IAA April 2014

z April 2014 IndustrialAutomationAsia

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April 2014

MCI (P) 009/07/2013 | ISSN 0219/5615 | PPS 1561/06/2013 (022960)

Industrial Robotics | Warehouse Management & Solutions | Optical Sensor Technology | Food & Beverage

Trends In Industrial Robotics

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PG 24 s n o i rat e p O use o h e r Wa r o PG 4 4 F s s e e i Cit ctic t a r r PG 4 0 a P y t m t s i S Be or ctiv F u n d o o i r s eP c A Vi n a h En : g n i t n Pri e l i b o M COVER Apr 2014.indd 1

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Every change, every recipe, every challenge.

Every. Thing. Controlled.

The days when consumers regarded sugar as a commodity are long gone. Changes in consumer tastes, and the demand for new product varieties require flexibility in production planning. Ever-changing food safety standards emphasise the need for better raw material traceability, laboratory sampling, and product control. ABB’s tireless commitment to process innovation can offer major performance improvements. Whether you choose to talk directly to us, or to one of our ABB Authorized value providers, you can rest assured that everything is controlled. Every change, every process, every recipe, every test, every product, every challenge. www.abb.com/sugar

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ISSUES & INSIGHTS

24

Six Steps To Flawless Fulfillment

Best practices are presented for integrating mobile, wireless and data capture technologies into warehouse management. By Stuart Scott, Motorola Solutions

PROCESS CONTROL

28

Trends In Industrial Robotics For 2014 And Beyond

30

The Future Of Plastics Automation

The robotics industry is set to revolutionise businesses and supply chain operations in the years to come. By Shermine Gotfredsen, Universal Robots

24

Of the 107,000 industrial robots manufactured globally in 2012, only 953 were defined as being for use in ‘plastic moulding’ applications — equating to less than 0.9 percent of total usage. But things are changing. By Jeff Nowill, Kuka Robotics

SOFTWARE & NETWORKS

34

Automating E-Commerce Fulfillment

40

Enhance Productivity With Printing Mobility

An examination of the warehousing and distribution technology being employed for e-commerce distribution. By Koh Seng Teck, Swisslog

Mobile printing solutions can streamline operations, and extend the value of software and computer assets within the warehouse. By Joseph Lim, Datamax-O’Neil

INSTRUMENTATION & MEASUREMENT 34

42

Optical Sensors: Beyond The Traditional

Optical sensors have become an integral part of conveyor systems and product lines. The next generation of optical sensors are being developed that makes use of time-of-flight measurement. By Patric Kister, ifm electronic.

ENERGY

44

A Vision For Smart Cities

The capture and processing of data is vital to the efficient use of energy and in achieving an optimal balance between people, places, prosperity, and the planet. This data can become knowledge that ultimately applications can use to provide smart services. By Rick Lee, Hitachi Asia

SECTOR SPOTLIGHT

48

42

Case Study: Enabling Better Flow

Companies work closely together to reduce wastage and improve traceability in their operations. By Magnus Högstedt, ABB

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Introducing the next generation in energy-efficient productivity.

Get more from your machinery than ever before with new Mobil DTE 10 Excel Series.

Engineered to better address the lubrication demands of a new generation of hydraulic equipment, Mobil DTE 10 Excel Series can lift cleanliness and efficiency to new heights — as it helps lower operating costs.

In fact, thanks to its dramatically increased hydraulic efficiency — up to 6 percent better than the standard fluids* — visibly better system cleanliness, and outstanding durability, you can enjoy longer productivity, decrease machine maintenance, and extend oil drain intervals, and can potentially save thousands of kilowatt-hours a day compared with competitive standard oils.

All of which adds up to one thing: increased productivity.

So reduce your power consumption and increase your machine output. With a breakthrough that won’t just make your machines run but help them fly. On less energy, we might add.

For more information on Mobil DTE 10 Excel Series, go to www.mobilindustrial.com.

*Results are based on a controlled laboratory test and may vary depending on operating conditions.

lz-il-0025_ap_media_plan_apr_275h205w.indd 1 690 Exxon.indd 1

ENQUIRY NO. 690

© 2014 Exxon Mobil Corporation. Mobil, Mobil DTE, and the Pegasus design are trademarks of Exxon Mobil Corporation or one of its subsidiaries.

Energy efficiency relates solely to the fluid performance when compared with ExxonMobil’s standard hydraulic fluids. The technology used allows up to 6% increase in hydraulic pump efficiency compared with Mobil DTE 20 Series when tested in standard hydraulic applications. The energy efficiency claim for this product is based on test results on the use of the fluid conducted in accordance with all applicable industry standards and protocols. For more information, contact your local ExxonMobil Technical Help Desk.

5/4/13 3:39 26/3/14 3:40 PM pm

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FEATURES

50

Beware Of Suspect Devices

52

Quality Pays Off

Attacks involving the ‘Internet of Things’ are becoming a reality. By Steve McWhirter, VP, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa Sales, Check Point Software Technologies

How important is the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) in mobile strategies?

By Satoshi Mizobata, Panasonic Systems Asia Pacific.

54

Brave New World In 3D Solid Modelling

58

How To Design Networks For Plant-Wide Communication

3D design software can release creativity among users new to 3D and offer new possibilities for engineers from concept design through to manufacturing.

By Eric K H Lee, RS Components

An integrated zone cabling plan can slash network deployment time by up to 75 percent, cut down on material and labour costs, and allow for future expansion.

Contributed by Ng Khee Seong, Panduit.

60

Italy Takes Aim At Southeast Asia

Not satisfied with their endeavours in China, Italian machine builders are now casting their sights on Southeast Asia. By Joson Ng

62

Building Efficiency In Asia

64

Deciding The Path Forward

Cover: Universal Robots

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Chiller technology is an important component in improving energy efficiency within buildings, IAA spoke with Larry Kouma, product management director, Asia Chiller Solutions, Johnson Controls, on the technology and the company’s presence in Asia.

By Mark Johnston

The Fieldbus Foundation has brought together organisations with the purpose of advancing Fieldbus technology. IAA spoke with Stephen Mitschke, director, Fieldbus Foundation on this and the future of the organisation in Asia. By Mark Johnston

EVENTS

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ENQUIRY NO. 692

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EDITOR’S PAGE

Automating

St ck

Published By:

EASTERN TRADE MEDIA PTE LTD (A fully owned subsidiary of Eastern Holdings Ltd)

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Kenneth Tan SENIOR EDITOR

Joson Ng josonng@epl.com.sg

Proper warehouse management is essential in saving costs and

ASSISTANT EDITOR

improving the overall productivity of a supply chain. Making sure

Mark Johnston markjohnston@epl.com.sg

the products are properly stocked and easily tracked is a must in EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

today’s hi-tech competitive world, where companies are competing

Sharifah Zainon sharifah@epl.com.sg

for every dollar.

In the case of tracking, technologies such as RFID are used

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Peh Loon Chin

successfully in warehouse management. Tracking can happen at

pehloonchin@epl.com.sg

the item level, some at the bin level, and others at the pallet level.

SENIOR SALES MANAGER

Typically , RFID is a cost-effective technology that can capture data

derickchia@epl.com.sg

from anywhere, saving resources by not having a company employee

CIRCULATION EXECUTIVE

scan a barcode every time something moves. This technology helps

noorashikeen@epl.com.sg

Derick Chia

Noorashikeen (Nikie)

to keep track of stock, knowing its exact location but also knowing how much of an item is left, and whether restocking is necessary.

Also, in the case of complex Stock-Keeping Units (SKUs) a single

CONTRIBUTORS

Stuart Scott, Shermine Gotfredsen, Jeff Nowill, Koh Seng Teck, Joseph Lim, Patric Kister, Rick Lee, Magnus Högstedt, Steve McWhirter, Satoshi Mizobata, Eric K H Lee, Ng Khee Seong

item might have several sizes, colours and styles; regular cycle

EDITORIAL CONSULTANTS

counts can also improve inventory accuracy. In this case a company

Industry Analyst

Jim Pinto

employee could look at a fully stocked unit and assume all sizes,

Alastair Ross

colours and styles were present, but in fact they are not. By using

Director, Codexx Associates Ltd

an RFID handheld the employee could discover that several sizes were not represented. This would give the employee the information

SUPPORTED BY:

needed to replenish the company’s stock for that particular item.

To sum up, RFID enables fast, accurate and often automatic inventory counts, and also to record the movements of things without a need for human intervention. This leads to a greater level

EASTERN HOLDINGS LTD EXECUTIVE BOARD

of inventory accuracy and visibility.

CHAIRMAN

Other automation strategies can be used in the warehouse or factory. In the factory robotics are used to increase efficiency and safety by keeping employees away from working machinery or dangerous locations that might result in an incident.

Industrial robotics will be discussed as well as warehouse management, optical sensor technology, and food & beverage, together with an article on smart cities.

Stephen Tay GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Kenneth Tan

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Lum Kum Kuen

etm

Eastern

Trade Media Pte Ltd an Eastern Holdings Ltd company

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6

industrial automation asia | April 2014

EdNote.indd 6

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26/3/14 3:44 pm

INDUSTRY NEWS Singapore-Developed Driverless Car Designed For Operations On Public Roads Singapore: In an ongoing effort to help Singapore develop innovative transport solutions, the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) launched Singapore’s very first locallydeveloped driverless car that is designed for operations on public roads.

Adapted from its prototype driverless golf cart, this driverless car dubbed SCOT (Shared Computer Operated Transport) is operationally-ready for the public roads. Unlike other driverless cars which are retrofitted with expensive 3-D laser sensors, SCOT relies on lowcost off-the-shelf LIDAR sensors which enable the car to drive autonomously, independent of the Global Positioning System (GPS). This feature allows it to drive even in tunnels and places where GPS signals would be hindered.

A collaborative project between SMART and the National University of Singapore (NUS), this driverless car aims to resolve the ‘first- and last-mile problem’, which is especially pertinent in view of Singapore’s ageing society. It also aims to help promote car-sharing as the driverless car is able to resolve the

Singapore’s first locally-developed driverless car that is designed for operations on public roads.

‘rebalancing’ issue (ie: getting the car to the next car-sharing customer once the previous customer drops off the car) when cars are shared.

NUS collaborator Professor Marcelo Ang, commented: “Going forward, we hope to be able to deploy a mobilityon-demand system in controlled areas such as resorts. This will not only help us to learn and improve the system,

but also provide a visible platform to increase public awareness and government support in our endeavour to create better transport solutions for urban cities.”

The research was funded by the Singapore National Research Foundation (NRF) through SMART at the Campus for Research Excellence And Technological Enterprise (CREATE).

TÜV SÜD PSB Acquires AL Technologies Singapore: TÜV SÜD PSB has announced its acquisition of Singapore’s AL Technologies (ALT).

The objective of this acquisition is to broaden its current spectrum of civil engineering, product testing, inspection and certification services in the real estate sector. ALT is a reputable, multi-disciplinary specialist known for its material, building and geo technology expertise. Its

optimistic projected growth will drive the company’s business in the real estate sector.

“This is a very important milestone for us. ALT and TÜV SÜD PSB have been working together for some time.

Now, finally we came to the mutual decision that a merger will benefit both our businesses, customers and employees. ALT has one of the biggest, most well-equipped material testing

laboratories and technical personnel in Singapore. It also has excellent reputation among its customers and competitors,” said Richard Hong, CEO, TÜV SÜD PSB. “Now that we are combining resources and skills, our customers will benefit from a more integrated, onestop real estate testing and certification services. We welcome ALT and staff to our big TÜV SÜD family,” he added.

8 industrial automation asia | April 2014

Industry News (3).indd 8

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Industry News

Singapore: The abundance of critical resources such as coal and oil in Southeast Asia has made the oil & gas industry one of the biggest markets for automation services. The rapid development of this industry has triggered several changes. Oil and gas companies constantly have to invest in integrated automation technology for better transparency, as the regulations related to performance and carbon emission are becoming increasingly stringent.

Analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Southeast Asia Automation Services Market, finds that the market earned revenues of US$328.4 million in 2013 and estimates this to reach US$508.1 million in 2018, with most of the growth expected from developing countries such as Indonesia and Thailand.

Apart from oil and gas, investors are also showing keen interest in chemicals and petrochemicals, and water industries, indicating opportunities for automation vendors in these sectors.

Frost & Sullivan expects retrofits to play a vital role in the future, as companies look to meet large-scale demand.

“All the major multinational automation vendors have firmly established themselves in Southeast Asia and have made significant investments in

improving their services,” said Krishnan Ramanathan, Industrial Automation & Process Control Research Analyst, Frost & Sullivan.

While opportunities are plentiful, automation manufacturers have several technical issues to sort out before they can optimally tap the market. It is vital to understand the specific requirements of end users during deployment or system upgrades, as these processes can throw up several challenges regarding configuration and consistency.

“The installed base of automation systems is proving inadequate to meet the demand for higher control.

Most end-users' systems are not only outdated, but also generate substantial expense in maintenance,” noted Mr Ramanathan. “Gradually, they are realising the importance of investing in automation systems to achieve greater resource optimisation and gain a competitive edge.”

The success of concepts such as Main Automation Contractor (MAC) has allowed automation vendors to better offer integrated services. Major vendors are opening up exclusive centres and others are likely to follow suit, as end users are expected to gravitate toward vendors offering robust support structure for maintenance and repair.

ABB Wins Transformer Order Worth US$26 Million In India Benjamin Earwicker, Boise, Idaho, US

Colin Brough, Dundee, Angus, UK

Growth In Oil And Gas Benefits SEA Automation Services Market

Zurich, Switzerland: ABB has won an order worth around US$27 million from NTPC, India’s central power generation utility to supply generator transformers and shunt reactors. These will be installed at a greenfield 2x800 megawatt (MW) thermal power plant being constructed at Gadarwara, in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh (MP).

These transformers and reactors will facilitate the efficient and reliable evacuation of power generated from the power plant and its integration into the transmission grid serving the central Indian states of MP and Chattisgarh and the western states of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa. The project is scheduled for commissioning in 2017-18.

The company will supply seven 315 Megavolt Ampere (MVA), 765 kilovolt (kV) single phase generator transformers, seven 85 MVA, 765 kV single phase ‘tie’ transformers as well as four 110 MVAr, and ten 80 MVAr, 800 kV single phase reactors. The transformers and reactors will b e m a n u f a c t u re d a t t h e company’s local manufacturing facility in Vadodara.

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Industry News

Portek Goes Live With Epicor ERP S i n g a p o re : E p i c o r S o f t w a re Corporation has announced that Singapore-based port equipment engineering solutions provider Portek Systems & Equipment (Portek), a wholly owned subsidiary of Portek International, has gone live with the Epicor next-generation Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution.

Portek has deployed Epicor ERP in Singapore to streamline its engineering business operations into a single platform. The new operational environment will bring greater synergy and lay the foundation for the company’s future growth into a

more agile and efficient organisation.

The ERP enhances its business management and planning with its reporting and cost analysis tools. Since implementation, overall efficiency and effectiveness has increased as decisions can now be made quickly and in a more informed manner. The solution has also resulted in greater control across the organisation’s companies, as business process compliance and re-engineering can now be monitored and implemented.

The ERP solution has also eliminated much of the manual and

duplicate data input that used to be a part of the company’s operation. This ensures higher integrity of data and faster reporting. Most importantly, all of the information it requires to closely monitor operations are available through a single dashboard.

The Epicor implementation began in June 2013 and was completed within six months, with plans to further roll out the same solution across its offices in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia. With its operations now tightly integrated, the company is ready to strengthen its expanding operations.

RS Components And Republic Polytechnic Sign MoU Singapore: RS Components (RS) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set up an Electronic Product Design Lab (EPDL) with Republic Polytechnic (RP), its first polytechnic partner institution in Singapore. In this effort to nurture future engineers and promote collaboration and innovation, the Lab will provide a conducive learning environment with the right tools and resources for students.

The EPDL is equipped with the company’s DesignSpark software suite, consisting of the DesignSpark Printed Circuit Board (DS PCB) and DesignSpark Mechanical (DS Mechanical) tools for real-world electronic engineering design.

The EPDL will also provide students access to electronics products sponsored by the company. The facility will serve as a one-stop centre for students to understand the entire design process, from front end circuit design to final product realisation.

RP is also the first polytechnic in Singapore to develop a course module based on DS PCB to teach PCB design, a fundamental skill for all electrical and electronics students. More than 350 students of RP each year will learn how to use the software for schematic

Republic Polytechnic and RS Components marking their partnership at the MOU signing.

capture, PCB board design and layout, and generate manufacturing files in the new curriculum.

As part of RP’s Problem-Based Learning pedagogy, students will also embark on theoretical learning through demonstration videos before utilising the software for their projects. Through early familiarisation of the software in the classroom, students will be better prepared with the necessary skills needed for jobs in the engineering workforce.

The company will also jointly develop content and e-learning resources with RP, as well as host joint workshops for

the wider industry such as customers, mature students, and other industrial or educational institutions who may be interested in using these tools.

Other activities include student internship programmes, competitions, sponsorships of book prizes and development kits, as well as engineeringrelated projects to create awareness among secondary schools in Singapore.

A total of 350 engineering students in their second year of study are expected to use the lab every year. In their third year, the students will have the option to utilise the DS PCB tool for their final year projects.

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ENQUIRY NO. 691

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Industry News

Orange County Water District Gains International Recognition Singapore: The Orange County Water District (OCWD) in California, US, has been awarded the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize 2014 for its work in groundwater management and water reclamation using advanced water reuse technologies, as well as its achievements in public policy and community outreach.

The highlight of the Singapore International Water Week (SIWW), the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize is an international water award that recognises outstanding contributions towards solving global water problems by either applying innovative technologies or implementing policies and programmes that benefit humanity.

