A curmudgeon speaks!

I received the latest issue of InTech, ISA's flagship, over the holiday period. I look forward to receiving it at home to have a good read at my ease. But this is the last time I'll be able to do so.

"...it is with a bit of sadness but much gratitude for the benefits of digital publications that I say this is the last issue of InTech in print. After years of pilot projects and deliberations, the digital transformation of InTech magazine is a reality." so says Renee Bassett, the editor-in-chief in her editorial in this the last paper issue.

She gives all sorts of figures and that decided the Society to make this change. Reading it I find I am in the 33% who do NOT read the digital issue although it has been available in digital format as well as the paper version for quite some time. I do not as a rule read pdf magazines or newspapers in the same way as I read the printed versions. I can't thumb through it.

I know this is a curmudgeonly opinion and will have no effect on this decision but feel I must express this opinion especially as the Society honoured me by electing me as Publications Vice-President many years ago. The Society also recognised my humble efforts as a member both of my local section and of the wider global society. So I have a lot to thank the Society for - not least the companionship of automation professionals. I remember my first attendance at an ISA function and the relief not having to answer the question, "What exactly IS instrumentation?"

Don't mistake what I am saying. I like the internet and use it all the time. I first joined up to the internet in 1993 so that I could contact and access quickly the benefits and knowledge that the Society has provided over the past almost 80 years. In fact I was the 800th subscriber to the service of our local internet provider Ireland On-Line - remember dial-up?

As publisher myself I understand the problems of providing a printed publication. The production cost has not changed that much in the last forty or fifty years. However the cost of distribution has probably quadrupled if not more. Our own publication - Read-out - which ceased paper publication about six years ago had seen the cost of postage increase from around €0.50 per copy to almost €5.00 per copy. We had little choice but to change to on-line publishing with items being published on a daily basis.

We will continue to subscribe to the digital InTech (and its sister eBooks) and will no doubt dip into it virtually. I will miss it plopping through our letter box every two months. I will miss sitting back and thumbing through it as I learn about the latest automation technologies and applications.

@ISA_Interchange @IrelandISA #Automation #PAuto #TandM

Lithium breakthrough.

A new technology that dramatically improves the production efficiency of lithium – the most crucial component of a Li-Ion battery has been launched by Sensmet. Their automated online measurement technology enables the optimal dosing of chemicals during lithium production, which improves revenues and reduces costs.

Traditionally, battery metal manufacturers had to rely on batch sampling and laboratory analysis to control their processes, but this is costly, labour intensive, and typically incurs a delay of 4–10 hours. In contrast, Sensmet’s technology; Micro-Discharge Optical Emission Spectroscopy µDOES®, is able to measure multiple metals, such as any battery metal and their impurities, in real-time. In addition to lithium manufacture, the technology is also suited to the ‘black mass’ recycling of battery metals. Strict online monitoring and control is implemented to reduce impurity levels and thereby prevent the cost and delay incurred by retreatment.

Keliber ran a pilot-scale test programme in 2022 to evaluate the µDOES® analyser in the continuous optimisation of precipitation chemical dosing during lithium production. Nearly 80 samples were drawn from the process with sodium and lithium concentrations analysed in parallel using both the µDOES® continuous analyser and a laboratory ICP-OES. The results showed an excellent degree of correlation between the methods. Keliber’s Sami Heikkinen said: “Chemical dosing based on reliable real-time data brings stability to the process, which is very important because it avoids drift and optimises both yield and quality while minimising cost.” They have recently announced their €588,00 lithium hydroxide facility.

The ability to conduct continuous, simultaneous measurements of multiple metal species in an aqueous matrix offers battery metal manufacturers the opportunity to improve process efficiency, lower costs, increase throughput, avoid waste and improve the quality of the final product.

@Sensmet_Ltd @_Enviro_News #PAuto 

The breadth of LIMS.

If you did not think a LIMS was for your laboratory because you are in an unusual industry, think again.

Recent data released by Autoscribe Informatics shows the breadth of industries purchasing a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS); many for the first time. This market analysis from recent projects shows the cross-section of clients is moving well beyond what many think of as the LIMS core market of Healthcare, Medical Devices, and Pharmaceuticals.

These highly regulated industries have been using Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) for many years because they must manage their data securely. However, recently significant growth has been seen in other areas including: 

• Cannabis testing to keep up with extended use and regulation of cannabis in the leisure and medical industries
• Environmental testing to meet tighter regulatory requirements, especially in the water and nuclear power industries
• Food & Beverage testing to ensure data from quality control testing is readily available in order to meet increasingly strict FDA audit demands
• Extended Biobank management systems to support ever-growing research into personalized medicine, along with new biotechnology and clinical testing systems to support trials and the roll-out of new treatments.

