Technology Briefing - September

TECHNOLOGY BRIEFING - September

Right-first-time pharma process breakthrough

Leeds, UK - A technology that provides high quality images of the crystallisation process marks the next step towards a ‘right-first-time’ approach to drug manufacture, according to engineers at the University of Leeds. Developed in collaboration with industrial scientists at Perdix and Malvern Instruments, the new process analytical technology (PAT) tool characterises particle shapes using a probe which collects images of the crystallisation process. The tool will enable pharmaceutical companies to monitor and optimise these processes. Read more

Emerson shows four -wire intelligence

London - Emerson Process Management has launched two new versions of its Rosemount Analytical Model 1056 analyser, which are designed to provide complete HART and Profibus DP digital communications capability. The 1056-HT and 1056-DP 4-wire dual-input models offer operational and maintenance advantages in plants using these digital protocols and are being introduced in response to demands from end-users and OEMs, the company said. Read more

Shell moves to hit biofuel barriers for six

Royal Dutch Shell plc has signed six biofuels research agreements with academic institutions in the UK, Brazil, China and the US, under a programme designed to accelerate Shell’s own R&D in the areas of raw materials and biofuels production processes. The agreements are with: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); the University of Campinas, Sao Paulo; the Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMCAS); Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (QIBEBT); the Centre of Excellence for Biocatalysis, Biotransformations and Biocatalytic Manufacture (CoEBio3) based at Manchester University; and the School of BioSciences Exeter University. Read more

Borealis claims innovation breakthrough

Polymer producer Borealis has claimed a "significant breakthrough" in its product development strategy, with the completion of laboratory reactors for polypropylene (PP) polymerisation at its Innovation HQ in Linz, Austria. The development, it said, "heralds a new approach to the use of bench-scale reactors to accurately mimic a continuous pilot or plant process for faster product evaluations and quicker, cheaper routes to market. The reactors, it added, will provide a reliable tool for accelerated product development in close co-operation with experts in catalysis, process and polymer design, various business units, pilot, plant and asset management. Construction of the reactors and an accompanying gas purification system and supply station was completed within only four months at an investment cost of Euro5.5 million

Record 112 sensors in a mould

Is this a world record?, asks Kistler, which has fitted 112 pressure sensors fitted to the moulds for the injection moulding of insulin pen components; one each to the 96 cavities and 16 manifolds. The aim is to use cavity pressure monitoring to achieve zero defect production automatically and reliably. With a front diameter of 1 mm, the Kistler Type 6183A pressure sensors are the smallest ever used for cavity pressure monitoring. The mould maker adapts the front ends of the sensors to the contours of the cavity wall, using erosion technology to fit both the sensors and the mould inserts. The fitting of such a large number of sensors to a single, complex mould was made possible by using Kistler’s single-wire technology. This cut-and-grip technique permits the sensor cables to be fitted and removed quickly and easily without any additional tooling. Specially developed high channel, charge amplifiers transmit the measurement data digitally to the process analysis system, which offers functions for the visualization, monitoring and documentation of injection moulding processes based on the cavity pressure curve.

Simpler wireless networks
Emerson Process Management has introduced AMS Suite: Intelligent Device Manager 9.5 applications for planning and managing scaleable wireless networks to support the growing demand for wireless solutions in the process automation industry. AMS Device Manager 9.5 provides a common interface for users to manage their wired and wireless instruments and valves. Wireless device configuration is streamlined and drag-and-drop functionality automates the writing of joinkeys into wireless devices, increasing efficiency and security. A new AMS Wireless SNAP-ON application enables users to plan, customise, visualise, and manage Emerson’s Smart Wireless networks. Users can, therefore, avoid in-depth site surveys or time-consuming planning blueprints, and easily upload an aerial image of their plant into the application and quickly plan their wireless network. When the network layout is complete, they can validate the network against factory-recommended best practices to optimise device communication paths. Once the wireless network is installed, the AMS Wireless SNAP-ON application also provides a comprehensive view of the network’s status, enabling users to maximise reliability of the wireless network.

Scorpion in CHP advance

Scorpion Power Systems has launched the powertherm range of Combined Heat & Power (CHP) systems that, it claims, reduce energy costs and increase power reliability and quality. The CHP units employ an engine technology that gives 85.5% package efficiency with thermal recovery, enabling the units to provide an outstanding energy output compared to fuel consumption as well as shrink a company’s carbon footprint. Utilising a low emission natural gas engine, powertherm offers a pre-engineered package design, which reduces up-front engineering, site design and installation costs. The package design encompasses all CHP components within an acoustic enclosure thereby providing low noise output (68 dB(A) @ 7 M) in plant room environments together with neatness of design and ease of access. Powertherm is also designed to eliminate the possibility of brown or black outs as well as improve the quality of power delivered to businesses.

