Saturday, 30 April 2022

Furthering agile Innovation and Intelligent adaptability.

Aegis Software is providing new capabilities in their latest FactoryLogix® 2022.1 and 2022.2 releases. Thse capabilities offer advanced capabilities to eliminate redundancies, streamline error-prone processes, promote agility, increase quality, and reduce waste.

FactoryLogix is a holistic and modular platform that delivers leading-edge technology with easily configurable modules to support and execute a discrete manufacturer’s strategy towards Industry 4.0. FactoryLogix manages the entire manufacturing lifecycle: from product launch to material logistics, through manufacturing execution and quality management to powerful analytics and real-time dashboards. This end-to-end platform helps companies accelerate product introductions, streamline processes, improve quality and traceability, reduce costs, and gain greater visibility for competitive advantage and profitability.

“In an ever-changing market, adaptability is everything. Manufacturers must take the waste out of every operational task from manufacturing and process engineering, through the shop floor and out the loading dock. Speed of adaptability makes or breaks their performance. Manufacturers need innovative and forward-thinking solutions that deliver this adaptiveness without requiring costly and time-consuming configuration or customization,” stated Jason Spera, CEO, and Co-Founder, of Aegis Software. “At Aegis, our mindset is to deliver a platform that responds to our customers’ dynamic business, and these releases are a testament to that vision. FactoryLogix’s unique architecture, elegant user interface, and no-code platform provide our customers with a no-compromise solution. They get the best of all worlds, a robust end-to-end solution with deep functionality with the end-user configurability needed to support their changing requirements. We are excited to continue our evolution with these latest updates to our platform that roll out to our entire worldwide customer base of over 2,200 manufacturing sites.”

FactoryLogix 2022.1 and 2022.2 deliver enhancements across the entire platform. Here are just a small sample of the industry-leading features and benefits offered in this new release:

  • Smart, Dynamic Visualization - Whether during incoming inspection or on the factory floor, manufacturers can power up their visual work instructions with “smart pictures” that dynamically change depending on the context of what is being inspected or worked. Similar to Aegis’ recently introduced “smart text” capability, end-users now have the power to create one template and use it in an infinite number of scenarios instead of leveraging static/generic images or single-use templates. Companies benefit by eliminating redundant document authoring work, streamlining processes, supporting single-piece flow production, and, ultimately, overall improved quality.
  • Fractional Tracking During Production - Aegis has expanded the ability to track units of measurement (volume, length, etc.) beyond the unit level during the production process. Now manufacturers have expanded support for even more process types and product types when leveraging the FactoryLogix platform.
  • Cross-Order Process Synchronization - With this latest capability, manufacturers can now establish a common assembly operation to occur simultaneously across different assembly lines and different products. They can optimally balance approaches, equipment, materials, and resources based upon similar operations common among products regardless of the assembly line, further elevating quality, reducing waste, and streamlining resources.
  • Nonconformance Integration & Threshold Approval Support - FactoryLogix now supports cost-related parameters and threshold approval workflows when assessing the path of action for a nonconformance. In addition to accelerating the approval process, it also enables the ability to see those problems occurring most frequently and those imposing the greatest cost.
  • BOM Compare to an Externally Sourced BOM - FactoryLogix has always supported BOM to BOM comparisons, but now manufacturers can compare a CAD/CAM BOM to an externally resident BOM (e.g., ERP) and accelerate the BOM compare process, saving time and money. Users can quickly identify discrepancies between the two, eliminating data inconsistencies and ensuring they have enough material to complete the job on time and within budget.
@FactoryLogix #PAuto #Industrie4

Pre-owned test equipment easily obtained on-line.

Electro Rent has launched a new e-commerce feature to its website in France and Britain. This user-friendly feature provides current and new customers with the ability to purchase certified pre-owned (CPO) test equipment directly online. Supporting the company’s reputation as an easy trading partner, the customer purchasing experience just became even more efficient and effective.

Providing the customer with added value, Electro Rent’s e-commerce feature brings self-serve functionality and convenience to the CPO test equipment marketplace. Customers can now take advantage of straightforward, automated purchasing in just four steps. Available 24/7, e-commerce allows test professionals, engineers and project/programme managers to secure equipment in stock with immediate effect.

At the Electro Rent website, simply click on ‘Buy Used Test Equipment’ (under the Services tab) and browse the extensive range of fully calibrated and ready-to-ship CPO products available. A number of filters are available to refine each search, including manufacturer, product group and sub-product group. Full product details, specification and price are clear to view for each selectable product.

A shopping cart facility and the potential to create an account and track/view all order information makes for an experience that will be familiar to many who benefit from online retail shopping. Furthermore, secure and verified transactions provide complete peace of mind for finance co-ordinators, with all major credit cards accepted. Every order for CPO test equipment comes with free delivery.

“Electro Rent is constantly looking for ways to provide market differentiation and deliver genuine added value to customers,” says Gavin Lessing-Caller, the company’s Senior Vice President and General Manager EMEA and Technology Products. “The retail market has for many years utilised e-commerce, simplifying the entire online purchasing experience. We want to ensure that industry professionals benefit from the same level of convenience for their CPO test equipment needs. More and more companies are turning to CPO test equipment as a cost-effective yet reliable means of meeting the requirements of budget-conscious, lead-time restricted projects. The Electro Rent e-commerce feature simplifies that journey for our customers in France and the UK.”

@ElectroRentEMEA @mepaxIntPR #PAuto #TandM #France #Britain

Friday, 29 April 2022

Calibration fleet expanded in U.S.A.

The U.S. on-site calibration offerings of Endress+Hauser has been increased with three additional mobile calibration rigs to the existing fleet, making a total of 19 rigs that service Endress+Hauser and third-party instrumentation including flow, pressure, and temperature. All Endress+Hauser authorized sales and service representatives across the U.S. are equipped with mobile calibration capabilities, with over 60 trained and certified calibration technicians.

“Endress+Hauser’s network of experienced and certified technicians, along with our mobile rigs, enable our customers to work with a local partner who knows you and what you need,” said Lory Stobart, National Service Operations Manager, Endress+Hauser. “This gives the flexibility of offering a calibration solution that is customer-driven, reducing costs for our customers year after year, while meeting quality and audit requirements.”

With services that are ISO 17025 accredited, Endress+Hauser can ensure both quality and efficiency when calibrating instruments. On-site services provide end users and customers with a direct connection to technicians, mitigating confusion and downtime.

The mobile calibration rigs also eliminate the need to send in instrumentation, creating faster turnaround times. Traditional send-in calibration methods can take up to 2 weeks to complete, but with mobile calibration, meters can be calibrated onsite in just a day. “The expansion of our mobile rigs allows us to serve our customers in an efficient way directly in their local territories,” Stobart added. “We can provide support where and when they need it.”

