IAA September 09

September 2009

www.iaasiaonline.com

MICA(P) 154/07/2009 | ISSN 0219/5615 | PPS 1561/06/2010 (028221)

SYSTEM INTEGRATION:

Combined

Strengths LEAN MANUFACTURING:

Ruthless

Efficiency FLOW METER ACCURACY:

Save With In House

Calibration Wind Energy:

MEASURING NET EFFECT

Helping you integrate machine safety Helping you integrate machine safety for maximum productivity for maximum productivity

With integrated machine safety solutions, application experience and

With integrated machine safety solutions, application experience and

legislation knowledge, we can help you achieve a safer environment

legislation knowledge, we can help you achieve a safer environment

without compromising productivity. without compromising productivity.

The result be a can saferbe future for more yourthan business.

Thecan result a safer futurethan forjust more just your business.

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Thailand

Tel: 662 936 1500

Fax: 662 936 1510

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Tel: 848 6255 6400 Fax: 848 6255 6411

www.rockwellautomation.com/sea

Copyright © 2009 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

ENQUIRY NO. 041 Copyright © 2009 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2009 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

WHEREVER YOU SEE HIGH PERFORMANCE, MOOG MOTION CONTROL EXPERTS ARE THERE. Discover how close collaboration between Moog and machine builder Dieffenbacher helped to improve the overall performance of their high-performance plastic presses. Dieffenbacher’s new short stroke closing system, in combination with Moog’s hydraulic components, resulted in a reduction of energy consumption by 50%, increased productivity for faster cycle times, and incorporated digital control to facilitate easier diagnostics and access.

It’s Moog’s combination of motion control expertise and world-class solutions that can make the Achieving High Performance: A Collaborative Approach for Motion Control Solutions

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Ready to revolutionize your machine design?

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ENQUIRY NO. 014

©2008 Moog. All rights reserved.

YOU’RE LOOKING AT A REVOLUTION IN MOTION CONTROL.

contents September 2009

ISSUES & INSIGHTS

20

System Integration: Combining Strengths

Strategic outsourcing and cooperating with system solution providers can help system integrators save valuable R&D time and costs. By Catherine Ni, Advantech Taiwan and Ellen Sim, Advantech Singapore

52

CONTROL POINT

24

Wind Power Opportunities

The Long & Short Of Cabling

Increasing networking demands are met by providing 10GBASE-T switch ports and 10GBASE-T network interface cards on network servers and data storage equipment.

By Paul Kish, Belden

SOFTWARE & NETWORKS

26

Plant Intelligence For SCADA & MES

The scalability of plant intelligence is regarded as unique within the field of SCADA systems. By Martin Ahrens and Holger Oettel, Siemens

30

Lean Manufacturing: Ruthless Efficiency

20

Plant Asset Management: Speaking EDDL

26

Shedding excess weight takes on added importance during the economic crisis. By K S Sankaran, Makino Asia

Plant Intelligence For SCADA & MES

INSTRUMENTATION & MEASUREMENT

32

Flow Transfer Standards: In-house Calibration Flow measurement suppliers have developed portable flow transfer standards for in-house calibrations or verifications. By Mark Evans, Flow Technology

39

Market Report: MEMS Record Growth With Applications Across Diverse End-User Segments In Southeast Asia The MEMS market earned revenues of over US$57.5 million in 2008 and is forecasted to reach US$127.1 million in 2015. By Sriram Venkatasubramanian, Frost & Sullivan

SECTOR SPOTLIGHT

36

24

The Long & Short Of Cabling

Consumer Electronics: Perfect Competition

Despite the economic downturn, the future is looking bright for the competitive-natured consumer electronics industry. By Joson Ng

Flow Transfer Standards: In-house Calibration 2  industrial automation asia | September 2009

32

Dynamic Control Performance Multifunctional Application Easy Maintenance Environmental Adaptation

FUJI ELECTRIC ASIA PACIFIC PTE LTD

171 Chin Swee Road #12-01, San Centre, Singapore 169877 Tel: (65) 6533 0014 Fax: (65) 6533 0021 Email: Drive@fujielectric.com.sg Website: www.fujielectric.com.sg

ENQUIRY NO. 026

CONTENTS SEPTEMBER 2009

ENERGY

40

44

Alternative Energies: Shades Of Green

Biofuel technologies are set to pave the way to a green and sustainable future.

By Nils Leffler, Suchada Tangcharoensrisakul, Conni Hinkel, Niclas Erkenstal, Catherine Koerbaecher, ABB

8

News

16

EtherCAT Technology Group

Putting Numbers On Green Performance

17

Fieldbus Foundation

18

CAN in Automation

19

Profibus SEA

56

Products & Services

63

Calendar of Events

64

Advertising Index / Ad Sales Office

Detailed studies confirm the low environmental impact of wind turbines compared to fossil-fuel power generation. By Charles Burcher, Vestas

49

Harnessing The Wind

Ring redundancies in wind parks are easy to implement with unmanaged switches. By Thomas Heckmann, Harting Electric

FEATURES

50

REGULARS

From Farm to Fork: A Growing Importance On Hygiene

64A Product Enquiry Card Cover: Carl Wycoff, USA

For food industry manufacturers, due diligence in matters of hygiene is not only a legal necessity, but also a business necessity.

By Roland Czuday, Bosch

VERIFYING FOOD SAFETY

52

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4

industrial automation asia | September 2009

52

Verifying Food Safety

55

All Part Of e Plan

The verification process from regulators and customers would enable increased product quality and safety. By Wong Chee Siong, JohnsonDiversey

CAE provider ePlan’s Mak JY speaks about how the software can help users increase productivity.

Refer to pg IMPORTANT NOTICE

The circulation of this magazine is audited by bpa world wide. The advertisers’ association recommend that advertisers should place their advertisements only in audited publications.

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Advertisers’

for Enquiry Numbers

We just broke all our productivity records.

T H A N K S

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ENQUIRY NO. 062

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The powerful and open Wonderware System Platform software supports

people with faster, real-time collaboration and decision support. Plant and facility operators, managers and IT departments in over 125,000 installations around the world rely on the power of Wonderware to achieve operational success.

Put some POW! into your operation. Get Wonderware. www.wonderware.com

Wonderware Authorized Distributor - Servo Dynamics Pte Ltd Contact: 6844 0288 • Email: han@servo.com.sg 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.

EDITOR’S PAGE

WINDS

Published by:

EASTERN TRADE MEDIA PTE LTD

(A fully owned subsidiary of Eastern Holdings Ltd)

OF CHANGE

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Kenneth Tan ASSISTANT EDITOR

Derek Rodriguez derekrodriguez@epl.com.sg EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

The modern wind turbine has been around for 30 years now and gradually, has seen its place as one of the world’s alternative energy sources grow. Currently, wind energy supplies approximately 1.5 percent of the world’s energy.

This might appear to be a small percentage, but judging from the number of projects in the mill, wind energy is all set to experience a major boom.

In China’s Gansu Province, a 10 gigawatt wind power base is being built, an output comparable to the country’s present installed capacity. Already, China is the world’s fourth largest wind power producer behind the United States, Germany and Spain and without a doubt, are looking to move up this list.

The US government has also recently made known their intention to increase its reliance on wind-produced power are there for from the current 1 percent to over 20 percent by the year 2030. an Buoyed by the expected growth and of the wind energy market, the wind deployable turbine industry is certainly not resting its laurels. New technologies, such energy source on as GE Energy’s WindBoost, which the company claims can increase turbine like by 100 kilowatts. to output Another development is the step up to emergence of the maglev (magnetic the plate levitation) wind turbine. It is said to be capable of utilising lower wind speeds than conventional wind turbines, helping to justify the high expense of installing a wind turbine.

In wind turbine manufacturer Vestas’ case, justification also comes in the form of what the company term life cycle assessment (LCA), an attempt by the company to quantify the environmental impact of its turbines from cradle to the grave.

With industralisation in rapid acceleration in countries like China and India, and contributing to an already ever-increasing need for power, the opportunities are there for an effective and quickly deployable energy source like wind turbines to step up to the plate.

Aisyah Wong aisyahwong@epl.com.sg SENIOR ART DIRECTOR/STUDIO MANAGER

Lawrence Lee lawrencelee@epl.com.sg GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Katherine Ching katherineching@epl.com.sg Soh Kee Seng sohkeeseng@epl.com.sg CONTRIBUTING GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Ahmad Halik ahmadhalik@epl.com.sg ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER

Derick Chia derickchia@epl.com.sg CIRCULATION EXECUTIVE

Opportunities effective quickly

wind turbines

Derek Rodriguez Assistant Editor

6

industrial automation asia | September 2009

Irene Tow irenetow@epl.com.sg CONTRIBUTORS

Joson Ng, Catherine Ni, Ellen Sim, Paul Kish, K S Sankaran, Martin Ahrens, Holger Oettel, Mark Evans, Sriram Venkatasubramanian, Nils Leffler, Suchada Tangcharoensrisakul, Conni Hinkel, Niclas Erkenstal, Catherine Koerbaecher, Charles Burcher, Thomas Heckmann, Wong Chee Siong, Roland Czuday 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. 154/07/2009 ISSN 0219/5615 PPS 1561/06/2010 (028221) Co Reg No. 199908196C

Printer: Fabulous Printers Pte Ltd

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Systems 800xA also includes a unique connectivity to previous ABB installations and has set the

improvements in your operations.

For more information visit: www.abb.com/controlsystems or email: processautomation@sg.abb.com

ENQUIRY NO. 066

new standard for corporate-wide productivity – find out how it can help you make significant

INDUSTRY NEWS Emerson Unveils Global Data Centre St Louis, USA: Emerson has opened the doors of its global data centre in St Louis. The company invested US$50 million in the facility and IT equipment.

The 35,000 sq ft global data centre will be 31 percent more energy efficient than traditional data centres, thanks to the latest energy-efficiency technologies, precision cooling products, and recommended efficiency strategies from the company’s Emerson Network Power business.

The data centre features a 7,800 sq ft rooftop solar array.

The more than 550 solar panels can generate 100 kilowatts of energy.

Emerson anticipates the centre will have 99.982 percent uptime. In addition to energy efficiency, construction of the data centre was completed with environmental responsibility in mind.

Approximately 80 percent of the construction waste generated was diverted from landfills through recycling, and innovative design features enabled Emerson to save more than 2.5 miles of copper piping, minimising the use of excess materials.

▲

The global data centre uses the latest energy-efficiency technologies, precision cooling products, and efficiency strategies

▲

ENQUIRY NO. 6101

▲

8

(From left): Emerson CEO David N Farr and CIO Stephen C Hassell discuss the data centre solar array with Missouri Gov Jay Nixon

The 7,800 sq ft rooftop solar array is capable of generating 100 kW of power

industrial automation asia | September 2009

Industry News

Singapore: Wartsila Automation Services, Wifgasingo Dinamika Instrument Engineering and Smar Singapore representatives and its personnel for the Asia-Pacific areas participated in the CIP – Certified Integrators Program, promoted by Smar System Task Force Group to develop certified integrators for the region.

The partnership supplies trained technical support personnel to supplement in-plant instrument technical staff during outages or maintenance shutdowns.

Specialists can, also, provide in-house training and consultation to plant personnel involved in instrument/electronic equipment maintenance and repair.

Smar Singapore and its representatives can provide trained personnel to completely checkout process systems prior to a new system startup or existing system restart.

Specialists have the experience to set initial control values, startup troubleshooting, re-engineering and tuning parameters for most processes, providing technology interoperable with all major protocols and co-existing with any legacy system. advantech171x122mm r1.pdf

8/17/09

ENQUIRY NO.AM 6102 10:40:28

GE Drivetrain & Chongqing XinXing Gear Finalise Joint Venture

Chongqing, China: GE Drivetrain Technologies, a unit of GE Transportation, and Chongqing XinXing Fengneng Investment have announced the formation of a joint venture company to produce large diameter gears for the wind turbine industry.

Under the terms of the joint venture, Chongqing XinXing Fengneng will be the majority owner, and the gears will be produced in a new manufacturing facility in Chongqing, China.

Initially, the business will manufacture gears for GE Drivetrain Technologies’ wind turbine gearbox production facility in Shenyang, China. GE Drivetrain Technologies and A-Power Energy Systems announced the development of the facility as part of a joint venture agreement in January 2009.

ENQUIRY NO. 6103

ENQUIRY NO. 065

Asia-Pacific Representatives Acquire SI Certification

September 2009 | industrial automation asia  9

Industry News

Atlas Copco’s ‘Net Zero Energy Consumption’ Compressors

Antwerp, Belgium: Atlas Copco’s ZR series of water-cooled oil-free air compressors with built-in energy recovery systems has been TÜV certified for ‘net zero energy consumption’ at specific design conditions. It has been proven that 100 percent of the electrical power

input could be recovered in the form of hot water.

With these ‘carbon zero’ compressors, industries using a great deal of hot water and steam such as food & beverage, dairies, pulp & paper, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and petrochemicals, power plants, clean rooms and textiles can dramatically cut down on their energy bill.

Energy savings in compressed air systems are very important as energy consumption typically represents over 80 percent of a compressor’s lifecycle cost. While compressed air systems on average account for about 10 percent of industrial electricity consumption, it can be as high as 40 percent of a plant’s

Yokogawa Receives Control Systems Contract In Vietnam Tokyo, Japan: Yokogawa Engineering Asia has received a contract from Lilama Corp to supply control systems and instrumentation for the Vung Ang 1 power plant, which is being built for the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (Petrovietnam).

Situated in Ha Tihn Province, the power plant will have two 600 MW units, for a combined generating capacity of 1,200 MW. Unit 1 is planned to be operational by mid2012 and unit 2 by early 2013.

In this project, Yokogawa Engineering Asia is providing control systems and instrumentation for the boilers and other utilities. These include a Centum series integrated production control system, the ProSafe-RS Safety Instrumented System, the Exaquantum Plant Information Management System, and DPharp series pressure/ differential pressure transmitters.

As part of its full turnkey project solution, Yokogawa Engineering Asia is also providing engineering, installation supervision, and commissioning services.

ENQUIRY NO. 6105

10 industrial automation asia | September 2009

electricity bill.

While the carbon zero compressor compresses air, all the input electrical energy is converted into heat. This heat appears at different compressor components. The challenge is really to pick up this heat from all the components which are the compression elements, the oil cooler, intercooler and aftercooler.

The built-in energy recovery system circulates cooling water through all these components and as a result of the heat transfer, yields hot water at up to 90°C. This hot water can find several applications in the industry.

ENQUIRY NO. 6104

Manufacturing Solutions Could Save US$6 Billion Milwaukee, USA: Rockwell Automation has developed a portfolio of smart, safe and sustainable manufacturing solutions that could help companies save up to US$6 billion a year, or about ten percent of the total US industrial electrical energy costs, by capitalising on ‘Smart Grid’ initiatives with existing technologies.

The smart, safe and sustainable manufacturing portfolio includes a series of plant-wide energy optimisation tools that create an integrated industrial energy management system based on Rockwell Automation industrial automation and information technology. It also will allow manufacturers to perform real-time loadbalancing of their industrial processes, bring renewable energy sources online and execute demand response strategies connected to the Smart Grid.

“Until now, manufacturers had to make decisions without knowing how energy directly affects their production costs and impacts the bottom line,” said Terry Gebert, VP and GM of Rockwell Automation Global Solutions. “By combining OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness), a key performance indicator used by many manufacturers, with an energy model to create an energy blueprint -- or ‘greenprint’ – for any production process, we can develop a long-term strategy for smarter energy use.”

Mr Gebert emphasised that “manufacturers can begin to capture actual energy use and add it to their bill of materials and other production records.”

With smart manufacturing solutions, an entire plant’s energy consumption can be optimised. Information on real-time energy usage flows from machine to machine and across production lines, and intelligent machines can monitor and manage their own energy use. Plant-floor energy use data can then be networked into enterprise business systems and connected to suppliers and utility companies.

ENQUIRY NO. 6106

Industry News

Tokyo, Japan: Omron Corp has announced its intention to spin off its automotive electronic components business into a new company, to be established in April 2010, through a corporate split. Details will be announced following approval at the board of directors meeting scheduled for the second half of January 2010.

Omron has designated the period from February 2009 through March 2011 as a ‘revival stage’ in which sweeping profit structure reform will be implemented throughout the entire group. As part of this profit structure reform, Omron will reorganise its business domains over the medium-term, focusing on its three controlbased businesses (industrial automation, electronic components and automotive electronic components).

The spin off of the automotive electronic components business is intended to improve profitability by allowing independent management of this unique business.

The automobile industry is now feeling the effects of the global recession that began in the United States last year. With little hope of recovery in the short term and the future remaining unclear, alliances between automakers have accelerated, creating a spillover effect on suppliers of automotive systems and components.

