Load cells for offshore

The CPA Series of Compression load cells from LCM Systems are often the sensors of choice for companies constructing Centre of Gravity (CoG) systems. When a long standing customer approached the company for the standard load cells to be used as part of a large offshore jacking system, engineers at LCM suggested that a modified version would be more suitable as they were to be used with specified hydraulic cylinders. In fact, after further discussions the customer realised that LCM could supply a complete CoG system, together with customised PC software, saving them both time and money.

The engineers at LCM Systems were faced with another design challenge. Firstly, the load cells had to be compatible with a specific Enerpac cylinder and had to be easy to mount and dismount. Secondly, the load cap had to be versatile enough to self align a +/- 2 degree angular loading scenario, at the same time being restrained for safety. And last but not least, it was essential that the load cells were manufactured in stainless steel and environmentally protected to IP67 minimum while having an accuracy of < 0.25% with full multi-point calibration and complete traceability.

Within only 6 weeks, the company took delivery of the complete system that comprised 30 load cells, completely constructed as specified and supplied calibrated, with a calibration certificate, traceable to UKAS. 17-4PH and 316 stainless steel were used to manufacture the fully welded load cells and the cover and mounting base respectively. For ease of mounting on the hydraulic cylinder, LCM Systems designed an integral connector for quick and easy commissioning and the load cap has a spring load retaining system for versatility and safety. Finally, with the installer in mind, carry handles were incorporated for safe and ergonomic transportation.

This special load cell design is a perfect example of how LCM Systems can adapt standard products to meet a customer’s exact requirements. Generally, this approach adds no extra cost or only a minimal extra cost to the standard load cell price, but quite often offers reductions in the client's overall costs.

Intelligent softstarter

Automatic settings deliver correct starting current regardless of load

Carlo Gavazzi has launched the RSBS single phase, plug ‘n’ play Softstart motor controller that delivers a smooth start and long term reliability for single phase high pressure scroll compressors typically used in the growing heat pump market. 

The RSBS has been developed to reduce high inrush currents and associated effects to prolong compressor life.  The compact design features a self-adapting algorithm that will automatically react to changing load conditions to ensure that a wide range of compressors are started with the correct current and within the required ramp-up time of 600ms.

This self-adaptation feature eliminates light flickering and voltage disturbances, while reducing mechanical stresses on the compressor, and minimises the number of alarms during start-up, resulting in fewer service calls and reduced system downtime.  The RSBS features integrated protection against short-cycling, with an internal delay to ensure a maximum of ten starts per hour is observed.

To address the issue of weak power supplies in remote locations, the under voltage alarm is only active during bypass mode.  Other alarms such as Locked Rotor and End of Ramp protect the system during start up, leading to a reduction in system stoppage and service calls.

Alarm indication is provided through a red LED which signals the type of alarm via a user friendly flashing sequence.  The RSBS can also be supplied with an optional auxiliary alarm relay to interface additional alarm systems to the external panel.  Featuring compact dimensions of 137 x 84 x 60mm, the RSBS is easy to fit in any existing panel design via DIN rail or panel mount.

High technology IndyCar platform

All-new Dallara DW12 Chassis showcases state-of-the-art electronics.

Mouser Electronics has just unveiled the No. 11 MOUSER ELECTRONICS/GEICO/KV Racing Technology Chevrolet Dallara to be driven by IndyCar Champion Tony Kanaan for the 2012 IZOD® IndyCar Series.

Tony Kanaan

The 2012 IZOD® IndyCar Series season will be the 101st season of American open wheel racing. It also marks the biggest change to the sport in recent history as the existing car used through 2011 – a 2003 model Dallara IR-05 powered by naturally aspirated V8 engines – is permanently retired. Driven by the need to increase driver safety and performance, the ICONIC Project (Innovative, Competitive, Open-Wheel, New, Industry-Relevant, Cost-Effective) was led by experts and executives from racing and technical fields. The committee included Randy Bernard, William R. Looney III, Brian Barnhart, Gil de Ferran, Tony Purnell, Eddie Gossage, Neil Ressler, Tony Cotman and Rick Long. IndyCar accepted proposals from BAT Engineering, Dallara, DeltaWing, Lola and Swift for chassis design. At the finish, organizers accepted the Dallara proposal.

Under the new ICONIC regulations, all teams will compete with a core rolling chassis, called the "IndyCar Safety Cell," developed by Italian designer Dallara. Teams will then outfit the chassis with various "Aero Kits," which consist of front and rear wings, sidepods, and engine cowlings. Development of Aero Kits is open to any manufacturer. However, all teams will use the Dallara aerodynamic package in 2012 and delay the introduction of multiple aero kits until 2013. The new IndyCar Safety Cell will be assembled at a state-of-the-art Dallara facility in Speedway, Indiana.

