In selecting valves for instrumentation, the choices are many and varied. The choice depends mostly on the application the valve is to be used for. Read more »
By eliminating lubrication systems where possible, OEMs can reduce production costs, while at the same time making their equipment more marketable and less expensive to operate for the end users. Read more »
Humans are wonderful, complex beings. That our very name, homo sapiens, can be translated to wise man, is an indication of our intelligence. We have the ability and capacity to do so much and, along with our advanced language capability, we can reason, problem-solve, introspect and quickly adapt to current conditions around us. But we are not infallible. Read more »
Cleaning in place (CIP) refers to the use of a mix of chemicals, heat and water to clean machinery, vessels or pipework without dismantling the plant. Read more »
Climate change, increasing water demands due to global urbanisation and regulatory obligations are all making the water sector an attractive arena for technologies that can help reduce costs and contribute to reducing the effects of climate change. Read more »
DNP3, or Distributed Network Protocol, has been around for close to two decades now. It was developed by Westronic in 1993, primarily for the power industry. Read more »
In Part 1 of this article we looked at standard methods of Layer 2 network redundancy that involve auto-reconfiguration of the network topology after a failure. This time we continue and look at redundancy methods that are fully redundant. Read more »
Industrial computers need to be designed to withstand vibration and shock, which are a fact of life in many industrial applications. Read more »
The harmonisation deadline set by COAG in 2008 was 1 January 2012, but that deadline has well and truly passed with us seemingly no closer to the desired end state. Read more »
The costs of failure in today’s industrial networks can be very high, making network redundancy essential. Read more »
Automation engineers have traditionally implemented and tested their control algorithms by running them on programmable logic controllers (PLCs) connected to actual machinery. A major drawback to this approach is that it can be expensive, difficult, or dangerous to test the control strategy for the first time on the machine. Read more »
The need for greater robot reliability and efficiency is leading to the development of new technologies in robot accessories. Read more »
Compared with parallel wiring, fieldbus systems have a negative impact on the availability of process-related plants and systems. This is because users have to isolate the entire bus segment from the network in order to, say, replace a defective component. Read more »
Businesses must find a balance between strong financial outcomes and the responsibility for sustainable energy consumption and reduced carbon emissions. Changes made in processes to facilitate sustainability should be viewed as a long-term proposition that rewards with more than just regulatory compliance. Read more »
People learn 70% of what they know about their jobs through informal means. So stop pouring your money into formal training without pausing to consider these other more powerful options. Read more »
The latest technology links corrosion to process conditions more directly and immediately. It also allows corrosion depreciation to be assessed in much shorter time intervals with the ability to control and mitigate the rate of damage and more accurately factor in its true economic impact on plant operations. Read more »
National Manufacturing Week (NMW) 2012 returns to Sydney this May, and it’s going to be big: 10,000 anticipated visitors, over 300 local and international manufacturing industry suppliers and a record 12 Product Zones. Read more »
Over the past decade, photoelectric sensing has undergone a steady transition in which older, conventional sensors are being replaced by an innovative technology called background suppression (BGS). Read more »
Track-guided transport systems have been used in highly automated production environments for some time now. Whether in automobile production, automation of material flow or warehouse logistics, rail-based mobile units transport the required parts in all of these areas. Normally, communication to the mobile units is established using contact lines and mechanical contacts. Read more »
Converging plant and enterprise networks into an integrated architecture is rapidly gaining ground in industry as a means to providing a method of uniting multiple control disciplines into a single cohesive plant-wide system. However, the use of ethernet to facilitate integration may expose the company to an increased level of risk. Read more »