@Endress_US @Endress_Hauser #PAuto #USA

Thursday, 28 April 2022

Testing of commercial and prototype eSIM devices.

Anritsu Corporation and Comprion have announced the availability of downloadable 5G and 4G eSIM test profiles for use with Anritsu’s MT8000A Radio Communications Test Station and Rapid Test Designer (RTD) application software.


An increasing number of mobile device manufacturers are integrating embedded SIMs (eSIMs) into their products, whether phones, tablets, wearables or IoT devices, both for flexibility and to save valuable physical device real-estate. However, because eSIMs are non-removable, it is now more difficult to set-up communication testing between the mobile device and a network simulator in the lab.

Previously, test labs and handset manufacturers used a physical Anritsu Test SIM to configure the mobile device so it could be tested with the Anritsu network simulator. However, since there is no longer a card slot for eSIM-only devices, the device's configuration must instead be digitally loaded onto the mobile device-under-test via an Anritsu-specific eSIM test profile.

This is now also possible for prototype and commercial eSIM devices via the Comprion eSIM Test Profile Service. Comprion and Anritsu have jointly developed the necessary test profiles to test the mobile devices using the Anritsu MT8000A network simulator for the RTD 5G and 4G protocol test software environment in the R&D lab.

The Comprion eSIM Test Profile Service is fully GSMA SAS compliant and available online via a subscription service. It includes a repository of eSIM test profiles as well as a GSMA-standardized Remote SIM Provisioning service to deliver the test profiles to eSIM devices.

“The combination of a repository of eSIM test profiles and a GSMA-standardized and SAS-compliant Remote SIM Provisioning service to deliver Anritsu specific test profiles to eSIM devices is unique in the industry and makes testing easier, faster, and more cost-effective, significantly reducing time-to-market." says Dr. Marcus Dormanns, Lead Innovation Manager at Comprion.

Anritsu’s Marketing Director Kevin Ingrams added,  “ANRITSU is delighted that once again it is extending its successful long-term collaboration with Comprion to deliver market leading eSIM test solutions to its customers in order to keep them at the forefront of latest technology”.

@Anritsu @AnritsuEMEA @COMPRION @NapierPR #TandM #Telecommunications  

Monumental registration achievement.

 FieldComm Group Announces Registration of First Process Automation FDI Host System

Emerson’s AMS Device Manager has successfully completed conformance requirements testing under FieldComm Group’s FDI Technology Host Registration Policy. Thus, AMS Device Manager became the first FDI host system to earn the right to display the FDI registration logo in product marketing materials.

By pairing a registered FDI Device Package with a registered FDI host, end users are assured of achieving the multi-vendor interoperability FDI promise of “One Device – One Package – All Tools.” In practice, this means any HART device supporting FDI will communicate seamlessly with AMS Device Manager, and with future host systems as these become registered.

“This is a monumental achievement for FDI technology and Emerson,” says Ted Masters, President and CEO of FieldComm Group. “Over the past several years we have registered over 100 FDI Device Packages. However, the requirements for host registration are extremely rigorous to ensure compatibility among devices and hosts, making this advancement by Emerson very significant.”

Registration is conformance
There are several steps required when preparing host systems for conformance testing against current standards. An FDI host must conform to at least the HART Protocol test specification for host systems, in addition to the FDI specifications.

End users benefit because FDI is the preferred path to digital transformation in the process industry, and conforming host systems provide everything needed to advance existing HART process automation infrastructure into the 21st century, while delivering the latest offerings of new instrumentation with data rich FDI Device Packages.

Registration benefits suppliers and end-users 
According to Stephen Mitschke, Director, Standards Development and Technical Services with FieldComm Group, “End users and automation suppliers both benefit from host registration. Like the current device registration process, host registration strengthens interoperability and device integration. The breadth of facets covered in the test specifications includes FDI UIPs, menu layouts, and offline configuration, among others. The suite of host test specifications encompasses FDI and HART, with over 1,100 test cases combined. 

FDI host test specifications were developed through the cooperation of leading device suppliers, host system vendors, and end users. Every effort was made to provide the industry with a robust solution for verifying HART device interoperability. Now with FDI on top of the existing protocols, end users have a complete integration solution,”

Each host test begins with an audited plan that details the specific implementation of the host against the specifications. Next, there is an onsite test utilizing standard test devices and registered products. This takes multiple weeks, with complete testing spanning several months.

About AMS Device Manager and FDI
Emerson included several key features in its AMS Device Manager host software suite to support process automation end users when integrating FDI-enabled products. Traditional HART instrumentation will see continued support with this release of AMS Device Manager.

FDI brings modern techniques for security, and it aims to alleviate restrictions on device description developers by expanding the scope to include User Interface Plug-Ins (UIPs), a software component in the FDI Device Package. UIPs are used to represent complex device functionalities via a rich graphical user interface. Examples include diagnostic information, configuration wizards, and valve signature analysis. Emerson’s AMS Device Manager supports the execution of UIPs, which are built with .NET in a secure sandbox.

AMS Device Manager also supports device configuration using Templates if these are present in the instrument’s EDD or FDI Device Package. A Template describes a set of parameter values used for offline configuration by the host to simplify the initial deployment of devices, reducing configuration time for end users.

Security is paramount in FDI. An FDI Device Package is a sophisticated and standardized container for all the components required to describe a field device in the plant. An FDI Device Package carries one or more digitally signed FDI Registration Certificates to ensure its authenticity and integrity. AMS Device Manager can display these digitally-signed certificates to ensure protection from unauthorized access and tampering.

End users need multi-vendor inoperability between field devices and host systems, and this functionality is ensured by registration. Over 100 field devices are now registered, with more to come. Emerson AMS Device Manager is the first host system registered, but additional host system registrations are in progress. Eventually, most of the leading device and host system suppliers will be registered, ushering in a new era of multi-vendor inoperability.

@FieldCommGroup @EMR_Automation @EmersonExchange #PAuto

Wednesday, 27 April 2022

No design without reason and no place for gimmicks.

Buttonwood's Graham Meller recently interviewed Sauli Laitinen, who has worked in Vaisala’s ‘ideas factory’ in Helsinki for 14 years, to discover what role R&D plays in protecting and enhancing a company’s brand. This is what he learned.

Sauli Laitinen
The guiding mantra in Vaisala’s design department is ‘no design without reason’. It sounds obvious, but what they really mean is ‘no design without a valid reason’ because they believe that too many companies add features to their products that do not add value for customers.

