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GE
And Honeywell Formally Terminate Merger Agreement
The merger required regulatory approval, but the European Commission
prohibited the merger on July 3, 2001. In connection with the termination,
GE agreed to reimburse Honeywell for merger-related expenses and agreed
to extend two financing arrangements on mutually acceptable terms.
In addition, GE agreed in principle to acquire two businesses from
Honeywell with estimated, aggregate 2001 sales of $35 million. The
companies are Tensor, an oil and gas sensor business, and Honeywell
Advanced Composites. GE also agreed to acquire certain technology
related to micro turbines and fuel cells. Financial details of the
deals were not disclosed. GE and Honeywell also released each other
from all merger-related claims.
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Communications
Platform Critical for SCADA Systems
As the domain of SCADA systems broadens from just the operations of
facilities and integrates into business and enterprise level systems,
the choice of communications platforms becomes critically important.
The SCADA system designers must plan for traditional operational demands
and also the wide-ranging, sometimes disparate requirements from other
functional enterprise groups. |
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Real-time
Process Optimisation Market to Top $1.1 Billion
The RPO software and services market, which exceeded $540 million
in 2000, will experience exception growth and top $1.1billion by the
end of 2005. RPO solutions provide a manufacturing foundation for
process control and responsiveness. The overall RPO marketplace is
made up of three different types of applications: On-line Optimisation,
Advanced Process Control, and Training Simulation and Control System
Validation. |
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MycroSENSOR
Buys Moore Products Instrumentation Lines
MycroSENSOR Technologies has purchased the Moore Products line of
field instruments from Siemens Energy and Automation. MycroSENSOR
plans to continue delivering the same high-caliber products and services
on which users of Moore Products' family of XTC transmitters and Fluidic
Flowmeter products have come to rely. Products acquired by MycroSENSOR
include the XTC line of pressure and differential pressure transmitters,
flowmeters, and temperature transmitters. |
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FLEX
Is Rockwell's First EtherNet/IP I/O Device
Rockwell Automation has released EtherNet/IP network connectivity
to the Allen-Bradley FLEX I/O family with the FLEX EtherNet/IP Adapter.
This adapter uses the same Control and Information Protocol (CIP)
as DeviceNet and ControlNet, but implemented on Ethernet TCP/IP. The
adapter contains built-in Web pages with module and network diagnostic
information, module configuration, and TCP/IP configuration. It performs
two primary tasks, known as "implicit messaging" and "explicit messaging."
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Hyprotech
and IntelliChem Team-up
They will develop a software link between the Hyprotech BDK (Batch
Design Kit) and the IntelliChem SYNTHESIS in order to provide extended
software information supply chain functionality to the pharmaceutical
and chemical development industries. SYNTHESIS is IntelliChem's early
chemical development software that enables scientists to rapidly gather
recipe development information and assemble it into detailed procedures.
This communication link will allow data to be transferred from SYNTHESIS
to Hyprotech's BDK software environment, where it can be further used
to evaluate and simulate development, pilot plant, and manufacturing
scenarios in the development of batch processes. It will bring significant
benefit to users of both products by allowing more efficient use of
data to streamline product development and to document and manage
lifecycle information, thereby increasing team productivity. |
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Siemens
Launches Independent Machine Tool Service Business
The service activities of Siemens Automation and Drives under the
heading "ePS Network" will become an independent firm. The company,
ePS Network, will offer on-line services covering all aspects of the
machine tool market. Machine tool users are able to access services
directly over the web to help evaluate and optimise a production process.
EPS will connect an end user's CNC based machine tool directly to
servers over the Internet. Subsequently, the data will be processed
and routed back to the customer again. |
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FANUC
Robotics North America Introduces New Technologies
The new M-6iB is the latest generation of the general-purpose material
handling, 6-axis robot with a 6-kg payload. It features the highest
motion speeds in its class for maximum performance and productivity.
