Webinar Recap: Load Cell Basics
Posted by danstips in Level Technology, Load Cells, Webinar on June 28, 2016
In case you missed May’s webinar with Sartorius Intec on load cells, we’ve put together some of the key points:
Let’s start with the most common weighing element: the strain gauge load cell.
A strain gauge load cell can be found in bench platforms, floor scales, and in some cases, tank and hopper systems. It is the most common load cell used in the weighing industry.
The most common electrical strain gauges are thin, rectangular strips of foil with maze-like wiring patterns on them, leading to a couple of electrical cables. You stick the foil onto the material you are measuring and wire the cables up to your computer or monitoring circuit.
NEW! Quick Start Guide for Precision Digital PD6000 Process Indicator
Posted by danstips in Precision Digital on June 23, 2016
Written by: Dan Weise
In the past decade or so, there’s been a trend towards putting a Quick Start Guide in the product box, probably in response to some bureaucratic requirement for a piece of paper in an era when manuals, references and user guides are generally pdfs on-line or on CD.
I’m the guy who reads that documentation, so I’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly. Most Quick Starts are so scant, they offer very limited value. But, I’ve just read one that rates fabulous in a world of paper documents that rarely warrant anything but a yawn.
What a delightful surprise to open up a Precision Digital PD 6000 process indicator box and find their new Quick Start Guide. A quick flip through the 12 pages revealed it was exactly what I believe a Quick Start should be (and what most aren’t).
Siemens SITRANS FC430 Coriolis Flowmeter Now NTEP-Approved for Custody Transfer
Posted by danstips in Flow, Flowmeters, Siemens on May 2, 2016
Custody transfer flow meters are used to determine how much of a commodity changes hands in exchange for some monetary, financial or other recognized trade consideration.
All custody transfer applications involve at least one buyer and one seller. During custody transfer, accuracy is of great importance to both the company delivering the material and the recipient.
In order to ensure reliable and accurate measurement, devices are certified for custody transfer by a nationally recognized body. For Coriolis flow sensors, custody transfer approvals are mandated by the US National Conference on Weights and Measures office.
Changing the Clock Battery on a Honeywell Paperless Recorder
Posted by danstips in Honeywell, Paperless Recorders, Trendview X-Series Paperless Recorders, Troubleshooting on April 14, 2016
Written by: Dan Weise
The installed base of Honeywell Trendview X series paperless recorders is approaching an in-service period of a decade (introduced mid-2006). Given that kind of service time, you need to be aware of the issues involved in changing the clock battery.
The replaceable clock battery serves as a backup for the on board real-time clock chip as well as the internal battery-backed static RAM. If your paperless recorder is getting old, the battery may ready for a swap-out. If so, you may need a one-day-use access code that only Honeywell can provide, so plan ahead. You don’t want to get locked out of your recorder!
Honeywell Increases Analog/Loop Processing Speed on HC900 Process and Safety Controller
Posted by danstips in Control, Honeywell, Process Automation Controllers, Safety Control on April 6, 2016
Written by: Dan Weise
Good news! Recent upgrades to Honeywell’s HC900 Process and Safety Controller includes a major update to analog/loop processing speeds. Even though analog/loop cycle time has been 500mS since the early 2000s, early versions of the HC900 controller were only capable of a processing speed of 2x/second.
The upgrade to the HC900 CPU’s microprocessor hardware and an associated firmware update broke that processing speed limit for their SIL-rated CPUs. Honeywell C50S and C70S model CPUs v6.1 will now process analog inputs and loops at a rate of 10x/second (100mS per update). If your process needs additional analog/loop throughput speed, you will benefit from these enhancements to the HC900 systems.
To run at 100mS, a qualified hardware configuration is required:
Download Remote Viewer Windows Application for Honeywell Trendview Paperless Recorders
Posted by danstips in Honeywell, Paperless Recorders, Software, Trendview X-Series Paperless Recorders on March 30, 2016
Written by: Dan Weise
One of the strongest attractions of the Trendview paperless recorders has been the ability to check the recorder screen from a desktop without having to be in front of the recorder, what Honeywell calls ‘Remote View’.
QX recorder screen in the Remote Viewer window.
For over a decade, users have been able to use their company’s installed network infrastructure to view data on one or more recorders from their desktop using Internet Explorer (IE). That worked great until Internet Explorer 11 abandoned ‘Active-X’, the component used to update the browser display.
For anyone using Internet Explorer 11, the alternative is a free Windows software application, Remote View Windows, that does exactly the same thing as IE did – it displays a Trendview recorder screen and keeps it updated. It replaces the remote view function formerly done with the Internet Explorer browser and the now unsupported Active-X in IE 11.
