AA August 08

August 2008

www.iaasiaonline.com

MICA(P) 327/10/2007 | ISSN 0219/5615 | PPS 1561/06/2009 (028033)

Make Sense Of

Machine Guarding Options

IPv4-to-IPv6

Transition Strategies

IR Temperature Sensors Operation & Selection

Semiconductors

The Future Is Now

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With over 28,000 software licenses in use, Wonderware knows water and wastewater operations.Wonderware software enables the integration of applications across all departments and functions.You get real-time operations management capabilities for your modern municipality or industrial water operation. Rely on the leader in water and wastewater software. For a FREE white paper on overcoming your top challenges, go to wonderware.com/water.

Š2008 Invensys Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Invensys and Wonderware are trademarks of Invensys plc, its subsidiaries and affiliated companies. All other brands and product names may be the trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.

contents August 2008

30

Make Sense Of Machine Guarding Options

ISSUES & INSIGHTS

SOFTWARE & NETWORKS

24

32

Artificial Intelligence: Not Just Science Fiction

Automation and manufacturing processes have taken advantage of AI technology to improve productivity as the industry becomes increasingly competitive.

By Augustine Quek

CONTROL POINT

30

Make Sense Of Machine Guarding Options

Knowing how to evaluate available safety technologies will help you choose the most cost-effective solution for your application. By Richard Galera, marketing manager, Safety Components, Rockwell Automation

24

Art No ificial t Ju st S Intell cien igen ce F ce: icti on

Transition Strategies: IPv4-to-IPv6

Considering a migration from IPv4 to IPv6 should include addressing the current environment, end users and the controlled steps to IPv6 deployment.

By Timothy Rooney, director of product management, BT Diamond IP

INSTRUMENTATION & MEASUREMENT

38

IR Temperature Sensors Operation & Selection

IR thermometers are reliable instruments for measuring temperature. Care is to be taken in the installation, maintenance and selection of the right instrument. By Vern Lappe, VP, customer and technical services, Ircon Inc

32

Transition Strategies: IPv4-to-IPv6

CitectSCADA Reports helps rationalise your alarms and improve your alarm management.

Powerful MS SQL Server Historian together with out-of-the-box sample reports that can be modified!

For your free whitepaper “Alarm Management� visit www.citect.com/alarm Alternatively, contact us today: Citect Asia HQ Tel: +65 6482 2212 Fax: +65 6482 2252 Email: sales.asia@citect.com

ENQUIRY NO. 831

Are you collecting a huge volume of alarm data, irrelevant alarms, and frequently-presenting nuisance alarms?

contents August 2008

SECTOR SPOTLIGHT

44

Industrial Automation Asia (IAA) is published 8 issues per year by Eastern Trade Media Pte Ltd 1100 Lower Delta Road #04-02 EPL Building Singapore 169206.

Tel: (65) 6379 2888 • Fax: (65) 6379 2805 Website: www.iaasiaonline.com Email: iaa@epl.com.sg

Semiconductor: Designing Heated Chucks

When designing a heated chuck for a specific vacuum process, many factors must be considered and balanced against each other to obtain the optimal properties. By Russell Strehlow, research & development department manager, Minco

50

Market Report: Biogas Power Generation Markets in SEA

44

Semiconductor: Designing Heated Chucks

Subscription Rates: IAA is available to readers on subscription in Singapore at S$60.00 per annum. Subscription by airmail to readers in Malaysia is also at S$60.00 per annum; and Asia Pacific, America, Europe and other regions at S$100. Refer to the subscription card in each issue for further details.

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IN BUSINESS

48

Business Intelligence: What Is It?

BI serves as a tool for decision makers so as to enable them to make better and more informed business decisions.

By Derek Rodriguez

50

Market Report: Biogas Power Generation Markets in SEA

The growth in popularity of renewable energy has led to growing investments in tapping the under-utilised biogas power in SEA. By Suchitra Sriram, industry analyst, Asia Pacific Energy Practice, Frost & Sullivan

Copyright. Eastern Trade Media Pte Ltd. All rights reserved.

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Refer to pg

DESIGN FOCUS

52

In Sync

55

Market Report: Demand For Membrane Materials To Rise

Up close and personal with Siemens PLM Synchronous Technology. By Eileen Chan

The expected growth of the membrane materials market is a result of interest in higher purity process fluids and growth of the water treatment market.

By The Freedonia Group

for Advertisers’ Enquiry Numbers

Regulars 8 News 16 Profibus Association S E Asia

52

In Sync

18 CAN in Automation 20 Fieldbus Foundation 22 EtherCAT Technology Group 56 Products & Services 67 Calendar of Events 68 Advertising Index / Ad Sales Office 68A Product Enquiry Card

4 industrial automation asia | August 2008

Cover: Siltronic AG

www.marschner-kuehn.de

Seeing details, understanding the big picture.

Integrated sensor solutions for factory automation Only those who understand the complex interactions in factory automation as a whole can construct the perfect sensor in detail. For example, industrial safety systems for protecting humans and machines. SICK sensor systems combine safety, regulatory and control functions and thus increase transparency in the automation process. Integrated solutions for factory automation that always keep the whole in sight.

SICK Optic-Electronic Pte. Ltd. | 31, Admiralty Road | 739984 Singapore | +65 6744 3732 China | India | Japan | Republic of Korea | Singapore | Taiwan | www.sick.com

EDITOR’s PAGE

Artificial

Published by:

Intelligence, Real Efficiency

EASTERN TRADE MEDIA PTE LTD

(A fully owned subsidiary of Eastern Holdings Ltd) Managing Director

Kenneth Tan

Managing Editor

Eileen Chan eileenchan@epl.com.sg assistant editor

Derek Rodriguez derekrodriguez@epl.com.sg Editorial Assistant

Intelligence is defined by Merriam-Webster as the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations. Simply put, having intelligence translates into possessing the power to reason.

Interestingly, the same dictionary describes ‘artificial intelligence’ as the capability of a machine to imitate human behaviour.

A perfect example is the most advanced robot in the world today, Honda Motor Company’s ASIMO (Advanced Step in Innovation Mobility), a four foot tall astronaut lookalike. Since its launch in the year 2000, this humanoid has undergone a couple of rounds of upgrades. At every stage of its development, it gains more and more human abilities.

The latest version of this robot can run and carry loads. This is on top of its ability to walk up or down a flight of stairs, shake hands and even recognise faces and address by name the owners of these faces!

Robots and machines in general have indeed come a long way since their inception, so much so that they have overtaken us in several aspects, one being speed of thought. For instance, more and more decisions traditionally made by humans are now being made by machines.

In the modern factory, instruments like sensors, transmitters, and gauges are aided by technologies such as wireless communication and software like those used for data collection and analysis in order to fast forward production and minimise downtime; ie: increasing productivity through automation.

In the automation industry, complete automation is a target for many.

Although the advancement of artificial intelligence brings the dream of complete automation closer and closer to reality, the truth is it probably is an impossible dream. Human involvement will always be present, if not due to necessity, then to sheer desire. Then again, as in most dreams, the journey towards it is the part that matters.

Serene Ho sereneho@epl.com.sg Sharifah Atikah atikah@epl.com.sg Senior Art Director/Studio Manager

Lawrence Lee lawrencelee@epl.com.sg Graphic Designer

Katherine Ching katherineching@epl.com.sg Sales & marketing Manager

Caroline Yee carolyee@epl.com.sg

Circulation MANAGER

Caroline Rayney carolinerayney@epl.com.sg Circulation Executive

Automation,

being machine enabled, is dependent on the

advancement of artificial intelligence

Derek Rodriguez Assistant Editor

6 industrial automation asia | August 2008

Agnis Lim agnislim@epl.com.sg Contributors

Augustine Quek, Richard Galera, Timothy Rooney, Holger Zeltwanger, Vern Lappe, Russell Strehlow, Suchitra Sriram Editorial Consultants

Jim Pinto

Industry Analyst

Alastair Ross Director, Codexx Associates Ltd

supported by:

EASTERN HOLDINGS LTD executive Board Chairman

Stephen Tay GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Kenneth Tan

Financial Controller

Robbin Lim

etm

Eastern

Trade Media Pte Ltd an Eastern Holdings Ltd company

Head Office & Mailing Address: Eastern Trade Media Pte Ltd 1100 Lower Delta Road #04-02 EPL Building Singapore 169206 Tel: (65) 6379 2888 • Fax: (65) 6379 2805 Website: www.iaasiaonline.com Email: iaa@epl.com.sg MICA (P) No. 327/10/2007 ISSN 0219/5615 PPS 1561/06/2009 (028033) Co Reg No. 199908196C Colour Separation: Pica Digital Pte Ltd Printer: Fabulous Printers Pte Ltd

ENQUIRY NO. 841 ENQUIRY NO. 840

Industry News Advantech Matchmakes Solution Integrators Singapore: The Advantech Singapore Solution Day was held on July 15 of this year at the Raffles City Convention Centre in Singapore, bringing together customers and business partners from around the region and providing a variety of activities such as seminars, showcases and matchmaking sessions.

The day-long event included presentations by speakers that gave the attendees insights on the most advanced trends in the market. Setting the tone for the day was regional managing director of Advantech, South Asia Pacific, David Soon, who gave the opening address. He said: “Globalisation has pushed innovation to the top of the agenda. In the first 20 years of the 20th century, we saw more advancement than all of the 19th century.”

Tim Schroder, channel manager, Windows Embedded, Microsoft Corp gave a presentation titled ‘Growth Through Partnership’. Providing a strong case for Windows Embedded devices, he predicted that the device market in 2009 would have 2.3 billion devices and

much of that growth would be attributed to connected consumer devices.

Another partner company, Intel Corp, marked its presence at the event in the form of speaker Boo Chai Eong, divisional account manager, who introduced the lastest Intel processors like the Intel Core 2 Duo processor and the Intel Atom processor.

Outside of the presentation hall

Mr Schroder Talking About ‘Growth Through Partnership’.

8 industrial automation asia | August 2008

were booths showcasing some of the many technologies and solutions available from Advantech, including embedded solutions, medical computing, logistics and transportation and industrial automation. The showcase offered a platform to display the company’s products and services and also served to provide customers a chance to interact directly with Advantech’s management team.

Since 2003, more than 100 Solution Days have been organised by the company in different parts of the world, each one keeping their customers up to date about the latest industry trends.

Mr Soon providing the opening address.

ENQUIRY NO. 5101

Industry News

Siltronic And Samsung Start Joint Venture

Singapore: Siltronic Samsung Wafer Pte Ltd, a joint venture of Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Siltronic AG, today commissioned a new fab in Singapore for the production of 300 mm wafers. The facility officially started operation in an opening ceremony 集博.pdf 2008/5/20 4:47:41 PM attended

by Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

By 2010, the joint venture should reach a monthly capacity of 300,000 w a f ers a nd provide over 800 jobs.

The overall investment in this project amounts to US$1 billion.

Siltronic CEO and Wa c k e r C h e m i e A G executive board member Wilhelm Sittenthaler said: “Today’s commissioning is a key milestone in further expanding our presence on Asia’s growth markets. Siltronic Samsung Wafer’s ability to complete this new plant on schedule and in record time underscores the joint venture’s engineering expertise and the outstanding collaborative strength between Samsung Electronics and Siltronic.”

Oh-Hyun Kwon, president of Samsung Electronics’ Semiconductor Business division, expressed: “Together with Siltronic, Samsung anticipates Siltronic Samsung Wafer to play a significant role as a steady source of quality 300mm wafers at a time of rapid growth in the 300 mm wafer market segment.”

“This plant is a key addition to our vibrant semiconductor ecosystem”, said PM Lee. “It will extend Singapore’s semiconductor value chain, and bring us to the next level of wafering technology. The long-term prospect for the semiconductor industry remains bright and Singapore has positioned itself to take full advantage of this and remain a leading manufacturing location in Asia for electronics and semiconductors.”

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August 2008 | industrial automation asia 9

Industry News

UniSIM And SAP Address Demand For ERP Skills Singapore: The SIM University (UniSIM) has partnered with German software company SAP, to offer a SAP Global Certification Programme via full e-learning mode in Singapore.

The programme aims to equip students with the knowledge of business processes and industry best practices consultancy skills that are much sought after worldwide. The certification programme will be a boon to the IT industry which faces an acute shortage of qualified specialists in the field of ERP. “Companies with globalised business operations are leveraging effective ERP to efficiently marshal their resources for the production and delivery of their products and services across geographical regions and time zones. Infocomm professionals with in-depth capabilities design, SG-531-DrySHT 85x114 to 30.04.2008

develop and deploy ERP systems will be much sought after by companies implementing ERP,” said Christina Gan, senior director (Infocomm Security and Manpower Development) of IDA. Globally, there is a critical shortage of skilled manpower in the area of ERP system customisation, implementation and support which has resulted in the current strong demand for SAP professionals the industry.

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to the increased adoption of SAP solutions, primarily in small and midsize enterprises (SMEs).

By 2010, more than an estimated 60,000-80,000 ERP consultants will be needed worldwide. IT research firm Gartner has forecast Asia Pacific’s ERP services market to grow at a rapid compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.7 percent from 2005 through 2010. This will continue to fuel the high demand for SAP professionals.

Currently, Singapore has about 4,000 SAP consultants certified locally.

It is expected that another 50 percent more will need to be certified by 2010.

To meet this demand, the UniSIM- SAP Certification aims to train more than 200 SAP-certified ERP consultants in a year.

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70 Bendemeer Road #03-03 Luzerne (Hiap Huat House) Singapore 339940 Tel: +65 6748 6434 Fax: +65 6747 0375 Website: www.cejn.com www.cejnsafety.com Email: mkt@cpf-cejn.com.sg

ENQUIRY NO. 836

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Industry News

Ametek Opens Facility In China

www.turck.com

BLOCK-I/Os FOR PROFInet IN IP67 • Line topology thanks to integrated Ethernet switch • PROFInet-Real-Time(RT) Protocol for exchange of cyclic I/O data • Configuration and diagnostics via GSDML or FDT/DTM

TURCK Singapore Pte. Ltd. 25 International Business Park #03-22/23 German Centre, Singapore 609916 Phone +65 6562 8716, Fax +65 6562 8719 E-Mail singapore@turck.com

ENQUIRY NO. 5104

ENQUIRY NO. 847

Shanghai, China: Ametek Inc has opened a centre of excellence in Shanghai. The new facility provides sales, demonstration, training, repair and support for the company’s process and analytical instruments.

Ametek Commercial Enterprise (Shanghai) opened with a dedication ceremony attended by the company’s chairman and CEO, Frank S Hermance, and Electronic Instruments Group president David Zapico. The new facility is located at 460 North Fute Road in the Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Shanghai. WaiGaiQiao Modern Service Trade Development Co Ltd assisted in the development of the new facility.

Among the instruments shown and supported at the new facility are Ametek Process Instruments and Western Research analysers, EDAX microanalysis systems, Spectro optical emission and X-ray fluorescence spectrometers, Thermox and Land combustion efficiency and emissions monitors, Taylor Hobson and Precitech ultra-precise surface measurement and machining systems.

“Our new Shanghai product demonstration facility represents a further expansion of our presence in China and reflects the growing importance of our customer base here,” notes Lim Meng Kee, VP, Asia, Ametek. “We are now able to provide our customers with a wider range of products and services, including customer training seminars and applications workshops. We also offer factory-direct calibration, repair and support.”

In addition to its new demonstration facility, Ametek operates sales offices in Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu, China and a motor manufacturing facility in Shanghai.

August 2008 | industrial automation asia 11 F0252_80x240_Profinet-Block_GB.indd 1

13.11.2007 10:34:14

Industry News

Emerson Automates Thai Plant Thailand: Emerson Process Management has been selected by the PTT Aromatics and Refining Public Company Limited (PTTAR) and its principal construction contractors to provide digital technology for an aromatics plant under construction in Rayong Province, Thailand.

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The PTTAR Reformer and Aromatics Complex II Project scheduled for completion in 2008 will make PTTAR the largest aromatics producer in Southeast Asia.

Aromatics are the starting materials for a broad range of consumer products used in everyday life, including CDs,

16:01:51

John Berra, president of Emerson Process Management

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ENQUIRY NO. 848

O4 optical sensors for long fairways The new range of optical sensors from ifm electronic covers all common applications and includes variants such as: Through-beam with a range of 80m Retro-reflective for over 20m Diffuse with background suppression for up to 2.6m Cut your handicap with the O4!

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12 industrial automation asia | August 2008



aspirin, and automobile tires. Aromatics consist of petrochemicals obtained mostly from crude oil or natural gas, and include benzene, which is the hydrocarbon feedstock for plastic, synthetic rubber and glass-reinforced plastics, and paraxylene, which is used in clothing, packaging and plastic bottles.

