monitoring

Factories can save up to 90 per cent in valve monitoring costs with wireless IoT sensors

Factories and plants in industries – such as chemical processing, pulp and paper, water and waste-water treatment, have seen the benefits of remote valve monitoring.

Traditional retrofitted monitoring solutions, however, are costly and slow to deploy for factories with thousands of manual valves of different types.

There is a more cost-effective alternative – factories have evidenced a 90 percent reduction in retrofitting investment, by using industry-grade wireless sensors and Industrial IoT technologies. [Read more…] about Factories can save up to 90 per cent in valve monitoring costs with wireless IoT sensors

Mitsubishi launches new range of industrial computers

Mitsubishi Electric Automation has released a new range of its MELIPC Series industrial-use computers for data computing, edge computing, remote monitoring, and the integration of hardware and software technologies.

The MELIPC Series is targeted towards original equipment manufacturers and end users running general manufacturing applications, and especially those who require a computing and data monitoring solution that takes up a limited amount of space with a small footprint.

Most importantly, MELIPC is designed to enable internet of things on factory floors that have not been introduced to it yet, or improve it where it is already enabled. [Read more…] about Mitsubishi launches new range of industrial computers

B&R brings safety to delta robot kinematics

B&R now offers SafeRobotics functions for tripods to safely monitor all types of delta kinematic systems – or delta robots.

The company says serial axes can also be included in the calculations, for example when tripods are mounted on moving platforms.

Safe robot monitoring is implemented using the safety functions Safely Limited Position, Safely Limited Orientation, Safely Limited Joint Position and Safely Limited Speed. [Read more…] about B&R brings safety to delta robot kinematics

Komatsu develops electric mini excavator

Komatsu Ltd has unveiled its electric mini excavator, based on its accumulated technological expertise of hybrid construction equipment and electric forklift trucks.

Equipped with an in-house developed new charger, high-voltage converter and other devices, it offers excavation performance on a par with the internal combustion model of the same power output, while achieving zero exhaust gas emissions and a dynamic reduction in noise levels.

Komatsu expects a wider range of applications for this machine, including construction work near hospitals or schools or in residential areas, where contractors pay special attention to exhaust gas and noise during work, as well as inside tunnels or buildings.

[Read more…]

Festo looks to AI to make automation more profitable

Festo is looking to implement artificial intelligence systems to make automation even more productive and efficient.

The company says it currently offers intelligent component and process monitoring. But Festo intends to further increase the productivity of its customers by means of self-learning machines.

The company is relying here on AI at three network levels:

on edge;
on premises; and
in the cloud.

In addition to the complex services that can be offered in a cloud, Festo sees great potential in simple real-time data analysis by means of AI – either directly on the field component (AI on edge) or in the control of either the system or a production plant (AI on premises).

[Read more…]

Sick demonstrates ‘smart logistics’ system for warehouse automation

Sensors supplier Sick showcased a new “smart logistics” system at the recent ProMAT Show, one of the world’s largest material handling exhibitions.

Sick says its system demonstrates how to obtain greater efficiency throughout supply chain operations.

Sick presented its new innovations under the banner of “Logistics Gets Smart”, and says they are designed to provide “highly efficient solutions for intralogistics applications”. [Read more…] about Sick demonstrates ‘smart logistics’ system for warehouse automation

Arrow Electronics helps Hong Kong engineers develop monitoring device for lift safety

Arrow Electronics has enabled Nikko Group, a Hong Kong-based lift services company, to incorporate IoT and sensor technologies in a solution that provides real-time data monitoring for a lift safety protection mechanism.

Following a series of fatal lift accidents in Hong Kong in recent years, the Electrical and Mechanical Service Department reported that 80 percent of lifts in Hong Kong have not adopted the recommended enhancement solutions set out in the government’s “Guidelines for Modernising Existing Lifts”.

This includes the installation of an Unintended Car Movement Protection (UCMP) device, which is a safety device that triggers emergency braking systems to prevent unintended lift car movements which may cause fatal injuries.

Oceaneering joins study for offshore floating wind project

Oceaneering International Services Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Oceaneering International, Inc., has been selected as a contributor to the Carbon Trust-led Floating Wind Joint Industry Partnership (JIP) study supporting the monitoring and inspection requirements for commercial floating wind power projects.

Oceaneering will deliver a study to investigate monitoring and inspection requirements for floating wind farms, including programs associated with the components used in commercial deployments.

Floating wind farms require a large number of components, such as hulls, mooring lines, anchors, and cabling. The extensive list of required assets has the potential to create challenges for operators when developing cost-effective monitoring and inspection solutions.

Honeywell launches gas metering monitoring solution

Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS) has launched a new gas metering solution that provides monitoring of midstream metering systems for operations, maintenance and leadership teams.

Honeywell Connected Plant Measurement IQ for Gas is said to enhance the metering operation’s reliability and safety while cutting costs by massively reducing the need for site visits.

With advanced diagnostics, at-a-glance dashboards and intelligence analytics, Measurement IQ enables operators to increase metering reliability in the face of skills shortages, dispersed operations and a complex hydrocarbon mix.