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Message From The Editor
With March now upon us we see an end to the long winter months and begin to look ahead to summer and all that those warm months bring. But unlike the weather over the last few months the automation and control industry has remained hot and will get even hotter with coming Hannover Messe trade show in a few weeks. Be sure to watch for our next newsletter to see all the advanced highlights from the show. But in this issue be sure to read about Pneumatics or Electrics? A whitepaper from Festo, and a look at how Newark is utilizing interactive product catalogues to better serve the industry. And if you plan to be in the Concord/Toronto area at the end of the month be sure to register for Proax Technologies Automation Exhibition on March 28.
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Product Selection
Pneumatics or electrics? Examining important criteria when choosing technology
The requirements for modern production plants are becoming increasingly complex. It is therefore essential that the drive technology used is the best possible solution for the task at hand. Most linear motions in the field of automation and handling technology are carried out using pneumatic or electric drives. This means that engineers frequently face the challenge of having to find the most appropriate solution for a specific application when planning and designing machines and plants. This white paper describes the important points to bear in mind when it comes to choosing the right technology.
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Getting Interactive
Newark's Interactive Product Catalogues: Embracing the Digital Advantage
In the digital era, and specifically for those working with automation and control products, embracing the advantages that digitization offers not only sets companies apart but projects a movement toward the future. Newark has done just that with their interactive diagrams that allow users to conveniently browse their Process & Control Product Catalogues. The interactive design allows users to highlight various product lines on the interactive image and navigate direct links to each product line, which are categorized into specific areas optimizing search functionality. Interactive catalogues are rising in popularity, giving any e-commerce portal the digital advantage.
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Upcoming Event
Proax Technologies Concord/North Toronto Automation Exhibition
Proax Technologies invites you to attend their Automation Exhibition on March 28th, 2019 from 10am to 4pm in Concord, ON. The event will take place at the Hilton Garden Inn in Vaughan. Meet the Proax staff and the key suppliers they represent in the automation industry as they showcase their expertise in Industrial Automation, Motion Control, Machine Safety and Robotics. Proax has many events planned for the day including demonstrations from their Technical Solutions Team, Industry specific seminars and interactive stations.
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Industry Profile
Sandvik's Sakina Najmi recognized as Top Tech Influencer
Sakina Najmi, Vice President Marketing at Sandvik's Applied Manufacturing Technologies division has been recognized as one of the top 20 most influential women in B2B tech for 2018. As a newcomer to the company, Sandvik took the time to sit down with Najmi to get to know her and share her insights on the industry. How would you describe yourself? Sakina Najmi, Vice President Marketing at Sandvik's Applied Manufacturing Technologies divisionI'm a growth marketer - a marketer with a laser focus of tightly aligning marketing with the commercial ambitions of business. A desire for consistent and positive growth and development is the compass that guides me in both my personal and professional life.
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Changing Scene
- E.B Horsman & Son announces the promotion of Juri Vuletin to Director of Industrial Sales & Supplier Relations
E.B. Horsman & Son (EBH) has announced the promotion of Juri Vuletin to the position of Director - Industrial Sales & Supplier Relations. In his 18+ year career in the Electrical, Data Communications and Process Instrumentation fields, Vuletin has held various Management, Account Management and Business Development positions. Over that period of time he has covered our customers in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba while working with electrical suppliers, customer, and competitors.
- Modular production poised to hit the market
Modular production technology is now sufficiently mature to be released onto the market. Visitors at HANNOVER MESSE 2019 will be able to witness this for themselves at the "Process INDUSTRY 4.0: The Age of Modular Production" showcase in Hall 11. The showcase will feature exhibits and live demonstrations that highlight a particularly fast and efficient way of engineering modules based on MTP (Module Type Package), a standardized "language" that provides a digital description of the individual modules.
- Will Automation become Autonomous thanks to Artificial Intelligence?