The sixth recipient of this water prize, OCWD piloted Water Factory 21 in the 1970s, the first facility in the world to successfully demonstrate that potable-grade quality recycled water can be reliably produced from treated used water effluent through an advanced water purification system relying on reverse osmosis and granular activated carbon.

Since then, based on research and demonstration efforts by OCWD, a three-stage advanced treatment process of microfiltration, reverse osmosis and ultraviolet/hydrogen peroxide has been established as the

PUB chief executive Chew Men Leong congratulating Michael R. Markus, GM of the Orange County Water District on winning the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize 2014.

standard for potable water reuse in the industry.

With this track record, OCWD launched the Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS) in 2008 to replace Water Factory 21. The reclaimed water that GWRS produces is injected into a series of injection wells to create a hydraulic barrier that guards against seawater intrusion, preventing contamination of drinking water wells.

It also provides a new source of highquality water for year-round recharge

to the aquifer.

The GWRS is currently capable of supplying 70 mgd (or 265,000 cu m/d) of water, enough to meet the needs of about 600,000 people. This water supply is produced using half the energy required to pump water from Northern California — saving enough energy to power 21,000 homes each year. To date, 125 billion gallons of water (443,000 megalitres) have been produced by the GWRS.

Eaton To Expand Manufacturing Footprint In Asia Pacific Shanghai, China: Power management company Eaton has announced that it will invest in a manufacturing facility in the Philippines for its electrical business to further expand its operations in the Asia Pacific market.

Visit us on our website at

The facility will be located in Tanauan City, Batangas and will manufacture single phase Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) products for the global markets.

Construction of the 29,000 sq m

facility is expected to be completed in early 2015. This facility will create new jobs in the local economy, with a projection of up to 1,500 employees being hired over the next four years.

www.iaasiaonline.com

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Industry News

Harting Cooperates With Tongji University Shanghai, China: Harting (Zhuhai) Sales Limited and Institute of Railway and Urban Rail Transit of Tongji University (IRT) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Shanghai.

China. Harting and IRT will cooperate to develop technologies in the field of rail transportation and to train a new generation of engineers. Philip Harting, senior VP of Harting group and Han Bin, president of IRT, Tongji University, hosted the signing ceremony.

Through the cooperation, Harting is benefiting from learning

and developing new solutions for signal communication, operation management and engineering construction, which will reinforce the company’s position in the field of rail transportation.

Both organisations will set up a joint laboratory to strengthen the rail vehicle connector technology research and teaching practice. Meanwhile Harting will provide scholarships and internship opportunities for IRT’s students every year. Outstanding doctoral students and young scholars

President of IRT, Tongji University, Han Bin (left) and Philip F W Harting, Senior VP of Harting group (right).

will have the opportunity to join project communication in Germany.

Honeywell To Help China Meet Growing Energy Demand

Honeywell will give PetroChina plant operators the ability to monitor operations across its organisation to help provide the real-time information they need to better improve the profitability and efficiency of their plants.

Beijing, China: Honeywell has announced that PetroChina Company Limited will expand its use of the company’s advanced information management and process modelling

Like

software tools to 17 additional refining and petrochemical sites across China, to help meet the country’s growing demand for chemicals and transportation fuels.

PetroChina currently uses the company’s information solutions at 13 locations.

The organisation’s Refining and Petrochemical Modelling System (RPMS) and its Intuition Executive advanced information management software will give PetroChina plant operators the ability to monitor operations across its entire organisation to help provide the real-time information they need to better improve the profitability and efficiency of their plants.

“Refiners and chemical plant operators must make complex business decisions quickly to take advantage of rapidly changing market conditions — from prices for feedstocks such as crude oil and natural gas, to rising demand for finished products,” said Aldous Wong, VP and GM, Honeywell Process Solutions, China.

“Implementing these Honeywell solutions across more of their locations

will help PetroChina maximise profitability through better visibility and efficiency of their overall operations, and help them meet the growing demand for energy,” he added.

China is the world’s largest consumer of energy and the second largest consumer of crude oil, slightly behind the US, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Many analysts expect China to become the world’s largest importer of crude oil within the year, putting pressure on its refining and petrochemical facilities to improve their efficiency.

PetroChina, the country’s largest oil and gas producer and distributor, first deployed RPMS at its headquarters in Beijing, China, and 12 refineries and petrochemical facilities in 2005. The success of that project has led to the current expansion project that will extend implementation of the advanced planning technology to cover all its refining and petrochemical businesses.

The company expects to complete the project within two years.

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Industry News

Emerson Opens Manufacturing And Repair Facility In Australia Victoria, Australia: Emerson Process Management has opened a manufacturing and service facility in Melbourne to serve the process industry in Australia and New Zealand. Local service and manufacturing with short lead times helps customers in the oil and gas, chemical, food and beverage, mining, and water industries minimise downtime and reduce inventory.

The company’s Quick Ship and Repair Centre provides the local market with more than 6,000 product and service solutions for its Rosemount pressure, temperature and DP level instrumentation range, including the capability to manufacture and repair remote seals. New instruments can be manufactured to match specific site applications with either 48-hour express or five-day priority dispatch. The facility also has advanced repair and service capabilities to refurbish and reinstate devices to original performance and specifications.

Emerson Process Management has opened a manufacturing and service facility in Melbourne to serve the process industry in Australia and New Zealand.

Sony Establishes Yamagata Technology Centre Lyon, France: Sony has announced that it has acquired the Tsuruoka Factory semiconductor-related assets held by Renesas Yamagata Semiconductor. SCK Yamagata TEC will serve as a 300mm production site for CMOS image sensors. This planned investment forms part of Sony’s mid- to long-term plan to increase its total production capacity for image sensors from the current capacity of approximately 60,000 300mm wafers per month, to approximately 75,000 300mm wafers per month. That means a 25 percent increase of Sony CIS production capacity.

The total investment amount is expected to be approximately

35 billion yen (US$342,940,000), comprising of: • Approximately 7.5 billion yen to acquire Renesas Yamagata Semiconductor’s Tsuruoka Factory assets in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014 (‘FY13’) • Approximately 27.5 billion yen for planned capital investment to be carried out during FY14-FY15.

In December 2013, another fact hit the current CIS supply chain: TowerJazz signed an agreement creating JV with Panasonic to acquire its three semiconductor factories in Japan, and to manufacture Panasonic and additional products,

getting access to key knowledge and equipment. This agreement is likely to reinforce TowerJazz’s positioning into the CIS industry as a major foundry player for niche applications, allowing the other CIS companies to get access to volume production.

Yole Développement believes the re-organisation of the CMOS Image Sensor industry will see the emergence of major IDMs companies such as Sony (with strong investment, manufacturing and R&D capabilities), specialised foundries such as TowerJazz, and many challengers pushed in niche applications and to fabless model.

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Industry News

Agility Group Renews Global Alliance Agreement Alabama, US: Agility Group has renewed its Global Alliance Agreement (GAA) for three years to use Intergraph SmartPlant Enterprise as a key design and information management solution.

The company seeks to position itself as the goto provider of engineering solutions in the increasingly competitive international marketplace by expanding the use of Intergraph Smart solutions in all its projects worldwide.

Agilent Technologies Reveals Name of Electronic Measurement Spin-Off Company California, US: Agilent Technologies has revealed the name of the electronic measurement company it expects to spin off in early November 2014 as Keysight Technologies.

The name Keysight conveys the ability to see what others cannot, offering the critical or key insights to understand and unlock the changing technology landscape. The new company’s tagline, ‘unlocking measurement insights for 75 years,’ commemorates the 1939 birth of the original Hewlett-Packard company, from which Keysight originated.

The company will concentrate solely on the electronic measurement industry, focusing on its test and measurement customers. In addition, it will include the entire portfolio of

Ron Nersesian, executive VP, Agilent and president and CEO, Keysight Technologies

Agilent electronic measurement products. Expected to become a standalone company in early November 2014, the organisation will be headquartered in Santa Rosa, California, US and have approximately 9,500 employees in 30 countries.

Lockheed Martin Opens Advanced Materials and Thermal Sciences Centre California, US: The Lockheed Martin Space Systems Advanced Technology Centre (ATC) has opened a laboratories building that will enable the company to provide technical solutions to customers with more agility and efficiency.

The Advanced Materials & Thermal Sciences Centre, with 82,000 sq f (7,618.05 sq m) of floor space, will house 130 engineers, scientists and staff. The laboratories will host advanced research and development in emerging technology areas like 3-D printing, energetics, thermal sciences, nanotechnology, synthesis, high temperature materials and advanced devices.

Lockheed Martin Space Systems Advanced Technology Centre’s laboratories building.

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Industry News

Rockwell Automation Named Most Ethical Company The WME Company assessment is based upon the Ethisphere Institute’s Ethics Quotient framework. Scores are generated in five key categories: ethics and compliance program (25 percent), reputation, leadership and innovation (20 percent), governance (10 percent), corporate citizenship and responsibility (25 percent) and culture of ethics (20 percent).

Ten_a, Japan

Wisconsin, US: For the sixth time, the Ethisphere Institute has named Rockwell Automation as one of the ‘World’s Most Ethical (WME) Companies,’ a recognition that honours organisations that continue to raise the bar on ethical leadership and corporate behaviour. The Ethisphere Institute is an independent centre of research promoting best practices in corporate ethics and governance.

UAE: With offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Endress+Hauser strengthens its market presence on the Arabian Peninsula. To optimise customer support, the measurement engineering specialist has established a sales centre in the UAE. For two decades the company has been represented in the UAE by the local representative Descon Automation Control Systems.

As a commitment to the Middle East region, the Swiss company has now integrated Descon’s Endress+Hauser business into its own sales organisation.

On January 1, 2014, its UAE branch started to operate in the market with a team of 44 in two offices located in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The formal inauguration of the new sales centre took place on March 5, 2014 in Dubai.

FSG777, Dubai, UAE

Endress+Hauser Inaugurates Sales Centre In UAE

The formal inauguration of the new sales centre took place on March 5, 2014 in Dubai.

Neste Oil Chooses Metso’s Automation And Valve Technology Finland: Neste Oil and Metso have agreed on the delivery of automation and valve technology for the refinery unit under construction at Neste Oil’s Porvoo refinery. Metso’s technology helps the company with its targets to increase the output of high-octane

gasoline and to improve flexibility in production. Construction started in 2013, and the unit is due to come on stream in spring 2015.

Metso’s delivery includes the company’s DNA automation system, a safety system, and links to Neste Oil’s

existing systems, as well as automated on-off and emergency shutdown valves. Also, automation systems related engineering, installation, commissioning and training will be provided by Metso.

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Fieldbus Foundation 2014 General Assembly Postponed The Fieldbus Foundation postponed its 2014 General Assembly in Rotterdam due to travel and security restrictions associated with the upcoming Global Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) in The Hague, The Netherlands.

Originally planned for March 25-28, 2014, the Fieldbus Foundation’s global Foundation fieldbus end user seminar will be rescheduled for the fall of 2014

respectively. The EUAC session was the first in a series of such meetings to be held electronically this year.

Rich Timoney, president and CEO, Fieldbus Foundation, explained the change of plans: “We were recently advised that the global community will be holding a major nuclear summit in The Hague during the same week as our General Assembly. The Dutch

for us to cancel our end user conference, relocate our board meeting and conduct a WebEx business meeting for the membership, which is required annually.”

The Fieldbus Foundation’s General A s s e m b l y o ff e r s a n o v e r v i e w o f Foundation fieldbus developments across the globe. It includes updates by fieldbus experts on the latest advancements in fieldbus technology, as

somewhere in Europe (location pending), while its End User Advisory Council (EUAC) meeting and business meeting were conducted electronically on the original dates of March 26 and March 28,

government has announced the highest level of security protocol for all modes of transportation to, from and within the tri-city region of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague. As such, it was necessary

well as presentations by major end users who have installed Foundation fieldbus in their industrial operations.

ENQUIRY NO. 2101

The Fieldbus Foundation has launched a new blog dedicated to providing information about its open, non-proprietary Foundation fieldbus technology. Located at fieldbuscentral.org, the blog will continue the foundation’s mission to share news about global developments in the fieldbus marketplace.

Built upon the WordPress platform, the new ‘Fieldbus Central’ blog has a streamlined design, which simplifies navigation to various sections and topics.

This includes both current fieldbus-related posts and an archive of older posts and comments from the Fieldbus Foundation’s original blog. Visitors can also access the foundation’s Twitter page from the site.

Larry O’Brien, global marketing m a n a g e r, F i e l d b u s F o u n d a t i o n , explained the purpose of the new blog: “The Fieldbus Central blog is the focal point of our overall social media focus and the go-to place for all things new in the world of Foundation fieldbus.

Tom Davies, UK

Fieldbus Foundation Launches New Blog

The Fieldbus Central blog by the Fieldbus Foundation is dedicated to providing information about its open, non-proprietary technology.

Its objective is to provide an open environment where people can read about everything that is happening with Foundation technology, from our news releases to new products, new installations, coverage of seminars and conferences, as well as a link to our

other social media sources, such as new YouTube videos.”

The Fieldbus Central blog can be accessed directly from the Fieldbus Foundation’s website.

ENQUIRY NO. 2102

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INDUSTRY UPDATES

PI-Southeast Asia:

What Is Happening In 2014?

THE Profibus/Profinet Association (PI) Southeast Asia conducted its final seminar of 2013 in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, which attracted a total of 180 participants. This completed the year’s series of three seminars in Southeast Asian countries by PI. In total, over 450 participants attended.

In 2013 a marketing group was developed in Vietnam to help PI with organising events and publications in the local Vietnamese language.

For 2014, PI Southeast Asia plans to continue with the seminar series and extend the content for new topics, such a s P ro f i d r i v e p ro f i l e s a n d drive applications including performance topics. Besides that network security and network monitoring will become a hot topic in the future of PI seminars.

Technology Developments As for developments in the technology, the first products with Profinet V2.3 and 31.25 µs performance update is available.

The range of Profienergy products is also increasing in the market, and the first application references are already available.

For the process automation market, more products are expected, especially for the integration of existing fieldbus systems, such as Profibus-PA into Profinet. With the launch of the products during SPS/Drives exhibition in 2013, major DCS 20

Participants of the ‘Profinet Certified Engineer’ training course.

vendors introduced Profinet into their product portfolio.

Profinet Certified Engineer The first event in 2014 was a ‘Profinet Certified Engineer’ training course which was the first training course of its kind in Southeast Asia.

This course is a recognised training program globally. It was founded to create a quality platform for Profinet and Ethernet qualified engineers who are acknowledged by an official exam.

Edward Dumay from Procentec Netherlands, conducted a training session in Singapore. Ten engineers from a variety of industries all over Asia attended the training to learn the true essence of Profinet.

They all passed the exam and are

now ready to serve their region.

The following companies have now new certified engineers: Centech Industries (Singapore), Pteris Global Limited (Singapore), Siemens (Singapore), Siemens (Malaysia) and Siemens (China).

The course is an intensive hands-on and theoretical three day training program. On the last day there is a practical and theoretical exam. After passing the exam, the participants get the title ‘Certified Profinet Engineer’ and will be officially registered at the Profinet/Profibus International webpage.

The next certified training class for Profinet as well as Profibus will be announced on the PI-webpage Southeast Asia.

ENQUIRY NO. 2103

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Newsdesk

CAN in Automation (CiA) has released the CiA 402-5 specification. It defines a new m a p p i n g f o r P ro c e s s D a t a Objects (PDO) suitable for CANopen devices that are able to control asynchronous as well as synchronous motors. This takes into account that suppliers integrate position control and sequence control into the same unit.

Traditionally, servo amplifiers and synchronous motors were used for positioning applications, while frequency inverters and asynchronous motors were applied for speed-variable movements.

Due to increasingly powerful microcontrollers and requirements towards higher functionality and dynamics, nowadays frequency inverters virtually have the same characteristics as servo amplifiers.

That means: In a large field both types of drives have grown closer together. That is why CiA members have specified an additional PDO mapping that covers controlling of synchronous and asynchronous motors with the very same drive.

The User For the user this is not only convenient but also avoids the need of two different sets of PDOs. The first PDO is used to control the CiA 402 state machine and to confirm the state change request.

The second PDO additionally contains the target position, respectively the current position.

Schneider Electric/CiA

CiA 402-5 Specification Released

The CiA 402-5 specifies a superset PDO mapping for drives able to control synchronous as well as asynchronous motors.

The third provides the target velocity or the current velocity. All these PDOs are predefined. This means that the CAN identifiers are assigned automatically depending on the setting of the device’s node-ID. Even if both types of motion controllers have grown closer together, there is a need for synchronous and asynchronous motors to exist in parallel.

Schneider Electric will introduce drives supporting the CiA 402-5 PDO mapping in the middle of 2014. The first version will support asynchronous motors. At the end of this year, this product will also be able to control synchronous motors in velocity mode. Drives featuring a positioning mode as well are planned for 2015.

This mode will be available for

both synchronous as well as asynchronous motors.

The CiA 402 basic functionality is internationally standardised in IEC 61800-7-201/301. Besides the mapping to CANopen, this standard also specifies the mapping to CC-Link IE, EPA, Ethercat, and Powerlink.

Additionally, the industrial Ethernet protocols Varan and Safetynet have adopted the CiA 402 profile for drives and motion controllers. “It is one of the most used profiles for electrical motors,” stated Holger Zeltwanger, MD, CiA. “In order to support functional safety we are adapting the bus-independent profile extension developed for Ethercat, which will be published in CiA 402-4.”

ENQUIRY NO. 2104

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Christoph Widmann Named Chairman Of Marketing Committee At ETG Christoph Widmann, MD, Acontis Technologies, has been named chairman of the marketing committee at the EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG). Mr Widmann takes over for Michael Strauss, expert at industrial communications in the field of automation support at Sew-Eurodrive, who held the position since 2005 and now passes it over due to new responsibilities within his company.

