Keithley Seminar Offers Tips For On-Wafer Probing

Keithley Instruments will broadcast a free, web-based seminar entitled 'Tips, Tricks and Traps for On-Wafer Probing' on Thursday 28 January 2010. This one-hour seminar will demonstrate the best practices for on-wafer probing and how to identify and solve common problems.

Those who attend this seminar will learn: how to cable for accurate low-current DC measurements, accurate CV measurements and ultra-fast and pulsed IV measurements; the benefits of using Keithley-supplied cables and accessories to perform DC, CV and ultra-fast and pulsed IV measurements; proper grounding and guarding techniques; selecting the proper types of interconnect cables; and how to troubleshoot interconnect problems.

The event will conclude with a text-based question-and-answer session. The Tips, Tricks and Traps for On-Wafer Probing seminar is recommended for test engineers and test engineering managers with a basic understanding of wafer probing. The content is appropriate for engineers working with on-wafer devices. To register for this event, which will be broadcast at 15:00 CET for the European audience, visit http://www.keithley.info/probingtips.

Seminar To Explore Workplace Transport Issues

A NEPIC seminar, due to be held on 12 January 2010 at the Middlesbrough Football Club Riverside Stadium, will explore opportunities for improving the management of workplace transport issues. The seminar will be held in partnership with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Safety Groups UK (SGUK) and is sponsored by Nebosh. According to NEPIC, about 50 people are killed every year in accidents involving workplace transport.

These types of accidents also cause more than 1,500 injuries and about 3,500 injuries that cause people to be off work for more than three days. Many of these accidents are associated with moving goods either within the workplace or between workplaces. Moving Goods Safely (MGS) is a national project involving the HSE and local authorities working in partnership. The project aims to reduce injuries and incidents arising from the movement of goods from supplier through haulier to the recipient and end user, including any home deliveries.

This includes managing road risk - an important issue to achieve an all-round safe outcome. The project will focus on the delivery and collection of goods and the hazards this generates, along with issues about driver competence. It covers the main areas that cause the majority of injuries and ill health to workers, including workplace transport, preventing falls from vehicles or manual handling and keeping the load on the vehicle while in transit.

Organisers Arrange Profibus And Profinet Seminar

A seminar on the practical aspects of Profibus and Profinet in factory automation is due to take place at WRc Swindon on 11 March 2010. The event will address the key practical issues arising from the use of digital communications technologies in automated manufacturing and advanced engineering applications.

Covering the use of Profibus and Profinet in key application areas such as packaging, printing, electrical and electronics assembly, robotics, automotive engineering, drives, mechanical handling and logistics, control systems and energy management, the seminar will focus on the practical aspects of using Profibus and Profinet in factory automation applications, from system design and safety considerations through to maintenance and fault finding.

Supported by demonstrations of actual tools used in configuration and maintenance, the seminar is targeted at designers, production engineers and system engineers involved in the design, operation and maintenance of modern automated factories and machinery.

Standardised in IEC 61158, Profibus and Profinet provide digital communications addressing all the needs of the manufacturing and materials-handling industries, lowering capital expenditure on installation, commissioning and maintenance. They provide the integration of automation, control, monitoring and safety systems using standardised and widely supported communications and networking solutions.

The seminar will be presented by fieldbus specialists Andy Verwer of VTC, Alan Bollard of Westermo, Derek Lane of Wago and Mark Freeman and Peter Brown of Siemens Automation and Drives. Attendance is free of charge to pre-registered delegates from the user community, including companies that own, operate, design, build or maintain automated plants.

Seminar To Address Robotics In Rail Sector

ABB Robotics is to hold a rail manufacturing technology seminar in Milton Keynes on 4 June 2009. The seminar will present the latest robotic products, systems and services to transform rail material handling, welding and inspection applications. It will demonstrate the rapid payback available on robotic investments while addressing the common misconceptions that may be preventing many manufacturers from realising the benefits of robots.

Workshops and demonstrations will cover a range of rail industry applications and provide an opportunity to learn the basics of robot control with 'hands-on' training. Attendees will also gain an insight into ABB's 3D-robotics simulation suite for offline programming and control and the recently launched Remote Service Technology.

ABB's Remote Service Technology uses GPRS communications to enable both the customer and ABB to monitor a robot's health and record key performance data while offline or working in a production environment.