After originally specifying a conventional instrumentation and control system, PTTAR and its contractors chose Emerson’s PlantWeb with Foundation fieldbus technology.

The PlantWeb architecture employs digital communication and intelligent, microprocessor-based field instruments, valves, digital systems, and software to enable plant personnel to monitor operations remotely, and to receive data that alerts them to any potential malfunction before it happens.

“This landmark project features an outstanding PlantWeb digital a rc h i t e c t u re a p p ro a c h t h a t w e designed specifically for PTT Aromatics and Refining Public Company,” commented John Berra, president of Emerson Process Management.

“The many significant advantages offered by this technology convinced the PTTAR design engineers and their construction contractors that switching from conventional distributed control in the original plant was in the best interest of PTTAR and would result in sustainable operating advantages over the years.”

ENQUIRY NO. 5105

Industry News

Endress+Hauser Group Reinforces Management Endress+Hauser AG is expanding the executive board of the Group. The Board will be increased from four members to eight.

The impetus for these changes is the retirement of Dieter Schaudel, who will be leaving the company by the end of June. As chief technology officer (CTO) and chief information officer (CIO) he has been responsible for technology, engineering and IT on the Executive Board.

Klaus Endress will continue as CEO. Michael Ziesemer, responsible on the executive board for sales and marketing, will retain this focus. As chief operating officer (COO) he will assume additional duties and will also be the deputy to Klaus Endress.

Fernando Fuenzalida remains chief financial officer (CFO).

R o l a n d K i e n z l e r, corporate director of human resources, will take up a new seat on the Executive Board. Also appointed to the executive board is Dr Heiner Zehntner. As coordinator of the sales centres, Nikolaus Krüger Top to bottom: will take a seat on the Klaus Endress, executive board.

Fernando Fuenzalida, Amongst the new Roland Kienzler, members of the executive Heiner Zehntner, board is also the Pieter de Koning mechanical engineer and economist Pieter de Koning. He will be joining Endress+Hauser on September 1, 2008 and will be responsible for logistics, IT and organisation.

The appointment of Mr Ziesemer as COO will be effective from July 1, 2008. All the other new members of the board will be appointed as of September 1, 2008.

ENQUIRY NO. 5106

Motorola EMb Appoints APAC Channels VP Motorola Enterprise Mobility business has appointed Paul Blinkhorn as its VP, Asia-Pacific Channels. This appointment will be in addition to his current role as VP, Enterprise Mobility business, Australia and New Zealand. Blinkhorn will continue to be based in the Motorola Enterprise Mobility business’ Sydney office.

ENQUIRY NO. 5107

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August 2008 | industrial automation asia 13

i

Industry News

Ekinops Introduces ‘Transport On A Chip’

GE Power Protection Chooses Kalrez

Singapore: Ekinops has introduced the T-Chip, which encompasses all transport functionality in a single device. The T-Chip, in development for several years, is being introduced for Ekinops’ flagship product platform, the Ekinops 360, and its line of application modules.

“Carriers want and need technology that enables them to provide services today but also positions them to move rapidly to new generations of services tomorrow, and the T-Chip provides just that,” said Didier Bredy, CEO of Ekinops. “By incorporating the T-Chip into our equipment, we can deliver that equipment more quickly and cost-effectively to our carrier and enterprise customers, assuring them of the ultimate in upgradeability as it becomes necessary.”

The first Ekinops product to be shipped with the T-Chip is a video module that will be introduced at NXTcomm.

Gent, Belgium: GE Power Protection of Gent, Belgium, a division of GE Consumer & Industrial, has switched to DuPont Performance Elastomers (DPE) Kalrez Spectrum 6375 perfluoroelastomer parts.

“We were replacing the original O-rings about every six months because of the incompatibility of the FKM with hot steam. Production had to be stopped for at least two days each time the seals leaked — incurring very high maintenance costs due to the enormous dimensions of the mould. We also had the problem that every unexpected stop affected production planning and delivery schedules,” said Erik Buysse, project leader Toolshop – GE Power Protection.

“Realising that elastomer performance was a critical component in improving seal lifetime, we installed a pilot Kalrez Spectrum6375 O-ring in September 2005, which is still functioning well. As a result, we have had no more standstills to replace O-rings.”

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14 industrial automation asia | August 2008

Industry News

Innovation Matrix Opens Office In Japan

Invensys Process Systems Unveils Software

Kobe, Japan: Innovation Matrix Inc, a distributor and system integrator of automation applications, has opened a new office in Kobe, Japan. The new branch office will allow the company to better serve its customers in Asia, including Japan, by providing local services and a higher level of assurance and comfort in buying US made robotics equipment.

The office will provide faster sales and technical response times to its customers purchasing and implementing automation equipment from the company’s partners.

“Innovation Matrix has been very successful in distributing US products throughout Asia for several years now,” said Eimei Onaga, president of Innovation Matrix. “We wanted to take the next logical step to better serve our automation customers locally and provide a better presence for our US suppliers into the Asia market and believe this new office allows us to do that.”

Texas, USA: Invensys Process Systems (IPS), has released the newest version of SimSciEsscor’s PRO/II software, a steady-state process simulator used to design, analyse and improve chemical processes.

The PRO/II simulation software can now be used on Microsoft Vista Enterprise and Business operating systems, and IPS has provided an updated install procedure and support for Microsoft Office 2007.

“PRO/II 8.2 software shows our dedication to both the hydrocarbon and chemicals processing industries. We have developed features for each industry, as well as introduced features and infrastructure upgrades that will enhance the user experience of all of our customers,” said Joseph McMullen, PES product manager for IPS. The new integration with Microsoft Vista Enterprise and Business operating systems and support for Microsoft Office 2007 means that IPS clients can now integrate simulation and modeling functionality and data more easily with other enterprise applications.

ENQUIRY NO. 5110

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Temperature-resistant solar conveyors to transport glass plates, solar & LCD panels with temperatures of up to 200ºC

August 2008 | industrial automation asia 15

Industry Updates Raising The Bar

ccording to current market figures,in April 2008, the number of installed Profibus nodes in manufacturing and process plants broke the 25 million barrier. Exactly

one year previously, in April 2007, PI (Profibus and Profinet International) had broken the 20 million node barrier.

Thus, the installed base has increased by 25 percent in just a single year.

The current rate of growth is 5 million Profibus nodes per annum.

“With more than 25 million installed devices – probably more than all other rival systems combined – Profibus now dominates all sectors of industrial automation”, enthused Joerg Freitag, PI chairman. “The total value of the Profibus market is estimated at US$50 billion with every indication that this is still a growing market. We fully expect Profibus to exceed 30 million nodes by the beginning of 2009”.

A k e y factor in the market success of Profibus is the quality assurance and certification system of PI. The Profibus certification test

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From handling sheet metal in the automotive industry to handling corrugated boxes in the packaging industry, this new concept in vacuum system design takes the multi-stage ejector pump into a new dimension of maximum efficiency.

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New PI Chairman

The

Latest Innovation in

by independent accredited test laboratories ensures that the tested devices comply with the respective specifications, a fact that reassures users and manufacturers alike and gives them the utmost confidence in their investment decisions.

Customers value not only the comprehensive range of Profibus products, but also the large number of manufacturers, which gives them the freedom to select providers optimally suited to their requirements.

This market success attests to the continuous activities of PI, which is totally committed to promoting the continual growth of the world’s most successful fieldbus system, while at the same time paving the way for a smooth transition to Profinet.

oerg Freitag (chairman of the board of directors of Profibus Nutzerorganisation eV, Germany) was elected PI (Profibus and Profinet International) chairman at the 20th PI meeting held in Tokyo at the end of May 2008.

He will be supported by yearlong PI deputy chairman Mike Bryant (director chairman of Profibus Trade Organisation (PTO), USA), Joerg who had already been reconfirmed in office Freitag. in September 2007 and elected for another three-year term of office.

Joerg Freitag is most notably campaigning for a further expansion of the global PI network, with his main focus of attention being on emerging markets.

“The close network of Profibus and Profinet experts in the RPAs, test labs and competence and training centres guarantees first-class support in the dissemination and application of our technologies,” says the new PI Chairman.

“We will be intensifying our activities in view of lucrative prospects for future business and the considerable level of economic growth on emerging markets.”

ENQUIRY NO. 5113

ENQUIRY NO. 840

Newsdesk CiA members have developed device and application profiles for many application fields, specifying the format of process data, configuration parameter, and diagnostic information.

By Holger Zeltwanger, MD, CiA

Roadmap &New Application Fields

CANOpen-to-CANOpen gateway device Gateway functional elements Remote NMT request

NMT

OD 1

Remote error control

NMT

OD 2

SDO

EMCY

SDO

EMCY

PDO

Error control

PDO

Error control

CANOpen IF 1

CAN port 1

Remote EMCY

CANOpen IF 2

Remote SDO

NMT to

OD 32

SDO

EMCY

PDO

Error control

CANOpen IF 32

CAN port 2

CAN port 32

Internal structure of the CANopen-to-CANopen router/gateway.

A

broad range of application fields makes CANopen attractive for generic tool and software providers.

T h e re i s a c o m p l e t e r a n g e o f development, configuration, and diagnostic tools available from different manufacturers. Also several companies offer CANopen protocol stacks and other off-the-shelf CANopen software.

The EN 50325-4 European CANopen standard is based on the CiA 301 specification version 4.0.2. The recently released version 4.2 of CiA 301 specifies some additional functions. New is the Sync counter in the Sync message and the Sync start value in the PDO communication parameter set. With this new feature, the system designer is able to control the network load also for synchronous PDO (process data object) transmissions.

Other additional application layer functions are specified in the CiA 302 series. In particular, this specification family describes the CANopen manager functionality. The CANopen manager is a CANopen device that comprises 18 industrial automation asia | August 2008

network management (NMT) master and SDO (service data object) or configuration manager functionality.

The next version of the CiA 302 specification is partly released. It will include specifications for system variables, for redundant bus line communication, and for the ‘flying’ NMT master. Part 7 is under development and specifies the CANopen-to-CANopen router/gateway.

Such a router/gateway supports the design of standardised multilevel networks. By means of remote SDOs (service data object) and remote emergencies, a system wide connectivity is provided regarding configuration and diagnostics. In respect to PDO forwarding, no default connectivity is specified meaning that the each gateway has to be programmed individually.

Best Configuration Today, the CANopen devices are described by means of electronic data sheets (EDS) and if configured by means of devices description files

(DCF). These electronic documents are using an ASCII format as specified in CiA 306. They are used to educate software tools and to exchange device information between tools.

In order to improve the design of CANopen devices and systems, CiA members are specifying the XML device description (XDD) and the XML device configuration (XDC). Both formats are described in the CiA 311 specification, which has been released internally, and will be publicly available by mid of next year.

The SDO Manager described in the CiA 302-5 specification is able to establish static or dynamic SDO connections between devices. The Dyn bit (bit 30) was introduced, which is part of the 32-bit COB-ID parameter (communication object identifier) for SDOs. With it, the SDO manager may establish which SDO connections are dynamic and which are static. If either of the two COB-ID entries of an SDO connection has set the Dyn bit, the COB-ID values must not be saved in non-volatile memory, so that in case of a power failure or a reset the dynamic SDO connections will be erased.

Dynamic SDO connections are thus only temporary. Configured as static SDO connections they are still active even after a reset if they were permanently saved before the reset.

In the past, the CANopen physical layer was based just on the ISO 11898-2 CAN high-speed transceiver chip. The bit-timing specification was specified in CiA 301. Recently, several CiA members have finished the CiA 103 CANopen physical layer specification

for intrinsically safe communication. As soon as first practical experiences have been made, this specification will be reviewed and published publicly.

Generic Device Profiles In order to reduce system integration effort, CiA members are developing device and application profiles for CANopen. The generic device profiles are usable for a broad range of applications. Besides the already published profiles for I/O modules (CiA 401), electrical motion controllers (CiA 402), hydraulic valves and drives (CiA 408), encoders (CiA 406), sensors and closed-loop controllers (CiA 404) as well as inclinometers (CiA 410), there are profiles for RFID readers (CiA 445), pumps (CiA 448), and low-voltage switching gear (LVSG) devices (CiA 442) are under development.

The pump profile will be based on the bus-independent VDMA (German association for machine builders)

Regional Network Hitachi Asia Ltd Hitachi Asia (Thailand) Co. Ltd Hitachi Asia (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd

profile. The LVSG profiles will be based on the PNO (Profibus/Profinet user organisation) profiles. The RFID profile specifies the interface to devices that are able to read and to write RFID chips.

Recently, CiA has released the profile for power supply. All other additional generic device profiles will be released in the next one to two years.

Invitation To Machine Builders CiA has already developed specific application profiles for different machinebuilding industries. An example is the series of CiA 420 profiles for extruder downstream devices. Euromap (user organisation of the plastic processing industry) and CiA members have jointly developed this profile family.

Other examples include textile machines (CiA 414), laboratory automation (CiA 434), and road construction machines (CiA 415 and CiA 437). Some industries have developed non-open CANopen profiles, eg up-

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and downstream devices for printing machines.

CiA invites all machine-building industries to develop open dedicated profiles in order to reduce system integration effort. Those application profiles should lead to plug-andplay solutions by restricting the generic CANopen specifications to that what is required for a specific machine-building industry and to add dedicated specifications for process data, configuration parameters, and diagnostic information as well as optionally for an application FSA. CiA has already received some requests to develop up- and downstream profiles from single machine builders for wood processing machines, metalbending machines, glass production machines, and knitting machines. CiA also provides consultancy services for the development of proprietary CANopen profiles.

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August 2008 | industrial automation asia 19

SIF Technology Demonstrated In

Amsterdam

The Safety Instrumented Functions (SIF) field demonstration was intended to promote adoption of Foundation-based safety solutions in the process industries.

President and CEO Rich Timoney discussed the advantages of a Foundation SIF system over a conventional emergency shutdown system.

he Fieldbus Foundation has conducted a field demonstration of its Foundation for Safety Instrumented Functions (SIF) technology. Held on Tuesday, May 20, 2008, at the Shell Global Solutions technology centre in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, the SIF demo attracted process automation end users and equipment suppliers from around the world.

For Safety The SIF field demonstration was intended to promote adoption of Foundation-based safety solutions in the process industries. The project also includes development of SIF best practices and guidelines, as 20 industrial automation asia | August 2008

well as training and interoperability test tools for control system and instrumentation manufacturers and end users.

Fieldbus Foundation president and CEO Rich Timoney stated the difference between a Foundation SIF system and a conventional emergency shutdown system is the same as doing a forensic analysis on a patient after he is dead versus performing proactive diagnosis to address problems before death occurs. Advanced diagnostics ensure that many issues can be addressed proactively before the ESD needs to step in and do its job.

He said: “Foundation SIF provides powerful diagnostic capabilities improving a wide range of safety

instrumented functions and streamlining device testing requirements. This technology offers new opportunities to optimise asset management initiatives and reduce plant operating expenses.”

At the Shell Global Solutions technology laboratory, Foundation SIF demonstration working group members constructed a fieldbusbased safety shutdown system demonstration rig incorporating logic solvers, safety devices, and SIF functions.

The purpose of the live demo was to evaluate Foundation fieldbusenabled safety valves with Partial Stroke Testing (PST) capability, as well as various pressure and temperature devices. The demo also evaluated system integration capabilities with asset management and Basic Process Control System (BPCS) platforms.

Advanced Diagnostics Audun Gjerde of Shell Global Solutions conducted the live SIF demo at the Amsterdam event. Functions demonstrated included high and low level trips, partial stroke testing of valves, and a partial stroke test that was interrupted by the ESD. The last example showed that even in the middle of a partial stroke test the ESD could successfully take over and shut down the system during an abnormal situation.

Two out of three (2oo3) voting was demonstrated using various fieldbus SIF devices. The system also reacted successfully to a loss of temperature probe, as well as a measurement validation alarm and a diagnostic

Audun Gjerde of Shell Global Solutions conducted the live SIF demo at the Amsterdam event.

system with the SIF devices, and to integrate SIF partial stroke testing/ valve stroke testing within a safety system infrastructure.

M r G j e rd e c o m m e n t e d : “ B y implementing Foundation SIF, Shell expects enhanced diagnostics through a fully integrated asset management system. We also anticipate less testing of final elements thanks to smart testing and diagnostics, as well as online testing and partial stroke testing. This will result in early detection of dangerous device failures—and fewer spurious trips.”

alarm generated from a dry probe on Up To Standard a level device.

The Foundation SIF solution meets According to Mr Gjerde, the the rigorous requirements of the demonstration project sought to IEC 61508 standard for functional have a logic solver fully operable safety of electrical, electronic and with all available SIF devices, to programmable electronic safetyintegrate an asset 85x114 management related systems, to, and including, SG-729-CFFireWire 30.04.2008 16:33 Uhr up Seite

Safety Integrity Level (SIL) 3. In addition, end users can build systems per the IEC 61511 standard covering SIF functional safety in the process industries (IEC 61511 is available as the ANSI/ISA-84.00.01-2004 standard).