During the first ETG marketing committee meeting in 2014, Martin Rostan, executive director of the ETG, thanked Mr Strauss, in the name of the whole committee for his longstanding commitment to the marketing committee.

The marketing committee deals with

all marketing-related aspects of the ETG such as the organisation of national and international trade show participation and road shows as well as the discussion of current technology topics and their meaning for the global marketplace.

Mr Strauss is succeeded by Mr Widmann. Mr Widmann, who was elected unanimously by the attendees, explained his motives for accepting the position as chairman of the ETG’s marketing committee as follows: “EtherCAT is a global technology which is well worth further support and development by ETG member companies like acontis. As chairman of the marketing committee, I have the opportunity to

Christoph Widmann

Michael Strauss

actively participate in the creation of the worldwide marketing activities of the ETG. Additionally, I will receive valuable information about EtherCAT in a global economic context.”

ENQUIRY NO. 2105

ETG Releases Device Standard For The Semiconductor Industry

The ETG Semiconductor Technical Working Group, during a meeting in Santa Clara, California, US, specified 10 new device profiles for the semiconductor industry.

With the release of the device standard ETG.5003-1 and its corresponding nine specific device profiles, the EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG) now provides a starting point for a new generation of tools in the semiconductor industry, breaking ground for new developments within the industry as a result.

The release of the new device profiles ensures that EtherCAT will no longer only be used for motion control, I/O, sensors and gateways in semiconductor manufacturing machines. From now on industry specific devices such as mass flow controllers or vacuum valves can be implemented directly

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into the EtherCAT system.

On the technical side of this process, Florian Häfele supervises the ETG Semiconductor Technical Working Group and explains: “Since the release of the device profiles developed in 2012, we responded to machine builders’ demands to establish EtherCAT in the semiconductor industry as well to facilitate the creation of new industry-specific devices. We expect that EtherCAT will be found in nearly all tools, at the very latest when the 450 millimetre wafer diameter standard has been adopted for all semiconductor manufacturing machines.”

The new profile ETG.5003-1 (Common Device Profile = CDP) describes the general requirements for devices that are published within the specification series ETG.5003. At the moment this concerns nine different device types which are defined in the so-called Specific Device

Profi les (SDP). Together with the CDP they provide the starting point for a new generation of devices with which more advanced machines of the future will be designed.

From the view of EtherCAT even devices from different manufacturers are now equal regarding their data structures and synchronisation modes.

This makes replacement and handling easier and more understandable for tool manufacturers. Additionally, the industryspecific devices as such will get a more unique look and feel.

Companies like Applied Materials, Lam Research and Tokyo Electron not only participated actively in the specification process, but also encouraged their device suppliers to take part in the ETG Semiconductor Technical Working Group.

ENQUIRY NO. 2106

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ENQUIRY NO. 669

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ISSUES & INSIGHTS

Six Steps To Flawless Fulfillment Best practices are presented for integrating mobile, wireless and data capture technologies into warehouse management.

By Stuart Scott, director, Solutions Marketing, Asia Pacific & Middle East, Motorola Solutions

T

he warehouse is at the centre of your business.

It is the key hub through which nearly everything in your business must pass — from raw materials and finished goods in a manufacturing plant, to pallets and cases in a distribution centre, to a wealth of products in a retail warehouse. But in today’s highly competitive markets, there is something even more important that is dependent on more efficient warehouse operations: customer satisfaction.

What is it that your customers want from your warehouse and logistics operations? Accurate, ontime and flawless fulfillment. Every time.

Mobility As Catalyst Today’s forward-looking warehouse and logistics professionals are using wireless and mobile technology as the catalyst for driving flawless fulfillment. When mobility is extended throughout your warehouse, new levels of efficiency, accuracy and visibility can be achieved. Ponderous paper processes are replaced by real-time computerised forms on mobile computers.

Barcode scanning, including 1D and 2D, enables checking and double-checking that the right items are being picked, packed and shipped. RFID provides automatic tracking of materials and assets without human intervention. You can move from automation in a single process to a broad integration of the latest technologies across all of your warehouse processes.

The Right Devices In the past, warehouse operations tended to look at mobile devices as one-size-fits-all. That is no longer the case. Today, with the proliferation of smarter, more productive mobile devices, the goal is to make sure employees are using the right device for the right task. Powerful, rugged single and multi-modal devices provide functionalities — from scanning to tag reading to voice picking and more — in a variety of form factors such as hand-held, vehicle mounted, wearable and hands-free mobile units.

Multi-modal technology is rising in importance, providing users with the ability to perform multiple

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The Negative Impact Of The Fragmented Warehouse Whether you are a manufacturer, retailer, or distributor, your warehouse operations play a pivotal role in making your business successful.

That is not a surprise. Your warehouse is a complex, multi-faceted central hub through which virtually everything passes: from raw materials waiting to be manufactured into finished goods, to finished products waiting for shipment to a distribution centre, retailer or end-customer.

Warehouse operations affect virtually every business-critical issue, including inventor y management, worker productivity, shipment accuracy, timeliness and, ultimately, customer satisfaction and Return-On-Investment (ROI). The reality is, too many warehouse processes are still pen-and-paper-based.

Just as problematic is technical fragmentation, with technology available in only a few operations.

The truth is, flawless fulfillment requires technical and operational integration across all your processes and workflows.

The Positive Impact Of Mobilising Key Warehouse Processes

tasks on one device; for example, units that combine scanning, voice and text, with the option of using voice-only, text-only or a combination of voice and text for input.

Six-Step Roadmap The path to achieving flawless fulfillment begins by following the six steps outlined in this article. They will help create a more collaborative information architecture that not only enables a leaner, more flexible warehouse operation, but a leaner, more profitable enterprise as well. Equally important, your enhanced warehouse mobility can serve as the foundation for more efficient enterprise-wide mobility.

Step 1: Deploy industrial wireless solutions Step 2: Improve staff communications and management Step 3: Streamline order picking processes Step 4: Advance inventory and storage capabilities Step 5: Upgrade inbound handling operations Step 6: Turnaround outbound handling performance

Without mobility to enable accurate, real-time processing throughout the warehouse, each and every warehouse function is adversely impacted.

Mobile and wireless technology that automates and streamlines inventory, storage and logistics processes is key to providing flawless fulfillment.

Following is a look at the essential steps that warehouses and distribution centres can follow — in sequential order — to achieve flawless fulfillment.

Step 1: Deploy Industrial Wireless Solutions Warehouse and distribution centres are classic examples of dynamic industrial environments that present communications and technology challenges much more stringent than those of the carpeted space. Today’s warehouses are bigger, taller and more densely packed than ever. There are more Stock Keeping Units (SKUs), shorter cycles, and a premium on fast, accurate fulfillment.

As companies strive to respond more quickly and accurately to customer demands, the value of efficient process automation and inventory visibility, storage, movement and control is hard to overestimate. As warehouse environments become more reliant on real-time communications technology to automate and streamline processes, the initial step toward achieving flawless fulfillment is deployment of a truly industrial-strength wireless and mobile solution.

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ISSUES & INSIGHTS

A warehouse is a complex, multi-faceted central hub through which virtually everything passes: from raw materials waiting to be manufactured into finished goods, to finished products waiting for shipment to a distribution centre, retailer, or end-customer.

Step 2: Improve Staff Communications And Management Flawless fulfillment does not happen without everyone in the warehouse working together productively. This demands fast and efficient task management enabled by real-time voice and data communications between supervisors and employees everywhere in the facility. Managers can proactively direct work orders and assign tasks that are not currently driven by the WMS, as well as monitor the efficiency and progress of work as it is being performed.

Equipping warehouse staff with access to instantaneous business-critical communications systems enhances productivity and provides a realtime coordination platform that can increase task interleaving and help you achieve flawless fulfillment.

Step 3: Streamline Order Picking Processes Warehouses are growing larger in space with an increase of the number of items carried, both of which impact the achievement of flawless fulfillment.

In a warehouse survey carried out by Motorola, more than half of respondents reported plans to increase the number of SKUs (54.2 percent), the volume of items carried (54.2 percent) and their annual inventory turnover (50.6 percent).

In the next five years, almost 70 percent of respondents indicated plans to increase automated processes and 66 percent plan to equip staff with more technology. These initiatives are especially valuable for pick and fill functions where costs are high and errors can easily snowball into less

accurate, less timely shipping and greater numbers of dissatisfied customers.

Step 4: Advance Inventory And Storage Capabilities Key to achieving flawless fulfillment is realtime inventory visibility and control. To meet operational and financial requirements, companies must regularly conduct comprehensive inventory counts. When cycle counts are conducted manually, or with older or fragmented technology solutions, they can be extremely time consuming and often fraught with errors.

Step 5: Upgrade Inbound Handling Operations Receiving and sortation are critical steps in ensuring flawless fulfillment. They are critical because issues in receiving all too often morph into other issues throughout the warehouse management process. To streamline inbound operations, today’s warehouses must be able to manage two growing trends.

First, their systems must be prepared to take advantage of increases in the number of incoming items that have barcodes. According to Motorola, respondents to a study predicted that the percentage of barcoded items will grow from about 67 percent today to almost 84 percent in the next five years.

Second, they need to respond seamlessly to shifting supplier requirements, some of which the survey identified as the increased use of Advance Ship Notices (ASN), RFID systems, GSDN data and GS1 standards.

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Step 6: Turnaround Outbound Handling Performance Packing, loading, staging and shipping are the equivalent of the ‘last mile’ in flawless fulfillment.

In today’s hyper-competitive marketplace, these functionalities are key to turning around warehouse and distribution centres to streamline delivery, enhance competitive advantage and increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Whether you are shipping to a manufacturer that needs raw materials for just-in-time production or a retail customer waiting for delivery of her holiday gifts, the importance of timely, accurate deliveries cannot be overstated.

right place at the right time to enable the most efficient next action, and the most effective business decisions.

Bottom line, leveraging mobility in the warehouse and beyond can yield highly beneficial results, including reduced costs, improved quality, better customer service, higher margins and greater profitability — delivering real business advantage.

ENQUIRY NO. 2201

The warehouse is at the very heart of your business operations. Poorly managed w a re h o u s e s c a n a c t u a l l y become cost prohibitive, significantly impacting the cost of doing business — and general profitability. Through mobility, real-time warehouse data can be leveraged to enable a new level of information collaboration throughout the enterprise, and most importantly, flawless fulfillment.

The value of mobility in the warehouse function is clear.

You are able to automate and streamline processes, enhance flexibility to respond to customer demand, and better manage the risks of managing a lean warehouse. Processes across the warehouse are streamlined, reducing cycle times. Worker productivity is increased, reducing the cost of labour across the warehouse operation. Orders are fulfilled more accurately, improving customer service and enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty. The cost of sales attributed to movement through the warehouse is reduced. The right set of data is available in the

ENQUIRY NO. 686

Warehouse Mobility: The Foundation Of Flawless Fulfillment

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PROCESS CONTROL

Trends In Industrial Robotics For 2014 And Beyond The robotics industry is set to revolutionise businesses and supply chain operations in the years to come. By Shermine Gotfredsen, business development manager for APAC, Universal Robots

A

ccording to a report by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), a total of 168,000 robots were sold worldwide in 2013. That is a five percent increase from 2012. These statistics are clear indicators that the robot revolution is unmistakably upon us. Whether business leaders are ready for it or not, the competition is surging ahead while using user-friendly and portable cobots in their production lines.

So, what are co-bots? Think of them as coworkers whom you work alongside on a daily basis.

The differences being that they do not receive a monthly salary or go on annual leave. However, are line workers really open to the idea of working so closely with robots? Are robots that perfect?

Whatever the answers are to these two questions, one thing is certain — there is nothing that can stop the robot juggernaut.

The Limitations Although robots bring numerous benefits to a production line, they do come with limitations too.

At the core of their functionalities, these industrial robots are merely in place to execute monotonous tasks. It is their human counterparts who programs them to perform these repetitive tasks. Tasks that require adaptation, creativity and decision-making still come under the purview of humans.

Despite this inherent but unavoidable limitation, industrial mechanisation still delivers a significant impact — it eliminates lower skilled job positions.

The rising cost of labour in Asia has urged business owners to better leverage the full potential of their employees by placing them in positions in which they can add value to the enterprise. Placing higher-paid staff in menial-level positions does not benefit both the enterprise and the employee in the long run.

The Enterprise Enterprises are always looking to do more with less.

A robot is a flexible tool in that it can handle multiple production lines and quickly pick up multiple objects all at once. The versatility of a robot cannot be underestimated. For example, on top of being an efficient multi-tasker, it can also ensure that the execution of precise tasks is accomplished while negating the occurrence of careless mistakes a worker would have made in a similar situation.

The drive behind the use of robot technology is universally known — boosting the efficiency and effectiveness of manufacturing processes.

However, reducing the amount of power required by the robots as well as the factory as a whole has increasingly become one of the growing concerns for enterprises. Energy consumption together with rising real-estate costs have pushed business owners to innovate and think outside the box when it comes to reducing overheads.

While cost reduction is a key factor for businesses, improving productivity is just as important. The integration of robots with other infrastructure can lead to exponential increases in staff productivity levels.

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Today’s warehouses are made up of advanced automation technologies, making it an integral part of the supply chain.

Market Transformations The global industrial automation market is going through some extensive transformations. The proliferation of wireless technology is enabling the expansion of more flexible production lines, while also encouraging the viability of mobile devices in monitoring and managing industrial processes. This means that increasingly, co-bots may no longer have their human supervisors on-site and beside them in the near future.

However, the use of smart devices such as phones and tablets come with notable risks. Security threats are a real concern as confidential information is exchanged via mediums that can be compromised by hackers or malware. Regardless of the risks involved, the amount of data available from these increasingly flexible manufacturing processes coupled with the latest robot technology available, can provide business leaders with the competitive edge.

The IFR expects that the sale of robots worldwide will increase by about six percent on average year on year from 2014 to 2016. It has also predicted that the annual supply of industrial robots will reach more than 190,000 units in 2016. To think that global figures were around the 80,000 mark just 10 years ago, the recent boom can be attributed to the rise in production capabilities as well as the modernisation of factories or warehouses.

Supply Chain Streamlining For the modern manufacturer, the warehouse

The tasks that robots can execute include spraypainting, palletising, tagging, gluing and packaging.

has become an important cog in the wheel when it comes to achieving maximum manufacturing output. Enterprises are now aiming to streamline the flow of products between the warehouse, production line and other supporting functions, like the regulatory compliance and quality assurance processes. This ensures that there are no disruptions to overall workflow.

Today’s warehouses are made up of advanced automation technologies, making it an integral part of the supply chain. The tasks that robots can execute include spray-painting, palletising, tagging, gluing and packaging. Due to the highly evolved nature of robot technology, warehouse automation now has a direct impact on supply chain efficiency. This efficiency will greatly reduce the time to market, as such improving the overall customer experience.

In Conclusion The rising of manpower costs can be a huge factor in forcing Asian manufacturers to move offshore. However, with the continued advances in robot technology being available at reasonable prices, the better utilisation of local resources is potentially the smarter choice for manufacturers in the long run. Today’s fast-paced environment calls for manufacturers to be flexible, innovative and mobile. These three factors will shape and define the industrial landscape for years to come.

ENQUIRY NO. 2301 April 2014 | industrial automation asia 29

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PROCESS CONTROL

The Future Of Plastics Automation R

obots are not an uncommon sight in plastics processing environments; primarily injectionmoulding, but also blow and rotation moulding, compression moulding and extrusion. Since their more widespread take-up in the 1980s, the beam axis robot has been universally dominant in serving this sector. There are many names for such ‘beam-axis’ robots — 3-axis, pick-and-place, cartesian to name but a few; but their method of working is practically a universal constant.

Early robots were pneumatic, but hydraulic devices have been used. Now however, most devices are controlled via AC servo drives. That stated, even on such newer devices, certain axis — if selected — can feature a pneumatic actuation, especially chuck rotations or flip-operations.

The appearance of these devices is well known.

Although the principal axis of X,Y and Z can be nominated differently based on where in the world the devices originate. The principal remains the same. A vertical descent and ascent axis to enter the mould area, clear the tie-bars (if fitted) and place on the out-feed conveyor or secondary operation area. There is a motion axis known as the kick-axis which moves longitudinally along the centreline of the moulding machine in line with the ejector stroke.

Finally, there is a traverse stroke, which normally sits perpendicular to the primary axis of the machine 30

Debbie Schiel, Australia

Of the 107,000 industrial robots manufactured globally in 2012, only 953 were defined as being for use in ‘plastic moulding’ applications — equating to less than 0.9 percent of total usage. But things are changing. By Jeff Nowill, MD, Kuka Robotics

which carries the body of the robot from the machine toward the area in which secondary or tertiary operations can be competed. It is this third axis that gives the ‘overhanging’ look that is commonplace in injection moulding shops.

Although other criteria enter the consideration of specification, two variables are normally front-andcentre when specifying a beam-axis robot for use on a plastic injection moulding machine: payload and stroke in the traverse axis. The latter normally being dictated by the product geometry, desired orientation on an out-feed conveyor (if one is being used), or the presence of equipment to dispense a post-moulding operation, such as de-gating, printing or packing.

The interface between the robot and host machine is made practically universal via the adoption of the standards or technical recommendations rolled out under the Euromap umbrella (Europe’s Association for plastics and rubber machinery manufacturers) which has been defining harmonious standards since the 60s. The standards most pertinent to the plastics sector are Euromap 18, which defines the mechanical interface between the machine and robot by means of platen-mount configuration; and Euromap 12 and 67 — of which the latter has been the most commonly employed in recent years — which defines the electrical and communications interface between both devices.