As Head of Design at the Finnish measurement technology company Vaisala, Sauli Laitinen plays an important role in preserving and enhancing the company’s long-standing reputation for quality and innovation. A heavy responsibility, one might suppose, for someone with two degrees in Psychology, but Sauli is keen to point out that good design is grounded in a deep understanding of customer behaviour. After 14 years working in Research & Development at Vaisala, Sauli says: “I am fortunate to be working in an ‘ideas factory’, which is as exciting now as it was when I first started.” So, we took this opportunity to ask him how important product design is at Vaisala, how it affects the company brand, and why there is ‘no design without reason’.

Curiosity
Vaisala’s history stretches back to the 1930s, when the company’s founder invented some of the operating principles of a radiosonde. Curiosity, the desire to meet challenges, and an extraordinary ability to innovate remain at the company’s core. Today, that focus on innovation is as strong as ever, and has enabled the development of a wide range of technologies which are designed to deliver observations for a better world. Employing around 1,900 people, Vaisala now exports 98% of its production to over 150 countries.

Form follows function

Does this feel like a Vaisala product ?
Design is obviously important for any company that develops and manufactures new products, but for Vaisala, design is something bigger; it defines the whole company. When designing products, Vaisala designers ask themselves: “Does this feel like a Vaisala product?” In doing so, they are not just assessing the physical appearance, although that in itself is important; they are also asking if the product meets the customer needs, as well as the highest standards of accuracy, reliability, longevity and ease of use. As Sauli says: “Our customers expect our products to be the best in the market, so we must not, and will not, disappoint them.”

No idea is a bad idea
Ideas for new market leading products can come from a wide variety of sources, but all of them have to offer something that is not currently available, and they have to solve customers’ problems better than any other product. Following the mantra ‘no design without a reason’, there is no opportunity for design effort to be wasted on work that does not add value in the eyes of customers. “Too often,” Sauli explains, “companies develop products, or product features, that add no real value for users. This can happen when designers are out of touch with customers. We therefore go to great lengths to ensure that all of our candidate products are completely user-centric, and designed for their intended application.”

Finding the right problems to solve is a skilled activity. For Vaisala this involves sending product and application experts out to visit and observe customers doing their normal work. Sauli says: “If you just ask people what they want, there is a danger that you only get half the story, so it is important to observe them in their work; to ask the right questions and find hidden needs, which means that the researchers must have a deep understanding of the customers and their businesses. A key area of expertise is the combination of application knowledge and an ability to provide answers to the questions customers didn’t even know they had.”

It was interesting to note that when we spoke with Sauli he never mentioned competitors. When we asked why, he said: “Of course, if you want to be a market leader, you have to constantly benchmark yourself, but from a product design and development point of view it makes no sense to follow competitors. If you do so, you will always be behind the curve. That’s why we are in continuous dialogue with our customers; looking for opportunities to exceed their expectations and disrupt the market.”

Design Concept
Ideas factory
New product ideas are brought to multi-disciplinary workshops involving staff from several different departments. Emphasizing the importance of this, Sauli says: “We need to consider every customer touch-point in the product journey, which means more than just its operation; it also means manufacturing, packaging, transport, assembly, configuration, maintenance, calibration, disposal or recycling. Every step of the product journey is mapped out so that the design team can predict and prevent potential issues.

“We also need to find those hidden opportunities for improvement. For example, if a customer currently completes a task with two people in a set period of time, the design team’s objective might be to enable one person to do it in a fraction of that time.”

Throughout the design process, the team will continue to ask if the product is solving a genuine customer problem, and if it still feels like a Vaisala product. If an idea passes these tests, sketches and mock-ups are created for early validation of concept.

Image
Mock-ups are assessed against how effectively they solve a customer’s problem; how widely the solution would be adopted; how pleasant the user experience would be; how it would be assembled or configured; how accuracy and reliability can be assured, and how good the product will look and feel. All of these evaluations address the perspective of the user, but it is also necessary to ensure that the product fulfils the needs and expectations of the customer, which may include considerations such as service requirements, longevity, price, lifetime cost, materials and lead times. 

Mock-up

“The early stages of idea generation and evaluation are great fun,” Sauli comments. “However, once a candidate product passes the concept evaluation stage, things rapidly get serious.”

In addition to evaluations, all products are tested to check their reliability, durability, stability and accuracy in all potential conditions, which means that products have to be tested beyond customers’ expectations. Sauli says: “We regard our specifications as a performance promise, so we test our designs rigorously and repeatedly to ensure that we are able to deliver on that promise.”

Design project example: the smart Indigo family
The Vaisala Indigo family of industrial measurement instruments has evolved in recent years as a result of a series of product development programs with common goals; each of which solved specific customer problems. Indigo is a great example of joined-up thinking in the Vaisala ideas factory. At an early stage, the team realised that if a variety of products could be harmonized as a modular family, they would simultaneously solve a number of important customer challenges.

Indigo Mock-ups

The overall aims of the development work were to enable the continuous flow of data; avoiding process down-times, and improving data visualization. Following an extensive development program, it is now possible to measure all of Vaisala’s key parameters with technologies from within the modular Indigo family, and new products are regularly added to the series.

The Indigo range includes intelligent, interchangeable, standalone measurement probes and optional transmitters; all of which are configurable by Vaisala Insight PC Software. The Indigo compatible probes measure key parameters such as humidity, temperature, pressure, dew point, CO2, H2O2 or moisture in oil. Importantly, each of the smart probes can operate as a standalone device, which provides portability advantages for customers. A key advantage is that processes can operate continuously, because each of the probes can be hot-swapped with another.

Summary
Vaisala’s design philosophy can be summarized in three words: insightful, complete and pure. Insightful development programs are grounded in a deep understanding of customer needs, combined with a determination to find innovative solutions. The solutions must be complete, in that they may involve both software and hardware, working harmoniously to exploit the latest technologies to both satisfy and excite prospective users. Last but not least, the new product must be pure – this means it must be credible and recognisable as a Vaisala product. Furthermore, it must be designed for an actual customer need, setting the highest standards in the market with essential features such as accuracy and reliability in the long term.

Finally, of course, there is no place for gimmicks in the Vaisala ideas factory, because there is no design without a reason.

@VaisalaGroup @_Enviro_News #PAuto #Design #Automation

Patent granted for remote resetting.

Antaira Technologies has been granted a patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for its innovative Power Remote Reset Technology (PRRT) that allows IT staff to remotely reboot and reset a connected powered device through a local Antaira copper-to-fiber media converter.