Completion of the Foundation SIS protocol enables instrumentation suppliers to manufacture fieldbus devices for use in SIFs. Third-party agencies will safety certify these devices, and the Fieldbus Foundation will test and register them for interoperability. End users can apply the requirements specified in the IEC 61511 standard to determine the SIL needed for their particular application, and then select interoperable, safety-certified fieldbus devices from multiple suppliers for use in their safety systems.

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Asia ETG

EtherCAT Top In Packaging

Member Meeting he regional EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG) meeting in Japan was very well attended: more than 100 representatives of the Japanese members followed the invitation by Takeshi Kameda, ETG representative Japan, and informed themselves about the latest technology enhancements and developments.

The agenda also contained the presentation of Japanese EtherCAT applications by Seiko Epson and the robotics research centre Rikagaku Laboratory, who are integrating EtherCAT into their RI-MAN humanoid robot.

Prof Dr Yong-Sun Moon, the chairman of the Korean ETG Regional committee together with Key Yoo (ETG Office South Korea) reported on EtherCAT applications in Korea. Additionally, several local technology providers introduced their EtherCAT implementation services.

EtherCAT succeeds in Japan not only due to its technological advantages, but also due to strategic considerations: the technology is disclosed completely and standardised internationally.

Furthermore, it is used worldwide, and not only in the home markets of the main technology provider. The ETG now has 60 member companies in Japan, and 143 in Asia. Globally, the 800 member mark was just exceeded. ■

he acceptance of Ethernet in packaging machines is growing fast, says a study from Quest TechnoMarketing (Bochum, London). As of 2005 only 21 percent of the manufacturers used Ethernet. The survey shows that 76 percent of the European packaging machine manufacturers plan to use an Ethernet based communication technology by the end of 2008.

Apparently Ethernet first is introduced for connecting machines with the plant IT infrastructure and for communication between controllers, since generic TCP/IP protocols without real time capabilities still have the largest share (34 percent). However, according to the survey already 31 percent of the manufacturers focus on Ethernet based real-time networks. Within this group EtherCAT was mentioned most often. ■ ENQUIRY NO. 5117

ENQUIRY NO. 5116

22 industrial automation asia | August April 2008 2008

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Artificial Intelligence:

Not Just

Science Fiction Automation and manufacturing processes have taken advantage of AI technology to improve productivity as the industry becomes increasingly competitive. By Augustine Quek

n 1997, world chess champion Garry Kasparov was defeated by IBM’s Deep Blue supercomputer.

For the first time in history, a man was beaten by a computer in a game of wits.

It was not a sign of defeat, but a triumph of the human intellect, to create a machine capable of understanding complex rules, and mark a milestone in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).

Artificial intelligence can be defined as ‘the study and design of systems that perceive its environment and takes actions which maximises its chances of success.’ Not surprisingly, automation and manufacturing processes have taken advantage of AI technology to 24 industrial automation asia | August 2008

improve productivity as the industry becomes increasingly competitive.

The Beginning Early work in AI focused on using cognitive and biological models to simulate and explain human information processing skills, on ‘logical’ systems that perform commonsense and expert reasoning, and on robots that perceive and interact with their environment.

In the early 1980’s, commercial success of expert systems (a form of AI programme that simulated the knowledge and analytical skills of one or more human experts) had led

Japan and Europe to dramatically increased their funding of AI research.

By 1985, the market for AI had reached more than a billion dollars. However, in some cases, early success led to inflated claims, over expectations and excessive enthusiasm.

While the technology produced many highly effective systems, it proved very difficult to identify and encode the necessar y expertise.

The field did not grow as rapidly as investors had been led to expect, and this translated into some temporary disillusionment.

By the 90s and early 21st century, artificial intelligence was successfully adopted throughout the technology industry, especially in logistics, data mining, medical diagnosis, product design and manufacturing.

The success was due to several factors: the incredible power of computers, a greater emphasis on solving specific subproblems, the creation of new ties between AI and other fields working on similar problems, and above all a new

Industrial Applications AI has found many industrial applications. The most common are found in automation and process improvement, namely, robotics, production scheduling, quality control and data mining.

Types Of AI Today developers can build systems that meet the advanced information processing needs of industry by choosing from a broad palette of mature technologies. Sophisticated methods for reasoning about uncertainty and for coping with incomplete knowledge have led to more robust diagnostic and planning systems.

Of the numerous types currently in use, at least three categories of AI are industrially relevant: neural networks, expert systems, and genetic algorithms.

Neural Network technology is based loosely upon the cellular structure of the human brain. Cells, or storage locations, and connections between the locations are established in the computer. The system uses an algorithm to ‘learn’ from experience, where connections are strengthened or weakened based upon their ability to yield ‘productive’ results. Neural nets are an inductive reasoning method and are commonly used in industry today.

Expert Systems are usually contains rules, developed by an expert after perhaps a decade or more of practice in a specialty area. A specialist, known as a knowledge engineer, extracts the rules from the expert and programmes them into a computer. Expert Systems are established for processes where there is a need for a narrow area of expertise to be more widely known or to allow sophisticated processes to be run without human intervention.

Genetic algorithms utilise fitness functions, which are relationships among criteria, to grade candidates.

They also use evolutionary methods such as crossover and mutation on chromosomes, or strands of information, to find the best examples from a very large field of possibilities.

Genetic algorithms use a method known as abductive reasoning, which boils down to sophisticated trial and error.

Yaroslav B, Russia

commitment by researchers to solid mathematical methods and rigorous scientific standards.

By the 90s and early 21st century, artificial intelligence was successfully adopted throughout the technology industry.

• Robotics Robots have improved by leaps and bounds in recent years, thanks to AI, including machine vision, force sensing (touch), and advanced servo motion, such as power assistance, motion guidance, and line tracking.

Robots have become common in many industries, especially in automotive and assembly lines, where jobs are repetitive or even dangerous.

Optimisation can also be done offline, in the case of robot welding.

VirtualArc is a software tool for robot operators, programmers and production/welding engineers from ABB that can predict a wide range of results including weld shape and penetration; weld quality; and possible welding defects.

Weld profile and quality predictions are obtained using Bayesian Neural Network tools. Predictions from arc simulations, and heat and mass transfer to the workpiece, are used as input to the neural network to predict weld quality, weld profile and weld defects.

By adding vision systems, namely pattern recognition, robots can adapt

to some variability in part placement.

The location of objects need not be explicitly programmed into the robots, nor must the tolerances in the parts carriers be so tight. Instead, the robot need only detect where the object is, and then it can figure out the rest, automatically re-orienting itself as required to pick up that object.

A specific example is Labman Automation’s 12m 3 gantry robot, which is controlled by a bee’s brain and a camera on the robot arm.

Currently, the brain is a large neural network programme simulating the vision and reaction components of a bee’s brain. The commands from the bee brain are interpreted by Labman software so as to move the camera on the robot arm.

The gantry robot is built so it can track the path of an ant with a camera over a modelled terrain. Before any neural network is allowed to command the robot it is tested using a simulation of the vision expected from the given commands. 3D graphical models determine what the camera should actually be seeing.

• Scheduling Artificial Intelligence (AI) software for production scheduling optimises schedules based on multiple requirements, or constraints. Artificial intelligence software for scheduling can use genetic scheduling algorithms or expert systems, which translate scheduling goals into ordered tasks based on their importance.

Tuppas Artificial Intelligence for scheduling is designed to optimise manufacturing schedules based on the respective manufacturer’s requirements. The software recognises various levels of priority based on numerical associations.

For example, if product or project due date is more important than machine efficiency, the system would be programmed to give higher priority to the due date but still optimise for machine efficiency. Another example of Tuppas AI software’s capability would be when unplanned jobs need to be added to the schedule or an existing job changes priority, the August 2008 | industrial automation asia 25

issues & insights

• Quality Control Online neural-network models can predict, control, and optimise complex, non-linear processes. These models help optimise the output signals to control production processes, thereby improving production efficiency and product quality.

Real-time applications for neural26 industrial automation asia | August 2008

Carlos Paes, Lisbon, Portugal

system would immediately reorganise the entire schedule to include the new information while meeting your requirements and priorities.

Some automotive companies are using expert systems for work process management (such as work order routing and production sequencing). Nissan and Toyota, for example, are modeling material flow throughout the production floor that a manufacturing execution system applies heuristics (rules) to in sequencing and coordinating manufacturing operations.

Many automotive plants use rulesbased technologies to optimise the flow of parts through a paint cell based on colors and sequencing, thus minimising spray-paint changeovers.

ProSched, from Ingenious Inc, is an advanced planning and scheduling (APS) software that uses genetic algorithms to generate optimised schedules. ProSched optimisation is based on user-defined objectives and uses a rules-based, Darwinian approach to generate schedules.

Users specify the required outcome, like minimise cost, maximise on-time delivery or, minimise the makespan (deliver orders as soon as possible).

T h e s o f t w a re a u t o m a t i c a l l y determines the schedule that best meets the objective, based on current orders, plant model and current process constraints. It is web enabled and the entire application can be run from the company internet/intranet server allowing multiple groups to access the same information. This will provide global scheduling facilities to multiple plants. Furthermore, it has the flexibility of interacting with any data historian, accounting or plant management system via its OPC/ODBC compliant interface.

As computers become ever cheaper, smaller, and more powerful, AI components will increasingly be used in industrial operations.

network models include soft-sensing for predicting product quality, modebased sensor validation, set-point optimisation and diagnosis, inventory management, inspection data filtering, quality control alarming, and detecting fault-level fluctuations.

One area in manufacturing that neural networks have been used is in detector systems, especially optical and vision systems. One example is the multispectral infra-red (MSIR) FL4000 flame detector from General Monitors.

The detector incorporates neural network technology as an adaptive and intuitive decision-making mechanism with optimisation capability. The optical MSIR sensor array allows the detector to sample different IR spectral areas to detect a flame. Each sensor’s analogue signal is sampled and then converted into digital format for initial signal preprocessing to extract time and frequency information. The time and frequency information are used by the FL4000’s proprietary neural network classification algorithm to differentiate input IR signals between a flame or nonflame source. The flame or nonflame decision is then reported as an output via LEDs, relays and Modbus.

Another example is in automated

checking systems, like the NeuroCheck software from Industrial Vision Systems. It uses neural network classification in the detection of the part features, and enhances the solution with cognitive intelligence.

Unlike template matching, the neural network has the ability to automatically train itself against the presented images, but does not use specific differences for individual samples, thus offering an advantage where surface quality is poor and changing. This information is enough to develop a system with the necessary intelligence to guarantee reliable recognition.

• Motion Control The concept of genetic algorithms has also been repackaged and quietly embedded into servo drive systems.

Also called ‘model reference control’ or ‘self-identifying systems’, these servos can adjust automatically to deviations and can self-optimise to move within a preset tolerance.

These deviations may show up in the different weights being carried, the variations in materials being machined, and even in cutting paths.

Of all the genetic algorithms, fuzzy logic modules are the most common form embedded in many PLCs and

controllers. Fuzzy logic lets machine controllers make decisions based on different variations of ‘on’ and ‘off’ rather than strictly either logic 1s and 0s as in the past.

Modern digital propor tional valves, which utilise piezo technology and fuzzy logic are a good example.

Electropneumatic propor tional valves, such as the self-optimising Sentronic D from Asco Joucomatic, use continuous transitions and automatically define optimal control parameters.

The basis of this operation is ten setpoint steps: the proportional valve electronics evaluate the feedback and control parameters are improved with fuzzy logic after each step. The optimised parameters are saved to memory after the ten steps and are subsequently operated on by the proportional valve.

Complementing both the standard PID and fuzzy logic operation of the Sentronic is a package of data

acquisition software. The data acquisition package also enables optimal system parameters, once they are determined, to be stored in a project file for use in fault detection, routine maintenance or future serial production.

Such decision making gives controllers the ability to quickly compensate for production disturbances or to minimise overshoots during recovery procedures, or both. However, fuzzy logic can also make the controller more sensitive to error and process oscillations, decreasing the response time for the control process to reach a set value.

Adaptive algorithms show up in other areas of machine tools (and robots). For example, temperature sensors on bearings and ball screws can adjust the tool as heat makes the tool spindle expand. Such adjustments improve positional accuracy and, thus, cutting accuracy.

The Future Even as AI technology becomes integrated into the fabric of everyday life, AI researchers are developing new technologies. This includes streamlined methods for eliciting expert knowledge, automatic methods for learning and refining knowledge, and common sense knowledge to cover the gaps in expert information.

Work is also progressing on developing systems that converse in natural language, that perceives and responds to their surroundings, and that encodes and provides useful access to all of human knowledge and expertise.

As computers become ever cheaper, smaller, and more powerful, AI components will increasingly be used in industrial operations. Thus, it is no longer a question of whether AI technologies will have an impact on manufacturing but one of better understanding and exploiting the broad potential of AI. ENQUIRY NO. 5201

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August 2008 | industrial automation asia 27

FEAR WIRELESS S Smart Wireless goes places so your

You now have the means to make your safety practices even safer. Emerson Smart Wireless lets measurement points in hazardous areas, so personnel are kept out of harm’s way while critical And when workers are on the move, Smart Wireless helps you wirelessly monitor their whereabouts industrial Wi-Fi technologies. From the plant-at-large to the worker himself, Emerson Smart Discover your plant’s limitless potential at EmersonSmartWireless.com The Emerson logo is a trademark and a service mark of Emerson Electric Co. © 2008 Emerson Electric Co. HART® is a registered trademark of the HART Communication Foundation

AFETY. people don’t have to.

you cost-effectively add automated monitoring and assets are still continuously monitored and protected. and maintain continuous communication through open, Wireless looks out for what’s important to you.

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I

Point-Of-Operation Guarding Machine design has evolved to a level at which safety risks are found only at certain points of a machine rather than on the whole machine. A variety of guard-monitoring point-ofoperation devices now help protect workers at specific points of operation, including: • Trapped key interlock switches help protect workers and equipment by ensuring that a series of operations are performed in the proper sequence. Standard interlock switches monitor gate status, detecting the opening of a guard when an operator accesses the hazardous area and when he is shutting down the machinery. The switch also helps ensure that the machine does not restart until it is safe.

• Light curtains provide easier access to a machine by detecting hands, arms and even fingers crossing its beams, and shut down the machine in response. Light curtains are a more ergonomically sound solution than mechanical guards because they do not require the operator to repeatedly open and close the guard.

• Interlocks are one of the lowestcost point-of-operation solutions, and they effectively help to protect users. An operator must pass through a physical barrier such as a gate or door. This solution also 30 industrial automation asia | August 2008

Make Sense Of

Machine Guarding Options Knowing how to evaluate available safety technologies will help you choose the most cost-effective solution for your application.

By Richard Galera, marketing manager, Safety Components, Rockwell Automation

provides more tangible protection against flying debris.

• Trip devices are designed to respond to a non-voluntary demand on a system, such as something that gets pulled into a machine.

They are used in areas where people would trip a device such as a lifeline or a guard edge. These systems provide a continuous line of touch-sensing along the edge of a surface and are designed to send a stop or reverse-motion signal to the machine-control system when pressure is applied anywhere along its profile.

Perimeter & Area Access In some cases, operators are safer when perimeters around a machine are

protected. Another class of guarding for perimeter access to helps protect workers against injury, and numerous solutions provide safe perimeter access: • For protection in a moderate-sized area, safety mats often are the most ideal and economical solution.

Most safety mats are constructed to meet IP67 requirements, resisting liquids such as acids, salts, and other caustic materials commonly found in industrial environments such as cutting oils or other cleaning chemicals.

• Laser scanners are preferable in areas too large or too complex for economical use of a series of safety mats. A laser scanner sweeps an infrared laser beam through a 190-

© Corbis. All Rights Reserved.

nvesting in appropriate safety measures – both in a machine’s design and in personal protection for workers – reduces downtime, improves production and boosts employee morale. Many companies add machine-guarding equipment to their existing equipment designs because this approach does not require major upgrades to previously installed machinery.

With so many machine-guarding options, you might want some direction in choosing the best technology.

Implementing effective safety systems requires an established evaluation process and an understanding of the available options.

Emergency Stop Devices E-stop devices are not considered to be guarding because they require a deliberate action to be operated, but they are still an important machine safety component. The most common emergency-stop device types are cable pull switches and e-stop push buttons.

When guarding across a distance, some companies install emergency cable pulls that can run the length of a conveyor. Regardless of where the

cable is pulled along the conveyor, the machine’s power is isolated as soon as the cable loses tension.