AEC sees the changes currently taking place within the global automobile industry as an opportunity to transform itself into a company that can respond quickly and boldly to change.

ENQUIRY NO. 6107

KC Samyang Water Systems Selects Siemens Seoul, South Korea: KC Samyang Water Systems will use Siemens PLM’s Teamcenter Express to streamline its processes throughout the plant.

Also, the company has conducted a series of customised Solid Edge training sessions for its designers and will use the software for all current and future design processes.

“The key requirement for selecting a PLM solution was to improve our product development capability while enhancing innovation as we continue to integrate with our ERP systems,” said Kuk Hyun Kim, project manager, KC Samyang Water Systems.

ENQUIRY NO. 6108

ENQUIRY NO. 055

Omron To Spin Off Automotive Electronic Components Business

September 2009 | industrial automation asia

11

Industry News

ExxonMobil’s First LNG Cargo At Adriatic Terminal

FF Technology In Chinese Petrochemical Project

Texas, USA: The first liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo arrived at the Adriatic LNG regasification terminal located offshore of Porto Levante, Italy aboard the LNG carrier, Dukhan.

Terminale GNL Adriatico (‘Adriatic LNG’) is owned by Qatar Terminal Limited (45 percent), a Qatar Petroleum subsidiary, ExxonMobil Italiana Gas (45 percent) and Edison (10 percent). The terminal is the first offshore gravity based structure in the world for unloading, storage and regasification of LNG. It utilises ExxonMobil proprietary technology and is designed around a large concrete structure, which houses two LNG storage tanks, a regasification plant, and facilities for mooring and unloading LNG vessels.

When it reaches full operational capacity later in 2009, the Adriatic LNG Terminal will be able to deliver 775 million cubic feet of natural gas per day (8 billion cubic metres per year), or approximately 10 percent of Italy’s current natural gas requirements.

ENQUIRY NO. 6109

Local-Language Websites For Power Supply Designers In Asia California, USA: Power Integrations has launched four Asian-language websites, giving engineers in China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan easy access to a wide variety of design tools and technical information in their local languages.

To meet the needs of power supply designers in Asia, the websites deliver locallanguage design resources, including design ideas, how-to videos, the external power supply efficiency compliance calculator, and the company’s power supply design software, PI Expert. The websites also host the Power Integrations ‘Green Room’, featuring the latest information about energy-efficient design, along with a comprehensive directory of worldwide energy-efficiency standards and specifications.

Comments Doug Bailey, VP marketing: “Providing technical material in the four most widely spoken Asian languages will make it easier for designers to find what they need, when they need it – simplifying and expediting their design process.”

ENQUIRY NO. 6110

12

industrial automation asia | September 2009

Helsinki, Finland: CSPC, a joint venture between the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and Shell, is one of the largest p e t ro c h e m i c a l projects launched in China in recent years. When production started during 2006, the project was also one of the biggest installations utilising Foundation Fieldbus (FF) technology in process control and field instrumentation.

One of the main reasons for the CSPC project to select FF technology was that it allows a proactive approach to instrument maintenance. FF devices can send out maintenance requests before an instrument actually fails, and when an instrument has failed it can provide detailed diagnostic information about the failure. The CSPC petrochemical plant is an early adaptor to the new technology.

In the CSPC project, the majority of the control valves are from Metso.

All together there are 2,400 valves with Metso’s intelligent FF ND9000 valve controllers. CSPC uses their diagnostic information daily.

The graphical user interface of the intelligent valve controller is based on open and standardised FDT/DTM technology. According to CSPC, a device DTM (a device graphical user interface) can help them and make life easier because it allows easy access to device parameters, configuration and diagnostics.

At CSPC the asset management system is Yokogawa’s PRM, which has FDT/DTM capability and allows access to Metso’s device DTM. ENQUIRY NO. 6111

Industry News

Spire Solar India Established Massachusetts, USA: Spire Corp has established a wholly-owned subsidiary, Spire Solar India, a Delaware limited liability company formed to take advantage of the growing market for the company and it’s distribution of products in India.

Spire Solar India will locate its

representative office in New Delhi and aid in sales, provide rapid customer communications, provide improved after-service capabilities, and serve as a regional headquarters for equipment service operations.

Roger G Little, chairman and CEO, said: “India is expected to be among the

fastest growing markets for PV demand and has recently introduced the Solar Power Policy – 2009, which promotes generalisation of green and clean power through solar energy and promotion of local manufacturing facilities.”

ENQUIRY NO. 6112

Shaw & Westinghouse Announce Placement Of Structural Module

708 Series Fully Managed Fast Ethernet • Eight 10/100BaseTX Ports

ENQUIRY NO. 6113

• -40ºC to 85º Operating Temperature

708FX2 Series Fully Managed Fast Ethernet • Six 10/100BaseTX Ports • Two 100BaseFX Ports • -40ºC to 85º Operating Temperature 716 Series Fully Managed Fast Ethernet

• Sixteen Ports • -40ºC to 70º Operating Temperature

7018 Series Fully Managed Gigabit Ethernet • Up to Eighteen Ports • -40ºC to 70º Operating Temperature Above Models Include: • N-Link Redundant N-Ring Coupling • SNMP V3 • High Voltage Options Available

• Web Configuration including MAC Filters, IGMP Groups, DHCP Server with Option 82

Shanghai: +86 021 6133 7770 • Beijing: +86 139 1029 0271 N-TRON_Sales@n-tron.com • www.n-tron.com

ENQUIRY NO. 061

Louisiana, USA: The Shaw Group and Westinghouse Electric Company, its AP1000 Consortium team member, has announced, along with China’s State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation (SNPTC) and Nuclear Construction Company number 5, the successful placement of the first major structural module at the Sanmen nuclear power plant project.

The plant is owned by Sanmen Nuclear Power Company (SMNPC) and located in China’s Zhejiang province. The module weighs approximately 1,020 tonnes (with rigging apparatus) and measures 69 feet wide, 44 feet long and 69 feet high.

Shaw provided engineering and project management services leading up to and throughout the module’s lift and placement, which was executed safely and without incident. The module partially makes up the walls, floors and rooms of the auxiliary building, one of six buildings that comprise the nuclear island of an AP1000 nuclear power plant.

September 2009 | industrial automation asia 13

Industry News

Hima Modernises ESD System In Hexane Oxidation Plant Brühl, Germany: In a hexane oxidation plant belonging to Lanxess AG at the KrefeldUerdingen Chemical Park (North Rhine-Westphalia region), Hima Paul Hildebrandt is upgrading an existing Hima ESD (Emergency Shutdown) system.

Because Lanxess planned to shut down the plant for a very short period before commissioning, it decided to conduct a Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) using the expanded and modernised safety system. To this end, a concept was drawn up together with Lanxess and the system was replicated 1:1 at Hima in Brühl.

Lanxess uses the plant to produce KA oil, a primary product used to make thermoplastics. KA oil is a mixture of cyclohexanone and cyclohexanol and is produced by the oxidation of cyclohexane.

In the event of an accident, a process involved in producing KA oil may need to be shut down. The task of the ESD system is to deactivate the reaction in the event of danger, and relax the process. Among its most important tasks is the monitoring of limit values and control valves.

The ESD system, consisting of an H51q safety controller with nine IOMRs (input/ output module racks), is housed in two switchgear cabinets. Some 936 input and output signals are processed with respect to safety.

ENQUIRY NO. 6114

Intel, Micron’s 3-Bit-Per-Cell Technology NAND Product

California, USA: Intel Corp and Micron Technology has developed 3-bitper-cell (3bpc) multi-level cell (MLC) NAND technology, leveraging their 34-nanometer (nm) NAND process.

The chips are typically used in consumer storage devices such as flash cards and USB drives, where high density and cost-efficiency are paramount.

Designed and manufactured by IM Flash Technologies (IMFT), their NAND flash joint venture, the 3bpc NAND technology produces a small and costeffective 32-gigabit (Gb) chip.

The 32Gb 3bpc NAND chip is 126mm². Micron is currently sampling and will be in mass production in the fourth quarter 2009.

ENQUIRY NO. 6115

Flowserve Awarded US$8 Million Order For Pumps

GE & Fanuc To Dissolve Joint Venture

Texas, USA: Flowserve Corp has been awarded an order of approximately US$8 million for pumps by Shell Malaysia Exploration & Production (Shell) to aid in the oil recovery efforts for the St Joseph field, located in the South China Sea. The St Joseph field comes under the North Sabah 1996 Production Sharing Contract.

The order was booked with Flowserve in an earlier quarter in 2009 via a Malaysian company, Enserv Sendirian Berhad. Flowserve barrel pumps will be used on this redevelopment project to inject seawater into the field to boost oil extraction.

Virginia, USA: GE and Fanuc have agreed to dissolve the GE Fanuc Automation Corporation joint venture. This agreement would allow each company to refocus its investments to grow its existing businesses and pursue its respective core industry expertise. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of this year, subject to satisfactory customary closing conditions.

Under the terms of the agreement, GE retains the software, services, embedded systems and control systems businesses globally. The company will be known as GE Intelligent Platforms; Fanuc retains the global CNC business.

ENQUIRY NO. 6116

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industrial automation asia | September 2009

ENQUIRY NO. 6117

Industry News

Belden & Byres Security Join Forces Missouri, USA: Belden and Byres Security Inc (BSI) have signed a technology cooperation agreement to jointly launch products in the area of industrial network security with availability later this year.

Eric Byres, CTO of BSI, notes: “Industry has become very reliant on the quality and consistency of its data streams, particularly for SCADA and automation. Systems and solutions need to be rugged.”

ENQUIRY NO. 6118

Moog Announces Joint Development With Samplify Systems Virginia, USA: Moog Components Group has announced the formation of a partnership with Samplify Systems to bring an innovative signal compression technology to the Computed Tomography (CT) market.

This partnership will lower costs and improve performance of next-generation CT machines through a variety of product offerings and subsystems to be provided

by Moog and integrated with Samplify’s patented Prism CT signal compression technology and silicon products.

As CT OEM’s continue to increase the amount of data generated and processed to improve functionality, the ability to compress the data while maintaining image quality will allow continued advancements in diagnostic abilities.

Chinese Tobacco Company Selects Wonderware California, USA: China-based Hongyun Honghe Tobacco Group has selected Wonderware software offerings to manage the operations and maintenance of its energy management system.

The tobacco facility in Kunming, China plans to use Wonderware Mobile Solutions in conjunction with Wonderware System Platform to manage its utility operations. Wonderware Mobile Solutions was selected to implement operational discipline and enhance worker safety by ensuring that the execution of procedures is done correctly.

The Wonderware solution also will assist Hongyun Honghe Group connect energy management systems to its MES and ERP operations.

ENQUIRY NO. 6119

REGIONAL NETWORK Hitachi Asia Ltd Hitachi Asia (Thailand) Co. Ltd Hitachi Asia (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd

As a regional headquarter, Hitachi Asia Ltd (HAS) markets electric motors, air compressors and digitalized inverters. It is also responsible for the marketing of various industrial products such as programmable logic controllers, ink jet printers, hoists, vortex blowers, contactors and circuit breakers.

Hitachi Variable Frequency Drives

Hitachi Asia Ltd – Philippines Branch

SJ-Series

Hitachi Asia Ltd

New

• Hanoi / Ho Chi Minh City Hitachi Asia Ltd – Jakarta Office Hitachi India Trading Pvt. Ltd • Bangalore / Chennai / Mumbai / New Delhi

REGIONAL DISTRIBUTORS / DEALERS • Singapore • Malaysia

ENQUIRY NO. 6120

NEW

SJ700 Series

High Performance Inverter with High Starting Torque and Built-in Programming Function

SJ300 Series Full-feature Performance for Applications Requiring High Starting Torque and Functional Versatility

SJ200 Series Compact Inverter with High Starting Torque and User-friendliness

• Thailand • Indonesia • Philippines

L-Series & X-Series

• Vietnam

L300P Series Enhanced Energy-Saving Function for General Applications

• India

X200 Series

• Pakistan • Sri Lanka

• Middle East Countries

NEW

ENQUIRY NO. 827

• Bangladesh

New

New Generation Compact Inverter with Trip-less and User-friendly Features

Hitachi Asia Ltd

24 Jurong Port Road, #03-05 Office Block, CWT Distripark Singapore 619097 Tel: +65 6305 7400 • Fax: +65 6305 7401 • URL: www.hitachi.com/asia • Email: ice@has.hitachi.com.sg

Tel: (81) 3 4345 6063

September 2009 | industrial automation asia

15

Asia EtherCat –

The Next Measurement Bus

ETHERCAT is on its way to become a de facto standard in test and measurement applications.

But which are the features that have made EtherCAT a favorite of the test and measurement industry?

• Sampling Rate More than 90 percent of the data rate at full duplex operation can be used for the communication payload. Bus cycle times of 100µs are common with EtherCAT. Combined with oversampling, one can realise sample rates of analogue signals of up to 500 kHz at 16 bit resolution.

• Synchronisation Accuracy EtherCAT is very precise: thanks to the distributed clock measurement values can be sampled in a synchronised manner network wide – and with a jitter substantially smaller than one microsecond. In most cases the deviation is even below 100 nanoseconds. The time stamps for input and output data have the same accuracy, too.

• Costs EtherCAT systems incur low costs by the software implemented masters on standard Ethernet ports, and by low cost slave controller chips. The cabling side is also inexpensive, since EtherCAT does not require switches or other active infrastructure components and uses standard cabling and connectors.

• Fieldbus Gateways Currently 19 different fieldbus systems are supported. With these 16

industrial automation asia | September 2009

components one can integrate existing devices into an EtherCAT network and also realise interfaces to neighbouring or higher level systems.

M ig rat ion f rom prev iou s systems is facilitated and at the same time the complex interface variety of the central controllers is omitted: other systems are simply integrated via EtherCAT, and not any more via PCI, cPCI, PCIe and so on.

• Topology EtherCAT networks have no practical limitations regarding the topology: line, star, tree, redundant ring and all those combined with up to 65535 nodes per segment. In case the 100m distance between two nodes are not sufficient, fibre optic cables are used. Even wireless technologies can be integrated.

And hot connect allows one to connect and disconnect nodes during runtime.

• Openness With EtherCAT, openness does not only mean international sta nda rdisat ion ( I EC , I S O), availability of commercial as

well as shared and open source master and slave software and chips from several suppliers, but also free of charge implementation support, clear guidelines regarding interoperability, master and slave implementations for a large variety of operating systems and controller, openness of the configuration tools also for third party devices and specifications also for the application interfaces.

• Implementation E t h e r C AT M a s te r s d o n o t require any special hardware, and not even a communication co-processor: an ordinary Ethernet port is sufficient. There are master stacks for 20 different real time operating systems (RTOS) – some of them even free of charge in source code. The EtherCAT slave controllers implement all time critical functionality in hardware; for the rest an 8bit controller is fine, since it does not have to handle hard real time functions. The slave controller functionality is also available as IP-Core for Altera and Xilinx FPGAs. ENQUIRY NO. 6121

Developer Training To Be Offered In Austin, Texas The Fieldbus Foundation has announced it will offer developer training during October 2009 at its headquarters in Austin, Texas.

The vendor-neutral ‘Introduction to Foundation Fieldbus’ and ‘Advanced Principles of Foundation Fieldbus’ courses cover all key aspects of open, non-proprietary Foundation fieldbus technology.

The one-day ‘Introduction to Foundation Fieldbus’ course will be conducted on October 20. The three-day ‘Advanced Principles of Foundation Fieldbus’ will be held on October 21-23.

The ‘Introduction to Foundation Fieldbus’ course is designed for developers, end users, marketing p ro f e s s i o n a l s , a p p l i c a t i o n s engineers, system integrators and others interested in obtaining a fundamental knowledge of Foundation technology.

Students become familiar with the basic concepts and new terminology related to the Foundation integrated

architecture. They gain an understanding of the strategies for wiring and installation of a fieldbus network. Special emphasis is placed on design issues such as power requirements, device types and topologies. This introductory course has been updated to include new information about grounding and shielding, as well as Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS).

The ‘Advanced Principles of Foundation Fieldbus’ course is designed for manufacturers and developers of fieldbus hardware and software. It is best suited for development engineers, test engineers, and all who wish to understand the detailed inner workings of a Foundation fieldbus device. The course covers major tools used by Foundation device developers.

Students gain an understanding of the basics of the bus monitor and apply this tool in interactive exercises demonstrating fieldbus communications and the use of

filters for network troubleshooting.

The curriculum also addresses H1 and High Speed Ethernet (HSE) communications between fieldbus devices.

This advanced course includes updated information concerning alerting/alarming and Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL), as well as new sections on developments in field diagnostics and capability files.