The compact, cost effective yet flexible design simplifies installation
and maximises reach in the compact workspace environment of the plastics
industry. The M-6iB can be used in applications such as material removal,
part transfer, mold machine insert load, part unload, part and case
packing, dispensing and assembly. The motion envelope of the arm includes
that of the previous model and has 8 percent larger horizontal stroke.
The wrist size is also 19 percent smaller, enabling the robot to enter
into smaller openings in parts, molds and presses and simplifies tooling
design. |
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Universal
Dynamics Technology Expands Controller Capability
The
multiple-input, multiple-output version of its BrainWave controller,
designated the BrainWave MultiMax, will be available Jan. 1, 2002.
It will handle complex process in up to a 24 X 6 input-output configuration,
thereby expanding the capability of the BrainWave line. It is a Windows
NT/2000 Professional-based controller that uses the same Dynamic Modeling
Technology of process dynamics as the standard multiple-input, single-output
BrainWave controller. |
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Invensys
Forges Closer Ties with IBM
The two companies will jointly market Invensys' business software
for the manufacturing industry. Invensys already has informal links
with IBM through its Dutch software arm Baan. The new agreement extends
the relationship with both companies, jointly marketing a suite of
Invensys Internet-enabled B2B, enterprise, and shop floor products
that include the iBaan series, Wonderware Factory Suite, CAPS Logistics,
and CRM product lines. All of these will be bundled with IBM's eServers.
Invensys will lead with IBM's e-business software platforms: WebSphere,
DB2 Universal Database, and WebSphere MQ Series in sales to new customers.
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SmartSignal's
Advanced Condition Monitoring Gains Traction
The technology, which provides extremely early warning of abnormal
machine and process behavior, is now being used by Delta Airlines,
Archer Daniels Midland, US Steel, Sun Microsystems, and the Wonderware
division of Invensys. SmartSignal, which recently release PlanteCM
1.5 and Remote eCM 1.5, also has recently attracted four new key investors
and a new round of funding that was oversubscribed. The new investors
are The Stephens Group, Arch Development Partners, River Cities Capital
Funds, and Gryffindor Capital. |
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MS-MUG
Endorses Designed for Windows XP Logo Program for Plant Floor Software
The Microsoft Manufacturing User Group (MS-MUG) is recommending that
Independent Software Vendors and manufacturing end users adopt Microsoft's
Designed for Windows XP logo program as a minimum certification level
for plant floor desktop applications. This self-certifying program
overcomes obstacles that have precluded Windows 2000 certification
for nearly all plant floor software. |
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Yokogawa
and Stelex Team-up
Yokogawa is committed to providing a fully compliant and easily validated
paperless recording solution to the pharmaceutical and biotech industries
with its new DAQSTATION models. With regulatory guidance from Stelex,
Yokagawa is working to achieve compliance with the FDA's rule on Electronic
Records and Signatures (21 CFR-11) for their new network enabled DAQSTATION
DX100P/DX200P models and the DAQSIGNIN Software package. As part of
the effort, Stelex is currently assessing and evaluating these new
DAQSTATION models. |
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Control
Valve Market to Grow After Two Years of Decline
Despite experiencing two consecutive years of market contraction,
the 2000 fiscal year end results of many control valve suppliers indicate
that the adverse market conditions are dissipating and the general
environment for control valves in the first half of 2001 is more positive.
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New
Cognex Optical Character Verification and Recognition Tools
The
new high-performance optical character verification (OCV) and optical
character recognition (OCR) software tools join a full library of
tools for inspecting, identifying, and measuring parts. The In-Sight
OCV tool will be used to verify the correctness and legibility of
printed characters in a number of industries. For example, it will
be used in the pharmaceutical industry to verify date and lot codes
on package labels. The OCR tool will enable companies to improve product
traceability by automatically reading alphanumeric codes on a wide
range of items, from automotive airbag components to financial documents.
The new OCV and OCR tools provide a graphical font training utility.
Once fonts have been trained, they are automatically stored in the
vision sensor's memory. Trained font files can be easily downloaded
to other In-Sight sensors deployed throughout the plant. These sensors
offer a number of security features designed to control access to
application files. |
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