The Importance Of Relays Relays monitor devices to tell the machine when a door is open or an operator has crossed a light curtain’s beam. Relays also can detect failures in the safety system, and help halt an operation until the faults are cleared.

Relays are effective monitoring devices, but a safety application often requires a level of programming or more sophisticated safety logic that is best met through a safety programmable logic controller (PLC).

Safety PLCs offer the necessary logic through software rather than hard-wired logic or relays, providing benefits in multi-step shutdown or ramp-down sequences such as transfer line applications. Any application that requires advanced logic such as zone control – the ability to shut down part

of an application while other parts continue to operate – is best solved with a safety PLC. Safety PLCs have programming capabilities that allow for easy expansion via a safety network or additional I/O cards, making them more cost-effective for safety systems that will expand or require future modification. Programme changes can be done while the system is running, and take much less time to complete when compared to hard-wiring relay changes.

Nearly ever y application has a m a c h i n e g u a rd i n g s o l u t i o n .

Performing a risk assessment first helps chart the course for an effective guarding system that helps protect your company’s investment in both personnel and machinery. Determining how frequently a machine or area must be accessed further refines the list of possible solutions.

ENQUIRY NO. 5301

ENQUIRY NO. 837

or 300-degree angle, detecting the presence of people or objects in a protected area.

• Safety interlock switches are the most economical solution when less frequent access is required, such as maintenance access hatches. These switches detect a point or perimeter breach and initiate machine shutdown when a guard door is opened or a protective gate is lifted out of place.

August 2008 | industrial automation asia 31

software & Networks Rodolfo Clix, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Transition Strategies:

IPv4

To IPv6 hile deployments of IPv6 networks have increased over recent years, especially in Asia and Europe, interest in IPv6 in North America has been lacklustre.

Focus has intensified recently, however, especially among large service providers and government organisations.

I P v 6 p ro v i d e s a n u m b e r o f advanced features, though many of these have been retrofitted to IPv4.

Nonetheless, the massive increase 32  industrial automation asia | August 2008

Considering a migration from IPv4 to IPv6 should include addressing the current environment, end users and the controlled steps to IPv6 deployment.

By Timothy Rooney, director of product management, BT Diamond IP

in address space is indisputably unique to IPv6 and represents the crowning objective for IP-addresshungry organisations.

The Challenges Unfortunately, this increase in address space comes at the cost of different address formats and notations, which affect not only network layer routing, but also applications that display IP addresses.

Organisations with existing IPv4

networks seeking to implement IPv6 face challenges in identifying impacts, planning the transition and executing the migration to IPv6.

Given the common organisational reliance on external communications for partner links, home-based employees and Internet access for email, web browsing, etc, an overall plan should be compiled addressing the current environment, end users and the controlled steps to IPv6 deployment.

When we discuss migration, we’re referring to an initial state of an IPv4-only network to which IPv6 nodes and networks are added or overlaid over time, resulting in an IPv6-only network, or more l i k e l y, a p r e d o m i n a n t l y I P v 6 network with continued IPv4 support.

Migration Technologies A variety of technologies are available to facilitate the migration to IPv6.

These technologies include the following basic categories: • Dual stack – support of both IPv4 and IPv6 on network devices.

• Tunneling – encapsulation of an IPv6 packet within an IPv4 packet for transmission over an IPv4 network.

• Translation – address or port translation of addresses such as via a gateway device or translation code in the TCP/IP code of the host or router.

Implementation of the selected migration strategy(ies) will require effective coordination of the following: • IPv4 and IPv6 network and subnet allocations, existing and planned.

• Address assignment strategies for IPv4 and IPv6: static, autoconfiguration, DHCP for IPv4 and IPv6.

An increase in address space comes at the cost • D N S r e s o u r c e of different address formats and notations, which record configuration affect not only network layer routing, but also c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o applications that display IP addresses. appropriate name resolution to address(es) for Dual-Stack Approach desired tunneling or translation.

The dual-stack approach consists • Compatible client/host and router of implementing both IPv4 support of selected migration and IPv6 protocol stacks on devices technologies, including translation requiring access to both networkand/or tunneling and application layer technologies, including routers, considerations. other infrastructure devices and • D e p l o y m e n t o f t r a n s l a t i o n end-user devices. gateway(s) as appropriate.

Such devices would be configured

Encoders, actuators and positioning systems

Inductive sensors Precision switches My-com

Photoelectric sensors Ultrasonic sensors

Baumer (Singapore) Pte Ltd. Blk 21, Kallang Avenue #03-173 Kallang Basin Industrial Estate Singapore 339412 Phone: +65 6396 4131 Fax +65 6393 5091 Email: sales.sg@baumergroup.com Website: www.baumergroup.com

ENQUIRY NO. 633 614

Capacitive sensors

August 2008 | industrial automation asia 33

software & Networks are generally categorised a s c o n f i g u re d or automatic.

Configured tunnels are predefined, w h e r e a s automatic tunnels are created and torn down ‘on the fly.’

In general, An example of an IP address management solution. tunneling of IPv6 packets through with both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, an IPv4 network entails prefixing and they may obtain these addresses each IPv6 packet with an IPv4 header via methods defined for the (Figure 3). This enables the tunneled respective protocols as enabled packet to be routed over an IPv4 by administrators. For example, an routing infrastructure.

IPv4 address may be obtained via The entry node of the tunnel, DHCPv4, while the IPv6 address may whether a router or host, performs be autoconfigured. the encapsulation. The source Implementations may vary with IPv4 address in the IPv4 header is dual-stack approaches with respect to populated with that node’s IPv4 the scope of the stack that is shared address and the destination address versus what is unique to each IP is that of the tunnel endpoint. version. Ideally, only the network layer The protocol field of the IPv4 would be dualised, using a common header is set to 41 (decimal) indicating application, transport and data link an encapsulated IPv6 packet. The exit layer. node or tunnel endpoint performs This is the approach being decapsulation to strip off the IPv4 implemented in Microsoft Vista, the header and route the packet as latest Microsoft desktop operating appropriate to the ultimate destination system. This contrasts with the via IPv6.

M i c ro s o f t X P i m p l e m e n t a t i o n , which utilised dual transport and Automatic Advantage network layers, requiring, in some As mentioned previously, tunnels cases, redundant configuration by are either configured or automatic. administrators of each stack.

Configured tunnels are predefined Other approaches may span the by administrators in advance of entire stack down to the physical layer, communications, much as static requiring a separate network interface routes would be preconfigured. for IPv6 vs IPv4. This approach, while contrary to the benefits of a layered protocol model, may be intentional and even desirable, especially in the IPv6 Header case of network servers with multiple applications or services, some of which support only one version or the other.

Tunneling Approaches A variety of tunneling technologies has been developed to support IPv4 over IPv6 as well as IPv6 over IPv4 tunneling. These technologies 34 industrial automation asia | August 2008

IPv4 Header

IPv6 Header

Figure 1: IPv4 Over IPv6 Tunneling.

Configuration of the respective tunnel endpoints is required to configure the device for when to tunnel IPv6 packets, ie, based on destination, along with other tunnel configuration parameters that may be required by the tunnel implementation, such as maximum packet size (sometimes called MTU or maximum transmission unit).

An automatic tunnel does not require pre-configuration. Tunnels are created based on information contained in the IPv6 packet, such as the source or destination I P a d d re s s . T h e f o l l o w i n g a re examples of automatic tunneling techniques: • 6to4 – automatic router-to-router tunneling based on a particular global address prefix and embedded IPv4 address.

• ISATAP – automatic host-to-router, router-to-host or host-to-host tunneling based on a particular IPv6 address format with inclusion of an embedded IPv4 address.

• 6over4 – automatic host-to-host tunneling using IPv4 multicasting.

• Tunnel Brokers – automatic tunnel setup by a server acting as a tunnel broker in assigning tunnel gateway resources on behalf of hosts requiring tunneling.

• Teredo – automatic tunneling through NAT firewalls over IPv4 networks.

• Dual-Stack Transition Mechanism – enables automatic tunneling of IPv4 packets over IPv6 networks.

TCP/UDP

Data

TCP/UDP

Data

Translation Approaches Translation techniques perform IPv4-to-IPv6 translation (and vice versa) at a particular layer of the protocol stack, typically the network, transport or application layer. Unlike tunneling, which does not alter the tunneled data packet, translation mechanisms do modify or translate IP packets commutatively between IPv4 and IPv6.

Translation approaches are g e n e r a l l y re c o m m e n d e d i n a n environment with IPv6-only nodes communicating with IPv4-only nodes. In dual-stack environments, native or tunneling mechanisms are preferable.

Application Migration The de facto application programme interface (API) for TCP/IP applications is the sockets interface originally implemented on BSD UNIX (on which BIND was also originally implemented).

The sockets interface defines programme calls to enable applications to interface with TCP/IP layers to communicate over IP networks.

M i c ro s o f t ’s Wi n s o c k A P I i s also based on the sockets interface. Both sockets interfaces have been modified to support IPv6’s longer address size and additional features.

In fact, most major operating system providers have implemented support for sockets or Winsock including Microsoft (XP SP1, Server 2003, Server 2008), Solaris (8+), Linux (kernel 2.4+), Mac OS (X.10.2), AIX (4.3+) and HP-UX (11i with upgrade).

The updated sockets interface supports both IPv4 and IPv6 and provides the ability for IPv6 applications to interoperate with IPv4 applications by use of IPv4mapped IPv6 addresses.

technology options when considering a migration from IPv4 to IPv6.

Having many options is good, but can be confusing.

Selecting the right path will depend on your current environment in terms of end-user devices and operating systems, router models and versions, as well as key applications, b u d g e t a n d re s o u rc e s , n o t t o mention schedule constraints.

ENQUIRY NO. 5302 About the company…

BT Diamond IP is a leading provider of software and appliance products that help customers manage complex IP networks. The company’s next-generation IP management solutions help businesses more efficiently manage IP address space across mid-to-very large sized enterprise and service provider networks.

Their cable firmware management solution

helps broadband cable operators automate and simplify the process of upgrading and

Migration Decisions There is certainly no shortage of

maintaining firmware on deployed DOCSIS devices.

• •

email: sales.sg@ifm.com • website: www.ifm.com

ENQUIRY NO. 788

•

August 2008 | industrial automation asia 35

issues & insights

SICK – Sensor Intelligence

S

ICK AG’s activities focus on producing increasingly intelligent sensors and sensor solutions for factory and process automation. The company was founded in 1946 and has since developed into an independent group active worldwide, with about 4,700 employees and sales amounting to more than EUR 707.5 million in 2007.

Continuous innovation, its technological lead and tight cost control ensure SICK’s leading position in numerous world and application markets, including metal processing, among others.

The factory automation segment includes the products of the Industrial Sensors, Industrial Safety Systems, and Auto Ident Divisions. The control of production processes, and quality assurance, are the most important tasks of non-contact sensors, encoders and path measurement systems for automation. Products, complete systems and software solutions from the Industrial Safety Systems Division – key word safetyPlus – ensure effective accident prevention and employee protection in order to reliably preclude risks to employees from hazardous machines, e.g. presses and bending machines.

In the logistics automation segment, SICK offers solutions for the automatic identification of bar codes and 2D codes, as well as for the identification of objects in logistical systems through the use of RFID systems. This application segment also includes the detection of height, shape and 36 industrial automation asia | August 2008

volume with laser measurement systems, that can be calibrated if necessary.

Process automation is SICK AG’s third segment. Components and complete system solutions for gas analyses, dust measurement, throughflow measurement, water and liquid analyses, and filling level measurement are offered under the SICK-MAIHAK brand name.

Factory automation: innovation in all sectors Many sensors for automation technology have developed into autonomous decision-making devices by exploiting a variety of forms of control, communication and sensor intelligence. This is best exemplified by the IO Link serial interface, initiated

by SICK. It permits the integration of a variety of photoelectric switches,

photoelectric proximity switches, light curtains and non-optical sensors within the common industrial fieldbus environments. The bidirectional communication that can be achieved between the sensor and an I/O component opens up completely new automation opportunities. Apart from the above-mentioned sensor systems, colour sensors, contrast scanners, inductive and magnetic proximity sensors, ultrasonic sensors and intelligent 2D and 3D camera sensors undergo continuous technical innovation of the sensors themselves and of production techniques.

advertorial In safety technology, safety photoelectric switches, light curtains, laser scanners and interlocks monitor access to machines with hazardous movements. With the V4000 Press Brake safety camera system for press brakes – the first electrosensitive protective equipment based on an image-processing system – SICK has again proven its innovative and technological leadership. On the communication side, intelligent interface components offer the oppor tunity to integrate safety sensors in relay, PLC and safetyoriented fieldbus environments.

Laser measurement systems can determine the positions, sizes, contours and volumes of objects such as packages, containers or cars. The accuracy of SICK systems is so great that certified calibrated complete solutions, that provide volume data in real time via the integrated Ethernet interface, are also available.

Whether optical reading systems, RFID or laser measurement – SICK is an important driver of innovation in all areas of logistics automation.

SICK – Sensor Intelligence.

SICK China – sensors for the fourthlargest economic power Technology and quality are becoming more and more important.

Worldwide, customers demand maximum reliability and, above

all, easy handling of technical products. German machine and plant constructors have already been striving for this in recent decades; but now ambitious, strongly growing economic regions such as China, India, the Arab nations and Russia have also recognised that only reliably functioning products can ultimately ensure long-term success.

This is just one of the reasons why German machine constructors enjoy booming exports to these regions.

SICK had already anticipated this enormous economic surge over ten years ago – when it founded its SICK

Hong Kong subsidiary – and sales offices have since been opened in the main economic centres of the People’s Republic of China, e.g. in Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai.

Moreover, SICK Optic-Electronic Co. Ltd. was founded in Guangzhou in 1993. With over 60 employees – mainly Chinese – SICK is ideally equipped for successfully opening up one of the largest future markets for industrial sensors for factory, logistics and process automation.

SICK – Sensor Intelligence.

August 2008 | industrial automation asia 37

ENQUIRY NO. 830

Logistics automation: system solutions for production, warehouse and distribution logistics Powerful solutions for logistics automation focus on the automated identification of objects. Current technology trends are covered by both image-processing reading devices for bar codes and 2D codes as well as RFID systems designed for industrial use. Industry-oriented connection modules and software ensure technical information-oriented integration of the systems in the control environment.

instrumentation & Measurement

IR Temperature Sensors

&

Operation Selection

T

here are many ways to measure temperature in a process. Sensors such as thermocouples, RTD’s and infrared (IR) thermometers are the most common temperature sensors utilised today. A non-contact IR thermometer has the advantage of being able to measure the product temperature while it is moving or if the product is in an oven the instrument measures the product not the environment.

However, to obtain accurate temperatures with an IR thermometer requires the consideration of the following factors: aiming and focusing, optical obstructions, interface with other instruments and maintenance. In addition the selection of the right instrument is very critical.

38 industrial automation asia | August 2008

IR thermometers are reliable instruments for measuring temperature. Care is to be taken in the installation, maintenance and selection of the right instrument.

By Vern Lappe, VP, customer and technical services, Ircon Inc

How Does It Work?

I R t h e rmometers can measure temperatures as low as –50°F (–50°C) to as high as 6500°F (3500°C). Not one instrument can cover this entire range. It takes many different series to be able to cover this entire range of temperatures.

Every object in the world emits IR energy. As the target gets hotter the more energy is emitted and detected by the IR thermometer.

The thermometer uses two basic kinds of detectors to determine the temperature. The first and probably the most common are called a thermopile. This detector is actually a small chip about 0.25 inches sq in size and on it are deposited about 50 tiny thermocouples.

This detector looks out at the target

and is actually heated by the target.

Does this mean when it is looking at a target at 1000°F (500°C) it gets up to that temperature, no it may change temperature 1 or 2 degrees but the thermocouples put out a strong signal that can be measured and converted into the temperature of the target.

This kind of detector is slow, 150 ms and requires large spot sizes usually at least 0.5 to 1 inch in size.

But they are very common in portable thermometers and the low priced online sensors.

The alternate type of detector is called a quantum detector. IR energy travels in little bundles of energy called photons. When the photons strike a quantum detector an electrical signal is created. As an example a

LINEARIZER

AMP. DEMODULATOR

Fig 1: Sensing head internals.

the lens not only collects the IR energy, but it also collects the visible light from the hot target.

Both the visible and IR energy go through the lens and encounters a special mirror. This mirror has a special coating, which reflects the IR energy down to the detector and allows the visible energy to pass on

through the mirror to your eye.

The visible energy is really focused at a point in the sensing head where a piece of glass is located. On this glass there is an etched small black circle. This circle is called a ‘reticle’, and its diameter is basically the same diameter as the detector. The sensing head eyepiece is focused on

ENQUIRY NO. 843

very common detector is the silicon detector, which is identical to the solar cell in your calculator. The photons strike the detector and a current is generated. The hotter the object the greater the output current is generated.

