Johannesburg branch

November 2005 SAIMC

What is the Box that we are encouraged to think out of? Be it a box or bag, it is a constriction of our thinking normally associated with fear, greed or education.

At the Johannesburg branch of the SAIMC, we make it easier for our members to pull something out of the bag by engendering a spirit of companionship, and providing technical stimuli that will help them to formulate new ideas. This month we are going to discuss electrical capacitance tomography (be careful saying this, you may injure your tongue). This is a technique for measuring and displaying the permittivity distribution of a mixture of dielectric fluids inside a closed pipe or vessel. If only two materials are present, ECT can be used for measuring the concentration distribution of the fluid mixture. This development could make the possibility of measuring multiphase flow with credible accuracy a possibility. This is something very new and not yet available commercially. (Permittivity is a measure of the ability of a non-conducting material to retain electric energy when placed in an electric field.)

Branch activities are continuing well, we have a full schedule of topics for discussion at our monthly meetings, and the Summer Golf Day is a reality thanks to Jan van Wyk and team. This is a busy time for members of the various committees and council, but be assured, the interests of our industry are being attentively observed. All office bearers within the SAIMC need commendation for their voluntary contributions.

Please remember, to be able to provide you with the benefits that the SAIMC provide, you need to keep us informed regarding the changes in your details. Just e-mail these changes to saimc@mweb.co.za.

Vivian MacFadyen, Johannesburg branch chairman, vivian.macfadyen@za.endress.com

Further reading:

SAIMC: From the office of the COO
SAIMC SAIMC
The recognition of mechatronics and computer engineering has created both an opportunity and a responsibility. Recognition means little without participation, professional registration without professional conduct, and technical knowledge without the mentorship, implementation and measurable value that industry needs.

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SAIMC: Johannesburg branch
SAIMC SAIMC
Hendrik Spies of SICK Automation Southern Africa presented at the SAIMC Johannesburg Technology Evening on 12 August 2026, covering the digital journey from condition monitoring to predictive maintenance.

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SAIMC: Johannesburg branch: Distilled to perfection: Women’s Month gin experience
SAIMC SAIMC
The SAIMC Johannesburg branch celebrated Ladies Month with a gin tasting event.

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SAIMC: Durban branch
SAIMC SAIMC
The SAIMC Durban branch hosted S’yabonga Langa, systems performance engineer at eThekwini Electricity, who presented on applying substation automation to improve operational efficiency and service quality in modern power distribution networks.

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SAIMC INSPIRE conference extends abstract submission deadline
SAIMC SAIMC News
Following requests from our sponsors, the SAIMC INSPIRE conference has officially extended the abstract submission deadline to 28 August 2026.

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SAIMC: From the office of the COO
SAIMC SAIMC
Recognising practical engineering talent is a missing link in the South Africa’s skills pipeline.

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SAIMC: Durban Technology Evening
SAIMC SAIMC
The SAIMC Durban branch hosted a Technology Evening on mobile machine automation.

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SAIMC: Eastern Cape branch
SAIMC SAIMC
The SAIMC Eastern Cape Branch co-hosted a satellite viewing site for ICRA 2026 at Nelson Mandela University, giving postgraduate students, academics and local industry professionals access to premier international robotics and automation keynote sessions.

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SAIMC: Johannesburg Technology Evening
SAIMC SAIMC
The SAIMC Johannesburg Branch July Technology Evening, hosted by WIKA Instruments, covered key level measurement technologies and featured live product demonstrations from area sales manager Anthony Terblanche.

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International robotics conference streams live to Africa
SAIMC
The SAIMC hosted five live-stream viewing events across South Africa for the IEEE International Conference of Robotics and Automation in Vienna, bringing global robotics research and technology directly to local industry and academia.

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