Acquisition strengthens thermal product and technology vision.

Watlow®, a designer and manufacturer of complete industrial thermal systems has just completed its acquisition of Eurotherm® from Schneider. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Eurotherm is a premier provider of temperature, power and process control, measurement and data management equipment, systems, software and services for global industrial markets. The company employs about 650 people worldwide, with headquarters in Worthing, (GB). and core manufacturing operations in Ledziny, Poland.

Rob Gilmore, Watlow’s CEO, said, “We are excited about Watlow and Eurotherm and all we will accomplish together. This acquisition aligns with our vision of providing innovative thermal products and technologies that help increase our customers’ competitive advantage. The combination of Watlow and Eurotherm products and technologies will create new global opportunities for our collective customers and allow us to focus our advanced thermal systems in important areas.”

Watlow will establish Eurotherm’s sites in Worthing and Dardilly (F) as Advanced Development Centers for its electronics and controls product offering and plans to invest in Eurotherm’s facility in Poland to become Watlow’s Manufacturing Center of Excellence in Europe. This additional capacity and capability also provide a path to growth in other parts of the world including the Americas and Asia.

@watlow @eurotherm @mepaxIntPR #PAuto #Europe

Cybersecurity certified programmable controllers.

A new range of DIN rail mounting Eurotherm™ Programmable Controllers, placing precision at the heart of a process has been launched by Schneider.

Cameron Large, Global OEM Business Development Manager at Eurotherm commented,  “The EPC2000 DIN rail controller enables an OEM to easily integrate high precision control and setpoint programming into a PLC system by using native Ethernet communication."

EPC2000 Programmable Controllers are easy to install, commission and replace. Enhanced Eurotherm control performance and exceptional measurement thermal stability aids repeatability and yield; many specialist processes have limited tolerance to temperature fluctuations and the enhanced Eurotherm PID algorithm is particularly well suited to critical process steps with rapid mitigation of disturbances. Single loop controllers continue to maintain zone conditions, independently of a supervisory system or PLC(s). Designed especially for high reliability in demanding environments, the controller helps reduce unplanned downtime.

Compact EPC2000 devices can be distributed close to the point of use reducing cabling runs and wiring costs. Ethernet connectivity enhances the convergence of information and operations technology, giving plant managers access to data needed to make informed decisions. This connectivity exploits the industrial internet of things across a multitude of applications and manufacturing processes. Certification to international standards allows the EPC2000 range to be applied to a wide spectrum of markets and applications.

The controllers are easy to integrate and set up, with a robust battery-free design which helps reduce equipment and maintenance costs. Adaptable to changing needs, with flexible software, user function block wiring and instant upgrades available online plus easy-to-integrate Ethernet communications minimizes cost of ownership.

Christopher Ashworth, VP & Managing Director, Eurotherm by Schneider-Electric said “The EPC2000 controller, certified to the highly demanding Achilles® CRT Level 1 qualification, continues the Eurotherm strategic focus on products designed around best practices for cybersecurity. The Schneider ‘Innovation at Every Level’ approach is helping our customers to save time, energy and money every day.”

 @EurothermbySE #PAuto @SchneiderUK #Cybersecurity

See your process - anywhere in the world!

"A key Schneider Electric offer for 2016!"

Schneider Electric™ has launched a new Software as a Service offer  - Eurotherm Online Services (EOS). An integrated online platform and management tool for overseeing calibration records and regulatory status, EOS offers an automated, digitized process for easy collection and retrieval of critical process data – from shop floor to top floor -when and where required.

Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Chairman & CEO of Schneider Electric said: “The extensive digitization of industries globally is demanding highly connected solutions that deliver new capabilities to control industrial operations enterprise-wide, from the edge to the core. Customers are also demanding a new breed of applications and software that deliver real-time intelligence to the right decision-makers at the right time.

“To meet this growing demand, Schneider Electric is launching a new wave of digitized and connected technologies designed to help reshape energy management and automation. EOS is one of our flagship field services solutions. This new cloud-based offer will enable process industries to reduce error-prone, paper driven processes by automating their instrument compliance procedures and planning – driving operations that are more safe, efficient, connected, reliable and sustainable.”

