Velaro High Speed Train Tour Video

Siemens and its consortium of partners is promoting the world’s fastest and most successful high-speed train on a multi-city tour throughout Florida. Florida is about to make U.S. transportation history as the first state to create a high-speed rail network with trains connecting some of its metropolitan areas at speeds of up to 220 mph. View a short video that reveals a bold vision of high-speed rail travel within Florida and the U.S.Once you’ve viewed the video,... Read More

RFID Moves into Higher Gear

Move to UHF brings benefits, but has many challenges The RFID technology that’s made solid inroads into industrial applications in recent years may undergo a significant change over the next few years. UHF technologies that are being used in the supply chain by groups as diverse as Wal Mart and the Dept. of Defense may be moving into the factory. High frequency RF tags have gained acceptance in automation systems based on their technical benefits. HF tags work better than UHF... Read More

Understanding Arc Safety can Save Lives

Arcs are a too-common by-product of working with live equipment. They have the potential to kill, but workers can be protected. Arc faults have been creating damage for more than a century, but interest in preventing injury caused by arc explosions in high voltage environments is on the rise. OSHA is getting stricter about enforcement, and awareness of the potential danger is growing. In 2007, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration adopted NFPA 70E-2000 into the Regulations... Read More

The Five Easy Pieces of Network Installation

Breaking network installation into segments makes the job easier to manage Setting up an industrial network and getting it running is one of the most critical aspects of modern factories. But this complex task can be easier to manage when it’s broken down into manageable tasks. In most applications, the job can be segmented using the five steps common to many industrial projects. Design is the first, and it’s generally the most time-consuming since it sets the stage for those... Read More

SIRIUS Innovations: Efficient. Flexible. Connected.

The SIRIUS Innovations line of power control products incorporates sustainable elements resulting in efficient space and simplified assembly for labor savings while reducing power consumption to give you maximum control over your energy management system. The line from the Siemens Industry Automation Division will be released in early 2011 and also offers an industry first by offering IO-Link communication modules. These modules dramatically reduce control wiring and quickly... Read More

More Performance and Expanded Functions for Mid-range and High-range Controllers

The Siemens Industry Automation Division has innovated and expanded its portfolio of mid-range (S7-300) and high-range (S7-400) SIMATIC controllers, adding new functionality and increasing performance. The recently innovated hardware/firmware in these controller lines is version 3.x for the S7-300 controllers and 6.x for the S7-400 controllers.  Innovations vary from model to model, but include speed/memory increases (up to a factor of 2x), simplified maintenance and diagnostic... Read More

New Fail-safe CPUs for both Large (S7-400) and Distributed (ET200) Controller Classes

Safety and reliability are two of the leading requirements in today’s factories. The Siemens Industry Automation Division is unveiling a pair of fail-safe CPUs for a range of applications in manufacturing facilities. The new CPU 414F-3 PN/DP for the SIMATIC S7-400 product line has all the functionality of the standard CPU 414-3 PN/DP, but is also safety integrated, adding a new cost effective option for “mid-performance” range safety applications in the S7-400 controller... Read More