Flushing Rings with integrated valves.

The Rosemount™ 319 Flushing Ring with valve-integrated design, ensuring accurate differential pressure measurement and lower maintenance suitable for a wide range of differential pressure applications has been introduced by Emerson.

Available in Traditional and Compact options, the new Rosemount 319 Flushing Rings provide a process-to-seal connection and allow for faster diaphragm seal maintenance without disconnecting them from process flanges.

Both versions of the Rosemount 319 Flushing Rings come pre-assembled including the flushing ring, matching valves and connections, allowing technicians to commission devices faster by eliminating the need to procure and assemble components on-site. Rosemount 319 Flushing Rings are factory leak-tested so users can mount products to vessels right out of the box. When installed, diaphragm seal maintenance is significantly faster without compromising safety while reducing stocked inventory and management of multiple vendor piece-parts. Version-specific features include:

• The Rosemount 319 Traditional flushing ring design utilises a flow-through cleaning action and can be sized to fit almost any application. Configurations are offered with a choice of ball valves, needle valves or gate valves, and in multiple materials, flange types, sizes and ratings.
• The Rosemount 319 Compact flushing ring design removes residual build-up quickly, cleaning five times faster over 30% more surface area and 50% fewer leak points than other flushing rings. Assemblies accommodate a wider range of applications due to their smaller footprint for accurate differential pressure measurement in applications that have limited space for flushing ring installation. Configurations are offered with needle valves and in multiple materials, flange types, sizes and ratings.

“Rosemount 319 Flushing Rings with integrated valve assemblies are designed to eliminate procurement and on-site labour cost,” said Nicole Meidl, product manager, Emerson. “Products can be commissioned faster and more efficiently, and DP level seal systems can be easily accessed for future maintenance with reduced shutdown timelines. Efficiencies like these reduce risk, cost and complexity for our customers.”

@EMR_Automation @Emerson_News @EmersonExchange @Rosemount_News @HHC_Lewis #PAuto

Uninterrupted telecommunications for Galápagos.

The Galápagos Islands are a volcanic archipelago, roughly 1,000km off the coast of Ecuador, in the Pacific Ocean. As a province of Ecuador, mobile network operators (MNO) from the mainland are obligated to provide cellular services on the islands. This supports both the 30,000 permanent residents and close to 300,000 tourists that visit the islands each year. Connectivity is provided by several MNOs and internet service providers. However, the only connection back to the mainland is via satellite.

To maintain uninterrupted services in accordance to stringent regulatory conditions, remote monitoring solutions and access to equipment at various sites across the islands are essential. To support a satellite operator-managed service to one of its MNO customers, telecommunications consultant Specialized RF, developed an out-of-band remote access solution for the monitoring and control of critical equipment. The solution utilises Westermo industrial cellular gateways and easy-to-use remote access management platform WeConnect, which enables secure remote connections to applications on the network edge.

“I needed a way to establish secure remote access, for my clients, to the equipment deployed on the islands, because typically it takes hours for human resources to travel to these sites,” said Jens Langenhorst, consultant and owner of Specialized RF. “After researching various options, Throughput Technologies, the Westermo distributor in South Africa, introduced me to the Westermo cellular gateways.”

Deployment of the remote monitoring solutions are at cellular tower sites located across the islands. These applications had specific criteria and limitations to work within. For example, the available power source at the sites is only 48V DC. Furthermore, to provide redundant connectivity, a dual SIM gateway with external antennas that can be positioned outside of the typical metal racks or shelters was needed. The Westermo industrial cellular gateways were ideally suited for these applications, providing the required functionality and designed to withstand the environmental demands ensuring reliability and a long lifecycle.

“The selling point for me was the WeConnect secure VPN service. Not only was it easy to set up and configure, but it was already integrated into the Westermo cellular gateway. My satellite clients employ specialists around the globe and using WeConnect they can access and recover any issue remotely, within minutes. Furthermore, this solution now unlocks a much wider set of available global skills that can assist anytime, anywhere. In turn, simply put, it results in improved cellular services and uptime in the Galapagos Islands,” explained Langenhorst.

@WestermoUK @westermo @HHC_Lewis #Communications #Equador

Plant director for air quality products manufacturer.

Alphasense has appointed Doug Knifton as Plant Director to develop its manufacturing processes, introduce new products and help the business explore adjacent markets and applications.

