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PCN Europe Award goes to Knick Elektronische Messgeräte
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On the Interkama show in Hannover, Germany, the PCN Europe Award was presented to Knick Elektronische Messgeräte for their Com-Fu radio system. PCN Europe Editor Constanze Schmitz handed the price to Dip.-Ing
Wolfgang Feucht, head of R&D. The radio system facilitates data transmission from sensors which are installed in inaccessible or mobile measuring points in safe or hazardous areas. It uses the IEEE 802.15.4-based ZigBee
standard to set Personal Area Networks, allowing terminals and routers to communicate locally. In the open field, the system bridges a maximum distance of 400m.
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Russia and CIS show strong polymer demand growth
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Demand for thermoplastics in Russia reached nearly 3.3 million tonnes in 2006 according to the recently published AMI’s 2007 Russian and CIS plastics industry report. The market last year grew by over 15% compared with 2005 and since 2000 demand for thermoplastics has more than doubled. Despite these impressive growth figures the market is still hugely underdeveloped compared with the rest of Europe. Per capita consumption is just 23 kg compared with
over 80 kg for the EU 25 and the manufacture of rubber and plastic products is still only about two-thirds of 1991 production levels. Since the financial crisis of 1998 however, greater political and economic stability has led to increased investment in plastics processing which has resulted in some spectacular growth for certain sectors. Building and infrastructure and food packaging have been particularly strong growth areas.
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GE Plastics Wins SPE Environmental Award
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At the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) 2007 Global Plastics Environmental Conference in Orlando, Florida, USA., GE Plastics received this year’s environmental award for New Technologies in Progress because of its Valox iQ*
and Xenoy iQ* resins. These resin grades are synthesized from post consumer PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles that get upcycled to make PBT (polybutylene terepthalate) resin, offering virgin thermoplastic properties with an extremely low carbon footprint. If all PBT plastic globally used the iQ resin technology, it could result in an annual reduction of 5.2 million barrels of oil. Valox iQ and Xenoy iQ resins are the essential elements of an environmentally
progressive resin portfolio developed as part of GE’s ecomagination* initiative. "Valox iQ and Xenoy iQ resins are the result of a major technological breakthrough that enables both environmental responsibility and exceptional performance," said Ken Miller, global technology manager, Crystalline Products at GE Plastics. "We are honored to receive recognition from SPE for our corporate efforts to improve the environment while providing customers with
innovative and versatile new materials."
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Cisco and Rockwell Automation to integrate manufacturing and IT
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Rockwell Automation, a global provider of power, control and information solutions, and Cisco, a global provider of networking solutions for the Internet, announced they are working together to help manufacturers achieve the visibility, flexibility and collaboration necessary in today's global manufacturing environment, through optimized network
integration across the factory floor and throughout the enterprise, using standard Ethernet technology. Based on feedback from customers, Rockwell Automation and Cisco are collaborating on their common technology view, building reference architectures using standard networking technologies such as EtherNet/IP, and providing market education to enable people and process optimization. "Customers are telling us they want linked reference architectures supporting both the office network environment and the factory floor," said Paul McNab, vice president of
Enterprise Marketing for Cisco. "Both plant and IT managers need secure real-time visibility between the production floor and enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management and supply chain management systems. The network architecture will allow manufacturers to achieve real-time visibility with a secure control network using Ethernet."
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FDT Group and ECT to cooperate and develop a common technology
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The EDDL Cooperation Team (ECT) and the FDT Group announced that they have reached agreement to combine
efforts and work toward a unified solution for device integration that is compatible with both technologies. This would satisfy one of the most frequent customer requests. The representatives of the FDT Group and ECT have seized this opportunity for cooperation and will develop a common technology to benefit both users and manufacturers. As part of this agreement, the FDT Group will join the ECT as its newest member. FDT and ECT representatives agree to work together to finalize this solution and achieve a common framework that meets the requirements of all parties. Future developments will use a subset of the OPC UA technology within a clientserver architecture. In addition, both parties have agreed to incorporate the advantages of FDT and EDDL technologies.
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