Proximity switches

Versatile new proximity switches

Gems Sensors and Controls has announced the launch of a new range of magnetically actuated proximity switches for a wide range of customer applications. Versatile, low cost and compact, these new switches are hermetically sealed for long lasting performance and easy installation.

The PRX-100 Series of high performance, moisture resistant proximity switches is designed for use as a safety switch. Made from tough Noryl® material, the PRX-100 Series is UL 508 Listed, corrosion resistant, and has no standby power requirements or moving parts delivering a truly high performance switch. The PRX-100 is designed for long life and easy installation in a variety of applications including: industrial washers, equipment automation, medical instruments, and safety interlocks.

The Gems PRX-300 Series offers cost effective, high performance, reed switch stress relief technology for use as safety switches. Made with a robust glass filled Nylon® housing, the proximity switches are naturally corrosion resistant and are UL pending with no standby power requirements or moving parts. The PRX-300 switches are designed for long lasting performance and are easy to install for a variety of applications including: security systems, door interlocks, safety interlocks, position indication, and equipment automation.

The PRX-XX Series of versatile, low-cost proximity switches is designed for dry applications. Constructed with robust housings made from ABS material, the PRX-XX Series has no standby power requirements and no moving parts. The switches are designed for long lasting performance and are easy to install for a variety of general purpose applications including: security systems, household appliances, and door interlocks.

“The innovative new range of proximity switches from Gems Sensors offers customers a wide variety of affordable choices that can be used across any type of customer application. Gems is proud to continue to expand our product line with new solutions for our customers” says Kevin Castonguay, Product Marketing Manager for Gems Sensors & Controls.

"No matter the application, Gems Sensors & Controls has a proximity switch solution to meet any customer price or performance target."

New VP

New Vice President and General Manager of Californian facility

Brennan Industries has appointed William Kozman as vice president and general manager of its Irvine (CAUS). facility, where he is responsible for sales and profitability growth of Brennan in the southern California, southern Nevada and Arizona markets. He will also be responsible for the warehouse facility management.

Kozman recently joined Brennan bringing over 35 years of experience in the fluid power connector industry with him. Prior to joining Brennan, Kozman held the position of manager, sales, marketing and product development for Tylok International in Ohio (US). He held the position of manager of sales and marketing for Tomco Products, a division of Circor, in Spartanburg, (SC US). before Tylok International. Prior to Tomco Products, Kozman worked for Tuthill Coupling Group as regional vice president.

Kozman earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Louisville in marketing and finance. He has been a committee member of NGV-1 Alternative Fuel Technology Industry Task Force and a member of Instrumentation Society of America (ISA).

#ISAExpo

American show attracts thousands
Features Dozens of Special Events

ISA EXPO 2009, held at the Reliant Center in Houston (TX US), on 6-8 October, attracted 8,500 attendees and included a 61,500 square foot exhibition showcasing 364 companies. The ISA Fall Training Institute ran 13 courses and trained 113 students at the event.

The show featured seven co-locating organizations, including ARC Advisory Group, Industry2Grid (I2G), MCAA, OpenO&M, Microsoft and the Microsoft Manufacturing User Group (MSMUG), Houston SmartPlant Instrumentation (LTUF), and WBF.

See our take on this event with links to commentaries and releases from other sources in The Last Picture Show! More about Automation Week<

The co-location of these organizations’ events with the ISA Fall Training Institute, Industry Standards Forum, six technical conferences, and the exhibition brought an abundance of technical content, professional development, and networking opportunities to attendees. New technologies were a focus of both conference sessions and presentations on the exhibit floor, with attendees anxious to see the latest trends in the field. “I’m always looking for new technology. That’s what I’m here to see. I’m a control systems engineer, and anything that can make our processes work better, whether that’s software, wireless, or fieldbus, I want to have a look,” said James Pitts of Goodyear Tire and Rubber in Beaumont, Texas.

The technical conference featured six Exchange Conference Tracks centered on key issues facing instrumentation, automation, and control professionals, including safety, security, process automation and control, energy and environment, wireless and networking, and enterprise integration. The conference program also included several events open to all attendees, including keynote addresses from key leaders. John Hofmeister, CEO and Founder of Citizens for Affordable Energy, and retired President of Shell Oil Company presented the opening keynote address on Tuesday, 6 October. Hofmeister’s presentation, entitled "Energy Security and Affordability in the 21st Century," tackled these two critical concerns for industrial operations.