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Industrial Robots And The Plastics Sector

were a pipe-dream far beyond the financial limits of Whilst the plastics sector has focussed primarily on all but the largest and wealthiest of players. the use of the beam-axis devices to suit its handling Accordingly, a mind-set became established that requirements since the 1970s, the industrial robot has industrial robots were ‘too expensive’ for plastics been following a parallel path for a similar duration. applications, which to an extent is a perception that In 1973, Kuka introduced the Famulus, its first selfremains today. This view sits at odds with some of manufactured industrial robot with six electric motorthe more competitively-priced robots that are now driven axes. Its manufacture was in direct response available. With a circa 900mm reach and payload of to the automotive industry looking for a powerful, 6kg, for many machines in the sub-150T size bracket, reliable and repeatable solution to its various handling and manipulation requirements.

The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) report that 107,000 industrial robots were supplied worldwide in 2012; and of these 2,431 found their way into the UK, and only 30 into Ireland. Of these, globally, a mere 953 were defined as being for use in ‘plastic moulding’ applications — equating to less than 0.9 percent of total usage. Looking at figures for the markets in the UK and Ireland; the update is more prevalent than the global norm, but still Industry Sector Revenue/hour sitting alarmingly low at just shy Manufacturing $1,610,654.00 of 1.8 percent.

Utilities $643,250.00

Unplanned downtime is expensive.

The question presents itself as to why the introduction of industrial robots into plastic processing environments has not been more widespread?

Certainly price, or perceived price point, has been a major factor which has presented an obstacle to change. Looking back to the 1970s and 80s when both beam-axis and industrial robots were becoming embedded in their relevant production psyches, both were expensive options. That stated, compared to current market pricing, the beam-axis sat at a price level perhaps threefold that which now prevails, but industrial robots were 10 times more expensive. At a time when rudimentary robotics represented a significant investment, industrial robots

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Obstacles To Date

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such robots can sit atop a machine’s platen, or be wall or ceiling mounted, and are available with a price level under £16,000 (US$26,410).

The second issue that has perhaps shaped events is necessity. The sight of industrial robots on television is a common one, albeit almost exclusively in the arena of a car manufacturing plant. The automotive primes have, for some time, been the primary users of industrial robots as their combination of flexibility, reliability and precision are exactly the demands a car manufacturer needs. Production lines are serial sequences of inter-dependent operations; so each element of this sequence — in this instance, the robot — has to be able to offer an unparalleled solution completing a prescribed task in a timely, accurate and consistent fashion year-after-year.

For this environment, the industrial robot has found no peer, and therefore, from the first faltering steps of automation and robotics into car factories and the proven success that followed, demand from the large automotive players has taken as much production of the trusted industrial robots have been able to produce. In recent times though, industrial robot manufacturers have invested heavily in increased manufacturing output and other markets are now being successfully served.

The flexibility of the industrial robot compared to its beam-axis peer, has traditionally been its achilles heel as much its main selling point, since its controller and Human Machine Interface (HMI) need to be sufficiently accommodating to tailor itself to the user’s requirements; from welding a car to palletising drinks; sorting nuclear waste to carrying human passengers.

At a time when HMIs were less user-friendly, the inherent open-architecture meant that programming an industrial robot was bewilderingly complex.

With lines of indecipherable code and no graphics capability, it was no mean feat. Now, however, just as the Amstrad 8-bit home computers of the 80s differ profoundly from today’s iPads, the HMI experience of modern industrial robots is an epoch away from the complexity of its early-day reputation, both in terms of capability and the user-friendly interface.

This is evident in the most up-to-date robots that offer simple, intuitive operator control via touch panel.

Programming can be undertaken and simulated away from the rigours of the production environment.

Configurations can be refined; Inputs and outputs entered into a sequence; Load testing for a given end effector and part can be assessed; Cycle times defined, testing completed. Existing programs can be refined off line and then loaded for use only when the programmer is entirely happy with the results.

Programmes can be archived, stored to external devices or uploaded via the Internet or local intranet.

Brano Hudak, Kosice, East, Slovakia

PROCESS CONTROL

The automotive primes have, for some time, been the primary users of industrial robots as their combination of flexibility, reliability, and precision are exactly the demands a car manufacturer needs.

The most advanced controllers also allow for online remote fault or operator error diagnostics; and given they are primarily software-based, generally prove more reliable than a hardware-based system.

It should also produce a solution that is more future proof — as systems can be upgraded as and when needed, and there is less chance of component obsolescence driving early replacement. Moreover, new software packages can be purchased and loaded remotely; just as the selection of a new ‘app’ from Apple’s ‘App Store’.

Industrial Robots Vs Beam-Axis Certain advantages are obvious and inherent. Such is the level of flexibility, an industrial robot purchased to serve a moulding machine for the duration of a given contract, may be redeployed elsewhere in the factory at a time in the future; to pack, print or sort. As such, its depreciation may not have to be tied to a given project, and can enjoy a more gentle depreciation curve such as those normally assigned long-term assets of the business.

Physically, industrial robots are compact. They will use no more space than the practical envelope the process necessitates, so machinery density can be increased and better value driven from a given production area. The robots do not use drive tracks, such as those employed in the traverse motion of a beam-axis device (be that by means of noisy drive belt, or rack and pinion) and with all of the maintenance and recalibration associated therewith. Notwithstanding traverse lubrication being employed directly over the mould area leading to risk of product contamination.

The kinetic operation of the industrial robot gives rise to less air-disturbance and production of particulate, meaning it is well suited to cleanroom, medical or optical environments.

Such inherent advantages are the reason why so many injection moulding machines suppliers, when requested to provide an automation solution ‘packaged’ with their machine, will look toward a solution centred around an industrial robot.

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Conclusion Whatever the hurdles — real or perceived — that have stood in the way of a more widespread adoption of industrial robotics in the plastics sector, the reality is that they are becoming a more common sight. For almost every customer in every market, even with their own nuanced requirements, there is a reason that points toward an industrial robot being a more beneficial proposition than its beam-axis counterpart.

A beam axis device is an inherently cheaper device for the OEM to manufacture, and, as such, will always boast a price-point advantage over an industrial robot. When making decisions with regards to capital equipment purchases, then, it is imperative that the end-user fully understands the features, benefits and advantages of an industrial robot option to fully complete an assessment of price and performance, ahead of making an educated investment decision.

Perhaps then, the reason that industrial robots have not featured more prominently in plastics shops on a global basis to date is the lack of plastics specialists within the industrial robot primes, who

understand the nuances of the market and are able to articulate a value proposition that the plastics processor can relate to?

Five years ago, the pioneering all-electric moulding machines began to be marketed in the UK; with obvious benefits of accuracy, cleanliness and energy-saving, but with a price swollen from that which prevailed in the market. At that time, many dismissed the all-electric option as a niche market product; but now, many manufacturers present an all-electric option as their de facto offering, with a hydraulic machine available as a low-cost proposition.

The reality is, when the plastics market was presented with an inherently better product, with a higher investment necessity, the market proved itself able to evaluate the pros and cons. And for a significant number, the additional capital outlay, when considered fully over time, was deemed worthwhile. The same level of discerning evaluation may now prevail with automation solutions.

ENQUIRY NO. 2302

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Innovative Sensors and Measuring Instruments

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SOFTWARE & NETWORKS

An examination of the warehousing and distribution technology being employed for e-commerce distribution. By Koh Seng Teck, head of Southeast Asia, Swisslog

Automating E-Commerce Fulfillment A

s retailers integrate e-commerce into their operations, employing the right systems to dynamically process orders is of critical importance. The vast majority of the world’s consumer products have been distributed to retail stores in bulk, and the most efficient method for handling this merchandise has predominantly been pallet movement and full case selection.

But now, e-commerce is fundamentally changing the nature of the retail supply chain. Due to the rapid increase in online sales, many retailers are outgrowing this traditional supply chain model.

In addition to scheduled weekly store deliveries of pallets and cases, retailers must now factor in split case picking, item level touches and multiline item sortation to fulfill fluctuating volumes of online orders which frequently require delivery to consumers within 24 to 48 hours.

Although piece pick has been a staple of catalog fulfillment for decades, the sheer volume of Internet orders and their fast-growing presence over just about every consumer market segment presents a unique logistics scenario.

To warehouse operators, this scenario poses a significant challenge and complexity that requires changes to their supply chain systems, distribution networks and processes. Efficiently optimising inventory, storage space, labour, costs and time in e-retailing is required to attain not only customer satisfaction, but a profitable operation.

A proven approach to managing this challenge is automation which has the flexibility to adapt to expanding and changing e-commerce conditions.

Automation Flexibility Is Key Within e-commerce distribution, where unpredictability is a constant factor, flexibility in

the supply chain becomes critical. Flexibility can be derived from implementing the right automation that can support the fluidity that e-commerce services require.

A stepped approach to e-commerce automation, especially where future demand is difficult to predict, is often the best route. With scalable software and infrastructure in place, retailers can build out automation as their e-commerce business grows. In essence, the automation can be targeted. Automation that addresses specific tasks, such as picking for fast- or slow moving SKUs, can sometimes turn a better Return-On-Investment (ROI) than completely automating a full warehouse.

The gold standard of flexibility for any e-commerce business is to be able to easily increase fulfillment throughput and SKU density over time. Such a system should enable e-commerce retailers to pick, pack and ship orders and returns faster and more accurately, while reducing labour costs and shipping errors.

E-commerce fulfillment is fundamentally a piece pick operation, which is historically a hands-on procedure. The right automation facilitates the minimisation of manual touch, resulting in more accurate orders, improved ergonomics, lower labour costs and travel time, and saves space by operating in a smaller footprint.

Much of the recent investment in automation by e-commerce retailers has been driven by a desire to improve order picking processes. The most basic form of automation for e-commerce, for use with low volume order lines, would be to augment manual order picking with IT support, such as pick-by-light or hands-free voice systems. As volumes increase, then person to goods type solutions with some mechanisation, like batch picking and sortation, can be implemented.

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For high volume e-commerce pick order lines, highly automated robotic and shuttle-based systems provide the most efficient goods-to-person solutions.

These systems can achieve performance levels of many hundreds of order lines per hour with precision accuracy.

These high speed systems can also much more efficiently speed the processing of return orders, which becomes a major benefit in e-commerce, considering the high percentage of return orders.

Supporting these flexible e-commerce systems, traditional pallet and case handling equipment can be effectively utilised to replenish inventory.

Automated Solutions For E-Commerce To manage this diverse mix of product SKUs for e-commerce, retailers can access a number of automated systems to handle this throughput efficiently and cost effectively. Systems with the flexibility to adjust to market conditions quickly and accurately, like for increases in SKU range and shortened lead times. What follows are key automation solutions:

USB type

Optimising Space Utilisation Maximising efficiency in e-commerce fulfillment centres is accelerated by an efficient use of space, both in footprint to minimise travel, and vertically going 3D, to maximise cube storage. Those e-commerce warehouses that are the most productive and cost efficient have achieved a high density of space utilisation.

This is exemplified in automated robotic and shuttle based pick systems which optimise cubic space utilisation to effect faster pick cycles. They have a space configuration that allows for the maximum number of tote/tray positions to fit into a specified cubic space, therefore reducing travel cycle time to and from the pick stations and the tote/tray locations.

Picking Solutions High-Speed Tote/Tray Pick Systems — Of any area in e-commerce that has been most affected by automation improvements, it is in the storage and picking of individual, mixed SKU products.

Traditionally a hand pick activity, the need to

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SOFTWARE & NETWORKS

Modular light goods conveyor system.

prepare small quantity, mixed SKU orders of packaged goods to ship and arrive on schedule with near zero tolerance of errors is a growing critical function if an e-commerce warehouse is to be run as a costefficient, successful operation.

These recently introduced and highly automated systems support goods-to-person pick stations, and employ very light robots or shuttles that rapidly transport individual totes and trays, providing high volume piece pick throughput.

Inbound product loads are put and stored in trays or totes. The product is then automatically retrieved in sequence to build customised orders.

Variations exist in these systems’ capabilities. Some are designed to store and pick smaller numbers of fast moving SKUs, while others are better equipped for handling larger quantities of slow moving SKUs. Some models have increased speed of order processing, without losing any degree of accuracy.

Some are capable of processing at rates exceeding 1,000 picks per hour. These newer systems provide more than high throughput and cost efficient distribution, they also deliver a higher density of storage capacity, and more modular flexibility.

Modular in design, these newer systems are ideal candidates for e-commerce, being highly adaptable and expandable as needed, and unrestricted to one size or form. One system can be configured to fit different building heights, span multiple levels and even surround obstacles in the warehouse, such as pillars or walls.

For example, if the need warranted in the future, the system could be extended without interfering with warehouse throughput. Additional storage space can be added by simply extending the system without interfering significantly with ongoing warehouse operations.

Another innovation in some piece pick systems is the elimination of single point system failure, in effect, providing near 100 percent system availability. By employing the use of multiple, independently controlled robots, if one section of the system was to be disabled for repairs, the system would continue to operate at 100 percent functionality because of built-in redundancy. This capability truly supports e-commerce, where ship deadlines are very tight and throughput interference is unacceptable.

To improve delivery of goods to the picking stations, some of these automated systems have equipped their robotic and shuttle vehicles with an autonomous onboard intelligence capability to further optimise speed and efficiency of processing.

Additionally, some systems automatically recognise faster moving SKUs and move the tote/tray locations closer to pick stations for faster cycle times.

Also, to allow added picking flexibility, the latest systems allow integration with external, manual pick stations into their robotic/shuttle systems, such as for handling single items and small cases. A function that can give added flexibility for e-commerce warehouses which handle, for example, larger items such as furniture or large appliances.

System components, such as trays and totes used in these robotic/shuttle systems can be made of stainless steel and rated for heavy wash down for handling packaged food products like meats or fish in grocery applications that require compliance to sanitary regulations for cleanliness.

The latest automated robotic/shuttle systems are energy efficient, minimising energy consumption by operating on low energy requirements and maintaining excellent weight to payload ratios. Some are also equipped with energy recuperation modules to generate and store electricity from the lifts and shuttles while in operation.

Robotic Stacker Cranes for Picking Totes/Trays and Cases — Another system, designed for picking totes/trays and cases direct from high-bay warehouse shelves, for e-commerce piece picking, utilises a versatile gripper head mounted into an automatic stacker crane. The crane, instructed by controls software, travels automatically to the correct picking location. The gripper head then extends to support the case.

The load, which can weigh up to 25 kg, is then brought onto the crane’s carriage platform for transport to the output station. This technology can be combined with belt conveyors to form an efficient pick to belt solution. This case pick system can deliver high pick rates per hour and consistent, reliable picking.

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percent. Many non-value added services and DC processes can be eliminated, such as putaway, prepick, staging and feeders. This presents a solution for the quick delivery requirements of the rapidly growing e-commerce market.

Light Goods Conveyors Light duty, modular conveyors are necessary to connect automated systems to pick stations and shipping. Some of the latest of these conveyor systems are designed with a sustainable, modular design and smart controls for high performance light goods handling. Designed to be plug and play for handling totes/crates and cases, they feature integrated energy management systems.

High-Bay ASRS High-bay Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRS) fill the need for efficient pallet throughput, and full and layered pallet storage for supporting e-commerce fulfillment. These high-bay ASRS store and deliver pallet loads for replenishment to automated robotic and shuttle pick systems.

ENQUIRY NO. 687

High Speed Pick Stations — Ergonomically designed goods-to-person pick stations integrate seamlessly with automated robotic/shuttle pick solutions, automated buffers and order fulfillment systems, light goods conveyors and customer order software to achieve high volume pick rates.

These are suited for high-throughput e-commerce requirements, ‘smart’ pick stations can be custom designed to meet varied performance objectives.

These can include separate picking stations, combined picking and packing, and batch picking operations (for fast movers) with a level of speed and efficiency unavailable before.

These pick stations can accept multiple totes to ensure that the picker always has products available to pick. Pick-by-light is frequently used, in combination with the workstation monitor, to help guide the picker and provide additional instructions.

Cycle times, from the receipt of the customer’s order through picking and shipment, can be as low as 20 minutes with high speed pick stations which can eliminate all walking within the warehouse. It can also reduce the labour force by more than 50

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SOFTWARE & NETWORKS

Shuttle-based automated storage system.

High-bay ASRS systems optimise cubic space usage, not only by their vertical stacking capability, but also by minimising aisle cubic footage. By eliminating the need for forklift trucks, aisles can be made significantly more narrow, allowing up to 3.7 m wide aisles to become just 1.5 m wide. This space can then be used smartly for more pallet positions.

The ASRS are software controlled, and can automatically deposit, store and retrieve unit loads from defined storage locations. They allow full pallet load and layered pallet inventory to be moved quickly, safely and precisely within a warehouse environment.

For e-commerce, they allow larger items, such as furniture and large appliances to be stored as pallet loads in the high-bay, then quickly retrieved and delivered to a pick station.

ASRS cranes are now designed to deliver optimised energy efficiency. Warehouse cranes are typically optimised for peak throughput, performing many moves in and out of the racking. These modern systems reduce energy consumption by operating at variable speeds depending on the demand load in the warehouse.

Data Interchange Because of the digital nature of e-commerce, its infrastructure permits integration of systems that help unify information across inventory, order management, promotions, merchandising and distribution systems.

E-commerce allows companies to record the relevant details of each pallet, parcel, and item being shipped. Parcel shipments can be tracked and proof of delivery quickly confirmed. A customer‘s transportation costs and performance can be analysed, as such helping the retailer negotiate lower rates and improve service.

Retailers now have the opportunity to record every customer transaction and track consumer behaviour and sentiment. The result has been the emergence of new retail supply chains, including functions such as ‘click-and-get’, that are consumer focused rather than product focused.

