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Thursday, May 15, 2008 |
Siemens PLM Software has announced what it terms a significant breakthrough in CAD technology. For those of you who have not kept pace with acquisitions, Siemens PLM was formed with the acquisition of UGS, which itself was a CAD/PLM player that acquired Tecnomatix that in turn had acquired SCADA supplier USDATA. This new technology aids digital product development with what it calls "synchronous" technology. It is a history-free, feature-based modeling technology that the company claims to increase the design experience by 100 times. It combines constraint-driven techniques with direct modeling. It will be integrated into the next versions of NXTM and SolidEdge software.
The synchronizing involves geometry and rules. There are four key areas to the technology:
Fast idea capture: Synchronous technology captures ideas as fast as the user thinks them. Designers can devote more time to innovation with new techniques that provide the efficiency of parametric dimension-driven modeling without the computational overhead of pre-planned dependencies. The technology defines optionally persistent dimensions, parameters and design rules at time of creation or edit, without the overhead of an ordered history.
Fast design changes: The technology automates the implementation of planned or unplanned design changes to seconds versus hours thorough unparalleled ease of editing, regardless of design origination, with or without the presence of a history tree.
Improved multi-CAD reuse: The technology allows users to reuse data from other CAD systems without remodeling. Users can succeed in a multi-CAD environment that enables them to edit other CAD system data faster than they can in the original system, regardless of the design methodology. A technique called "suggestive selection" automatically infers the function of various design elements without the need for feature or constraint definitions. This increases design reuse and OEM/supplier efficiency.
New user experience: The technology provides a new user interaction experience that simplifies CAD and "makes 3D as easy to use as 2D." The interaction paradigm merges historically independent 2D and 3D environments, providing the robustness of a mature 3D modeler with the ease of 2D. New inference technology automatically infers common constraints and executes typical commands based on cursor position. This makes design tools simple to learn and use for occasional users, driving downstream use to manufacturing engineering and the shop floor.
The next versions are scheduled for launch on May 21 at the annual Siemens PLM Software Analyst and Media Conference in Boston. You can view the announcement here.
By the way, Siemens PLM has one of the few remaining user conferences that doesn't allow press. Saves me one trip in June.
7:14:44 AM 
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I've been toying with the idea of doing some podcasts as videos. Jim Pinto beat me to the punch. Here's one of his recent ones. He also gets his guitar out for another. I don't think I'll do that--unless I write a ballad of ISA100 or something like that. (That story seems more like an Irish ballad than a pop song.) So, does anyone watch much video? I'm getting Tekzilla video on my iPod Touch. But finding time to watch at times other than on a plane is tough.
By the way, this is my 1600th post. Four-and-a-half years. We're putting the final touches on the 5th anniversary edition of Automation World. Can't believe it's been that long. Thanks to everyone who has supported us. We tried to do something different, and mostly succeeded to my expectations. Now, I'm looking for ideas to grow the next step and see what new angles we can take. Any suggestions? Send a note to me.
6:58:45 AM
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Wednesday, May 14, 2008 |
Ah, that cagey Jim Cahill at Emerson Process Experts is at it again. Previously he talked with one of the experts within Emerson and did a Foundation Fieldbus v Hart comparison. He said it was the most viewed post of his blogging history. So, here I am to help him beat that by pointing to this EDDL v FDT/DTM comparison. I'll not steal the suspense. But my take, as I twittered Jim, is that it's not a bad comparison given the Emerson point of view. I'll watch for the fallout ;-)
4:29:45 PM
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Hmm, I was at the ABB Conference, but I didn't see anything about this release. The company has a new thin client application, IndustrialIT cpmPlus Smart Client. It is said to help customers "securely access their automation systems via an Internet browser for real-time visibility into the process from any location as long as a connection exists." It retrieves data from ABB's System 800xA and connected third-party systems. It not only provides graphical displays but also trending and statistical process control, alarm and event reporting and a Microsoft Excel interface.
3:36:47 PM
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I see Adept Technology has a new robot--an inverted SCARA designed for the packaged goods market. It's the Adept Cobra s800 and should find use in case and carton loading applications. The idea is that it saves floor space.
3:30:27 PM
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I'm a long-time fan of Levenger and Steve's "Well-Read Life" blog. Here's a life post that has some quite valuable thoughts about living in a time of change.
2:27:42 PM
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The new Microsoft concept vertical wall computer has hit the high tech blogs. Here's a post on TechCrunch. I wonder how this could revolutionize meetings (or is such a thing even possible?). Or, can you see this in the control room of the future?
2:25:29 PM
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Databases are getting to be more and more important in manufacturing. I've been following this database blog to try to see what new trends are happening. I had heard that there might be a new way of storing and sorting data. The second thing that is happening is "cloud" computing. This post of the database column answers some questions and asks others. But the all the concepts bear watching and understanding.
2:23:47 PM
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Tuesday, May 13, 2008 |
I find I'm spending up to 6 hours a day on correspondence. Something's got to give. There may be times you don't get the usual rapid response.
