If you have trouble viewing this e-mail, click here for the online version.

Manufacturing AUTOMATION magazine

''Canada's leading publication providing industrial automation news and technology information aimed at the discrete and process industries.''

E-newsletter
October 2008
Volume 6, Issue 10

Today's e-newsletter is sponsored by...

In this issue

From the editor: A change will do you good
Question of the month
In the news

Manufacturing sales plummet in August
Rockwell Automation undertakes restructuring actions
ISA changes name to reflect the changing industry
Fieldbus Foundation and ISA announce collaborative wireless initiative

People watching
Product focus: Industrial computing
Mark your calendars

Today's e-newsletter is sponsored by...

From the editor

A change will do you good

We’ve all heard that old expression: the more things change, the more they stay the same. That is certainly how I felt watching the federal election results last week. While there were some slight changes to how many seats each party has in the House of Commons, we basically ended up with a Conservative minority government — exactly what we had before the election.

Will this ever-so-slight change in government affect the manufacturing sector? Certainly there are those who would like to believe so. After the election last week, CTV News reported that Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Toronto Mayor David Miller were going to press the “new” Tory government for an influx of cash, part of which would go to help the province’s struggling manufacturing sector.

So while things may not have changed, it looks like some politicians are using the election as an excuse to get more money. And if even a tiny bit of that money goes to the manufacturing sector, then I guess even a little change could do us some good.

On that note, things are changing here again at Manufacturing AUTOMATION. Mary Del Ciancio is returning to the editor’s chair next month after her maternity leave with baby Jackson. We’re excited to have Mary back on board to help you all meet your toughest manufacturing challenges.

As for me, I’ve enjoyed my time working at Manufacturing AUTOMATION. It’s been interesting watching the industry change over the past year and interacting with all of you on a regular basis. The times might be tough for today’s manufacturers, but with all of you at the helm, I have no doubt that you will make the most of these changing times.

All the best,

Alison Dunn
Acting Editor
adunn@clbmedia.ca

QUESTION OF THE MONTH

Do you think the election results
will affect the manufacturing sector?

Take the poll

WE'VE GONE DIGITAL!
Our October 2008 issue is now available in an exciting new digital format. Visit www.automationmag.com/digitaledition to fully explore and enjoy this user-friendly new tool to help you get the invaluable information on Canada's industrial automation industry you've come to expect for more than 22 years.

The digital edition of the October 2008 issue of Manufacturing AUTOMATION includes:

Cover story: CSI: Manufacturing
When the police are looking for clues at a crime scene, they use forensic lighting to see things that a criminal can't. Can that same technology help vision systems better detect defects? In this issue, we look at how forensic lighting is doing a lot more then help cops catch criminals – it's helping manufacturers capture profits.

Feature: Driving improvements
One of the best kept secrets about oil is it can be recycled indefinitely. In fact, oil never breaks down. It simply becomes contaminated or the additives break down. When that happens, oil is often burned, buried or dumped. It doesn't have to be, and Safety-Kleen Canada works hard to make sure it doesn't. So when the company's old data acquisition system was reaching the end of its life, the team at Safety-Kleen knew it was time for an upgrade – could they do it without shutting down production?

Special focus: Motion control
We look at how one Canadian company has revolutionized the simple conveyor roller and garnered some international attention along the way.

Column: Machine safety
Safeguarding machinery to protect workers is a vital step in the automation process, but it's one that leads to many questions. How should I approach machine safety? What do I need to meet regulatory requirements? How can I best use my budget to make machinery safe and easy to use? In this issue, Gil Dominguez, a safety consultant with Pilz Automation Safety, tackles those questions and more.

Plus: The latest automation industry news, education and training updates, appointment announcements and trends, as well as a selection of the latest data acquisition, motion control, hydraulics & pneumatics, machine vision & inspection, sensors and test & measurement equipment..

Stay tuned!
The November/December 2008 issue of Manufacturing AUTOMATION will include:

Cover story: Good housekeeping
Visit any food production facility and you'll see a mixture of tasks performed by manual labor and robotics. While the reliance on manual labour has been steadily declining, more and more of the jobs in food manufacturing installations are being carried out robotically. But with the recent outbreak of listeriosis at a Maple Leaf Foods plant being blamed for a number of deaths in Canada, how safe are the robots we use?