The Antaira IMP-C1000-SFP-bt gigabit Ethernet-to-Fiber media converter is one of the company's industrial networking devices equipped with patented Power Remote Rest Technology (PRRT)

The time-saving technology, which resides on several Antaira IEEE802.3bt PoE media converters and unmanaged switches, empowers technicians to immediately resolve device function interruptions without traveling to a remote site. By doing so, PRRT reduces device downtime, and increases the reliability of remotely located critical systems and applications, such as security cameras, wireless access points, or IP phones. PRRT is especially valuable when an IT team works remotely or supports a large geographical area.

"If a powered device is remote or in a building equipment room, gaining access might pose a challenge and will likely require sending a technician out to the site to perform a power cycle,” said Carl Stelling, Vice President of Antaira Technologies. “Our patented PRRT technology saves the money, time and inconvenience of traveling to the remote site to troubleshoot a connected powered device, which may be hours away. It is incredibly gratifying to be awarded a patent that formally recognizes our innovation and leadership."

Antaira PRRT is an important part of the company’s integrated patent portfolio and supports the continued development of its suite of industrial networking solutions.

@AntairaTech @uspto #Pauto #Networking #HMI

New development chassis.

Flexible, cost-effective platform for open-standards-based application development, integration, testing, and demonstration.

The new DEVPX3 development chassis, from AMETEK Abaco Systems, is aligned to both OpenVPX and SOSA™ standards, providing a flexible, cost-effective platform for open-standards-based application development, integration, and testing. The chassis helps you maintain a robust, fast-paced development program by being able to quickly demonstrate and prove the end capability of your 3U VPX solutions at a system or board level.

The lab-ready DEVPX3 development chassis allows sensor and system solutions providers to shorten lab and demonstration schedules by providing a fast and efficient way to stay up to date on VPX advancements from Abaco and its partners. By re-using existing boards or purchasing economical in-stock air-cooled variants, software and firmware time to market is also shortened.

With eight individual slots, the DEVPX3 supports both conduction and air-cooled Abaco 3U modules aligned to OpenVPX and SOSA standards. The open frame and backplane are quickly configured with off-the-shelf cabling or rear transition modules.

“The DEVPX3 OpenVPX development chassis gives our customers an easy and economical way to solidify and accelerate their own systems as well as enable future products and programs,” says Pete Thompson, vice president of product management, Abaco Systems. “The introduction is yet another example of how Abaco supports our customers by providing exactly what they need from board to lab to rugged production solutions.”

@AMETEKInc #Laboratory 

Tuesday, 26 April 2022

Base station simulators.

German Federal Network Agency adopts Anritsu's base station simulators for 5G/4G/ IoT technologies and Bluetooth®/WLAN Testers
Anritsu Corporation has announced that Bundesnetzagentur (German Federal Network Agency - Bnetza) has adopted Anritsu's Base Station Simulators for 5G/4G/IoT technologies as well as Bluetooth®/WLAN testers for EMC tests.
Product Outline
MT8000A - The Radio Communication Test Station
This is an all-in-one 5G test platform supporting RF parametric and protocol tests, functional, and application tests, validation of beam characteristics, and more. It supports Non-Standalone (NSA) and Standalone (SA) mode base-station emulation functions for the development of 4G/5G chipsets and devices supporting both FR1 and FR2. The MT8000A is used widely for conducted and OTA tests to evaluate the performance of 4G/5G devices.

MT8821C - The Radio Communication Analyzer
This is a scalable LTE network simulator for RF parametric tests and verifying 2G/3G/4G smartphones, tablets, M2M modules, and IoT devices. It supports the latest 3GPP technologies, including VoLTE, Gigabit LTE, and Cellular IoT applications.

MT8862A - The Wireless Connectivity Test Set (WLAN Tester)
This measures the RF TRx characteristics of WLAN IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax devices (2.4, 5, and 6-GHz bands). The Network mode with built-in WLAN signalling messages measures the TRx performance of connected devices, while the Direct mode supports a flexible protocol-free test environment.

As a government regulatory agency, the Bnetza is responsible for testing electronic devices for unwanted emissions, as well as undertaking customer protection duties.

The TKG (German Telecommunication Law) sets limits on unwanted emissions. To keep these emissions in check, Bnetza conducts random tests of consumer electronics, investigating electromagnetic radiation which could harm the human body or interfere with the given standards or other electronic devices.

This testing is a huge undertaking for Bnetza, which needs to check W-LAN routers, Bluetooth equipment and mobile phones of any brand, testing new technology like 5G alongside legacy technologies.

Anritsu’s MT8000A, MT8821C, MT8862A, and MT8852B base station simulators as well as its Bluetooth/WLAN tester for 5G/4G/IoT/Bluetooth/WLAN wireless devices are contributing to Bnetza ’s telecommunications regulatory work. The Agency combines these Anritsu test solutions with an Over the Air (OTA) chamber and other EMC testers to perform EMC tests based on both ETSI’s and in-house regulatory test standards.

@AnritsuEMEA @Anritsu @bnetza #TandM #Communications #Germany

Electrical maintenance inspections with partial discharge detection.

Kenter, a leading Dutch energy metering and management company with more than 30,000 customers, has transformed maintenance inspections through the fast and safe detection of partial discharge. Left undetected partial discharge can cause degradation of medium voltage installations which pose significant safety, efficiency and financial risks that are critical considerations in maintenance inspections.

Kenter is part of Alliander, the largest energy network operator in the Netherlands, and works to install, rent and maintain safe and reliable energy supplies to a wide range of businesses from small family-run bakeries through to electric vehicle manufacturers and large multinational chemical companies. Kenter offers innovative energy supply and measurement solutions to aid companies wanting to optimise their energy consumption. The company’s team of 300 maintenance specialists have greatly improved the speed and accuracy of scheduled maintenance inspections using an innovative handheld tool, the ii910 Precision Acoustic Imager from Fluke.

Managing maintenance schedules
Kenter provides 24/7 maintenance on the equipment required to deliver a safe and reliable power supply to customers nationwide. This service includes scheduled maintenance cycles which typically occur every three, five, six or 10 years. During scheduled maintenance, Kenter looks to coordinate a series of works to minimise disruptions to operations, including checking for partial discharge.

Partial discharge is typically caused by a minor defect which can result in thousands of smaller repetitive electrical discharges. The phenomenon often occurs around insulation on pieces of equipment, such as high-voltage lines, transformers, turbines, busbars and the inside of cabinets, and can impact energy supply due to mechanical, heat, and chemical damage to insulators and conductors. Fast and accurate inspections

The Fluke™ ii910 Precision Acoustic Imager allows maintenance engineers to quickly scan a customer’s electrical assets from a safe distance whilst operational, and immediately identify areas impacted by partial discharge. The image can be quickly analysed to detect the type of partial discharge, enabling the team to undertake appropriate maintenance. Users benefit from the tool’s ease-of-use, speed and accuracy, while customers can continue operations during maintenance inspections without the need for a plant shut-down.

