Thursday, 30 July 2026

Camera ready for extreme conditions.

When production systems are cleaned using high-pressure jets, operate in dusty environments or are exposed to sub-zero temperatures, particularly robust machine vision solutions are required. The uEye FA series from IDS Imaging Development Systems GmbH has been specifically designed for such demanding environments, featuring IP69K protection. From the end of July, the range will be expanded to include new models equipped with Sony STARVIS 2 rolling shutter sensors, covering resolutions from 2 to 12.5 megapixels. They deliver excellent image quality even in difficult lighting conditions.

This provides users with high-performance cameras for a wide range of industrial applications with varying lighting conditions – from manufacturing automation to quality inspection. The new models incorporate sensor variants IMX662 (2 MP), IMX664 (4 MP), IMX675 (5 MP), IMX678 (8 MP) and IMX676 (12.5 MP). All are GigE Vision-compliant, allowing easy integration into existing systems.

The Sony STARVIS 2 sensors impress with their exceptional light sensitivity extending into the near-infrared (NIR) range, very low noise levels and the Clear HDR process for an extended dynamic range. This enables the capture of detailed, sharp images even in demanding environmental conditions. An asynchronous exposure trigger further ensures the sensors are ideally suited for industrial use.

The camera hardware itself has also been consistently designed for industrial applications: Thanks to the IP69K-protected housing, lens tube and corresponding cabling, the cameras operate reliably even under high pressure, heavy contamination or temperatures down to –20°C.

“The combination of robust hardware and state-of-the-art sensor technology enables precise image analysis even in challenging environments,” explains Alexander Klingner, Head of Product Management at IDS. “This provides the foundation for stable and reliable processes in harsh industrial settings.”

With this expansion of the uEye FA series, IDS is further strengthening its portfolio of rugged industrial cameras and offering additional high-performance models for factory automation.


@IDS_Imaging @mepaxIntPR #Pauto #Harsh

Sales leadership in optical and multisensor metrology systems for EMEA.

Optical Gaging Products (OGP®), part of Quality Vision International (QVI®), is accelerating its investment across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) with the appointment of Fabian Werner as EMEA Sales Director and a broader initiative to recruit new channel partners throughout the region. This strategic investment reflects OGP's long-term commitment to strengthening its international partner network and meeting growing demand for advanced dimensional metrology solutions.

Fabian Werner
Based in Germany, Fabian brings extensive international sales leadership experience and a proven record of building successful representative networks across Europe and global markets. He will support channel partners throughout the EMEA region by helping them grow their businesses through strategic sales development, technical collaboration, marketing support, and customer engagement.

"Expanding our channel network is a key part of OGP's global growth strategy," said Panos Angelopoulos, President, Global Sales and Services. "Fabian's appointment demonstrates our commitment to investing in our partners. We want potential representatives to know they are joining an organization that provides not only world-class technology, but also the leadership, resources, and support needed to build a successful, long-term business."

Opportunity for EMEA Metrology Partners.
OGP is growing its global channel partner network in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa and is actively seeking channel partners in Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, and additional strategic markets to represent its industry-leading portfolio of precision metrology solutions. As manufacturers across aerospace, automotive, medical, electronics, semiconductor, and precision engineering continue to invest in automation and advanced quality control, demand for high-performance measurement technologies is growing. OGP is looking for partners with strong technical capabilities and customer relationships who are ready to capitalize on this expanding market and build a successful, long-term business with the support of a globally recognized metrology leader.


@OGP_QVI @mepaxIntPR #Metrology #TandM #PAuto

Wednesday, 29 July 2026

Oil-in-water monitoring.

The launch of Swan Analytical Instruments' AMI-II Fluotrace Oil has been announced This is a high-sensitivity Oil-in-Water monitor designed for continuous, real-time detection of hydrocarbons in industrial, marine, environmental, and water treatment applications.

The AMI-II Fluotrace Oil delivers outstanding sensitivity with detection limits as low as 0.15 ppm oil and 5 ppb PAH, while providing a rapid response time of approximately 6 seconds for early leak detection and process protection.

Designed for low-maintenance operation, the analyser requires no reagents and features nano-coated opti-cal windows to reduce fouling and ensure long-term measurement stability, even in challenging environ-ments. Optional autocleaning and verification solutions further simplify maintenance and performance valida-tion.

With flexible installation options including at-line, immersion, and in-line configurations, the IP68-rated Fluotrace sensor is well suited for applications ranging from cooling water and condensate monitoring to ballast water, raw water intake, and environmental discharge control.


@_Enviro_News @swan_usa #Pauto #Water

Renewable energy sustainability award achieved.

Samtec has received the 2025 Flex Sustainability Award for first place in the Achieved RE (Renewable Energy) Target category. Flex, a global manufacturing and supply chain solutions provider, recognizes top-tier global suppliers that demonstrate exceptional commitment and measurable progress in advancing environmental impact and supply chain sustainability.

