Vinavil is a household name in Italy, synonymous with a wide range of high quality glues. Omron is expanding its popular CJ1series of programmable logic controllers (PLCs) by introducing a range of innovative entry-level CPUs with all the power of a modular PLC system, but without the associated cost. Rockwell Automation's new Allen Bradley 1756-HYD02 is two-axis hydraulic module for the Controllogix platform. Mathematical modelling of phenomena described by partial differential equations is becoming more popular within chemical engineering, particularly within the field of fuel cells. Ed Fontes and Phil Byrne report. RTP Company is introducing the first in a new series of functional thermoplastic elastomer compounds that are formulated for specific properties and optimised performance. Rockwell Automation is introducing RSAutomation Desktop, an integrated control system software tool that provides a single platform for designers, technicians and maintenance engineers to build and manage automation projects. Inovision Software Solutions is now offering an SMCC/PMAC (delta tau) replacement for communicating with any servo system. Computer Systems Odessa is releasing Conceptdraw V, a major upgrade of its award-winning flowcharting and diagramming application, which is claimed to be the only software of its kind designed to work with both Macintosh OS X and Windows. Dow engineers more than US$1billion in capital every year - and expects to maintain its engineering leadership through the future use of smart technology, says Dave Jasper. The bottom line is that process industries have to reduce their capital investments in order to protect their shrinking margins. Advanced automation is at the heart of many plant improvements today. Here, we see how it helps a novel supercritical fluid based chemical synthesis plant, improves predictive maintenance, and speeds up project completion. The most suitable controller for small-scale control system, FFCS has been put in CENTUM CS3000R3 controller product family. With both suppliers and technologies going in and out of favour, selecting the right process automation system has been something of a challenge in recent times. Foxboro Automation director of marketing Paul Steinitz told ECE how his company is taking the pain out of this selection process. Reciprocating disks that agitate a liquid by moving up and down are called vibromixers. The costs of the catalytic material can be a substantial part of the total investment in a catalytic process. It is therefore important that the utilisation of the catalyst is optimised and its degradation is minimised through proper design of the reactor. Ed Fontes and Olof Hernell report. prev    next