Other areas with quality control functions are switching from paper systems to LIMS including diverse manufacturing organizations from paper and materials to chemicals and oil additives. In many of these cases reducing the burden of managing paper records and the overhead of manually retrieving data across various batches is a key driver, particularly for management reporting and customer audits.

“We are seeing an ever-broader selection of laboratory types embrace LIMS”, said Tim Daniels, Marketing Manager at Autoscribe. “Flexibility is the key to meeting this increasing diversity which is why Matrix Gemini LIMS is so successful. It is a highly configurable solution using a drag-and-drop graphical editor. This allows changes to be made easily to every screen, menu and list box in the workflow. The result is a LIMS that meets the needs of every laboratory, whilst remaining easy to understand and use.”

This data backs up industry analysis that shows the LIMS market is expected to continue its rapid growth, with a CAGR of 13.2% to reach $2.1Bn in 2026^[1]. Many new market areas are now switching to LIMS, or indeed upgrading their early LIMS choices, to reap the benefits of automation and efficiency in their laboratory. Autoscribe has an extensive range of case studies highlighting laboratories from a broad swathe of industries available.

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¹ Markets & Markets - Global LIMS Forecast

@AutoscribeLtd @marketsmarkets #LIMS #Laboratory 

Spectrum analyzer is top test Instrument.

Anritsu Company's Field Master Pro™ MS2090A real-time spectrum analyzer has been named the winner in the Network Test & Measurement category Fierce Innovation Award – Telecom Edition 2022. The instrument was recognized by a panel of judges based on criteria that included the instrument’s ability to make a positive, innovative, real-world impact on the telecom industry.

Product Outline. The Field Master Pro MS2090A delivers performance never previously available in a compact, handheld instrument. With continuous frequency coverage from 9 kHz to 54 GHz, the MS2090A is specifically designed to meet the test challenges of a full range of wireless technologies in use today, including 5G, LTE, wireless backhaul, aerospace/defense, satellite systems, and radar.

“Earning a Fierce Innovation Award acknowledges the exceptional efforts of our engineering and support teams who developed the MS2090A. Field Master Pro brings best-in-class performance into the field and addresses current and future testing needs in a wide range of commercial, private, and government use cases,” said Wayne Wong, Anritsu Product Marketing Manager.

The Fierce Innovation Awards seek to recognize the creators, makers, and doers of outstanding services and equipment unveiled in the past 12 months. It is intended to promote the competitive spirit and initiative to spark new design, development and distribution of inventive solutions; find revolutionary tech or services; and to acknowledge and honor the most visionary operators, service providers, and vendors for their commitment to next-gen business and consumer offerings.

Portable and lab-based hardware and software or centralized solutions for testing, management and maintenance of telecommunications networks were eligible for the Network Test and Measurement award. Judges evaluated all applications based on ease of use/ROI, effectiveness, technical innovation, competitive advantage, financial impact, and true innovation.

To meet emerging market needs, Anritsu recently introduced the IQ Signal Master™ MX280005A Vector Signal Analysis (VSA) software that delivers expanded post processing measurements and analysis of IQ data files captured on the MS2090A. A comprehensive suite of enhanced functions in the new VSA software allows users to analyze the modulation of captured signals or replay the captured IQ data with enhanced resolution.

@AnritsuEMEA @Anritsu @FierceTelecom @NapierPR #TandM #Telecom

Portable flow measurement without interrupting process.

A new Portable Transit Time Ultrasonic Flow Meter in addition to the full-sized clamp-on version from AW-Lake, provides non-contacting flow measurement for the most challenging industrial environments with minimal installation complexity and costs. The new Portable Ultrasonic meter was designed to be deployed easily to measure flow on demand, without difficult installations or process interruptions.

The hand-held unit is encased in a rugged IP67 housing and works with the same 3 interchangeable transducers as the full-sized meter, which make it suitable for measurements on a wide range of metal and plastic pipe materials on pipes from ½” to 48” in diameter. A simple menu allows for fast and easy programming of pipe diameter, pipe material, liquid types, and measurement units. In addition to providing a standard 4-20mA/0-5V analog output, optional Modbus RTU and HART communications provide instantaneous flow rate, volume, total, run hours, and diagnostic information.