Samtec received the Flex Sustainability Award for the Renewable Energy category for its dedication to continuous sustainability improvement and emissions reductions – achieving and exceeding all its environmental goals for 2025. “We are pleased to receive this year’s Flex Sustainability Award in recognition of the collective effort of the Samtec Sustainability Team and our facility teams across the globe,” said Mac Miller, Compliance Manager at Samtec. “Their combined efforts have been successful, credible, and impactful in all the communities in which Samtec operates.”

Flex, named Ford Motor Company’s 2025 Sustainability Supplier of the Year, maintains a gold rating from EcoVadis – a globally recognised sustainability and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) rating platform that evaluates how well a company integrates sustainability into its business operations and supply chain management.

Sustainability achievements
Samtec’s sustainability accomplishments reflect the combined impact of targeted energy-reduction initiatives, increased use of lower-carbon energy sources, and water conservation efforts.

For example, Samtec reduced its Scope 1 and 2 emissions intensity by 25.3 percent relative to its 2019 baseline. Scope 1 emissions are direct greenhouse gases released on-site from owned or controlled sources, and Scope 2 emissions are associated with the purchase of electricity, steam, heat or cooling that physically occur at the facility where they are generated. Samtec also successfully completed emissions estimates for various other categories to establish baselines and identify opportunities for future reductions in collaboration with partners and suppliers.

Also in 2025, Samtec exceeded its renewable energy target by increasing the share of renewables in its global energy portfolio to 21.5 percent. This progress was driven by expanded green power agreements, strategic procurement of renewable energy credits, and the advancement of on-site renewable projects. The recent installation of a photovoltaic solar power system at Samtec’s Costa Rica facility will account for roughly 28 percent of the yearly total energy consumption.

Samtec made significant progress in optimising water use in 2025, particularly in water-intensive processes such as electroplating. A new wastewater treatment facility began operation at the New Albany, Indiana headquarters. This was a contributing factor to a 20 percent water recycling rate across all global manufacturing operations.


@SamtecInc @Flexintl @TechWireIntl #Electronics #PAuto

Cybersecurity in the Energy Sector of Cost Rica.

The Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, also known as ICE or the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity, has officially joined ISASecure®, a wholly owned subsidiary of ISA. ISASecure is the globally recognized certification program that validates conformance to the ISA/IEC 62443 series of standards for industrial automation and control systems (IACS) cybersecurity.

The Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad was founded in 1949 with the mandate to take advantage of water resources efficiently and responsibly for the electrification of the country. A Costa Rican state company, its mission is to provide energy, connectivity and safe and sustainable digital services to the inhabitants of Costa Rica. Their electrical matrix takes advantage of the earth's steam, wind, water, solar energy and biomass. It also focuses on the development of smart grids and electric mobility.

This new partnership with ISASecure reflects the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity’s ongoing mission to strengthen the OT security maturity of Costa Rica’s energy matrix and ensure OT cybersecurity procedures are continually maintained to the highest standards.

Erick Obregón Navarro, ICE Dirección Ciberseguridad y Protección Empresarial, Gerencia General shared: “Joining ISASecure and the adoption of the ISA/IEC 62443 standard supports the implementation of key industrial cybersecurity capabilities, such as:

  1. Protection of industrial networks and SCADA systems.
  2. Definition of security levels and layered control approaches.
  3. Network segmentation and reduction of the attack surface.
  4. Secure management of access and industrial components.
  5. Continuous monitoring and incident response.

“We look forward to our partnership with ISASecure to ensure our energy systems and Costa Rican residents are protected from cybersecurity attacks.”

“It is an honor to welcome the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity (ICE) into the ISASecure program,” said Mark DeAngelo, ISASecure program manager. “Today’s critical infrastructure demands comprehensive, rigorously validated cybersecurity. We look forward to collaborating with the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad as we advance our mission of industry partnership, certification and standards-based product development to help achieve a more secure world. It is an honor to welcome our first Costa Rican company to ISASecure.”


@ISA_Automation  @automation_com @GrupoICEcr #Pauto #Cybersecurity

New IT-style engineering tool launched.

Speeds automation application development reducing the time required to bring industrial projects to market.

The launch of SIMATIC AX WinCC Unified Elements, an IT-like engineering application for the SIMATIC WinCC Unified system has been announced by Siemens. This application empowers automation engineers to build, perform version control, and deploy visualization engineering projects with the same workflows used by IT software developers. The application is available now exclusively in the United States, giving manufacturers an opportunity to bring modern software practices to the plant floor.

The manufacturing industry faces a widening gap between the pace of digital transformation and the availability of skilled automation talent. As product development and change cycles shrink while the need for efficiency grows, a new generation of IT-minded engineers expects modern software development tools that move beyond traditional engineering ecosystems. SIMATIC AX WinCC Unified Elements addresses this gap with an open, code-based engineering environment for visualization that runs alongside traditional graphical, drag-and-drop editor-based workflows.