Leveraging the online platform, EOS Advisor is a planning and scheduling tool that enables more efficient management of equipment and staff; meanwhile, the EOS eCAT™ tablet application improves calibration process efficiency with a secure, mobile-compatible tool that eliminates the drawbacks of paper-based records systems. 

Reshaping Compliance Management for Process Industries

Clemens Blum, Schneider Electric Executive Vice President said: “Cloud based software services have revolutionised everything from taxi hire, to IT provision, Finance and HR. Industrial Automation is next and Schneider Electric is following a path of innovation to create a better connected, more flexible, safer and efficient use of industrial processes. EOS is a great example of this as it connects service providers and their end user customers, digitising the provision of compliance management from planning to audit; and from any connected smart phone, PC or tablet.”

Go Digital… Stop Pen & Paper

• Managing compliance and calibration can be expensive and time-consuming.
• Many process industries still rely on pen and paper to manage compliance, which can lead to mistakes and loss or damage of paper records that might not be discovered until an audit is in progress.

Eurotherm have first hand experience where major non-conformance of calibration records nearly cost one of their customers the loss of two contracts worth multi-millions. The EOS service event scheduling tools ensure no compliance tests are missed, which helps optimise productivity and deliver trouble free audits.

Digital Compliance for Regulated Industries

Digital compliance management is the future of all compliance management, EOS is applicable to any regulated industry that requires periodic testing to prove and maintain industry standards. There will be continuous development of EOS offerings to add further compliance tests and additional applications for use in regulated industries such as Heat Treatment for Aerospace and Automotive, Life Sciences, Healthcare, and Food & Beverage. In time EOS will be available on any device and operating system anywhere in the world.

• EOS applications leverage technology developed for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Industry 4.0 applications.
• These technologies improve cost efficiencies, enable predictive maintenance and result in competitive advantage.
• Unlike many other technology solutions that require a ‘rip and replace’ mentality, the EOS solutions are a natural fit to an existing process setup and the technology easily wraps around current installations.

EOS for Small, Large & Multisite Enterprises

“The EOS tools are completely scalable and relevant to small manufacturing and large, multi-site businesses,” says Christopher Ashworth, VP & Managing Director, Eurotherm by Schneider-Electric. 

“They offer a secure, intelligent, and more efficient way of handling plant-wide process information, adding value to a process by enabling users to convert data quickly into the information required – and that is what the Industrial Internet of Things is all about.”

@EurothermbySE #PAuto @SchneiderSftwre

Investment in people recognised at Instrument & Control supplier!

Eurotherm has been awarded the Investors in People Standard (IIP), Britain's leading accreditation for business improvement through people management. The award provides external recognition of Eurotherm’s commitment to developing, supporting and motivating its people.

A stringent assessment was carried out by an Investors in People auditor, against ten key indicators including business strategy, involvement and empowerment, leadership and management, learning and development and continuous improvement. The Auditor spent time with Senior Management and also conducted three days of interviews with a cross section of employees to gain an understanding of Eurotherm’s employee practices and management effectiveness which was benchmarked against British practice. The company scored well in many areas, with the assessor highlighting staff support and engagement, integrated training and development plans, and focus on personal career progression as areas of particular strength.

Eurotherm's ASPIRE team!

Key to achieving the accreditation has been the introduction of an employee-led engagement initiative, ‘WeEngage’, a ‘bottom-up’ approach whereby employee-led teams develop action plans to increase engagement across the business. Initiatives have ranged from enhancing internal communications, to local charity exchange partnerships in which employees are encouraged to ‘give a day’ to a charitable cause. The WeEngage team has also improved cross-functional collaboration through initiatives such as department ‘open days,’ as well as organising fun and relevant activities for employees and their families to take part in.

Further to this, Eurotherm has also developed ‘ASPIRE’, a programme which aims to develop untapped talent within the organisation to build future leaders. The initiative gives aspiring employees one-to-one access to senior management and is based around the sharing of experience, career stories and key learnings. Following its implementation, 43% of Eurotherm’s vacancies last year were filled internally from its current pool of talent.