Other materials used for quantum detectors are IndiumGallium Arsenide; Lead sulfide, Germanium as well as many others. These detectors have several advantages; they are fast, 10 ms, they can see small targets, as small as 0.025 inches, and they are rugged. They are however much more expensive then the thermal detector thus the IR thermometer will be much more expensive.

Fig 1 is a graphic display of the inner workings of an IR thermometer.

First we have a lens system. Some lens is focusable and some are fixed focus.

We will discuss for now an instrument that has through the lens focusable optics. With a focusable instrument,

August 2008 | industrial automation asia  39

instrumentation & Measurement

40 industrial automation asia | August 2008

As you might suspect, the chopping frequency is critical. We must demodulate at the correct frequency so that the proper signal is being converted to the high level DC output.

There are two ways to do this.

First, and most difficult is to accurately control the chopping frequency of the chopper and only demodulate that frequency. The second and most reliable method is done by what is called a sync lamp and sync detector, which generates a sync signal.

The sync lamp is placed under the shopper and on top is the sync detector, which sees the lamp at the same frequency as the IR detector sees the incoming IR energy. The sync detector produces a trigger or sync signal that allows on the actual temperature signal to be demodulated. This system provides for a very stable and drift free temperature measurement.

After the signals are process, they are still non linear with temperature.

Sometimes they are linearised in the sensing head for stand-alone sensors or they are sent via a cable to an indicator where they are linearised.

The final temperature is then presented on digital meters, linear analogue outputs or digital outputs.

Installing An IR Thermometer • Aiming One of the questions most often asked during installation is: “Does the thermometer have to be aimed perpendicular to the surface?” The answer is no.

1.0

Spectral Emissivity at 5 Microns

this reticle as well, so the when you look through the eyepiece and focus the lens on the hot target, the reticle appears to be on the target.

When the lens is in focus on the target, the IR detector is receiving IR energy from everything appearing inside of the reticle. In order for the instrument to read the correct t e m p e r a t u r e t h e t a rg e t m u s t completely fill the reticle.

In fact, ideally the target should be at least 20 percent larger then the reticle, if at all possible. Failure to fill the reticle with the hot target means that objects other that the target will fill the detector and will cause an error in the reading.

The IR energy from the hot target is reflected off the mirror down to the detector. As the IR energy travels toward the detector, it encounters a spectral filter with specific coatings.

These coatings are designed to allow only specific wavelengths to transmit through the filter and all other wavelengths are reflected away.

This is how an IR thermometer ‘sees’ only specific wavelengths which will become important later on.

As the IR energy strikes the detector, a reaction occurs that results in an electrical signal output from the detector. The output from the detector is normally a DC signal, and is at an extremely low level.

Outputs of picoamps are quite common. Since the signal has to be amplified and linearised before a temperature can be presented, we need to change this low level DC signal to a high level AC signal, amplify it, and then synchronously demodulate it back to DC. Thus, directly over the detector is a package you may see as a rotating flat blade or maybe a vibrating blade. This device is called the ‘chopper’.

This chopper blade is placed in the optical path of the incoming IR energy.

As the blade rotates or vibrates it chops the incoming signal. The detector output is now an AC signal.

This AC signal can now be amplified and then synchronously demodulated back to a DC signal.

.90

.80

0

20

40

60

80

Angle of Viewing

Fig 2: Viewing angle for smooth targets.

Fig 2 shows that for measurements of smooth surfaces like plastic, glass and paper the instrument can be aimed from a 45° to 90° angle. If you exceed the 45° angle the surface becomes reflective which in turn lowers the emissivity and gives the appearance of a lower temperature than it really is.

For rough surfaces like steel, textiles and food the instrument can be aimed as low as 15° from the horizontal and the temperature indication will be accurate. (Fig 3) Not The Best

15

15 Yes

No

Fig 3: Measuring rough targets.

If is often advisable in a steel mill not to look straight up or down at the target because of the debris that can fall into the lens or the heat and steam that will overheat the sensor. By placing the sensor off to the side and looking at an angle the sensor will survive the environment very easily.

• Focusing All IR thermometers measure temperature within a certain area.

To define the target size requires a simple calculation or obtaining the information from the manual.

Fig 4 shows an IR thermometer that has focusable lens. To determine the target measured the formula is d= D/F where d is the spot size, D is the distance from the sensor to the target and F is the focal factor of the instrument.

The focal factor for any instrument

then the sensor has to be placed closer or work with an instrument that has a higher resolution factor.

FOCAL POINT

D

d = Diameter of cone (Spot Size) at Focal Point

• Obstructions Fig 5 shows that the line of sight, often called the ‘cone of vision’, between the sensor and the hot target should be a clear unobstructed line of sight.

However, there are many possible obstructions that can cause problems:

D = Distance from flange to Focal Point

CONE OF VISION

d d = Where

D F

–

F = Resolution Factor of Sensor

Fig 4: Optical resolution, focusable instruments.

is included in the manual and usually varies from a low number of 20 for low temperatures like 0–500°F (0–250°C), to a high of 300 for high temperatures, such

as 1500°F (800°C) and higher.

As an example if the focal factor is 50 and the instrument is 100” away then d = 100/50 = 2.0”.

If the target is smaller than 2.0”

1. Solid obstructions such as pipes, and steel structure can be in the cone of vision. The ideal solution is to remove the obstruction but often this is not a choice. The solution could be look at the target at an angle, or maybe use an instrument that has a fibre optic that goes around the obstruction.

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Instrumentation for: ■ Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) ■ Remote Visual Inspection (RVI)

Ashtead Technology (SEA) Pte Ltd

Tel : +65 65459350 Fax : +65 65459357

Why own

when you can’t handle it? maintenance costs… calibration costs… latest technology...

Email : rentalssea@ashtead-technology.com Website : www.ashtead-technology.com

ENQUIRY NO. 832

■ Non-Destructive Testing (NDT)

August 2008 | industrial automation asia 41

instrumentation & Measurement electronic feature called a Peak Picker solves this problem. The electrical circuit allows the indication to rise as fast as the response time but a delayed decay rate does not allow the temperature to go down when the interference in the line of sight.

Target

A. Ideal Conditions sending head

transmission Path

Radiation Emitted from Target Particles, Gases

B. REAL Conditions

Flames

Steam, Smoke

Solid Obstruction

Fig 5: Obstructions.

2. Windows: some applications require windows to maintain a vacuum in a chamber or pressure in the oven. If a window is necessary be sure that it is transparent for the wavelength of the instrument that is being used. In addition the window has to be kept clean

and has to be large enough so that the cone of vision is not obstructed.

3 . I n t e r m i t t e n t t a rg e t s a n d obstructions like smoke, steam and dust cause the instrument to provide erratic temperature indications. An

4. Flames: Dirty flames like coal, oil or garbage flames are opaque and the infrared thermometer will actually measure the flame temperature rather than see through it.

Choosing The Right Instrument Choosing the right instrument really is picking the right wavelength instrument. Within each wavelength there are several model to select but if the wrong wavelength is used the instrument may be of no value.

Within the industry there are nine basic wavelengths that are used to measure the IR energy. Table 1 lists the basic wavelengths, temperatures covered and some of the common applications.

Table 1: Thermometer Selection Wavelength

Temperature Span

Applications

0.65 microns

1600–6500°F (875–3500°C)

Molten glass and metals.

0.7–1.0 microns

900–5500°F (500–3000°C)

Steel, heating, semiconductor.

1.6 microns

500–2200°F (250–1100°C)

Non ferrous metals.

2–2.6 microns

100–1400°F (50–800°C)

Low temperature metals and small targets.

3.4 microns

50–1500°F (0–800°C)

Thin film organic plastics.

3.9 microns

1500–6500°F (800–3500°C)

High transmission through flames and hot gases.

4.8–5.2 microns

100–2500°F (50–1375°C)

Glass bending, annealing, tempering.

7.9 microns

50–800°F (20–400°C)

Thin films of polyester plastics, special ranges available for high temperature ceramics.

8–14 microns

–50–1000°F (-50–500°C)

General purpose low temperature applications.

ENQUIRY NO. 5401

42 industrial automation asia | August 2008

ENQUIRY NO. 746

sector spotlight

Semiconductor:

Designing

Heated

When designing a heated chuck for a specific vacuum process, many factors must be considered and balanced against each other to obtain the optimal properties. By Russell Strehlow, research & development department manager, Minco

T

he therma l uniformity of a heated chuck used for semiconductor processing is crucial. Heated chucks are used to initiate or accelerate a physical or chemical reaction. The design of the heated chuck often finds the physical, thermal, chemical, and time-response goals in conflict.

Finite element analysis (FEA) combines the selection of heating elements, materials and accessories as well as heat requirements, desired response time, and heat capacity to achieve thermal uniformity while satisfying all other functional requirements of the heated chuck.

Initial Considerations Temperature control is a critical factor in most chemical and physical reactions. A well-designed heating source for a wafer chuck improves temperature uniformity and stability. Detailed thermal analysis is a key part of the design process.

A typical heat chuck consists of two main parts: a resistive heating element to generate heat, and a metallic plate that distributes uniform heat and supports the 44 industrial automation asia | August 2008

C

hucks

wafer. The chuck’s primary goal is to provide thermal uniformity so processing yields consistent properties. Thermal gradients are caused by non-uniform heat, and by uneven heat transfer between the plate and its surroundings.

Many parameters enter into the design of the chuck, including: • plate dimensions, mounting and material.

• maximum temperature requirements.

• response time.

• outgassing and chemical resistance.

• heating element type.

These parameters affect thermal uniformity as well as each other. Thermal uniformity is affected by the heating element and the size and shape of the plate. To heat a 300mm silicon wafer, one could simply laminate a uniform watt density etched foil heater to the bottom of a 300mm diameter plate. However, there is greater heat loss at the plate’s edge due to the surface area of the peripheral walls. Therefore, the temperature of the plate surface will decrease from the centre to the edge.

The effect of heat loss from the walls of the plate can be reduced by increasing the diameter of the plate in conjunction with appropriate changes in the heating element. This moves the cause of the greater heat loss away from the wafer.

Increasing the thickness of the plate will affect thermal uniformity differently depending on the heating element.

Increasing plate thickness increases the cross-sectional area for heat to conduct laterally before it reaches the surface of the plate.

System Accessories One must consider the requirements for mounting the plate in the chamber, monitoring its temperature, mating with wafer handling mechanisms, and holding the wafer in

position. Each of these accessories has an effect on either heat input or heat transfer out of the plate.

When mounting a heat chuck to a chamber, any paths of thermal conduction to the chamber should be minimised or be of a high thermal resistance. Cold spots will form wherever a stand-off is in contact with the plate. If a thermally insulating plate matching the chuck’s diameter is used, it will eliminate these cold spots, but will add heat capacity.

A temperature sensor must also be used in the heated chuck to monitor heating. Generally, a resistive temperature detector (RTD) is embedded into the plate. For the best accuracy, the sensor should be away from the edge of the plate in an area with good thermal uniformity.

Again, the sensors will have some effect on the heat transfer throughout the system and consideration should be given to minimising the thermal conduction out from sensor lead-wires.

Often special chuck fixturing is required to make loading/unloading mechanisms compatible. These might be stand-offs for wafer support, recesses in the plate surface to allow grippers to get underneath, or holes through which pins may come through to lift the wafer off the surface of the plate.

An application may require access for vacuum ports to hold down a wafer, or cooling fluid channels inside the

ENQUIRY NO. 842

This can be beneficial to a point, if the heat input is not uniform or well profiled. However, increasing internal cross-sectional area increases the surface of the plate walls, which contributes to elevated heat loss near the edge.

Eventually a point is reached where the benefit is outweighed by this drawback. For example, an aluminum plate with a cast-in tubular heater near the surface will have hot spots above the heating element and relatively cold spots between the elements. As the elements get farther from the surface and the plate gets thicker, the cold spots and the hot spots become less evident.

However, the heat loss from the walls of the plate increases and the temperature difference from the centre of the plate to the edge become more evident. Once the difference from centre to edge becomes greater than that between hot and cold spots, increasing plate thickness will be detrimental.

In the case of a profiled heater, a thicker plate increases the distance from the heater to the top surface, reducing the benefit because it reduces the ability of the heater to influence the wafer temperature.

August 2008 | industrial automation asia  45

sector spotlight plate. These accessories will make it more difficult to obtain thermal uniformity. Factor this into your modeling or analysis to optimise the design.

has a low thermal conductivity. Bronzes have been used in operations over 800°C; they have thermal conductivities two to 10 times greater than stainless steels.

Plate Material & Coatings Choice of plate material affects t h e r m a l u n i f o r m i t y, dimensiona l stability, and chemical compatibility of the chuck.

Material thermal conductivity varies widely and therefore should be a factor in choosing the plate material.

Dimensional stability of the material is also critical, especially when the heated chuck is going to be used at temperatures approaching the material’s softening point. Depending on the ratio of plate diameter to plate thickness, plate sagging can occur because of reduced mechanical stiffness at high temperatures.

Supporting stand-offs can be added at strategic locations under the plate’s interior, again at the cost of additional heat loss at those points. Also, with relatively low thermally conductive materials, such as stainless steel, warping can occur because of non-uniform expansion caused by non-uniform heat distribution.

Finally, consideration must be given to plate’s compatibility to processes and the chemical or physical operating environment.

Bronze, for instance, is not accepted for use in many semiconductor processes because its potential for wafer contamination. Instead, aluminum is the most commonly used semiconductor plate material.

Special chemical and/or abrasive resistant coatings may be added to aluminum plates to improve compatibility.

Loose aluminum oxide powder can form on the surface of a bare aluminum plate. It can also be easily scratched or marred.

Standard anodisation will stop the loose powder formation. To protect the surface from both powdering and scratching, aluminum can be hard-coat anodised or impregnated with Teflon for added wear resistance.

Response Time & Heat Capacity This is the time required for the chuck to come to temperature at initial power-up, and the time required for it to recover to its steady state after introducing a load are functions of the heat capacity of the plate, the watt density of the heater and heater coverage.

Plate heat capacity is a function of size and material density. If minimising response time is critical, then special attention should be paid to these factors. Heater watt density specifies the amount of power put into a heater per its surface area. This is limited by the maximum temperature heater materials can withstand and by how well they can transfer heat to the plate.

Clearly, the bigger the element area per plate surface area, the more rapid the heat transfer will be.

Temperature Requirements Selection of plate material depends on the required maximum temperature. Aluminum is a commonly used because of its good thermal conductivity, manufacturability and cost. However, it is limited to applications below 500°C. Stainless steel can handle temperatures up to 650°C, but it 46 industrial automation asia | August 2008

Outgassing Material outgassing of is a common problem in vacuum processes. The heater element and its mounting could be sources of outgassing on a heated chuck, but when properly constructed, polyimide insulated and tubular heating elements should have minimal outgassing.

They may require an initial burn-in period to allow surface volatiles to dissipate. Care should be taken in choosing the proper adhesive for mounting a heater to a plate to minimise this.

Mica insulated and other heaters designed for hightemperature operation generally contain binders that will outgas in a high temperature vacuum environment. In this case, the heater can be hermetically sealed between two plates, with an electrical feed-through used to supply power.

Heating Element Selection The two most common types of heaters used in heated chuck applications are tubular and etched foil.

A tubular heater has a small coiled resistive wire filled with a ceramic dielectric material. When current is applied to the wire, it generates heat that is transferred to the ceramic filler and then to the outer tube.

Generally, the tubes are formed into multiple loops, similar to the heating element on an electric stove, and cast, swaged, or brazed into aluminum or bronze plates.

For reasonable thermal uniformity, the plate containing a tubular heater has to be significantly thicker than what is required for etched foil heaters.

Tubular heating elements can operate up to 1600°F (870°C). The coverage (ie: the ratio of element surface area to the total heater surface, expressed as a percentage) can vary considerably, 12 percent is typical.

An etched foil heater has resistive foil with a pattern etched through it to form a complex, maze-like, current path.

This foil is sandwiched between two sheets of adhesive and a dielectric material, such as polyimide or mica.

Figure 3: The layout of the heating element for a heater that supplies uniform heat.

dependent upon the complexity and thermal uniformity requirements of the final product.

CAD-generated heater patterns take into account the areas of the plate that have greater heat loss and strategically narrow the current path in those areas, which increases the power input there. Because of this, the plate thickness is generally as thin as possible while still maintaining the necessary mechanical properties of the plate.

Figures 3 and 4 show layouts of uniform and profiled heaters, respectively. The degree to which thermal gradients will be countered depends on the complexity of the heater profiling. Profiled heaters are commonly designed with two to 10 different watt density zones with more possible.

