On-line configuaration tool for valves & actuators.

Festo has introduced a new online configuration tool that makes it easier and quicker to select the correct valve or actuator for your process application. Simply select a few parameters and the Festo valve configurator will suggest appropriate combinations, offering a fast, reliable and easy way for process engineers to source coordinated and ready-to-install solutions.

Commenting on the new valve configurator, Leon Kelly, Manager of the Process Automation Centre for Festo UK & Ireland, says: “Configuring the optimum process automation solution for your media is child's play using the Festo online configurator. It simplifies the whole engineering and purchasing process and allows you to obtain the perfect valve unit in just a few clicks. It includes some really helpful features: for example, the configurator can generate a bill of materials to show the component breakdown. Also if you need a configuration ID for repeat orders, or a CAD model for your final configured solution, that’s not a problem – the configurator can produce those as well.”

Digital journey The online valve configurator is the latest solution from Festo designed to drive digitalisation forward and support customers as they enter the age of Industry 4.0. As an automation expert, Festo is combining its extensive knowledge of industrial applications with the latest developments in information technology to realise online applications for industrial automation best practice.  Festo is also using digital communication to support its customers throughout the Digital Customer Journey, guiding users safely and comprehensively through the Festo portfolio: from information procurement and configuration, through ordering and delivery, to commissioning and maintenance: as well as the technical training offered by Festo Didactic.

The online valve configurator is ideal for selecting Festo butterfly valve units (KVZA), ball valve units (KVZB) and quarter turn actuator units (KDFP). It simplifies the specification and purchase process by ensuring that all components – from process valves, actuators, pilot valves and limit switch boxes to positioners, adapter kits and hand levers – are from a single source and are perfectly matched and pre-assembled. It is also possible to use the configurator to select an actuator unit without the process valve: ideal for automating existing process valves, or where there is a preference for a third party supply.

Following a step-by-step guide, the user simply chooses the required parameters in the configurator’s input menu. The configurator suggests the right solutions by taking all relevant factors into account: from the initial product search, configuration, sizing and documentation right through to ordering and delivery of the ready-to-install process valve or quarter turn actuator unit. The configurator can also accommodate unique customer-specific requests.

Together with the proposed solution, the configurator automatically generates an order ID for the complete combination, which can be used for placing future orders. There are also benefits in terms of documentation because the CAD data for the complete, configured unit can be downloaded. Immediate price and delivery time information also make the ordering process easier.

@festo_global @Publitek #PAuto 

Linear guide selection tool.

An online tool has been launched by Thomson Industries that simplifies the selection and purchase of their wide range of profile rail linear guide components. Using the tool’s intuitive interface, design and system engineers can reach their optimal profile rail solution in a matter of minutes, eliminating potentially hours of research and analysis.

Thomson on-line tool

“Thomson offers the broadest line of profile rail linear guides in the motion control industry, and we now make it super easy for designers to quickly view their options and match a solution to their applications,” said Markus Brändle, Product Line Specialist – Linear Bearings and Guides at Thomson. “The new selector tool is part of our commitment to bringing online industrial buyers the same levels of convenience and decision support they get when working closely with Thomson application engineers.” 

The Thomson profile rail offering includes the next generation 500 Series ball and roller linear guides, 400 Series, AccuMini, compact MicroGuide®, and lightweightT-Series. It is a complete family of rails and carriages in a broad range of styles, sizes and unique features produced to industry standard dimensions for easy retrofitting into existing applications or designing into new ones.                   

From an intuitive menu displaying the main types of profile rail linear guides, users reach a list of recommended solutions for their application in only a few clicks. They can then filter on parameters such as load, length, carriage style, accuracy and required corrosion resistance. Up-front pricing and lead times, and user-prompted live assistance are also accessible – all without leaving the original page.

The whole selection process typically takes less than five minutes to get the user to the optimised profile rail that meets their requirements. Once the configuration is complete, they can either add it to a shopping cart for immediate purchase, download a 3D model into their CAD program or access a PDF containing product features, benefits and technical specifications. 