Commenting on the award, Karen Page HR Director at Eurotherm said: “Achieving the Investors in People accreditation is a fantastic endorsement of our commitment to the development of our people. It is true that our people are our greatest asset and employee development and engagement are key to our business strategy. We are committed to creating an environment where people are given the opportunity to develop and succeed, and continue to make improvements ensuring Eurotherm remains a great place to work.”

Paul Devoy, Head of Investors in People, said: “Achieving the Investors in People standard is something that any organisation should be truly proud of. Working with Investors in People inspires and enables leaders, managers and employees at all levels to build their skills, improve their performance and achieve their potential. We’d like to congratulate Eurotherm on their achievement.”

Power controller!

Provides outstanding stable and precise power control, meeting international quality, immunity and emissions standards

 Invensys Eurotherm has launched the new EFit SCR Power Controller. The EFit is an easy to integrate and commission power controller, providing no compromise on control for resistive and infrared heating elements.

Nicolas Ebel, Power Products Manager at Invensys Eurotherm explains how the EFit overcomes a number of challenges and achieves outstanding stable, precise control even in the most demanding of industrial environments.  He said: “There are many industrial processes such as heat treatment that require precise temperatures in order to comply with regulations and it is imperative that the work piece temperature is kept within specific limits. This can be difficult to achieve in industrial plants where the operation of large machinery can cause fluctuations in the voltage supply. With resistive heaters, for example, there can often be a variation of 10% in the supply voltage and this can generate a 20% variation in the power to the load, resulting in adverse temperature fluctuations.”

“EFit overcomes these issues as the power controller contains built in compensation that continues to apply stable power with better than ±2% linearity at the boundaries of the load, even during fluctuations in the supply.  The result is a reliable, repeatable heating process and high quality end products compliant to demanding heat treatment standards.”

Key features and benefits of EFit include Connect Easily Easy installation, just clip onto a DIN rail. Offers minimal connection with pre-wireable plug in connectors Straightforward connection and commissioning to global standards; nothing to configure, simply plug and play Compact dimensions make it suitable for both new and retrofit applications, and reduces cabinet costs Control Precisely: Built in power stabilisation and a variety of firing modes for different types of load, provides energy savings and high quality products Precise control, including the elimination of voltage fluctuations, achieves tight tolerances and the ability to optimise energy use Consistent high quality end products that comply to standards with no scrap or rework Improve Processes: Minimising downtime as EFit reliably operates in heavy industrial conditions, with high immunity to electromagnetic disturbances, maximising throughput and reducing the cost of ownership Designed to give a fast stable response even in heavy industrial environments enabling continuously optimised heating processes with minimum downtime. This faster throughput improves OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) and helps with the achievement of KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) Standardise Globally: Peace of mind for installers working in a global environment where industry regulations form an essential part of the engineering supply chain. The product is cUL approved, CE compliant to power controller product standards, and China RoHS.

High precision temperature control, secure data recording & visualisation!