According to Martin Damen, Technical Engineer Manager at Kenter, Fluke’s ii910 Precision Acoustic Imager has revolutionised maintenance inspections and is a critical tool for maintenance. “Being able to scan a whole installation in one go is a real game changer in regard to how quickly we can identify a partial discharge issue,” he said.

Dirk Kwik, Team Manager Service and Maintenance at Kenter, agreed: “Our engineers are focused on identifying issues and undertaking maintenance as quickly and safely as possible to minimise disruption to our customers’ businesses and avoiding costly unscheduled downtime.”

Benefits in application
A recent review at a customer’s site using Fluke’s ii910 Precision Acoustic Imager showed partial discharge was occurring on the switchgear installation. This had not been detected by staff as there was no distinctive smell or sound during the interim review and no malfunction issues had been reported. The customer was also reluctant to shut down operations for assessment using an oscilloscope. Failure to identify this issue could have significant consequences due to the ultimate risk of the switchgear failing. According to Damen, the cost to replace the switchgear could be in the region of €30,000 – and that’s without assessing the potential damage to the customer’s reputation, who work to tight deadlines, as a result of their business being offline.

The ii910 device has helped Kenter’s management team to deploy their workforce more effectively. More than 18 engineers are now fully competent using the ii910 with online training being rolled out to the national engineering team. The complexity of operating an oscilloscope resulted in a significantly higher amount of time required to train engineers to accurately detect partial discharge.

Innovative detection of partial discharge
The ii910 Precision Acoustic Imager was developed to help engineers quickly identify and locate partial discharges. The innovative detection tool has a seven-inch LCD touchscreen which overlays a SoundMap™ on a visual image for rapid identification of discharge or leaks between frequencies of 2-100 kHZ. The ii910 provides video recording of up to five minutes and has a battery life of at least six hours.

“The Fluke ii910 Precision Acoustic Imager was developed with the end-user in mind,” comments Tako Feron, Product Manager Acoustic Imaging at Fluke Corporation.
“A working group of electrical maintenance professionals from a range of companies helped to test and provide feedback on the product during its development. Their feedback was invaluable in helping us to address some of the pain points they face on a daily basis, and we continue to work with the group to add new features to the software.”

@FlukeCorp @FlukePI @Alliander @NapierPR #PAuto #TandM #Maintenance

Medical thermister.

Expanding its comprehensive range of temperature sensors, Variohm EuroSensor has developed a new NTC thermistor especially designed for medical equipment use and particularly aimed at sensing small temperature changes in body and ambient medical area temperatures.

With its high resistance design (2.25kOhm @25 °C), the ENTC-EB-2.2k3977-005 offers maximum sensitivity and a fast response time in the temperature range of 32 °C to 42 °C where its resistance tolerance of +/-0.05 °C is well suited to high specification instrumentation and where temperature sensing, control and compensation are critical factors.

The new thermistor is encapsulated in a brown Stycast thermally conductive epoxy coating and electrical interfacing is via two 76 mm, 32 AWG solid Alloy 180 leads. Its miniature form, measuring just 2.4 mm at the tip, will suit straightforward integration into many types of medical probes and in pharma and medical equipment. The sensor has a full operating temperature range of -40 °C to 125 °C.

@Variohm @mepaxIntPR #Medical

Monday, 25 April 2022

Coping with latest wiring Regulations.

Schneider Electric has launched a new 18th Edition e-book that includes vital information as well as the latest products to help installers comply with new changes to regulations.

Nico Van Der Merwe
, VP of Home and Distribution UK at Schneider Electric said “With several amendments to the 18th Edition, we appreciate this can be a lot to digest and can present some immediate challenges. However, we see this as a great opportunity for the electrical industry and we’re confident that our line-up of compliant products will support electricians, contractors, and our partners – ultimately putting them in a great position to adapt to the needs of homes of the future and giving them some much needed peace of mind.”
 
Amends to the BS 7671:2018 Wiring Regulations came into force on 28th March 2022 and Schneider Electric has created this guide for electricians to determine and understand the changes. The e-book provides information on the key amends and how these might affect electricians and electrical businesses.

These include:
Changes to special location installations including solar and EV systems, which is an indicator that this area of technology is going to grow.
Prosumer low voltage electrical installations and the need for systems that can both produce and store energy. This is a clear sign that future energy systems will need to work differently and have greater capacity. Installation requirements for fire risk buildings including escape routes and cabling. Removal of the CRL calculation and the increased need for surge protection.
Requirement for new labelling in some circumstances, including the colour of functional earthing changing from cream to pink. The company is committed to equipping electricians with the latest technology, tools, and advice to ensure the electrical industry continues to flourish. They offer end-to-end solutions for the 18th Edition amendments, including the Easy9 range of residential consumer units, which addresses the need for increased capacity to support homes of the future.

@SchneiderElec @SchneiderUKI #Pauto #Electrical



What’s Next for IIoT Device Connectivity?

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has not only blurred the lines between OT and IT disciplines, but also led to the increasing prevalence of large-scale and highly distributed applications where field devices are dispersed over a wide area and need to communicate directly with remote servers. This means that where the data is going to and from, how all the different devices are managed, and keeping your data safe matter even more than before. In this article, Moxa provides three expert tips to keep in mind for selecting device connectivity solutions that can meet the demanding requirements of large-scale and highly distributed IIoT applications in the connected world.

With widespread adoption of the IIoT, the traditional boundaries between OT and IT in industrial automation are becoming blurred (click to download image from dropbox. (Image Moxa) 

Know Where Your Data Goes
Large-scale and highly distributed IIoT applications need to collect data from many different sites. Just imagine all the wellheads in a typical oil-drilling application that could be spread out over a massive desert. All the data from each wellhead not only needs to be collected and constantly monitored and controlled from afar, but also needs to be sent somewhere to process all the digital bits of information into human-readable insights. You could deploy an edge computer at each field site to collect, locally preprocess, and transmit your data to a remote server for more advanced analysis. However, some applications may only need to enable connectivity and be able to sufficiently process their data on a cloud server.

Using connectivity devices at each IIoT field site to transmit your OT data to a remote server could save you time, effort, and costs. That is because many distributed applications, such as oil drilling, only require collecting relatively small amounts of data from each field site, so the costs and programming effort associated with deploying edge computers at multiple locations may not be justified. Instead, connectivity devices can usually do the trick and be more cost-effective and efficient too.