Automated warehouses are candidates for the precise and efficient tracking of products because of their highly automated and computer controlled systems. The warehouse’s Warehouse Management System (WMS), along with controls in the ASRS, tote/ tray pick systems and conveying systems are capable of monitoring batch numbers, production dates and weight as the unit loads, cases and SKUs are stored and moved through the facility.

This level of supply chain analytics allows retailers to maintain precise control on their products through every stage of the supply chain handling, from manufacturing through storage, picking, shipping and receipt of products.

With the emergence of such a broad offering of automated systems, a new level of flexibility and efficiency, above and beyond the capabilities of conventional automated and manual material handling systems, can now be realised for the movement of retail e-commerce products.

E-Commerce Applications Many companies faced with growing e-commerce fulfillment challenges have embraced advanced technology as a solution.

A European company, which is engaged in online retailing of electronics goods, has deployed a highspeed tote storage and pick system. Consisting of 62,000 bin locations for high-density storage of SKUs, the system has the flexibility to expand to 100,000 bins as future needs arise. Seventy robots are utilised to transport trays from bin locations, delivering items quickly and efficiently to 22 pick and pack stations.

The system allows a scalable storage and picking process with the capability of handling increasing numbers of small quantity orders.

Another company in Europe, expanded its picking capability to better integrate its logistics processes, particularly with its online segment which required a fast and scalable solution for fulfillment of its fashion accessories. To achieve this, the company integrated a high-density, high speed shuttle system capable of retrieving products from 36,000 SKU storage locations. Forty shuttle vehicles were employed, capable of achieving 2,400 in-and-out feeds per hour.

The system improved picking efficiency, increased throughput and reduced operating costs.

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thE GloBal platforM to SharE and Co-CrEatE innovativE WatEr SolUtionS

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SOFTWARE & NETWORKS

Enhance Productivity With Printing Mobility Mobile printing solutions can streamline operations, and extend the value of software and computer assets within the warehouse.

By Joseph Lim, regional GM, ASPAC, Datamax-O’Neil

W

hether driven by a need to grow revenue, cut costs, or increase competitiveness, productivity improvement is a common goal that business owners hold close to their hearts, and also a vital one that governments encourage to drive economic growth. One way in which productivity can be raised is through investing in asset-related improvements such as automation, technology, or simply better equipment.

Where logistics, material handling, and supply chain management are concerned, mobility has proven to still be effective in helping companies to enhance efficiency and improve accuracy across supply chains and distribution networks. Businesses that seek to raise their productivity ought to explore implementing greater mobility into their warehousing and distribution functions, using devices such as mobile printers.

Mobile printing solutions can further streamline operations, and extend the value of software and computer assets within the warehouse, empowering the worker with on-demand printing. Let us consider the following benefits that companies can enjoy in typical warehouse processes: 1 Redefine Receiving Centralised printing and labelling solutions require workers to move between the dock and the IT office (or wherever the printer is located), wasting precious time on making round trips just to pick labels up for application onto incoming goods.

With belt- or forklift-mounted label printers, barcodes or RFID labels can be printed at the point of receiving, ensuring that incoming items are prepared accurately for the warehouse’s automated processing systems.

Printing on-demand minimises the chance of applying a wrong label, which could be a costly error further down the line.

A typical warehouse layout with processes labelled.

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Printing on-demand minimises the chance of applying a wrong label, which could be a costly error further down the line. Affixing labels immediately upon unloading also ensures that 100 percent of incoming items are barcoded, thereby fully leveraging warehouse applications.

information and mobile printing capabilities allows workers to pick multiple orders simultaneously and within small footprints. Accurate labels applied onto each item subsequently help to speed up sorting of items for shipment. In this case, mobility drives down empty transit time and drives up productivity.

2 Capitalise On Cross-Docking A familiar practice for many companies, crossdocking is a strategy used to improve efficiency and handling times, as well as to create customer satisfaction. Be it for a typical ‘hub and spoke’ distribution, or for consolidation or deconsolidation arrangements, a mobile printer empowers the worker to generate and label items on the spot — eliminate errors, save transit time, and never lose shipment visibility again.

5 Excellence In Packing And Shipping Mobile printers are useful for labelling of finished goods at the end of a manufacturing process, managing ship-to-order requirements in warehouses and distribution centres, and for verifying the pick/ pack of items to fulfill an order. In fact, ship-to-order requests can be improved by labelling items with an order code to associate them with a specific customer during picking or packing. When the order is complete, the mobile printer creates the shipping label, ensuring accuracy in packing and shipping.

3 Make Putaway Painless Inherent delays in the fixed-printer model have had a negative effect on putaway. Efficiency can be gained from using mobile printers within an integrated environment with wireless networks and shared databases. Specifically, an integrated system allows a worker to initiate label requests by entering data into a handheld computer that transmits the data to the company’s ERP system over Wi-Fi. After the ERP system receives the transmission and updates inventory, information required to create the appropriate label or labels is sent back to the handheld for mobile printing.

4 Picking Possibilities Sometimes said to be the antithesis of ‘putaway’, the order picking process also stands to gain from the deployment of mobile printers. Having real-time

6 Beyond The Ordinary Apart from the classic warehouse procedures, mobile printers are also effective in driving efficiencies in other labelling applications such as asset tracking, compliance labelling, inventory control, real-time tracking, asset utilisation, and customer compliance amongst others.

For instance, on the manufacturing shop floor, mobile printers are increasingly being deployed in actual production areas where point-of-work printing access help improve efficiencies. Leading applications include product labelling, invoice printing, Work-In-Progress (WIP) tracking, order form printing, and even Bill Of Material (BOM) printing. In logistics, route workers are using mobile printers to provide customers with pickup receipts and to create barcode or RFID labels for packages they collect.

These actions help to save hours of processing labour further downstream.

In Conclusion

Efficiency can be gained from using mobile printers within an integrated environment with wireless networks and shared databases.

Evidently, there are tangible benefits waiting to be enjoyed with the implementation of mobile printing in a warehouse environment. Companies that understand the advantages and wish to adopt the technology should not rush into a decision, but instead carefully select a system that best suits their needs.

It is recommend to use ultra-rugged printers that reliably meet printing needs each time, even if dropped from a height. Mobile printers are typically used in harsh conditions, and they must therefore be built to endure the most punishing environments.

After all, if frequent maintenance and replacing were required, any efforts to improve productivity would have been negated.

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INSTRUMENTATION & MEASUREMENT

Optical Sensors:

Beyond The Traditional Optical sensors have become an integral part of conveyor systems and product lines.

The next generation of optical sensors are being developed that makes use of timeof-flight measurement. By Patric Kister, product manager for photoelectric sensors, ifm electronic

I

n the past 5 to 10 years many companies have introduced time-of-flight sensors which are at a price level comparable to optical standard sensors.

Out of this ifm has developed PMD technology, which is considered a special variant of time-of-flight measurement. There are many advantages to these sensors, including their price level, In addition, the method by which these sensors operate has proven itself to be very precise.

On the other hand, conventional time-of-flight sensors make use of a photodiode as its receiver element with additional electronics required for signal acquisition and processing. These standard sensors are typically well suited for measuring tasks, but are often not suited for industrial position detection.

In regards to PMD sensors, the receiver element is a System-On-Chip design, with both sensor element and electronics for signal evaluation integrated on a single chip. This ultimately enables a very compact design, compared to standard time-of-flight sensors.

The company’s goal is ultimately to place sensors where photoelectric sensors have been used to date.

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Some of the sensors that have been developed based upon PMD technology are O1D and O5D, which have been designed to replace conventional photoelectric sensor on applications they might be traditionally found, such as parcel detection on

PMD sensor detects distance of boxes on a conveyor.

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conveyor systems, and so on.

The development of products, like the O1D, has been a success in the market. There may be those that worry about cost, as typically the price for photoelectric sensors is lower than distance sensors, however, the cost of our OID and O5D sensors are comparable to standard sensors, such as throughbeam, retro-reflective or diffuse reflection sensors.

The Advantages PMD sensors have a relatively low price level. The System-On-Chip design gives as reliable background suppression making the installation of a receiver and its fixture unnecessary. Of course wiring complexity is also reduced, making these sensors particularly useful for applications in conveying technology.

Range is also an issue, which is largely overcome by these sensors. In standard sensors of this size, they typically have shorter ranges compared to PMD sensors.

In terms of characteristics of the PMD sensors, first of all, for system-related reasons, there is an absolutely reliable background suppression. Once the distance of detection has been set, it does not matter if a person with a safety vest or a stainless steel plate interrupts the light beam further in the background. Also, the guaranteed range of two metres is really quite impressive for such a compact sensor. ifm also guarantees this value on all colours and surfaces, including black and reflective. Another advantage is that the angle of incidence of the light beam onto the object surface is virtually irrelevant.

This means: the customer can align the product to the object at a flat angle, whereas the angle usually has to be about 90 degrees when using a standard sensor.

Together with the range, this provides much more

PMD sensor detects the position of the a loaded pallet to control the automated wrapping machine.

flexibility in the selection of the installation location.

Those who worry that devices with time-of-flight measurement can only be set up by experts will be glad to hear about the simple operating concept: depending on the type, the distance is set via a setting ring or plus/minus buttons in centimetres or inches. That is it.

And finally, the units also feature IO-Link capability.

This allows reading of the current distance value or switch-off of the laser when it is not required.

If you do not want to use IO-Link, you can use the complementary switching output.

Applications And The Future Tracking objects on a conveyor system is one suitable application. Also, there are many applications in the automotive industry. The typical target application would definitely be position detection. With the sensors long distances and small sizes, many possible applications exist, giving flexibility to the user.

PMD sensors are a good substitute for standard sensors. There is also work on developing an even more compact design and longer ranges, with higher accuracy and faster switching frequency. It is also possible that in the future there will be wetline variants made of stainless steel, perhaps over the next two to three years.

The PMD sensor can be set up with only two push buttons.

ENQUIRY NO. 2501

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ENERGY

A Vision For Smart Cities

SJ Walton, UK

The capture and processing of data is vital to the efficient use of energy and in achieving an optimal balance between people, places, prosperity, and the planet. This data can become knowledge that ultimately applications can use to provide smart services. By Rick Lee, Senior VP, GM Centre of Excellence, Hitachi Asia

A

ll over the world, concrete steps are being taken to make a special type of city: a smart city. These cities use new technologies to help them reach their diverse goals more efficiently.

Some cities are being made smarter, and some new cities are being designed to be smart from their very beginnings.

A common goal is to provide cost efficient services to their residents. Another goal is to make cities that are attractive from a variety of viewpoints: for example, to make cities that are both economically vibrant and also environmentally friendly. As environmental and energy problems grow increasingly severe, and the need for sustainable growth increases, smart cities are becoming more necessary and more popular.

Hitachi sees its smart city approach as a way to resolve the problems faced by individual cities. The approach takes into account both the economy and the environment, can handle changing times and social trends, and supports safe, interesting, and prosperous lifestyles.

For this approach to work, it is important to identify the stakeholders and the structures and organisations that make up a smart city, and to understand their different points of view. The company views the smart city as having a hierarchical structure comprising a variety of infrastructure with different functions and roles, and believes that, if each layer of this infrastructure hierarchy is highly

integrated, the city can resolve problems and provide services more efficiently and more effectively.

Smart City Stakeholders Smart city stakeholders include city administrators, developers, residents, and groups sharing world opinion on the environment. Such stakeholders have different interests and interact with the city in different ways, and stakeholders need to recognise the existence of standpoints that might differ from their own.

For example, residents need to be aware that people living well beyond the city borders might be very concerned at the environmental problems of the city. Similarly, when developing smart city concepts and plans, city administrators need to take into account the needs and concerns of residents and other parties involved.

Optimal Balance The approach that is adopted here, is that the best method to develop smart cities is to take all the stakeholder viewpoints into account. For example to make a city smarter requires examination of ecological, economic, and people-oriented factors.

But implementing these insights is not the end of the process. Making a city smarter provides the tools and systems to efficiently resolve a wide variety of problems in the future.

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Smart cities considered desirable by all stakeholders need to have the optimal balance between the ecological (‘Eco’) needs of the global environment and the experiential values of the city residents who want prosperous urban lifestyles that offer a good quality of life. Combining lifestyle convenience with consideration for the environment will be essential for the sustainable development of cities. This balance is a very important aspect of urban policy.

Structure Of A Smart City Smart cities are modelled here as a hierarchy of infrastructures that have different functions and purposes. The national infrastructure and urban infrastructure layers contain the most basic parts of the social infrastructure. The daily-life services infrastructure layer supplies services directly to residents. The smart-city management infrastructure layer coordinates these various layers through the use of IT. Hitachi’s vision is that each infrastructure layer will interoperate under the control of the smart-city

management infrastructure to support a way of life for residents that takes into account the global environment, safety, and convenience.

Smart-City Management Infrastructure Hitachi sees smart cities as emerging from combinations of elements that make up the hierarchy described above. The smart-city management infrastructure plays a key role as the common platform enabling various combinations. For example, this management infrastructure can ensure that services are available when and where they are needed, and can help residents achieve a good quality of life with the minimum impact on the environment.

The management infrastructure can coordinate both the physical and system components of the common elements that make up a city (such as buildings, roads, railways, and utilities) and those elements that differ by region (such as residential areas, central business districts, and commercial areas).

Advanced IT For Social Infrastructure A fusion of two different types of IT can resolve

Reliability and precision for Industrial and Automatic Doors applications PD112 Series: long-range photoelectric diffuse sensor with background suppression.

The PD112 sensor detects any object, while ignoring background disturbances from steady or moving objects.

Its sensing distance on grey and white objects is assured as far as 2,5 meters, whereas black ones can be detected up to 2 meters.

Detection principle based on triangulation NPN and PNP output IP67 ratings Connection cable or built-in M12 connector 28 turn distance adjustment for accurate setting Get more details about us

Carlo Gavazzi Automation Singapore Pte. Ltd. - 61 Tai Seng Avenue #05-06, UE Print Media Hub, Singapore 534167 Tel: +65 67 466 990 Fax: +65 67 461 980 info@carlogavazzi.com.sg www.gavazzi-automation.com

ENQUIRY NO. 688

• • • • •

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ENERGY

the issues confronting social infrastructure and help develop smart cities that are secure and comfortable while taking the environment into account. These two types of IT are control systems, which can operate the social infrastructure safely, efficiently, smoothly, and in harmony with the environment; and information systems, which help deliver the security, convenience, and comfort of a smart city lifestyle.

For example, information systems can collect operational data from various areas of life, and then transform this data into Relationships between smart cities and IT information and knowledge that applications can use to provide smart services. For example, data can be used to predict demand spikes that require supply of electric power by making maximum use extra resources. Similarly, control systems can use of solar, wind, and other forms of renewable energy this information for more finely grained management in addition to thermal, hydro, and other base-load and operation. This can enhance the operation of electric power generation facilities. factories, electric power systems, railways, and other As in these examples, IT is essential to delivering services. Through this integration of information, it the optimal combination of services that meets is possible to develop infrastructure systems that are demand and suits regional circumstances. optimised across the whole of society.

Balancing Supply And Demand By utilising IT to coordinate operation of the urban infrastructure layer and the daily-life services infrastructure layer, the smart-city management infrastructure can provide access to more information on supply and demand than was available in the past.

Not only is there more information, but techniques such as data visualisation make this data easier to understand quickly. The balance between supply and demand can be managed instantaneously, with high precision.

Integrated Services By using IT to seamlessly interlink resources, functions, and services, a smart city can provide a single integrated service that is optimised to take advantage of the characteristics of each component.

Consider transportation, for example. A smart city can provide transportation services that deliver people to their destination and satisfy user requirements for safety, convenience, and economy by simulating the combined operation of trains, buses and other public transportation, car rental or sharing arrangements, and private cars. Or consider energy. A smart city can achieve a flexible and reliable

Creation Of New Services

The use of IT in smart cities can lead to innovations and the creation of new services. A smart city generates extensive data from its infrastructure via sensors and other means. Access to this data opens up possibilities for innovations and services within the daily-life services infrastructure. For example, a traffic management system could determine traffic conditions by using vehicle-mounted devices to collect information on car locations and speeds.

Naturally, individuals would have to give explicit permission before allowing third parties access to certain types of personal information acquired from the social infrastructure. Robust security would be needed to prevent data leakage and monitoring would be needed to ensure that the information is used for agreed purposes only.

However, with the right security and privacy safeguards, access to such data can lead to many types of new services.

The availability of such data has the potential to lead to a wide variety of new applications. In addition to commercial innovations, health and welfare services can use the data to better focus their limited resources on those most in need. This open approach to data can unleash smart innovation that provides both public and personal benefits.

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Smart City Requirements

Smart cities are essential for a sustainable future. This vision for smart cities is being realised The idea of a smart city is an abstract one, and the ideal form changes through each stage of a city’s and, even now, it is engaging with stakeholders to development. To achieve a sustainable balance design and develop smart cities that are good for and harmony between the values of residents the environment, good for the economy, and good and the environment, urban development must for people. The benefits of smart cities should proceed in a far-sighted and planned manner with continue as long as the cities themselves. a focus on achieving the objectives specific to each ENQUIRY NO. 2601 particular city. The city must also operate within the relevant constraints, including AVT_Goldeye_Ad_HP 3/25/14 9:59 AM Page 1 budgets, space, and each city’s individual priorities.

The process of creating an actual smart city requires the identification of the right level of ‘smartness’ for that city, and requires undertaking long-term projects aimed at achieving this.

Smart City, Smart Life

In Conclusion The time for smart cities has come. The cities of the future will not be measured just by economic indicators. A smart city provides enhanced environmental performance, economic value, and social value over the long term.

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ENQUIRY NO. 697

A smart city provides a way of life that is safe, secure, convenient, and comfortable.