We had about 3 inches of rain last week. But Friday was pretty good and the Mayfest Soccer Tournament ground crew worked all day getting the fields ready. Then it started raining at about 6 pm and rained most of the night. We played in the mud in sunny 70 degree weather Saturday. But it rained again Saturday night, then again from 7 to 8 on Sunday. After much heated argument (over my objection) the tournament committee decided to play at 8. At 9:30 the thunderstorm that our two resident experts said would not hit Sidney did hit Sidney. The rest of the tournament was canceled. Glad that's over. It's a lot of work on my part (and a bunch of others), but about 3,000 kids had fun playing soccer in the mud. We had two parents ejected first thing Saturday. One complained to the tournament director that the referees should be more tolerant of their bad behavior. Had a coach who should have been ejected who still complained to the tournament director. I told the referee in the future to go ahead and eject a coach and I'd back her up. We also ejected a coach for physically fighting with a parent of the other team. For the first time in 13 years I did not have to mediate any disputes.
In a previous post, I complained about the battery life in my Treo 755p. Got a recommendation to try a Seidio extended power battery. I got one. Using it about three weeks now. It's great. Recommended.
I've been reading more and more about the manufacturing delays at Boeing and Airbus. Some of the comments coming about Boeing is the lack of skilled aerospace workers at its far flung suppliers' sites. Hmm, I bet there are about 20,000 skilled aerospace workers in the Seattle area. Maybe Boeing could try using them and getting back on track. I bet they never try a strange experiment like this again. (At least, if any of my funds have Boeing stock, I personally hope they don't.)
In that vein, politicians are bemoaning the loss of manufacturing in the US. Wrong. Manufacturing is growing in the US. Manufacturing jobs are declining because of improved productivity. What we need is more entrepreneurial vision that leads to even more manufacturing plants here. That's how to increase jobs.
I'm writing an article for the July issue of Automation World on the tools manufacturers have available to help them implement manufacturing strategies such as Lean. If you have any cool stories I could share with the readers about this topic, please send a note to gmintchell@automationworld.com.
We received a big rush of registrations for our Automation Forum next week in the Chicago area. There are still a few open spots. The speakers are excellent--plus the OMAC demonstration and seminar on Monday. If you can get free for a trip to Chicago, it'll be well worth it. If you can't get there but are close to Cleveland, I'll be moderating a panel on Wednesday at the ISA Manufacturing/IT summit.
4:52:58 PM
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Thursday, May 8, 2008 |
Someone must be trying to tell me something about focus. First I ran across the Zen Habits post from Monday, then here is something on the subject from David Allen of Getting Things Done fame. I like the idea that you can juggle several things, just make sure you give the immediate task your complete focus.
A single focus is infinitely more productive than a split one.
Commentary
Much like decreasing the diameter of a pipe will increase the strength of the water flowing out of it, the ability to think and do is optimized when focus is concentrated. Trying to focus on two things at once will diminish the results by much more than half. "Multitasking" only works when all but one of the "tasks" is on automatic, such as driving home and wondering when you got there who actually drove! Rapid refocusing (which is what really happens in knowledge-work environments âo[base "] from email to phone to interruptions, etc.) does not hinder productivity, as long as there is a clean break from one task to the next, and you are not retracing steps. Work is diminished when the focus is split, or when refocusing requires having to repeat the reframing of context and content for the next task (as in rereading sentences you've already read to find your place again).
11:09:57 AM
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Wednesday, May 7, 2008 |
Looks like WiMax broadband may become a reality with today's news about Sprint and Clearwire joint venture.
For those of you who are knowledgeable about brand names in this market--GE Fanuc makes a play on words with its new product QuickPanel View. These operator displays, or HMIs, have been updated for better communication with Kepware's technology.
Speaking of Kepware. They've announced an agreement to supply technology for OPC-UA to manufacturing software supplier Iconics.
Congratulations to Moore Industries on achieving 40 years in business.
For you wireless junkies who can't get enough meetings, the 5th Annual IEEE Communications Society Conference on Sensor, Mesh and Ad Hoc Communications and Networks (SECON) will be held June 16 to 20 at the San Francisco Airport Crown Plaza Hotel.
Keeping the wireless network theme, there is another standard known as IEEE 802.11, WiFi. AirMagnet has announced upgrades to its WLAN management, analysis and troubleshooting products, Laptop Analyzer Pro 8.0 and Survey Pro 6.0. The company says that this is the "first comprehensive set of mobile tools specifically designed for pre-deployment planing and ongoing management of 802.11 networks."
Here is a new marketing twist, Axeda, the remote services supplier, now calls itself "the 'OnStar' of the manufacturing industry." It has a new customer, Xeronics, that has embedded Axeda's ServiceLink technology as the gateway to information on equipment in labs across Europe.
11:15:44 AM
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Tuesday, May 6, 2008 |
Just received two press releases from ODVA two weeks after the press conferences. That'll teach me to go to Hannover Messe in Germany so I can get them real-time. In the first announcement, which I heard about last week in conversation from a competitor, ODVA (the Open DeviceNet Vendors Association) has assumed control of all the CIP (common industrial protocol) networks--including EtherNet/IP and Controlnet. Although there was an organization known as Controlnet International that owned the Controlnet protocol and shared the ownership of EtherNet/IP, I don't think I ever heard any news from it or met anyone who admitted to membership. So now, ODVA will own and shepherd all the networks and protocols.
