chicago automation fair

Did anyone on here go to the CHicago Automation Fair at McCormick Place?.....If you did what did you think of it?

I went yesterday. I am assuming that the reason to go is the seminars, which I did not attend. At least I hope so.

Other than Rockwell products, I saw very little in the way of demonstration items. The Rockwell booths were crowded and hard to qet your questions answered. I did see some items that I did not know existed.

I stayed about an hour and a half.

Rick Densing said:

I went yesterday. I am assuming that the reason to go is the seminars, which I did not attend. At least I hope so.

Other than Rockwell products, I saw very little in the way of demonstration items. The Rockwell booths were crowded and hard to qet your questions answered. I did see some items that I did not know existed.

I stayed about an hour and a half.

Click to expand...

I'm still here.
Two items have my interest:

1 - Ethernet Kinetix to replaces SERCOS, release with V18
2 - 1756-XXXH Hart analog input/output cards now a fully supported Rockwell product

I am amazed at how the staff of the McCormick Place can feed 7-10,000 people with such efficiency @ lunch

>I am amazed at how the staff of the McCormick Place can feed 7-10,000 people with such efficiency @ lunch

Truly a prodigious feat. Incredible. I likewise am amazed. At 12:15 today, zenith of the lunch hour, there was no waiting. I counted 21 server tables! Incredible. I'd guess that the seating area for lunch was nearly equal in area to the exhibit area.

I'm an instrument guy so I was in awa of the massive E&H 10" coriolis meter they brought in a on skid. What a monster.

>1756-XXXH Hart analog input/output cards now a fully supported Rockwell product

I missed that. I saw the Prosoft Hart module, but not the Rockwell.

I did see that Kevin Roach (an RA VP whose identity is apparently sometimes confused with Ken Roach, a participant on this forum) doing a presentation, but didn't stay.

Dan

danw said:

>I am amazed at how the staff of the McCormick Place can feed 7-10,000 people with such efficiency @ lunch

Truly a prodigious feat. Incredible. I likewise am amazed. At 12:15 today, zenith of the lunch hour, there was no waiting. I counted 21 server tables! Incredible. I'd guess that the seating area for lunch was nearly equal in area to the exhibit area.

I'm an instrument guy so I was in awa of the massive E&H 10" coriolis meter they brought in a on skid. What a monster.

>1756-XXXH Hart analog input/output cards now a fully supported Rockwell product

I missed that. I saw the Prosoft Hart module, but not the Rockwell.

I did see that Kevin Roach (an RA VP whose identity is apparently sometimes confused with Ken Roach, a participant on this forum) doing a presentation, but didn't stay.

Dan

Click to expand...

This is the card, there was also a technical workshop with Rockwell and E & H regarding this

1756-IF8H Allen-Bradley own Hart analog input card. As well as analog output card 1756- (i don't remember a number )).
Right now I'm working to implement as mutch "Hart" features as I can possibly utilize in my project.
Hart hard standard features - deliver 4 process variables from smart transmitter over Hart link, Hart communication diagnostics, possibility to review some of transmitter's data (using RSLogix5000).
But most of all - use of CIP messaging is allowing to create a custom program to deal with Hart transmitters from HMI !!!
I'm currently working on such program and made this work. I'm programming major transmitter parameters such as Low/High range values, Tag name, damping time, zeroing using HMI interface.

I've seen people use the "transmitter body temperature secondary variable" as a troubleshooting tool on DP transmitters used as hot fluid flow transmitter to see if the xmtr body temp is at some reasonably elevated temperature, rather than at a low ******t temperature, indicating that the transmitter is in a section of pipe that's been shutdown or bypassed.

Those who use Coriolis meters can and do get multiple variables as well.

I haven't run into an HMI that does HART zero adjust from the HMI. Why would a zero shift enough to make it an HMI adjustment? Current technology smart transmitters don't drift enough to measure zero shift. Does zero drift occur in your process?

If you put zero adjust into the HMI, won't idle fingers play with it?
Dan

As a part of my work, I'm involve into a lot of start ups including both - instrument and control aspects of it. As part of such procedure, programming/verifying multiple smart transmitters is a necessary part of my duties. Smart communicator is bulky and require manual connection to each analog loop, so I developed HMI answer to it - thanx to Hart analog modules.
As far as necessity in zero reset - it is always a problem with low level pressure transmitters. Specially involved in air flow measurement. Always have to readjust it. And secondary - even entering Tag ID into Hart transmitter directly from HMI - isn't it much easier?

I was there too. Our distributor put us up and entertained us. It was quite the event.

I'm amazed at the scale of the whole thing. I can't imagine the money involved in that whole thing.

Anybody see the booth with that servo controlled gadget that would pick up the black pucks and move them to the conveyor? For some reason, that amazed me. Also at the Festo booth, they had those "muscle" actuators. Those were trick too. They were controlling the race simulator with them. Then they had the demo where the pin would knock over the cams and a ridiculous speed!

val_99 said:

As far as necessity in zero reset - it is always a problem with low level pressure transmitters. Specially involved in air flow measurement. Always have to readjust it.

Click to expand...

Yes, at low levels. Furnace pressure or clean room positive pressure control by any chance?

val_99 said:

And secondary - even entering Tag ID into Hart transmitter directly from HMI - isn't it much easier?

Click to expand...

Since tags are very basic elements in tag based systems, the ability to change a tag name should only reside at an engineering level. To me, that's development level access, not operator level access. A tag name changed inadvertently on a tag based system could make an expensive batch worthless without its accompanying data.

A sero adjust is understandably an operator function, but assigning or altering a tag? I'd be leery of the consequences.

Dan

I'm not looking for giving to operator any configuration features I have developed. Of course engineering access level or similiar would be required in order to perform transmitter configuration. Operator may only monitor the interface data. Main reason - to free myself from using smart communicator every time I need it. Now I may perform basic configuration of transmitters during startup directly from HMI screen.

As someone else mentioned it was tough getting close to the Rockwell booths, very crowded. I went to a technical session on saving money using VFDs. I wasn't very impressed; I thought it would be technical in nature (Technical session) but was not. I didn't learn anything new. Not sure what I was expecting.

I did a test drive of the new FactoryTalkMetrics (previously PlantMetrics) and enjoyed that. The speakers were very good and knew their stuff. I had half a dozen questions I've been saving up about some issues I've been having with PlantMetics and they were able to address all my concerns in a matter of minutes.

Overall I enjoyed the Fair and I'm always amazed at the logistics of the event. That's a lot of equipment to ship in and set-up for a couple of days. But I'd say my favourite one that I attended is still Long Beach. I miss the shirt cannon, probably ended up in the backyard of one of RA guys used for blasting his neighbor with water balloons!

dmroeder said:

I'm amazed at the scale of the whole thing. I can't imagine the money involved in that whole thing.

Click to expand...

I heard from our distributor that the two lunches cost approx $750K

curlyandshemp said:

I heard from our distributor that the two lunches cost approx $750K

Click to expand...

It's a smart move. The show is 2 days, less than 16 total hours for attendees to be there. If attendees leave for an hour and a half or two hours mid day to get a lunch, it eats up what, 25%, of the attendance time.

Providing lunch keeps people on site, a captive audience. Very smart move.

Dan