The ser vices and facilities needed to provide this ‘smart life,’ can be defined as the dailylife services infrastructure, and this can be seen as an additional infrastructure layer on top of the energy, transportation, and other functions of the social infrastructure.

An important idea is that the daily-life ser vices infrastructure can be broken down (disassembled) into the various different services provided by the city, and these individual functions can then be made smarter (improved) and put back together (reassembled) to develop a city that satisfies the genuine needs of residents.

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SECTOR SPOTLIGHT

Companies work closely together to reduce wastage and improve traceability in their operations.

By Magnus Högstedt, industry manager, Food & Beverage, ABB

Case Study:

Enabling

Better

Flow U

nilever in Helsingborg p ro d u c e s m a rg a r i n e , soft cheese and cream, amongst other things dair y products. Margarine production is a complicated process with an oil and a water phase. In this process, vegetable oils are mixed with water, salts and citric acids.

A control system is necessary for keeping track of this process.

“The system is connected to Unilever’s SAP business system w h e re a l l p ro d u c t re c i p e s are stored,” remarked Jonas Westergren, operator, Unilever.

“We program the recipe depending on the type of margarine we will be producing and everything is then handled automatically,” he said.

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Three companies were represented around the table, namely: Unilever, Tetra Pak and ABB. “Unilever stands for knowledge of the product, Tetra Pak knows the processes and we from ABB provide specialist knowledge for control and monitoring,” commented Magnus Högstedt, responsible for the food and beverage branch at ABB. “All three of us have been collaborating for many years,” he added.

Replacing Old Spare Parts Got Expensive The old control system was approaching the end of its life cycle. “It has worked fine, year in and year out, even if it is now beginning to show its age,”

remarked Jonas Ekenberg, who is a technical operator at Unilever and has worked with the system for many years.

“But spare parts were getting expensive and difficult to find. The keyboards alone cost SEK 30,000 (US$4,708) to replace, and we found the last one in Brazil. The system was not just worn out but it was also small, which entailed few opportunities for changes and expansion,” he added.

“We were running three heavy processes at one plant with just eight megabytes of RAM,” commented Jonas Engdahl, process operator, Unilever.

A Smooth Partnership The company began looking

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around in the market and requested tenders from several companies. “In this project, Tetra Pak has functioned as the contact with the customer and we from ABB have served as the subcontractor,” said Mr Högstedt.

“Besides our close collaboration with Unilever for many years, thanks to our partner agreement, we and ABB have continuous communication about which systems are on the market,” commented Magnus Ramstedt, responsible for automation sales at Tetra North Europe. Adding: “It was therefore natural that the initial contact was made between Unilever and us. Tetra Pak ultimately received the order and then collaborated with ABB in the delivery.”

“It can be easier to stay with the same product family, and by doing so, we could retain a portion of the old system,” remarked Mr Ekenberg.

From this point, things moved rather quickly. Two operators from Unilever were sent to Tetra Pak for training in the 800xA system. They in turn, trained the other seven operators.

“We are responsible for process-related control and system software,” said Mr Högstedt, before commenting: “Tetra Pak has handled project management and planning, design of operator interfaces, batch control and traceability via their automation concept Tetra PlantMaster, which was specifically configured for liquid foodstuffs production.”

Better Control The system consists of five control systems and seven servers in the Windows environment. It was tested during four weekends with the old system in standby mode, just in case something should happen.

“After that, we went live with the new system, maintaining production monitoring around the clock for two weeks to assure production and to help the operators in the transition from the old system to the new,” says Ulf Kjellberg, automation engineer, Tetra Pak. “The switch entails a number of changes and improvements,” he added.

“I am very happy with the new recipe manager,” said Mr Engdahl,

Jonas Ekenberg can keep an eye on all aspects of the process from the control panel. In the background, from left to right: Jonas Westergren (Unilever), Magnus Ramstedt (Tetra Pak), Jonas Engdahl (Unilever), Ulf Kjellberg (Tetra Pak) and Magnus Högstedt (ABB).

Example of products that come from Unilever’s production in Helsingborg.

before adding: “Now we can put together our own recipes, which we could not with the old system.

Sometimes, we used to have to call in a programmer.”

Everyone gathered around the table to list what has become better: Increased flexibility, easier to handle maintenance, modern IT environment and more exact reporting of consumption. The latter is important because it saves money. Discards have also been reduced.

“Even here, quite a bit of money is involved because it is a matter of incorrect mixtures,” commented Mr Westergren. “In the old system, a valve could be left open and an incorrect mixture of two tonnes could run straight through. Now a safety system is activated if this should occur. Traceability has also become better.

“If anything goes wrong and a customer notices something odd with a delivery of margarine, we can go back in time, from the pallet where the batch was placed to which batch it came from, and investigate what has happened.”

A benefit of the new system is an improved working environment, for those who worked in the socalled ‘hot room’. In conjunction with the project, the room was rebuilt and the temperature could be reduced from 60 deg C to 40 deg C. Overall, the upgrade of the systems cost SEK 10 million.

ENQUIRY NO. 2701

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FEATURES

Beware Of Suspect Devices

Renea Leathers, Memphis, Tennessee, US

C

heck Point, an international provider of software and combined hardware and software products for IT security predicted that in 2014, there are new threats that exploit IP-based smart devices and appliances to gather personal information, or to launch attacks. This prediction has been proven right within a month, with two security incidents involving a range of new devices.

First came the news that a data breach at two USbased retailers had resulted in the theft of credit card and personal information of 110 million customers.

The attackers used ‘RAM scraping’ malware, which they planted in the Point-Of-Sale (POS) terminals at retail stores.

Even though these POS terminals are not computers in the conventional sense, they do have processors and RAM memory chips, and they perform basic computing functions — like reading

Miguel Ugalde, Mexico City, Mexico

Attacks involving the ‘Internet of Things’ are becoming a reality. By Steve McWhirter, VP, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa Sales, Check Point Software Technologies

RAM scraping malware is designed to activate when new data is loaded into memory before it is encrypted, to grab the data and forward it onto the attacker.

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the data from customers’ credit cards, encrypting it and sending it to the retailer’s back-end systems.

Getting Into A Scrape The RAM scraping malware is designed to activate when new data is loaded into memory before it is encrypted, to grab the data (which includes the cardholder’s name, card number, expiry date, and the three-digit security code) and forward it onto the attacker. While the POS terminals may not be directly connected to the Internet, the retail systems that run the terminals are usually Windowsbased and need to be regularly patched, updated and properly configured, and are also probably connected to the Internet.

So an attacker who can find a way into a retailer’s Internet server using a vulnerability, may be able to move across to other local networks, and then to the POS systems and terminals themselves.

Spam: Fresh From The Fridge

Chaleerat Ng, Leuven, Belgium

Second, there was the news that over 100,000 consumer devices including an internet-connected refrigerator, smart TVs and multimedia hubs helped to send more than 750,000 spam and phishing emails over the Christmas holidays.

Of course, it is commonplace for home and business PCs to be compromised by bots and used to generate huge amounts of spam and phishing emails, and to launch ‘denial of service’ attacks on websites — but this attack is the first to be reported in which conventional smart household devices were used as part of the botnet.

The majority of the devices were not actually infected, but were simply left open so that attackers

IDC forecasts that there will be 200 billion devices connected to the internet by 2020.

Larger-scale attacks such as the RAM scraping exploits against major retailers reinforces the need for organisations to maintain best security practices. were able to exploit the software running on them to send and relay spam and infected emails. But this incident highlights just how resourceful attackers have become, and how unconventional attack vectors can be effective.

Protecting Things Now that attacks against smart devices have begun, they will only escalate. Analyst agency IDC forecasts that there will be 200 billion devices connected to the internet by 2020 — compared with 5 billion devices today (approximately 1 billion PCs, 2 billion mobiles and tablets and another 2 billion devices such as temperature monitors, webcams, and so on).

Securing these devices will be a challenge.

Many of them have limited processing capability, and so are not capable of running conventional anti-malware solutions. Instead, security relies on users changing passwords and settings away from default settings, and ensuring the devices are not left open — in exactly the same way that people are recommended to protect their home wifi networks.

Larger-scale attacks such as the RAM scraping exploits against major retailers reinforces the need for organisations to maintain best security practices.

This includes applying the latest updates and patches to close off vulnerabilities, and deploying layers of security to protect networks and data so that even if one layer is breached, the next can stop the attack. For example, organisations could isolate different network segments from each other using firewalls, to inhibit attacks from crossing networks, or use a service that can identify and isolate malicious files before they enter the network, so that infections do not occur.

Just as the ‘Internet of Things’ is enabling a better-connected, more efficient world, it also gives criminals a better connected, more efficient network for launching attacks. Yes, we should be aware of suspect devices — which, it seems, is rapidly becoming all devices.

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FEATURES

How important is the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) in mobile strategies? By Satoshi Mizobata, director, Toughbook Asia Pacific Group, Panasonic Systems Asia Pacific.

Quality

Pays Off M

obile technology has progressed to a point where it has become a must-have strategy. In the business plans of companies today, as their ability to be mobile directly impacts their responsiveness to unexpected market situations. As a result, when procuring mobile hardware for their employees, companies face a great deal of pain as not only do they have to factor in the cost of each piece of hardware, they must also procure devices that are actually up to the task.

Quality Of Hardware Often, as a means of cost-cutting, many companies source for the cheapest mobile hardware available in the market, even if they are not designed to handle enterprise-level tasks. While it

is true that quality comes at a premium, it is important to also consider the long term TCO. Every moment a user spends unable to work due to a hardware failure, their company’s TCO increases, as it does when IT spends time on repairs, ordering replacement parts, and even migrating data to a replacement device. Then, the question arises — is it better to buy two lowcost mobile devices — one for active use and one as a backup to guard against failure — or perhaps one single reliable one? Business sense dictates reliability wins every time.

Calculating TCO This raises the question what are some of the considerations that need to be taken into account when determining the TCO of a

device, in order to avoid selecting the wrong type.

To accurately calculate the TCO, businesses must consider all costs related to the deployment of the mobile device in the workforce, both upfront and long term. These include anticipated product life, planned replacement cycles, and the impact of device failure on dayto-day processes. Indirect costs, such as lost productivity hours, must be taken into consideration during the initial selection process to determine the overall value.

One of the most critical elements of TCO calculation is failure rates. As mentioned previously, businesses might choose to deploy devices that are not built for enterprise use into demanding environments in order to cut upfront costs.

Because these mobile devices

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are not designed to withstand typical field conditions, they cost companies thousands of dollars in repairs, additional inventory, and valuable IT staff time lost to providing support for these devices. Failures equate to downtime and lost business, negating the value of having a mobile workforce that can make real-time decisions.

As such, before making a purchase decision, companies should ask vendors for failure rate information that has been verified by a third party to fully understand the risks associated with their purchase decision.

Deploying mobile devices appropriate for employees according to their work environment is vital in giving businesses a competitive edge.

Selecting The Right Features While doing a thorough TCO is impor tant, it is equally important to select the right features for mobile devices and map them to realistic usage scenarios. Businesses should consider durability, form factor, functionality, and connectivity among others. Having a device with the right capabilities that map to the user’s environment will allow mobile workers to access mission-critical data and respond in real time.

Reliable devices with the right feature set will enable workers to be more efficient and cost-effective.

Rugged notebooks with long battery life and daylight viewable screens allow employees to work seamlessly throughout the day.

Water-resistance and fully-sealed keyboards and ports allow field crews to work during extreme weather conditions. For all types of mobile worker — those on the field as well as other highly mobile professionals — embedded wireless broadband is critical as it provides instant connectivity to headquarters when out of WiFi range, as such improving response time.

Purchasing The Right Devices Reliable devices with the right feature set (and after sale services and support) will enable workers to be more efficient and costeffective. Investing in a solution that combines low failure rates with a broad range of appropriate features will maximise productivity and drive profit. Deploying mobile devices appropriate for employees according to their work environment is vital in giving businesses a competitive edge as well as providing great return to investment by reducing TCO and delivering on productivity.

For all types of mobile worker, embedded wireless broadband is critical as it provides instant connectivity to headquarters when out of WiFi range, as such improving response time.

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FEATURES

Brave New World In T

3D design software can release creativity among users new to 3D and offer possibilities for engineers from concept design through to manufacturing. By Eric K H Lee, technical marketing manager (Asia Pacific), RS Components

Tommy Johansen, Norway

3D Solid Modelling

he market for advanced software that could create models for designs and products in 3D came into existence back in the 1980s. Historically, it has been ‘feature-based’ or ‘history-based’ 3D CAD tools that have dominated the market. In the early days it was not inevitable that the methodology would prevail, but its success has largely been attributed to the limits of processing power delivered by computers of the time.

Because of the lack of numbercrunching performance available, feature-based modelling held the advantage over alternative methodologies such as direct modelling. Essentially, it was based on a clever trick to make solid modeling viable on hardware of the 1980s. Feature-based modelling broke down the design into a list of individual parameterdriven steps or ‘features’, which acted as instructions to create the shape of the part and enabled the hardware to create and work with models in something like real-time, or at least vaguely approaching it.

Cer tainly the process worked well enough for designs comprising simple parts and assemblies, but as computers delivered increasing performance, t h e m o d e l s b e c a m e m o re complex, and additional concepts were developed to link the features together. These included constraints and parent-child relationships, which basically describe the relationship between the individual features or steps, held in the tool’s ‘history-tree’.

However, it meant that if a specific feature needed to be changed, then it was necessary to retrace the steps right back to the definition of that particular feature. Feature-based modelling also required the creation of interfile dependencies and eventually the development of

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data-management tools to enable concurrent working of design teams.

Barriers To Entry In addition, while the 3D software was powerful, and also generally expensive, it was only the experts in CAD that could use it. It is estimated that approximately 25 million users globally, including electronics and mechanical engineers, would benefit from using 3D design. Yet only one million CAD seats have been sold in total across the major CAD software vendors.

Many of those that could have benefitted from 3D design have not been given access to this mysterious and impenetrable knowledge, most likely for reasons of cost: both in terms of tool price and also the time it takes to become skilled and fully productive with the tools. Both of these factors have become the major barriers to entry for users looking to reap the benefits of 3D design capability.

The latest tools from CAD vendors are in the range of US$5,000 to US$30,000 per license, and usually come with high-priced annual maintenance fees. As mentioned above, the second impediment has been

the significant learning curve sometimes associated with traditional 3D modelling. Entrylevel users may take anywhere between 6 and 18 months before they become fully productive with an advanced 3D tool. Often, this can lead to CAD designs being outsourced to a CAD specialist company, which can introduce bottlenecks in product development with the processing of even simple changes in the design taking many weeks.

Direct Modelling Today computers are something like 100,000 times more powerful than their venerable ancestors of the 1980s. And because of this, direct modelling — which allows a user to draw 3D shapes as easily as they might draw with pen and paper — is making a serious claim as an alternative or, in many cases, a complementary 3D design tool.

Direct modelling offers a large advantage for non-CAD specialists in that it is generally more intuitive and easy to learn. Direct modelling technology has been described as being like modelling with virtual clay. Essentially, it is all about geometry; there is no feature history and no need to manage any of the associated complexity such as constraints

or parent-child relationships.

It works at the base geometry level and dynamically changes any requested modifications into geometry and explores ideas and product concepts in 3D. In many respects it is very similar to Google SketchUp, where a user can push and pull on geometry and make new designs extremely quickly.

Direct modelling eliminates many of the problems associated with traditional feature-based tools, as engineers that may not use CAD on a regular basis easily can make changes to models without having to fully understand all the ‘constraints’ of a featurebased model. For example, with direct modelling the engineer can make an iteration to the design directly from the last one, adding and removing from the design without any problems.

However, it is also very true that some applications will still require feature-based modelling if, for example, it is the end goal to create customised variants of an extremely complex assembly of parts with critical and wellunderstood relationships and requirements. However, this approach can be inefficient for significantly smaller designs and direct modelling is quicker and

Direct modelling offers a large advantage for nonCAD specialists in that it is generally more intuitive and easy to learn.

3D model of an enclosure.

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FEATURES

Direct modelling is making a case for use in product development. This is especially true in concept design and prototype manufacturing, but also in other areas.

3D model of a panel being attached to a machine.

n e w i d e a s i n re s p o n s e t o Request-for-Quotation (RFQ) for example.

The Software

A Raspberry Pi enclosure.

easier for a growing number of applications.

Another advantage offered by direct modelling is greater i n t e r o p e r a b i l i t y, w h e r e a s proprietary feature-based systems have incompatible data formats.

Historically, competing 3D CAD vendors have had some very different ideas about the operation of features and relationships within their respective tools.

This meant the creation of proprietary software packages that had no compatibility with one another, meaning that interoperability problems have become a challenge for CAD users, their colleagues and also in the supply chain.

In the past this has meant that everyone in the supply chain had to use the same tools, as there is always some loss of information when translating data from one CAD data format to another. Employing advanced direct modelling tools, users in simulation or manufacturing departments can simply edit the actual CAD geometry via STEP files, the most common intermediate data translation format for CAD systems.

Another important advantage of direct modelling is that it allows very quick iteration on concepts, whereas traditional CAD can often be a cumbersome approach, when conceptualising

While there is no doubt that traditional feature- or historybased CAD tools have a continuing and important role to play in the development of electronics and mechanical design, direct modelling is making a case for use in product development. This is especially true in concept design and prototype manufacturing, but also in other areas.

Some 3D solid modelling and assembly tools offer benefits to industrial designers and electronic design engineers among others, such as sales, marketing and production, who can contribute and collaborate at the early stages of product development.

