Developments

Designing an industrial demilitarised zone with the right assets helps enable secure data-sharing from plantwide network to enterprise network Many manufacturers segment business-system networks from plantwide networks by using an industrial demilitarised zone (IDMZ). But once segmented, how is data from industrial automation and control systems (IACS) securely shared across this buffer zone? A new white paper from Cisco and Rockwell Automation, “Securely Traversing IACS Data Across the Industrial Demilitarized Zone,” provides guidance for successfully designing and deploying an IDMZ as part of a Converged Plantwide Ethernet architecture. This allows manufacturers to securely share IACS data from the plantwide network to the enterprise network. The paper explains key IDMZ assets that enable this secure data-sharing, which include application mirrors and remote desktop gateway services. The white paper summarises key design principles from a comprehensive design and implementation guide on IDMZ, which is available herehttp://http//:rockwellautomation.com.au. Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in IT that helps companies seize the opportunities of tomorrow by proving that amazing things can happen when you connect the previously unconnected. For ongoing news, please go to http://thenetwork.cisco.com. Rockwell Automation Australia and Rockwell Automation New Zealand are subsidiaries of Rockwell Automation, Inc.—a leading global provider of industrial automation and information solutions that helps manufacturers achieve a competitive advantage in their businesses. The company brings together leading global brands in industrial automation which include Allen-Bradley® controls and services and Rockwell Software® factory management software. Its broad product mix includes control logic systems, sensors, human-machine interfaces, drive controllers, power devices, and software. Rockwell Automation Inc. (NYSE: ROK), the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation and information, makes its customers more productive and the world more sustainable. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., Rockwell Automation employs about 22,500 people serving customers in more than 80 countries. LISTEN. THINK. SOLVE. is a […]

Model X is said to be the safest, fastest and most capable sport utility vehicle in history. Standard with all-wheel drive and a 90 kWh battery providing 250 miles of range, Model X has ample seating for seven adults and all of their gear. And it’s ludicrously fast, accelerating from zero to 60 miles per hour in 3.2 seconds. Model X is the SUV uncompromised. The estimated delivery for new reservations is the latter half of 2016. Safety First Design Every part of Model X is designed with safety as a first priority. The floor-mounted battery lowers the centre of gravity so that the risk of rollover is almost non-existent. The battery structure strengthens Model X against side impact intrusions. And without a gasoline engine, the large front trunk acts as a giant impact-absorbing crumple zone. Active Safety Model X continually scans the surrounding roadway with camera, radar and sonar systems, providing the driver with real-time feedback to avoid collisions. Even at highway speeds, Model X will automatically apply brakes in an emergency. Pollution Free, Inside and Out A medical grade HEPA filter strips outside air of pollen, bacteria, viruses and pollution before circulating it into the cabin. There are three modes: circulate with outside air, re-circulate inside air and a bioweapon defence mode that creates positive pressure inside the cabin to protect occupants. Falcon Wings Falcon Wing doors allow easy access to second and third row seats from any parking space. Minivan style sliding doors open at most halfway while traditional doors are not capable of opening fully when parked next to another car. With only a foot of clearance, Falcon Wing doors articulate smoothly up and out of the way, allowing passengers to enter from both front and rear directions. The side and overhead opening is so large […]