The technology implements role-based diagnostics, meaning the right information is sent to the appropriate person – when they need it. A system of push diagnostics, rather than pull diagnostics, allows the user to receive alerts much quicker and to the right people, instead of having to request information from the devices.

The device development section incorporates some previously included information, but has been expanded to better describe the process.

ENQUIRY NO. 6122

Positioner Transducer Block Final Specification The Foundation fieldbus positioner transducer block final specification supports the implementation of advanced field diagnostics capabilities benefiting end-users of Foundation fieldbus technology.

The specifications define the open, nonproprietary Foundation fieldbus protocol. The technology provides an all-digital, two-way, multidrop communications link among intelligent field devices and automation systems. It serves as the Local Area Network (LAN) for instruments used in process automation, and has a built-in capability to distribute the control application across the network.

The Foundation fieldbus specification release includes: • FF-906 positioner transducer block final specification (version FS 1.0) • FF-902 transducer block common structures (version FS 1.2) • FF-846 device coupler test specification phase I (version FS 1.1) • AN-007 device replacement application note • An-012 mode use in transducer block application note • TN-017 response to a CD technical note ENQUIRY NO. 6123

September 2009 | industrial automation asia 17

Newsdesk Newsdesk

CANopen

Plug-Fest HOSTED by Schneider Electric, several CiA members tested their CANopen devices on compatibility and interoperability. During the two-days plug-fest, Danaher Motion, Epec, ESR Pollmeier, LPKF, Murrelektronik, Sanyo Denki, Seneca, Wachendorf, Wago and Vector connected their devices (I/O module, motion controller, human machine interface, and simulation tool) to CANopen networks using different bit-rates and bus lengths.

The interoperability tests were quite successful. Minor problems were detected and will be fixed by the participating companies. For example, some EDS files were not entirely consistent with the device

implementations, and some of the tested devices were not able to go to the physical limits of the CAN communication due to nonoptimal bit-timing programming.

“Some of the detected faulty behaviours could be easily avoided if the EDS were checked by means of the official EDS checker, and the devices were tested with CiA’s CANopen conformance test tool,” said Thilo Schumann from CiA. The plug-fest was quite successful, because the devices were running already on the first day. Even at high busloads most of the devices communicated properly and none of them lost messages.

ENQUIRY NO. 6124

Competitors from Germany, Finland, Italy, and Japan tested their CANopen devices

Experts from Germany, Finland, Italy, and Japan tested their devices in Seligenstadt in the Schneider Electric test centre

CANopen Over Bluetooth THE CAN in Automation (CiA) international users’ and manufacturers’ group has established the special interest group ‘CANopen via Bluetooth’.

In the inaugural meeting the experts agreed to map the CANopen communication services such as service data

objects (SDO) and process data objects (PDO) to the Bluetooth lower-layers. The group will also specify CANopen-to-Bluetooth routers, in order to provide connectivity in heterogeneous network architectures.

“The scope of the group is not limited to Bluetooth,

other wireless communication technologies are welcome, too,” said Reiner Zitzmann (CAN in Automation). The chairman of the SIG, Harm-Peter Krause (ESD), invites all interested parties to join the standardisation activities regarding CANopen over Bluetooth.

ENQUIRY NO. 6125

18

industrial automation asia | September May 2009 2009

Industry Updates PI On Course For Growth

PI Supports Prolist

The largest PI meeting to date with over 80 representatives in attendance took place in early July in Krakow, Poland

INTEREST in Profibus and Profinet and the umbrella organisation behind them, PI (Profibus & Profinet International), continues. The 21st PI meeting was held in early July 2009 in Krakow, Poland.

Over 80 representatives attended from 22 countries, including Australia, South Africa, China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, USA, and Chile, as well as numerous European countries. This year’s event was the largest since the organisation was founded in 1995. It also marked the first meeting attended by a representative from India, where a regional Profibus & Profinet Association (RPA) is currently being established.

The main purpose of the annual meetings is to promote the exchange and transfer of knowledge among RPAs. This international cooperation produces significant synergy effects in the development of innovative solutions that are tailored to applications. In addition, cross-country projects and marketing actions as well as global marketing strategies are developed and coordinated within this international body.

The PI Competence Centers (PICCs) as well as the PI Training Centers (PITCs) and PI Test Labs (PITLs), which stand for technical support and quality assurance in the areas of technology and training, also met in Krakow at the same time as the PI meeting. Here, too, the number of accredited service providers continues to grow constantly.

Today, a total of 42 PICCs and 16 PITCs are part of the global organisation. They provide support to users and manufacturers in case of technical issues and offer certified training courses for becoming a ‘Certified Engineer’ or ‘Certified Installer’.

ENQUIRY NO. 6126

PI suppor ts the activities of Prolist International to standardise features for data exchange between manufacturers of process control devices and device users in feature lists.

As part of an agreement, PI is providing Prolist with agreedupon elements of the Profibus specifications for use in the Prolist feature lists, which will be published in the NAMUR recommendation NE 100, as well as for IEC standardisation activities to harmonise with the eClass System.

The basis for this is the e l e c t ro n i c d a t a e x c h a n g e between manufacturers and users or between different systems within companies (both manufacturers and users), such as ERP and CAE. This will prevent typographical errors caused by repeated entry of the same data and will reduce the quantity of paper documents.

The Prolist feature lists will enable optimum business processes, reduced process costs, and improved process quality. The created feature lists will also be carried over into the international standardisation activities of IEC. The collaboration will result in a standardised mapping of Profibus interface properties into Prolist feature lists. As a result, all companies that produce or use Profibus products can benefit from electronic data exchange throughout their business processes.

ENQUIRY NO. 6127

September 2009 | industrial automation asia

19

Sigurd Decroos, Oudenburg, Belgium

ISSUES & INSIGHTS

System Integration:

Combining

Strengths Strategic outsourcing and cooperating with system solution providers can help system integrators save valuable R&D time and costs. By Catherine Ni, product management, Advantech Taiwan and Ellen Sim, marketing communications, Advantech Singapore

I

n recent years, there has been an increasing market trend of system integrators seeking total system solutions, in order to bring their products to market on time. Time-to-market has become a critical element for companies to gain market share.

In critical times like now, when the economy is in downturn, the system integrators are faced with limited resources, budgets and pressures of costs reductions.

20

industrial automation asia | September 2009

Choosing A Partner The key to accelerating product development and freeing up valuable resources is to choose the right outsourcing partner. Strategic outsourcing and cooperating with system solution providers can help system integrators save valuable R&D time and costs.

So how does a system integrator choose the optimal outsourcing partner? Seeking an outsourcing partner is about finding one who can

help you integrate the technology expertise, and is capable of delivery through a local service team, which makes communications simpler and more efficient. The resources of the partner must also be able to assist you in accomplishing a goal within an optimum time frame and budget.

Points to consider in choosing an outsourcing partner: • How comprehensive is the product line? Is the current product suitable or will it serve as the foundation for further customisation?

• Does the potential outsourcing pa r tner have sufficient technical capability to perform the profe ssiona l product customisation necessary to meet your specific demands?

• Is there a dedicated team to effectively manage your project or handle sophisticated project details and communicate with you in a professional manner?

• Does the partner follows a world-class quality assurance system and helps you verify the quality of your complete system?

• Is the partner’s procurement network larger than your own?

If so, there is a potential to save component costs, as well as to enjoy hassle-free and ‘one-stop shopping’ • Does the partner have its own production lines, guaranteeing stable production capacity a nd a smoot h supply of products?

• Does the partner have a wellestablished global logistic network that can streamline logistics support for you?

• Does the partner have an established after-sales service infrastructure, including local repair services for timely support?

ENQUIRY NO. 6201

CASE STUDY 1:

IN-STORE LISTENING STATION

Music To Your Ears

A

n American chain store has some 690 outlets, the majority of which are located in shopping malls. The store specialises in music and fashionable, pop culture-related merchandise such as clothing, books, comics, jewelry, posters, and other items.

Picking up on the trend toward interactive displays, the store wanted to provide a hands-on (and ears-on) opportunity for the shopper to listen to new artists or new music before making a purchase. The objective was to drive business not only for music products, but to other retail selections as well.

The Solution: The Advantech local design team customised an outer enclosure for an integrated Advantech TPC1570 (15� XGA TFT LCD Touch Panel Computer), saving product development costs and reducing overall lead time. The system is mounted as a wall display, with

CDs of the current songs exhibited around it. When installed, the touch panel is loaded with media files, with each available song title and artist displayed on the touchscreen for easy selection.

Consumers can choose by songs or by artist and listen through the headphones provided. The TPC1570 is connected to the store network, making the system easy to maintain and update.

Consumers can choose by songs or by artist and listen through the headphones provided

ENQUIRY NO. 6202

September 2009 | industrial automation asia

21

ISSUES & INSIGHTS

CASE STUDY 2:

RAILWAYS TICKETING SYSTEM

Set In

Train S

ince its first beginnings in the late 1800’s, railways have been an incredibly popular form of public transportation. With networks that span around the nation and into its interior, the vast numbers of passengers that board trains today demand an efficient, quick, and reliable ticketing system to get them where they want to go.

During weekends and holidays the amounts of passengers can be overwhelming, which is why the Railways Administration sought a self-service solution for their automatic ticketing needs.

Radically changing passenger habits, this machine also sped up the purchasing process by eliminating a number of steps that were once performed by multiple personnel.

The Solution: To meet the customer’s specific requirements, a high performance machine within a short lead time

22

industrial automation asia | September 2009

was needed. It had to be capable of incorporating several peripherals with easy plug-in access, in addition to withstanding a constant barrage of passenger use. The following features were a necessity: • High performance • Custom system integration • Reliable and rugged • Simple and compact • R S -232 periphera l dev ice control A trouble-free, reliable and integrated ticketing system was

The self-service units are powered

by Advantech’s AIMB-562 MicroATX industrial motherboards

custom designed for the railways.

The self-service units are powered

by Advantech’s AIMB-562 MicroATX industrial motherboards which are housed in an IPC-5120 chassis, modified to fit the customer’s ticketing machine framework, with the standard metal case changed to stainless steel for longer life.

Integral peripherals, such as coin and bill collectors, a card dispenser, a printer, a touch screen monitor, and related components were attached to the system via IPC-5120 front I/O ports which allowed the system integrator to easily assemble the whole ticketing system.

The self- ser vice ticketing machines are compatible with both AC and DC power supplies. Industrial grade touch screens monitors featuring vandal-proof glass were integrated into the robust and reliable system to ensure continuous automatic operation.

ENQUIRY NO. 6203

ENQUIRY NO. 036

control point

Long & The

Short o f Cabling

Increasing networking demands are met by providing 10GBASE-T switch ports and 10GBASE-T network interface cards on network servers and data storage equipment.

By Paul Kish, director, systems and standards, Belden

T

he data centre is the nerve centre of a telecommunications network. Most data traffic originates in, is processed in, or passes through the data centre on its way to other users or networking locations.

There is an increasing volume of data traffic in data centres to support a growing number of users for bandwidth intensive video and imaging applications, e-commerce, financial transactions and parallel processing applications.

In order to meet these increasing demands, there is a need for higher data rates and higher information capacity. Even for smaller data centres 1 Gb/s data rates have become too slow and is insufficient to meet networking demands, thus leading to a natural transition to 10 Gb/s Ethernet to alleviate networking bottlenecks.

The most economical way to meet these needs is to provide 10GBASE -T switch ports and 10GBASE-T network interface cards (NICs) on network servers and data storage equipment.

A Microcosm The data centre is a microcosm of a structured cabling system for a LAN except that the distances are much shorter and the density of cables is much higher.

Figure 1 illustrates the cable connections between switch ports and server cabinets for a centralised cross- connect topolog y. The horizontal cable distance as shown in blue can be as short as 3 metres (10 ft) between adjacent racks or cabinets and are usually no longer than 75 metres (250 ft).

In April, 2008, the TIA 568-B.210, Category 6A cabling standard was published. Category 6A is the minimum performance level that is required to support all the operating modes for 10GBASE-T transmission for distances up to 100 metres, including ‘short reach mode’.

24  industrial automation asia | September 2009

Category 6A provides a significant improvement in performance compared to Category 6. The key improvements are summarised in Table 1.

Because Category 6A is such a demanding specification, it requires much better performing components. The most critical component is the connecting hardware and patch cords.

In order to meet the Category 6A specification at frequencies extending to at least 500 MHz, a different design approach is required compared to Category 5e and Category 6 connector designs.

Surprisingly, it is much more difficult to meet the Category 6A performance requirements for a short permanent link or channel compared to a long permanent link or channel. Why is this so?

For example, you would think that there is more crosstalk coupling for long lengths of cable than for short lengths.

Well, it just so happens that pair-to-pair ‘Near-end Crosstalk’ (NEXT) Loss, Return Loss and ‘Power Sum A lien Nea r- end Crosstalk’ (PSANEXT) Loss are more seriously impacted at high frequencies by connectors located in close proximity to the equipment.

Furthermore, this impact is much worse for a short permanent link or a channel with more than two connectors.

SW

PP1

Table 1: Category 6A (vs Category 6) Lower Insertion Loss 4 dB at 500 MHz Lower NEXT Loss ~ 4 dB at 500 MHz (TIA) ~ 6 dB at 500 MHz (ISO) Significantly lower alien crosstalk loss ~ 13 dB PSANEXT at 500 MHz ~ 4 dB PSAACRF at 500 MHz Exceeds 10GBASE-T alien crosstalk requirements under worst case bundling conditions for channels up to 100 metres 23 AWG vs 24 AWG conductors Larger cable diameter Up to 0.354 inch is permitted in standard Does not require mitigation Supports 10GBASE-T Short Reach (Low Power) Mode

Falling Short Copper cable lengths are usually short in data centres (typically 5 m to 30 m). With some connector designs, it may not be possible to meet the Category 6A specification whe n t he hor i zonta l c able distance is less than 15 metres in a 3-connector permanent link or a 4-connector channel.

It is important to consult

PP3

PP2

HDA

SVR

EDA

3-connector channel (patch panels in HDA and EDA)

SW HDA

PP1

PP2

PP4

PP3

ZDA

EDA

SVR

4-connector channel (patch panels in the HDA, ZDA and EDA)

Figure 1: Cabling topology between switch ports and servers in a data centre

with the manufacturer of the connectiv ity components about any short length channel or permanent link restrictions.

The 15 m rule severely limits the design flexibility in a data centre.

Because of the high density of cables, it is impractical to store excess lengths of cable in overhead trays or under the floor.

The Category 6A requirements for short channels and permanent links are difficult to meet. For a data centre application, cable distances as short as 5 metres are commonly used for cable connections between racks or cabinets that are located sideby-side.

It is not practical to coil and store excess lengths of cable to maintain a 15 metre or even 10 metre distance between connection points.

Comparative tests performed in our lab have identified weakness in a number of Category 6A connector designs on the market, which shows up in inferior NEXT, Return Loss and PS ANEXT performance at high frequencies when multiple connection points are located in close proximity.

Meeting Requirements To be able to meet the Category 6A specification requires a connector design that is up to the task.

T he te ch nolog ie s bu ilt into 10GX connectivity enable cable distances as short as 3 metres (10 ft) for a 2-connector topology and 5 metres (15 ft) for a 3 or 4 connector topology.

Don’t get short changed when making an investment in your Category 6A cabling infrastructure.

Ensure that the cabling can meet Category 6A requirements for the shortest distance and the worst case topology for your data centre application.

ENQUIRY NO. 6301 September 2009 | industrial automation asia 25

SOFTWARE & NETWORKS

Plant Intelligence For The scalability of plant intelligence is regarded as unique within the field of SCADA systems. By Martin Ahrens, marketing manager WinCC and Holger Oettel, product manager WinCC, Siemens

26

industrial automation asia | September 2009

SCADA & MES

Information Demand Corporate decisions these days demand the latest and instantly available information from the entire production environment. The key to this is not only in the efficient capture, preparation and display of relevant process data, but even more in its intelligent assessment, compression and distribution.

Traditional client server configurations have not kept up with this challenge. The worlds of SCADA and MES are converging and allowing the necessary transparency and depth of information. That is exactly what is being offered by the Simatic WinCC process visualisation system and the Simatic IT MES solution from Siemens Automation and Drives with its integrated Simatic Plant Intelligence.

From the alarm and event archive to the measured value recording and documentation – as a SCADA system, the process visualisation system has all fundamental HMI functions on board. Effective analysis options in the alarm and tag logging have already been a component of the basic system for years, eg for evaluating deviations from limit values and standards on the basis of graphs or for diagnosing the frequency of faults.

Yet the wealth of automation data continues to increase and must be edited even more specifically and efficiently in order to allow more transparent and flexible access from higher-level systems as well and independently of the actual storage location.