Artificial intelligence and human-machine cooperation are the major topics of the automation of the future. The Hannover Messe 2019 trade fair will also be held under the motto "Integrated Industry - Industrial Intelligence". At the Festo TechTalk held at the end of February, four experts discussed the potential and opportunities offered by artificial intelligence and explained how Festo is positioning itself within this context. How does anticipatory machine maintenance work? How is artificial intelligence advancing automation?
- Graybar Canada Atlantic Automation Group earns authorization as a Service Provider
Graybar Canada is proud to announce their Atlantic Automation Group has become the first non-pilot Canadian Rockwell Automation distributor to earn authorization as a service provider. Graybar Canada is a wholesale distributor for thousands of items from leading manufacturers of automation, comm/data, and electrical products. Headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Graybar Canada operates over 30 locations across the country.
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- Rockwell Automation Honored as a 2019 World's Most Ethical Company for the Eleventh Year
Rockwell Automation has been recognized by the Ethisphere Institute as one of the 2019 World's Most Ethical Companies. Recognized for the eleventh year by the Ethisphere Institute, Rockwell Automation is among a list of 128 global companies that profoundly illustrate how they are the driving force for improving communities, building capable and empowered workforces, and fostering corporate cultures focused on ethics and a strong sense of purpose.
- Endress+Hauser, employees launch fund-raising for United Way across Canada
For Endress+Hauser Canada, allying with the United Way beginning this month ensures the benefits of staff charitable giving and volunteering will assist the communities in which they live. Endress+Hauser is soliciting employee contributions from March 4-18, with a milestone goal of donating $15,000 to the United Way - $7,500 from employees and $7,500 in a matching donation from the company. Funds raised will go directly to the communities where Endress+Hauser staff are located: Montreal, Burlington, Edmonton and Calgary.
- Cyber-physical systems pose new risks
There are two sides to the same coin. Although modern technical systems can improve, facilitate and/or make work healthier, they can also result in new burdens that are not initially recognized as such. The Institut für angewandte Arbeitswissenschaft (Institute for Applied Ergonomics - ifaa) has compiled a four-page fact sheet on this topic. It provides information about the new technologies,explains relevant terms, and gives examples showing the health advantages and disadvantages of different CPS.
- E.B. Horsman & Son named one of Canada's Best Managed Companies
E.B. Horsman & Son (EBH) is a 2019 winner of the Canada's Best Managed Companies Platinum Club designation, having retained its Best Managed designation for ten consecutive years. The 2019 Best Managed program award winners are amongst the best-in-class of Canadian owned and managed companies demonstrating strategy, capability, and commitment to achieve sustainable growth.Canada's Best Managed Companies is one of the country's leading business awards programs recognizing Canadian-ownedcompanies...
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International News
- Healthcare safety consortium extends ISA cybersecurity standards to connected medical devices
The Medical Device Innovation, Safety, and Security Consortium (MDISS), a major nonprofit public health and patient safety organization, has announced it is developing a set of recommended practices and profiles for securing medical systems based on the normative requirements in the ISA/IEC 62443 series of standards for industrial automation and control systems cybersecurity. The intent is to share the information across the network of MDISS member organizations, which includes medical device manufacturers...
- Schneider Electric Receives Intel's Preferred Quality Supplier Award
Schneider Electric has been recognized by Intel as a recipient of a 2018 Preferred Quality Supplier (PQS) award. The PQS award recognizes companies like Schneider Electric that Intel believes have relentlessly pursued excellence and conducted business with resolute professionalism. Intel is recognizing 35 suppliers for their exceptional commitment to quality in 2018. These suppliers have collaborated with Intel to implement innovative process improvements and serve with the highest level of integrity...
- Siemens requires suppliers to adhere to cybersecurity rules
As Siemens reports, the new requirements would make up a dedicated clause in all new supplier contracts worldwide. Those most affected would be suppliers of security-critical components such as software, processors and parts for steering units. Suppliers are also obligated to incorporate special norms, processes and methods into their products or services. They also need to guarantee regular security inspections, tests and corrections - as does Siemens itself, due to a voluntary obligation clause.