Invensys Eurotherm has launched a family of new precision PLC products aimed at significantly increasing the profitability and efficiency of Heat Treatment and Thermal Processing.  The new E+PLC combines precision measurement and control, secure data recording, and a variety of visualisation solutions. Fatures and benefits • Straightforward compliance with thermal processing standards, for example CQI-9, AMS2750 E. • Easy to commission precision PID control blocks with auto tuning. • Setpoint programmer. This easy configuration saves programming time and gives guaranteed operation, helping to lower processing costs. • Precision measurement of process variables to give accurate, repeatable results which translates to minimum energy usage. • Total data integrity and secure recording, keeping valuable process records safe by using highly robust file storage strategies to protect against power and network failures. • Batch functionality and complete traceability. • An open CODESYS platform, a de facto industry standard. Using an open platform, industry standard (IEC61131-3) the E+PLC is well supported through Eurotherm and an extended community of PLC programmers. • Integrated HMI software platform with a variety of visualisation options. • Flexible visualisation giving dynamic debugging of application programmes together with concurrent development of the final process visualisation. Previously to obtain optimum performance and meet accurate pyrometry specifications (eg. AMS2750E), companies needed to buy separate products for temperature control, data recording and visualisation. This was costly and inefficient.  Combining all these products into one easy to use, flexible and highly functioning precision PLC platform simplifies commissioning and reduces engineering time. The E+PLC also targets operational efficiency and makes regulatory compliance much easier. Tim Linnell, Product Portfolio Manager at Eurotherm explains how the E+PLC’s versatile functionality will have a significant impact on the manufacturing industry, meeting the most demanding challenges of modern processing needs.“For many companies, in an increasingly competitive global environment, the efficiency of thermal treatments will be the difference between being profitable and not.  Eurotherm’s unique fast reacting PID control minimises overshoot, improving accuracy and reducing waste. “The high precision temperature control ensures the correct temperature is obtained quicker and stays at the optimum level required without deviation, ensuring high quality results first time without wasting time waiting for operating temperature to be reached. This increases throughput of a furnace or thermal treating machine in comparison with traditional PLC based control. Fast acting PID with overshoot inhibition can enable an extra furnace batch cycle to be completed within any 24 hour period. By eliminating damping of PID sets and relying on Eurotherm’s unique overshoot inhibition customers can heat aggressively up to temperature with the confidence of keeping within the required setpoint temperature tolerances. “These benefits are easily realised in the E+PLC using standard software building blocks, with an auto-tuning function to match the control response to a particular application. This can reduce the time needed to programme and commission an application from days (and sometimes weeks) to hours. “The E+PLC range also includes secure data logging designed to meet the requirements of thermal treatment standards such as CQI-9 and AMS2750 E. Indeed, Eurotherm has built its business over many years around the requirements of such standards, and is trusted by auditors and customers alike. Of course data logging is only one part of standards compliance, and our highly stable precision measurement circuitry assures compliance with accuracy specifications, aids conformance to System Accuracy Tests (SAT) and improves the output from Temperature Uniformity Surveys (TUS).” He continued, “Data recording and temperature control is highly specialised and Eurotherm has a track record gained over 50 years in developing these products, building a peerless reputation with the leading businesses in the thermal treatment sector. Eurotherm operate also in some of the most stringently regulated industry sectors in the world, including the global pharmaceutical and biotech industries where our products and secure data recording infrastructure are trusted implicitly. “Combining Eurotherm’s best of breed products and adding visualisation tools into this new self-contained precision E+PLC platform brings high efficiencies and reduced engineering time.” • Eurotherm products are marketed in Ireland by Classic Technology

Where will heat treatment be in five years’ time?

The need to develop high quality, cost effective products is driving the Global Heat Treating Market to grow over 7% according to a new report on the Global Heat Treating Market 2012-2016, but where will heat treatment be in five years’ time? Kevin Robinson, Business Development Manager at Invensys Eurotherm offers his predictions for an industry undergoing a range of challenges as well as opportunities. Kevin Robinson Kevin explains, “There was a slowdown in innovation in heat treatment processing during the last recession as volumes dropped and the focus shifted to immediate costs and cashflow, but in recent years with new model introductions, the industry is increasingly looking to the future.” Here, Eurotherm offers its predictions for heat treatment over the next five years: India, China and Singapore will continue to grow; the quality of their parts will be a key driver for greater penetration of heat treated, high value engineering products There will be a slow drift of aerospace manufacturing away from the traditional strongholds such as the US and UK Globally the de-skilling process in manufacturing will continue with companies relying more and more on automation and ‘expert’ systems for process control Usage of new materials that don’t require heat treatment and low distortion processes will continue to grow Smaller, lighter components will lead to smaller batch sizes and an increased requirement for smaller, energy efficient furnaces and controls An increase in the use of energy efficient heating and furnace technologies combined with improved control systems Invensys Eurotherm provides furnace control solutions that enable customers to optimise the heat treatment furnace control process.  This reduces waste through increased accuracy of furnace control and specialist control algorithms, optimising energy and power usage and curtailing rework and reducing scrap by improving consistency and repeatability.  The company’s top performing products in heat treatment include: 6000 series recording products, 3000 series controller programmers and nanodac. • Eurotherm products are marketed in Ireland by Classic Technology!

Melt pressure indicator/controller!

