Flow measurements in the mineral processing and mining industry suffer from the limitations placed by previously available flowmeters including the commonly used instruments such as ultrasonic meters, magmeters, turbine meters, orifice plate meters, vortex meters, Coriolis meters and Venturi meters. The desire or requirement to make a non-contact measurement that is accurate and robust, and can be performed on practically any type of fluid within practically any type of pipe, has driven the creation of a new class of flowmeters.

The development of the process control system for the Boddington Gold Project in Western Australia, a joint venture by Newmont and AngloGold-Ashanti located 130 km south-east of Perth, is about to mobilise to a site-based phase. This follows an extensive design effort in Perth, Santiago (Chile), Melbourne and Brisbane. Effective teamwork by multiple partners in different physical locations has been vital to the success of the project to date.

There are several fundamental differences between component object-based and traditional tag-based human machine interface (HMI) and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) products. This article explains the differences between the two methodologies and shows that significant savings in development can be achieved with a component object-based SCADA product, and explains how to calculate the savings.

Zinc smelting began in 1917 on the site of Nyrstar’s Hobart plant in Tasmania. For generations it has involved hard, dirty and risky jobs. One of the toughest — skimming the waste ‘dross’ off molten zinc just poured into ingot moulds — was done by hand with a rake, until four ABB industrial robots took it over in 2008.

Hirschmann Automation and Control has expanded its range of industrial WLAN products to include the leaky cable. This flexible antenna can be used to establish a pipe-shaped transmission field on the 2.4 GHz band with a range of up to 100 m. This easy-to-install solution is particularly suitable for use in long and narrow areas in buildings or production areas. The flexibility of the cable enables even corners to be lit up well.

GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms has announced the availability of a Profibus-DP bus interface module for its 8000 line of general purpose and intrinsically safe I/O.

The fourth-generation Pilz PMI operator interface and diagnostic display units offer improved performance. Both the PMIvisu and PMIopen series are available in the fourth-generation specification, with the PMIvisu models being suitable for diagnostics and visualisation with PNOZmulti modular safety systems, PSS programmable safety and control systems and SafetyBUS p networks. The fourth-generation PMIvisu units can also be used as graphics systems for all common programmable logic controllers (PLCs). If custom software needs to be run on the display, then the PMIopen operator terminals can be specified.

The Realcold Millers Mechanical 3D-Veyor Bi-Planer Chain Conveyor systems are especially suitable for the food processing industry and have applications in many other areas requiring conveying systems.

The Fluke 225C and 215C ScopeMeter test tools, with automated test capability for Fieldbus, Profibus and other industrial communication protocols, are designed for maintenance specialists who keep automation and process plant equipment operational. The instruments feature easy signal validation of all the critical signal parameters like amplitude and noise, and have floating and fully isolated inputs for true differential signal measurements on 2-wire differential bus systems.

Acoustic Research Laboratories has released the Ngara noise monitor. Ngara is a real-time sound acquisition system that offers class 1 specifications, allowing the user to post-process statistical noise measurements from 1/10th of a second stored data files. Ngara provides the option to store calibrated (continual or triggered) 48 kHz raw audio data. Measurements and data are stored to a USB storage device (HDD or memory stick).

The BAT54-Rail WLAN Client from Hirschmann Automation and Control allows mobile terminal devices in the production environment to be securely connected to the wireless network. It is designed for a temperature range of between -30 and +50 °C. It also fulfils the requirements of the IP40 protection class as well as all relevant specifications regarding shock and vibration resistance and electromagnetic compatibility. The integrated Fast Roaming function can be adapted specially to industrial ethernet protocols such as Profinet or Ethernet/IP, enabling stable connection when changing from one radio cell to another.

APC Technology has announced the redesign of the DW-860 rugged wireless keyboard into a sleeker, more compact case with no protruding battery pack. The case enables the keyboard to be more convenient for mobile and wireless users.

The Euroimpianti Skilled ANT101 is a simple palletising robot. It has a modular construction and can be adapted to any pre-existing product conveyor and packaging line. The fully automatic, compact line dedicated palletisers remove the need for conveying to a centralised palletising area and enable independence of production lines. The Cartesian structured robot with four degrees of freedom houses one or two palletising stations and one pick-up conveyor. Its pick-up station conveyor has sloping rollers in order to guide and centre the cases before pick-and-place palletising. The adjustable pick-up gripper of mechanical or venturi vacuum style equipped with an anti-collision safety device provides the most flexible and reliable pick-and-place operation.

The managed Fast/Gigabit Ethernet switch of the MACH1000 family from Hirschmann Automation and Control has all its ports with the exception of a service port located on the rear of the device. The 24 Fast Ethernet ports, up to four of which support PoE, are available with M12 connections as well as in any combination for other connectors such as MTRJ, St, SC or RJ45. For the gigabit uplinks, two combo ports (10/100/1000 Base-Tx) are optionally available and can be equipped with SFP fibre modules (1000 Base-Fx/SX/LX/LH). In this way, the new design offers a high bandwidth in combination with industry-proven M12 connection technology.

As rising electricity costs compel companies to examine their energy usage, advanced technologies are emerging which bring new efficiencies to old tasks, such as ensuring a clean flow of compressed air. John Davis, Business Development Manager for the Australian operation of Parker domnick hunter Filtration, explains.