Key innovations for accelerated development include:

  • Full project generation from human-readable YAML files – at the software’s core, the application empowers engineers to build complete automation projects, combining AI-generated code, configurations, scripts, and reusable library packages into a ready-to-deploy build.
  • Seamless hybrid workflows – embedded hybrid workflows facilitate working simultaneously with both graphical development environments and direct code editing, responsive to each other in real time.
  • Open architecture – users can run custom web controls in the same environment, with no external APIs required.
  • Enhanced collaboration – native Git integration provides full project history, branching, and merge-request workflows for visualization project development to support coworking in real time among distributed teams. The extension-based IDE—built on the Open VSX marketplace—provides customization capabilities so engineers can tailor the development environment to their needs and receive new features as background updates, with no forced upgrades or added licensing cost.

“We're witnessing a fundamental shift in industrial automation, where the speed of innovation is no longer limited by engineering tools but enabled by them,” says Adrien Amar, Global Business Development Manager, Software Defined Automation and SIMATIC AX WinCC Unified Elements at Siemens Digital Industries. “For decades, we've helped manufacturers automate their production lines; now we're automating the automation itself. With SIMATIC AX WinCC Unified Elements, engineers can generate, validate, and deploy automation projects at software speed—using AI generation, CI/CD pipelines, and the version control that IT teams have relied on for years.”

"The US release of SIMATIC AX WinCC Unified Elements marks an important step forward in modernizing industrial engineering workflows, bringing visualization and control engineering together in a unified development environment,” adds Cory Rinaldi, Portfolio Sales Enablement Manager, SCADA & Edge, North America, Siemens. “By combining visual and text-based engineering, native Git integration, and AI-ready workflows, we're helping customers accelerate development, improve collaboration, and adopt IT-driven engineering practices without compromising the reliability expected in industrial automation. Initially supporting WinCC Unified PC Runtime applications, WinCC Unified Elements provides customers with a modern engineering approach, while expanding the flexibility and choices available within the Siemens automation portfolio.”

SIMATIC AX WinCC Unified Elements extends the SIMATIC AX family—which previously focused solely on PLC programming—into visualization, providing engineers with a single, IT-aligned environment to develop both control logic and its interfaces.


@siemensindustry @Siemens @siemens_press #PAuto #USA

Tuesday, 28 July 2026

New EU machinery regulation.

Manufacturers and operators should prepare early for the implementation of the machinery regulation shifting safety responsibilities to machine operatives.

The implementation of the new Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, effective from 20 January 2027, marks one of the most significant changes to European machinery safety legislation in recent years. While manufacturers remain responsible for compliance when machinery is first placed on the market, the regulation introduces expanded responsibilities for operators throughout the machine's operational lifecycle.

The updated regulation introduces new requirements covering cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and substantial machine modifications. Under the new rules, operators making significant changes to existing machinery may themselves be considered manufacturers, requiring them to perform risk assessments, maintain technical documentation, and complete conformity assessments before placing modified equipment back into service.

Growing need for early preparation.
Although the regulation will soon become mandatory, many organisations continue to face uncertainty due to the absence of official implementation guidance. This leaves manufacturers, machine builders, and plant operators making important compliance decisions without detailed interpretation from regulators.

Markus Erdorf
"As companies prepare for the transition, understanding how the new regulation applies to existing machinery is becoming increasingly important," said Markus Erdorf, Senior Safety Consultant at Leuze.

"Organisations should begin reviewing their machinery, documentation, cybersecurity strategies, and modification procedures now rather than waiting for the implementation deadline."

Cybersecurity becomes part of machine safety.
One of the most notable developments within the new Machinery Regulation is the integration of cybersecurity into machinery safety requirements. Organisations will need to protect machinery against unauthorised access, data manipulation, and other cyber risks while demonstrating compliance through appropriate documentation and risk assessments.

For many operators, this represents a significant shift from traditional machine safety practices and requires closer collaboration between safety engineers, automation specialists, and IT security teams.

Practical steps for machine operators.
To reduce future compliance risks, Leuze recommends that operators:

  • Review the new Machinery Regulation requirements early.
  • Work closely with machinery manufacturers and system integrators.
  • Document all safety-related modifications and inspections.
  • Evaluate whether planned machine changes qualify as substantial modifications.
  • Monitor evolving standards related to machinery safety, cybersecurity, and AI.

Supporting safe machinery throughout its lifecycle.
As machinery safety requirements continue to evolve, Leuze supports manufacturers and operators with machine safety consulting, risk assessments, training, and engineering services designed to help organisations achieve regulatory compliance while maintaining operational efficiency.

"The responsibility for machine safety no longer ends when equipment is commissioned," added Erdorf. "Preparing today will help manufacturers and operators reduce compliance risks and ensure safe machine operation throughout the entire lifecycle."


@EU_Commission @LeuzeUK @LeuzeUSA @mepaxIntPR #PAuto