Feature: A fine balance
Machine builder Pack-Smart walks a fine line with customers, as it must build machines for the consumer products industry that provide appealing yet environmentally-friendly packaging in tight time frames — and with extremely high reliability to boot. But the company did all that and more, and new servo-driven technology was at the root of it all.

Special focus: Communications and networking
Cellular communications and industrial automation, two very different worlds, have never effectively pulled together — until now. In this issue, we check out new PLC technologies that have emerged recently to allow PLCs to communicate cost-effectively over cellular networks.

Plus: Machine safety
Every day, workers are exposed to a variety of hazards from equipment, industrial machines and processes. In this issue, Manufacturing AUTOMATION editorial advisory board member Bill Valedis explains why everyone should have an energy control policy in place.

Plus: The latest automation industry news, education and training updates, appointment announcements and trends, as well as a selection of the latest safety, communications and networking, material handling, nanotechnology, process control and robotics products.

Today's e-newsletter is sponsored by...

In the news

Manufacturing sales plummet in August
Ottawa, Ont. — Canadian manufacturers experienced a pull-back in sales in August, erasing any gains the sector has made since December 2007.
For the full story, click here.

Rockwell Automation undertakes restructuring actions
Milwaukee, Wisc. — Rockwell Automation is undergoing a massive restructuring to deal with the current market situation.
For the full story, click here.

ISA changes name to reflect the changing industry
Research Triangle Park, N.C. — The Instrumentation, Systems and Automation Society is no more. But that doesn't mean the ISA is going anywhere.
For the full story, click here.

Fieldbus Foundation and ISA announce collaborative wireless initiative
Houston, Tex. — The Fieldbus Foundation and ISA have announced an agreement to facilitate the implementation of wireless backhaul transport networks.
For the full story, click here.

Today's e-newsletter is sponsored by...

People watching

Emerson Process Management announces new executive appointments
Austin, Tex. — Emerson Process Management has announced a number of leadership changes to take place over the next few months. As of Oct. 1, 2008, Steven A. Sonnenberg is now executive vice president of Emerson and business leader of Emerson Process Management, serving as president.
Other changes include:

Michael H. Train, president of Emerson Process Management Asia Pacific, will become president of Rosemount and will return to the United States from Singapore.
Sabee Mitra, president of Emerson Process Management Middle East ,has been named president of Emerson Process Management Asia Pacific and will move to Singapore.
David A. Tredinnick, vice president Southeast Asia for Emerson Process Management Asia Pacific, will move to Dubai and replace Mitra as president of Emerson Process Management Middle East.
Gene Shanahan, group vice president for the Emerson Process Management Flow Group has retired and Larry W. Flatt has replaced him.

Toshiba Teli names Joseph Cook VP of sales
Irvine, Cali. — Toshiba Teli America, Inc., the North American subsidiary of Toshiba Teli Corporation, has appointed Joseph Cook as vice president of sales for the Eastern Territory. Cook most recently served as government & enterprise sales manager with Toshiba Surveillance & IP Video, a business unit of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc.

Today's e-newsletter is sponsored by...

Product focus: Industrial computing

Industrial PC
Beckhoff Automation has enhanced its range of Industrial PCs (IPCs) with the new C65xx series. Keeping optimum flexibility in mind, the C65xx series is designed to be installed in control cabinets or in the rear panel of control/console housings. With TwinCAT automation software and high performance processors up to Intel Core 2 Duo 2.16 GHz, the C65xx is designed to be a powerful ''all-in-one'' PLC and motion control system. By integrating this rugged IPC into an existing control cabinet housing, the C65xx series is extremely compact and permits highly flexible push-button configurations and extension options within control enclosures. The IPCs within the C65xx series feature an integrated heat sink for external cooling that reaches ambient temperatures through a suitable cut-out in the panel of the control cabinet. Integrated seals provide a water- and dust-proof IP 67 design from the outside.
Beckhoff Automation
www.beckhoffautomation.com

Compact control panel
The ETV control panel series from SIGMATEK has been expanded with an even more compact terminal. The compact ETV 0501 Control Panel combines control, operation and visualization in a single unit. The 5.7 inch colour VGA TFT display (640 x 480 Pixel) with touch-screen provides optimal operating comfort, flexibility and high-resolution visualization. The integrated interfaces such as the VARAN bus, CAN bus, Ethernet and USB enable the simple integration of the ETV 0501 into the machine design. Decentralized and local I/Os can be connected through the integrated VARAN real-time Ethernet bus. The user is therefore not bound to a single topology when designing the system. The available interface connections can be freely programmed from the application.
Sigmatek
www.sigmatek-automation.com

More products can be found on our website.