You’ll also want to consider the type of remote server you’re working with. For private servers, MQTT is one of most commonly used protocols to bridge the data between OT and IT systems. As for public cloud servers—such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), or Google Cloud—each service provider has its own methods and protocols for collecting data. Before you choose your connectivity devices, you should know (or decide) whether your applications use private or public servers, and then find the connectivity devices that support related protocols or SDKs to save you time and money in the development stage.

Stay on Top of Device Management
When you finally get all your field devices with multiple communication interfaces connected, another big question arises. How do you manage dozens or hundreds of different kinds of connectivity devices? During your daily operations, you need to monitor your connectivity devices to keep them up-to-date with the latest firmware and minimize unauthorized access and potential intrusions by updating device logon credentials for every user. Such tasks might not be an issue when there are only a few devices and one type of connectivity device. However, it can be a huge burden if dozens of different kinds of connectivity devices are used in your IIoT application.

Having a software tool or utility that can help you manage large amounts of different kinds of connectivity devices can make daily operation much easier. With the lines between the IT and OT worlds becoming increasingly blurry in the IIoT era, management tools need to be flexible enough to serve users from both domains. Besides mass device management capabilities, the connectivity device you choose should have both a GUI for OT users and CLI for IT users to optimize IIoT system maintenance.

As Always, Cybersecurity Matters
The diversity of end devices in industrial field sites, distributed architectures, and legacy systems increases the security risk of your IIoT applications because most of these devices are not designed with cybersecurity in mind. As a result, it is essential to select connectivity solutions with built-in security features to place in front of your end devices. But with so many connectivity solutions on the market to fulfill the communication demands of different edge devices, how can you ensure your field data is well protected? Enter the IEC 62443 standard, a set of global security guidelines that list specific security requirements for device manufacturers to follow to ensure the device you choose meets the latest cybersecurity standards.

When you choose a connectivity device, use the following checklist to make sure the devices support sufficient security features and allow you to define and control user access to your IIoT applications.

  • Identify and control who can log on to devices
  • Increase password complexity to enhance access control
  • Verify authorized devices before the devices gain access to the network and communicate with other devices
  • Encrypt confidential serial interface data on the network to ensure data integrity
  • Encrypt configuration data to increase confidentiality
  • Select device vendors that respond quickly to and fix reported vulnerabilities

To l more about industrial connectivity,
download this E-book
Keep the above three tips in mind so that enabling device connectivity for your IIoT applications can be easier, more secure, and more efficient. To help you get started, Moxa has developed a series of device connectivity solutions, including serial device servers, protocol gateways, and remote I/O devices, that are capable of connecting your field data to private or public servers securely and efficiently. 

 @MoxaInc @OConnell_PR #PAuto #Communications

Friday, 22 April 2022

To guarantee valve actuator performance.

Rotork Controls has established a global reputation for robust and reliable valve actuators, operating in some of the world’s most demanding and critical applications. Thorough testing of the motors used in the actuators is one of the keys to this assured performance, with TorqSense transducers from Sensor Technology playing a vital role in the test process.

Rotork’s electric valve actuator division offers an electrical solution to industrial valve control and actuation applications of virtually any size, description and complexity. Its capabilities encompass actuators and control systems for new plants, plant extensions and upgrades, together with life-of-plant support. The division’s unrivalled range of products offers a robust and economic solution for every valve duty and operating environment.

Rotork Controls chief development engineer Geoff Beeho comments: “If you look at something like an oil line, then any failure of the valve actuator could potentially be costing millions of dollars a day. We have to be able to guarantee the performance of the actuators in the most demanding conditions, so testing is vital. TorqSense torque transducers from Sensor Technology are a key element of our test rigs.”

Companies and businesses around the world rely on Rotork actuators, in applications as diverse as power generation, water and sewage, industrial processes, subsea, marine, HVAC, incinerators and cement plants. Common features in many of these applications are challenging environmental conditions, extremes of temperatures, and high costs associated with any downtime. Because of this, absolute reliability of the valve actuators is vital.

Rotork Controls designs custom actuator designs built around motorised gearboxes, using non-standard open frame motors. “We use a variety of motors depending on the particular application, including DC motors, single-phase motors and three-phase motors, but we don’t rely on off-the-shelf products. Instead, we use open frame motors that we integrate directly into our own systems.
“Performance testing is very important. The duty cycle is atypical – our motors are not in continuous use, only running intermittently and for short period. What is important to us is the short term ratings, and this data isn’t always readily available. We have to have performance data that will tell us exactly what we need to know about the motors in these most demanding applications.”

Rotork Controls designed its own rig to test the motors, with Sensor Technology TorqSense transducers at its heart. “We needed non-contact torque sensors in the rig. The early design used magnetically coupled torque sensors but we were never completely happy with these. So when we upgraded the rig to be able to perform a wider range of tests, we took the opportunity to look around the market and we found the TorqSense transducers.”

“The TorqSense transducers immediately struck us as being a much more robust solution, better suited to handling the torques we were subjecting them to,” comments Beeho. The common practices of over-specifying a motor that guarantee reliable operation in standard applications simply don’t apply in valve actuation. 

“Motor sizing is critical,” says Beeho. “If we put in a motor that is too big, then we can risk damaging the valve. We can use motors that appear to be under-rated, but because our duty-cycle is so short we can get better performance from the motor. But the performance data to support this sort of motor use isn’t always available, or isn’t always reliable, so we need to perform our own tests. We also need to know how our motors will handle extremes of temperature in given applications so that reliability is never compromised. The TorqSense transducers allow us to make all the required tests.”

An advantage of the TorqSense transducers in the Rotork test rig is that they provide both analogue and digital outputs. “This has proved to be a real bonus,” says Beeho. “Not only can we use one output to check the calibration of the other, but it also means we have the flexibility to use both outputs performing different tests. For example, we might use the analogue output to feed torque and speed data into the power analyser during a performance test, and then use the digital output for a temperature test. Here, we run the motor for 15 minutes at constant torque and see how hot it gets. The output from the TorqSense transducer allows us to close the loop so that we can keep the torque constant.”

In any application, the fundamental considerations are the actuator’s ability to overcome the resistive forces of the valve, and the dynamic performance requirements to enable the valve to adequately meet the process demands. With its comprehensive testing procedures built around the TorqSense transducers, Rotork Controls has the confidence that its electrically operated valve actuators will always meet the application requirements.

@sensortech @rotork #PAuto #Torque

Saving time and cost for machine builders.

Innovation doesn’t always come at a price.

