Environmental product declaration for distributed control.

Helping process industries make informed decisions that align with sustainabilty targets.

ABB has published its first Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for the AC 800M family of controllers. This marks a key milestone in industrial automation, with ABB becoming the first company to publish an externally verified EPD for industrial controllers used in distributed control systems (DCS).

The introduction of the EPD for the AC 800M controllers is crucial for industrial customers looking to meet regulatory requirements and corporate sustainability goals. An EPD is a standardized document that provides detailed information about the environmental impact of a product throughout its lifecycle. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study completed for developing the Type III EPD for AC 800M controllers was done in accordance with ISO standards and is based on the EN standard for electrical and electronic products.

ABB’s AC 800M controllers sit at the heart of ABB Ability™ System 800xA® distributed control system and Compact Product Suite, offering agile and scalable process control. They are designed to handle the demands of various industrial environments, providing robust performance and high availability across a wide range of critical process industries, including energy, chemicals, power generation, water, pharmaceuticals, metals and others.

“Helping our customers across industries operate leaner and cleaner is at the heart of everything we do at ABB,” said Stefan Basenach, Senior Vice President, Process Automation Technology, ABB. “We are dedicated to providing transparent information that enables our customers to meet regulatory requirements and achieve their sustainability goals. This EPD is a testament to this commitment and represents an important step toward greater transparency and accountability in industrial automation.”

The EPD covers the range of nine models within the AC 800M controller family. Each model features dual Ethernet ports and IP20 protection and meets key international environmental directives, including those related to hazardous substances, chemical safety, and electronic waste.

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@ABBgroupnews @ABB_Energy @ABBelec @abb_automation @admiralpr #PAuto #ISustainability 

Breakthrough in torque and angle measurement.

The SGR523, a state-of-the-art digital rotary torque sensor equipped with an integrated incremental angle encoder has been introduced by Sensor Technology. This innovative addition to the TorqSense SGR series sets a new benchmark for precision in torque and angular position monitoring across various industrial applications. The SGR523 employs non-contact strain gauge technology, eliminating the need for traditional slip rings and enhancing reliability. Its high-resolution angle encoder delivers up to 10,000 pulses per revolution with a remarkable resolution of 0.009°, making it ideal for applications requiring meticulous torque-angle analysis, such as mechanical testing, automated assembly, and process control. 

Key Features:

• 
  Torque measurement range from 175 mNm to 20 Nm
• Accuracy of ±0.1%
• High mechanical overload capacity of 400%
• Overrange reading capability of 250%
• High digital sample rate of 4000 samples per second
• Digital outputs: RS232 and USB (standard); CANbus and Ethernet (optional)
• Bi-directional angle and rotation count
• Speed measurement up to 9000 RPM
• Compatible with TorqView Advanced Torque Monitoring Software
• Lifetime warranty

The SGR523's advanced capabilities enable engineers to detect mechanical anomalies, such as rotational stiction or thread damage, by analysing torque versus angle plots. This dual-parameter monitoring is crucial for quality assurance in manufacturing processes, including bottle cap tightening and bolt fastening.

The sensor's ability to monitor torque at specific shaft angles aids also in identifying potential issues in process control applications, thereby reducing production wastage. Its high-resolution angle measurement also facilitates precise motion control, allowing for better management of inertia in motion platforms and improved safety in automated machinery.

The SGR523's design simplifies system architecture by combining torque and angle measurement into a single unit, reducing component count and enhancing system reliability. Its robust construction and advanced diagnostics, including Built-In Test (BIT) self-diagnostics and shaft temperature monitoring, ensure consistent performance even in demanding environments.

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@sensortech #PAuto

Measurements to the cloud.

The NETRIS® family from WIKA has three radio units that ensure seamless and secure transmission of measured data in IIoT applications. The instruments allow battery-powered wireless transmission via the licence-free LoRaWAN® (“Long Range Wide Area Network”) radio standard. This enables long ranges of up to 10 km and a long battery life of up to 5 years. The radio units can be easily configured via WIKA’s web-based IIoT cloud platform and the LoRaWAN® network, in some cases also via mobile devices using the “myWIKA wireless device” app.