@Thomson_Ind @bcm_pr #PAuto

Emergency stop switch selection.

An interactive virtual 3D tool has been developed to assist control panel designers and builders to quickly select the optimum devices for their application from EAO's extensive portfolio of modular E-Stop switches, and easily configure the many features they offer to meet their application specific requirements. The new Emergency Stop Configuration Tool enables users to create more than 2,000 different custom combinations and is available free of charge on their website.  

Many devices in EAO’s range of globally certified emergency stop switches feature a modular construction that provide the user with access to more than 130 components and accessories that can be individually assembled and configured to meet application specific requirements, but according to EAO UK marketing manager Robert Davies, the breadth of the EAO E-Stop product range and the flexibility it offers can lead to confusion and uncertainty when users have to decide on the optimum product selection: 

“The new 3D configuration tool provides users with access to visualised product features such as mounting hole, illumination and environmental protection rating, which they are able to filter directly according to each technical criterion”, Davies said. CAD data is automatically generated for each selected configuration and the E-Stop can be visualised online as a 3D rendering. Engineers and product designers are able to immediately apply this data to their application criteria, saving them both design effort and time.

“Our new tool offers excellent user friendliness that caters for the diverse requirements of different user categories and their various application requirements. Once spec’d the tool generates the appropriate datasheets and 3D drawings, making the configuration of EAO E-Stops a premium customer experience. It’s a guiding example of the successful digitalisation of our product consulting services”. 

#EAO_AG #ECSN #PAuto 

Thermowell design tool.

New Tool Can Turn 50 Hours of Thermowell Design Time Into 15 Minutes

The Rosemount™ Thermowell Design Accelerator is a free online thermowell design tool that eliminates manual thermowell iterations facing process design engineers when sizing thermowells. It is easy to use and intuitively guides users through complex projects, saving hours of wasted labour and resources. Users will be able to automatically iterate up to 1,000 thermowell tags with a single click – all optimised for their process conditions.

On average, engineers can spend 50 hours doing thermowell calculations for a single project. Nearly 20 variables related to process conditions and thermowell dimensions are used to find a safe and efficient solution. Temperature points often need to be recalculated three to four times using traditional trial-and-error methods before passing global standards for safe operation outlined by The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). Using the Thermowell Design Accelerator, engineers can reduce design ideation time to just 15 minutes.

The software uses ASME PTC-19.3 TW (2016) criteria and has built-in quality checks to confirm safe thermowell results that protect processes and the people that operate them. As the tool automatically iterates thermowell dimensional changes for safe use, it also tracks calculation history. Engineers get a breakdown for each thermowell iteration and the corresponding physical dimensional change to the thermowell as it calculates solutions. Engineers can review each step for how the thermowell was able to pass PTC criteria and have a reference for updating their design if process conditions change. It’s true design, not just thermowell pass or fail.

Thermowell Design Accelerator is easy to use. The onscreen image dynamically updates as tag data is input and the on-screen help feature identifies potential calculation issues like missing data or incorrect inputs. Plus, users get thermowell and matching sensor specification model codes for a quick and easy way to review, collaborate, purchase and share information with project teams.

#Pauto @EMR_Automation @Emerson_News @ASMEdotorg

FPGA or ASIC? New online tool.

HardwareBee has a new tool that helps engineers make quicker and more accurate decisions on whether to choose FPGA or ASIC technology in their electronic product.

This online tool, FPGA vs ASIC Calculator,  enables analysing and comparing the costs of each of the technologies based on the target application and making more informed decisions.

In today's market, where FPGAs increasingly provide wider and broader capabilities and ASICs are becoming more accessible in lower production volumes, developers are often unsure which technology to select for their product. The new tool helps engineers to clearly evaluate the overall costs of each technology, starting from the design phase and all the way to volume production.

• See also FPGA vs ASIC – What is the Difference?

@HardwareBee #FPGA #ASIC