A modular MES system opens up further possibilities wherever a certain number of equipment units is exceeded or additional production data, eg from material management, is to be incorporated.

All these existing functionalities demand action from the user, who must actively call up data of interest from the data offered. A really intelligent distribution

of the information as a prepared composition or selection has not yet been provided, despite all the user-friendly features.

On the client side, central access to productionrelevant, individually assembled data only requires Internet Explorer which means it is installation-free for the user.

This is an advantage not least wherever the installation of new software would require administration rights. Individually editable templates determine the layout of the pages to be created.

Pages can be linked to one another – for example, to branch from one page to another that displays detailed historical diagrams, and in this way to analyse the frequency of faults during a night shift. Excel Workbooks can be made available as favourites.

By drilling down, links are made from the overview to the detailed information so that this information can be taken from the web center pages and incorporated in process screens or other web pages.

Time- or event-controlled reports can also be sent by e-mail as Excel or PDF files. This means that the user does not have to initiate any action – the composed information is delivered automatically to the desktop.

Following analysis of the report, the process screens or web pages, for example, can be used for further queries. WDDN_83x110 r1.pdf 8/13/09 5:30:04 PM

ENQUIRY NO. 064

T

here is a growing demand for IT solutions that support time-saving targeted synchronisation of production processes and that simplify these processes and make them more flexible.

The increasing volume of process data needed to be processed and visualised for the purposes of more efficient resource planning, traceability, quality assurance and sustainability requires that the integration of corporate processes is both horizontal and vertical (the latter as widely as possible across the whole company).

A SCADA system meets this challenge with extended functions for web-based analyses, ad-hoc reports and characteristic value-based evaluations.

‘Plant intelligence’ taps into the crucial added value of scalable plant transparency from the process level to the MES and ERP levels.

September 2009 | industrial automation asia 27

software & Networks

Process Optimisation & Quality Analysis The primary objective of Simatic Plant Intelligence is always the continual improvement of overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). Using the options ProcessMonitor and DowntimeMonitor, the production and quality management receive real-time information and performance analyses from the process which decisively speed up its optimisation.

A n OE E - DTM option (overa ll equipment effectiveness and downtime management) monitors the efficiency of the machines and offers a basis for decision-making using economic indicators. This not only enables a detailed specification, recording and analysis of downtimes, but also enables potential for improvement to be discovered and continually implemented.

The OEE is calculated according to a complex formula devised by the Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance as a product of availability, performance level and quality rating. The peak value is an OEE of 85 percent, whereas most plants in the production industry only achieve around 60 percent at present.

ProcessMonitor and DowntimeMonitor use a predefined software functionality and evaluate the respective process variables of a plant or of an individual machine.

After generating a time model and various plant statuses for operation, the DowntimeMonitor can very easily take over the analysis of the equipment. A unit of equipment is defined as one machine, production line or even a part of a plant that is worth analysing separately. The analyses are the basis for optimising production.

(Bottom) Evaluation of the plant effectiveness according to key performance indicators (KPI)

(Top) From operator to management: Plant intelligence secures flexible and targeted access to all process and historic data in an integrated, seamlessly scalable environment

The evaluation is performed according to the criteria of the OEE and other key performance indicators (KPI), such as MTTR, MTTA, MTBF, and MTBA. The KPIs are displayed in WinCC images.

A plant performance analyser (PPA) brings data and data collections from a host of sources, data aggregation and validation, KPI calculation (cyclic and in the event of data changes) and long-term storage, eg according to the requirements of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Preconfigured, typical KPIs that also take the workshift schedule into account are available. Protected by the assignment of rights, the user has the opportunity of defining values as invalid or amending operating states whenever necessary.

Process Values The ProcessMonitor is used for collecting, manipulating, evaluating and storing process values. Its integration into the system guarantees the full transparency across all machines and plant data as a basis for the optimisation of plant productivity.

The process values are read directly and linked with the corresponding analysis function. The values are monitored for limits, identified accordingly and archived with the additional information. Predefined equipment unit functions are used in order to compile the data and archive it with a higher information content. Individual characteristic values that can arise from the production process can be defined and calculated on a customer-specific basis.

If process values or calculated key performance indicators (KPI) exceed specified limits, they can be disregarded as irrelevant.

Integrated Migration Capability Plant intelligence starts at the automation level. Plant intelligence offers a practice-oriented basis for analyses, reports and the ascertainment of process-relevant key performance indicators for the performance of a plant and its optimisation.

The scalability of plant intelligence is regarded as unique w ithin the field of SCA DA systems. The integration with an MES solution facilitates shared interfaces, standardised operation and integrated data storage, minimises the expense of upgrading and guarantees the security of investment at a low total cost of ownership.

ENQUIRY NO. 6302 2701

28  industrial automation asia | September 2009

ENQUIRY NO. 052

software & Networks

Shedding excess weight takes on added importance during the economic crisis. By K S Sankaran, chief operating officer, Makino Asia

Lean Manufacturing:

Ruthless

Efficiency

n the current economic scenario, the word ‘recession’ has been the most discussed topic among the business community.

In the past downturns were highly localised to certain geographical areas. What we are experiencing today is far more global in nature and this requires a more prudent approach to how we address the current scenario.

This is an orchestrated and synchronised recession. We can adopt either the wait and see attitude, wait hopefully for a couple of years for the situation to improve or to recognise the limited business space and how we can explore the opportunities and create new business avenues.

Lean Manufacturing We can look at what is internal to the organisation and what can be done external to the organisation. It is human weakness to pamper oneself as we ride on 30 industrial automation asia | September 2009

the success. Along with the wealth we also inherit assets, policies and practices. The irrational policies and views camouflage the judgement required to see what is right and wrong in accumulating assets and manpower.

The current economic condition does not tolerate inefficiency. If we want to be fit, we have to be nimble.

What we binge, we have to purge.

In advocating such a philosophy we have to identify key processes and how the current costs are distributed across these processes in order to work out the revenue model.

In a typical manufacturing organisation the manpower costs is about five to eight percent and even smaller in larger companies.

Just to look at savings from trimming manpower, we do not address more than 90 percent of our costs of operation.

There are areas that require closer attention, for example tool

A more holistic approach is needed to lower operation costs

cost, whether it is proportionate to the current business volume, the operating hours, coolant management, air-conditioning management, space management, inventory management, power ma nagement a nd logistics management.

Organisations have to be nimble to become a ‘lean’ manufacturing unit. The term ‘lean’ does not confine itself only to manufacturing.

How ‘lean’ are we in many of the support functions like purchasing,

Careful studies are required to decide the number of shifts a company should operate on

logistics, marketing, sales, finance, service and manufacturing?

Just like when we fully utilise a $0.50 pencil by sharpening up to the very end, should we throw away blunt drills, end mills and reamers?

It would be logical to look at how these tools can be reused with marginal re-sharpening costs.

Cash Rich Ever since the advent of office automation, ERP system or other modules, we continue to have segregated functions, though it appears to be an integrated system.

How multi tasking are we?

It’s not enough for the purchasing to identify and negotiate for the best price. We must develop the vendor by educating on process, cost and inventory control. Ina traditional set up, purchasing staff may nt have purchasing know-how.

By proper training or job rotation, we can expand the role of process engineer to develop vendors.

Instead of looking at finance traditiona lly a s function of wage administration, accounts receivables and payables, how can we use their skill with reference to cost of money, costs of space, costs of inventory and costs of collection?

How seamlessly can they tie up with sales and purchasing so that the intangibles get quantified and taken as priority.

One instance, companies that are cash rich can help to pay their vendors much earlier who might have been cash strapped with special discounts. It is a winwin situation for both parties. The costs of material is lowered for the former, the costs of borrowing are minimised for the latter.

Trimming Right Areas During the crunch we cut down on overtime costs, but the options we explore to lower costs must be holistic in nature. We used to have a three shift and two shift operations in our factory.

While it is very easy to scale down the number of people operating in second and third shifts to be consistent with the volume of production, a further investigation showed us that the costs of air conditioning of the facility and other support costs was several fold higher than the overtime costs. Hence it would be prudent to operate in an extended shift even with overtime.

While we investigated the consumption of lubricants and oils in our company, which over a period of time has grown in volume but is not consistent with the technology.

For example, about 40 percent processes run dry and the balance 60 percent run with coolant. A simple check over a period of time has shown that 20 to 25 percent of the coolant is carried away with

the machines chip. Identifying this lacuna in the coolant management and dealing with it efficiently has led to recovery in costs to the extent of 30 percent.

In capital goods industry the packaging costs is a significant part of the total costs. Recycling of packing material is equally important in lowering the costs of goods. Container shipments, with the goods scientifically packed to full capacity can assist to lower costs up to six to eight percent.

Moving On In the 1980’s, computers and networked printers became the industry norm, as paperless offices were intended. When the faster and cheaper printers consumed more paper, email became the default mode of communication. Instead of locking ourselves to a PC, we need to spend more time with our customers and help create value for our organisations.

Today we are in a collective crisis and the only hope is innovation.

Human kind has weathered many natural disasters. We may not have a situation of bottoming out like any other localised meltdown.

The economy will reset at a certain level and we need to start from scratch from there. It is a wakeup call for all to venture into unexplored areas.

ENQUIRY NO. 6303 September 2009 | industrial automation asia  31

instrumentation & measurement

Flow Transfer Standards:

In-house Calibration Flow measurement suppliers have developed portable flow transfer standards for in-house calibrations or verifications. By Mark Evans, applications engineer, Flow Technology

L

ook around any chemical plant or refinery, and chances are you will find a large number of flow measurement instruments, such as magnetic, coriolis, positive displacement and turbine meters, requiring periodic calibration in order to maintain their accuracy and traceability to recognised industry standards.

For many end-users, flowmeter calibration means shutting down the process, removing the meter from the line, and then sending the device to an outside calibration lab for service. Depending upon the calibration provider, this process can take days (or weeks) to accomplish – resulting in downtime and lost production.

I n c r e a s i n g l y, f l o w m e t e r owners are seeking cost-effective solutions for performing on-site calibrations to help maintain their equipment in optimal working order. Flow measurement suppliers have answered this demand by developing portable flow transfer standards that serve as an alternative to costly primary standard calibrators for in-house calibrations or verifications.

Reasons To Calibrate Flowmeter technologies are re s p o n s i b l e f o r a c c u r a t e l y 32

industrial automation asia | September 2009

Fig 1: Calibration system manufacturers have utilised recent advancements in computer technology to develop portable flow transfer standards

measuring applications for many different reasons, including, but not limited to, batching, distribution, management, profitability, and disposal. Managers of these meter technologies are ultimately responsible for the accuracy of measurements and can be held accountable for the performance of their instruments.

In a competitive business environment, companies are increasingly micro-managing processes in an effort to increase profits and decrease production costs. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has also increased monitoring of

manufacturing processes using flowmeter technologies in order to determine environmental impacts.

Meanwhile, various flowmeter designs require calibration due to procedures, moving parts, or buildup and/or corrosion on the inside of the pipe. For any or all of these reasons, meter calibration is critical to business success.

For instance, flowmeters with moving parts may wear, thus affecting the calibration/output of the device. With ultrasonic or magnetic flowmeters, electronic performance depends on adjustment and cleanliness of

the pipe/electrodes. Corrosion within the pipe or on the magnetic electrode can make it difficult for these meters to deliver a correct output for the actual flow rates.

With buildup and/or corrosion in a pipe section, coriolis mass flowmeters, for example, may shift in their calibration – indicating increased mass flow. Only routine calibrations of flow measurement instruments can help companies manage their application within specifications. Without accurate calibrations, money may be going down the drain.

Most companies follow their quality control guidelines or have written ISO 9000 procedures for the intervals of their flowmeter calibrations.

The most common interval is an annual calibration. However, many end-users have their flowmeters calibrated semi-annually or even quarterly depending on the nature of the application.

In-Field Calibration Calibration system manufacturers have utilised recent advancements in computer technology to develop portable flow transfer standard (FTS) systems that can be used as a calibration device in the field, or as a tool to monitor how a particular

industrial line or application is functioning (Fig 1).

Typically mounted on carts, or offered in suitcase kits, an FTS is regarded as a secondary standard with traceability, via a master flowmeter, to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

A primary standard measurement is made using fundamental components (mass, length, time, etc). An instrument is considered a primary standard if it is not ‘characterised’ by the same method it is being used for. The most common examples of primary standard calibrators include positive displacement, continuous flow loop, and time-weigh systems.

cases, a 4-to-1 accuracy increase on the primary or secondary standard is acceptable to complete a calibration on the device under test (DUT).

Designed to calibrate flowmeters that cannot be easily removed from their application, an FTS is intended for in-line calibration and validation of meters using the actual process fluid. When the system utilises a master meter calibrated on a primar y flow standard, high a c c u r a c i e s a re o b t a i n a b l e .

Some flow transfer standards also have the capability of measuring and correcting the influences of line pressure and temperature effects on flow.

a flow transfer standard provides a versatile, costeffective solution for a wide range of calibration needs Secondary standard calibrations are completed with a master flowmeter having been calibrated on a primary standard. The flow rate is derived from the master meter and other application inputs (eg, temperature and pressure).

S e c o n d a r y s t a n d a rd calibration uncertainty increases with the introduction of additional inputs to derive the flow rate and repeatability of the master meter. In many applications, this uncertainty is sufficient to meet the user’s acceptance specifications. In most

Versatile Calibration Unlike flow transfer standards intended to calibrate one flowmeter technology only, today’s universal FTS design can calibrate or prove all principal meter types, including magnetic, mass, PD, turbine, ultrasonic and vortex.

This system offers greater versatility by incorporating virtually any input for the master meter and DUT. Users are no longer required to purchase separate modules for RF inputs, pulse inputs, etc. The calibrator can accept pulse, magnetic, sine wave or RF signals, as well as analogue inputs to 0-5 volts,

Figure 2: Flow transfer standard software merges output information from a master flowmeter, temperature sensor, pressure sensor, and DUT and generates a calibration data sheet in volumetric or mass units, which can be stored for future reference

September 2009 | industrial automation asia 33

instrumentation & Measurement

Valves

Valves Spool Piece

Device Under Test

Flexible Line

Flexible Line

Master Meter

Flow Direction

Figure 3: For in-situ calibration with a flow transfer standard, the application should be equipped with ball valves both upstream and downstream of the spool piece prior to the device under test. This configuration is intended for applications where the process can be stopped

0-10 volts, 4-20 milliamps or 10-50 milliamps.

The FTS employs an interface box that takes inputs from a master meter, temperature sensor, and pressure sensor and supplies these outputs to the system software. Based on the inputs, the software can calculate the flow rate. The software merges the output information from the master meter, temperature sensor, pressure sensor, and DUT and generates a calibration data sheet in volumetric or mass units, which can be stored for future reference (Fig 2).

With this FTS, overall system accuracy is dependent on several factors, including master flowmeter calibration, repeatability and primary standard accuracy; as well as temperature/pressure sensor accuracies. This fundamentally allows the user to tailor the accuracy of the system to meet their needs through the level of master sensors they choose to utilise.

34  industrial automation asia | September 2009

The key benefit of the FTS lies in its versatility: the system can be installed into an existing application utilising the flow source and actual conditions of the process liquid. In addition, a bypass system can be built into the application for ease of installing the master meter with flow straighteners for calibration of the DUT. Once the calibration/validation is complete, the master flow meter can be replaced with a spool piece.

The bypass approach maximises accuracy while minimising expensive downtime in production schedules.

Putting The System To Use The latest flow transfer standards are designed for improved portability, convenience and ease of use; in most cases, on-site flowmeter calibrations or validations can be performed in 10 minutes of less with the proper preparations and test configuration.

In addition to selecting a suitable master flowmeter, plant personnel performing an in-situ meter calibration must know: 1) the process fluid to be measured, 2) the minimum/maximum flow rate for the application. The user populates the FTS software with the absolute viscosity vs temperature and density vs temperature parameters; enters data for the process fluid, master flowmeter and meter under test; and selects the appropriate readings (eg, NIST, US Gallons, or Metric-Litres). The aforementioned parameters can be completed in the field or at the office prior to the calibration/validation.

Master flowmeters can be installed in an application several different ways to complete a calibration/validation: 1. If the application can be shut down for a few minutes, a section of pipe (6� to 12�) can be removed and two ball valves installed with a spool piece placed between them (Fig 3). The user shuts down the application, closes the ball valves, removes the spool piece, and attaches flexible lines to the master flowmeter.

2. At this point, the ball valves are reopened and the calibration/ validation is performed using the actual process fluid and pumps available upstream of the DUT. After the calibration/ validation, the process can be reversed, leaving the ball valves and spool piece in line for the next calibration.

3. If the application cannot be shut down, a bypass may be installed. The valves upstream and downstream of the spool piece can be closed while removing the spool piece and installing the master meter.