Doug Knifton

The main focus of this role will be to further Alphasense’s manufacturing capability through streamlining processes and the implementation of innovative and effective systems. These improvements will result in increased output, reduced lead times and improved quality.

With over 29 years of experience in senior management roles within companies such as Thermo Fisher Scientific, Elekta and Powerlase, Doug brings a wealth of experience to the role. His knowledge spans innovations in technology-lead, capital equipment operations including semi-conductor, laser optics, medical devices and analytical instruments.

Commenting on his role, Doug Knifton said: “To meet the needs of our customers now and in the future, we’re focusing on product development, with an eye on how the markets are developing and how our sensors can help. We’ll be further strengthening partnerships with our customers and designing products to fit their applications.

“I’ll also be working closely with the whole Alphasense team internally by ensuring everyone is equipped to meet our customer needs through investment in facilities, processes and people. I’m determined to use the experience I have to drive us forward in existing and new markets.”

@AlphaSenseInc @codacomms #PAuto 

Sanitising drinking water.

A Municipal Water Treatment Plant is using Blue-White's FLEXFLO® Peristaltic Metering Pumps successfully to meter sodium hypochlorite to sanitize drinking water.

Chlorine has been used to disinfect drinking water in the USA, and in many other regions throughout the world, since the early 1900s, and it remains the most frequently used municipal water disinfectant worldwide due to its low cost and effectiveness at deactivating a wide range of pathogens. The two most common chlorine products for this application are chlorine gas (Cl₂) and sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), a.k.a. bleach. For the most part, both chlorine compositions function the same way, in that they dissolve in water to form free chlorine in the form of hypochlorous acid (HOCl) and hypochlorite ion (OCl−).

Despite this similarity, they are two very different products. Choosing which form of chlorine chemical to use is an important decision among municipal drinking water managers, and requires balancing many factors including the overall costs, safety procedures and risk management, and more.

The Challenge.
A Municipal Water Treatment Plant located in Indiana supplies drinking water to 60,000 city residents, as well as surrounding populations.

The treatment plant had been using Gas Chlorine to treat their drinking water however, for many reasons including the increased safety issues associated with using gas chlorine, transportation issues, and requirements for advanced emergency management plans to be in place, the decision was made to switch from the Gas Chlorine to less problematic Sodium Hypochlorite, liquid chlorine.

The change to Liquid Chlorine meant that the equipment being used to feed the chemical also had to be switched out. The preferred method for delivering the 12% concentration of Sodium Hypochlorite at 30PSI is Chemical Dosing / Metering Pumps.

Because sodium hypochlorite poses some of its own challenges, careful consideration was given to the type of pump to be used, Diaphragm or Peristaltic. One of those challenges is that, as the chemical begins to degrade during the treatment process it produces bubbles. Most often referred to as off-gassing. These bubbles will eventually cause diaphragm-style pumps to vapor lock and lose their prime resulting in increased maintenance, downtime, and added expense.

The Solution.

FLEXFLO® M4 metering pumps in situ

For this reason, the decision was made to install Peristaltic Metering Pumps to dose the hypochlorite. Peristaltic pumps are not affected by air bubbles, the bubbles simply move through the pump tubing, while the pump maintains a constant rate of flow with no potential for vapor lock. Because of this characteristic, Peristaltic pumps have been widely accepted as the preferred technology in many applications, including municipal drinking water.

Also taken into consideration was, other than occasional pump tube replacement, peristaltic units do not require regular maintenance. Diaphragm pumps, on the other hand, require ongoing maintenance as valves and pump heads must be regularly cleaned.

The Water Treatment Plant initially purchased a total of eight FLEXFLO® M3 and M4 Peristaltic Metering Pumps, manufactured by Blue-White® Industries. Seven of the pumps are used to meter the Sodium Hypochlorite to sanitize the drinking water. The eighth pump is used to dose Polymer into the blending system to get solids to settle at the bottom of the filters. There are a total of 11 FLEXFLO pumps now in service throughout the plant.

The Result.
The results have been outstanding. The Water Treatment Plant Manager appreciated the excellent outcome achieved with the switch to Sodium Hypochlorite and FLEXFLO Chemical Feed Pumps. In addition, they were grateful for the expert consultation and service they received from Paul Hayes at Living Waters.

FLEXFLO® Chemical Metering Pumps dependably deliver smooth and accurate chemical dosing to the system. Operators appreciate the pump’s bright, easy-to-access, and highly responsive 5-inch display screen, and the intuitive screen is as simple to work as a cell phone and features easily recognizable icons.