An intuitive on-screen user interface with a data logger enables operators to view flow reports or download logs for use in other programs. Data management storage of 12.5 million data points with logger software for data viewing and reporting. Through the use of an integrated USB-C port, the PTFM 6.1 seamlessly expands its input and output capability to meet future requirements without replacing the whole meter. The Greyline Portable Transit Time Flow Meter offers the versatility to meet changing flow measurement needs today, tomorrow, and into the future.

The flow meters use the transit time ultrasonic principle of measurement that works by measuring the flight difference for ultrasonic sound pulses transmitted from one transducer to another. The time between transmitted and received signals is precisely measured by the flow meters. Both Ultrasonic Flow Meters are ideal for measuring the flow rate of clean, non-aerated fluids in full pipes such as water, chemicals, and fuel oils with highly accurate and reliable flow measurement.

@AWLakeCompany #PAuto 

British consultancy divested.

ABB is to divest its British-based technical engineering consultancy business, a technical engineering consultancy part of its Energy Industries division, to TÜV Rheinland. The transaction is expected to close in Q2 2023. The financial terms of the transaction will not be disclosed.

This technical engineering consultancy including a network of subcontractors and associates has around 160 people operating from two main sites in the northeast and the northwest of England. A specialist team of technical experts helps global energy customers improve process safety, equipment and asset integrity as well as technical design for new and existing industrial plants.

“Our technical engineering consultancy business is highly recognized for the value it brings to customers, and has significant opportunity for growth, enabled by strong industry tailwinds as we navigate the energy transition,” said Troy Stewart, Head of ABB Energy Industries UK. “This divestment follows a two-year strategic review of our portfolio and aims to accelerate the continued growth of the business. TÜV Rheinland is an excellent new home for the technical engineering consultancy business, where it can realize its exciting growth opportunity and create customer value.”

“We look forward to creating growth, stability and opportunity at a time where we are seeing increased demand for sustainability, decarbonization and business continuity,” said Gareth Book, Managing Director TÜV Rheinland UK. “ABB’s UK technical engineering consultancy will complement the existing risk, safety and integrity management services provided by TÜV Rheinland. Our aim is to build upon the long-standing customer relationships and trust that ABB and TÜV Rheinland have established in the UK over the last two decades.”

ABB’s technical engineering consultancy will be integrated into the Industrial Services and Cybersecurity business of TÜV Rheinland in Britain. The combined business will create a scalable, broad-based technical engineering provider delivering a full-service offer to the high hazard industries, supporting customers in the energy transition and energy security.

@ABB_UK @TUVRheinlandUK #Energy #PAuto 

Powering semiconductor automatic optical inspection.

Facing Automated Optical Inspection (AOI) applications relating to, and caused by the shortcomings of consumer DRAM.

The recent launch of Innodisk AI provides a complete AI solution for industrial integrators, DDR5 series DRAM plays a key role for a variety of applications, including Automated Optical Inspection solutions. With the rise in demand for semiconductors, and the trend towards smaller and smaller processes, the need for automatic systems to detect semiconductor production defects has grown significantly. AOI systems are now used at every step of the semiconductor manufacturing process, and their stability is paramount to production efficiency.

Modern AOI systems face three core issues that Innodisk’s DDR5 RDIMM (registered memory) help to solve: memory bandwidth, accuracy, and high temperatures.

Memory Bandwidth.
Due to the high memory bandwidth needed for training models, AOI systems often struggle when lower capacity modules are used. Innodisk’s DDR5 RDIMM solves this issue with large capacities, including 32GB and 64GB modules.

Accuracy.
Due to semiconductor processes going down to the nanometer level, the resolution requirement and accuracy requirements for AOI systems has increased. Innodisk’s DDR5 RDIMM features a new dual 40-bit sub-channel architecture, and supports rigorous side-band ECC, which can handle AOI’s high-accuracy detection demands.

High Temperatures.
The high-speed and high-precision inspection that AOI systems provide generates high amounts of heat at the DRAM level, and this can cause overall system temperatures to rise sharply. Innodisk’s DDR5 RDIMM solves these heat concerns via a two-pronged strategy, involving an integration of both hardware and software. Two thermal sensors on the modules detect ambient temperatures, and two software tools: iCAP (Innodisk Cloud Administration Platform), and iSMART monitor temperatures and send warning messages.

Although memory technology is constantly being updated, Innodisk’s observation of the industry's current situation shows that customers' demands for new technologies vary greatly.

@Innodisk_Corp @mepaxIntPR #PAuto #Manufacturing