Thirty years ago, the phrase “islands of automation” was commonplace. It described instrument and control systems that exhibited very poor connectivity and were thus “islands unto themselves.” What little connectivity existed might consist only of analog 4-20mA outputs or discrete signals from relays. Although the phrase may not be as common these days, the ability to properly connect systems to one another remains a concern.
Read moreThe debate over centralized versus distributed instrumentation architectures has been ongoing for more than 40 years, predating many of those reading this. Nor will it end any time soon. This is unfortunate because it is needless.
Read moreSupplementing your hardware alarms with the right software alarms is a vital part of a condition monitoring approach that “manages by exception”.
Read moreHow to simplify machinery fault identification, deliver actionable information to operators as well as machinery specialists, and leverage subject matter expertise across your entire organization?
Read moreLarge steam turbines employ a suite of supplementary measurements not found on other types of rotating machines.
Read moreWhen we introduced the VM600 platform 21 years ago, we “broke the mold” by moving away from application-specific modules. The industry paradigm at that time was generally one module for accelerometers, another for velocity sensors, another for proximity sensors, another for thrust, still another for case expansion, yet another for speed, etc.
Read moreOperational safety within the process industries has always been a priority. As the process sector moved into the computer age, new issues arose as manufacturing plants converted to computer-based control systems (replacing their aging electrical, pneumatic, and electronic controls).
Read moreA machinery protection system and a condition monitoring system fundamentally fulfill different goals.
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