the same technology, sustainability and company vision language.

Product launches

Among products announced during the week:

Rockwell outlined six areas of focus for its PlantPAx process automation system :  core process control capabilities; design productivity; process networks and field-device integration; asset management; process safety and critical control; and operations productivity.

Enhancements in core control will include alarm management capabilities and diagnostics. Integrating human-machine interface (HMI) software with system configuration tools will enhance design productivity. Field device integration includes the use of EtherNet/IP connectivity for process instruments.

Another process enhancement that brought applause from users when announced is support for virtualization solutions from VMware. Virtualization helps manufacturers build an infrastructure that better leverages resources and delivers high availability.

Updated Motion Analyzer software now provides interoperability with SolidWorks 3D computer-aided design (CAD) software. It delivers a highly graphical environment for designing machines and sophisticated motion profiles, and it is now capable of transferring motion profiles directly into Rockwell Software RSLogix 5000 software, helping to reduce programming time.

A portfolio of products and enhancements help provide high-performance, closed- and open-loop drive control on EtherNet/IP . The Allen-Bradley Kinetix 6500 servo drive and enhanced Allen-Bradley PowerFlex 755 AC drive now communicate on EtherNet/IP using Common Industrial Protocol (CIP) Motion and CIP Sync technology from the Open Device Vendors Association.

The new Allen-Bradley ControlLogix L73 and ControlLogix L75 programmable automation controllers (PACs) offer users enhanced memory technology, high-performance EtherNet/IP motion control and redundancy performance improvements.

FactoryTalk VantagePoint enterprise manufacturing intelligence (EMI) business intelligence software for manufacturing provides information from Web-based dashboards and reports on key performance indicators from multiple manufacturing and business data sources. It connects to multiple data sources—real-time, historical, relational and transactional ¬—to create a single resource that can access, aggregate and correlate information via a Web browser. The new application is based on a unified production model (UPM) that provides a unified view of seemingly disparate manufacturing data and gives a context for relationships among equipment, product, materials and people.

Endress+Hauser
www.us.endress.com

Rockwell Automation Inc.
www.rockwellautomation.com

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