Ethernet Direct To Launch Three Product Catalogues

Ethernet Direct has announced it is to release three product catalogues in 2010, the Industrial Ethernet catalogue, Industrial Communication catalogue, and the Industrial Automation catalogue. A total of 500 product models are spread out in more than 20 product solutions, offering industrial Ethernet devices suitable for all industrial applications.

A broad spectrum of each product series is available to offer a comprehensive solution in industry segments and specific solutions such as military, mining, building automation, manufacturing automation, security and surveillance, intelligent transportation, factory automation and more.

Magnetically Detectable Product Range Launched

TBA Electro Conductive Products (ECP) has announced the availability of a range of magnetically detectable moulded products for use in food manufacturing and similar applications. The range includes a number of finished products moulded from the company's magnetically detectable compounds that are ideal for use in food manufacturing environments.

These include detectable and electrostatic conductive blue matting in 1.5, 3 and 5mm thicknesses, detectable and electrostatic conductive orthopaedic blue floor tiles, detectable and electrostatic conductive blue proofed neoprene sheet, red or blue detectable one-litre measuring jugs and detectable calculators and nail brushes. Magnetically detectable plastic products solve the problem of contamination of food products by items used in the manufacturing process entering the mix by accident.

Such incidents can result in unnecessary costs being incurred through scrapping of large quantities of finished product should the contamination be detected in-house through standard inspection procedures, product recalls and possibly expensive litigation if an item reaches the consumer and is eaten. In addition, business can be diminished as a result of damaged reputation and questions arising over the safety of food products.

By making use of magnetically detectable products from TBA ECP, these problems and costs can be avoided. The company's magnetically detectable plastic products can be sensed by conventional metal detection system so food products containing broken components made from TBA materials can be found and rejected before entering the supply chain. In addition, use of detectable products demonstrates that a manufacturer has taken all due diligence in the production process to minimise contamination of products. Besides being suitable for use in food manufacturing applications, the electrostatic conductive products are also compliant with ATEX requirements for explosive atmospheres.

Aaeon Launches ETX-CX700M Product

Aaeon has announced the ETX-CX700M - an Embedded Technology Extended (ETX) product based on the VIA C7/Eden (V4) series processors combined with the VIA CX700M chipset. The ETX-CX700M provides support for a multitude of expansion and storage interfaces that will allow for numerous options to be designed onto the baseboard. The module is available with either the VIA Eden 1.6GHz processor or the VIA C7 2.0 GHz processor and features support for one 200-pin DDRII 400/533 RAM at a maximum capacity of 1GB.

It has support for four 32-bit PCI buses, one 8-bit/16-bit ISA bus, one SMBus, and one I2C bus that enable the customers to expand on their systems without the extra cost of hubs. For Ethernet support, the ETX-CX700M features the Realtek RTL8139DL 10/100Mb Ethernet chipset with the option for customers to change to the Intel 82551QM 10/100Mb chipset as needed for their application.

Video support is handled by the VIA CX700M chipset and can provide resolutions up to 1,600 x 1,200 on a 24-bit dual-channel LVDS LCD panel, as well as a CRT monitor. The module supports simultaneous and dual-view output to CRT/LVDS, LVDS/TV, CRT/DVI or TV/DVI. The integrated video on the board can share up to 128MB of system memory for use as video memory and it supports an MPEG-4 accelerator.

Storage support is available by means of two SATA II connectors on the ETX-CX700M as well as with support for one PATA channel and Compactflash on the carrier board. The ETX-CX700M aims at markets such as test and measurement, gaming and entertainment, industrial automation, military, government and security.

Mechatronic Drive Solution Earns SEW-EURODRIVE Recognition For Product Innovation Of The Year

SEW-EURODRIVE, a global leader in drive engineering, has been recognized by Frost and Sullivan for its pioneering work in the development of the world’s first truly mechatronic drive system. The company cited SEW EURODRIVE MOVIGEAR®, which integrates motor, drive and matching drive electronics in a single compact housing, with its Product Innovation of the Year award.

“Thanks to pioneering new technology – including single line installation – MOVIGEAR offers a number of benefits over conventional drive solutions” said Frost and Sullivan industry analysts Suman Bhaskar and Kaushik Ghosh, who conducted the European market survey that singled out SEW’s innovative drive. The award cited the compact design, high overload capacity, short commissioning and start-up times, low noise emissions and smooth housing design of MOVIGEAR, predicting that it will also mean lower installation and energy costs for customers.

In contrast to current decentralized automation technology, which relies on two separate cables for energy and communication, the single line technology deployed with MOVIGEAR uses one cable, reducing the complications and cost of on-site installations. This simplified system structure can reduce the duration of startups from weeks to a matter of days.