They have a wide 10,000:1 turndown ratio to meet a broad range of dosing requirements and are equipped with a brushless DC motor for trouble-free and energy-efficient service.

M3 remote control signal options include Pulse, 4-20mA, and as technologies advance, these metering pumps are field upgradable.

@BlueWhiteInd #Water #Automation

Hygienic pressure switch.

The PSD-4 electronic pressure switch from WIKA is the universal solution for industrial automation tasks – also in hygienic applications and under harsh conditions. The pressure switch is also suitable for industries with high hygienic requirements due to EHEDG and 3-A certification.

An accuracy of < ±0.5 % and minimal long-term drift ensures that it permanently ensures an accurate representation of the process pressure for more than 100 million load cycles. The pressure switch is available with a digital output signal as well as a switchable and scalable analogue output. In addition, it can also be easily monitored via the self-diagnostics.

Condition data and the diagnostic functions allow consistent monitoring. Pressure or temperature values that are above or below the specifications are displayed directly in the system. The data also allow conclusions to be drawn about changing process conditions. Additional information helps to check the loading.

The scalable analogue output enables the measuring range to be adapted at a ratio of 5:1. In addition, the output signal can be configured specifically for the application. Thus the PSD-4 can be used flexibly.

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• WIKA products are marketed in Ireland through Instrument Technology.

@WIKANews #PAuto  

High-speed low power industrial computing!

The BOXER-6646-ADP is the latest addition to the Review Display Systems (RDS) range of fanless embedded Box PC products from embedded computing solutions supplier, AAEON.

Key features 

- 12th Generation Intel Core i7, i5, i3 Processor SoC
- Dual-Channel DDR5 SODIMM slot
- Support for Multi-LAN including 2.5GbE Ethernet
- Support for M.2 2280 M Key High speed NVMe SSD
- SuperSpeed Plus USB 3.2 Gen2
- Wide DC voltage input range 10 to 35V
- Wide operating temperature -20°C to +60°C
- Compact size 220mm (l) x 154mm (w) x 61.6mm (h)
- Onboard TPM 2.0

Featuring a compact form factor the AAEON’s BOXER-6646 is an exceptionally versatile, all-purpose computing solution. Powered by 12th Generation Intel Core processors with dual-channel DDR5 support and equipped with industry-leading features such as a DIO port, multiple 2.5GbE LAN, and four display ports, the BOXER-6646 is capable of support heavy processing workloads and provides a versatile industrial computing solution.

The power efficient BOXER-6646 benefits from a hybrid CPU architecture of up to 12 cores and 16 threads, Intel Iris Xe Graphics, and DDR5 support. With a 28W CPU alongside Intel Gaussian and Neural Accelerator technology, the BOXER-6646 is able to handle high-speed industrial computing while ensuring low power consumption.

The BOXER-6646 features a compact mechanical form factor equipped with multiple 2.5GbE LAN ports, three 10Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2 slots, and a quadruple display interface featuring both HDMI 1.4 and DisplayPort 1.4. With a wealth of high-speed connectivity, the BOXER-6646 has potential as a durable autonomous mobile robot (AMR) solution.

Providing an enhanced expansion capability, the BOXER-6646 chassis contains a removable 2.5” SATA drive bay for additional storage on top of the 64GB system memory offered through the device’s DDR5 support. A bottom-side service window is available for expansion key access, enabling easy integration of 5G, Wi-Fi, and NVMe modules via the BOXER-6646’s M.2 3052, M.2 2230, and M.2 2280 ports.

@ReviewDisplays  @ReVis_Solutions  @AAEON #PAuto #PC

Cybersecurity for Connected Serial Devices.

In this article, from the MOXA group, the challenges industrial operators face is discussed along with their solutions that enhance cybersecurity with minimal efforts.

Industrial network security is not an option anymore—it is a necessity. A spate of recent cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure has underscored the need for industrial leaders to prioritize cybersecurity. Needless to say, these types of cyberattacks lead to tremendous cost and inconveniences to industrial operators, investors and end-users. To make matters worse, predicting where the next cyberattack is going to strike is almost impossible, meaning that anyone or anything connected to a network can be a target. To enhance network security, you can replace equipment with newer models that feature embedded security functionality. However, this will be costly and involve time-consuming efforts in deployment and installation. Besides, legacy equipment is most likely still in a good working condition. A more realistic option is to update the security patches of existing equipment. Unfortunately, some legacy equipment still uses legacy operating systems that do not support the latest security patches anymore—Windows XP is one such example.

