Ethernet

1999: The web in review

This year was significant for the automation and controls industry on the worldwide web. 1999 saw impressive growth in the web presence of many key companies, and brought with it a surge in e-commerce as an effective means of purchasing components and systems.Highlights of the year include the following: GE Fanuc's site (www.

I/A Series enhanced

Foxboro, Mass.— The Foxboro Company has introduced platform enhancements for its I/A Series automation system including an Ethernet fieldbus network, I/O modules, and improved control processors. With the introduction of a fieldbus network incorporating 10 Mbps Ethernet, Foxboro provides a 40-fold performance increase.

Need for speed, resolution fuels software tool gains

Engineers usually want better performance from everything, but this year's Keithley Demanding Measurements Survey found they're demanding even more. The fourth annual study conducted by Keithley Instruments Inc. (Cleveland, O.) included input from 793 engineers and scientists surveyed in July and August.

Low-end industrial workstation

Saline, Mich.—The 3406 is a Microsoft Windows-based CE industrial workstation aimed at low-end human-machine interface and PC-based control applications. The unit comes with a six in. color display, 16 MB of RAM, and a 10 MB solid-state drive that is expandable to 80 MB. Communication options are a built-in Ethernet port (10 Base-T), two serial ports (RS-485/232), and a parallel port.

Fieldbus issues also mulled at Interkama ’99

A special fieldbus-related event, "What Does the User Really Need?" will be held on Oct. 20 in Hall 6 at Interkama '99. Presented by NAMUR (International Association of Process Control Technology Users in the Chemical, Pharmaceutical, and Allied Industries in the German-speaking region), a half dozen users from various manufacturing and process control companies ...

Networking confessions

Fill in the blank and repeat after me: "My name is ______________, and I am a network holdout. I admit I haven't taken the initiative to implement the latest network technologies in all practical locations. As a result, my communications have become slow and unmanageable. In the past, I've blamed standards committees and 'bus wars' for my problems.

Seven protocols crash IEC 61158 party

Was it inevitable? Probably. Will it matter in the long run? Probably not—because the Ethernet train is thundering through.Like self-invited guests at an end-of-millennium New Year's bash, supporters of seven fieldbus protocols showed up at a recent meeting on IEC 61158 and basically mugged the guest of honor, according to some present, by inserting t...

Gensym analyzes network performance

Gensym (Cambridge, Mass.) Operations Expert is a graphical software product for intelligent fault management of advanced distributed networks. (For related information, also see Control Engineering June `99 article, 'Software Tools Can Ease Network Setup and Use.' ) Operations Expert uses a model of the network, system, and related applications to display objects to be managed and describe their behavior, characteristics, and attributes. Procedures are written or drawn graphically to locate, identify, and respond to various conditions that arise within the application, often large distributed client/server applications that might be unapproachable with conventional application development tools. Basic architecture allows for concurrent processing and provides for processes to be executed when needed.

Schneider Automation, Hirschmann to develop Ethernet solutions

Two developers often are better than one. To deliver better Ethernet solutions, Schneider Automation (North Andover, Mass.) and Richard Hirschmann GmbH & Co. (Neckartenzlingen, Germany) recently formed a long-term, strategic partnership. The two companies signed a memo of understanding at the Schneider Electric exhibit during National Manufacturing Week (NMW).

ARC forum scopes future needs, trends

Challenging manufacturers to respond to Internet and web-based opportunities, Andy Chatha, president of ARC Advisory Group (Dedham, Mass.) kicked off his organization's annual two-day Automation Strategies and Technologies Forum on Feb. 8, 1999. Mr. Chatha says manufacturers must seek to: become web-enabled organizations and cultures; improve ROI of enterprise and ...