The latest general meeting of the IICA in Sydney, which took place at Strathfield Golf Club in mid-April, featured a presentation by Manny Romero, the director of ETM Pacific, who explained how the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is changing the control system environment. Romero began by addressing the inherent woolliness of the concept of … Continue reading Explaining the process: IIoT and the future of control systems →

The Hydrogen and Mines Summit brought has together almost 200 delegates to explore the opportunities renewable hydrogen presents for the mining sector. The summit was attended by representatives from a number of global companies, including FMG, BHP, Baker Hughes GE, ENGIE, Rio Tinto, South 32, ATCO, Woodside, Caltex and Yara. Applications for hydrogen in the … Continue reading Hydrogen and Mines Summit explores opportunities for hydrogen industry in WA →

Western Australia’s top information and communications technology (ICT) talent has been showcased at the 28th annual WA Information Technology and Telecommunications Alliance (WAITTA) INCITE Awards. The contributions of individuals and organisations were celebrated across a wide variety of categories. Innovation in the health care industry was a particular highlight, with The University of Western Australia’s … Continue reading Innovations in the WA ICT sector recognised at the 28th WAITTA Awards →

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is providing $3 million in funding to Port Gregory Wind Farm (PGWF) to build a grid-connected wind, solar and lithium-ion battery project to power a remote mine in Western Australia. The project will consist of a hybrid 2.5 MW wind farm, 1 MW solar farm and a 2 MW/0.5 … Continue reading ARENA funds solar, wind and battery project to power mining operations →

35 Open Integration partners gathered together at Endress+Hauser in Reinach, Switzerland, to share their experiences and thoughts for the first time. A highlight of the event was a presentation from representatives of the chemical and pharmaceutical industries outlining how they benefit from the partner program during digitalisation of their processes – and what they would … Continue reading Open Integration partners meet to discuss digitalisation →

Australia’s largest integrated battery and solar farm is now storing clean energy from the Gannawarra Solar Farm and providing power to the Victoria’s energy grid. The Andrews Labor Government invested $25 million into two large batteries in North Western Victoria, including the Gannawarra Energy Storage System – a 25-megawatt/50-megawatt hour system using Tesla batteries which … Continue reading Gannawarra battery now operating in North Western Victoria →

Two new automation courses are to be offered by South Metropolitan TAFE in Perth from the second half of 2019, the first outcome of the Resource Industry Collaboration between the Western Australian government, South Metropolitan TAFE and Rio Tinto. The Certificate II in Autonomous Workplace Operations will be delivered as a pilot VET for secondary … Continue reading Two new automation courses to be offered in WA →

South East Queensland’s Water Grid will be used to supplement north Brisbane’s water supply over June and July while the North Pine Water Treatment Plant goes offline for maintenance and upgrade works. The SEQ Water Grid will be used to move water from the Sunshine Coast dams and Wivenhoe Dam as an alternative supply. The … Continue reading SEQ Water Grid steps in during North Pine Water Treatment Plant maintenance →

The AMP8000 distributed Servo Drive system provides ideal support for the implementation of modular machine designs. For this purpose, a servo drive has been directly integrated into a servomotor, all in a highly compact design. In this way, the power electronics are relocated to the machine, reducing space requirements in control cabinets to just a … Continue reading Integrated drive technology minimises control cabinet space and optimises machine design →

One of the time-consuming tasks in electrical cabinet building is cutting out rectangular holes in which to mount process indicators and controllers. PACE explains how Akytec displays make installation easier. Akytec manufacture a series of attractive, compact programmable process indicators with a 4 digit 7 segment 24x 48mm LED Display. What sets the displays apart … Continue reading Ocean Controls presents easily mounted displays and controllers →

Schneider Electric has announced its new connected Easergy P5, part of the PowerLogic master range of intelligent devices, to meet the demanding energy needs of electricity companies in the Internet of Things (IoT) era. The Easergy P5 has been engineered to provide protection and control of critical assets with an unparalleled digital experience. It unites … Continue reading Schneider Electric releases new IoT solution →

Vega has been a leader in radar level transmitters for over 20 years, continuing to offer improvements to the process control sector. PACE explains how the transmitters have changed over the years. The use of the radar level transmitter for the process industry started back in 1991. These were extremely large units and operated with … Continue reading How Vega has led the way in radar level transmitters →

The federal Department of Industry, Innovation and Science is soliciting feedback and comments as part of its review of the safety regime for offshore oil and gas workers in Commonwealth waters. The Department’s discussion paper can be accessed on its online Consultation Hub, with comments to be submitted before 23 July. The discussion paper provides … Continue reading Federal government undertaking review of oil and gas safety regime →

The Queensland government will invest an extra $15 million over seven years to establish a Defence Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Trusted Autonomous Systems. The funds, contained in the Palaszczuk government’s 2019 state budget, will see the creation of a national hub for high-tech drone design and manufacturing in Queensland, said state innovation minister Kate … Continue reading QLD Budget delivers funds for Defence research centre and TAFE facilities →

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has announced its third equity investment in a large-scale renewable energy development, with a $51 million stake in Victoria’s 200MW (AC) Kiamal Solar Farm. The investment extends the CEFC’s push into equity following earlier investments in Queensland’s Ross River Solar Farm and Tasmania’s Granville Harbour Wind Farm. The Kiamal … Continue reading CEFC announces $51 million equity investment in Kiamal Solar Farm →

Australian researchers and businesses can receive up to $50,000 funding from the federal government to take their products global under round four of the Global Connections Fund (GCF) Bridging Grants. Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews said the grants are designed to strengthen international partnerships between small businesses and researchers. “The grants will … Continue reading Government grants now open for partnerships between small businesses and researchers →

Accelerometers are critical in establishing a well-functioning condition monitoring system. PACE takes a look at a new portable accelerometer calibrator, the 28959G. The era of automation has elevated the role of sensors to a new high.  Sensors are now key components within manufacturing processes and within infrastructure control systems helping engineers to maximise productivity, minimise … Continue reading Using accelerometers in condition monitoring →

The Australian Space Agency is seeking the views of researchers and businesses on the application of the federal government’s International Space Investment (ISI) initiative. The government announced the initiative in its 2018-19 Budget under the Australian Technology and Science Growth Plan, which committed to providing $15 million over three years from 2019-20 to support strategic … Continue reading Government seeking advice on space industry funding strategy →

Will robots take our jobs? Or will they provide new opportunities for better working conditions for manufacturing workers? In his presentation at AUSPACK 2019, Universal Robots’ Peter Hern said the introduction of collaborative robots into firms is bringing the human element back in an age of machines and computers. AUSPACK 2019, Australia’s largest packaging and … Continue reading Overtaking Industry 4.0: the coming of the cobots →

The federal government will provide $8.5 million in funding for Australia’s cyber security sector in the second round of AustCyber’s Projects Fund. Announcing the opening of the second round of AustCyber’s Projects Fund, Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews encouraged companies that can make a significant contribution to the sector to apply. “Australia’s … Continue reading Cyber security sector to receive $8.5 million in federal government funding →