This article originally appeared in our Control Design June Issue Indiscrete section alongside these stories:
Automated Systems Can Stop Accidents in Nuclear Plants
Multi-Axis Controller Powers Clock
Machine Tools and Plastics Numbers up in Q1
The newly opened North American EtherCAT Test Center (ETC) reached its first milestone. Watlow’s RMZ multi-loop temperature controller is the first EtherCAT device to pass conformance testing in the test lab based in Savage, Minnesota, (Minneapolis area). During the official test in an ETC, the EtherCAT Conformance Test Tool is employed, as its use is mandatory for EtherCAT device manufacturers. Additionally, further tests such as interoperability and interface checks are conducted during the official testing of an EtherCAT device. ETG representative Florian Häfele, on-site as the ETG representative, presented the certificate to Stan Breitlow, staff software engineer at Watlow.
GE entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Wurldtech, a Vancouver, British Columbia-based provider of cybersecurity solutions. Wurldtech solutions and services are used in oil refineries, power transmission grids or for individual assets such as medical devices or smart meters. Wurldtech will retain its name and operate as a wholly owned subsidiary. Financial terms were not disclosed. B&B Electronics, developer of mission-critical network connectivity solutions, partnered with SeeControl, an IoT platform company, to deliver intelligent, predictive monitoring solutions for industrial internet of things (IoT) applications. The companies will work together via joint selling, referrals and consulting. Panduit acquired SynapSense. SynapSense specializes in thermal risk management and cooling energy savings for large enterprise,colocation and cloud computing service providers.Siemens, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) entered into a joint venture to provide plants, products and services for the iron, steel and aluminum industry. According to the agreement, MHI will hold a 51% and Siemens a 49% stake in the joint venture. Subject to approval of the relevant authorities, the joint venture will start operations in January 2015. The company’s headquarters will be located in the United Kingdom.