Simple innovations to improve existing pneumatics technology can make a real difference to the way we build and commission machines, according to industrial automation specialist Festo.

Steve Sands, Head of Product Management at Festo GB, says: “Innovation can come in many forms and isn’t restricted to technical features. Human factors like usability, convenience and safety are tangible areas for development and improvement. Overall costs, machine assembly and build times, on-site commissioning costs and maintenance times are also areas requiring innovative solutions.”

Festo cites the simple cylinder sensor switch as a prime example. These devices are mounted on most pneumatic cylinders and provide sensor feedback. They are most frequently used when the cylinder reaches its advance or retract end-positions and, less frequently, in mid-position: for example, when a cylinder movement has cleared an overlap position. Cylinder switches may appear to be an automation commodity beyond advancement – but there is room for improvement.

“Mounting a cylinder sensor on the bench is straightforward enough, but once the actuator is installed into the machine you often can’t see the end final positions,” explains Sands. “It can be even harder when access is required inside the machine guarding, at height or in difficult to reach locations. In these circumstances, accessing the sensor Allen key position adjustment or observing the indicator LED can be physically impossible.

Clearly, final setting and adjustment of cylinder sensors is problematic and time-consuming, particularly on machines with multiple cylinders, yet it can make a big difference to long-term reliability and operating lifetime. Festo has developed an innovative solution to aid the correct installation of pneumatic cylinders."

Suitable for all compatible T-slot cylinder grooves, the SDBT-MSX is the first auto-teach cylinder switch that learns the required switching position simply by cycling the machine four times during set-up. No in-situ adjustment is required: instead the switch is simply dropped into place in the approximate required position. The fitter sets the sensor up by aligning the cylinder with an integral sensor mark. Once the cylinder is fitted into position on the machine and the sensor is wired in, it’s LEDs will indicate that the switching point is not yet saved. Cycling the machine, including this actuator, just four times enables the self-teach function. The optimum switching position is learnt by the sensor and saved.

This technology has several other benefits for users going beyond the basic, standard operation. These include the ability to manually teach-in a position using the integrated capacitive teach button and the ability to re-assign the switching operation from PNP to NPN and also from Normally Open to Normally Closed operation. Even the switching window can be adjusted from the pre-set 2mm to any length up to 15mm if the application requires it. This is where purchasing, stores and maintenance can gain – one cylinder sensor for all applications.

Concludes Sands: “It is reassuring to know that even in the most commonplace areas of automation, innovation is thriving and will have a real positive impact on users. Faster assembly times, more reliable switching, plus less time stretching, going up ladders or lying under machines have got to be welcome improvements.”

And of course price is important. The SDBT-MSX is manufactured in-house by Festo at virtually the same cost as standard sensors. Innovation doesn’t always come at a price.

@FestoGB @festo_global @Publitek #PAuto #MachineBuilding

Tubeskin measurement.

Inaccurate temperature measurements can cost the process industry significant time and money. Looking for a solution, WIKA engineers have designed a system that more accurately measures process furnace tubeskin temperature. Backed by rigorous testing at the WIKA R&D centre in Houston (TX USA), their new TEFRACTO-PAD® (TC59-T) will allow users to meet production targets while protecting the furnace and maintaining tube integrity.

The TEFRACTO-PAD® model TC59-T addresses proven accuracy and ease of installation by taking into account the knowledge of customer applications, needs, and requirements. A proprietary moldable shield is placed over the thermo-pad and sheathed cable. This shield and insulation is a key component for the TEFRACTO-PAD®, providing accurate temperature monitoring.

The instrument is designed as two primary components (shield and pad) that have been combined to a single one-step installation process. With a major reduction in installation time and proven accuracy over a range of process conditions, this product is designed to be the engineered solution for your furnace application.

• WIKA products are marketed in Ireland through Instrument Technology.

@WIKANews #PAuto #Furnace

e-Fair!

The EPLAN Virtual Fair is taking place for the seventh time running – this time in the run up to the Hannover Messe on 4 & 5 May 2022.

Collaboration is everything | How can people collaborate better, work together more efficiently and remain competitive in the ecosystem of industrial automation? This year’s 2022 Eplan Virtual Fair gets to the bottom of these questions. Partner keynote presentations by ABB, Phoenix Contact and Rittal, live talks by Eplan and Rockwell Automation, best practices, country-specific webcasts, and software demonstrations provide deep insights into practical applications and what’s in store for engineering on the technology side of things.

Which trends will distinguish the engineering of the future? How has Eplan aligned its solutions and services for the coming challenges its customers will be facing? These and many other questions will be addressed by the experts from solutions provider Eplan over two full days and several time zones. 

Haluk Menderes
Eplan partners including ABB, Beckhoff, Phoenix Contact and Rockwell Automation will also be sharing their concepts and best practices with attendees during the event. “We’re very pleased that this year’s Eplan Virtual Fair will be focusing entirely on collaboration in engineering,” says Eplan Managing Director Haluk Menderes. “Collaboration between stakeholders in the ecosystem, not to mention between Eplan and its customers, is everything – and we’re happy to be bringing it to an international stage.”

The workflow sets the tone in engineering
Timothy J. McCain, who’s responsible for the Digital Partner Program at Rockwell Automation, will be presenting practical insights into the ecosystem of industrial automation from the point of view of a global player.
Vice President Industrial Cabinet Solutions Dr Andreas Schreiber at Phoenix Contact will be demonstrating the potential that standardised, AML-based workflows hold in “Smart Engineering and Production.”
The partner keynote presentation by ABB will be focusing on electrical engineering using Eplan and ABB e-Configure; those interested can look forward to seeing how just a few clicks gets configuration started in a talk by ABB Global Data Center Segment Manager Aleksandar Grbic.

Collaboration is everything
Other Eplan customers will be sharing their best practices with attendees: President Brenden Fritz of Automation Drive Systems in Omaha, Nebraska, will be taking attendees on a journey to digital prototyping – using the augmented reality features in eView Free AR, he will show how his company utilises its potential in control cabinet manufacturing.
BEB Solutions CEO Jens Brinkmann will be sharing completely new avenues in 3D cabling using Eplan Harness proD. Additional companies that participate in the Eplan Partner Network will have their own presentation areas in the virtual space and will also be available to answer questions in chat.

Eplan Austria, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Hungary, as well as Brazil and Canada, will be holding live session in those countries’ national languages and will be available for questions in chat. As in years previous, inspiring industry topics from the automotive, energy, building technology and process industry sectors will round off the numerous live talks.