Challenges to Secure Edge Networks.
To improve operational efficiency, industrial operators must take advantage of the capabilities of today’s networks to realize real-time remote monitoring. However, it also means that field devices can’t be air-gapped any longer. The first challenge is connecting legacy equipment that uses RS-232/422/485 communications to a local area network (LAN) or the Internet, which uses Ethernet communications. Serial-to-Ethernet devices, for instance, serial device servers or protocol gateways depending on the application’s required transparent transmissions or protocol conversions, can connect serial-based equipment to Ethernet-based networks. Once legacy devices are connected, security concerns unfortunately raise their ugly head, especially if the connection doesn’t have proper protection. Therefore, it’s essential to find a secure serial-to-Ethernet device that ensures secure connectivity without replacing existing serial devices.

How to Choose Secure Serial-to-Ethernet Devices.
Nowadays, security standards such as IEC 62443 and NERC CIP are available to help secure network infrastructure. These security standards include guidelines that help verify qualified networking devices and component suppliers. Thus, it’s an easy way to find a secure serial-to-Ethernet device that complies with industry security standards.

Moxa is an IEC 62443-4-1 certified networking solution provider, and the security design of its serial-to-Ethernet devices is based on the IEC 62443-4-2. With security embedded functions, these serial-to-Ethernet devices enhance network security and reduce the chances of unwanted actors accessing serial equipment through Moxa devices.

Real-world Examples.
Moxa's secure serial device servers and protocol gateways have helped its customers ramp up their connectivity security in a variety of industrial settings. To show how the company has helped its customers enhance cybersecurity, below are two real-world examples, showcasing how Moxa NPort 6150 serial devices servers and MGate MB3000 protocol gateways strengthen cybersecurity in the energy industry.

Ramping Up Connectivity Security for Gas Stations.
A Moxa customer owning over 600 gas stations in the U.S.A. required real-time monitoring of the levels in their oil tanks with ATG (automatic tank gauge, usually with serial interfaces) to schedule inventory replenishments as needed at remote sites. They also needed data from POS terminals at gas pumps to be sent back to the store for transaction processing and records. These connectivity requirements are security sensitive. Information regarding the tank levels needs to be well secured so that it could not to be manipulated, and the POS data contains confidential information of consumers, which needs to be protected. To enhance connectivity security, the connection between the gas station and the in-store IT room needs to be protected. In addition, to ensure the connected devices are operating at accepted security levels, IT personnel are required to execute vulnerability scans periodically to update firmware and security patches, keeping the communication systems safe.

As a solution, Moxa NPort 6150 serial device servers were installed. The servers feature basic security functions such as user authentication and accessible IP list to ramp up device security with device access control. During operations, the Moxa NPort 6150 supports a data-encryption function to enhance transmission security when sending serial data over Ethernet. To assist in daily maintenance for IT personnel, NPort 6150 serial device servers support tools that make configuration and management of devices easier.

Enhancing Cybersecurity in Data Centers.
A data center service provider had been a frequent target of cyber intruders, resulting in serious data losses and significant penalties over the past five years. To reduce the chances of being hacked, cybersecurity had become a corporate-level initiative. Their security risk assessment does not focus solely on vulnerabilities in the server rooms, but also extends to all network entry points, including the power sources that supply the server rooms.

To monitor power usage and quality, the power supply equipment, including switchgears, PDUs, and UPSs, are connected to networks so that operators can receive real-time information.

Moxa MGate MB3000 protocol gateways were installed to bridge communication between serial-based Modbus RTU devices, such as power meters used inside power supply equipment, and Ethernet-based SCADA systems in the control center. Today, when IT personnel are required to perform a vulnerability scan, they scan thousands of MGate MB3000 protocol gateways so that immediate action can be taken if a vulnerability is identified.

To make IT personnel’s work easier, Moxa also performs vulnerability scans periodically and, if needed, takes necessary action, such as updating security patches and firmware to reduce potential threats. In addition, MGate MB3000 protocol gateways have an easy-to-use configuration tool in both GUI and CLI format, helping OT and IT users handle mass firmware updates. Moxa MGate MB3000 protocol gateways not only allow its customers to monitor power usage in their serial-based devices but also ease security concerns and daily operation efforts at the same time.

@MoxaInc @OConnellPR  #Pauto #Comms