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Mining Automation
ABB launches digital portfolio ABB Ability MineOptimize to realize the world's most efficient mines
With digitalization at its heart, ABB Ability MineOptimize connects all electrification, automation and digital offerings to optimize all stages in the lifecycle - from design and build to operation and service - of any open pit or underground mine and minerals processing plant. ABB Ability MineOptimize is an innovative, comprehensive portfolio of optimized electrification, drives and automation solutions, optimized engineering, digital applications and collaborative services. It combines in-depth sector knowledge, leading edge technology and global and local project management, engineering and digital transformation expertise developed by ABB over 60 years of working with the mining and minerals industry at every stage of the mining cycle.
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Cybersecurity
Schneider Electric releases EcoStruxure Power 2.0 with comprehensive ISO Certification, compliant with latest Cybersecurity Standards and protecting Critical Power Assets with Thermal Monitoring
Schneider Electric recently announced enhancements to EcoStruxure Power, the digital energy management system built on market-leading connected products, edge control software and advisor services. The latest EcoStruxure Power 2.0 architecture is fully certified to ISO energy management standards and compliant to IEC cyber-security standards. New features make low and medium voltage power distribution simpler, safer, and farther reaching for building, industry, and data center customers. "All businesses today are committing to improved efficiency and uptime, while reducing risks, such as electrical fires, by meeting the latest standards and regulations,"
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Cloud-based networking
EPLAN ePULSE: Increasing quality at the product and process levels
EPLAN ePULSE, the company's newest solution offering, is the foundation for a complete network of cloud-based systems that bring together data and projects, disciplines and engineers around the world. Using their internet browsers, users get access to applications that enhance the existing EPLAN Platform product world with new functions along the data-driven value chain. The open design of EPLAN ePULSE includes future plans to ensure availability to a variety of data formats and interfaces to systems from other providers.
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Industrial Safety
Pilz: Is smarter automatically safer?
Modular, flexible production processes go hand in hand with Industrie 4.0. They have an impact on "safe automation". As an active member of the technology initiative SmartFactoryKL, Pilz operates within a network of industrial partners and research institutes and participate in various working groups on concepts, standards and solutions, which form the basis for highly flexible automation technology. Working group 1, "Smart Infrastructure", is working on a dynamic safety concept for simplified, semi or fully automatic certification, which will be tested in the Smart Factory KL Industrie 4.0 plant. The concept is based on an industrial Ethernet communication protocol.
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Looking forward to Hannover Messe
B&R Automation: Integrated automation solutions smart manufacturing
At the Hannover Messe trade fair, B&R will show how a conventional plant can become a smart factory in Hall 9, Booth D26. B&R enables the automation of all production areas and allows them to interact seamlessly. B&R's portfolio makes it easy to implement efficient, high-quality production down to batch size one, ensure safe human-machine collaboration, and obtain a clear overview of machine performance data in the cloud. B&R's first cloud application allows OEMs to collect data from their global fleet around the clock and view it in a convenient dashboard. They can use it to make well-targeted machine upgrades, offer next-level service and unlock new revenue streams.
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IoT System Security
Industrial Internet Consortium Announces Practitioner's Guide for Assessing the Maturity of IoT System Security
The Industrial Internet Consortium, now incorporating OpenFog, announces the Security Maturity Model (SMM) Practitioner's Guide, which provides detailed actionable guidance enabling IoT stakeholders to assess and manage the security maturity of IoT systems. Along with the publication of the SMM Practitioner's Guide is an update to the IoT SMM: Description and Intended Use White Paper, which provides an introduction to the concepts and approach of the SMM. This white paper has been updated for consistency with the SMM Practitioner's Guide, including revised diagrams and updated terminology. As organizations connect their systems to the internet, they become vulnerable to new threats, and they are rightly concerned with security.