MOVIGEAR provides a combination of energy-efficiency, hygienic protection and functionality within a single drive that has never been achieved before. It is designed for use in a wide range of horizontal conveyor applications, including automotive assembly, food and beverage, airport logistics and package and parcel handling.

“The positive market response has encouraged us to broaden our marketing activities for MOVIGEAR in preparation for release in other countries, including the U.S.,” said Dave Ballard, U.S. engineering and marketing manager. The company successfully implemented MOVIGEAR systems into several European projects for the automotive and beverage industries in 2007.

Frost and Sullivan pointed out that MOVIGEAR can reduce overall costs for customers, even though component costs are slightly higher than those for conventional drive solutions. This is due to the high-quality network characteristics and control concepts of the design. These reduce startup time considerably and minimize monitoring and maintenance tasks.

“Our experience in developing and field-testing the pre-integrated MOVIGEAR System has confirmed the benefits of mechatronic engineering,” said Ballard. “We’re taking electronic components out of their comfort zone, where they could be exposed to vibrations, higher temperatures and humidity, so we’ve had to redesign every component, from microchips to heat sinks to housings, to ensure reliable, long-term performance.”

By creating a pre-integrated drive system which functions within the enclosed environment of a housing, MOVIGEAR components are matched to application requirements. Since each component operates more efficiently, the resulting drive system uses less energy. That, along with lower maintenance costs, will lower equipment operating costs.

E-Xact Helps Travis Perkins Access Product Info

Travis Perkins to give customers access to E-Xact Online, an industry-standard data format with many benefits to builders merchants, manufacturers and suppliers to the construction industry. Maintaining reliable and up-to-the-minute data for its staff and customers is of paramount importance to Travis Perkins, a business justly proud of its service and customer relations.

The company has confirmed its on-going support for e-Xact Online, with a campaign to sign up new suppliers and to enhance the quality of information from existing suppliers. Members have access to information from hundreds of suppliers, covering more than 300,000 separate products, as well as images, health and safety data and pricing. Travis Perkins has been a member of the e-Xact community since its inception in 1999.

"The e-Xact service has come a long way in ten years and has managed to increase it's relevance to our business" says Sean Sinclair, Head of Data Management at the company. "The people at e-Xact are always looking to add new features, giving us and our suppliers more reasons to use the service and providing an ever increasing supply of information".

As well as using e-Xact's product data sets in its internal systems, Travis Perkins makes the information available via its web sites and at point of sale. Live data is held on over 150,000 products, many with images, COSHH data and technical files the majority of which are sourced from e-Xact. Sean is particularly impressed with the additional rich content available to e-Xact users, such as COSHH data, technical files and product images.

"More and more, our customers require us to supplyCOSHH information on the products we distribute and we push that burden back onto our suppliers and manufacturers". "With e-Xact, they only have to provide that data once, so suppliers who are not e-Xact users are at a distinct disadvantage". Using e-Xact means that it is easier to provide the 24/7 data access required by Travis Perkins' systems, in a consistent format using the same standards throughout.

Huco Dynatork Publishes Product Leaflet

The Full Picture is a published leaflet that provides a quick overview of all Huco Dynatork product divisions. In addition to couplings, the company now also designs and manufactures a range of floating piston air motors. The leaflet also outlines the products in the motion control, power transmission and assembly components ranges. This four-page leaflet is available from the Huco Dynatork sales office.

Meltric Publishes 2009 Product Catalog

Meltric Corporation has announced the availability of its 2009 product catalogue featuring Decontactor Series switch rated plugs, receptacles and connectors. This 224-page catalogue also provides information about Meltric's other plug and receptacle product offerings including hazardous duty rated devices, PF high ampacity devices (up to 600A), and a wide variety of multi-pin devices (up to 37 contacts).

Decontactor Series switch rated plugs and receptacles allow technicians to change-out motors, welders and other electrical equipment. They are an NEC approved 'line of sight' disconnect and are UL approved for both 'branch circuit' and 'motor circuit' disconnect switching up to 200A or 60 HP. Decontactors are also UL rated to make and withstand short circuits up to 100kA. A Decontactors integral switching capability ensures that the contacts are always de-energised before the plug can be withdrawn from the receptacle.

Once the plug is removed, the receptacle's safety shutter further ensures worker safety by preventing unintentional access to live parts to all but the correct mating plug. Since Decontactors maintain an NFPA 70E defined hazard/risk category of zero during equipment connection and disconnection, users do not have to wear PPE nor follow other NFPA 70E specified safety procedures that are typically necessary for electrical safety during electrical equipment change-outs.