2011 Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon carried out the first official test of the Dallara chassis at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in August 2011. Following Wheldon's death at the 2011 IZOD IndyCar World Championship, Dallara announced that the 2012 chassis would be named the DW12 in his honor. Safety was one of the foremost requirements in the design of the new chassis, which was designed around identified areas for improvement based on IndyCar’s own research and testing.

The new engine formula consists of 2.4 L V6 turbocharged engines, fine-tuned to produce 550–700 horsepower (410–520 kW) with a 12,000 RPM limit. All engines will run E85 fuel with IndyCar being the only motorsports property to take to the racetrack using this renewable and environmentally friendly fuel. The "push to pass" feature in 2012 will allow a limited horsepower gain up to 100 HP as opposed to the last season’s "overtake assist," which only provided 10 to 20 HP increase

The turbocharger will be provided by BorgWarner. Powerplants for 2012 will be supplied by Honda, Chevrolet, and Lotus. The No. 11 MOUSER ELECTRONICS/GEICO/KV Racing Technology IndyCar will be powered by a Chevrolet twin turbo V6. The powerplant will be built in a joint effort with Ilmor Engineering. Additionally, Mouser will serve as the exclusive supplier of electronic components to KV Racing Technology. Joining Mouser as co-sponsors are TTI, Inc, Murata, Molex, TE Connectivity, Phoenix Contact, Littelfuse, KEMET, Ohmite, Hammond, Harwin, Digi, ebm-papst, Omron, BIVAR, Fluke, and Amphenol.

Precision source measurement

Keithley Instruments has introduced the Model 2657A High Power System SourceMeter® instrument. 

Click on picture to see video!

The Model 2657A adds high voltage to the company's Series 2600A System SourceMeter® family of high speed, precision source measurement units. Together, these instruments allow Keithley's customers to characterize an even broader range of power semiconductor devices and materials. A built-in 3,000V, 180W source allows the Model 2657A to source up to five times as much power to a device under test as the nearest competitive system, at significantly lower cost. The precision, high speed 6-1/2-digit measurement engine built into the Model 2657A enables 1fA (femtoamp) current measurement resolution to support the low-leakage requirements of next-generation power semiconductor devices. 

The Model 2657A is optimized for high voltage applications such as testing power semiconductor devices, including diodes, FETs, and IGBTs, as well as characterizing newer materials such as gallium nitride (GaN), silicon carbide (SiC), and other compound semiconductor materials and devices. It is also useful for characterizing high speed transients and performing breakdown and leakage tests on a variety of electronic devices at up to 3,000V.

Like the rest of the Series 2600A family, the Model 2657A offers a highly flexible, four-quadrant voltage and current source/load coupled with precision voltage and current meters. It combines the functionality of multiple instruments in a single full-rack enclosure: semiconductor characterization instrument, precision power supply, true current source , 6-1/2-digit DMM, arbitrary waveform generator, voltage or current pulse generator , electronic load, and trigger controller, and is fully expandable into a multi-channel, tightly synchronized system via Keithley's TSP-Link® technology. Unlike competitive solutions, which are typically limited in terms of power, the Model 2657A can source or sink up to 180W of DC power (±3,000V@20mA, ±1500V@120mA). The Model 2657A also offers 1fA resolution, allowing it to make fast, accurate sub-picoamp measurements even when sourcing up to 3000V.

Digitising or Integrating Measurement Modes
The Model 2657A provides a choice of digitising or integrating measurement modes for characterising both transient and steady-state behavior, including rapidly changing thermal effects. Each mode is defined by two independent analog-to-digital (A/D) converters-one for current and the other for voltage-that run simultaneously to ensure accurate source readback without sacrificing test throughput. The digitising measurement mode's 18-bit A/D converters support one-microsecond-per-point sampling, so users can capture voltage and current transients simultaneously. In contrast, competing solutions typically must average multiple readings to produce a result, so they aren't fast enough to characterise transient behavior. The integrating measurement mode, based on 22-bit A/D converters and common to all Series 2600A instruments, optimises the Model 2657A's operation for applications that demand the highest measurement accuracy and resolution. This ensures extremely precise measurements of the very low currents and high voltages common in next-generation power semiconductor devices.

Powerful Test Development Tools
Basic device characterization can be performed with no need for software installation or programming with TSP Express, Keithley's LXI-based I-V test software utility. Users can simply connect a PC to the LXI LAN port and access TSP Express with any Java-enabled web browser. Test results can be viewed in either graphical or tabular format and then exported to a .csv file for use with spreadsheet applications. Two additional tools for creating test sequences are provided with the Model 2657A: the Test Script Builder application (for creating, modifying, debugging, running, and managing TSP scripts) and an IVI-based LabVIEW® driver (to simplify integrating the Model 2657A into LabVIEW test sequences). The Test Script Builder application has new debugging capabilities that make test program development easier and more productive.