Invensys Eurotherm has launched the new piccolo™ P304i Melt Pressure Indicator and P304c Controller. Monitoring and control of the pressure in plastics manufacture leads to higher quality end product with lower scrap, and can prevent damage to machinery caused by overpressure conditions. The latest addition to Eurotherm’s range of products offers versatile solutions with advanced features and a wide range of hardware options that make them ideal for all types of plastic processing.

Eurotherm of course has decades of knowledge and understanding of the needs of plastics producers and machinery builders, combining this insight with its leading control and automation expertise, the company has developed products, solutions and services for precision control in plastics processing.

This new, innovative Melt Pressure Indicator and Controller is ideal for extrusion and injection moulding in plastics processing as Tim Linnell, Product Portfolio Manager at Invensys Eurotherm explains: “Compatible with industry standard probes and strain gauges including Dynisco, the P304 uses automatic standard shunt calibration procedures making it ideal for new installations and retrofit. It has been designed to monitor and automate the pressure of molten plastic being forced through a die or into a mould. Usually a screen is used to filter out impurities, and as these build up on the screen, the pressure needed to push plastic through increases. If not carefully monitored and controlled, this pressure can cause damage to equipment.

“P304 combines the most advanced features for management of melt pressure of any instrument in its class with simplicity of use and a high speed 50ms cycle time so that rapid changes in pressure can be monitored and dealt with.”

Key features aimed at improving operational efficiency include:

• Easy to integrate and use in new and legacy applications
• Fast-acting alarms to protect against overpressure
• Responsive, precision PID control with overshoot inhibit
• Easy, effective auto-tune
• Universal + strain gauge inputs
• Second input for differential pressure indication / control
• Analogue retransmission
• Easy and flexible configuration via PC software or front panel
• Modbus RTU digital communications
• High visibility three colour LED display
• Wipedown, customizable front fascia
• High reliability and quality
• Three year warranty
• Global expert support available

The P304 is the latest from Eurotherm’s piccolo range which has been designed for plastics and small furnace applications and provides advanced precision PID control in an easy to use and very cost effective format. Plastics extrusion applications benefit from specialised algorithms designed to optimise use of water, fan or oil cooling, and the fast reacting overshoot free control assures continuous high quality production without waste. The units are quick to commission and apply with industry standard connections to sensors and actuators and a quick code guided configuration.

Tim concluded: “Continuing a thread of Eurotherm product innovation that spans 50 years, 2014 will see an ambitious product release schedule. Our philosophy is to package advanced control and automation algorithms in cost effective ways so that our industrial customers benefit from the latest advances but with products that are easy to use and apply.”

"Hitting Your Performance Targets!"