The NETRIS® instruments are part of WIKA’s IIoT platform, which is available either as a software-as-a-service or on-premises solution. The cloud platform offers full end-to-end encryption with bi-directional communication for a secure IIoT environment. Standard sensors can be connected to the compact NETRIS®1 and -2 radio units to transmit measured data wirelessly to the cloud for big-data analysis. In addition to the licence-free LoRaWAN® and mioty® radio standards, the NETRIS®1 instrument uses Bluetooth® for configuration and short-range data transmission.

The NETRIS®2 and -3 Ex radio units have been developed for centralised, web-based remote monitoring of measured data in hazardous areas. NETRIS®2 receives the data via two intrinsically safe, analogue 4 ... 20 mA input signals, while NETRIS®3 already receives the data digitally from a WIKA measuring instrument via an intrinsically safe interface. The fully encapsulated instruments with IP55 or IP65 ingress protection continuously transmit the information to the cloud via configurable data packets using LoRaWAN®.

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 WIKA products are marketed in Ireland through Instrument Technology.

@WIKANews #PAuto #IIoT

Best new product promoter.

Mouser Electronics has been named the Best New Product Promoter for 2024 by Diotec Semiconductor, the leading manufacturer of diodes, transistors, MOSFETs, and voltage regulators for automotive-, commercial- and industrial-grade applications. Mouser was awarded this accolade for significant growth in buyers, lines and part counts.

"We are very pleased to present Mouser with the Best New Product Promoter award," said Dr. Saverio Barboni, chief marketing and sales officer of Diotec Semiconductor. "Mouser's distribution is a key part of our channel strategy, and we look forward to many more years of successful collaboration."

"We are delighted to win this prestigious award from Diotec Semiconductor," said Kristin Schuetter, Mouser Senior Vice President of Products. "We greatly value our business partnership with Diotec and look forward to continuing to provide their products to design engineers and purchasing professionals around the world."

After signing a global distribution agreement with Diotec in 2022, Mouser Electronics received their Top Sales Partner Award for the same year. Mouser also received Diotec's Best Distributor Award for 2023. With over 5,000 Diotec parts available to order, Mouser offers an ever-widening selection of the newest solutions from the manufacturer, constantly adding new products to meet customers' needs.

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@MouserElecEU  @DiotecSemi @Publitek #Electronics #PAuto

Cyber reliance complience.

The SoMLabs i.MX8Mmini System-on-Modules (SoMs, marketed by Inelco Hunter, are “CRA ready” i.e. conform to the EU Cyber Resilience Act which came into force on 10th December 2024. The Act’s aim is to enhance the cybersecurity of products with digital elements sold or manufactured in the EU. The i.MX8Mmini System-on-Modules are CRA Ready - they are ready to be integrated into the customer's electronic product with the knowledge that the requirements of the Act have been met with the SOMLabs module. To quote EU Commission President van der Leyen in outlining the necessity of this act, "If everything is connected, everything can be hacked." (2021)

The VisionSOM-8Mmini family is a SODIMM-sized SoM based on the NXP iMX8Mmini application processor which features a heterogeneous quad cores ARM Cortex-A53 together with an ARM Cortex-M4 cor, as well as an advanced 3D Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) Open GL 2.0 ES compatible and VPU (encoder/decoder) HD1080p60 H.264, HD1080p60 H.265.

The quad Cortex-A53 and single Cortex-M4 based VisionSOM provides full flexibility to support real time application while supporting Linux and advanced HMI. These compact and yet very powerful Mini SoMs will have a very wide range of applications in applications such as manufacturing, aerospace, medical, transport, retail, IoT.