Wednesday’s keynote address, “Securing the Nation's Industrial Control Systems Infrastructure,” was delivered by Marty Edwards, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Program Manager of the Control Systems Security Program (CSSP). Edward’s address discussed the current threat landscape, common vulnerabilities and security issues facing critical infrastructure control systems, and mitigation strategies being developed to address these challenges.

Lisa Long, Safety Engineer with the U.S. Department of Labor-OSHA (U.S. DOL-OSHA), presented the final keynote address on 8 October, titled, “Overview and Findings from OSHA's Refinery and Chemical National Emphasis Programs." Long’s address described the Petroleum Refinery National Emphasis Program’s inspection protocol and procedures, and reviewed preliminary findings from the program, including data on the most frequently cited paragraphs of the process safety management standards and example citation language.

The event also featured activities for young automation professionals and students. YAPFEST, in its fourth year, attracted 200 automation professionals in the under-30 category to interact with sponsoring companies, learn more about careers in automation, and discuss how they might make a difference in the automation world. Students from several local colleges attended the event to learn about real-world applications of the automation and engineering concepts they’re learning about in school, and young professionals already working in the field attended to network and build their knowledge of the industry. Tamara Freasier, a graduate of LIT, works as a commissioning admin for Chicago Bridge and Iron. “We’re building a liquid natural gas plant in Sabine Pass, Texas,” she said. “I came to EXPO to get exposed to instruments and what they do.”

The second annual iAU2M8 event, designed for middle and high school students, attracted over 600 students from the Houston area. Students had a chance to walk through the ISA EXPO exhibit, see automation technology in action through an interactive demonstration area, and learn about career opportunities from real-world automation professionals. Sponsored by Shell, the event attracted several participating organizations and schools, including Citizens for Affordable Energy, FIRST Robotics, Houston Community College, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, Lee College, the Offshore Energy Center, Texas State Technical College, and the University of Houston.

The students attended a keynote address entitled “Deadliest Innovation,” given by Greg Crouch, Embedded Systems Business Development Director at National Instruments. Crouch is active in National Instrument’s academic STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) program efforts, helping to expand excitement of engineering among youth.

During the show, ISA announced its plans for a new event in 2010. ISA Automation Week 2010 will be held 4-7 October 2010 at the Westin Galleria Complex in Houston, Texas, USA. ISA Automation Week is a new, knowledge-focused event that will feature educational and applications-based technical conference sessions delivered by subject matter experts. Discrete and process automation professionals will have a chance to learn techniques and solutions for creating more efficient, productive, and economical manufacturing processes. ISA training courses and standards meetings will also be held concurrently, making ISA Automation Week a one-stop shop for automation and control knowledge and networking opportunities.

ISA Automation Week will attract management, engineering, production, IT, and R&D professionals responsible for automation, control systems, plant-wide communications/networks, plant operations and maintenance, and systems integration in continuous and batch manufacturing environments.

Torque Sensors

Torque sensors are compact, sensitive and robust

Kistler piezoelectric torque sensors have an extremely wide measuring range and are adaptable to match most configurations making them especially suited to manufacturing process monitoring. The sensors are available with measuring ranges ±1, ±10, ±25, ±200 and ±1,000Nm and all are suitable for torques from approx. 0.001 Nm.The torque sensors are supplied calibrated for 100 % and 10 % of the measuring range with additional calibration ranges available as an option.

Installation is very flexible as each sensor has an end flange with four or six threaded mounting holes and a centering seat for precise coaxial installation. A central hole allows a shaft to pass through the sensor. The high sensitivity, extremely rigid construction and compact dimensions of the sensors make them particularly suited to monitoring applications in assembly processes and product testing where rotary movements are involved. Typically, screw, bolt or nut tightening to specific torque, rotary potentiometer and switch testing and screw cap fitting.

As piezoelectric sensors are immune from fatigue and wear when properly used, their service life is virtually unlimited making them especially suitable for use as calibration sensors as well as for general torque measurement in both manufacturing and R&D applications.

Ultra low-noise remote charge converter
Rugged two-wire design allows for broadband noise down to 5 μ Vrms, radiation up to 1.0 MRads

Endevco Corporation (Endevco®) has announced the launch of new model 2771C-XX, an ultra-low noise remote charge converter (RCC), designed for use with charge output piezoelectric sensors within mechanical system health monitoring, nuclear power plant/regenerative energy and environmental testing applications.

