Reliable control systems for sustainable manufacturing
Technews Industry Guide: Sustainable Manufacturing 2024
PLCs, DCSs & Controllers
The modern factory depends on reliable processes to ensure reliable production output. Reliable production depends on reliable control systems and accurate production information. Ana-Digi Systems has been propounding this philosophy since 1985.
The company can support all aspects of production and motion control systems through to scada and remote data acquisition, all at reasonable prices.
Its LS Electric PLCs represent state-of-the-art controllers, offering the usual digital control and diverse high-resolution analogue functionality, unsurpassed by any of the more well-known European and American brands. All standard communication protocols are catered for, and adequate stock is kept on hand.
Variable speed drives (VSDs) and variable frequency drives (VFDs) enhance sustainable manufacturing by optimising energy consumption, reducing waste, and improving the efficiency of machinery and processes. With LS Electric and its own ADS brand of VFDs, Ana-Digi Systems offers a range of VSDs for every type of application, covering power levels from 100 W to 17 MW. The current MTBF of its entire VFD range is 200 000 hours on average − nearly 23 years between failures.
For remote data acquisition, it offers its HNC H-box IOT Cloud Gateway, which gives access to any control system, PC or VFD anywhere in the world. The H-Box allows production data acquisition and monitoring, while programme changes can be made to an unlimited number of installed systems. HMI data can be displayed on PCs or mobile phones and tablets, making production control and monitoring a simple task. All software, except scada, is offered free of charge, with programming packages being backward compatible. It also offerw a 24-hour telephonic support service for urgent application issues.
Further reading:
Loop signature Part 2-6
PLCs, DCSs & Controllers
This instalment of the Loop Signature series introduces frequency plot theory as a foundation for understanding process dynamics, explaining Bode plots, dynamic gain, phase lag and their relationship to control loop tuning.
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The rise of software-defined brownfield automation
Schneider Electric South Africa
PLCs, DCSs & Controllers
Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure Automation Expert is enabling brownfield operators to modernise incrementally, decoupling control logic from hardware to bridge legacy equipment and future-ready operations without disrupting production.
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Upgrading alarm systems for critical industries
Omniflex Remote Monitoring Specialists
PLCs, DCSs & Controllers
Omniflex’s OMNI16R alarm annunciator platform provides a direct replacement for legacy CSA systems such as MPAS 90 and SA9100, enabling operators in oil and gas, nuclear and power generation to modernise alarm infrastructure without sacrificing the clarity required for safe operations.
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How DCS can step off the hardware obsolescence treadmill
Schneider Electric South Africa
PLCs, DCSs & Controllers
Schneider Electric argues that virtualising DCS environments breaks the cycle of hardware obsolescence, giving plant operators a smarter path to lifecycle modernisation without production disruption.
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Loop signature Part 2-6
PLCs, DCSs & Controllers
The Loop Signature series turns to frequency plot theory, explaining Bode open-loop plots and how dynamic gain, phase lag and crossover frequency can be extracted from test data to inform more accurate control loop tuning.
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PC-based control in surgery
Beckhoff Automation
Editor's Choice PLCs, DCSs & Controllers
Researchers at the University of Basel are using Beckhoff PC-based control technology to develop a miniature laser robot for minimally invasive bone surgery.
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IIoT controller for the field and control cabinet
ifm - South Africa
PLCs, DCSs & Controllers
The IIoT controller from ifm is a powerful, communicative and flexible PLC solution in machine and plant digitalisation.
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How the DCS can step off the hardware obsolescence treadmill
Schneider Electric South Africa
PLCs, DCSs & Controllers
Ageing servers and unsupported operating systems are quietly eroding the stability of process plants that rely on distributed control systems. Kobus Vermeulen of Schneider Electric explains how virtualising the DCS environment can break the hardware obsolescence cycle without disrupting operations.
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Centralised control rooms where growth is elastic, not physical
Schneider Electric South Africa
PLCs, DCSs & Controllers
Modernised control rooms feature distributed control system architecture consolidated into centralised compute environments. replacing traditional PCs with thin clients.
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Advanced DCSs preserve what must not change while enabling
Schneider Electric South Africa
PLCs, DCSs & Controllers
Next-generation DCSs, such as Schneider Electric’s Foxboro, are preserving the best of the old while introducing the new in a less disruptive manner.
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