Once the master meter is installed these valves can be reopened and the bypass valve closed, allowing all of the flow to travel through the master meter for calibration/validation. Upon completion of the calibration, this process is reversed and the spool piece is re-installed into the application (Fig 4).

The calibrator system software is then used to export calibration data into a spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel, where it is formatted in data sheet templates for archiving and future analysis.

Benefits To End-Users Thanks to current flow transfer standard technology, industrial plants can utilise por table calibration devices in the field to monitor a process or perform multiple calibrations to trend a flowmeter.

End-users can reduce calibration costs by only having to calibrate 3-5 master flowmeters to cover almost all the liquid flow applications inside the plant. The master meters can be used to

perform traceable calibrations/ validations on-site, thus minimising the need to send meters away to a calibration lab for service.

Furthermore, this solution eliminates the need to rotate calibrated meters in order to keep the process in uninterrupted operation.

The use of an FTS also allows plants to implement regularly scheduled meter calibrations on production lines. Maintenance personnel can install the master flowmeter, calibrate the device under test and print a calibration data sheet within just minutes.

This compares with the normal 2-3 week turnaround necessary to remove the flowmeter from the installation and send it out to a remote site for calibration service.

In addition, the portable FTS calibration solution allows plants to schedule more frequent flowmeter calibrations. The calibration device can also serve as a tool for troubleshooting errors on meters in production.

As a result, users can trend the actual meter in the process

Flow Direction

Device Under Test Valves

Valves

Valves

Spool Piece

Figure 4: For in-situ calibration with a flow transfer standard for continuous flow, the application should be equipped with a bypass system where the master flow meter can be installed without disrupting the process with the ability to complete a calibration

to identify production issues, equipment malfunctions or rejected products, as well as plot calibrations year over year in order to schedule any type of maintenance that might be required.

Lastly, the FTS is a valuable asset for documenting compliance with quality standards found in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, food & beverage and other re g u l a t e d i n d u s t r i e s . S u c h calibrators provide electronic filing of calibration documentation to the user’s hard driver or recordkeeping network. Calibration certificates can be prepared in spreadsheet format with individual flowmeter certification number, model number, serial number and asset number.

Versatile & Cost-Effective Today’s flow transfer standards enable flowmeter owners to perform accurate, NIST traceable calibrations without the cost and downtime associated with removing their instruments from service. Plus, calibrations can be done on-site – with the meter installed in the actual process – at a fraction of the cost of sending equipment out to a remote, primary standard calibrations lab.

For a plant with at least 30 flowmeters calibrated on an annual basis, the investment in an FTS system is typically recouped within a year or less.

Clearly, not every plant or process requires a primary standard calibration offering accuracy in the range of 0.05 percent. Many flowmeter users find secondary calibrations at +/- 0.2 percent of reading to be suitable for their application. In these cases, a flow transfer standard provides a versatile, cost-effective solution for a wide range of calibration needs.

ENQUIRY NO. 6401 September 2009 | industrial automation asia 35

SECTOR SPOTLIGHT

I

n the worldwide recession, the industry has suffered to a certain extent. According to IDC, a provider of market intelligence, worldwide semiconductor market for portable media players (PMPs) is poised to drop from US$7.5

billion in 2008 to US$4.6 billion in 2013, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of –9 percent, according to a forecast from the firm.

A mature market coupled with the economic downturn and

Consumer Electronics:

Perfect

growing similarity with mobile phones and mobile Internet devices (MIDs), all contribute to the shrinking semiconductor opportunity in PMPs. They will cease to be the largest market for NAND flash memory.

The decline in PMP unit shipments is offset by modest growth in wireless connectivity semiconductors, driven by the increase in attach rate for FM, WLAN, and Bluetooth radios.

Sliver Lining Things may not be rosy on the PMPs front but electronics manufacturing on the whole is showing some encouraging signs. According to a market research report on Electronics.ca Publications, the global market for electronics contract manufacturing (ECM) technology was worth US$321.0 billion in 2008. This is expected to increase to over US$345.0 billion in 2009 and US$519.0 billion in 2014, in

Competition Craig Jewell, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

Despite the economic downturn, the future is looking bright for the competitive-natured consumer electronics industry.

By Joson Ng

36

industrial automation asia | September 2009

a CAGR of 8.5 percent.

The market is broken down into the application segments of computers and telecommunication, consumer a nd industria l electronics, and others.

Consumer a nd industria l electronics were worth US$92.0 billion in 2008 and an estimated US$96.5 billion in 2009. This segment is expected to increase at a CAGR of 7.2 percent to reach US$136.7 billion in 2014.

Other application segments generated US$22.0 billion in 2008.

This should increase to US$23.5 billion in 2009 and US$30.3 billion in 2014, for a CAGR of 5.2 percent.

Trickle Effect This positive showing is good news for metalworking job shops dealing in die and mould and machining in particular where zinc alloy, aluminium alloy die casting component are used to make automobile, motorcycle, DVD and computer parts, household appliances, hard disk components and so on.

• Metrology Many of today’s metalworking processes involve software design suites and metrology systems, which can benefit from this trickling effect. In metrology, there are various arms, gauges and software to help in part alignment, system calibration, and part inspection.

“Metrology software products help to me a su re con su mer electronics goods in different stages of product life cycle,” says Anthony Lur, senior applications engineer, Faro.

“As the product goes into production, common quality checks with metrology dimensional software involves checking the structural dimension in order to comply with the designer information. I have experiences using Faro dimensional software to check the structure of printers

Metalworking has a hand in the manufacture of refrigerator coils

and third party dimensional software for casing of automotive speedometer,” he elaborates.

• Savings Metrology solutions like laser trackers can all be deployed to measure the position of a part on a machine tool depending upon the size of the part in question.

The larger the machine tool the more difficult and time-consuming evaluation can become.

“Time can be a major factor to hinder production if mass volume of product especially electronic goods do not comply to quality.

The faster way is to use metrology software routine to realise such application nowadays,” says Mr Lur. “My opinion for time based saving in the case of checking a simple perpendicularity of a structure can be up to 70 percent.

Some old-timers in the market still prefer traditional methods and have standard hand tools to perform the job. To be frank, some old methodologies are more

effective than computational software, however in this case I am referring to a more complex measurement,” he adds.

Mr Lur prefers to see both methods as complementary, rather than in opposition.

“It is important for users to rely on traditional methods or even the least accurate way to quantify the quality of the product when using metrology software, In the long run, cost can be brought down significantly, variables includes geographical location where production is setup, types of electronics goods, scraps rate, labour cost (man hour) to inspect the product affects the preference of cost savings. But generally speaking if there is no minimum of 30 percent on cost savings of returns of investment using a metrology software, most businesses will not consider acquiring it,” he concludes.

Software Design Visualisation and 3D modelling are important steps before manuSeptember 2009 | industrial automation asia

37

SECTOR SPOTLIGHT

facturing of complex consumer electronic parts. The electronic aspect demands accuracy, as this is where nanotechnology comes to play. The consumer part weighs heavily on the aesthetics. The combination of the two opens the door for design software applications.

Today’s electronics/electrical product manufacturers use analysis software to simulate and assess the performance of a variety of product designs, including consumer electronics, analysis software enables engineers to simulate design performance and identify and address potential design problems before prototyping and production.

T heir p opu la r it y ca n b e attributed to a few points as Rajagopalan Varadarajan, product manager, SolidWorks Simulation Solutions explains: “The software is customisable to suit consumer electronics goods. This organises all the software tools which are relevant to this industry.”

In addition, software pro -

Encouraging signs in the consumer electronic market is good news for the industry

38

industrial automation asia | September 2009

grammes can resize automatically, making it a useful proposition.

“They have the ability to create top down assemblies, which helps, when the size of one part changes, all the parts and assemblies can change. For example, when the outer dimension of a microwave oven changes, all the internal parts – which depend on the outer size can automatically resize,” he adds.

In the competitive market of consumer electronics, the design phase is of utmost importance.

With added requirements like thermal management, product abuse test (drop test), warranty prediction, vibration testing and hot and cold chamber testing, software products are used more than ever.

Challenges In Designs “The biggest challenge today in electronics design is thermal management. Products sizes are becoming smaller and smaller with every new design. At the same time, they are denser inside (eg: digital camera inside a phone) and are built with more powerful processors.

Non-serviceable products (they are built with no fans) are also getting popular,” says Mr Varadarajan “In all these cases, if the heat dissipation as well as location of the critical components and cooling systems are not designed properly, it will lead to failure,” he mused.

According to Mr Varadarajan, product abuse is another issue where users can accidentally drop products and claim warranty. Long design leadtime is also another factor in market leadership. One of the reasons for this is the prototype testing on a vibration shaker, hot/cold chamber testing and drop tests. They consume a lot of time, money and effort.

These tests can be done using simulation products, right at the design stage, using tools within SolidWorks integrated platform.

H e m e nt io n s: “ S o f t w a re products help in design optimisation and material selection. It also helps to conduct tests, which you can never do physically in a shortest possible time and as a result, the designs are optimised.

Our customers say there is about 50 to 80 percent on time savings in prototype testing.”

Consuming The Future With prices of LCD, Plasma, and DLP televisions falling more than 30 percent a year, large screen HDTVs are showing up in more and more homes. With homes equipped with HDTVs, and high-definition (HD) content available through broadband, terrestrial, cable, and satellite, the good run looks set to continue.

Consumers generally want to stay connected these days.

Historically, they used their laptops for accessing email and the Internet. However, with terrestrial and mobile broadcast services for handheld devices becoming common and broadband wireless connectivity (WiFi and WiMAX) becoming ubiquitous, mobile devices such as cell phones, PDAs, and portable media players are being used to access audio, video, and data. Providers of these mobile devices are constantly updating their technology features to keep up with consumer demand.

These trends indicate that the consumer electronics market is in a rapid evolution phase and the manufacturers are under tremendous competitive pressure to be first-to-market with unique and differentiated products. Great challenge they may be, but this piece of news has given the industry a welcome shot in the arm.

ENQUIRY NO. 6501 2701

Market Report

MEMS Record Growth With Applications Across Diverse End-User Segments In Southeast Asia The MEMS market earned revenues of over US$57.5 million in 2008 and is forecasted to reach US$127.1 million in 2015. By Sriram Venkatasubramanian, research analyst, Frost & Sullivan THE field of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) has grown exponentially since its inception four decades ago. MEMS technology has gradually evolved with an array of applications across diverse end-user segments.

The market has witnessed considerable growth in the consumer, automotive, and industrial sectors.

Analysis of the Southeast Asian MEMS Sensors Market from Frost & Sullivan, finds that the market earned revenues of over US$57.5 million in 2008 and is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.6 percent reaching US$127.1 million in 2015.

The automotive and consumer end-user segments continue to remain as the major revenue generators for the MEMS sensors market due to the myriad applications that are available in these two segments.

MEMS Sensors Due to the global economic

crisis, there is an urgent need for end-users to review their investments in sensors. MEMS technology has evolved to a significant extent where enduser industries such as medical, industrial, and aerospace and defense have started using MEMS sensors due to their small size, low cost, and high reliability.

Supported by their multiple advantages, MEMS sensors have emerged as strong contenders to traditional sensors. Despite the fall in demand for MEMS sensors in the short-term, the current economic crisis could be a ble ssing in disguise for the long-term growth of these devices in the Southeast Asian (SEA) region.

decrease in the demand from major end-user segments.

H o w e v e r, A s s o c i a t i o n of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries are expected to move up the value chain for the MEMS industry in the future. These countries are now evolving in terms of skilled manpower, boosting the MEMS industry.

This implies lower cost investments for companies in terms of labour outlays as against the North American or European region. Furthermore, universities and research institutions are raising the quality of education and infrastructure for research facilities.

ENQUIRY NO. 6502

Facing Challanges The major challenges for the industry in the SEA region are pricing pressure, packaging, and product differentiation.

The market is anticipated to experience a steep fall in demand in 2009, due to the S Martinsen, Norway

September 2009 | industrial automation asia

39

ENERGY

Alternative Energies:

Shades of

Green

Biofuel technologies are set to pave the way to a green and sustainable future. By Nils Leffler, Suchada Tangcharoensrisakul, Conni Hinkel, Niclas Erkenstal, Catherine Koerbaecher, ABB

T

he dream of a sustainable a nd economica lly v iable green biomass-based fuel for use in combustion engines is coming closer and closer to reality. This shift is guided by a mix of government directives and incentives.

By 2020, so the EU stipulated on February 15, 2007, all cars must use a 10 percent blend of ethanol with petrol or methanol with diesel.

The processes used to produce these two components differ in that ethanol uses fermentation to produce alcohol and methanol is produced using a gasification process to produce a raw but clean synthesis gas that is processed into biodiesel.

Promising Signs Today Brazil is already surpassing the EU 2020 goal of blending by 40

industrial automation asia | September 2009

using ethanol derived from sugar cane. As early as 1925, ethanol was produced and by 1975 a program was introduced that had by 1993 led to a 20 to 25 percent mix.

This huge country has 313 ethanol plants in operation and, with export in mind, an additional 89 plants are planned. Biodiesel is also on the rise using palm oil or soybeans as raw materials. The existing 10 plants will soon be joined by 100 more.

The USA is using corn and wheat to produce ethanol on an increasing scale and in Europe experiments are ongoing with ethanol production from grain, sugar beet and vegetal cellulose from sources such as grass, tree branches, roots and stumps.

Better economics are obtained with new combined plants. Waste products from ethanol production are used to produce methanol for bio diesel. The pulp and paper industry in Sweden is currently successfully testing gasification of black liquor to produce bio diesel. Another green source of vehicle fuel used in some countries is methane gas derived from mixed refuse which is used in cities to drive fleets of buses and small trucks.

Under Debate Raw material for these different fuels will of course depend on the availability in the given area. However, will they all be sustainable, green and economically viable? The jury is still out and many shades of green show up when a strict analysis is made.

For example some years ago the Dutch government decided to make biofuel from imported palm oil. On the surface, this looked very viable and truly green. A recent study revealed the consequences of the increased demand: Rain forests in Southeast Asia were burnt down producing massive amounts of carbon dioxide, and replaced by palm oil trees needing fertilisers.

Considering the globa l perspective, this Dutch initiative did not look so green any more.

The greenness of a process can often only be judged when the entire production chain is taken into account.

Many biofuel technologies are being jump-started through governmental incentive programmes. In the long run, however, they must be able to stand on their own feet economically.

ENQUIRY NO. 6601

Biogas from

Waste T

wo biogas facilities were taken into production in Sweden in late 2006. The cities of Boras and Gothenburg are powering their fleets of trucks, buses and other vehicles with bio methane produced from the mixed refuse from domestic and industry’s dustbins.

The increasing interest in reducing carbon dioxide emissions in the transportation sector has created opportunities and incentives to convert to ‘green’ cars using tax and duty reductions

including free parking in the big cities of Sweden. Biogas production is rapidly being established as an alternative to fossil-based fuels.

The produced biogas is cleaned by the special Cooab technique,

which emits as little as 0.1 percent of the methane into the atmosphere (other methods release two to four percent). Besides the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, this means that more energy is converted into useful biogas.

The Boras and Gothenburg installations will, at full production, produce 25 GWh and 60 GWh per year respectively, with that at Gothenburg representing the world’s largest facility for biogas.

Gas from the decomposition of biological refuse is washed and cleaned to provide bio-methane for the municipality’s vehicle fleet.

The corresponding reduction in carbon dioxide emissions is estimated to be more than 20,000 tonnes annually.

ENQUIRY NO. 6602

Ethanol, The Alternative Fuel T he production of biofuels is being pursued in Thailand as a substitute for oil and natural gas. Developments are focusing on the active use of cheap organic matter.

In fact, the production of gasohol (a blend of ethanol and premium petrol) in Thailand originated with the royal project of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej as early as 1985. This project produced ethanol from cane. Later, both the public and private sectors realised the business potential of ethanol production and participated in its development and testing.

In Thailand, there are currently eight major producers who have government approval for the

manufacture of ethanol. One of them is Thai Agro Energy. The plant, located in Dan Chang, Suphan Buri Province, is designed to produce 150,000 litres of ethanol from molasses every day.

The ethanol has a purity of 99.5

percent and is sold to make a blend consisting of 10 percent ethanol with premium petrol. The blend is positioned as an alternative fuel for automobiles.

ENQUIRY NO. 6603 September 2009 | industrial automation asia 41

energy

Green Oil From

Ethanol By-Products

L

ittle Sioux Corn Processors, a corn ethanol processing plant in Marcus, Iowa (USA), is benefiting from adding an oil extraction unit to its process. This system extracts corn oil from the by-products of ethanol refining.