RS Components (RS), the trading brand of Electrocomponents plc, the global distributor for engineers, has launched DesignSpark Electrical, which brings the benefits of design software to all those not already using electrical CAD tools. The new software targets electrical design engineers and other electrical professionals, enabling them to save time and money. Supported by Schneider Electric, DesignSpark Electrical joins the award-winning suite of DesignSpark engineering resources and continues to drive the initiative of removing the barriers to innovation for every engineer. DesignSpark Electrical is a fully specified electrical CAD package delivering time saving and error avoidance, for control panel, machinery and electrical system design. This new free tool provides access to the functionality of electrical CAD for businesses that in many cases cannot reasonably justify the considerable price tag per seat for existing commercial electrical CAD software. A key element of the DesignSpark Electrical software is the integration of a library that comprises more than 250,000 components and parts, including 80,000 from Schneider Electric and 10,000 from RS, which can easily be added to customer designs. Other key features of the highly intuitive and highly functional software include intelligent and specialist electrical design tools, real-time referencing and validity checking to allow the creation of accurate 2D panel layouts, all of which saves time and reduces errors. Also built into the software is Bill-of-Materials (BOM) quote functionality, enabling customers to order parts via RS for their designs, both quickly and easily. The high cost and the learning time required of existing commercial electrical CAD tools have been major barriers to adoption for many companies. The introduction of the highly intuitive DesignSpark Electrical removes these cost barriers in a single stroke and passes on the key benefits of electrical CAD to all engineers. DesignSpark Electrical is available for free download at www.designspark.com.

In the picture: Kiyotaka Ise, Toyota’s Chief Officer of its Research and Development Group. The opportunities to improve every-day living through artificial intelligence supported technologies are boundless. Toyota will invest $US 50 million in the research and development of intelligent vehicle and mobility technologies with an ambitious new collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University, California. Joint research centres will be established at each university with Toyota investing $US50 million over the next five years. Dr. Gill Pratt, former Program Manager at DARPA (the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency) and leader of its recent Robotics Challenge, has joined Toyota to direct and accelerate these research activities and their application to intelligent vehicles and robotics. Toyota believes the opportunities to improve every-day living through artificial intelligence supported technologies are boundless, with significant breakthrough potential for the development of life-saving intelligent vehicles and life-improving robots. “We’re here to mark the beginning of an unprecedented commitment. We will initially focus on the acceleration of intelligent vehicle technology, with the immediate goal of helping eliminate traffic casualties and the ultimate goal of helping improve quality of life through enhanced mobility and robotics,” said Kiyotaka Ise, Toyota’s Chief Officer of its Research and Development Group. Combined research will be targeted at improving the ability of intelligent vehicle technologies to recognise objects around the vehicle, provide elevated judgment of surrounding conditions, and safely collaborate with vehicle occupants, other vehicles, and pedestrians. The joint research will also look at applications of the same technology to human-interactive robotics and information service, said Dr. Pratt. Both Universities already have computer science and artificial intelligence research facilities. Beyond Toyota’s longstanding work on autonomous vehicles and advanced driving support systems, the company has been developing robots for industrial use since the 1970s, and for Partner and Human Support […]

Delcam has launched the 2016 release of its FeatureCAM feature-based CAM software. This includes a range of enhancements, in particular more options for the Vortex high-efficiency area-clearance strategy, support for bar-fed mills, more efficient turning and user-interface improvements to make programming even easier and faster. FeatureCAM was the world’s first feature-based programming software when it was launched in 1995. Constant development since then has ensured that the system has retained its leadership in programming speed and ease of use, while an increased range of strategies has been added to provide more efficient toolpaths that give greater productivity on a wider range of machinery, including mill-turn machines, five-axis mills and wire EDM equipment. The 2016 release includes a number of enhancements to the Vortex area-clearance strategy. Vortex gives the fastest safe metal removal from solid carbide tooling, in particular designs that give deeper cuts by using the full flute length as the cutting surface. It produces toolpaths with a controlled engagement angle and so maintains the optimum cutting conditions for the complete roughing cycle, giving faster machining and longer tool life. The ability has now been added to adjust and fine tune the non-cutting moves of 2.5D and 3D Vortex toolpaths, with options to retract the tool and/or to increase the feedrate. These options can be set individually, or can be combined to achieve an optimum toolpath, with a reduced cycle time. Other roughing improvements include the ability to take into account any remaining stock on the model during holder collision checking, ensuring that Z-level roughing toolpaths are completely free of tool-holder collisions. Milling of inside or outside groove features has been upgraded with a number of improvements. These include support for different types of roughing links, wind-fan approach and retract moves for finishing, better gouge checking for plunges and retracts, […]