Essegi Kitting Systems Cut Change-Over Down-Time

Accelonix will sell Essegi Systems' kitting solutions in the UK, Spain and Portugal after being appointed distributor for the Italian manufacturer. Essegi's kitting systems provide an affordable method of reducing change-over down-time, which can be considerable for low-volume contract manufacturers in industrial and military sectors.

Feeding the system with a bill of materials generates an entire kit; the software can handle all the materials on the board, including mechanical and electronic components. While the system automates reels it can also handle other components, keep track of them and tell the user where to find them, providing accurate inventory control and the location of manually handled components.

Essegi's kitting solutions have an extremely small footprint, enhance production rates by increasing automation and provide complete component traceability. Systems are easily expanded; linking multiple units means that an unlimited number of reels and trays can be stored.

Concern Over Wireless Incompatibility

Syed Tauseef Ahmad, research analyst for industrial automation and process control, Frost & Sullivan, describes why lack of interoperability in wireless is a concern.
While there is potential for wireless deployment in factory automation, concerns about lack of operability plague this technology. People used to build their own systems or buy them from a single supplier. More plant automation has spurred the demand for wireless devices and systems for applications such as monitoring, alarm and telemetry.

They are often customised on proprietary protocols but not based on a common standard or architecture. As a result, these devices offered from multiple suppliers are often not compatible with one another. End users are wary of becoming locked into a proprietary system that may hinder their future advancement. They are also cautious of investing in wireless when they are not confident of the benefits. Given that the end users will not be keen to replace the existing fieldbus installation, suppliers should look to integrate wireless devices to existing wired fieldbus.

Currently, plant IT network assumes significance over automation network. The existence of several open and proprietary communication protocols results in confusion among the wireless devices end users, many of who would rather wait until a uniform standard is established. Around 83 per cent of the end users across process and factory automation rated interoperability as a medium to high concern. The refining and pharmaceutical industries expressed a greater concern over interoperability among end users.

They believe integration with the existing network is important and the presence of numerous controls, fieldbus and automation devices implies that the wireless devices need to integrate seamlessly into the existing network. In the oil and gas and the water and waste water industry, where one of the preferred application areas for wireless devices is telemetry, end users were convinced that the wireless devices must be compatible with each other to ensure a smooth data flow. True interoperability requires an open architecture such as software-based systems, in which various standards can be applied.

Software such as National Instrument Laboratory Virtual Instrumentation Engineering Workbench (NILabview is capable of communicating with both standards-based and proprietary wireless networks. End users also said the lack of universal standard is a concern. There is a need for a uniform standard and open architecture to enable the integration of wireless devices with existing plant infrastructure such as fieldbus or other control systems. End users must also be convinced about interoperability through product trials or demos, which should be offered by suppliers.

Although the end-user concern is expected to hamper the adoption of wireless in the near future, upcoming standards such as SP100.11a and wireless HART will address this issue. Numerous suppliers are supporting the initiatives that aim to establish a common standard. Success stories about smooth wireless integration and functioning are likely to reduce end-user conservatism and raise the level of adoption of wireless devices.

Monitor Keeps Watch Over Chain Systems

Renold has launched a new version of Smartlink, the innovative chain monitoring technology that can be installed and operated either by maintenance engineers or OEMs. Previous versions of Smartlink have had to be installed and monitored by Renold's own engineers limiting its use to larger projects.

Now Smartlink can be owned and operated by anyone, bringing the benefits of chain monitoring to a much wider range of applications. The new Smartlink devices are supplied already fitted to a section of chain; users simply install the new chain link and Smartlink is ready to go. The new Smarlink units are available for operation on 1, 1.25 and 1.5in pitch chains. They are remotely controlled with a choice of two handheld devices, providing users with two levels of sophistication.

The simpler of the two handheld controllers is no bigger than a keyfob and enables Smartlink to be operated as an overload detector. In this instance Smartlink will provide a warning when chain exceeds a predetermined load enabling engineers to check machinery and make sure that it is safe to continue operating the system. The alarm conditions on the Smartlink device can then be reset using the remote control.

A more sophisticated handheld controller is available that is capable of downloading much more detailed information from Smartlink about the nature of the stresses and loading the chain was subjected to during a given period of operation. The data can then be analysed on a PC to identify the exact location of load peaks in the drive system using software specially written by Renold.

These developments have been possible thanks, in part, to the availability of smaller PCBs and miniature batteries that were initially developed for high-grade military applications. These new batteries are so small that Renold's team were able to integrate them with the PCB itself so that they were no longer a component on the board, they became part of it.

Speaking of the new launch Renold's Marketing Communications Manager, David Turner, says: 'This launch represents a breakthrough in chain monitoring technology and brings the benefits of Smartlink to a much wider range of engineers'. 'The new Smartlink units provide a groundbreaking opportunity to understand system loads which may be detrimental to the performance of a product or the operation of machinery'.