These products are typically used in low priced animal feeds. Little Sioux can now sell this oil as higher

grade animal feed or biofuel.

The extraction cuts wastage of raw material and improves profitability.

The ethanol processing byproduct – dry distiller’s grain – is valued at 3.5 to 5 cents/lb. The oil currenty extracted from this byproduct is worth 30 to 36 cents/lb after conversion to bio-diesel.

ENQUIRY NO. 6604

Fuel Additives Go Green meet the EU’s climate change commitments.

The standard also permits as much as 15 percent ethyl-tertiarybutyl-ether (ETBE) – an octane improvement that can be made from ethanol. Both substances are excellent gasoline additives and have superb environmental properties.

T

he main ingredient used to make bioethanol at a Südzucker plant is wheat, but the company can also make use of the by-products that result from its sugar operation, along with other kinds of grain that exist in abundance around Zeitz, Germany.

The plant can produce 260,000 cubic metres of bioethanol per year.

This takes about 700,000 tonnes of grain and requires a cultivated area of about 100,000 hectares.

It can be made from grain, corn, some tubers, sugar beet, sugar 42 industrial automation asia | September 2009

cane or cellulose plant material such as grass or wood based products. Bioethanol is basically alcohol, resulting from a process of fermentation, distillation/ rectification and dehydration.

Today’s effective gasoline standard allows for up to five percent added bioethanol. On Feb 15, 2007 the EU proposed that this should be raised to 10 percent by 2020.

T h e E u ro p e a n U n i o n i s promoting the use of biofuels and other renewable fuels to help

The Europea n Union is promoting the use of biofuels and other renewable fuels to help meet the EU’s climate change commitments, and to create environmentally friendly, secure supplies of fuel from renewable energy sources.

ENQUIRY NO. 6605

Biomass Gasification

B

&Fuel Synthesis

iomass-derived fuels, chemical compounds, and power from renewable sources such as forests and farmland are foreseen to become important energy sources for a sustainable future.

Adv a nce d bioma ss conversion technology will play a crucial role in at least reducing, if not eliminating, oil dependence in some countries such as Sweden. At the same time it will mitigate the negative effects of greenhouse gas emission generated from the combustion of fossil fuels.

In late 2004, a n EU sponsored re sea rch project for Clean Hydrogen Rich Synthesis Gas (CHRISGAS), based on biomass started in the town of Värnamo located in the forested area of southern Sweden.

An existing research pilot plant built in the 1990s by Sydkraft AB, a Swedish utility company, a nd later mothba lled, will be retrofitted to enable ther mo - chemical derived vehicle fuel research under the auspices of Växjö University.

The formation of a non-profit company, the Växjö Värnamo Gasification Center, VVBGC, in 2003 to operate and maintain the plant initiated investments in the rebuild of the existing process for its new purposes.

With EU’s Framework 6 and the Swedish Energy Agency as key

sponsors, the CHRISGAS project commenced on September 1, 2004 as a national and European venture in research and training.

Main Objectives The objectives of the CHRISGAS research project are to develop and optimise a process for the production of hydrogen-rich gas from biomass in an energy and cost efficient manner.

This gas can then be upgraded to commercial quality hydrogen or to synthesis gas for further refinement into liquid fuels such as DME, (di-methyl ether), methanol or Fischer Tropsch diesel.

T he pr ima r y focus is to demonstrate by 2009 the economic production of an intermediate product for the manufacturing of vehicle fuel from renewable feedstock – a clean and hydrogenrich gas based on steam/ oxygen blown gasification of biomass.

This process step is followed by hot gas cleaning to remove particulates and steam reforming of tar and light hydrocarbons to further enhance the hydrogen yield.

Two quantitative goals have been established.

T he ga s generat ion capacity should reach 3500 Nm 3 /hour with an accumulated operating time of 2000 hours.

The Vision The ultimate goal is to transform the synthesis gas into vehicle fuel at cost effective prices. This process step will not be implemented for a not her couple of yea rs. It is however a w e l l u n d e r s to o d a n d m a s te r e d p r o c e s s a n d n o major re se a rch is required as long as the feedstock (the synthesis gas) is of high quality and high yield.

H o w e v e r, w h e n t h e o l d Vä rna mo factor y sta r ts commercially producing real die sel f rom ro ot s a nd pine branches, the reduced effect on the climate is the real winner.

ENQUIRY NO. 6606 September 2009 | industrial automation asia 43

energy ENERGY

Putting

Numbers On Green Performance

Detailed studies confirm the low environmental impact of wind turbines compared to fossil-fuel power generation.

By Charles Burcher, for Wind magazine, Vestas ind is not just a competitive and dependable source of electricity. As global warming begins to bite, it is more important than ever that wind power fulfils its promise of being kind to the environment.

Jette Kjaer is responsible for environmental issues in the wind energy division of Swedish power company Vattenfall, which operates wind power plants in Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the UK, Poland and Germany. She says: “Data from Vestas makes our own environmental product declarations more complete and specific. Without this we would have to make estimates based on generic figures, so the quality of our data would be poorer.”

“We have to get these figures right,” agrees Klaus Rønde of Vestas’ safetyandenvironmental

44

industrial automation asia | September 2009

department. “When we quote the CO2 savings from wind power, it’s essential to our credibility that the information is accurate.”

To make sure of that, Vestas uses a technique known as life cycle assessment (LCA) to calculate the environmental impact of its turbines. Vestas’ LCAs conform to the ISO 1404X series of international standards, and independent consultants audit every LCA before it is published.

“The auditors’ general conclusion is that our work is done to a high standard,” says Mr Rønde. “There is never going to be one single answer when it comes to environmental performance, but an independent review gives us confidence that our calculations are realistic.”

Calculating Emissions The idea of an LCA is to attach numbers to all the possible environmental consequences that occur over the lifetime of a wind turbine. This inclusive approach makes sure that ever y kind of pollution receives due weight, even if it happens in a distant country or at some time in the future.

Raw materials, energy, a nd env ironmenta l emissions need to be added up for ever y stage in the turbine’s l i fe : ma nu fac t u r i n g, installation, operation, maintenance, and finally decommissioning and disposal (Figure 1).

Landfill/incineration

Waste

Renewable energy Recycling

Raw materials and resources

Suppliers

Transport

Manufacturing

this represents 100 turbines, plus the necessary substations, cables and other auxiliary equipment.

The second stage is to work out the raw materials and energy required, and the emissions created, to manufacture the turbines, install them, operate them, dismantle them, and recycle or dispose of the resulting materials.

Transport and installation

Figure 1: Life cycle assessment requires careful study of every stage in a wind turbine’s life, ‘from cradle to grave’

wind speed, and questions such as whether to include the cables that export power to the grid (Figure 2).

Current Vestas practice is to calculate LCAs based on a large wind power plant rated at 300 MW. In the case of the V90-3.0 MW, for instance,

Figure 2: The three basic stages in preparing an LCA

ENQUIRY NO. 063

Preparing an LCA is broadly a three-stage process, Mr Klaus Rønde explains. First comes the scope and assumptions of the assessment: the standards to be used, the boundaries of the study, the type and number of turbines, the tower height, the average

September 2009 | industrial automation asia 45

energy

“This is a lot of work, because of the large number of parts in a modern turbine,” Mr Rønde points out. For each component, the first need is to find out what it is made of – steel, copper, glass fibre, plastic (what type?) – and how much it weighs.

Data collection often requires some assumptions. For instance, electronic modules, of which a single turbine contains dozens, have so many tiny parts that it would be almost impossible to assess each one in detail.

Luckily, most electronic modules conta in simila r propor tions of metals, plastics and so on, so detailed calculations for one module ca n be tra nsfer red to others with little loss of accuracy.

For complex components such as gearboxes, and raw materials such as steel, Vestas uses LCA

data from its suppliers or from independent consultants. “We buy steel from many suppliers, so it is better to get international average data from organisations like the World Steel Association,” says Mr Rønde.

At the end of this painstaking process, the analysts have a list of all the substances, and their amounts, that will be released to the environment over the timescale selected for the LCA. The next task is to decide what the figures mean.

Interpreting Emissions Data The third stage of the LCA process calculates the environmental impacts of the emissions. This is done by multiplying the quantity of each pollutant by a weighting factor that reflects its potential to cause a particular kind of environmental harm.

If the company can ensure that 95 percent of the steel is recycled when the turbine reaches the end of its life, however, then the overall environmental cost will be much lower 46 industrial automation asia | September 2009

A single substance may appear in more than one category. For example, the chemicals known as HCFCs, used as refrigerants and in the production of plastic foams, damage the earth’s ozone layer and also act as greenhouse gases.

Besides being toxic to humans and animals, nitrogen oxides (NO x) produced when fuels are burned cause both acidification and eutrophication (nutrient enrichment) in lakes, rivers and the sea.

In the case of gases that cause global warming, nitrate pollution or acidification, scientists generally agree on the specific environmental damage each one causes – though this information can change in the light of new scientific knowledge.

The respected Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), for instance, periodically adjusts its estimates of the global warming potentials of the most important greenhouse gases, expressed as CO2 equivalents.

Scientists are less in agreement when it comes to the environmental effects of toxic substances such as heavy metals, or chemicals that affect human and animal hormones.

Even when the toxic effects of, say, two heavy metals are well understood, it may be hard to rank one as better or worse than the other, so that they can be assigned relative weighting factors. And in any case, a pollutant that is very damaging in one situation, for instance a marine ecosystem, may be less harmful in another, such as on land.

The best the LCA professionals can do is therefore to state their assumptions clearly and be prepared to adapt to new research.

As a result, the rules – including the ISO standards – governing how to carry out an LCA are quite flexible.

Within the ISO 1404X framework, Vestas uses a system known as EDIP (Environmental Design of Industrial Products), a computer-

aided tool backed by the Danish Environment Ministry that has been widely used for more than a decade.

CO2 emissions for 1 kWh electricity produced by: Vestas V903.0 MW onshore Gas-fired power station Coal-fired power station

System Boundaries Another critical issue is where to set the boundaries of the system being studied. “This can have a big effect on the LCA results, and again, the ISO standards allow for different boundaries as long as you define them first,” says Caroline Setterwall, an environmental specialist at Vattenfall.

A typical decision is whether to credit your own system with ‘avoided emissions’ in other systems.

A steelmaking plant, for example, may produce energy-rich gases that can be burned in a nearby power plant. If the steel plant were not there, the power plant would burn natural gas instead.

On that basis, it might be fair to discount the steel plant’s gases – and the emissions created by extracting and transporting natural gas to the power plant – from the environmental cost of the steel.

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800 900 gram CO2/kWh

Figure 3: Compared to fossil fuels, wind power produces virtually no CO2.

Shown here are relative figures for CO2 emissions from electricity produced from V90-3.0 MW onshore wind turbines, gas and coal

A not he r t r ic k y que st ion concerns time frames. “A life cycle is like a wheel rolling through time,” Ms Setterwall says. “When you calculate your LCA you have to start somewhere on that wheel, and the starting point might have large impact on the result.”

One reason for this is the need to avoid counting environmental credits twice when recycling. When Vestas buys steel to make a wind turbine, she explains, about onethird of this will normally have been recycled already.

If the turbine LCA includes an environmental credit for this recycled content, then Vestas cannot

claim a further recycling credit when the turbine is eventually scrapped.

But suppose Vestas builds the turbine from virgin steel, which clearly has a higher up-front environmental cost. If the company can ensure that 95 percent of the steel is recycled when the turbine reaches the end of its life, however, then the overall environmental cost will be much lower. Such tricky decisions are important to highquality LCAs. Green Wind Once the frameworks have been decided and the numbers counted, LCA confirms that wind power

Steel:

A Weighty Issue

C

arbon dioxide emissions from steel production are important to Vestas because steel makes up most of the weight of a wind turbine. As a result, steel accounts for nearly 50 percent of the energy needed to build and operate a turbine over its lifetime.

The steel industry is responsible for between four and five percent of all man-made greenhouse gas emissions, according to Philippe Varin, CEO of steelmaker Corus and chair of the World Steel Association’s Climate Change Policy Group.

World production of more than 1.3 billion tonnes per year of steel, at an average CO2 intensity of 1.9 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of steel, yields over 2 billion tonnes of CO2 each year.

The industry has several strategies to control and reduce its CO2 emissions: Common methodologies for CO2 benchmarking provide accurate and believable figures for steel users to use in their LCAs New steelmaking methods can reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions – an extreme

example is electric smelting using wind power Developing countries, which already produce more than half the world’s steel, have some of the most modern steel plants.

Older plants may need help to adopt best practices in energy efficiency Raising the proportion of steel recycled to 90 percent or more, from its current figure of 83 percent, will cut energy use High-strength steels enable components to be made lighter.

A typical modern 70 metre wind turbine tower weighs 140

tonnes, or around half the weight of an older tower made from lower-strength steel The global way in which steel is manufactured, traded and used makes it essential to get support from politicians as well as steelmakers, Mr Varin said, if CO2 production from steelmaking is to be kept within reasonable limits as the world’s economy grows. New efficiency standards for vehicles and buildings are a low-cost way to cut steel-related CO2 emissions, he pointed out.

ENQUIRY NO. 6607

September 2009 | industrial automation asia 47

energy

MWh 160.000 140.000

coal and gas-fired plants, where emissions during normal operation dominate the environmental profile.

For nuclear power, environmental impact is largely from fuel extraction and processing, and storage of spent fuel. In the case of wind turbines, emissions are largely confined to manufacturing and disposal; the erection phase has only a small environmental impact.

Figure 5 shows that the largest single user of energy is the steel used for the turbine tower and many of the drive train components.

Targets for turbine designers are therefore to reduce weight without compromising on generating capacity or reliability.

0

120.000 100.000 1/4

80.000

1/2

3/4

60.000 40.000 20.000 0

0

5

10

15

20 Years

Figure 4: This energy balance reflects the time a wind turbine needs to be in operation before it has produced as much energy as it will consume in its entire life cycle. A V90-3.0 MW onshore wind turbine has an average energy payback time of just 6.6 months

is a great deal greener than nonrenewable generating technologies.

In 20 years, a V90-3.0 MW onshore wind turbine will generate an average of 158,000 MWh, reducing CO2 emissions by approximately 129,000 t compared to an equivalent coal-fired power plant (Figure 3).

To put these figures another way, Vestas wind turbines pay back the energy needed to build and install them within six to nine months (Figure 4).

The assessments also show that wind is also a winner when we look at other forms of pollution such as acid rain, smog and ecotoxicity.

The assessments also show that wind is also a winner when we look at other forms of pollution such as acid rain, smog and ecotoxicity.

Wind and nuclear power differ in many respects, but one thing they have in common is that most of their environmental emissions occur at the beginning and end of the life cycle.

This is very different from

CO2 60

CO2

50 40 30 20 10 0 Transport

Siteworks

Steel

Composites

Concrete

Others

Figure 5: Energy breakdown (as a percentage of total CO2 emissions) by material and task over the lifetime of a V90-3.0 MW wind turbine. By far the largest single contributor is steel 48 industrial automation asia | September 2009

Says Mr Rønde: “A more efficient turbine that weighs less is also cheaper to build and erect, so it’s good business sense.”

What is new, he says, is a focus on recovering energy ad reducing waste by designing turbines that are more than 80 percent recyclable at the end of their working lives.

This target is a global one, and in Europe, more than 80 percent by weight of every turbine can already be recycled.

The fate of turbine blades is a case in point. Current LCAs assume that worn-out blades will be landfilled, because this is still the commonest disposal route worldwide.

In Europe, however, blades may be crushed and incinerated to recover their energy content.

ENQUIRY NO. 6608

Harnessing The Wind

Ring redundancies in wind parks are easy to implement with unmanaged switches.

By Thomas Heckmann, head of market and application management, Harting Electric

W

ind power plants must be constantly and reliably controlled and monitored.

Today, they are normally connected to one another via an Ethernet network for this purpose, and the data transmission is usually handled by a fibre optic cable. Now Ethernet switches are also making it very easy to set up redundant network rings for switching the connections.

Support Systems A look at wind turbines in a wind park fails to give any clues as to the support systems that are needed in the background in order to guarantee that all the systems are stringently controlled and monitored.

In addition to control systems in the individual wind turbines, which allow economically optimal and reliable operation, it is also important to set up access that allows remote monitoring of the systems.

Acquisition of operating data is a basic function here. This type of higher-order control is often referred to as SCADA – short for supervisory control and data acquisition. Such systems monitor, visualise, control and regulate

entire installations. And so setting up a SCADA system also involves a number of wind turbines in a wind park, which are connected to one another via a network.

L a r g e r s y s te m s f o r t h e utilisation of solar energy are also equipped with SCADA systems, because these systems also need to integrate decentralised units by means of a central control concept.

This ranges from large photovoltaic systems to solar-thermal power plants with moving collector units.

