Digital Plant Asset Management is a topic that often comes up in discussions about process engineering facilities. Today, while intelligent field devices might be the standard, system owners have yet to exploit their full potential. To provide the connectivity needed, Softing offers the right solutions with the smartLink product family.
Custom Optical Module for Cutting-Edge Imaging Systems
Today, the majority of consumer goods and everyday items are made from petroleum-based plastics. In Germany alone, around six million tonnes of plastic waste is generated every year. About half of this is mechanically recycled into new materials; the rest is used for energy recovery. The incineration of this waste results in the release of CO2, a greenhouse gas. It is therefore important to keep more plastics in the material cycle for climate and environmental reasons. Eight Fraunhofer Institutes are developing new ideas and processes to significantly improve the mechanical recycling rate of plastics as part of the Waste4Future flagship project.
The hydrogen industry needs to scale up quickly and needs a transport infrastructure for that. Wouldn’t it be great if the existing grid could be used?
Industry-optimised drive concepts with low weight and compact dimensions
Engineered for quick and easy commissioning and reliable open/close valve position feedback
At SPS – Smart Production Solutions 2023, the CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA) announced new products and services for the development of safety devices with CC-Link IE TSN connectivity. This addition to the existing offering, supported by CLPA members Mitsubishi Electric and Neuron Automation, will help drive the implementation of highly effective, convergent industrial automation applications for functional safety.
Official handover at SPS 2023: Representatives of the company receive the certificate from the TÜV SÜD experts
CIP/SIP capable solution to avoid pressure surges in plants
Simplified collaborative engineering for automation projects
Modular surge protection and fault status monitoring system allows replacement withour rewiring
A digital twin is not only the basis for a holistic view of the system and the individual processes. It is also the basis for automatic routines that react autonomously to changes in the process. It helps applications identify unwanted situations and the countermeasures to be taken often long before the plant comes to a standstill. Predictive maintenance is a key to the efficient operation of a process plant. However, digital processes are not a question of individual products or components, but require the seamless interaction of people and systems.
How can mining companies make their operations more sustainable to reduce their environmental footprints? One element that can be perfectly adapted to match the conditions is the efficient transport of the mined material. Here overland conveyors that can move large quantities of material over long distances are required. BEUMER Group relies on modern planning and layout tools to support operators at an early stage of the project and design the ideal conveying solution together with the customer.
Food and packaging machinery pose special challenges for drive and automation solutions. Functional safety concepts are of particular importance to overcome these challenges.
IP67-connector with quick locking for high power density applications
For applications with flow rates up to 2000 l/h
Mechanical bearings and gearboxes — like those used in electric vehicles and wind farms — are often treated with lubricants to avoid friction and wear. The voltage the components might be under impairs the effectiveness of the lubricants to such a degree that the tribological contacts are damaged. As part of the Lube.Life joint research project, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM have developed a virtual lubricant lab, which can be used to predict the effects of electrical fields on lubricant stability.
As a pillar of the global economy, the process industry is facing major challenges: high energy consumption and high use of fossil fuels, rising energy costs and stricter legal regulations make the decarbonization of the industry increasingly urgent. In order to achieve CO2 reductions and higher energy efficiency in their own operations, it is essential that companies drive the digitalization and automation of their entire production process. Author: Axel Lorenz, CEO Process Automation, Siemens
The use of conventional analysis equipment in hazardous areas is complicated due to a lack of approvals. Equipment without ATEX or IECEx certification must be specially protected so that it does not act as an ignition source. At the same time, analysis equipment is essential for many processes. For example, for testing the purity of hydrogen at hydrogen refuelling stations.
Monitoring and optimization for high availability applications up to ATEX Zone 2
Electrochemical processes like water electrolysis will become increasingly important in the future in light of climate change and the resultant need for an energy and raw materials transition. The Fraunhofer Institute for Microengineering and Microsystems IMM is collaborating with hte GmbH to develop modular electrochemical cells. These flow cells are used in screening tasks, thereby helping optimize electrochemical production processes, such as water electrolysis.
Certification according to SIL 1 (IEC 62061) and PL c (EN ISO 13849-1) standards for a wide range of applications
Flow Meter Reliability is Critical for On-Line Analysers Servicing the Oil and Gas Industry
For compressed air consumption measurement and avoidance of losses due to leakages and inefficiencies
Gas detection with full SIL2 3rd party approval for safety related applications
Robust and easy-to-clean modular rotary valve series
German Fraunhofer researchers have developed an extremely heat-resistant ceramic-based ink. For the first time, this enables metal components processed in the automotive industry at temperatures over 1,000 °C to be marked with a code. This opens up wide-ranging possibilities for designing process chains in the industry more efficiently and reducing their carbon footprint significantly.
The new lab, in cooperation with IT security specialist genua, brings state-of-the-art OT security solutions within reach
Aluminium components with corrosion resistance similar to stainless steel
Available in a wide range of sizes and materials
Certified for food contact under Reg. (EC) 1935/2004
High performance in liquids, gases or air
Cocoa plays an important role in Brazilian agriculture. However, the fruit of the cacao tree (cocoa pods) is prone to fungal diseases. pest infestations are responsible for crop losses of up to 40 percent worldwide. In collaboration with the State University of Campinas (Unicamp), Brazil, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV are looking to establish new ways of using damaged cocoa pods as part of the Damaged Beans project.
High efficient and low wear dry pumps
As an innovative technology leader, JUMO has been supplying high-quality measurement and automation technology for the food industry for decades. So it was an obvious idea to have our own anniversary beer created for the 75th anniversary in 2023. In the brewing process, all relevant JUMO products that are supplied to the brewing industry were to be combined in one application. The choice therefore fell on an in-house, modern, and highly efficient brewery plant.
The world is facing a fundamental change to its entire energy supply. All current methods of generating energy are under scrutiny. Nuclear energy has fallen into disrepute for a number of reasons. Meanwhile, hydropower has its own limitations in terms of scope, one of which is its immense impact on the landscape and the associated consequences for flora and fauna. Biomass is another option, but it competes with food production and is also a limited resource. Author: Wolfgang Weber, Pepperl+Fuchs
PCN Europe interviewed Rob Watkinson, Customer Support Manager at Resolve Optics about the design for optics able to withstand the high levels of radiation found in and around nuclear plants.
Combination of plastic and stainless steel results in FDA-compliant linear guide
Additive Manufacturing helps in creation of bespoke designs in the OEM sector
Industry pilot project with digital pressure transmitters
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