At first glance, the concept of intrinsically safe (IS) fieldbus is a study in opposing concepts. After all, fieldbus is about powering multiple devices, while the idea of IS is to limit energy flowing into hazardous areas. [ + ]

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. [ + ]

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. [ + ]

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. [ + ]

ABB’s drives and motors have surpassed the energy-efficiency requirements of a new WA desalination plant while pumping seawater to produce 50 billion litres of drinking water annually. [ + ]

A Midwest US power plant has eliminated spillover of fly ash from its hoppers, by enlisting Endress+Hauser to assist in the upgrade of its level switch technology. [ + ]

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. [ + ]

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. [ + ]

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. [ + ]

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. [ + ]

Carlton & United Breweries (CUB), Australia’s largest brewer, operates five breweries in Australia as well as breweries in Fiji and Samoa. Its Yatala Brewery in Queensland is one of the most state-of-the-art breweries in the world, producing 450 million litres of beer each year. [ + ]

Industrial computers need to be designed to withstand vibration and shock, which are a fact of life in many industrial applications. [ + ]

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. [ + ]

The costs of failure in today’s industrial networks can be very high, making network redundancy essential. [ + ]

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. [ + ]