Data Transmission Data is typically transmitted via fibre optic cable, which uses multimode or single-mode fibres over greater distances and which is inherently not influenced by electromagnetic disturbances. Fast Ethernet has become established in wind park applications, as well as in many industrial applications.

In the simplest case, such a network can be set up by building up a line of optic fibre connections among the wind turbines. These can be connected to the active devices in such a way that the linear connection and the system itself are combined as a network.

The Ethernet switches handle the active functions in the network.

They reliably guarantee data transmission up to the addressed point or user in the network.

Performance reliability, which must also be given in the event that a network connection fails, is crucial for constant monitoring and control of the wind power plants.

Should one network connection fail, a replacement connection must consequently be possible immediately for continued operation. The redundancy striven for by such a connection option can be reached by means of parallel connections.

However, in such cases of parallel redundancy, if damage were to occur – such as to the optic fibre connections – it could often incur the failure of both lines at the same time.

Simple & Economical For this reason, it is customary to use a ring connection, which prevents damage to a switch or a linear connection from resulting in long-term impairment of the entire system. In the past, ring redundancy was possible only when so-called managed switches were used, but these are complex to configure.

In addition to the elaborate handling for setting up a redundant network, a correspondingly high price for the equipment was also seen as unavoidable, due to the complex and extensive hardware functions.

ENQUIRY NO. 6609

September 2009 | industrial automation asia 49

FEATURES

M

odern consumers demand that food producers take every step to protect them from the risks of infection, sickness and contagion. In the past few years, a ‘farm to fork’ approach has seen international food safety legislation expand to cover food packaging and machinery intended for use with foodstuffs.

Wide-reaching measures, such as EC regulation 2006/42/EC on machinery, are intended to intensify oversight to allay public fears sparked by events such as the 1996 E coli outbreak in Scotland, and the melamine scare in China last year.

Stiff penalties are dealt out to those companies who fail to comply with this directive, which regulates the construction and servicing of machinery across the EU. The incentives for updating manufacturing techniques are not only legal. Contemporary trends of health and wellbeing have continued, despite the world economic downturn.

The growing influence of consumer demographics such as LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) – thought to include 63 million people in the US and 50

industrial automation asia | September 2009

From Farm to Fork:

A

Growing Importance On Hygiene

For food industry manufacturers, due diligence in matters of hygiene is not only a legal necessity, but also a business necessity. By Roland Czuday, Bosch.

Europe, actually provides a real opportunity for packaged food brands to stay ahead of their competitors in terms of brand appeal.

LOHAS represents a modern market segment that assimilates concerns for individual wellbeing, environmental responsibility, and interdependent ethical practices into a proposed universal business model of ‘responsible capitalism’.

By demonstrating a firm commitment to high standards of hygiene, from manufacturing to product packaging, brands stand

to gain the trust of today’s healthconscious consumers.

Implications For Packaging Trust in brands is playing an increasingly larger role in consumer food purchasiVng decisions. The risks of food poisoning are too great, and modern consumers will not risk spending their money on products they cannot trust – especially during a recession.

Similarly, the risks of food safety issues, and the subsequent damage to company reputation, are too great for producers to rest on their laurels.

Recent strengthening of food safety legislation stems from a demand for transparency in the food supply chain.

Calls for international standardisation of food hygiene are changing the way packaged food is manufactured, presented and sold.

These demands stem from the same desire for trust that prompted food brands to list their ingredients and nutritional data on product packaging.

Consumers want just as much attention paid to safe production techniques as they do to taste and convenience. In particular, they demand a move towards ‘hands off’ automated manufacturing to reduce the risk of human error and contamination.

Hygiene-focused packaging innovation is a great way to appeal to twenty-first century consumer demands, and to protect brand integrity.

Interactive Partnerships In order to protect brand reputation and ensure consumer trust, food producers and packaging OEMs must work in tandem on hygienic machine maintenance and design.

W hether pack a g ing cook ie s or fish a nd me at s, mo der n machiner y must account for physical, chemical and biological hazards. Production lines should be flexible, easy-to-clean, easy-tooperate, and yet remain efficient.

This can only be achieved with good communication along the supply chain – in this case, in partnerships between food producers and experienced, innovative and customer-focused packaging experts.

The 2006/42/EC directive on machinery serves to emphasise the importance of interactive relationships that cover thoroughly the areas of risk analysis and cleaning concepts.

Potential hazards and customerspecific requirements in machinery upkeep must be thoroughly assessed, and then continuously monitored.

ADAPTABILITY IS OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE IN THE HIGHLY COMPETITIVE, RAPIDLY EVOLVING PACKAGED FOODS INDUSTRIES Dynamic interplay in the fields of design and maintenance is vital for maintaining high standards, and the only way to guarantee that machinery updates are installed and run with minimum disruption. When suppliers and OEMs come together, all aspects of the process can be given due consideration.

Partnerships that place emphasis on planning, communication, training, and technological expertise, offer simplified risk analysis, reduce downtime, and prevent the damaging fallout of failing to meet new hygiene standards.

Hands Off! Adaptability is of paramount importance in the highly competitive, rapidly evolving packaged foods industries. Production needs are liable to change with increased regularity as companies seek to keep up with consumer and legal requirements for hygiene.

Recessionary pressures mean that food producers seek long-term reassurances from their financial outlay for new equipment. This is a reassurance that some machinery cannot offer. However, with easily adaptable systems, producers can take advantage of innovation that meets their specific requirements, both now and in the future.

Hygiene standards require a high degree of cleanliness on the production line. Recent innovations to packaging technology allow robot cells to be exposed, making them easier and quicker to clean, and therefore reducing downtime.

Smooth, angled surfaces are ideal as they allow detergents to drain off easily, without leaving behind unwanted residue.

Training packages are just as important as the technology itself.

Food hygiene training should cover food poisoning, bacteriology, prevention of contamination, persona l hygiene, clea ning, disinfection, and the law.

Robot Technology Health, wellbeing and hygiene will continue to be top among consumer concerns over the coming years. Food producers must act now or suffer the dissatisfaction of food shoppers and food regulators.

Fortunately, automated robot technology provides a perfect answer to questions of hygiene.

It guarantees food safety without undue disruption to production lines. Indeed, the latest packaging systems save time and resources through their ease-of-use, reliability and efficiency, as well as their adherence to hygiene standards.

Public concern and recent legislation on food safety should not be viewed as inconveniences, but rather as opportunities to bring manufacturing lines up-to-date, and lays the foundations for future success.

ENQUIRY NO. 6701 September 2009 | industrial automation asia

51

features

erifying

Food Safety The verification process from regulators and customers would enable increased product quality and safety.

By Wong Chee Siong, sector manager, Processed Foods Asia Pacific, JohnsonDiversey

ith the recent food scare and contaminations in the food industry in Asia, the safety and security of the entire food chain has been put under the spotlight.

The massive recall of the contaminated food products initiated by the food manufacturers ha s je opa rdise d t he bra nd reputation and caused millions of dollars spent on the recall exercise and disposal of the products.

Retailers had to clear their shelve s a nd consumers a re losing confidence in the food manufacturers. This has also resulted in regulators, food manufacturers, suppliers and other food chain stakeholders paying more attention to ensure a complete food safety compliance encompassing the entire food chain.

Shared Responsibility Food production is he av ily regulated in all important aspects including food safety and quality.

A new failure upstream of a supply chain would have a serious commercial and regulatory impact.

Therefore it is a good business practice to ensure a food safety management system which is verified periodically to maintain its validity. This will help maximise food safety and quality compliance at all points in the supply chain.

In most A sia n countrie s, fo o d sa fet y compl ia nce by food manufacturers is a shared responsibility by many government depa r tments such a s the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Veterinary department, industry commerce bureaus, the Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, etc.

The overlapping jurisdictions, weak legislation, a predominance of cottage-industry production with little or no documentation creates a significant challenge to regulators

52  industrial automation asia | September 2009

as well as trading partners to really ensure that proper verification is in place and consistently being carried out against agreed food safety standards.

As globalisation advances and Asia is increasingly economically integrated within the global food trade market, its government faces progressively more complex tasks of enforcing international standards on a still relatively isolated rural production base.

As these small, often rural producers’ products increasingly ga i n a cce s s to t h e g l o b a l market, their potentially poor manufacturing practices present a globa l hea lth governa nce challenge to governments tasked with protecting the health of their citizens.

The government, in particular, is unprepared to proactively address food safety when many producers are little more than cottage processors. Small processors often lack appropriate documentation and rarely have the technical capacity or know-how to ensure compliance with regulations.

Consistent Standards Addressing the issue of using consistent common food safety standards to verify for compliance requires one to know which one to choose to be implemented in the plant. This will help to reduce massive unnecessary documentation and auditing cost.

A good understanding of the client requirements will be the main criteria to select a food safety standard for their operation.

In the market there are CAC/RCP (Codex Alimentarius Commission Recommended International Code of Practice-General Principles of Food Hygiene), the European Food law Regulation EC178/2002, EC852/2004, EC853/2004 and EC854/2004, H ACCP ( Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point), ISO22000:2005, Global Standard For

Experienced plant personnel will be able to manage risks by applying appropriate control measures

Food Safety (BRC), International Food Sta nda rd ( IFS), Sa fety Quality Food (SQF 100, SQF 2000) and many more.

Importance Of Verification In all management systems, the element of verification is an important requirement and a procedure of verification activities should be established, documented and implemented.

The main purpose of verification is to determine compliance with the established good hygiene practices/ pre-requisite program and that the HACCP plan is working effectively addressing all the known risks in the operations.

Managing The Risks The risk that that the operation needs to manage basically can be categorise into three areas, which are microbiological, physical and chemical. The microbiological risk is the greatest challenge for food

operations as many food product recalls in the market are associated to microbiological contamination.

Experienced plant personnel will be able to manage the risk by applying appropriate control measures which would identify actions to prevent, reduce or eliminate the microbiological contamination from entering the food chain.

A t ra ine d microbiolog ist will enable the profiling of the microbiological risk as a potential pathogen that could cause food borne intoxication or infection, food spoilage that would reduced the shelf life of the food product and affecting the quality, psychrofile which stays in cold room and may be a potential pathogen such as Listeria monocytogenes or yeast/ moulds which is an indication of poor sanitation.

Each e stablished control measure is targeted to a specific risk and in order to ensure the operation September 2009 | industrial automation asia  53

features

is applying the documented control measures, one must conduct a verification process.

One of the verification activities is auditing apart from microbiological and physico chemical testing, evaluation and monitoring. Procedures for verification must be documented to include purpose, method, standards used for verification, task and responsibilities, frequency and records.

A proper verification program should include internal, customers, independent expert and enforcement agencies. All of these may seem to be too many for a food processing plant to endure but if carried out by a qualified and independent team or individual, the results could be used for managing continuous improvement.

Keeping Track This can be incorporated into a scoreboard of performance for internal monitoring or for renewal of supplier’s contract. The real power of a properly designed verification program will enable the plant itself or the customer to manage and track compliance and

Food production is heavily regulated in all important aspects including food safety and quality

used the information during the review meeting.

This will allow the plant to understand what causes the non conformances, avoid repetition and define the actions to take and review if the actions are effective to remove the causes.

A proper management report needs to assure everything is working right and will trigger actions before deviations become problems. Managing of all these reports, data and tracking a history of repeats could be too tedious if it’s done manually.

However with technolog y nowadays, software and hardware are available to help manage the data collected and tabulating in an executive and detail report for communication and tracking.

The ever challenges for the small and medium size food processors is to help them improving good hygiene practices meeting the defined food safety requirements by providing technical support.

This should be a priority.

The verification process from regulators and customers would enable increased product quality and safety. The regulators will need to position the responsibility to prove the safety of its products from all producers regardless of their size of operation.

A l l t h is wou ld re su lt i n increased costs but should not only be borne by the producer alone, some increased costs will ultimately have to be borne by the end user. The question here is what is the cost of food poisoning as compared to paying more for a better quality and safe products?

ENQUIRY NO. 6702 2701

JohnsonDiversey:

Food Safety Diagnostics Tool

S

ecureCheck is a diagnostic tool that JohnsonDiversey developed to help improve or maintain food safety and hygiene standards in food production. This tool highlights the potential risks of microbiological contamination in food production sites, delivering at the same time solutions to minimise these risks in order to really contribute to food safety.

SecureCheck consists of a sequence of actions needed to 54  industrial automation asia | September 2009

reach the final result: A technical survey and execution of a questionnaire, specific for the processed food sector; the questionnaire is performed in all critical areas via a PDA by a trained JohnsonDiversey employee, in agreement with the technical and quality responsible persons of the customer Sharing of the first rough results and comments with the customer Forwarding of a first report containing the statistic results

divided per any critical area by means of a traffic light system and benchmarked against European trends and standards.

After a period of two weeks: the presentation of the second technical report containing the general overview of the assessment the flowchart of production with the associated risks evaluated, and the associated solution that the company offers for every critical area ENQUIRY NO. 6703 2701

All Part Of

e Plan CAE provider ePlan’s Mak JY speaks about how the software can help users increase productivity

R

unning on a database oriented p l a t f o r m , e P l a n’s C A E (Computer Aided Engineering) software is a different approach from pure drafting tools, according to the Mak Jyh Yoong, sales director, Southeast Asia. He says: “In today’s complicated and advance electrical design & engineering environment, we need to develop logic instead of dead drawings.”

Since the first development o f e Pl a n e l e c t r ic a l d e si g n software, ePlan has evolved from drafting to drawing, from drawing to configuration, and from configuration to today’s auto design generating or functional engineering.

Mr Mak says: “In order to achieve such development, we need a very strong logical database to manage all cross re fe re nce s a nd re p or t s generation automatically.

This function itself saves up to 70 percent of the engineer or drafter’s time.”

Providing solutions for all electrical design and engineering env ironments and covering the consultation, M&E, manufacturing and engineering field, ePlan Mak Jyh Yoong, sales director, Southeast Asia, ePlan

is capable of providing four major standards: IEC (International sta nda rd), N F PA (A mer ica n standard, consolidated with Japanese and Australia standard), GB (China standard) and GOST (Russia Standard).

Enabling Efficiency A nother way the company’s software helps customers is by enabling efficiency. Elaborates Mr Mak: “We provide efficiency even during the implementation stages of the product. On the design bench, by total elimination of human error and redundancy of time, a product can achieve a much faster time to market.”

“In the workshop, the end p r o d u c t (t o o l / m a c h i n e r y/ system) can be assembled and manufactured with lesser time and wastage. On the run, it allows a much faster initial system operation startup, leading to much lesser raw material wastage during the testing and commissioning,” he adds.

Looking into the future, Mr Mak predicts that simulation on designed works is an expected advancement for users to evaluate their work before channeling them into implementation, further reducing human design errors, wastages and improves time to market for each project.

ENQUIRY NO. 6704

September 2009 | industrial automation asia

55

products & Services Adlink Technology:

Anewtech:

The Ampro by Adlink RuffSystem 840 integrates a dual-core processor, RAM, graphics, networking, and PCI Express expansion in an Extreme Rugged enclosure that operates from -40 to +75 deg C. It is designed for ruggedness and reliability in mission critical computer applications such as military, transportation monitoring and control systems, aviation, and other harsh environments.

The RuffSystem 840 showcases the Intel Core 2 Duo L7500 1.66GHz 45nm processor with support for 4MB of on-chip L2 cache, 800 MHz FSB (front side bus), and two SODIMM sockets for up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM.

When integrating digital video systems and digital video gateways, Anewtech provides a video solution to satisfy supermarkets or hypermarkets. With PowerView 6000, a video analysis software, the PVS-640E PC based video system can be integrated with video cameras and access control systems.

Staff at the back management office controls the automated barrier at the carpark via the EX 9050 I/O module. From the management centre, a store owner can control the entire security operation of the supermarket by access control systems, a store manager can decrease the cost of monitoring door entries and exits.

Rugged Embedded System

Video Solution

Enquiry no. 6801

Enquiry no. 6802

B&R Automation:

Baumüller:

With the 8B0P passive power supply modules, B&R provides a central power supply for ACOPOSmulti drive systems. Designed for mains input voltages from 3x 380 to 3x 500 VAC, they provide a continuous power output of 8 kW or 16 kW depending on the type.

A unique feature is the passive motor brake. This can be used to prevent hanging loads from dropping in an uncontrolled manner if power is lost on ACOPOSmulti drive systems. In this case, the motor brake is engaged if the mechanical clamping system fails – the hanging load is then lowered in a controlled manner.

Baumüller’s integrated and PLCopen Safety-compliant safety concept comprises centralised, modular decentralised, and hybrid automation structures and is reflected in every part of the application. Baumüller integrates its safety concept into all automation components – the main component being the b maXX-safePLC safety controller in connection with a drive system with integrated functional safety.