The VisionSOM-8Mmini is a general-purpose highly integrated SoM (System on Module). The module is featuring high computation power. The option is fully certified Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n) and Bluetooth (BLE 5.1) module. This module simplifies the carrier board design and is ideally suited for wireless application. The VisionSOM-8Mmini provides a variety memory configuration, including flexible range of LPDDR4, eMMC and SD memory card.

The VisionSOM-8Mmini supports connections to a variety of interfaces: two high-speed USB on-the-go with PHY, 1Gbit Ethernet, audio, advanced Full HD display with 3D coprocessing and VPU encoder/decoder, touch panel and serial interfaces.

With over 30 years of expertise, Inelco Hunter continues to provide industry-leading engineering support, helping customers rapidly implement solutions and speed up time-to-market. Unlike a lot of traditional distributors, Inelco Hunter offers in-depth technical assistance, ensuring that clients receive tailored, high-quality support throughout the lifecycle of their projects.

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@InelcoHunter @EURLex #PAuto #Electronics

Easy monitoring of robot fleets.

"Smart, Connect, Optimize, Prevent and Enable!"

Remote monitoring, fault identification, visualisation and optimisation of robot fleets – all of these actions can be performed conveniently, securely, and efficiently with the SCOPE platform, which Stäubli has now made even more powerful with a recent update.

Networking and connectivity are major trends in industrial production, and accordingly, advances in this area are implemented as comprehensively and efficiently as possible in robotics as well. With the SCOPE platform, Stäubli demonstrates how practical implementation works and the advantages of connected robot monitoring.

The acronym SCOPE stands for “Smart, Connect, Optimize, Prevent and Enable,” which neatly summarizes the nature of this digital solution for robot fleet monitoring. The on-site platform aggregates, processes, analyzes and visualizes not only robot data but also application and cell equipment data, allowing users to view an array of relevant operating data for each robotic system on a central dashboard. This enables the detection of irregularities or gradual deviations from specifications and allows for timely preventive measures to be taken before quality is compromised, components become damaged, or the production line comes to a halt.

The real-time data collected and the resulting SCOPE analysis can also be communicated to higher-level architecture layers as well as to databases and analysis tools. SCOPE is able to forward data via MQTT, HTTP response, and WebSocket, enabling connection to the user’s ERP, SCM, or MES system.

Transparency across the entire fleet.
The benefits of SCOPE are immediately apparent: Manufacturing professionals always have a secure overview of the status of all robots. With this update, the solution is now even more powerful, enabling the monitoring of VAL3 program variables and I/Os to visualise trends and production-related data. This allows SCOPE to not only play a role in robot-specific data but also monitor cell equipment, sensors, and application-related data. Users can, for example, set thresholds for custom warning alerts. If these thresholds are exceeded, an instant notification is sent regarding deviations from target values. This empowers plant operators to react to trends early and avoid scrap. Further, the ability to evaluate log files remotely means errors can be analysed and resolved from anywhere. Naturally, this solution represents the first step toward AI-driven optimisation processes.

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@PresseBox @StaubliRobots #PAuto #Automotive

Eddie Kenny RIP

The death of Eddie Kenny has been announced.*

Eddie was among those who founded the Ireland Section of the International of Automation (ISA) in 1977 and became the first secretary of the section.

Like many in the area of automation in Ireland he was employed in the Irish Refinery in Whitegate, Cork. He then became a one of the first instructors in the newly instituted Instrumentation and Control Department in An Comhairle Oiuliúna (AnCo) which later was renamed as FÁS.

In later years he moved from Cork to the Co Dublin FÁS Training Centre in Loughlinstown.

He died on Tuesday (22 April 2025) in his home with his family. May his wife Eithne and his family be consoled.

May he rest in piece.

Official Presentation of Charter to ISA Ireland 4 Sept 1978
LtoR: Eddie O'Connell, Tom Nulty, Bob Shine (Treasurer), Hugh Wilson (Global President ISA),Fred Gilroy (President ISA Ireland), Eddie Kenny (Secretary), Dan O'Sullivan and Maurice Radford.
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* Death Notice and funeral details.