At this year's trade fair, HIMA will introduce the new X-CPU 31 processor module with integrated system bus. The CPU complements the HIMax® system family for nonstop plant operation and is used with small and medium-sized safety applications.

The new SILworX® engineering tool V6, used to program HIMax and HIMatrix safety controllers, will also be presented. The SILworX tool now allows the integration of proprietary C programs and C source codes from external tools. In this way, highly complex safety solutions, such as those that are model-based, are easier to implement. The new version also supports Structured Text (ST), which can be especially useful in simplifying implementation of loop programming and CRC calculations as well as for the insertion of functions in text format.

HICore 1, the safety system-on-chip, also makes its world premiere.

The chip includes all functions of a safety-related PLC and comes with an intrinsically safe operating system and middleware. In addition to hardware and software, HIMA offers related comprehensive services. All components of the package are certified according to IEC 61508 up to SIL 3, which greatly simplifies and accelerates TÜV approval. HICore 1 is the ideal foundation for safety-critical applications – ranging from embedded system to control in machinery and plant engineering – that require verification of functional safety.

Apart from logistics/intralogistics, typical HICore 1 applications can be found in medical engineering and energy production plants as well as sensor technology and actuator engineering.

At last year's trade fair, the HIMatrix M45 the prototype was presented. Now in production, this new safe motion control solution includes certified function blocks, high mathematical computing power, backplane bus extension and various encoder interfaces. HIMatrix M45 is especially suited for complex and safety-critical applications in logistics and machine safety, such as storage and retrieval machines, driverless conveying systems, cranes and electric monorail conveyors. The new solution provides an easier, more flexible and more economical implementation of safe motion control tasks.

PAC, a leading global provider of advanced analytical instruments for laboratories and online process applications, today released the AC Analytical Controls® Reformulyzer M4 (M4), which provides fast group type analysis of gasoline and gasoline blend streams using multi-dimensional gas chromatography.

“We are proud to announce the release of our next generation product, Reformulyzer M4, the fastest and most versatile analyzer on the market, combining the analyses of Paraffins, Olefins, Naphthenes, Oxygenates, and Aromatics all in one instrument,” said David Tran, PAC Vice-President of Product Management and Marketing. “The M4 significantly reduces the total cost of ownership and increases the instrument uptime through the improved trap performance. Its quick and accurate analysis enables refineries to make timely decisions to keep their products on spec and optimize their operations. This same advantage allows independent labs to improve their capacity by almost doubling the number of samples they can process.”

Other group type analysis instruments can take 75 minutes to run. The M4 reduces this by approximately 50% to 39 minutes. In addition, because of improved durability, the M4 traps do not need to be replaced as often, which significantly decreases maintenance costs. This improvement, combined with the improved sample capacity, can reduce the total operational cost per sample by 50% when utilizing the M4 around 90%.

Compliance with international standards is an absolute imperative in the hydrocarbon industry. Refineries and independent labs must follow strict procedures and methods to certify end products. The M4 is the worldwide accepted industry standard for EN ISO 22854, and also fully complies with ASTM D6839, ASTM D5443, IP 566, and SH/T 0741.”

AC Analytical Controls by PAC is the worldwide recognized leader in gasoline and gasoline blends testing with over 30 years of industry experience. AC introduced the first multi-dimensional gas chromatography instrument in 1981. Since the Reformulyzer Classic was introduced in 1992, there have been over 500 Reformulyzer installations. The Reformulyzer M4 continues to lead the industry and is the fifth generation analyzer.

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The Siemens Industry Automation Division has developed a new communication processor for telecontrol applications based on Simatic S7-1200 controllers. Simatic CP 1243-1 DNP3 from the TeleControl Professional product range connects the controller to a control center, such as a process control system, via DNP3 (Distributed Network Protocol). A typical use case for this is the transfer of measured values in widely spread outdoor areas to a central station, for example in sewage and water treatment plants, district heating networks and pump stations, as well as in oil and gas supply, energy distribution and transportation systems.

Simatic CP 1243-1 DNP3 transfers measured values, setpoint values and alarms to the control station cyclically or event-based. In the STEP 7 engineering tool, the user simply selects the data to be transferred from the Simatic S7-1200 CPU and specifies the required communication parameters. Communication with the control center is based on the established telecontrol protocol according to DNP3 specification 2 (2007/2009) including security mechanisms for secure data transfer via wide area networks. In addition to data transfer, the communication processor also has an e-mail function, for example to inform maintenance staff automatically about previously defined events, such as threshold values being exceeded.

Simatic CP 1243-1 DNP3 can buffer up to 64,000 values with time stamp in order to prevent data loss when a connection fails. When the connection is re-established, the buffered values are automatically transferred to the control center in the right chronological order. Comprehensive diagnostic options, locally via LEDs or in the STEP 7 engineering tool, offer the user fast and clear analysis of the station status. The communication processor is connected to the local communication network in the outdoor area via Ethernet interface. Appropriate transmission components, such as the Scalance M874 industrial router, are available for remote communication from the local network to the control station.

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West Control Solutions is releasing a series of informative and explanatory videos, the first of their kind to discuss temperature control technologies.  The videos will prove to be a great benefit in helping customers to specify and install the most efficient temperature control solutions.

The first video in the series features Ian Parnell, Head of Technical Support (Europe) at West Control Solutions, who explains On/Off Control and Proportional Control in detail and clearly lays out the differences between the two.  Ian discusses where the two types of controls can be used and how proportional controls can be used with devices that can only be either on or off.  Ian also gets to grips with matters such as how on/off control systems can affect the level of process oscillation, and whether the user has to compromise either the life expectancy of the components or the precision of control when using this method.

As both systems have different advantages and considerations, this discussion is useful to anyone who is considering either type of control system but has not yet developed a full understanding of the factors involved and the differences between them.

No other manufacturer in the control systems industry has yet provided audiences with a video of this kind that discuss and explain how control systems work and their suitability to a viewer’s application.  The next two videos in the series will cover different types of temperature control alarms and consider in detail the alarm inhibitor function. The videos will answer key questions and concerns that surround their respective themes and provide a great resource for explaining how the technologies work with work-in-practise examples.

The video can be viewed at the West Control Systems YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nun33W0ByME