Mark your calendars

Item America 'Machine Building System' Lunch & Learn
October 28, 2008
Cambridge, Ontario
Electromate will be hosting an Item America 'Machine Building System' Lunch N' Learn Seminar. The seminar will include presentations on Item America's:

System philosophy
Features & benefits of the item product line
Range of products
Profile sizing & selection
Fastener technology
Special fastening and panel fastening
Floor & special elements
Work bench design
Linear guides and drives
General maintenance

For more information, visit www.electromate.ca.

Intergraph Canada Conference Series
October 30, 2008
Calgary, Alta.
Intergraph Canada's annual Canadian conference series presents product and technical updates and advice for customers working with Intergraph solutions, whether engineering procurement companies or owner/operators. Offering tracks for Power, Process and Marine (PPM) as well as for Security, Government, and Infrastructure (SGI) organizations, the conference features a number of smaller owner-operators and engineering procurement companies, also Intergraph clients, to demonstrate that both large industry names and smaller, private companies can benefit from Intergraph's innovative solutions.
The Intergraph conference series is complimentary but registration is required. For more information or to register, visit the website for the series at www.intergraph.ca/iuc.

Automation Fair
November 18-20, 2008
Nashville, Tenn.
The Automation Fair event, hosted by Rockwell Automation, is regarded by customers, media and analysts as a premier industry event. The 2008 event is an exclusive opportunity to hear about the latest success stories and new manufacturing solutions from Rockwell Automation and its partners. The Automation Fair event exhibition, held on Wednesday, Nov. 19 and Thursday, Nov. 20 at Gaylord Opryland Complex, provides an opportunity to meet individually with Rockwell Automation professionals, partners and customers to learn more about the latest developments in advanced automation products, integrated control and information architecture, and value-add services and solutions. For more information about the 2008 Automation Fair event visit: www.rockwellautomation.com/events/automationfair.

2nd Annual RoboDevelopment Conference & Exposition
November 18-19, 2008
Santa Clara, Calif.
Robotics Trends' second annual RoboDevelopment Conference and Exposition is the international technical design and development event for personal, service and mobile robotics. The RoboDevelopment Conference and Exposition is a multifaceted educational forum and trade show dedicated to addressing the technical issues involved with the design and development of commercial robotic products. The RoboDevelopment exposition hall provides attendees with hands-on access to the latest design and development solutions for producing mobile robotics and intelligent systems technology, while the RoboDevelopment keynotes and general sessions are specifically designed to impart to technical professionals the information they need to develop the next generation of personal, service and mobile robots. Visit www.robodevelopment.com for up-to-date information.

MainTrain 2008
November 24-27, 2008
Toronto, Ont.
MainTrain 2008, ''the Business of Maintenance,' brought to you by the Plant Engineering and Maintenance Association of Canada (PEMAC) will take place this year at the Novotel Hotel in Toronto. MainTrain 2008 events will help attendees learn new skills, network and meet new suppliers, and take charge of their careers to build a foundation for excellence. For more information, contact PEMAC (905) 823-7255; pemac@rogers.com; or www.maintrain.ca.

A more comprehensive list of events can be found on our website.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU

If you would like to share your comments about this e-newsletter, or have a news tip for Manufacturing AUTOMATION, please e-mail Alison Dunn, Acting Editor.

***********************************************************************************************************************************************
Unsubscribe to the Manufacturing AUTOMATION e-newsletter.

If you are having technical problems, click here for Web Support.
Note: The message format in your email software must be set to HTML to view graphics in this e-newsletter.

Your email address will not be sold or passed on to any third party. It is only used for magazine-related purposes, such as renewing your subscription and this e-Newsletter. Please see our Privacy Policy for more details.

CLB Media Inc. disclaims any warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or currency of the contents of this e-Newsletter and disclaims all liability in respect of the results of any action taken or not taken in reliance upon information in this e-Newsletter.