O’Leary encourages manufacturers to adapt in CMTS keynote address

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Ivan Romanow

Popular businessman, venture capitalist and television personality Kevin O’Leary made a lasting impression on many who attended his keynote address at the Canadian Manufacturing Technology Show (CMTS) 2011 in Toronto. His strongest message was that Canadian manufacturers need to adapt to the financial power shifts in the global market. Continue reading →

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A New Way to Look at Your Manufacturing Process

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Carl Kaehler

A picture is worth 1000 words.  This anecdote has been used time and again, by just about everyone you know.  Today, I am going to show you how you can get a picture of your manufacturing process, and how this picture will be worth far more to you than just 1000 words, it will be worth dollars in your pocket, both in reduced production time, faster QA and more responsive quality recalls.

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Posted in Sciemetric, Zero Defect Realization | Leave a comment

ProfiNet Myths Debunked

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Carl Kaehler

With GE Intelligent Platforms recently releasing their ProfiNet offering, I wanted to take a couple of minutes to go over some of the comments, feedback, and misconceptions surrounding this protocol.

It appears that for many, this is a very new protocol and there are a lot of myths and mis-information floating around, surrounding this protocol.

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Posted in GE-IP, General Information, PLC/PAC | Leave a comment

Migrating from an IC693RTM705 to an IC695CMM002

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Carl Kaehler

Recently, I had the opportunity to assist a customer in migrating their 90-30 to a PACSystems RX3i controller.  Machine Edition made quick work of converting the hardware config and code, however 1 particular module posed a problem; this customer was using a Horner HE693RTM705 Modbus Master.  The RX3i does not support this module and its functionality has been replaced by the IC695CMM002.  Looking over the code for this, the conversion appeared daunting at first, but with a couple of handy resources and a spreadsheet or two, the conversion was relatively painless.

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Posted in Application Notes, GE-IP, PLC/PAC | Leave a comment

Okay, I’m monitoring my energy. Now what?

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Neil Wilson

You’ve listened to the experts. “If you don’t monitor it you can’t manage it”. Got it.

So you’ve invested in and installed the monitors. You see data. Now what do you do with it?

Lesson 1. The easiest way to find savings: Electrical patterns. If you’re over 50kW load in Ontario, you are paying for electrical energy two ways; the energy itself (in kWh or kilo-watt-hours) and a demand charge – how fast you are drawing the energy from the electrical grid (much harder to find on your invoice, but it’s there…). Your electrical usage data, from your monitoring system, in graphical form, looks like a bunch of peaks and valleys, and unless you’re a skier, not very excited at the picture. So – there are two things we look for, the way to find out where the easiest savings may be found.

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Posted in Energy and Power Quality, Metering | Leave a comment

EditUserList BE GONE

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Carl Kaehler

For any of you that have had a chance to work with the GE Quickpanel View, you will know what I am talking about.  You have a handful of QP View units (perhaps more), you have 10 or 20 users, and several security levels that need to be setup, and now you have to do this on each and every QP View, one at a time, using the EditUserList command.  The QP View is an incredible product that has a lot of functionality and features to it, however 1 feature that seems to be missing, is the ability to pre-setup a bunch of users and access levels, and then deploy this to multiple QP View units without the need to use that cumbersome EditUserList.  Or is it?

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Posted in Application Notes, GE-IP, Operator Interfaces | 1 Comment

Simply the Best Technology to Monitor and Control Manufacturing Processes

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Ivan Romanow

The latest addition to our Manufacturing Excellence solution portfolio, Sciemetric – has pioneered zero defect realization through in process profiling using their advanced Process Signature Verification (PSV) technology. They have helped manufacturers address quality issues to improve productivity and profitability. Sciemetric helps manufacturers eliminate manufacturing quality problems. Continue reading →

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Feds invest in McMaster University’s Automotive Resource Centre

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Ivan Romanow

University researchers and the automotive industry will come together to develop “green” automotive technologies, thanks to a new investment by the Government of Canada. Continue reading →

Posted in Renewable Energy | Leave a comment

Solar To Provide Majority Of World’s Energy By 2060

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Ivan Romanow

Bloomberg News (8/30, Sills) reports the International Energy Agency projects that “solar generators may produce the majority of the world’s power within 50 years, slashing the emissions of greenhouse gases that harm the environment.” Continue reading →

Posted in General Information, Renewable Energy | Leave a comment

Ford and Toyota Team Up to Put Hybrid Trucks and SUVs in Fast Lane

Posted on August 30, 2011 by Ivan Romanow

Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. will bring their research and development forces together to accelerate the creation of a hybrid vehicle system for trucks and SUVs. Continue reading →

Posted in Renewable Energy | Leave a comment