ACS Basic Edition software is also available as an option for component characterization. The latest release offers a rich set of features for characterizing high voltage and high current components. The included measurement libraries have been updated to support both DC and pulse mode operation of both the high voltage Model 2657A and high current Model 2651A High Power System SourceMeter instruments. These libraries address a variety of power devices, including FETs, BJTs, diodes, IGBTs, etc., with tests that include input, output, and transfer characteristics on most devices. A special "Trace Mode" provides real-time control over an instrument's voltage or current output using a simple slider.

Flexible, High Accuracy Connection and Probing Solutions
The Model 2657A can be connected to other instruments in a test system with standard safe high voltage (SHV) coaxial cable connections compatible with existing high voltage test applications. However, for applications that depend on getting the most from the instrument's low current measurement performance, Keithley also offers special HV triaxial (guarded) connections to optimize the Model 2657A's measurement accuracy.

The optional new Model 8010 High Power Device Test Fixture provides connections for testing packaged high power devices at up to 3000V or 100A, making it safer and simpler to configure a device test system that includes the high voltage Model 2657A, one or two high current Model 2651A instruments, and up to three low power SMU instruments (other Series 2600A instruments or the Model 4200-SCS semiconductor characterization system). In addition to standard banana jumpers, the Model 8010 has rear-panel oscilloscope and thermal probe ports to simplify system integration for further DUT characterization. The Model 8010 has full safety interlock capability. To prevent instrument damage if a device fault occurs, integrated protection circuits in the Model 8010 safeguard the inputs of the lower voltage Series 2600A instruments from the high voltages the Model 2657A can output. Individual protection modules are also available to simplify connecting multiple SMUs safely to a third-party probe station, component handler, or other test fixture.

Body recognised for promotion automation as a discipline among young

The Automation Federation named 2012 ML100 New Workforce Award Winner

The Automation Federation(AF) is listed among the distinguished recipients of the eighth annual Manufacturing Leadership 100 Awards.

The AF is an association of member organizations that provides awareness, programs and services that continually advance all facets of the automation profession. It serves as the “Voice of Automation” by providing advocacy and industry-wide strategic analysis and coordination through its member organizations.

The Automation Federation was selected for the 2012 ML100 New Workforce Award by Manufacturing Executive, the global community for manufacturing leadership and producer of the Manufacturing Leadership Summit and ML100 Awards program.

The Automation Federation is being recognized for its AutomationSTEM program and its related activities, initiatives and collaborations, including the Alliance with FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). AutomationSTEM is designed to make the future workforce aware of the importance of automation and engineering; the many career opportunities available in this broad profession; and the importance science, technology, engineering and math will play in those careers.

An independent judging panel chaired by David R. Brousell, vice president and editorial director, and Jeff Moad, executive editor of manufacturing executive, reviewed project and individual achievement nominations, and the winners were decided by a panel of qualified judges from various companies and organizations in the manufacturing sector.

The Automation Federation will be honored and presented with its 2012 ML100 New Workforce Award for the AutomationSTEM program at the Manufacturing Leadership Summit Awards Gala in May.

2012 Automation Federation Chair, Leo Staples, stated, “The Automation Federation’s receipt of the 2012 ML100 New Workforce Award is a true affirmation of the work we are doing and the benefits it will have for the future of manufacturing. The award recognizes our AutomationSTEM program, whose K-12 education initiatives will surely help alleviate the future technical skills shortage we will face as a profession by building the next generation of automation professionals now. We hope this ML100 Award will encourage others in the profession to provide support for our AutomationSTEM initiatives.”

Automatic hardness testing facility

Maintaining its policy of continuous investment in technology and facilities, Keighley Laboratories has added a Zwick Roell ZHV-10 automatic micro and macro hardness tester to its Test House resources. Featuring fully automatic Vickers indentation measurement and dedicated hardness testing software, the new equipment will bring about measurable improvements in accuracy, repeatability and productivity, to the benefit of the company’s internal Heat Treatment division and clients of its Technical Services department. Used for the precise measurement of surface hardness and case depth of metallic materials, with test loads between 100g and 10Kg, it will introduce considerable time savings over previously manual routines, freeing up highly skilled operators for other analytical duties.

The new equipment was supplied by Indentec, part of Zwick Roell AG and a worldwide centre of excellence for hardness testing machines, which has a business relationship with Keighley Labs that dates back many years. A UKAS accredited calibration laboratory, Indentec has been additionally contracted to service and recalibrate this and other hardness testing equipment on a long term basis, which will be carried out on site by trained engineers to ISO 6508-2 and ASTM E384 standards.

Such is the sizeable footprint of the new hardness tester, Keighley Labs also took the opportunity to enlarge its existing Test House microscope room, creating a spacious new optical suite. This also houses the advanced zoom stereo metallurgical microscope acquired previously and allows for the installation of further state-of-the-art equipment.

