Articles
Wastewater plant improves pump performance with a self-priming pump
For over 14 years the Moe Wastewater Treatment Plant has been effectively and successfully processing sewage. Located in Gippsland, Victoria, the medium-sized plant serves a population of approximately 22,000 with an average daily flow of five megalitres.
[ + ]How to use Linux in industrial automation
The Linux OS can be found in many unexpected places in our daily lives. From GPS navigators to smartphones, countless devices now run the Linux kernel. As a free and open-source solution, Linux offers some advantages compared to Windows. Is this open-source OS relevant for industrial automation? The answer is YES.
[ + ]Pinions instead of belts
Each year NorStone’s production facilities at Tau in south-west Norway produce over 6.6 million tonnes of gravel products of various types and quality classes. The demand makes it especially important to ensure that the plant is operational as much as possible and to minimise unplanned downtime.
[ + ]COTS technology reduces cost and increases competitiveness
The main trends in manufacturing today are the needs to reduce costs and increase competitiveness. As a result, many Australian manufacturers are moving manufacturing facilities offshore.
[ + ]Moving difficult-to-handle bulk materials with flexible screw conveyors
Flexible screw conveyor systems can be engineered to transport bulk materials that tend to pack, cake, smear, break apart or fluidise, and can prevent the separation of blended products. This article looks at the how flexible screw conveyors can be designed to convey such problematic materials.
[ + ]Energy-efficient enclosure climate control
Depending on the surrounding temperature and other ambient conditions, it is imperative that equipment enclosures be properly cooled to ensure the proper performance of installed components and avoid heat-related downtime.
[ + ]Remote emergency shutdown device for oil platform
ENI Petroleum needed to verify a continuous and reliable line of communication for alarms between an oil well platform located just off the coast of Louisiana and drill ships over 100 km away.
[ + ]Evolving automation systems drive advances in manufacturing
Intelligent software is becoming increasingly important for increasing productivity in manufacturing plants.
[ + ]Apex advances accuracy with drive solution
Apex Automation and Robotics, located in the north-western suburbs of Sydney, designs and builds factory automation machinery and robotic systems - from mechanical and electrical design, through to construction and commissioning. Recently, Apex was commissioned to develop an ‘automatic machining centre’ (AMC) for polymer foam panels.
[ + ]Dispelling the myths about machine vision systems
Machine vision is a branch of engineering that uses cameras in the context of process control. Images are collected and analysed and the data extracted used for controlling an automated process or action.
[ + ]Training quality and return on investment
What drives your organisation’s training decisions? Is it the desire to deliver genuine outcomes such as increased skills and underpinning knowledge to realise performance advantages - or merely to furnish staff with a qualification?
[ + ]Five critical factors for selecting fieldbus valve manifolds
In today’s highly automated machines, fieldbus valve manifolds are replacing conventional hard-wired solutions. They more easily perform vital functions by integrating communication interfaces to pneumatic valve manifolds with I/O capabilities.
[ + ]Motor concept for smaller and more efficient 3D production lines
For the development of a quasilinear transport system with 3D tracks, Technische Universitaet Braunschweig (TU-BS) decided to include stator elements based on Somaloy technology. The research has resulted in a much more efficient solution for production line transport.
[ + ]Utilising advanced pressure diagnostics to enhance process insight
Advanced diagnostics embedded in a pressure transmitter can proactively detect abnormal process conditions.
[ + ]