Implementation of high-quality safety functions as an add-on solution. Baumüller’s product portfolio includes the SMX series, which satisfies the market demands for customised safety concepts. Its modular structure allows the user to integrate additional functions as required and to respond flexibly to safety requirements.

Power Supply Modules

Enquiry no. 6803 56 industrial automation asia | September 2009

Flexible Safety Solutions

Enquiry no. 6804

products & Services

Cinterion Wireless Modules:

Cognex:

Cinterion Wireless Modules’ land grid array (LGA) modules include: EES3, EGS5, EGS3 and BGS3 and feature surface mount technology enabling fully automated ‘pick-and-place’ manufacturing for mass production of M2M solutions such as in the automotive and security industries.

In addition to scalability from basic GSM/GPRS via enhanced GPRS and Java up to EDGE functionality, the modules feature optimised pad size and layout and enable customer specific overprinting and full flexibility for soldering paste selection.

Cognex’s VisionPro Solar Toolbox includes pre-configured software tools for the most common vision alignment and inspection applications in photovoltaic (PV) solar production.

Users have the option of working either with the basic VisionPro software library or using the pre-configured tool set as a starting point for setting up vision inspection and alignment applications. VisionPro software’s full range of industry-leading tools for location, identification, and inspection can be leveraged throughout the value chain to help manufacturers achieve higher quality, faster throughput, and better process control.

LGA Modules

Vision Software

Enquiry no. 6805

Enquiry no. 6806

Fluke:

ifm:

Fluke Fused Test Probes incorporate additional safety features. If the probe fuse does blow, these probes will still allow the meter to indicate live voltage. They are rated to CAT III 1000 V and have sheathed tips for additional safety. These new modular probes can mount onto any modular lead format. It includes built-in fuses for additional measurement protection. The probes allow indication of live voltage even with blown fuse.

Also, the 2 mm threaded probe tips include removable 4 mm lantern-style spring contacts and removable GS38 insulated IC caps for probing closely spaced leads.

The SU series by ifm electronic boasts a highly-visible display of the flow rate, and a selection of outputs to provide a scalable analogue 4 to 20mA or 0 to 10 V signal, and output pulse or switched alarm outputs, PNP or NPN, selectable normally open or normally closed and for which the user can adjust the hysteresis.

The electrical connection is a standard M12 connector, while process connections are standard ½” or ¾” fittings.

The SU can even monitor the temperature of the water, too, giving an alarm if a set trip level is exceeded.

Fused Test Probes

Enquiry no. 6807

Ultrasonic Flowmeter

Enquiry no. 6808 September 2009 | industrial automation asia 57

products & Services

igus:

Jumo:

The energy chain system ‘P4’ is available in two new sizes: ‘P4.32’ and ‘P4.42’. ‘P4.42’ (42 mm inner height) in a ‘heavyduty design’ is made for demanding crane applications: high speeds up to 10 m/s, long travels up to 800 m, high filling weights up to 10 kg/m. In contrast the ‘P4.32’ (32 mm inner height) has been developed for high dynamic also when the installation space is limited.

Upper run and lower run are rolling offset on each other.

Though the plastic profile rolls are not over rolled, they roll on a generally wide surface which increases the lifetime of the chain even more.

The pressure transmitter MIDAS S05 from JUMO is a completely welded measurement system made of stainless steel. It offers optimum safety in view of a leakage of the process agent.

The used silicon sensor itself can endure extreme burdens in the lowest measurement range of 250 mbar and can perform millions of pressure cycles.

This durability while under extreme pressure is important for applications in the area of pump control. There are many areas of application in cooling and air conditioning facilities, in compressors, in mechanical engineering, in the field of commercial vehicles and in industrial pneumatics.

New Sizes For Energy Chain

Pressure Transmitter

Enquiry no. 6809

Enquiry no. 6810

Measurement Computing:

Molex:

Measurement Computing’s 7000 series product line, which includes the USB-7202 and USB-7204 boards, combines small form-factor, bus-powered USB hardware, and a light and agile software framework that can be ported to multiple operating systems. The software framework, a core technology to the series, is called Message-Based DAQ (MBD).

MBD is a well-defined protocol that permits the programming of DAQ devices using simple text-based messages. The MBD protocol greatly simplifies driver and application development, because all DAQ operations are programmed through a common command interface, which is composed of a consistent, extensible firmware interface and an open-source, crossplatform API.

Molex’s Mini-Fit H2O weatherproof, compact connection system is designed for wire-to-wire applications of up to 9.0A per circuit.

The connector system is IP67-rated, which ensures connector integrity when submersed in up to one metre of water.

The product family consists of plug and receptacle assemblies and male and female crimp terminals. The plug and receptacle assemblies are equipped with pre-installed interface and wire seals.

The terminals have a new ‘wingless’ design that will not damage seals upon installation or removal. Terminals will accept both 18 and 20 AWG, UL 1015 wires.

USB Bus-Powered DAQ Module

Enquiry no. 6811 58 industrial automation asia | September 2009

Mid-Range Power Connector

Enquiry no. 6812

products & Services products & Services

Moxa:

National Instruments:

Moxa’s MiiNePort E1 is built for design engineers who want to upgrade their serial device with Ethernet capability in the shortest time and with minimum effort. With the small form factor (33.9 x 16.25 x 13.5 mm), lowest power consumption (160 mA at 3.3 VDC), Moxa’s second generation SoC, and NetEZ technology, the MiiNePort E1 is an easy yet cost-effective solution for manufacturers of devices such as access card readers, meters, digital signage, and RFID readers.

The MiiNePort Starter Kit, which comes with many invaluable tools and an evaluation board, is a great way to experience the MiiNePort E1 hands-on.

The latest version of LabVIEW, LabVIEW 2009, makes it possible to deploy code to wireless sensor networks to help build smarter industrial measurement and monitoring sys tems and features new solutions for testing multiple wireless standards such as WLAN, WiM A X , G P S and M I MO systems on a single hardware platform. In addition, LabVIEW 2009 simplifies real-time math by streamlining mathematical algorithm design and deployment to real-time hardware.

With opportunities emerging from investments in infrastructure, environmental monitoring, medical research and device design and test, LabVIEW 2009 was developed to harness key technologies such as multicore, FPGA design, wireless platforms and real-time math to empower innovation in these areas.

Embedded Serial Device Server

LabVIEW Update

Enquiry no. 6813

Enquiry no. 6814

Tibbo:

Wonderware:

The EM1206 is a miniature BASIC-programmable embedded module. In combination with the RJ203 jack/magnetics, the EM1206 occupies only 34.5x19 mm of board space.

Alternatively, the EM1206 can be used with any suitable magnetics and jack.

The module’s hardware mix, which includes 100Base/T Ethernet, four serial ports, flash disk, EEPROM, and RTC, has been carefully tailored to address the typical needs of networkenabled control applications.

The EM1206 can also support Wi-Fi communications (this requires GA1000 add-on board), as well as external LCD, keypad, and buzzer.

The EM1206 can be ordered standalone or in combination with the RJ203 module.

Wonderware’s Condition Based Monitoring 2.0 integrates Mtelligence’s powerful connectivity and asset health monitoring application with the Wonderware System Platform, InTouch HMI and Wonderware IntelaTrac mobile solution software to help further lower the cost and effort needed to build a fully integrated and scalable asset effectiveness solution The Mtelligence Condition Based Monitoring 2.0 solution leverages ArchestrA technology inside of the Wonderware System Platform to simplify and accelerate system configuration.

An enhanced ‘Operator Work Advisory’ graphic template can be customised to provide operator-requested information on work order status and detailed work order information.

BASIC-Programmable Ethernet Module

Enquiry no. 6815

Condition Based Monitoring Solution

Enquiry no. 6816 September 2009 | industrial automation asia 59

EVENT PREVIEW

PIA Vietnam

2009

Af ter an 18 month interval the second PIA Vietnam show returns to Ho Chi Minh City from September 16 - 18 this year. PIA Vietnam comprises three distinct elements – Process Vietnam 2009: The 2nd International Plant & Process Engineering Exhibition; Instrument Vietnam 2009: The 2nd International Instrumentation, Measurement & Testing Exhibition, and Analysis & Lab Vietnam 2009: The 2nd International Analysis & Laboratory Technology Exhibition to provide a trade show for enterprises that are seeking to expand and upgrade business practices with quality-proven applications and solutions.

Targeted to attract more than 100 exhibiting companies and 5,000 professional visitors, the show is timed while Vietnamese companies seek to upgrade the quality of their manufacturing processes and technical know-how.

Opening Its Doors The increasing awareness on the need to adopt advanced 60 industrial automation asia | September 2009

technologies with service support is a growing feature of technology investments as Vietnam opens to the world economy. This has encouraged an increased direct presence of market leaders in several key sectors.

Proximity to leading East Asian markets and in particular China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand has seen strong waves of investments.

Increasing investment interests have also been evident from Europe, Middle East and North American countries as well as India.

The launch of the PIA Vietnam show reflects the growing demand amongst Vietnamese government and commercial entreprises to access new and practical solutions from leading global companies in the areas of process control, instrumentation and laboratory industries.

International Image Ta k ing place in the Sa igon Exhibition and Convention Centre in District 7 of Ho Chi Minh City,

the show projects an international image with group pavilions from South Korea, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

The Singapore group pavilion will present opportunities and capabilities that enables research and development, education and training applications as well as the integration of process control technologies in the manufacturing and processing sectors, from cement manufacturing to oil and gas and food processing.

Improvements in the manufacturing process will assist companies in reducing waste, improve quality control and safety as well as increased productivity.

September 16 – 18, 2009 Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam ENQUIRY NO. 6901

EPM Linkage Vietnam

2009

TAKING place from October 15 – 17, 2009 at the Saigon Exhibition & Convention Centre in Ho Chi Minh City is EPM Linkage Vietnam. The event will focus on industrial capital goods and technologies from the areas of automation, electricity and energy, environmental protection and water management, machine tools, as well as power transmission and control technology.

There are in total five trade shows at the event this year, of which two are new. They are Machine Tool, Energy and Electricity and H2O and Environmental Protection. New shows this year will be Industrial Automation and Motion, Drive, Automation.

By offering five trade shows, the exhibition networks related technology sectors meaningfully, enabling trade visitors to gain an overview of the various sectors at the same time all located within a compact display area. This interaction aids interdisciplinary ‘thinking outside the box’ and paves the way for making valuable contacts and furthering global progress.

Gateway To SEA The show provides the platform for entry onto the dynamic markets of South-east Asia and Vietnam in particular. The countr y’s economy is enjoying success, with GDP rising by 8.5 percent in 2007. After several record years in succession and overheating of the

national economy in early 2008, the economic situation has now stabilised and growth in 2008 was as high as six percent.

The fact that inflation has dropped noticeably may be even more important. During that period, foreign direct investment rose to an all-time high in 2008.

Vietnam is now among the ten most attractive countries worldwide for investment. Low wage levels naturally play a role as well.

Moreover, a young, educated population and demographic growth of one percent in a country with 86 million inhabitants make Vietnam increasingly attractive as a sales market. Of the 10 ASEAN members, Vietnam is already second in the list of ranked investment locations.

The potential rewards for investors and overseas suppliers are huge as many production plants

are outdated, and Vietnamese companies lag behind in terms of production methods.

Given that many profitable large-scale enterprises are to be privatised, it is anticipated that this lag will translate into concrete demand. The measures taken so far by the Vietnamese government to transform the country and its economy into an industrial nation capable of competing on an international level are already having a positive effect. As a result, it is expected that Vietnam will enjoy stable and sustained economic growth in the medium to long term.

October 15 – 17, 2009 Saigon Exhibition & Convention Centre Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam ENQUIRY NO. 6902 September 2009 | industrial automation asia 61

EVENT PREVIEW

Korea Metal Week THE Korea Metal Week will be held from October 27–31, 2009. It is the international trade fare specialised in metal and machinery industry, such as material/components part, processing equipments part and finished products part. The show was visited by more than 34,000 people in the last fair in 2007. The expected number of visitors this year is from 35,000 to 40,000, Korea Metal Week has been held with KOMAF and Tool Tech simultaneously since 2005. It exhibits the latest technologies to buyers from around the world. In addition, serves as a platform for an

export outlet as well as expanding domestic market of smaller firms.

With three-major exhibitions simultaneously held at the same place, visitors can see many kinds of relative items or contents making the fair a hub of multinational trade and domestic stimulation.

Furthermore, with the total floor area of 53,541 sq m, this is the biggest metal industry and machinery fair in South Korea.

The event is held in KINTEX, Seoul and is jointly organised

by Korea Trade Fairs and Korea Federation of Fasteners Industry Cooperatives.

2009

Finally as the specialised international trade fair in South Korea, the show comprises of five fairs, in addition to the three above -mentioned exhibitions, integrating all metal technologies such as Fasteners & Wire Korea 2009, Foundry Forging & Furnace Korea 2009, Cable Tube and Pipe Korea 2009, Die Casting Korea 2009 and Machine Parts and Mold Manufacturing.

KINTEX Seoul, South Korea October 27 – 31, 2009 Korea Metal Week 2009 ENQUIRY NO. 6903

62 industrial automation asia | September 2009

CalendarOOff Events2009 SEPTEMBER 16 – 18 Industrial Automation Vietnam 2009

Saigon Exhibition & Convention Centre Vietnam Hong Kong Exhibition Services Email: exhibit@hkesallworld.com Web: www.iavietnam.com

16 – 18 Clean Energy Expo Asia

Suntec Singapore Koelnmesse Email: c.hor@koelnmesse.com.sg Web: www.cleanenergyexpoasia.com

OCTOBER 5 – 8 SCM Logistics World 2009

Raffles City Convention Centre Singapore Terrapinn Email: enquiry.sg@terrapinn.com Web: www.terrapinn.com

7 – 10 Manufacturing Technology World SMX Convention Center Pasay City, Philippines Global-Link MP Email: info@globallinkph.com Web: www.globallinkph.com

7 – 11 Bangkok RHVAC 2009

Impact Arena Exhibition & Convention Centre Muang Thong Thani Thailand Royal Thai Government Office of Trade Fair Activities Email: rhvac@depthai.go.th Web: www.bangkok-rhvac.com

8 – 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

13 – 15 Wire Southeast Asia

BITEC Bangkok, Thailand Messe Düsseldorf Asia Email: wire@mda.com.sg Web: www.wire-southeastasia.com

14 – 16 JEC Show Asia 2009

Suntec Singapore JEC Composites Email: visitors@jeccomposites.com Web: www.jeccomposites.com

14 – 17 Oil & Gas Indonesia 2009 Jakarta International Expo Kemyoran Jakarta, Indonesia PT Pamerindo Buana Abadi Email : info@pamerindo.com Web : www.pamerindo.com

15 – 17 EPM Linkage Vietnam 2009

Saigon Exhibition & Convention Center Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Chan Chao International Email: machine@chanchao.com.tw Web: www.epmlinkage.com

22 – 25 Metal Technology Show 2009

Putra World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Fairs & Events Management Email: enquiries@femsb.com Web: www.femsb.com/MTS2009

26 – 27 Carbon Forum Asia

Raffles City Convention Centre Singapore International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) and Koelnmesse Email: s.sim@koelnmesse.com.sg Web: www.carbonforumasia.com

18 – 20 NDE Tokyo 2009

Tokyo Big Sight Tokyo, Japan Japan Management Association (JMA) Email: nde2009@convention.jma.or.jp Web: www.jma.or.jp/nde/en

19 – 22 Metalex 2009

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

DECEMBER 1 – 4 CIA 2009

Suntec Singapore Singapore Exhibition Services Email: car@sesallworld.com Web: www.cia-asia.com

2 – 4 Semicon Japan 2009

Makuhari Messe Chiba, Japan Semi Email: jshowsinfo@semi.org Web: www.semiconjapan.org

3 – 4 Industrial Bus and Wireless Technology Conference

Suntec Singapore Singapore Exhibition Services Email: joa@sesallworld.com Web: www.cia-asia.com/conf_prog.htm

26 – 29 CeMAT Asia

Shanghai New Int’l Expo Centre Shanghai, China Deutsche Messe Email: carsten.fricke@messe.de Web: www.cemat-asia.com

27 – 31 Korea Metal Week 2009

Korea International Exhibition Center Seoul, South Korea Korea Trade Fairs Email: master1@ktfairs.com Web: korea-metal.com/english

NOVEMBER 18 – 20 Clean Energy Expo Asia

Shangri-La Hotel Singapore Koelnmesse Email: c.hor@koelnmesse.com.sg Web: www.cleanenergyexpoasia.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

September 2009 | industrial automation asia

63

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From control to optimization of your system in each network level. A new integrated industrial Ethernet network concept with Gigabit.