Electronics and mechanical engineers and other users can become conversant with some of these software packages within days. Basic designs can be achieved quickly via the software’s four basic tools: ‘Pull’, ‘Move’, ‘Fill’ and ‘Combine’, and, unlike traditional feature-based tools, the software makes use of

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familiar ‘copy and paste’ keyboard shortcuts, for example, allowing easy reuse of geometry in different designs.

These tools are designed to enable engineers in electronics and automation markets to be more creative and will also support a more efficient product development process, allowing the production of professional concepts for RFQs right through to delivering detailed and dimensioned manufacturing blueprints.

They can also export 3D designs in the STL file format to enable rapid prototyping builds and computer -aided manufacturing, in addition to providing the ability to obtain Bill-of-Materials (BOM) quotes.

There is also the possibility to import circuit layout files in IDF format from any PCB design tool.

Summary T h e a v a i l a b i l i t y o f d i re c t modelling based 3D design tools now mean that 3D solid modelling is available to a much wider universe of users, and not just CAD specialists. These types of tools will enable greater

NEW

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However, it is not just the 3D CAD tool that is important. A crucial piece in the jigsaw for the electronics and electromechanical engineer is a product or component model library.

Some companies provide engineers with access to a library of 2D and 3D models, building up a community of developers to share open-source designs and ideas.

There are component libraries containing, in some cases, more than 80,000 component schematics and PCB footprints of semiconductors, passives and electromechanical components from manufacturers. And in terms of 3D, in some cases, offer more than 30,000 3D models from many manufacturers covering key technologies including electronics, electromechanical, mechanical, pneumatics and automation and control.

These 3D CAD models are also available in many proprietary file formats from CAD vendors.

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FEATURES

Martin Simonis, The Hague, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands

How To Design Networks For Plant-Wide Communication An integrated zone cabling plan can slash network deployment time by up to 75 percent, cut down on material and labour costs, and allow for future expansion. Contributed by Ng Khee Seong, IA Solution Manager, Panduit

A

s rapid advancements in networking, computing, data storage and software capabilities increase the value of automation systems, engineers are under pressure to refresh machine and plant-wide system designs with solutions that merge information and control data. To address this challenge, validated architectures and tested physical solutions that integrate information and control systems are growing in importance.

To get connected globally into industrial operations, users need validated logical diagrams of the functions in the network and the interface with enterprise systems. This logical networking architecture, developed by Rockwell Automation and its strategic alliance partner, Cisco, is commonly known as the Converged Plant-wide Ethernet (CPwE) Design and Implementation Guide. This reference architecture describes the connectivity between the enterprise and industrial zones at a logical level.

Key within the logical architecture is the identification of communications pathways from the level three site operations to levels zero to two associated within cell/area zones on the plant floor. The physical layer architecture is the infrastructure required to achieve connectivity that addresses data throughput, environment, wiring distances and availability. A structured, engineered approach is essential for the physical layer to ensure that investments in network distribution deliver optimum output.

Making The Right Connections For physical architecture network support, layer three switching is typically deployed in the level three site operations (industrial data centre). Layer two, or direct physical connections, are made into zone enclosures or control panels, or are connected directly to equipment located within the cell/area zone plant-floor.

The physical environment of plant-floor equipment and the distance away from the control room, which acts as an interface to the level three site operations, determines the characteristics of the cabling solution needed. Assess environmental risks by leveraging TIA 568-C.0 ‘Generic Telecommunications Cabling for Customer Premises, Annex F: Environmental Classifications.’

When determining the cable solution, consider the Mechanical, Ingress, Climatic and Electromagnetic (MICE) conditions. This ensures the entire cable protection scheme — cabinets, pathways, grounding/ bonding and cable selection — is appropriate for the environmental hazards present.

Traditional structured cabling deployed in CPwE automation networks involves multiple horizontal copper runs all the way from the level three control

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room to each automation control panel within the cell/area zone. This type of cabling is also called a ‘home run.’ For very small deployments, this approach works fine. But in many environments, traditional structured cabling can mean hundreds of lengthy copper cables that are difficult to manage, present Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) susceptibility challenges, become virtually impossible to change, and are arduous to remove when complying with building codes that require removal of abandoned cable.

On the plant-floor, traditional structured cabling is routed from the Micro Data Centre (MDC) to a control panel or zone box containing active equipment.

Alternatively, a zone cabling approach involves a logically placed connection point in the horizontal cable, routing it from the MDC to active zone boxes.

Shorter cable runs then extend from the zone box to each device in that zone.

A number of factors must be addressed when connecting the cell/area zone to the level three site operations control room. Users must decide on architectures, physical media and connectivity to distribute networking that is cost-effective while ensuring enough exibility, environmental ruggedness and performance headroom to hold up to current and future manufacturing needs.

Integrated Network Zone Systems In applications where switching equipment is used on the plant-floor, it is necessary to place the switch

in a protective zone enclosure. The zone enclosure also houses other ancillary equipment required for the switch, such as an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), copper and fibre connectivity.

Following a zone topology allows a highly scalable and exible physical deployment of the CPwE architecture. Managed cabling reduces abandoned cable and the number of home runs throughout a facility, helping make the workplace run more efficiently and safely. An integrated network zone system is used to deploy plant-wide EtherNet/IP networks and helps ensure that management and network control will not hinder the most effective use of data available. An integrated system incorporates all active and passive equipment required for deployment.

Features and benefits of using an integrated solution system include: • Reduced deployment time by up to 75 percent with a pre-engineered, tested and validated solution.

• Touch-safe and UL508A-rated integrated industrial and IT networks.

• Reduced downtime with a robust, future-ready, reliable network system that provides simple and easy Moves, Adds and Changes (MACs).

• Reduced material costs up to 30 percent.

Long-Term Benefits Validated logical to physical network systems can help remote users manage productivity and profitability. With such a system, users can access real-time data on machine operations and take necessary action if pre-assigned metrics are not met.

Plant-wide communications become more efficient and future ready as users migrate proprietary plantfloor networks to a single network technology using the EtherNet/IP open protocol.

Whether users are updating existing systems to meet growing information demand needs or planning plant expansions, the amount of development and implementation rework time can be costly.

Implementing validated solutions in the physical design of a network system can reduce deployment time by up to 75 percent, ensuring that optimum performance and reliability of the network’s physical design are obtained. This helps maximise uptime and reduces costs associated with problem solving and network downtime.

CPwE logical framework

ENQUIRY NO. 2804

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FEATURES

C

ompanies are coming to this market,” said Dr Ing Luigi Galdabini, president of UCIMU-Sistemi Per Produrre as he explained Italian companies’ recent activities in Southeast Asia at a business matching workshop in Singapore.

From January to September last year, figures from the association showed that ASEAN market volume increased by 16.9 percent when compared to 2012.

This trend looks set to continue as Dr Galdabini has said that Italian companies would like to improve their position in the ASEAN market with offerings, which he added are “the right products for this market.”

According to him, Italy has been exporting machine tools actively over the years. As a matter of fact, he revealed that more than 75 percent of the country’s output is exported to all corners of the globe, cementing the country’s position as the third largest exporter of machine tools in the world.

Currently, Italian machine tool builders’ activities in Asia largely centre around China and they have been fairly successful.

“One in every six machines that go to China is an Italian machine,” he said.

This is a significant amount given that the country’s total machine tool output in 2013 was almost €5 billion (US$6.85 billion).

However, as the fourth largest producer of machine tools in the world, they believe they can do better in Asia and have targeted Southeast Asia as their next port of call as they muster resources to make a big push in the next few years.

Eye On Indonesia In order to have a meaningful presence in this region, companies have to cater to local needs.

According to Dr Galdabini, Italian

Italy Takes Aim At Southeast Asia

Not satisfied with their endeavours in China, Italian machine builders are now casting their sights on Southeast Asia.

By Joson Ng builders are primed for such endeavours.

He said: “Italian (companies) are very good in making special solutions with high technology.

In Italy, companies specialise in niche programs. We use the same technology as the Japanese and Germans but tune the solutions for you. Our culture is that we are very good in manufacturing, particularly in small batches, or even unique pieces.”

He added that they usually target to position themselves in the medium to the high end spectrum of the industry but with the ability to offer special solutions.

Before the event in Singapore, the companies also visited Indonesia, as they sought opportunities to conduct business there. “(In) Indonesia, the market for us is still small and we are not

satisfied,” said Dr Galdabini, who signalled his intent to have a larger presence in the archipelago.

Although the country undoubtedly has potential for development with its large middle class growing day by day, 2014 may yet prove to be a challenging year as the weak Rupiah may present a barrier for machine builders eager to sell their machines into the country. For UCIMU however, it is more important to sow the seeds first before they can expect a bumper crop.

“If the Rupiah is going down, (there will be) probably less purchase this year. However, we cannot go in when it is booming and go away when it is not booming as our kind of business is a long term relationship. You need to be in a country for years before being profitable,” he said.

For Giovanni Zacco, market

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development manager of the BLM Group, currency fluctuations may prove to be a problem in the future, but that is a bridge he is quite prepared to cross when he gets to it. For now, the important thing is to make contact.

“The movement of money (currency rates) is normal in different periods. I don’t see this as our biggest problem at the moment. This is a secondary problem,” he said.

Exploring Opportunities Along with Dr Galdabini and Mr Zacco, six other Italian companies also participated in the workshop. Most of them have little or no presence in the region of Southeast Asia. However, it is fair to say that they all feel this is a region with tremendous growth potential.

“We are still not present in Southeast Asia and we would like to be. The first step is to find a trading agency to promote our products, to let people know not only BLM, but (also) the Italian machinery industry. The main purpose (for now) is promotion,” said Mr Zacco.

Many companies are also taking the same stance and dipping their toes into the Southeast Asian market for the first time.

“We are here to find out the right strategy (for this region). As we operate in a very small niche

market, we need more agents or local support that could help us find a possible end user,” said Stefano Dellacqua, sales manager of Somo.

“The target of our visit is Indonesia. We see that these areas have big potential. The reason we are here is to know about the approach to enter into this market,” said Ennio Zaffaroni, MD of Zani.

Unlike their counterparts, Omera already has some initial success in Southeast Asia and they are looking to expand their operations here. Dott Massimo Carboniero, GM of Omera and also the VP of UCIMU-Sistemi Per Produrre told APMEN that they have sold machines into Thailand and the Philippines but it is “very important” to try to enter the markets of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

Another company successful in Thailand is Produtech, a c o m p a n y p ro d u c i n g s h e e t metalworking machines. Calling it a country with “big potential,” Dr Andrea Pedrini, sales manager o f t h e c o m p a n y, r e m a i n s optimistic about the country despite its recent political turmoil.

“I am positive in any case because the middle class is growing and that means the country is growing too. My forecast is positive for this part of the world,” he said.

Italian companies signalled their interest in this region by organising a business matching workshop in Singapore.

Dr Galdabini said Italian companies have the right products for the Southeast Asian market.

Increasing Presence For many Italian companies, Asia is China and as such, most of them have a respectable presence in the country. Moving ahead, they will be looking to expand their playing field in Asia and many companies will export more products into Southeast Asia as a result.

Veronica Just, VP of Millutensil, revealed that her company’s Asian operation takes up “about 10 percent” of their total export and there is ambition to grow that number. She said that in the next five years, she hopes to improve that value.

Thinking along the same vein was Filippo Gasparini, the CEO of Gasparini. His company currently exports some 20 percent of their production to China and he plans to gain more market share in Southeast Asia.

When asked about his export target for this region, he said: “To reach 10 percent in South Asia in five years.” He added that in order to do so, they need to find the right customers as they supply “very customised lines.”

In the metalworking community in Southeast Asia, people are quite familiar with German, Japanese, S o u t h K o r e a n , Ta i w a n e s e and Chinese machines. If the companies are successful in their charm offensive in this region, people can soon add Italy into the ever-growing list of nations looking to sink their teeth into the lucrative Southeast Asian machine tool market.

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FEATURES

Building Efficiency In Asia Chiller technology is an important component in improving energy efficiency within buildings, IAA spoke with Larry Kouma, product management director, Asia Chiller Solutions, Johnson Controls, on the technology and the company’s presence in Asia. By Mark Johnston

T

he building efficiency division of Johnson Controls delivers products, services and solutions that increase energy efficiency and lower operating costs in buildings for their customers.

The company has nearly 700 branch offices in more than 150 countries. In Asia, it has more than 9,000 employees spread across 11 countries.

Different organisations define and scope their business differently. The company’s portfolio spans industrial refrigeration, HVAC, building controls, as well as building-related services and consultancy.

On Technology The York Magnetic Centrifugal Chiller (YMC2) by the company is designed to integrate York chiller innovations with magnetic-bearing technology to help commercial and industrial customers achieve better efficiency, reliability and sound performance.

As Larry Kouma explains: “The YMC2 makes use of a permanent-magnet motor and active magneticbearing technology that was first developed by the company for the navy. A single moving assembly, suspended by a magnetic field, eliminates mechanicalcontact losses in the driveline. This reduces friction and vibration, and removes the need for oil to lubricate the bearings.” As a result of this, Mr Kouma asserts: “The chiller delivers improved efficiency at all operating points when compared to traditional induction motor and mechanical bearing technology typically used in hermetic chillers.”

The Benefits In terms of benefits, the company points out four key areas. These include improved efficiency, reduced noise, high reliability, and better sustainability.

On efficiency, Mr Kouma explains: “The chillers are 10 percent more efficient than conventional, variable-speed chillers. The magnetic-bearing technology eliminates mechanical-contact losses in the driveline.” In addition, he adds: “Energy efficient features such as the OptiSpeed variable-speed drive and the optimised centrifugal compressor have been retained and improved on. Proprietary capacitycontrol logic continually analyses and adjusts chiller operations to further ensure optimum performance.

The efficiency benefits can be greater than 30 percent when considering replacement of an older existing chiller at end of life.”

On noise, Mr Kouma asserts: “The chiller is quieter than a water-cooled centrifugal or screw chiller.” Also, as he explained, driveline vibration is eliminated with the magnetic-bearing technology, while the OptiSound control further helps reduce noise. As a result, the chiller operates at a maximum of 73 dBA at full-load standard conditions.

On reliability, he explains that the design of the chiller has fewer moving parts, requires less servicing and has a longer motor life. This helps to increase reliability and reduce maintenance costs.

He adds that: “the chiller’s permanent-magnet motor has an inherently longer life than traditional motors,

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Rising energy costs and the need to improve productivity and minimise downtime continue to be key challenges for building and facility managers. and the OptiSpeed drive’s soft-start sequence helps to further extend motor life.”

On sustainability, the chiller uses refrigerant HFC-134a which has zero ozone-depletion potential.

“It is designed with 57 percent less refrigerantpiping connections which reduces the potential for direct global warming caused by refrigerant leakage potential. The 10 to 50 percent efficiency improvement also reduces indirect global warming caused by greenhouse-gas emissions generated by electric utilities. Indirect impact is typically more than 95 percent of the chiller contribution to environmental warming impact over the operating life of the chiller,” says Mr Kouma.

The Challenges Rising energy costs and the need to improve productivity and minimise downtime continue to be key challenges for building and facility managers.

With the increased focus on climate change globally, many countries are also enacting legislation and providing incentives to modernise and retrofit existing facilities.

As such, Mr Kouma explains: “It was designed to help reduce the energy consumption and operational costs of commercial and industrial buildings. In addition, the product is suited for retrofit exercises because it is able to deliver higher efficiency and cater for higher capacity within a small footprint. Its energy efficient and sustainable features also help existing buildings meet the energy management and environmental targets set out by building owners and governments.”

The YMC2 is designed to help commercial and industrial customers achieve better efficiency, reliability and sound performance.

For example, the company has invested US$30 million to upgrade its research and development and manufacturing campus in Wuxi. This expansion is part of the strategic move of the organisation in China and throughout Asia.

Its centre of engineering excellence in Mumbai, India, and assembly plant in Pune, India, further provide its customers with its products and solutions.

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In China, its recently established corporate headquarters in Shanghai will provide a centralised and sustainable workplace to support business growth in China and the Asia Pacific region. It has also built manufacturing facilities in Wuxi and Guangzhou and is expanding their capacity.

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ENQUIRY NO. 651

Business Strategy For Asia

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FEATURES

Deciding The Path Forward

The Fieldbus Foundation has brought together organisations with the purpose of advancing Fieldbus technology. IAA spoke with Stephen Mitschke, director, Fieldbus Foundation on this and the future of the organisation in Asia. By Mark Johnston

The Future Of Fieldbus Foundation Mr Mitschke explains that a usability project was started in 2013, where a lot of time was spent interviewing a range of end users and engineering firms to get a better idea on how they have been using Fieldbus. Expanding, he explains the importance of knowing where there have been challenges, and knowing how they can implement instrument asset management.

As he explains, these requirements have been collected, and the technical teams are now in a technical solutions mode. “They are going to be defining what the requirements for the next generation of devices are. This process will take about a year,” said Mr Mitschke.

There is also talk about the Fieldbus Foundation and the HART communications foundation merging structurally, but as Mr Mitschke asserts: “Still maintaining both the HART brand and the Foundation brand.”

Growing In Asia

T

he Fieldbus Foundation is a membership organisation who gets its volunteers from different companies. There is a working group called the ‘System Integration and Maintenance Group,’ which came together for a meeting in Singapore. Its purpose is to help maintain and evolve the Fieldbus specifications. The focus of this meeting was to work through the details of a recent usability project.

Mr Mitschke explains: “The first issue with these working groups is defining what is going to be the next Fieldbus specification. The focus then for the next generation is usability, making it easier for end users to utilise the technology to get all the benefits and address some of the more common requirements, like device maintenance and so on.”

And on the working group that took place in Singapore, Mr Mitschke asserts: “Part of their mandate, is to develop some of those new specifications that will eventually breed a new generation of Fieldbus products.”

In terms of technology, the Fieldbus Foundation acts to develop the technology associated with Fieldbus, but they do not make any products. However, there are many users in the Asia Pacific region that are implementing the technology.