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Product News
HellermanTyton Self-adhesive cable tie mounts: flexible and solid with ultra-strong cohesive strength
The innovative FlexTack self-adhesive cable tie mount has been developed with maximum cable routing flexibility in mind. The flexible mounting base can be successfully applied to a variety of high- and low-energy surfaces such as glass, metals (including painted, varnished or powder-coated surfaces), as well as plastics like polypropylene and polyethylene. FlexTack provides a reliable fixing solution where it is impractical to use screws or bolts. The self-adhesive flexible cable tie mount.
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Major upgrade to ABB Ability System 800xA transforms future project engineering
The new release of ABB's Distributed Control System (DCS) 800xA 6.1 brings significant value to capital projects with more flexible and efficient engineering.ABB Ability System 800xA 6.1 provides significant innovations to the entire DCS architecture and introduces technologies that shorten timescales for project execution, reduce the impact of late changes and enhance the scalability of the system, bringing substantial value to capital projects. This is achieved by the introduction of new Ethernet I/O solutions...
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Industrial-suited Edge Computer MICA now offers a Secondary Ethernet Interface
The industrial-suited Edge Computer MICA now also comes with a secondary Ethernet interface. It can be used to easily exchange and process data between two Ethernet protocols, including wired-to-wireless gateway applications. It is necessary with many Industrie 4.0 applications to separate networks and simply send data back and forth between Ethernet protocols without permitting external applications direct access to a corporate network.
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B&R safety module saves space in the control cabinet
The new X20SO6530 digital output module provides six safety relays on a unit with the X20's standard 25 mm width, allowing B&R to offer a cost-effective and space-saving solution for applications where numerous floating signals are needed. To meet safety requirements, positively driven feedback contacts must be evaluated in a manner that is appropriate for safety technology. This new X20 module evaluates this data internally, making it just as easy to use the six safe relay outputs as it is to use semiconductor-based outputs.
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Access permission plus operation mode selection now modular - fusion of safety and security
The new PITmode fusion from Pilz consists of the reader unit PITreader with RFID technology and integrated web server and a Safe Evaluation Unit (SEU). Its modular design allows PITmode fusion to be integrated individually into the design of existing control consoles. Existing pushbuttons can be used, enabling better operation for the user. PITmode devices are used on plant and machinery in which you switch between a range of control sequences and operating modes.
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Orion Fans launches specialty fan filters offering low pressure drop, water resistance and fire protection
Orion Fans has designed a series of specialty air filters for equipment where permanent, cleanable filters are most appropriate. When combined with an Orion Fans louvered filter fan kit or louvered fan guard (LFG Series) snap-on, slide or hinged versions, Orion Fans' specialty air filters provide low pressure drop, water resistance or fire protection. With the ability to capture large amounts of airborne dust in industrial enclosure applications, the FHD Series (high density), the FHDH Series (water resistant) and FHDP Series...
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Underwriters Laboratories Grants UL 67 Approval And UL 60730-1 Certification To Koolbridge Solar For Its First-Ever Renewable Energy SMART LOAD CENTER
Koolbridge Solar announced that its renewable energy product, the SMART LOAD CENTER (SLC), has been awarded UL (Underwriters Laboratories) approval.UL is the world leader in advancing safety sciences and achieving the UL 67 and UL 60730-1 listing marks a breakthrough for the young North Carolina company. "Being awarded UL 67 and UL 60730-1 certification for our SMART LOAD CENTER is up there as being one of my greatest accomplishments to date", said Dr. Paul W. Dent, Founder, Chief Scientist and Director of Koolbridge Solar.
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ABB launches versatile ABB Ability Wellhead Manager to optimize oil and gas operations worldwide
Remote workers can collaborate using mobile devices with ABB's versatile new cloud-based visualization system, ABB Ability Wellhead Manager, which supports smarter teamwork, enhanced efficiencies and lower costs for oil and gas operators of all sizes. The new system, based on SCADA, allows both large operators and small start-ups to gather information about their onshore upstream assets. ABB Ability Wellhead Manager is cloud-based, so operators can gain insights about their production assets anywhere in the world.
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This email was sent to blakemarchand@kerrwil.com. |
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