Invensys Eurotherm, a global supplier of measurement and instrumentation for process and machine control applications, is launching four new products at the Aero Engineering Show on 12th -13th November 2013 aimed at helping regulated industries meet their performance targets. Dave Hartley, Global Marketing Director, who is speaking at the event in conjunction with partner Invensys IMServ, comments:  “I am very excited about Eurotherm taking part in this year’s Aero Engineering Show, especially as we are launching four highly innovative products that all contribute to our theme of ‘Hitting Your Performance Targets’. The increase in regulations such as AMS2750 and CQI-9 and the competitive nature of the industries we work in such as life sciences, heat treatment, plastics solutions and glass manufacturing - means that engineers and technicians have to be at the top of their game in terms of safety and performance all the time. Our products are all designed to meet these very high standards.” Dave’s talk will cover ‘Web-based service for support of heat treatment standards’ as part of the ‘Advanced Engineering – Heat Treatment’ track at the show.  Eurotherm has been providing engineered solutions for the Heat Treatment industry for more than 40 years and its furnace control solutions enable customers to reduce waste, optimise energy usage and eliminate paper trails, amongst other benefits.  The four products being launched are:  Eurotherm Online Services (EOS) – is an industry leading service for the heat treatment industry. EOS is made up of EOS Advisor and EOS Director, an innovative solution for anywhere/anytime management and analysis of plant information. Specifically designed for industry, EOS combines storage, workflow, access, and visualisation of critical data in one place. Ideal for industries such as aerospace, automotive, life sciences, healthcare and food and beverage, the tools combine the in-depth knowledge Eurotherm has on managing data, technology and calibration services with its own dedicated offsite storage facility offering secure and efficient web access. EOS is completely scalable and relevant to small scale manufacturing and large, multi-site businesses.  versadac™ Scalable Data Recorder  –   offers a versatile solution for data recording at the point of measurement.  Comprehensive security and data integrity make it ideal for use in regulated industries such as life sciences or heat treatment, or for any application where the loss of data during a manufacturing process would result in a loss of revenue through scrap or rework. Data is recorded in tamper resistant binary check summed files (known as UHH) and stored in on board flash memory.  Flexible archiving strategies ensure long term data is kept secure for later retrieval and analysis if required. The versatility of this unit comes from a flexible range of base sizes and selection of input and output modules to best suit specific application needs.       A wide range of software features are available including batch control,     maths functions, totalisers, communications channels and audit trail.       Electronic signatures and password control functionality which meets the      requirements of FDA21 CFR Part 11 is also available.  Upgrade of both      software and hardware can be easily carried out on site ensuring the      versadac recorder can grow with your process needs. EPack – Compact SCR Power Controller – the perfect replacement for aging contactors, SSRs and SCRs, EPack is simple to use and offers many advanced features not found in standard SCR power controllers.  The compact size, just 2.01” wide x 4.76” high (51 x 121 mm), and the ability to mount side-by-side make the EPack easy to retrofit into existing installations. Three distinct configuration methods are available (including factory and field based) and visual alarm messages can be customised with multiple severity settings.  EPack’s ability to select a single firing mode or combination of firing modes allows for close matching to load characteristics improving process precision and repeatability. The ability to measure voltage, current and power can provide energy consumption information. These features all allow for the unit to be setup to maximize the life of the load device (typically heater elements) and minimise process downtime.  nanodac™ Recorder Controller - The nanodac™ recorder/controller V.5  – offers the ultimate in graphical recording combined with PID (proportional-integral-derivative) control for a box of its size. The compact ¼ DIN panel mount unit offers four high accuracy universal inputs for data recording and PID control. This secure data recording device with accurate control is enhanced by a full colour, ¼ VGA display to bring a crystal clear operator interface to even the smallest of machines. It includes features such as webserver access, EtherNet/IP Client or Server mode, IP66 Washdown Front (particularly useful in the food and beverage industry), a range of I/O options, Dual Channel Programmer, Cascade with auto-tune, OEM Security.  In addition to these four, Eurotherm will also be previewing its latest contribution to more efficient and effective temperature control with its family of PLC (programmable logic controller) products. The demand for precision manufacturing has never been greater, driven partly by an increase in compliance standards across industry, but also the continuous drive for more accurate manufacturing. To address this need, Eurotherm has introduced its PLC technology to create self-contained complete solutions for when temperature matters.  With one easily deployed and installed device it will now be possible to combine future-proof precision control, the general sequencing needed to drive processes and the secure data recording demanded by regulators. This will not only deliver components that conform to the necessary standards but also means less wastage, higher output and lower energy costs.

EtherNet/IP communications provides faster better logic control

The Eurotherm Mini8 controller with EtherNet/IP communications, is an ideal partner to a PLC in multi-loop PID applications such as plastics extrusion and multi-zone furnaces. Leveraging the Mini8 controller’s built-in loop control, the PLC can concentrate on providing faster, more effective logic control without the burden of running complex control algorithms.

Part of Invensys's open-communication InFusion Enterprise Control System, the Mini8 controller supports serial, fieldbus and Ethernet protocols, including EtherNET/IP, making it easy to interface to intelligent masters such as a programmable logic controllers. A cost-effective alternative to designing and implementing accurate control loops in a PLC, the Mini8 controller not only provides better performance and easy configuration, it offers the same deterministic response and auto-tune feature as other Eurotherm panel-mount controllers from Invensys, and it can be easily integrated into the wider plant network, including other third-party systems.

Key capabilities:
• Easy integrates through use of EtherNet/IP, a widely used standard communication link between PLC’s and other products from a variety of vendors.
• Reduces engineering costs through using a dedicated PID device that enables quick and easy set-up of multi-loop and complex control strategies using pre-defined function blocks.
• Improves control performance by removing the burden of running complex control algorithms within a PLC.
• Input accuracy is +/-0.1% or better, this is significantly better than analog control in small or medium PLC’s.
• Suitable for use in regulated industry applications, including aerospace metal heat treatment.
• Calibrates through pre-defined routines.
• Impressive minimal drift characteristics aid in the ease of use of the device in operation.

