Emerson Electric Wins $28M Contract in Ukraine
Emerson Electric (NYSE: EMR) won a contract to modernize 100 hydroelectric turbines in the Ukraine. A contract worth $28 million. The project will upgrade a 8 plants that were built between 1939 and 1975 plus a 9th built in 1983. These 9 plants supply 4639 MW, approximately 90% of Ukraine’s total usage. Each of the nine UkrHydroEnergo hydroelectric plants [...]
Monitor Your Beer Fridge on the iPad – National Instruments
Another fun application from National Instruments’ NIWeek trade show in Austin. This time, they use an iPad (as well as other handheld devices) to monitor their beer fridge! Disclamer: this is probably the coolest beer fridge ever… Watch the video demonstration at ControlEng.com
Rockwell Automation Executive Named to US Gov’t Manufacturing Council
A 24 man council led by the US Commerce Secretary, Gary Locke welcomes its newest member, Michael Laszkiewicz, the Vice President & General Manager of Rockwell Automation’s Power Components Business. “A vibrant manufacturing sector isn’t just critical for the millions of Americans whose jobs depend on it,” Locke said as he appointed new members to the 2010 [...]
Baldor Motors (NYSE: BEZ) 2Q Earnings Rise 192%
Electric Motor company, Baldor (NYSE: BEZ), showed very strong 2Q earnings amidst an overall poor market performance, as of late. The global maker of electric motors, drives and controls said second quarter net earnings were $22.767 million, up 192% compared to the 2009 period. The earnings came from total revenue of $439.491 million, up more [...]
National Instruments LabView 2010 Released
National Instruments software, LabView, was updated and released recently at NIWeek, a National Instruments hosted trade show. This release boasts 20% faster performance and dozens of new features. Features particularly useful for control applications, NI suggested, include: Time synchronization across distributed, real-time systems using the Timed Loop in LabVIEW and new NI TimeSync features; Monitoring and configuration [...]
Rockwell Automation’s Old Union Leaves Town
August 1st marked the end of Unions at Rockwell Automation, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. This ends a 75 year history of the Local 1111 Union based out of Milwaukee. What will happen to the Union and its workers? The roughly 130 UE members who were still on the job – electricians, maintenance crews, cafeteria staff – [...]
Worlds Longest & Largest Power Transmission Line
ABB has developed the worlds longest and largest power transmission line in SE China, beating out their own previously largest and longest power transmission line in Brazil. The picture above shows the length of the line with a to-scale reference of Switzerland for a size comparison. The ±800 kV Xiangjiaba-Shanghai UHVDC link has the capacity [...]
Comic – Lean Mfg Taken Literally
This one comes from Automation.com
Cryogenic Machining at MAG Industrial Automation
MAG Industrial Automation put out a press release discussing their revolutionary cryogenic machining process. They claim that by cooling the tool and material with liquid nitrogen in a ‘through spindle’ technique, is able to increase tool life, decrease lubrication needs, and increase material removal rates. An excerpt from the VP of Engineering describes the benefits in [...]
National Instruments Hosts NIWeek in Austin
From August 3th to the 5th, National Instruments (NI) is hosting a their 16th annual trade show at the Austin Convention Center called NIWeek. NI is a widely known software company that makes productivity tools for engineers. They’re most popular product is a software package called LabView. According to the official NIWeek website, the event is; [...]