Forgemasters engineers nuclear parts

Sheffield Forgemasters is manufacturing cast stainless steel pump casings for the new wave of nuclear power plants in China. The 16-tonne reactor coolant pump castings will first see service on China’s Westinghouse AP1000TM nuclear power plants at Sanmen in Zhejiang province and Haiyang in Shandong province. They will also feature on all future AP1000TM plants globally, the UK company added. Forgemasters worked with Curtiss-Wright EMD on the development of the casing, and has now been commissioned by the company to produce 18 of the stage-one pump casings. Shaun Gray, senior sales manager at Forgemaster’s Engineering division, said: “The manufacturing process is very refined and the AP1000 castings ... are really quite complex structures in terms of mechanical and metallurgical requirements. These pumps are structurally integral to the reactor and have many stresses placed on them aside from those created by pumping pressurised coolant at a rate of 65 to 95 thousand gallons per minute.”

Technical reports

Pharmaceuticals: Batch to continuous - coming of age

Foster Wheeler technical paper Pharmaceuticals: Batch-to-continuous - coming of age:

Collaborative approach to motion control

Robert Luong, Moog’s product marketing manager, discusses the challenges that high performance machine designs pose for engineers responsible for motion control and reviews the trends that are making high performance motion control ever more challenging and complex for design engineers. Read report

How Ethernet can help cut oil prices

GarrettCom Europe business development manager David Moss argues that advanced Ethernet networking technology has a major role to play in bringing oil prices back down to previously affordable levels. Read article

Robot do's and don't's

Stirling Paatz, MD and joint founder of Totnes-based robotics integrator Barr & Paatz, provides tips for avoiding specifying mistakes: Read article

Energy harvesting for CM advance

Perpetuum and CAP-XX Ltd have reported on how a Perpetuum vibration energy-harvesting micro-generator, together with a CAP-XX supercapacitor, can allow wireless sensor system manufacturers to design battery-free condition monitoring systems that collect and report data on machinery for improved asset management. The companies also presented the results of a field trial at a Norwegian gas plant to evaluate the system in a challenging industrial environment. Read article

Hazardous area wireless

Extronics has designed its new iWAP400, an ATEX-approved USB WiFi adapter to enable any explosion proof panel PC, purge PC or any PC-based device with a USB port to be connected to a WiFi network safely in zone 1 extreme and hazardous whether indoors or outdoors. The iWAP400 has been designed to be placed in a wide range of locations and operate in conjunction with any manufacturers¹ PC with a USB interface. The WiFi adapter, housed in a rugged aluminium enclosure, IP66 rated and epoxy-coated, is certified for use in Zone 1 environments and is safe to use between -20ºC and +60ºC. John Hartley, technical director, said: "This WiFi adapter is an important part of our complete wireless network offering ... The fact that it operates in many different environments and with a variety of PC platforms means that it has many potential applications."

ZigBee wireless products for industry

Nohau has launched a range of ZigBee / IEEE 802.15.4 wireless technology products in the UK. The products, developed by connectBlue, include an OEM module and an industrial IP65 Serial Port Adapter and are developed to meet the tough demands of industrial environments. As connectBlue products are now in effect the de facto world industrial standard, it is possible for users to take advantage of the integration capabilities of three different wirless technologies, said nohau. The new products, it said, are compatible with all existing connectBlue Bluetooth and wirless LAN products, so developers can meet new customer requirements with reduced implementation costs and time-to market. The range is delivered with standard Serial Port Adapter firmware and can be configured with AT commands using the connectBlue Toolbox computer software. IEEE 802.15.4 products use a low data rate solution with multi-month to multi-year battery life and very low complexity. The radio technology operates in an unlicensed, international frequency band.

Norman targets IT security

The trend for manufacturers to move away from proprietary plant and process control systems to standardised IT technologies continues, with vendors and integrators implementing standard hardware, software and communications protocols in order to increase system performance and reduce development costs. This migration has opened up the manufacturing network to increased security risks that are often ignored in the belief that “off the shelf” security products are not suitable for this sensitive environment. In response, IT security vendor Norman Data Systems has launched the Norman SmartSuite for Manufacturing, which is claimed to offer maximum protection against malware threats without adversely affecting the realtime systems operating in production sites across the globe. Modules include Norman Network Protection (NNP), a realtime anti malware scanner and can be installed at various points through the network or between network segments, and Norman SandBox Analyzer, which allows users to automatically analyse file behaviour and actual actions performed by the suspicious file that has been stopped.