When designing a heated chuck for a specific vacuum process, many factors must be considered and balanced against each other to obtain the optimal properties.

Generally, the goal is to obtain the best possible thermal uniformity while satisfying all other functional requirements for the plate.

Detailed thermal analysis integrated into the design process can make a polyimide-insulated, etched foil heater a good choice for providing thermal uniformity and fast response times for applications below 260°C. For higher temperature applications, a mica insulated, etched foil heater designed with the same approach is appropriate.

ENQUIRY NO. 5402

A PROFESSIONAL OPERATOR PANEL MANUFACTURER

• Touch & Keypad Embedded HMI • Industrial LCD Touch Monitor • PC-Based HMI • RISC-Based HMI Figure 4: The layout of the heating element for a heater that supplies profiled heat.

System Configuration

Touch by

Tel: +603 8070 8866 • Fax: +603 8070 8899 Email: sales@mytek.com.my • Website: www.mytek.com.my

ENQUIRY NO. 736

In the case of polyimide, heaters are then laminated to the bottom of the chuck plate. In this situation, the heat has to transfer through 25 μm of adhesive and 50 μm of polyimide (construction can vary slightly). Polyimide insulated heaters can operate up to 260°C and can have element coverage up to 75 percent of the heater surface.

Mica heaters attach mechanically by bolting between the chuck plate and a thin metal plate, or they can be hermetically welded inside the plate. With this construction, the heat has to transfer through 250-500 μm of mica before it reaches the plate. Mica insulated heaters can operate up to 600°C and have element coverage of about 45 percent of the heater surface.

The foil patterns for both polyimide and mica can be generated in conjunction with FEA. The need for FEA is

August 2008 | industrial automation asia 47

IN business

Business Intelligence:

What Is It? I BI serves as a tool for decision makers so as to enable them to make better and more informed business decisions. By Derek Rodriguez

n an IBM journal published in 1958, author Hans Peter Luhn described a Business Intelligence (BI) system as an automatic system t hat d i s se m i n ate s i n for m at io n to t he va r ious se ct ions of a ny industrial, scientific or government organisation.

Half a century later, the basic idea of BI remains unchanged. Its primary

48  industrial automation asia | August 2008

purpose is to serve as a tool for decision makers so as to enable them to make better and more informed business decisions. A BI application collects, analyses and presents the business information to said decision makers, acting as a decision support system (DSS).

While there are many different BI offerings available in the market today,

they all function to provide historical, current, and predictive views of business operations, most often using data that has been gathered into a data warehouse or a data mart and occasionally working from operational data. Software elements support the use of this information by assisting in the extraction, analysis, and reporting of information.

Competency Centres BI is a tool that has to be harnessed properly in order for its full potential to be realised. The employment of technology is not enough when it comes to the management of information. A lack of a strategic approach would in turn lead to the inefficient utilisation of BI. This has led to the conception of what is commonly known as BI Competency Centres (BICC). According to BI solutions provider Cognos, a BICC is an organisational structure that comprises of a working team of IT and business users and groups people with interrelated disciplines, domains

of knowledge, experience and skills to promote expertise throughout the organisation and to encourage and standardise the usage of BI. A BICC may help in a number of ways. These include to: • Promote and provide delivery enablement through a consistent set of BI skills, standards, and best practices, ensuring that this information is communicated and shared for the benefit of the entire organisation.

• Enable repeatable successful BI deployment through the development and focus of people, technology and process—in ways that makes sense to an entire organisation or division, rather than just a ‘single project’.

The Next Stage Despite its proliferation, BI has its drawbacks. Neil Raden, founder of Hired Brains Inc, summed it up when he wrote that “BI is a valuable tool in an organisation that’s been held back by balky architecture, latency and complex data concepts that cannot be grasped by those without data management training.”

As with all sectors of technology, Business Intelligence is subject to evolution. ‘Business Intelligence 2.0’ is a term that has sprung up in recent years.

Business Intelligence 2.0 refers to the next generation of BI systems wherein intelligence is built into business processes, enabling it to be pro-active rather than active. Writes advocate of BI 2.0 and founder and CEO of SeeWhy, a BI software company, Charles Nicholls in his ebook ‘In Search Of Insight’: “It extends our definition of BI beyond the traditional data warehouse and query tool to include dynamic in-process and automated decision making.”

Much like Web 2.0, it is a concept that does not have a concrete structure and is open to interpretation to a certain degree. There are, however, a few characteristics of BI 2.0 that are generally agreed on.

‘Event-driven’ is one feature of BI 2.0. The tracking, analysis and interpretation of events are all performed automatically. Traditional BI, on the other hand, only reports on past processes. Where the traditional BI systems only present the data to decision makers, BI 2.0 automates the decision process (without human intervention). BI 2.0 is ‘real-time’ as well.

The time taken to access and analyse the

data, make the decision and perform the decided action is close to zero.

Most companies today employ a version of a BI system. Despite its drawbacks, BI is still an integral part of many a business infrastructure.

The development of BI 2.0 does not necessarily herald the end of traditional BI models. It is expected to be an extension of it. Like ‘old’ BI, BI 2.0 promises a pocket-full of potential but whether it can live up to its hype remains to be seen.

ENQUIRY NO. 5501

A BICC is an organisational structure that comprises of people with interrelated disciplines working together and standardising the usage of BI.

HP Provides Real-Time Information California, USA: In early June of this year, technology company HP announced a new release of its HP Neoview data warehouse solution that provides companies with broader access to operational business intelligence: realtime business information that improves insight and decision making.

This version of includes

several technologies for operational business intelligence that simultaneously handle mixed workloads of massive queries along with thousands of short, transaction-like queries.

These enhancements put key information into the hands of every type of decision maker when they require it.

Business intelligence

typically has been used by business analysts doing comprehensive analyses of company operations. In this traditional model, it could take days, weeks or even months to extract and use information from business intelligence solutions.

The new model of operational business intelligence extends beyond traditional

business intelligence by empowering workers across an enterprise with immediate access to information to make better decisions in real time.

Real-time information allows sales agents to provide the best product offers to customers. Real-time access also allows companies to quickly analyse inbound data to identify fraud as it occurs.

ENQUIRY NO. 5502

August 2008 | industrial automation asia 49

Vasant Dave, India

IN business

Market Report:

Biogas Power Generation Markets in SEA

E

ver since discussions on climate change and global warming took centre stage, the increa sing role of renewable energy in power generation has been gaining immense importance. As renewable energy is envisaged to play a greater role in electricity generation in the future, it has led to growing investments in tapping the under-utilised biogas power in Southeast Asia (SEA).

Biogas consists of methane and carbon dioxide produced through a process called anaerobic digestion where microorganisms act upon biodegradable waste in an oxygen 50 industrial automation asia | August 2008

The growth in popularity of renewable energy has led to growing investments in tapping the under-utilised biogas power in SEA. By Suchitra Sriram, industry analyst, Asia Pacific Energy Practice, Frost & Sullivan

deficient environment. Despite commercial availability of technologies f o r b i o g a s p ro d u c t i o n , s t ro n g government support is necessary to make this sector economically attractive for project developers and end-users.

Status Quo Of Biogas Power Biomass power generation through combustion and co-firing technologies ha s been immensely popula r in SEA. On the contrary, use of biogas

has been limited as there exists no restrictions in releasing methane into the atmosphere and wastewater is let into the nearby water bodies.

In SEA, some of the inhibiting factors for the slow market penetration of biogas power technologies are: • Low awareness especially among the developing economies of Vietnam and The Philippines.

• Poor information dissemination.

• Lack of local expertise in handling biogas projects.

• Absence of financing schemes.

• Uncertain financial viability of projects.

• Poor enforcement on the release of methane into the atmosphere.

But during the recent times, there has been an increasing awareness among the various end-user segments about the potential benefits of utilising biogas for process heat and power generation.

Biogas is not only considered environment friendly but also aids in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, checking water pollution and prevents soil degradation. As it mainly helps in the effective treatment of waste, biogas power plants are installed in wastewater treatment plants, industrial processing applications, landfill and agricultural sector.

Prospects Of Biogas Power Biogas power shows immense potential in the Southeast Asian countries with its abundant availability of palm oil residue, industrial wastewater and livestock manure. The prospects of biogas power generation are likely to be high in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines due

Peninsular Malaysia’s utility had announced to increase the purchase price of electricity generated from palm oil waste from 19 - 21 sen (US 5.8 – 6.4 cents) per kilowatt hour.

This incentive is likely to attract more private investments into biogas and biomass power sector.

In Thailand, the installed capacity of biogas power plants was estimated at 20 MW in 2006 and its generating potential has been valued at 278 MW. Under the Very Small Power Producers (VSPP) scheme, surplus power generated from biogas power plants is sold to EGAT at an attractive tariff.

Abundant availability of livestock manure in the Philippines provides investment opportunities for biogas project developers to develop captive unit of biogas plants that can be used to power water pumps, feedmixers and generators to produce electricity.

Stricter implementation of pollution control norms on livestock farms would mandate farmers to effectively use animal waste, thereby creating opportunities for installing biogas power plants.

Biogas power plants are installed in wastewater treatment plants, industrial processing applications, landfill and agricultural sector.

growing air and water pollution in those areas.

Besides, as food processing industry (rice, noodles, tapioca, etc) is one of the major industries in Thailand, wastewater discharged from the factories emanate foul odor and emits methane gas. Recovery of biogas helps in improving the local environmental conditions and aids in waste disposal.

The prospects of biogas power generation are likely to be

high in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. to their favorable renewable energy policies and targets.

Palm oil mills, being one of the largest industries in SEA especially in Malaysia and Indonesia, effluents from these mills can be converted into biogas which in turn can be used to generate power through gas turbines or gas-fired engines. In Malaysia, the number of palm oil mills is estimated between 360 and 400 mills producing 42.5 – 46.0 million tonnes of palm oil mill effluent (POME) in 2006.

According to Pusat Tenaga Malaysia (PTM), the existing potential for electricity generation from POME was estimated to be 330 MW. In August 2007, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB),

Biogas Application Biogas application varies across the Southeast Asian countries. In the Philippines, it has largely been used for process heat and electricity among the industrial and household sector. The Department of Energy and Natural Resources (DENR) has been promoting the use of biogas production especially in large pig and poultry farms.

In Thailand, it has been primarily developed in commercial pig farms, agricultural sector and food processing industries. Nearly 20 pig farms located in Ratchaburi and Nakorn Pathom provinces in Thailand have installed biogas power plants to curb the

Future Of Biogas Biogas power displays a promising future in SE A a s awareness ha s been stimulated due to widespread publicity campaigns on different renewable energy technologies and initiatives taken by project developers under Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).

There are many project developers in SEA who have undertaken pilot and demonstration biogas power projects.

It would be interesting to observe how the renewable energy targets and renewed interest among the project developers triggers biogas power development in this region.

ENQUIRY NO. 5503 August 2008 | industrial automation asia 51

design focus

In Sync Up close and personal with Siemens PLM Synchronous Technology. By Eileen Chan

Tony Affuso, chairman and CEO, Siemens PLM with Dr Helmuth Ludwig, president Siemens PLM software 52 industrial automation asia | August 2008

ailed as ‘the big breakthrough’ a nd ‘the nex t big thing in digital product development’, the chance to catch Synchronous Technology in action came at the annual Siemens PLM Software Analyst and Media Conference.

Held in the fair city of Boston, in Minneapolis, USA, from May 20 - 21, some 200 attendees and media people took a firsthand, up close and personal look into Siemens PLM Software’s star attraction: a breakthrough history-free, featurebased design technology for digital product development, Synchronous Technology.

Put neatly, the technology connects everyone in the product lifecycle. With it, engineers no longer have to choose between constraint-driven or historyfree modelling. They no longer have to be a programmer to reuse a model.

And you no longer need to worry about using data from multiple CAD (computer-aided design) systems.

The Need For Speed E mb e d d e d i nto t he n e w S o l i d Edge and NX 6 software, the new technology forms the core component of the Velocity Series portfolio. The Velocity Series is the PLM industry’s first preconfig ured por tfolio of digital product design, analysis, manufacturing and data management softwa re for the mid - ma rket.

Integrating synchronous technology

into the NX toolset expands the capabilities of Design Freedom, providing new approaches in CAD creation and editing geometry.

First announced, at this year’s Hanover Fair, synchronous technology, is hailed as the first-ever design solution that simultaneously synchronises geometry and rules through a new inference engine, offering users up to 100 times faster design experience.

Enabling users to model in 3D much more easily than before, it does it all without the need to preplan how models might be used in the future. Synchronous technology can be applied to portions of models or entire models and will let you import features, such as bosses, from other MCAD (mechanical computeraided design) systems. Relationships and constraints of these imported features are inferred by synchronous technology and can be treated as if originally created in NX. With the introduction of Solid Edge with synchronous technology, Solid Edge’s competitors will be scrambling for years to catch up. The President of Siemens PLM Software, Dr Helmuth Ludwig, adds that Siemens is the “first company to bring the engineering and manufacturing worlds together.”

“While there have been important advances in 3D design technology over the years, designers have not been able to create persistent features

With Design Freedom powered by synchronous technology, the software leverages the ease of direct editing in the model creation process.

Design Freedom combines constraint-driven techniques with direct modelling.

without the computational overhead needed to re-compute models from the construction history,” adds Chuck Grindstaff, executive VP of Products, Siemens PLM Software.

Here’s A Suggestion Synchronous technology captures ideas as fast as the user thinks them, enabling designers to devote more time to innovate (ie: without computational overhead of pre planned dependencies).

It allows users to reuse data from other CAD systems without remodelling. Using a technique called ‘suggestive selection’, it automatically infers the function of various design elements without the need for feature or constraint definitions. This increases design reuse and OEM/ supplier efficiency. Another way to look at this is that synchronous technology will synchronise feature recognition and constraint solving with geometry and topology.

With the NX 6, synchronous technology will sit on top of its inherent direct editing capabilities, apply constraints, and impart design intent – taking it to an altogether different level. NX 6 also continues to deliver on PLM’s Lifecycle Simulation vision, which is to make simulation pervasive throughout the product lifecycle. The improvements make CAD easier for ever yone in the product lifecycle, including designers,

engineers, analysts and manufacturing engineers.

The interface used is licensed from Microsoft and generally upgrades are good for a year. “We sell a licence and the customer gets the necessary support and upgrades that comes with it,” says Tony Affuso, chairman & CEO Siemens PLM. The licences are available for SMBs (small to medium-sized businesses), which aims to help manufacturers understand how to implement a

commonisation and reuse strategy, allowing easy access to reusable products and processes.

Expanding The Channel “Two-and-a-half years ago we were the first to introduce a complete PLM portfolio for the mid-market,” adds Mr A ffuso. “Today the portfolio provides one of the highest growth rates in our product line.”

Velocity Series revenue growth has continued to increase at almost twice

NX 6 handles extremely complex problems through comprehensive CAD/CAM/CAE. NX 6 advanced simulation handles the most demanding CAE challenges, providing a 30 percent reduction in physical prototypes.

August 2008 | industrial automation asia 53

design focus present are for direct modelling vs functional modelling. However, in the future, Mr Affuso says there will have a combination of both capabilities.

“The users need both capabilities.

We think that the market is ready for both – depending on the engineer or the situation.”

Dr Ludwig believes that the combination of MES and PLM will

put them way ahead in the market as “nobody in the market that can find these combination.” Affuso adds: “Our competitors will have a difficult time to keep up with us in all the areas investing with us – especially with our strong domain knowledge in automation.”

ENQUIRY NO. 5504

Siemens PLM: More About Velocity With NX 6 engineers gain greater productivity through their ability to leverage multi-CAD data within their design, analysis and manufacturing processes, reducing the need to re-master information for improved analysis and machining times.

the 14 percent industry rate for the PLM mid-market. The Series has also been instrumental in the company’s channel expansion, which now has more than 425 channel partners globally and accounts for a third of its license revenue.

“Many manufacturers find that commonisation and reuse gives them the ability to reduce costs, improve quality and bring products to market at a faster pace,” says Bruce Boes, VP, Velocity Series Marketing, Siemens PLM Software. “Making key data readily available for reuse provides efficiencies in design, manufacturing, testing and compliance. Engineers can quickly search part libraries, make minor changes to fit new product designs and automatically test for manufacturability.”

Keeping Up Mr Affuso says that the Asia Pacific market contributes some 21 – 22 percent in total revenue and, “we will continue to go after the market in a strong way. All the countries particularly India, is growing strongly.”

He adds that Siemens PLM is expected to do “very well over the next five years,” with double - digit growth numbers to be chalked up.

Most of the CAD releases at 54 industrial automation asia | August 2008

Solid Edge with synchronous technology uses Live Rules. It finds and maintains critical geometric conditions such as tangencies between this small angled face and large cylinder.