Compact package data recorder/controller

New data recorder/controller offers unprecedented capabilities in a compact package

Invensys Operations Management has formally introduced its Eurotherm nanodac™ recorder/controller. At just 92 millimetres high and wide and 90 millimetres deep, the nanodac recorder/controller combines powerful graphical recording capabilities with versatile control, communications and reporting to help customers achieve control and productivity excellence.

The instrument can be utilised as a stand-alone device or as a connected component of the company’s InFusion™ Enterprise Control System. It interfaces directly with the Wonderware® Historian and System Platform software, thereby providing a unique combination of secure, hardware-based local data acquisition and storage, along with powerful information, analysis and reporting software. The nanodac recorder/controller provides 50 megabytes of flash memory for data storage, as well as an on-screen help system and remote viewing functionality, which allows plant-floor operators and supervisors to monitor and discuss the health of their process from virtually anywhere, using a smart phone. In the event of any communications failures between the nanodac controller and the system software, data continues to be stored within the nanodac recorder, and store & forward software functionality ensures that all data is automatically recovered.

“With diverse and robust capabilities in a small box, including large amounts of flash memory to which all the process data is continually logged, the Eurotherm® nanodac recorder/controller offers multiple archive strategies that ensure critical process data can always be found and restored, driving control excellence for our customers,” said Bob Postlethwaite, global marketing director, Invensys Operations Management. “Additionally, with its remote viewing capability, users of the nanodac recorder/controller can instantly browse, capture and send historical data and screen shots via e-mail using smart phones or computers, further driving down costs and improving efficiency for productivity excellence. We look forward to displaying and demonstrating the unique capabilities of the Eurotherm nanodac recorder/controller at our OpsManage’10 events in the coming months.”

Both the product itself and its remote viewer application support several languages, including English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. The Eurotherm nanodac recorder/controller also allows numerical and bar graph runtime views, monitors channel alarms and can browse the instrument’s historical data, which can be stored in either a comma-separated value (CSV) file or in a secure, check-summed format to protect data integrity. Additional capabilities of the nanodac recorder/controller include:

• Meets many exacting standards for measurement, including Nadcap for Aerospace compliance and 21CFR Part11 for Pharmaceutical Electronic Records;
  
• Produces tamperproof files that can be retained in long-term archive as the primary manufacturing record source for later recall;
  
• Has multiple universal inputs coupled with high-density recording and dual PID control loops, making it both affordable and cost effective.

The Eurotherm nanodac recorder/controller will be available for public demonstration for the first time during OpsManage’10, a series of international events focused on supporting customer’s Operations Excellence initiatives.

New website for Invensys

Invensys Operations Management has launched its new corporate website. The new site shows how the company's premier industry brands and solutions offer the most holistic, cost-effective way to optimise and improve the performance and profitability of its clients' business operations.

"Over the past several months, we have made significant investments to create a customer- and visitor-friendly site that supports our open, collaborative approach," said Mark Davidson, vice president, global marketing, Invensys Operations Management. "As a truly integrated company, the combined capabilities of our eight leading brands, including Avantis®, Eurotherm®, Foxboro®, IMServ™, InFusion™, SimSci-Esscor™, Triconex® and Wonderware® are aligned for our clients' long-term success, and the new website has been designed for easy access to information about our unique industry solutions, services and products offerings.
"With more enhancements to come, this is only Phase 1 of our new online presence, but we are pleased to offer a look at the value Invensys Operations Management provides to our clients and the market in general. With an open environment and platform, we help improve the performance of our clients' resources-their people, equipment, energy and materials-in real time, with dramatic, measurable results. Our new site demonstrates that when working with Invensys, the experience will be one of real collaboration with real-time results."

Located at iom.invensys.com, the website features an integrated view of Invensys Operations Management, with sections devoted to specific industries, solutions, products, and consulting and service offerings, along with customer and ecosystem partner support and training. The site is also home to 60 new customer success stories, as well as additional information.