Further, ODVA has announced its 13th annual meeting to be held in Orlando on February 26, 2009. The 12th annual meeting was held in Denver in September, 2007. Although the press release states there will be "multiple days of presentations and training," the only confirmed time right now is 8 to 12 am on Feb. 26.
2:57:13 PM
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Monday, May 5, 2008 |
I just had a chance to talk with the two co-chairs of a new networking standards committee that includes low-power wireless networks. No, not ISA100, but a new committee of the Internet Engineering Task Force. Actually, it is a Working Group chartered with developing a framework for using Internet Protocol (IP)-based routing techniques over low-power, "lossy" networks - networks that wirelessly connect large numbers of sensors and other small, embedded devices in applications ranging from factory automation to the "connected home".
The efforts of the IETF Routing Over Low-power and Lossy Networks (ROLL) Working Group build on recent IETF advances such as those of the IETF 6LoWPAN Working Group (RFC 4944), which addressed the standardization of IP protocols over low-power wireless radios links. The new ROLL group's focus is on developing efficient and interoperable routing protocols that support the use of open-standard, low-power IP networking over a variety of physical links, including IEEE 802.15.4, Bluetooth, Low Power Wi-Fi and wired links. An end-to-end IP-based routing framework will help enable systems of embedded devices that have limited power, memory and processing resources to be connected and managed seamlessly under the IP umbrella regardless of the type of physical links on which they are connected. This contrasts with earlier non-IP architectures that have linked entire networking and routing schemes to a single radio technology.
The IEEE 802.15.4 standard is used as a foundation for WirelessHart, ZigBee and the proposed ISA100. The co-chairs are Jean-Philippe Vasseur, distinguished engineer at Cisco, and David Culler, Ph.D., Arch Rock co-founder and chief technology officer, and professor of computer science at the University of California at Berkeley. In our conversation, they assured me that IETF has mechanisms in place such that they expect to avoid the political maneuverings that are currently plaguing the ISA100 committee. First, people are on the committee as individuals, not as company representatives. Next, they get people on the committee who are focused on getting things done. Finally, they have a document sourcing process in place that spurs collaboration.
"The IP standard is moving at breakneck speed into new spheres such as industrial monitoring, home and building automation, and urban infrastructure networks," said Culler. "But the links and devices in these environments have different characteristics than in the traditional IT-oriented Internet: lower power, bandwidth and processing capability, the need to route around obstructions. Building on earlier IETF work that enabled IP to run efficiently in such environments, it is now critical to specify the most efficient dynamic routing protocols with multi-vendor interoperability in mind. Arch Rock and Cisco share a belief that solutions developed for this new 'embedded tier' of the Internet should naturally extend the ubiquitous IP infrastructure without the protocol translation gateways and proxies that have previously been required to connect non-interoperable legacy networks."
Vasseur said, "The early adoption of open-standard, IP-based solutions made the Internet the incredibly powerful force it is today. Cisco and Arch Rock strongly support the standardization of IP-based routing solutions for low-power networks through ROLL because we believe that adapting the known body of IP routing techniques to a new class of links with specific resource constraints will address the needs of emerging embedded markets far better than non-standard, non-IP approaches. IP has proven to be the open standard for a variety of devices, and the use of IP in low-power networks will enable a variety of new services in connected homes and buildings, factories and smart cities, making the 'Internet of Things' a reality. The objective is to reuse a number of existing IP-based technologies and extend or adapt them only when needed to address the specific requirements of these networks. An interoperable IP-based approach, available over a choice of industry-standard low-power radio networks, will help offer our customers maximum interoperability, deployment flexibility and investment protection at minimum cost."
5:26:04 PM
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In the realm of life habits, I like this post on Zen Habits about 16 ways to keep your (what, I forget, oh, yeah) focus.
5:06:37 PM
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Eric Murphy over at the OPC Exchange Blog (and MatrikonOPC) posts this about what is open and how you assure quality. Food for thought (no, not a reference to the cookies in my last post). I have heard from users that the "standard" OPC from one vendor doesn't necessarily connect with that of another--a real pain point. Looks as if OPC Foundation is looking for a way to deal with as fairly as possible.
5:04:41 PM
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Speaking of corporate blogging, here's a story about how blogging saved a little cookie business in Minneapolis. These new media things can be powerful.
4:58:04 PM
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Congratulations to Jim Cahill for his inclusion in a book on corporate blogging. I do think he does it right. He is presenting at the Emerson Exchange in Washington, D.C. the end of September. I'll try to make it to that talk, but there is so much going on I know it will be tough.
Oh, and I refereed a soccer match between two Mexican teams yesterday. Good match. So happy Cinco de Mayo!
4:49:41 PM
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© Copyright 2008 Gary Mintchell.
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