Control Systems

Continuous water extraction from boreholes is a common source of raw materials for drinks manufacturers as well as water utility companies. In all cases, monitoring water quality is very important, both pre and post treatment, and the frequency of tests establishes the confidence in the data. Bürkert’s Type 8905 Online Analysis System offers continuous monitoring of various water parameters with minimal intervention or maintenance.

Seeq has made available its connectors to CygNet enterprise SCADA and WITSML data storage systems.

Food and beverage manufacturers are constantly under pressure to package a wider variety of products in more types of packaging without compromising productivity. Now they can answer these trends while increasing throughput using the new iTRAK 5730 small-frame intelligent track system from Rockwell Automation. The linear motion control system uses independent cart technology to support smart, flexible and efficient machines.

A time-pressure controller developed for precision dosing of microlitre volumes for medical and pharmaceutical applications has been launched by Bürkert.

A gas controller for refrigerant, toxic and combustible gas detection applications has been released by Bacharach. The MGS-402 is designed for safety compliance in mechanical rooms, cold storage facilities, walk-in freezers, and cold room applications to -40° F/C.

Modern process control valves offer a wide range of features and benefits for industries that require precise control over fluids, steam and other gases. With so many control valves on the market, it is important to establish the features that will deliver the most cost-effective design for a particular application. Damien Moran, Field Segment Manager, Hygienic - Pharmaceutical at Bürkert, looks at some of the basic differentiators as well as some recent design developments.

Two programmable logic controller (PLC) starter packs from industrial automation specialist Allen-Bradley, part of the Rockwell Automation group, are in stock at RS Components. The Micro850 and Micro820 Starter Packs contain all the hardware needed to get up and running with the Allen-Bradley Micro850 and Micro820 PLCs, respectively, including power supplies (PSU), controller accessories and graphic terminals.

The current trend of robot control is changing with PLC-based solutions offering different benefits and opportunities over the traditional dedicated robot controllers. So what needs to be considered when selecting the right solution for the application? Here Barry Weller, Product Manager at Mitsubishi Electric, looks at how to determine which robot control option is best.

Aerotech will present itself at the SPS - smart production solutions show taking place from 26th to 28th in Nuremberg. The manufacturer of high-performance motion control and positioning systems focuses on its 'Automation1' control platform, which, among other things, demonstrates in a demo system force regulation with the ACT115DL linear high-performance actuator. The motion control platform functions as a complete machine control with all components and thus offers much more than a pure 'motion control.'

Toshiba Electronics has announced a three-phase brushless motor control pre-driver IC with Intelligent Phase Control technology that enables optimum operating efficiency in a wide variety of applications including high velocity server fans, blowers and pumps. In recent years, advances in server capacity and performance require physically larger and higher velocity fans for cooling any excess heat generated by the equipment.