Part of Keighley Labs’ comprehensive mechanical testing and metallography services, the hardness of a material is determined by its resistance to indentation by a hardened ball or diamond indenter, then measuring the size of the permanent impression produced. With loads, pressures and temperatures constantly increasing in modern machinery, metallic parts are subject to increasingly arduous operating conditions and hardness testing is often the best way of establishing that components will survive such stresses, becoming a critical part of the quality control process. Keighley Labs employs this physical testing method as quality assurance for its in-house Heat Treatment division, handling up to a dozen test samples daily, as well as undertaking case depth and surface hardness evaluation of materials and components for external clients.

Vickers testing, using a pyramid-shaped diamond indenter, is suitable for all types of materials and surface treatments and Keighley Labs’ new Zwick Roell ZHV-10 machine is equipped for micro and macro Vickers testing to ISO 6507, although it can be fitted with an alternative Knoop indenter. It features a built-in measuring microscope with four objective lenses, a motorised turret with 1.3 megapixel USB camera, an automatic motorised XY table with 150mm x 50mm travel, for precise positioning of samples, with automatic focus providing an additional motorised Z axis for bringing the test surface into sharp resolution without operator involvement. It also includes a high definition 24” LCD monitor, a microprocessor running Windows XP, flatbed scanner and Indentec ZHµ HD automatic indentation software, with sample scanning facility and a report generator for outputting data to spreadsheet programs, enabling further statistical analysis.

Employing this configuration, Keighley Labs’ technicians can either view and measure test impressions manually, by focusing with the joystick and clicking on indentations with the mouse, or allow the machine itself to intelligently follow predefined patterns, indent the sample, then measure and generate test results, all entirely automatically. They can also set up templates of indentation points, for performing hardness tests on routine samples, and program straight line and transverse patterns for automating case hardness routines and testing welded seams.

Apart from freeing up technicians for other tasks, this ‘click and walk away’ functionality ensures precise sample positioning and imaging, enhanced accuracy, an extremely high level of repeatability and overall increased productivity, reducing standard testing procedures from more than an hour manually, to less than twenty minutes automatically. It also eliminates operator-related errors caused by eye strain, fatigue and inevitable inconsistencies, which can be a common problem in microhardness testing especially.

“The time savings made possible by this automatic hardness tester will enable us to offer faster turnaround times and deliver even more accurate, repeatable and reproducible data,” says Keighley Labs’ Test House Manager, Matthew Mellor. “We chose Indentec because the company has an excellent reputation, with its own service and calibration engineers, and its equipment offers the highest image resolution on the market.”

Safety expert keynotes at Instrumentation Symposium

Process safety expert Paul Gruhn with ICS Triplex/Rockwell Automation, is to deliver a keynote address at the 58th Annual International Instrumentation Symposium (IIS) on Wednesday, 6 June 2012, in La Jolla, (CA USA).

Gruhn will address IIS attendees from around the world on lessons learned from process and aerospace accidents and, more importantly, how to avoid them. His presentation will explore and discuss the importance training, awareness and procedures play in minimising hazardous scenarios. Topics include:

• why everyone needs training
• importance of having people follow procedures
• recognizing that some people don't know what they don't know
• impossible to foresee every possible hazardous scenario
• reusing of software has not always been successful
• near misses are often not followed up
• the past is often ignored

Gruhn is the global process safety consultant at ICS Triplex/Rockwell Automation. He graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, Illinois, USA, in 1980 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. Gruhn has been very active with ISA at the section, division and department level for more than 20 years. He became an ISA Fellow in 2001, is a member of the ISA84 standard committee (on safety instrumented systems) and the ISA101 standard committee (on human machine interfaces). Gruhn is the developer and instructor of ISA courses on safety systems, the author of two ISA textbooks, chapters in other books and more than two dozen published articles. He is the developer of the first commercial safety system software modeling program. Gruhn is a Licensed Professional Engineer (PE) in Texas, USA, and is an ISA84 expert.

IIS, ISA’s longest running division symposium, will cover all aspects of instrumentation technologies and applications across the automation field. It offers three full days of technical programming presented by industry experts, as well as a student paper competition, instrumentation exhibition, networking and more. In addition, instructor-led training courses will be held to complement the technical program. Topics covered at this symposium include process instrumentation, sensors technology, tip timing, measurement and virtual instrumentation to name a few.

Attendees will earn Continuing Education Units for completing the training courses and Professional Development Hours for attending the technical sessions.
IIS is sponsored by Honeywell, an ISA Corporate Partner, and by the following ISA divisions: Aerospace Industries, Test Measurement and Process Measurement and Control. Program development is also in collaboration with ISA’s Automatic Controls and Robotics Division and Chemical and Petroleum Industries Division, and the Propulsion Instrumentation Working Group.