The better the communication, the more successful the project On day one there will be seven different live demonstrations on software topics and experts will be giving practical insights into the innovations of the Eplan Platform. The conference programme will also be taking a look at the manifold opportunities the Eplan Cloud offers and also examine the potential efficiency gains of the integrated value chain in panel building and control cabinet manufacturing. A live (video) chat will offer participants the possibility to network in virtual space, and there will be lots more fun on the agenda with a prize draw.

Those interested can register free of charge here.

@EPLAN_global @mepaxIntPR #Pauto #Automation

Industrial spectrometer.

Process Insights has expanded its industrial mass spectrometer range with the new Extrel MAX300-RTG 2.0 with touchscreen for process applications.

Chuck DeCarlo, Business Development Manager at Process Insights, states: “The MAX300-RTG 2.0 from Extrel offers continuous real-time analysis for process control. Our industry-leading mass spectrometers are backed by over four decades of excellence in industrial automation and our customers have come to rely on the rugged stability and ease-of-use they provide for continuous operation in challenging manufacturing environments."

With the ability to report the complete stream composition and multi-port stream selector for up to 160 samples, the MAX300-RTG 2.0 offers fast analysis for a range of industries including oil refineries, syngas plants, polymer plants, renewable gas, steel, pharmaceuticals, and government/university laboratories.

The MAX300-RTG 2.0 features an integrated customizable 15” touch screen display and user-friendly GUI interface making it very easy to use with minimal training. It has the speed necessary to analyze the total composition of a sample in seconds and can be fully automated to measure several points in a process, or multiple production lines, with a single analyzer.

Through reduced operating costs due to low maintenance and utility requirements, a lower capital cost compared to other technologies and fast online gas analysis for increased manufacturing efficiency, product yield, and equipment uptime, the MAX300-RGT 2.0 provides consistent, ongoing return on investment (ROI).

With its ability to monitor the operation of several process units, the MAX300-RTG 2.0 can be used to replace multiple gas chromatograph (GC) systems. It is easy to use and has an uptime of >99%. This is achieved through a combination of low maintenance requirements, a modular design including pre-assembled service replacement parts, and a plug-and-play ionizer that reduces cleaning requirements.

@ExtrelCMS @codacomms #PAuto #Laboratory

Wednesday, 20 April 2022

Combatting drunk/drug driving and criminal activity.

Autoscribe Informatics has announced a new case study highlighting the work of the University of Iceland’s forensic toxicology laboratory. The Laboratory of Pharmacology and Toxicology (RLE) configured the Matrix Gemini LIMS themselves, to meet their own unique needs. RLE is now using the LIMS to analyze drug and alcohol samples to support the police and the judiciary in Iceland.

Download Case Study
A case study highlighting the work of the RLE and the benefits they gained by using Matrix Gemini LIMS may be downloaded here on the Autoscribe web site.

“Matrix Gemini LIMS provides the flexibility we need to manage and report on forensic toxicology results for police and the judiciary,” said RLE’s Project Manager. “Being able to configure the LIMS ourselves enables us to make any changes we need and puts us in control.”

As well as analyzing biological samples for the presence and concentration of alcohol and drugs, the laboratory conducts investigations into drugs of abuse seized by the police and monitors potentially damaging pollutants and pesticides in the environment. Around 4-5,000 cases a year go through this busy ISO certified forensic toxicology laboratory.

The case study describes how they chose Matrix Gemini to replace their current LIMS, for which support was being withdrawn, and how it meets their needs for biological, material, and environmental testing. The work of the RLE must be of the highest standard as it supports prosecutions in Iceland’s judicial system. The laboratory follows good laboratory practice (GLP) and is certified to ISO 14001 for environmental management systems and ISO 45001 for occupational health and safety management systems. Access to laboratory data within the LIMS is segregated, enabling the three sub-departments to see only the data and information relevant to them. Allowing access on a ‘need-to-know’ basis like this keeps sensitive data confidential, vital for information that may be used in a future prosecution.

“This case study highlights just how easy it is to configure Matrix Gemini to meet your needs, rather than change your working practices, terminology and operating procedures to suit your LIMS,” said Tim Daniels, Marketing Manager at Autoscribe Informatics.

@AutoscribeLtd #LIMS #Iceland #Policing

Tuesday, 19 April 2022

Ruggedized GNSS receiver.

The AsteRx-U3 is the successor of the popular Septentrio AsteRx-U multi-frequency GNSS receiver for construction, mining and other machine control applications. The new product combines the company's latest triple-band precise positioning GNSS core with extended wireless communication features including Wi-Fi, UHF and 4G LTE. 

The versatile connectivity features of this receiver make it easy to fit it into any control system and enable simple and cost-effective overall design.

“We are excited to introduce AsteRx-U3 to the market of industrial automation. Its advanced connectivity package offers manufacturers and integrators access to reliable high-accuracy positioning in a system which is versatile, easy to use and integrate, “ said Silviu Taujan, Product Manager at Septentrio.

This receiver offers a unique feature, a guaranteed low latency of under 10 msec and a high data rate, which allows machines to work with rapid as well as accurate movements. An IP68-rated housing of AsteRx-U3 with fixing brackets and robust M12 connectors ensures a quick and reliable installation. 

@Septentrio @AgilityPRS #Communications #Manufacturing #PAuto


New chair for fieldbus organisation.

PIUK (PROFIBUS, PROFINET, omlox and IO-Link in Great Britain) has announced that Chris McComb, Managing Director of the successful Systems Integrator iTech, has been appointed as their new Chairman.

Chris McComb
“It has been a wonderful time for me in my role of Chairman” said retiring Chairman Bob Squirrell. “We launched in the UK in 1993 with just 7 member companies and now number around 50, having successfully weathered the storm of the Covid pandemic which brought about many changes in how organisations such as ours carried out their day to day business. But here we are, almost at the other side and ready to start another year of promoting the world’s most successful industrial networking standards.

“Even though retired, I will be keeping an eye on the networking world, with a great sense of pride in what PUIK and its members have achieved. I know that Chris is ready to carry on and extend PIUK’s influence in the networking world. He will do a great job, of that I’m confident.” 

“I will endeavour to continue in Bob’s footsteps. I have known Bob for over 20 years, and he has been a foundation to our group. His leadership has forged a fantastic team, who through collaboration, support and best practice continue to support manufacturers, end-users and support organisations, such as iTech, to deliver successful and fully certified industrial network solutions across all sectors.” commented Chris. “It’s my plan to continue building the group through new membership and increasing the value to members with informative seminars, webinars and focussed regional events. With continual developments in our technologies, there is an abundance of support and guidance we can give.”

@ProfibusUK @AllThingsPROFI #PAuto #Communications #Britain