According to Mr Mitschke: “There will be four user events in 2014, with the stated purpose of updating the industry on what is happening with the technology,” because as he explains: “It is constantly evolving. A lot of people think they know Fieldbus, but the Fieldbus they know is the one from 2005. A lot has happened since then.”

Being Different Within the process industry, the fact that devices are modelled in functions blocks, is what sets F o u n d a t i o n F i e l d b u s a p a r t , a c c o rd i n g t o Mr Mitschke. “These are the same concepts that came from the DCS. It makes it easier to interconnect these devices, that can talk to themselves and back to the system.”

There is inherent built in diagnostic features.

The devices are essentially small computers in the process and if something goes wrong they can time stamp it locally. They can then send that message to the system to make sure it gets received.

In terms of applications, Mr Mitschke finishes by saying: “Fieldbus is typically designed primarily for the process control industry. This includes oil and gas, but also pharmaceutical, pulp and paper, food & beverage, and even waste water.”

ENQUIRY NO. 2807

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EVENT PREVIEW

OS+H ASIA 2014 BACK for the 9th time, Occupational Safety + Health (OSH) Asia 2014 is an important regional exhibition and key business platform for all involved in workplace safety and health.

The event will be held from May 7-9, 2014 at Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre.

Driven by A+A, a trade fair for all aspects of Safety, Security and Health at Work and organised

by Messe Düsseldorf Asia, the exhibition remains unique in Southeast Asia and has been held in Singapore since its inception in 1998.

Some 160 exhibiting companies from 20 countries will showcase innovations and solutions for a safer and healthier workplace.

The event is expected to attract 6,000 visitors from OSH

consultants, engineers, factory and site managers, safety and health officers, inspectors from government and regulator y bodies, HR personnel, occupational physicians, facilities designers and many others over the three day event.

Designed to be a total solutions platform, this event aims to highlight the heightened focus on and dynamic changes surrounding workplace safety and health matters for companies and employees in Asia.

The exhibition provides sourcing and networking opportunities for all OSH practitioners and professionals to be updated on the latest d e v e l o p m e n t s , t re n d s a n d technological innovations that are shaping the region’s OSH sector.

In Conclusion Providing an information-sharing and learning platform for all OSH stakeholders, this event brings the industry closer to the insights and challenges that are driving the workplace safety and health sector in today’s buoyant economic climate.

The various conferences and forums held alongside the exhibition will update delegates on best practices and how workplace safety and health challenges can be transformed to business opportunities.

May 7-9, 2014 Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre Singapore ENQUIRY NO. 2901 April 2014 | industrial automation asia 65

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EVENT REVIEW

SPS

– Industrial Automation Fair Guangzhou 2014

THE 2014 edition of SPS – Industrial Automation Fair Guangzhou, was held between March 3-5, 2014, at the China Import and Export Fair Complex in Guangzhou, China. Over the three day event, a total of 465 exhibitors from 15 countries and regions displayed their latest innovations in automation technology. These products and solutions were presented to an audience of 34,665 visitors, predominantly from the manufacturing and infrastructure development sectors.

The fair was spread over three halls, with companies showcasing their technology and specialties ranging from connectors, cables & wires, motors & drives, hydraulic systems and robots to PLCs, IPCs, machine vision systems and GUIs. Louis Leung, deputy GM of Guangzhou Guangya Messe Frankfurt, one of the organisers of the fair said: “Automation technology has become the focus of China’s manufacturing industry. Production businesses across the country understand that in order for them to remain globally competitive, they must adopt automation solutions into their production lines. This year we saw even greater attendance from factory owners and their

Products and solutions of 465 exhibitors from 15 countries and regions were presented to an audience of 34,665 visitors, predominantly from the manufacturing and infrastructure development sectors.

engineering teams, looking to upgrade or replace current operations.”

South China’s Manufacturing Sector With factors such as greater e f f i c i e n c y, h i g h e r e n e r g y conser vation and uniform quality dictating the goals of China’s manufacturing sector, the Guangzhou show’s significance has never been greater. At the 2014 show, exhibitors expressed praise

in the fair’s ability for bringing together both industry leaders and decision making buyers.

With the range of automation solutions on offer, attendees were given the chance to source products and technologies for all areas of their business.

Werner Schuster, director of purchasing at Baumuller Nurnberg in Germany said: “We just recently opened our first production plant near Shanghai. I came to the show to source electronic mechanical

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products. We produce motors and drivers for automation machinery. As a frequent visitor to the SPS show in Germany, I must say the Guangzhou show looks like it is on track to overtake the German show.”

Chen Shengzhi, automation manager at Innolux, visited the show as a part of a delegation with over 40 of his company’s colleagues. He shared: “By visiting the fair, I found that the demand for precision automation products in South China is

providing effective solutions to the sectors development. In order to address some of the most pressing issues, while providing insight to upcoming trends and recent innovations, a series of seminars, forums and product presentations were held concurrently with the 2014 show.

With close to 20 sessions taking place, topics of discussion were designed once again with the support of the AMA Association for sensors technology and Mesago Messe Frankfurt.

was very positive concerning product interest and reception.

With regards to the future of the industrial automation market, I expect more and more high quality exhibitors will surface and present the world with systems that can provide even more complex solutions for manufacturers.”

Speaker Alan Lok San Yin, product trainer at ifm electronics, gave a presentation on his company’s IO-Link and point-to-point interfaces during the seminar on automation and drives on March 4, 2014.

Sharing his experience during the presentation, he mentioned: “The number of audience members increased during my presentation, proving that these product presentation seminars a re b e n e f i c i a l t o v i s i t o r s .

Additionally, the quality of visitors was high on our products.

Overall, I am very pleased with the show.”

The 2015 Edition

With the range of automation solutions on offer, attendees were given the chance to source products and technologies for all areas of their business.

growing rapidly, and I was very impressed at how good the technology has become. This experience is very beneficial to me and I will recommend our engineering department to visit the show as well next year.”

Concurrent Events With China’s manufacturing sector facing a number of challenges in the upcoming years, automation technology continues to be looked upon for

Reinhold Roesemann, chairman, AMA Association, who helped organise the seminar on sensors and measurement expressed: “The main purpose of the seminars was for companies to explain to the public the capacity of modern day industrial automation through a series of product presentations, providing an opportunity for exhibitors to introducing their innovative systems and components. The atmosphere at the conference

The next edition of the show will take place from March 9-11, 2015 at the China Import and Export Fair Complex, Guangzhou, China.

The event is sponsored by the China Foreign Trade Centre and Messe Frankfurt Exhibition. It is organised by the China Foreign Trade Guangzhou Exhibition General Corporation, Guangzhou Guangya Messe Frankfurt, Guangzhou Overseas Trade Fairs and Mesago Messe Frankfurt.

The honourary sponsors are the Guangdong Automation Association and Guangzhou Automation Association.

March 3-5, 2014 China Import and Export Fair Complex Guangzhou, China

ENQUIRY NO. 2902 April 2014 | industrial automation asia 67

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PRODUCTS & SERVICES ACM Facility Safety: Safety Software

Cummins Power Generation:

ACM Facility Safety releases SafeGuard Sentinel safety monitoring software to continuously measure, monitor and alert operations and management to process safety risks. The software also delivers contingency plans that can be executed immediately to address issues and reduce risk. By presenting real-time risk information and expert knowledge to make effective operational decisions, it also helps prevent safety incidents, environmental infractions and downtime.

This software enables plants to reduce risk and identify critical safeguards during operation, and it provides information on which to base strategic decisions, including monitoring of safety performance indicators up to a board of directors level.

The PowerCommand 500/550 Remote Monitoring System from Cummins Power Generation provides a Web-based means of remotely monitoring and controlling on-site generator sets, transfer switches, sensors and output controls from any PC or Mac computer.

Multiple authorised users can now remotely determine the status of annunciators, alternators, engines, and transfer switches from anywhere, reducing the need for costly service calls and site visits. With this system, users can remotely start and stop generators, start and stop transfer switch tests, and reset and acknowledge faults.

ENQUIRY NO. 2903

Remote Monitoring System

ENQUIRY NO. 2905

CamdenBoss: Wall-Mounted

E2S: Alarm Horn Sounders

RS Components (RS) is stocking the CamRack QX series of 19” wall-mounted cabinets from CamdenBoss, a specialist in the design and manufacture of electro-mechanical components and enclosures.

Designed to house rack mount equipment for cabling, telecommunications, IT, industrial and home installations, the cabinets are supplied flat-packed, which eases access to the installation site while reducing logistics costs and providing greater protection during transit. The ¼-turn lock fixings allow users to assemble the cabinets without the aid of tools in just minutes.

E2S has launched intrinsically safe alarm horn sounders and combination devices with aluminium enclosures. The IS-D105 sounder and IS-DL105 combination device are approved to IECEx and ATEX standards for Zone 0 and the IP66 sealed marine grade aluminium enclosure is phosphated and powder coated, offering enhanced protection for on and offshore applications.

The alarm horn produces up to 105 dB(A) at 1 metre with a choice of 49 alarm tones and two additional, remotely selectable, alarm stages. For specific applications, custom tone configurations and frequencies can be engineered. The sounder can be combined with an LED beacon featuring an array of six high-intensity LEDs.

Cabinets

ENQUIRY NO. 2904

ENQUIRY NO. 2906

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PRODUCTS & SERVICES

FCI: Compact Connector

Gemalto: LTE Wireless Module

FCI has released a low profile 1.2mm pitch wire-toboard connector. With a mated height of 2.50mm, this product line offers a selection of three to six pin counts, making them suitable for many applications.

These additions will augment the company’s existing catalog of compact connectors, and address increasing demands for miniaturised interconnect solutions across different industries.

The compact design of the 1.2mm pitch wire-to-board connector features an enclosed receptacle profile with lead-in features that assist mating in tight spaces. Unlike conventional connectors, the plug and receptacle of these compact connectors feature a frictional mating technique which delivers suitable retention force and supports up to 20 mating cycles.

Gemalto is expanding its portfolio of Cinterion Machine-toMachine (M2M) solutions to include an M2M-grade LTE wireless module. The compact Cinterion PLS8 solution provides LTE connectivity for advanced ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) applications including connected car systems, video signage solutions and Near Field Communications (NFC) applications.

Following the introduction of the first carrier-certified LTE solution to the automotive market, the company is now expanding LTE connectivity to the industrial sector with this solution. It follows the widely adopted format of Cinterion modules and is suited for integration in the smallest M2M solutions.

ENQUIRY NO. 2907

Fluke: Earth Ground Testers

Fluke has introduced the 1623-2 and 1625-2 Earth Ground Testers with features and accessories that speed verification of a reliable connection to earth for grounded electrical systems, helping to solve power quality problems and lowering the risk of shock to users.

Studies have shown that as much as 15 percent of power quality problems are related to poor earth grounding. These testers identify poorly grounded systems, helping increase uptime. They also help engineers and electricians meet electrical codes, engineering standards, and local regulations to ensure that in the event of a lightning strike or utility overvoltage current will find a safe path to earth.

ENQUIRY NO. 2908

ENQUIRY NO. 2909

Johnson Controls: Magnetic

Centrifugal Chiller

Johnson Controls has introduced the York Magnetic Centrifugal Chiller (YMC2) to Singapore. Integrating York chiller innovations with magnetic-bearing technology, it helps customers achieve higher efficiency, reliability and sound performance.

Initially developed for naval applications, the magneticbearing technology has been applied in more than 115 critical naval installations globally, including nuclear submarines. The technology is now featured in this device and available to commercial and industrial customers in Singapore.

This product is suitable for applications in high performance facilities such as healthcare, education and sound sensitive buildings where energy-efficiency, high reliability and noise control are demanded.

ENQUIRY NO. 2910

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PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Moxa: Fanless Panel Computer

Panasonic: Rugged Laptop

The MPC-2240 ECDIS panel computer, by Moxa, is a buttonless 24” flat glass ECDIS colour calibrated and fanless panel computer for marine navigation applications. Powered by the Intel Ivy Bridge Celeron CPU processor 1047UE (2M cache, 1.40 GHz) by default and 3rd generation Core i3 and i7 CPU processors are options on request. The product provides 4 GB of system memory (up to 16 GB on request), allowing for fast graphics renders suitable for a variety of ship systems and other environmentally harsh HMIs. The device was built with a modular design to help reduce deployment costs and overall time-to-market by allowing convenient and rapid integration into a wide variety of systems.

A 14’’ business rugged notebook, the Panasonic Toughbook CF-LX3, targeted at mobile business professionals has been launched. With up to 14 hours of battery life, Windows 8.1 Pro, Intel Core i5 vPro processor, built in optical drive, and weighing just 1.29kg, this notebook combines performance with a light, and durable design.

By 2015, the world’s mobile worker population is expected to represent up to 37.2 percent of the total workforce with Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) seeing the largest increase in the total of mobile workers.

ENQUIRY NO. 2911

NXP: Car Infotainment Solution

NXP Semiconductors has introduced a multi-standard software-defined radio co-processor capable of decoding all three major digital terrestrial radio standards including Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM), HD Radio and DAB/DAB+/T-DMB. The SAF360x series enhances digital audio quality via advanced features such as Maximum Ratio Combining for DAB and HD Radio, and scalability for single, dual and triple tuner use cases.

The platform also offers a level of integration, replacing up to six chips with a single IC and reducing the footprint of the automotive digital radio application by over 75 percent for cost savings.

ENQUIRY NO. 2912

ENQUIRY NO. 2913

ReverseEngineering.com: 3D

Scanning Point Cloud tools

ReverseEngineering.com has released the latest version of its feature-based 3D scanning point cloud tools fully-integrated inside Solidworks 2014 modelling engine. The reverse engineering add-in accelerates design by converting dense scanned data into usable SolidWorks 3D geometry.

Scan tools include the ability to thin and cut cross-section through point clouds and create feature tree surfaces in real time along with 2D/3D features and complex 3D shapes. The add-in is a plug and play software solution for Faro EDGE, Romer Absolute, MicroScribe, 3D Creator, Focus 3D, Cyclone, Artec Spider, Steinbichler, ATOS, HDI 3D, and Leica scanners to create parametric feature tree models.

ENQUIRY NO. 2914

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Calendar Of Events 2014

21 – 23 Indo Renergy Expo & Forum 2014 Grand City Convex Surabaya, Indonesia PT. Napindo Media Ashatama Email: info@indorenergy.com Web: http://indorenergy.com/

21 – 24 Metaltech 2014 Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Trade Link ITE Sdn Bhd Email: info@tradelink.com.my Web: http://tradelink.com.my/metaltech/

jul 8 - 11 MTA Vietnam 2014 Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre (SECC) Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Singapore Exhibition Services Pte Ltd Email: mta@sesallworld.com Web: http://www.mtavietnam.com/

aug apr 21 – 22 IoT Asia 2014 Singapore Expo Convention & Exhibition Centre Singapore Singex Email: jane.siow@singex.com.sg Web: www.internetofthingsasia.com

23 – 24 RFID World Asia 2014 Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre Singapore Terrapinn Pte Ltd Email: yeelim.tan@terrapinn.com Web: http://www.terrapinn.com/2014/rfidworld-asia

23 – 25 Nepcon China 2014 Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Centre Shanghai, China, Reed Exhibitions Email: tim.wang@reedexpo.com.cn Web: www.nepconchina.com/en/

May 7 – 9 OS+H Asia 2014 Suntec Singapore Singapore Messe Düsseldorf Asia Email: rita_biswas@mda.com.sg Web: http://www.osha-singapore.com/

15 – 18 Intermach 2014 BITEC Bangkok, Thailand UBM Asia (Thailand) Co Ltd Email: Sukanya.A@ubm.com Web: www.intermachshow.com

jun 1 – 5 Singapore International Water Week 2014 Sands Expo & Convention Centre Singapore Singapore International Water Week Pte Ltd Email: info@siww.com.sg Web: http://www.siww.com.sg/

4 – 7 Renewable Energy Asia 2014 BITEC Bangkok, Thailand UBM Asia Email: Jidakarn.j@ubm.com Web: http://www.renewableenergy-asia.com/

11 – 14 Propak Asia 2014 BITEC Bangkok, Thailand International Expo Management Pte Ltd (IEM) Email: davin@iemallworld.com Web: http://www.propakasia.com/

17 – 20 CommunicAsia 2014 Marina Bay Sands Singapore Singapore Exhibition Services Email: vw@sesallworld.com Web: http://www.communicasia.com/

23 – 25 SCM Logistics & Manufacturing World 2014

27 – 30 MTT Malaysia Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia ECMI Email: overseas@ecmi.asia Web: http://mtt-kl.com

sep 9 – 11 Medical Manufacturing Asia Suntec Convention & Exhibition Centre Singapore Messe Duesseldorf Asia Email: shirley@mda.com.sg Web: http://www.medmanufacturing-asia.com

10 – 12 HVAC Asia 2014 Sands Expo and Convention Centre Singapore Informa Exhibitions Email: headoffice@informa.com Web: http://www.hvacrseries.com/asia/

17 – 19 Electric & Power Vietnam 2014 Saigon Exhibition & Convention Centre (SECC) Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Hong Kong Exhibition Services Email: exhibit@hkesallworld.com Web: http://electricvietnam.com

Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre Singapore Terrapinn Pte Ltd Email: renee.tan@terrapinn.com Web: http://www.terrapinn.com/2014/ scm-logistics-and-manufacturing-world/ To be considered for inclusion in the Calendar of Events, send details of event (name, date, venue, organiser contact) to: The Editor IAA Eastern Trade Media Pte Ltd. 1100 Lower Delta Road, EPL Building, #02-05, Singapore 169206 Tel: (65) 6379 2888 Fax: (65) 6379 2805 Email: iaa@epl.com.sg

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