In June, the Secunda branch hosted a well attended presentation by Kenneth McPherson of Beckhoff Automation regarding industrial personal computers and why you would use this technology in your factory. Kenneth explained what the difference between standard PCs and IPCs are and why conformal coating is not a viable option for PC technology. IPCs can be installed in very harsh conditions that a normal PC would not be able to handle and can be ordered in a variety of enclosures and performance levels to suit almost any application. Various support strategies are available and they can be customised to suit the individual client. The branch would like to thank Kenneth and his team for taking the time to present this interesting topic to us.
Branch chairman Kobus Reinecke (l) hands the presenter certificate to Kenneth McPherson.
July
The Technical Evening for July was conducted by Francois Eybers from Sasol Technology and the topic for the evening was the role of control engineers in technology management. Francois briefly discussed technology strategy, forecasting, road-mapping, project portfolio and technology portfolios. The different types of technology management were also discussed, which included managing your own developed technology, the application of available technology and lastly control engineering as part of process technology. The evening was well attended for a winter month and the branch thanks Francois as well as all the attendees.
Kobus Reinecke (r) handing the certificate to Francois Eybers.
The branch would like to remind everyone about the demonstration trailer that we are constructing and invite everyone to comment on the forum of the SAIMC website. Any suggestion and ideas are welcome. Also visitors can have a look at the continuously updated Secunda page and see what the branch is up to.
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