Model 2771C-XX offers a rugged two-wire (IEPE), single ended design that operates from constant current power (4-20 mA). Both RCC signal output and current to the RCC are carried along the same wire. Housed in a rugged, small package, the charge converter offers broadband noise range down to 5µ Vrms, with a frequency response of 0.4 to 50 kHz. Units are designed to withstand shock loads of up to 100g peak, and are radiation tested to 1.0 Mrads. With availability in three different fixed gains of 0.1 mV/pC, 1.0 mV/pC and 10 mV/pC, model 2771C-XX can also support TEDS (per IEEE P1451.4) for smart sensor and larger channel count applications, and also includes an available M1 Version with male BNC, to facilitate easy panel mounting.

Because of its low impedance voltage, signal output from model 2771C-XX is less susceptible to noise pick-up. Also, shunt capacitance of the cable connecting model 2771C-XX to the main signal conditioner does not significantly affect system noise or sensitivity. Because model 2771C-XX has the same envelope size as the industry-best selling Endevco model 2771B remote charge converter, it may also be used as a drop-in replacement, for legacy applications where lower noise is required.

Display enhancement

New line of custom-bonded filters and optical enhancement layers
Enabling manufacturers to choose the right display enhancement for their unique needs.

Anders Electronics, market leader in innovative electronic device display experience optimisation, has announced the launching of its new line of TFT display enhancements.

Adding further value to the company’s UMR range of intelligent embedded display platforms, the new line includes the option of display enhancement solutions in addition to a choice of resistive or capacitive transparent touch input sensors. The display enhancement options include EMI filters (low ohm conductive coating or fine wire mesh layer) for EMI/EMC suppression, optical filters for controlling light emissions in the visible and infrared spectrums, and a variety of front-of-display finishes such as special polarisers for improved sunlight readability, retarders, EMI Windows, anti-reflective, and light control filters for privacy.

These enhancements are ideal for touchscreen displays, and are offered separately or in a custom-created stack configuration and either optically or air-gap bonded to the Anders TFT displays.

They are ideal for numerous commercial applications, such as security or point of sale (POS) devices requiring privacy filters, vending machines requiring heavy vandal-proof glass and sunlight readability, or noise sensitive medical devices that require enhanced readability and durability under frequent cleaning.

“Anders has always leveraged its in-house expertise in display optics, glass lamination and front of display surface treatments, in conjunction with display integration, to work with manufacturers consultatively,” said Rob Anders, CEO of Anders Electronics. “Now, we bring a whole new range of customisation options to the table, enabling us to offer a more complete user interface solution - saving our customers the time and effort of looking elsewhere for display enhancements or protective windows,” he continued.

Tough tools

Fluke introduces its toughest tools yet!

Fluke has introduced its toughest tools yet for industrial electricians, plant engineers and technicians who work in the toughest environments. The new Fluke 27 II and 28 II Digital Multimeters (DMMs) define a new standard for operating in harsh conditions that would destroy other tools, while delivering the features and accuracy to troubleshoot most electrical problems. Both meters are IP 67 rated for water and dust resistance and offer an extended operating temperature range of -15°C to +55°C. They will function in -40 °C temperatures for up to 20 minutes, will operate in 95% humidity, and are designed and tested to withstand a 3 metre drop.

These DMMs measure up to 1000V AC and DC and up to 10A (20A for 30 seconds). They feature a 10,000 microF capacitance range and measure frequencies to 200kHz. Both provide min/max and average readings to capture variations automatically, and provide auto and manual ranging for maximum flexibility. Both meters feature backlit keypad buttons, large display digits and two-level bright white display backlighting for easy visibility in low-lit areas.

The 28 II provides additional functionality. It is a true-rms meter that features a high-resolution 20,000-count display mode and includes a built-in thermometer that enables users to take temperature readings easily without carrying a separate instrument. It captures peak, min/max readings and features a high-pass filter to ensure accurate voltage and frequency measurements on adjustable speed drives and other electrically noisy equipment. The Fluke 27 II is an average responding meter with extended AC voltage bandwidth to 30kHz.

For safety, the 27 II and 28 II DMMs withstand hazardous 8,000V spikes caused by load switching and faults on industrial circuits and comply with second edition IEC and ANSI electrical safety standards. They are safety rated for use in CAT IV 600V/CAT III 1000V working environments.

The new Fluke 27 II and 28 II DMMs are built for anyone who wants the most durable DMM available. They are ideal for such job environments as:

• Manufacturing plants, foundries
• Food processing and bottling plants
• Water and wastewater facilities
• Marine service and repair
• Mining, drilling and materials extraction
• Outside testing in any weather

When enclosed in their protective yellow holsters, both meters will float in fresh or salt water. The holsters are reversible to provide added protection for the display and controls when the meter is not in use.