor reliability and lifetime prediction testing applications. Version 4.0 builds on the ACS software's existing single- and multi-site parallel test capabilities, adding a database capability, as well as software tools and optional licenses for the new Reliability Test Module (RTM) and ACS Data Analysis capabilities. Together, the new Reliability Test and Data Analysis tools allow ACS-based test systems to produce lifetime predictions as much as five times faster than traditional WLR test solutions.

New high reliability DC:DC converters - Powerstax has announced the introduction of a new range of high reliability and MIL specification DC:DC converters with up to 50W of output power.

Supporting latest LTE standard - Tektronix and LitePoint Corporation, have announced their collaborative solution to LTE product development.

Low price, high accuracy load cell is ideal for industrial weighing - The RLW compression load cell from RDP is ideally suited to industrial weighing applications where high accuracy at a competitive price is called for. Industrial weighing can take many forms, but one typical example for the RLW load cell is 'hopper weighing'. Sealed parallel beam load cells mounted at three points and connected in parallel compensate for distributed load effects and provide a resultant signal used as a measurement of the hopper load. Not only is the RLW easy to attach but it also offers good long term and temperature stability.

Benchmarking process operations in real time - ProcessApex software now benchmarks and tracks the business results of fired heaters, heat exchangers, and dryers. Use the results to make decisions that directly impact efficiency, throughput, operating targets, and bottom line of operations.

40 years of success - Moore Industries-International, leader in the design and manufacture of electronic measurement and interface instruments for the process industries, celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2008. The company's products are used by virtually every Fortune 500 manufacturing company, including those that produce chemicals, petroleum, power, paper, food and beverages, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology products.

Whither Automation Skills? - Many people think that the automation industry is quickly developing a "skills shortage," which will occur after the current generation of engineers retires. (Jim Pinto in Automation World April'04)

Leading process automation companies support wireless standard - Executives from leading process automation companies voiced their support for the new WirelessHART™ Communication standard during the HCF press conference at ISA 2007 (2 Oct, Houston, TX). In a display of unified commitment to the new technology, representatives from ABB, Emerson, Endress+Hauser, and Siemens spoke of the positive impact WirelessHART technology will have on the process industry and their expectation for the quick adoption of the technology by end users.

New president for European region with Global focus - Premier Farnell has announced the appointment of , Andy King as President of Farnell Europe and Global Head of EDE, with effect from 16th June 2008. Most recently Andy was European Vice President of Sales Development at Arrow Electronics, providing strategic direction to the company's European sales drive, in particular addressing the various needs of different customer segments across EMEA.

Web in infancy, says Berners-Lee Tim Berners-Lee developed the web while working at Cern The world wide web is "still in its infancy", the web's inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee has told BBC News. He was speaking ahead of the 15th anniversary of the day the web's code was put into the public domain by Cern, the lab where the web was developed.

Complete machine control solution for small to medium process and automation applications - A combined HMI and PLC system, capable of completely self-contained machine control for small to medium sized automation applications is available from Gefran. The new GF_VEDO 35 and 57 series includes a choice of 3.5" or 5.7" colour or mono touchscreen HMIs with an IEC61131-3 PLC plus I/O and fieldbus expansion to offer the convenience of a single package with the potential for significant time, cost, wiring and space savings.

New catalogue for full power - RECOM has launched its new 2008 catalogue and optimized its product range which offers a wide range of innovative products ranging from R-78 switching regulators with 97% efficiency to a completely new series of LED drivers. With more than 6,000 different products covering the whole range of low power conversion - AC/DC-converters, DC/DC converters, switching regulators and LED-Drivers - they now have one of the most comprehensive portfolios on the market.

New Automation Solutions brochure for Laser, Medical and Life Sciences applications - Aerotech have released a completely updated and redesigned Automation Solutions brochure for Laser Processing, Medical Device Manufacturing and Life Sciences.

Network-based control system - Yokogawa has released an enhanced version of the STARDOM™ network-based control system that complies with US gas industry standards and provides a new data-logging function for the FCN/FCJ autonomous controllers. These enhancements reduce costs by improving the efficiency of both operation and maintenance. Yokogawa will use the release of this enhanced version to strengthen its sales targeting the oil and gas upstream processes

Micro card edge connector for 1.6 mm PCB applications - The new Harting Micro Card Edge connector is designed for surface mounting on 1.6 mm thick printed circuit boards in board-to-board mezzanine configurations as well as in small pluggable daughterboard applications.

New chief appointed - Quantum3D has announced that its board of directors has elected Michael L. D'Addio as the company's new chief executive officer (CEO). Gordon Campbell, company chairman, marked his arrival by saying, "Michael is a talented and seasoned executive whose unparalleled leadership expertise will enable us to accelerate the growth of the company."

Din-rail power supplies beat harsh environments - PULS are now offering conformal coating on a number of their power supply models. Conformal coating provides higher operational safety and reliability in a number of installation environments where conditions may be prone to high humidity, vibration, thermal shock or rapid temperature changes, unusually dusty or have airborne contaminants.

Asset optimisation manager appointed - Emerson Process Management has appointed Andy Hammond to the position of Sales Manager, Asset Optimisation for the UK and Ireland. He will be responsible for the diverse range of Asset Optimisation products and services, ranging from portable and online machinery health monitoring equipment, through to the AMS® suite of predictive maintenance software applications.
AMS Suite, an essential element of their proven PlantWeb® digital plant architecture, uses predictive intelligence to improve availability and performance of production assets.
In another appointment Karin Jones has been appointed Marketing Communications Manager for the same territories. She will help implement the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategy as well as provide a full range of integrated marketing communications.

Downloadable from their website, Controlsoft's PID Loop Tuning Tips Pocket Guide is now 12 pages long. Created to give engineers a concise guide to tuning PID loops, this handy publication includes an expanded reference section on common controllers. The 12-page guide can easily fit into a jacket or jeans pocket for handy on-the-job access.

Improved modeling and training functionality - The new release of MiMiC v3.0.0 from Mynah Technologies, supports all open OPC process control system platforms. This includes HIMA, Emerson, Rockwell, and Schneider process control systems, among others. Additionally, the new 3.0.0 release includes improved modeling and operator training functionality.

Innovative new platform for handheld applications - Engineering samples of QuickLogic's latest customer specific standard product (CSSP) platform for the connectivity, intelligence, and logic requirements of handheld applications are now available.

An essential resource for damage deterrent solutions - Lamerholm has launched its new global website. As a world leader in the design, development and supply of innovative equipment for damage monitoring, their new site is a valuable source of information featuring comprehensive technical and application details of the company's complete product range.