S

olid Edge is the CAD component of the Velocity Series and Solid Edge with synchronous technology is a complete feature-based 2D/3D CAD system.

Te a m c e n t e r E x p re s s i s t h e preconfigured collaborative product data management (cPDM) component of the Velocity Series. The latest release is Version 4, features improved collaboration and control for project managers, lead engineers and shop floor users.

CAM Express is the NC programming component of the Velocity Series. It covers a wide variety of programming requirements, including high speed machining, multi-function mill-turning and 5-axis machining.

The latest release is Version 6 and features advances in 3-axis machining and feature-based automation. Features include new cutting strategies for curve/ edge and 3D profile cutting, optimised corner rounding techniques, smoother finish cuts through specialised point distribution, as well as new toolpath editing/dividing tools.

Femap is the finite element analysis (FEA) component of the Velocity Series. The latest release, Version 10 helps users create FEA models easily and quickly from CAD data through new meshing capabilities. It automates current meshing technology, while adding new interactive meshing and model and element checking functionality.

ENQUIRY NO. 5505

Market Report:

Demand For Membrane Materials To Rise The expected growth of the membrane materials market is a result of interest in higher purity process fluids and growth of the water treatment market. By The Freedonia Group

emand for membrane materials in the United States is expected to increase 8.2 percent per year to US$4.3 billion in 2012. Growth will be driven by ongoing interest in process fluids with higher purity levels in a variety of markets, as well as the introduction of increasingly strict environmental regulations concerning the quality of water and wastewater streams.

Polymeric membrane materials will continue to dominate the market because they have lower initial costs and greater product flexibility than non-polymeric materials. Cellulosic membranes, the least expensive materials, accounted for the largest share of polymeric membranes – nearly 60 percent in value terms – in 2007, although that share is slowly declining.

Demand for non-polymeric materials, including ceramic, metal

and composite types, is expected to record double digit growth through 2012, due to their better performance in extreme temperatures and greater pH ranges, as well as generally lower maintenance costs.

Microfiltration membranes will continue to account for the largest share of total demand, but represent a better established and more mature segment of the market. As a result, advances are projected to be stronger for ultra-filtration and reverse osmosis membranes, both of which function in a variety of markets at a higher purity level.

H o w e v e r, a m o n g m a j o r applications, gains are expected to be strongest for pervaporation membranes, albeit from a small base, because of their use in high growth specialty markets such as chemical and industrial gas processing, as well as fluid treatment in wastewater, and medical and

pharmaceutical markets.

The best opportunities for growth will emerge in the pharmaceutical and medical markets, and smaller markets such as environmental applications and fuel cells. Although fuel cells are currently negligible in market value terms, they are expected to emerge as a significant outlet for membranes in the next 10 to 20 years.

The water and wastewater treatment market continued to be the largest for membranes, representing 51 percent of sales in 2007. Growth in this market will be primarily driven by the implementation of environmental regulations that increasingly require membrane separation technologies to achieve the mandated results, as well as the increasing acceptance of membrane technology in water and wastewater treatment.

ENQUIRY NO. 5506

US membrane material demand (US$ million) % Annual Growth Item

2002

2007

2012

2002–2007

2007–2012

Membrane Demand

1704

2870

4250

11.0

8.2

Microfiltration

843

1300

1745

9.0

6.1

Reverse Osmosis

363

655

1030

12.5

9.5

Ultrafiltration

299

550

865

13.0

9.5

Pervaporation

41

87

141

16.2

10.1

Other

158

278

469

12.0

11.0

August 2008 | industrial automation asia 55

products & Services Adlink: Frame Grabbers

B&B Electronics: Wireless Radio Modems

A d l i n k Te c h n o l o g y I n c ’s P C I e - C M L 6 4 F series of PCI Express frame grabbers provide one base/medium/full configuration camera l i n k i n te r f a c e . T h e series delivers image acquisition rate s of up to 85 MHz and is designed specifically for high-bandwidth machine vision applications, such as FPD, and PCB surface inspection.

The series can acquire at the maximum camera link rate of 680 MB/s across an x4 lane. It supports the majority of area scan and line scan cameras and can perform image reconstruction during the image acquisition process.

The PCIe-CML64F series supports both Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft Windows XP 64-bit. Adlink also provides CamCreator, a utility to setup, configure, test, and debug the system without requiring any software programming.

B&B Electronics’ Zlinx Modbus industrial grade radio modems feature a n ea sily acce ssible ter mina l block , a long w ith indicator lights to indicate signal strength and signal failure, all in one DIN rail mount industrial case.

Zlinx solutions operate within the ISM 2.4 GHz frequencies. The modem can operate from 9600 bps to 115.2kbps and transfers RS-232 /422/485 serial signals. Power is from 10 to 48 VDC or 18 to 30 VAC. The terminal block allows plug-and-play connection to RS-232/485.

Other beneficial features to aid in troubleshooting include a signal strength indicator.

The compact heavy-duty DIN mount industrial grade case and components with a ½-wave dipole whip antenna saves space. It has a temperature range of -40C to +85C.

Enquiry no. 5601

Enquiry no. 5603

Ashtead: Thermal Imaging Camera

Baumer: Line Sensors

The Flir ThermaCAM P65 from Ashtead Technology Rentals (SEA) takes highdefinition 14-bit thermal images. At the same time, it records visual images with its built- in digita l camera. The integrated Laser LocatIR, activated at the touch of a bu t to n , he lp s you to safely and quickly associate a hot spot shown on the IR image with the problem area on the physical target.

Working in concert with ThermaCAM reporting a nd databa se softwa re, the P65 fully automates the process of collecting, reporting, and archiving infra re d ima ge s a nd t her ma l data . T he ca mera can record up to 35 seconds of video in an AVI-file. This AVI-file can be replayed in the camera or on a PC for further analysis.

The line sensors PosCon a nd Pa rCon from Baumer detect the edges of the objects along a narrow measuring line with a resolution of up to 0.03 mm.

D ep e ndi n g on the mode, these edges are assessed differently, and the result can then be issued as an analogue value (4...20 mA).

As the sensors operate by the retro -reflection principle, they detect objects regardless of their colour and surface.

The measuring frequency of up to 1 kHz also permits the position of fast-moving objects to be accurately assessed. The high resolution permits the smallest changes or deviations to be determined and helps to improve the quality of the end product.

Enquiry no. 5602

56 industrial automation asia | August 2008

Enquiry no. 5604

products & Services

Beijer: Operator Panel

GE: Change Management Software

Beijer Electronics’ E x ter T150 - st o p e r a to r p a n e l s can be utilised throughout the F&B, p h a r m a ce u t ic a l s a nd oil a nd ga s industrie s, being r o b u s t , e a s y - to clean, aesthetically pleasing and compliant with the rigorous hygiene demands and safety standards demanded.

It affords full interoperability with all major automation brands (more than 100 drivers are available). A wide selection of ready-made objects and functions enables to create applications by just pointing and placing on the screen – it is possible see exactly how the final result will appear.

Projects a re created in a v isua l env ironment which gives a complete over v iew in the project manager.

G E Fa nuc I ntelligent P l a t f o r m s’ P r o f i c y C h a n g e Management 5.8 includes a HTML web based end user client.

The client provides access to common end user functions such as check out, check in, open, version reports, compare and more. The drag and drop configuration allows users to organise projects and provide customised web interfaces.

The scheduler allows users to automate popular operations for backup and compare functions, which provide the ability to ensure the integrity of automation systems. The scheduler provides the capability to ensure the correct programme or configuration is running in an HMI/SCADA application or PLC by comparing the running system to a master version.

Enquiry no. 5605

Enquiry no. 5607

Bosch Rexroth: Solar Module Transfer System

Harting: Gigabit Ethernet Switch

The TSsolar transfer system by Rexroth has been adapted to product and process-specific features in the solar industry.

For jolt a nd v ibration - free tra nspor t w ithout accumulation operation, the BS 2/solar conveyor sections are divided into short segments with individual drives which stop to position the module for processing or if the following section segment is still occupied by another module.

It is fully ESD -compatible to avoid electrostatic discharge, which prevents the attraction of dust particles.

To transport glass plates with temperatures of up to 200°C, temperature-resistant solar conveyors are also offered.

The Ha r ting eCon 2050 AA from the eCon 2000 switch family introduces Gigabit performance into the product family. All five ports are designed for Gigabit Ethernet and jumbo frames up to 9728 bytes. The switch stores up to 4k MAC addresses.

The eCon Ethernet s w i tc h f a m i l y w o r k s i n store a nd for wa rd switching more, and it supports auto-crossing, auto-negotiation and autopolarity. The switches have LED indicators for each port to facilitate fast, simple network diagnosis.

The switches come with integral mounting hardware.

No tools are needed to mount the switches on standard DIN rails in a control cabinet.

Enquiry no. 5606

Enquiry no. 5608

August 2008 | industrial automation asia 57

products & Services

Ifm: Object Sensor

Kabelschlepp: Cable Carrier

T he efe ctor dua lis obje ct sensor is built with a miniature CMOS-based image processor. The sensor detects and compares defined shapes and provides up to five configurable outputs t h a t i nc lu d e co u nt i n g, sor ting, logic functions and pass/fail.

An LED display indicates active outputs. The sensor’s lighting provides the correct amount of brightness at close range. For longer distances, an external lightsource of any colour can be used.

Setup is via an Ethernet interface and menu-guided PC parameter setting. The ifm efector offers a variety of cable assemblies and mounting components for application setup. The 24 VDC sensor uses a standard industrial M12 cable assembly for electrical connection and an Ethernet cable for software connection.

The chain body of Kabelschelpp’s Easytrax 0320 cable carrier is made of a synthetic material reinforced with glass fibres. This combination enables manufacture of lightweight chains that provide considerable strength.

It can be used for unsupported spans that are almost twice as long as those possible with cable carriers made of non-reinforced materials. The strong chain links are lined up and pressed together to provide the specific length required for each application through simple assembly.

The chain body is fitted with flexible lamella crossbars made of elastic material with a long service life.

Cables and wiring are easily and quickly inserted by simply pressing them into place.

Enquiry no. 5609

Enquiry no. 5611

Igus: Toothed Belt Drive

Kaleja: Motor Speed Control System

The DryLin ZLW-0630 Basic is lubricant-free toothed belt drive developed by igus GmbH for small loads of up to 15kg. The 500 mm stroke version of the maintenance and corrosion-free lightweight model weighs only 800 g. The stroke length is variable up to a maximum of 1,000 mm.

Four polymer gliders made of ‘iglidur J’ guarantee quiet and smooth speeds of up to 2.5 m/s. Captive nuts allow installation from three or two sides, as well as the attachment of sensors and initiators for positioning. There are also plain bores in the end blocks for individually cut threads for screw attachment at the narrow ends.

Kaleja Elektronik’s module M-4Q-10-30 is a four-quadrant motor control system with soft start/speed regulation for DC motors.

It is a multi-functional control system for brush sticking 24VDC motors. It ensures safe switching on/ off as well as controlled and defined driving of motors.

The module can b e u se d for sw itc he d currents up to 10A with the following applications: –two directions, -speed control, -ramp function, - current control/adjustment, -snap-fit for DIN rails EN 50022 and EN 50035. The module’s dimensions are 45 mm x 75 mm x 105 mm (w x h x d). It has an allowable temperature range of -20C to +50C. It also features overload protection.

Enquiry no. 5610

58 industrial automation asia | August 2008

Enquiry no. 5612

products & Services products & Services

Moxa: Modbus Gateway

Piab: Vacuum Pump

Moxa’s MB3170 and MB3270 series a re adva nced Mo dbu s gateways designed to integrate Modbus TCP, ASCII, a nd RT U dev ice s in a lmost a ny ma ster and slave combination, including serial master to serial slave, or simultaneous serial and Ethernet masters.

A priority control feature allows urgent commands to obtain immediate response. All models are ruggedly constructed, DIN-rail mountable, and offer built-in optical isolation for serial signals as an option. The MB3170/3270 can integrate the Modbus TCP with the Modbus RTU/ASCII without modifying the existing Modbus RTU/ASCII architecture or software.

With the serial redirector function, a serial master can maintain direct access to serial slave devices through a specially mapped serial port.

Piab’s P6040 pump range with Coax technology allows the pump to be mounted close to the point-of-suction, resulting in smaller pump requirements with lessened energy needs.

To ensure reliable separation, blow air is used for dividing thin sheets of material like plastic film or paper.

The P6040 generates a strong flow for blow function at low pressure. When compressed air expands through the Coax cartridge, intake vacuum flow is added to the flow of the air.

Thus, one normal litre of compressed air results in as much as five litres of blow air.

Enquiry no. 5613

Omron: Safety Network Controller

The NE0A safety network controller provides up to 12 builtin safety inputs and eight built-in safety outputs suitable for small-scale safety applications. Safety-certified circuits for the required safety category are easy to configure by simply selecting and combining items.

Safety circuits created can be saved as templates and reused for easy standardisation. Templates can be made of modules that partially stop applications, while maintaining a fixed 20-ms response.

It is also possible to combine logic with safety signals from the other safety controllers over a safety network distribution system. The controller meets guidelines of SIL3 of IEC61508 for functional safety and category 4 of ISO 13849-1 for safety of machinery.

Enquiry no. 5614

Enquiry no. 5615

Inspector: The new vision sensor from SICK for rapid and reliable quality inspections As powerful as a camera and as easy to operate as a standard photoelectric switch: with the new Inspector 2D vision sensor from SICK, the automatic inspection of parts is simpler and more reliable than ever before. A variety of configuration possibilities, from signal-controlled teach-in to PCsupported configuration, provides easy handling. The Inspector checks parts in any orientation and position, and reliably detects anomalies in real time. Even glossy, highly reflective objects are no problem thanks to its integrated diffuse illumination, preventing the need for complicated, expensive supplementary illumination. Time-optimised image evaluation allows parts to be inspected even in high-speed processes, e.g. checking labels, printing and the presence of caps in the packaging and beverages industries. Typical automotive applications include inspecting the assembly of components.

Enquiry no. 5616

August 2008 | industrial automation asia 59

EVENT review eld in KLCC in Malaysia in mid June, the 9th international exhibition and conference on instrumentation, control and automation technology, ICA 2008 provided a business platform for manufacturers in Malaysia and the region to showcase the latest state of the art technology and solutions in relation to improvements to process and quality, and boosting manufacturing performance.

Organised by Facon Exhibitions, the biennial event attracted more than 8,000 visitors from around the world, with a large part comprising of visitors from

Singapore, Philippines, Thailand and Brunei. The major sectors of interest were electrical/electronics and oil and gas; other sectors included the food and beverage and automotive sectors.

The 3,000 sq m of exhibition hall space was taken up by around 400 exhibiting companies from 25 countries, which consisted of the likes of ABB, Siemens and Profibus.

National pavilions were also part of the event, one of which was the Singapore pavilion, organised by the Singapore Manufacturers’ Association (SMA). Another was the (South) Korean pavilion, which was organised

by the Korean Measuring Instruments Research Association. The line-up of national pavilions was completed by the German pavilion, supported by Spectaris.

A two-day conference which took place as part of the event was a success as well. Presentations were given by experts in the field of process control and automation and safety instrumentation, discussing viable technological solutions to the attendees.

The next installment of the event is scheduled to be held in 2010.

ENQUIRY NO. 5701

ICA 2008 KL Convention Centre Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia June 10 – 13, 2008

The biennial event attracted more than 8,000 visitors from around the world, with a large part comprising of visitors from Singapore, Philippines, Thailand and Brunei.

ENQUIRY NO. 5402

60  industrial automation asia | August 2008

ProPak Asia 2008 BITEC, Bangkok, Thailand June 11 – 14, 2008

It is estimated that at the end of Day 4, ProPak Asia 2008 welcomed more than 28,000 visitors to BITEC.

ore than 55 nationalities visited ProPak Asia 2008. It is estimated that at the end of Day 4, the show welcomed more than 28,000 visitors to BITEC (70 percent local and the remaining 30 international). Analysis of visitor profiles reveals a significant increase in trade visitors from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Selling Point Whilst success cannot be judged purely on sales over the 4-day period, ‘Sold’ signs sprung up in all four corners of the hall. A fourth time buyer to the show, Sathien B, MD of VM Nature Plas says he has been visiting various shows around the world, “but ProPak Asia is the biggest show where I can find interesting machines that meet my needs.”

Opening ceremony of ProPak 2008: Ceremonial cutting of the ribbon.

Another, a VIP guest, Rolf Kroll, MD of MVP Ltd Part says: “This is my first time to ProPak Asia and I am highly impressed with the organiser’s service. I know more than 40 companies from Germany and Switzerland who are participating right here in ProPak Asia.”

Expansion Plans As an indication of the popularity of the event, ProPak Asia will be expanding still further. With the opening of Hall 105 (in addition to the existing Halls 101 – 104) next year, the exhibition floor space will increase by a substantial 30 percent.

The extra 6,000 sq m of space added to the existing 20,000 sq m will enable the organiser, Bangkok Exhibition Services (BES), to introduce many more new companies and country groups in next year’s show, which takes place on June 17 – 20, 2009.

PharmaTech will be a key area of expansion next year. This is in direct response to regional demand generated by the international buyer groups.

Automation is another sector that will see increased visibility. Demand for increased productivity within the factory setting being the main driver of its growth.

ENQUIRY NO. 5702

August 2008 | industrial automation asia 61

EVENT review

Suntec Singapore June 23 – 27, 2008

Singapore International Water Week Agreements totalling more than US$270 million were signed during the SIWW. A water fund was also launched to attract US$320 million in investments in Asian water projects.

G

overnments, utilities providers and water companies signed 27 agreements totalling more than S$367 million (US$270 million) during the first Singapore International Water Week (SIWW). In addition, a water fund was launched to attract S$435 million (US$320 million) in investments in Asian water projects.

The global event for the water industry also saw governments and international organisations announcing significant initiatives to prioritise water investments and research.

62 industrial automation asia | August 2008

Many of these agreements were formalised at regional business forums during the Water Week. These were designed as exclusive networking sessions between governments, utilities providers and water solutions companies in Australia, China, Europe, India, Japan, the Middle East and South-east Asia.

The Water Expo, a trade show that brought together more than 350 participants from some 40 countries, provided additional opportunities for business networking. Deals worth US$1 million or more were concluded by exhibitors such as Hydranautics, Koch Membrane Systems, Nalco Pacific and EIMCO Water Technologies.

The inaugural Singapore International Water Week also featured policy and scientific components – the Water Leaders Summit, a gathering of government officials and industry leaders, and the Water Convention, a scientific conference.

A highlight of the Water Week was the presentation of the first Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize to Dr Andrew Benedek, the Canadian researcher and technopreneur who pioneered the development of low-pressure membranes, which made it possible to derive drinking water from even highly-polluted sources, and at a lower cost.

The Water Week, which was a t t e n d e d b y m o re t h a n 8 , 5 0 0 representatives from governments, utilities providers, businesses and academia, was held concurrently with two other conferences on sustainability – the World Cities Summit and the East Asia Summit Conference on Liveable Cities.

In a speech on June 25 at the Water Leaders Summit, Professor Tommy Koh, Singapore’s Ambassador-at-Large and the chairman of the Asia-Pacific Water Forum Governing Council, said: “Water is essential for life. There are over 1 billion people in the world, 700 million in Asia alone, who do not have access to safe drinking water. The time has come for us to recognise people’s access to safe drinking water and to sustainable sanitation as a human right.”

Michael Toh, GM of the Singapore International Water Week, said: “Our goal was to achieve the sorts of synergies you get only when the water industry’s key players are in the same room, and on the same page. And there is no doubt that the Singapore International Water Week has accomplished that. We hope to do even better when we return next year.”

ENQUIRY NO. 5703

EVENT PREVIEW

Globaltronics Suntec Singapore September 9 – 12, 2008

C

ome September 9 – 12 2008, more than 13,000 industr y professionals will meet at Suntec Singapore for Globaltronics 2008 – an electronics manufacturing tradeshow.

Over the course of four days, more than 550 exhibitors from over 30 countries will unveil their latest products and technologies across six segments.

The segments include PCB assembly and SMT equipment; testing and measurement equipment; active and passive components; contract manufacturing, plastic molding, metal stamping and precision engineering, embedded systems solutions and technology; and optics and optical components.

With a tagline, ‘The Heart of Asia’s Electronics Design, Technology and Manufacturing’, Globaltronics 2008 will allow for access to a whole host of product innovations targeted at electronics design and manufacturing

2008

Globaltronics 2008 will allow for access to a whole host of product innovations targeted at electronics design and manufacturing technology.

technology. Besides first-hand experience on the products and technology showcased, the exhibition will also provide an opportunity for industry professionals to network and build business contacts.

With more than 60 percent returning exhibitors, industry professionals can gain exposure to products and technologies from past exhibitors as well as insights to offerings by first-time exhibitors from over 30 countries.

Learning Platforms Industr y professionals can gain first-hand knowledge and update themselves with the trends and developments in the world of electronics manufacturing from ‘movers and shakers’ in the electronics manufacturing industry. This is done through tailor-made conferences, seminars and workshops.

At the event, visitors can gain first-

hand knowledge from the exhibiting companies through the Technology Forum. This forum allows exhibitors to showcase their latest product innovations through presentations.

It also serves as a forum for visitors/ engineers to raise any issues/ challenges which the exhibitors may have solutions for.

Four ‘Special Features’ will be highlighted at the event and each of these features is unique in its own ways. Exhibitors with any of the following ‘special features’ will place the respective icons at their booths.

With international support and recognition from national pavilions such as China, Germany, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and United Kingdom and participation from over 30 countries; Globaltronics 2008 promises to be an exciting Electronics Design, Technology and Manufacturing event.

ENQUIRY NO. 5704 August 2008 | industrial automation asia 63

EVENT Preview

Automation 2008 Bombay Exhibition Centre Mumbai, India September 25 –28, 2008

A

A labour-intensive industry, India is now waking up to the advantages of automation following a sudden influx of multinational companies.

utomation 2008 is organised by IED Communications Ltd which is headed by Mr M Arokiaswamy.

Automation 2008 will be held in three halls: Hall 1, Hall 5, and Hall 6 with a gross display area of 40,000 sq m.

The exhibition aims to highlight product trends, services and solutions in the field of factory automation, instrumentation and control systems, power plant automation, bus and wireless technology, pumps and valves, process automation, robotics, building automation, hydraulics and pneumatics and automation in machine tools.

The trade show also showcases new innovations and solutions for vast industry segment comprising of 64 industrial automation asia | August 2008

refining, petrochemicals, chemicals, polyester, power, life sciences, food and pharmaceutical, oil and gas businesses, steel and mining and other process industries, terminal automation, tank farm automation and retail outlet automation.

With enormous opportunities in the country and support by the government, India is a hub for the manufacturing and service sector.

Modern process technologies are in general highly integrated and many them are getting bigger and complex.

A labour-intensive industry, India is now waking up to the advantages of automation following a sudden influx of multinational companies (MNCs).

More than 1400 companies will be

participating in the event, with 750 companies already confirmed from 16 countries.

Automation In India Process industry automation continues to experience solid worldwide growth as plants must continue to improve performance. End users facing globalisation are driving plant performance at a level that would be inconceivable without modern process automation systems and business processes.

As a result, process automation products are expected to have robust growth as they are used across industrial segments, ranging from food and beverage and metals and mining

to Chemical and water and waste industries. Globalisation drives growth opportunities, but with this, the challenges for global manufacturers increase as well.

The factory automation segment is growing very fast. Robotics, for one, is growing at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 8-9 percent per annum.

A trade fair like Automation 2008, with its high proportion of international exhibitors and visitors, is ideal for getting to know and evaluating the competition in the industry.

The users of instrumentation and automation from all over India will see the latest technologies available.

There is certainly no lack of exciting ideas and concepts – just when and how these concepts are implemented in market-ready solutions will be another interesting aspect to find out about at the event.

Automation cuts the cost of production, ensures consistent output of high quality products, and leads to an increase in production.

Performance of past years’ exhibitions.

Process automation products are expected to have robust growth as they are used across industrial segments It enables the companies to become more dynamic, earn more profits and create more job opportunities thereby increasing the standard of living of the workers with better compensation packages.

Currently, the majority of the process industrwies are still operating on mechanical processes and need to be updated with the latest trends in factory and process automation.

Automation Technology Conference A three-day technical conference will be held at Automation 2008.

This technical conference provides quality education to professionals and provides business an opportunity to maximise their productivity and ensure their long-term growth.

Speakers from US, UK, Germany, Japan, Singapore, Brazil and other countries are presenting papers on automation technology. There will be one day conference on Foundation Fieldbus with the other two days

seminars that focus on process and factory automation.

The profiles of the visitors of the event are expected to be as such: presidents, managing directors and CEOs; plant managers, research and development, project design engineers; business managers, purchase managers; manufacturers and dealers, consultants and contractors; BARC decision makers; government officials; railways, defence, telecommunications, power; fertilisers, chemical and petro-chemicals, refineries, cement plants; associations and institutions related to the industry; decision makers of industrial institutions and overseas buyers.

Automation 2008 is the fourth installment of the event, which has taken place once every two years since the year 2002. The first event had 157 exhibitors and attracted 15,511 visitors. This grew to 422 exhibitors and 34,569 business visitors in 2006.

ENQUIRY NO. 5705 August 2008 | industrial automation asia  65

EVENT Preview

HIECC Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam September 17-19, 2008

Top: The show offers a platform for industry stakeholders to expand business potentials.

Bottom: Vietnam is one of the fastest growing ASEAN countries and is targeting to become an industrial nation by 2020.

Industrial Automation

Vietnam 2008 Industrial Automation Vietnam 2008 drives the focus on improved manufacturing methodologies for a fast emerging market.

o-located with Elenex Vietnam 2008, Building M&E Vietnam 2008, and Securitex & Fire Vietnam 2008, the first Industrial Automation Vietnam will be staged from September 17-19, 2008 in the Ho Chi Minh City International Exhibition & Convention Centre (HIECC).

Covering a combined area of 7,000 sq m, the show offers a platform for industry stakeholders to expand business potentials and meet with over 7,000 visitors.

Designated for specifiers from core sectors including automotive; building and construction; electronics 66  industrial automation asia | August 2008

and engineering; food and beverage processing; transport and logistics amongst others, the show is located in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City where owners, specifiers, engineers and system integrators are able to evaluate the latest automation technologies and options for improved productivity in their operations.

Industrial Automation Vietnam 2008 will include participation by industry names including Areva, Autonics, Festo, Idec Izumi, Phoenix Contact, Rittal, Siemens and Schneider, as well as leading suppliers under the umbrella of the Profibus organisation.Â

On the threshold of transformation, Vietnam is one of the fastest growing ASEAN countries and is targeting to become an industrial nation by 2020. With annual Foreign Direct Investment exceeding US$14 billion and rising labour costs the need for automation technologies is a priority for the manufacturing sector.

In Ho Chi Minh City specialisation in certain sectors is also evident with concentration on the electronics/ICT, mechanical engineering, chemicals and food processing industries.

ENQUIRY NO. 5706

CalendarOf Events2008 august 13 – 17 Zak India Industrial Expo

Singapore Expo Singapore Zak Trade Fairs & Exhibitions Pvt Ltd Email: javed.khan@zakgroup.com Web: www.zakindustrialexpo.com

21 – 24 Taipei Int’l Automation Technology Exhibition 2008

Taipei World Trade Centre Hall 1 Taipei, Taiwan Chan Chao Int’l Co Ltd Email: show@chanchao.com.tw Web: www.chanchao.com.tw/ Automation/

26 – 29 Assembly Technology Expo China 2008

Shenzhen Convention & Exhibition Centre Shenzhen, China Reed Exhibitions Email: sarah.geng@reedexpo.com.cn Web: www.atexpochina.com

27 – 28 Indonesia Power Conference

Hotel Mulia Senayan Jakarta, Indonesia Asia Business Forum Pte Ltd Email: marcy.chong@abf.com.sg Web: www.abf-asia.com

september 9 – 12 Globaltronics 2008

Suntec, Singapore Reed Exhibitions Email: melanie.mostafa@reedexpo. com.sg Web: www.globaltronics.com.sg

17 – 19 Industrial Automation Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City Int’l Exhibition & Convention Centre (HIECC) Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Hongkong Exhibition Services Ltd Email: exhibit@hkesallworld.com Web: www.iavietnam.com

18 – 20 Power Tajikistan 2008

Kohi-Borbad Congress Hall Dushanbe, Tajikistan Iteca LLP Email: contact@iteca.kz Web: www.tajikpower.iteca.kz/en/2008

25 – 28 Automation 2008

Bombay Exhibition Centre, India IED Communications Ltd Email: ied@vsnl.com Web: www.automation2008.com

october 7 – 11 Taiwan RFID

TWTC Nangang Exhibition Hall Taipei, Taiwan Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) Email: rfid@taitra.org.tw Web: www.rfidtaiwan.com.tw

9 - 11 PSCT 2008

Jinhan Exhibition Centre Guangzhou, China IIR Exhibitions Pte Ltd Email: psct@iirx.com.sg Web: www.iirx.com.sg

13 – 16 SCM Logistics World 2008

Raffles City Convention Centre, Singapore Terrapinn Pte Ltd Email: stella.teo@terrapinn.com Web: www.terrapinn.com/2008/scmlog

14 – 16 Vietwater 2008

National Convention Centre Hanoi, Vietnam AMB Events Sdn Bhd Email: info@vietwater.com Web: www.vietwater.com

22 – 24 ProcessCEM Asia 2008

Suntec, Singapore Association of Process Industry (ASPRI) Email: processcem2008@aspri.com.sg Web: www.processcemasia.com

22 – 25 International Machine Tools Expo 2008

Bombay Exhibition Centre Mumbai, India Conventions & Fairs Pvt Ltd Email: conventions@mtnl.net.in Web: www.imexonline.com

30 – 2 (Nov) EPM – Machine Tool Saigon

Saigon Exhibition & Convention Centre Vietnam Chan Chao Int’l Co Ltd Email: linkage@linkage-vn.com Web: www.epm-machinetool-saigon. com

november 4 – 6 Machine Tools Automation Pakistan 2008

Karachi Expo Centre, Pakistan Pegasus Consultancy Pvt Ltd Email: info@automation.com.pk Web: www.machinetoolpakistan.com

14 – 16 Hyderabad Int’l Machine Tool Expo

HITEX Exhibition Centre Hyderabad, India Hyderabad Int’l Trade Expositions Ltd Email: dpo@hitex.co.in Web: www.himtexexpo.com

18 – 20 China Int’l Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Expo 2008

Shanghai Everbright Convention & Exhibition Centre Shanghai, China China Association For Hydrogen Energy Email: hydrogen@tsinghua.edu.cn Web: www.hfce.cn

20 – 23 Metalex 2008, Thailand

BITEC, Bangkok, Thailand Reed Tradex Email: metalex@reedtradex.co.th Web: www.metalex.co.th

december 2 – 5 OSEA2008

Suntec, Singapore Singapore Email: es@sesallworld.com Web: www.osea-asia.com

NOTES To be considered for inclusion in the Calendar of Events, send details of event (name, date, venue, organiser contact) to: The Assistant Editor IAA. Eastern Trade Media Pte Ltd. 1100 Lower Delta Road, EPL Building #04-02, Singapore 169206 Tel: (65) 6379 2888 Fax: (65) 6379 2805 Email: derekrodriguez@epl.com.sg

August 2008 industrial | industrial automation automation asia asia 67 67

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1100 Lower Delta Road #04-02 EPL Building Singapore 169206 Fax: (65) 6379 2806

Your Business Activity ❑ 500 ❑ 505 ❑ 510 ❑ 515 ❑ 520 ❑ 525 ❑ 530 ❑ 535 ❑ 540 ❑ 545 ❑ 550 ❑ 555

Semi-Conductor Foundry Services Semi-Conductor Equipment Mfg Electrical & Electronics Mfg Automated Assembly Precision Engineering & Sub-contracting Aerospace Automotive Material,Storage & Handling Systems Design & Programme Building and Construction Rubber & Plastic Manufacturing Assembly/Packaging

❑ 560 ❑ 565 ❑ 570 ❑ 575 ❑ 580 ❑ 585 ❑ 590 ❑ 595 ❑ 600 ❑ 605 ❑ 610

(Please tick)

Food & Beverage Processing Pulp & Paper Oil & Gas Production Power Generation Chemical and Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Environmental Management Water & Waste Water Management & Recycling Shipbuilding & Repair Trade Association/Institutions/Government Agency Agents/Distributors/Representatives Others (Please be specific)

YOUR JOB FUNCTION

(Please tick)

❑ 50 Executive Management ❑ 52 Maintenance Engineering ❑ 54 Manufacturing Engineering

❑ 62 System Support Engineering ❑ 64 Testing & Inspection/Quality Control ❑ 66 Purchasing/Sourcing

❑ 56 Design Engineering ❑ 58 Packaging Engineering ❑ 60 Process Engineering

❑ 68 Research & Development ❑ 70 Sales & Marketing ❑ 72 Others (Please be specific)

Size of company (Please tick) ❑ 001 1 – 10

❑ 002 11 – 30

❑ 003 31 – 50

❑ 004 51 – 100

❑ 005 101 – 499

❑ 006 500 or more

ENQUIRY NO. 835