Automation Inside Awards 2014 – Winners have been announced!

Automation Inside Awards 2014 – Winners have been announced!

The first Automation Inside Readers’ Choice Awards have reached the final stage and the winners have been announced. This was the first edition and it has been a huge success. Here are some statistics of this edition of the Automation Inside Awards:

  • 21 Automation Companies Nominated
  • 26 Automation Products and Solutions Nominated
  • Hundreds of Votes
  • Votes from 36 Countries

Thanks for your participation this year and we are looking forward to your participation next year.

Here are the WINNERS. Congratulations!


Best Automation Company 2014 - First Place

Custom Sensors & Technologies (France)
Custom Sensors & Technologies (CST) is a specialist in designing and manufacturing sensing, control and motion products.

Focused on premium value offers and committed to excellence, CST, with 4.500 employees worldwide and sales of $600M US in 2013, is the dependable and adaptable partner for the most demanding customers.

Through its brands, BEI Kimco, BEI Sensors, BEI PSSC, Crouzet, Crydom, Kavlico, Newall and Systron Donner Inertial, CST offers customizable, reliable and efficient components for mission-critical systems in Aerospace & Defence, Transportation, Energy & Infrastructure, Medical, Food and Beverage and Building Equipment markets.

The Crouzet Automation brand, the foothold of CST in the Automation world, is a pioneer in the simplification of programming and is supported by an experienced technical team. The brand offers the easiest-to-use and most adaptable alternative automation solution for specialized and demanding needs.
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Best Automation Company 2014 - Second Place

HBM Test and Measurement (Germany)
Test and measurement systems and solutions for the world of automation: For many decades, the name HBM has been synonymous with outstanding precision, usability and innovation, in production measurement technology too.

Benefit from the integrated complete solution comprising sensor, signal conditioner and software that perfectly integrates with your existing automation environments: Sensors for measuring mechanical quantities such as strain, force, weight, pressure, displacement and torque; Signal conditioners for production monitoring and production-related test benches (e.g. end-of-line-tests) - equipped with the interfaces required for common automation environments - including Industrial Ethernet, Profibus, Profinet, EtherCAT, CC-LINK; Production control software - providing many trigger and filter functions.
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Best Automation Company 2014 - Third Place

Zemic Europe B.V. (Netherlands)
ZEMIC is one of world leaders in the development and manufacturing of straingages, loadcells and miniature sensors. Established in 1965 in China with subsidiaries in Europe and USA. Zemic manufactures in a 90000m2 high-tec plant with a capacity to produce 30 million strain gages, 5 million sensors and 1 million industrial load cells with capacities of 5 gram up to 500 Ton.

The R&D staff of more than 200 engineers is supporting our worldwide relations with new developments and custom build sensors. Zemic is a ISO9000 certified company gained OIML, CE, NTEP, ATEX, FM and NTEP certificates. Our products are produced according RoHS directives. In order to assure customer satisfaction Six Sigma management has been implemented.

Zemic Europe is committed to create value in order to assist our customers to differentiate its products in their market. We believe we make you stronger!

Main Products: Load cells, mounts, weigh pads, miniature sensors, strain gages, weight indicators and weight transmitters. Weighing components for Silo weighers, Static weighers, Truck scales, Weighbridges, Weighing hopper, Weighing systems, Weighing tanks.
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Best Control System 2014

em4 remote PLC
Custom Sensors & Technologies (France) - The first all-in-one solution to bring your application into the Internet of Things:
  • First PLC capable of fleet management including map localization
  • Highly secured solution, using e-banking practices and infrastructure
  • Only one device to program via a unique software, em4 soft

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Best Robot 2014

Delta Robot
Omron Automation and Safety (USA) - Omron’s integrated Sysmac robotics solution offers the capability to integrate machine control, motion, remote I/O, HMI, safety, vision and robotics all in one controller, over one network, and using one programming software. The Omron Sysmac NJ Machine Automation Controller (MAC) is the core of this system architecture and based on the high speed EtherCAT network, providing optimal motion performance for demanding pick and place applications. Up to eight delta robots can be controlled by one Sysmac NJ.

Our new Omron Delta solution allows you to build very efficient throughput machines that can handle up to 200 picking operations a minute, per robot. The delta robot uses Omron’s G5 servo motors to reduce settling time, thanks in part to the high frequency response of these high-end servos.

The Omron FQ-M vision sensor is designed specifically for motion applications and is able to detect the position of several pieces moving on a conveyor at very high speeds, increasing the overall throughput of the machine. Safety is also integrated with Omron’s NX Safety by using FailSafe over EtherCAT (FsoE) protocol. Omron's new NA HMI completes the solution.

All the components, safety, robotics, vision, & HMI are programmed via single programming software - Sysmac Studio. Never before has there been a solution that integrates machine control, vision, HMI, safety, and robotics using one programming software with one connection.
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Best Sensor 2014

C10 Force Sensor
HBM Test and Measurement (Germany) - With the C10 compressive force sensor installed in your test bench or production you are on the safe side. The compact sensor guarantees maximum precision - offering 75 ppm TC0 and excellent linearity and hysteresis values.

The compressive force transducer's core is optimally protected from external influences such as dirt and moisture: The C10 stainless steel versions fitted with the optional 'integrated cable' achieve the IP68 degree of protection.

It's your choice: C10 offers 2304 different configuration options. Many sizes, adapters, integrated cables and the TEDS transducer electronic data sheet are available making the force sensor unbelievably flexible to use. Be it in propulsion, end-of-line or drop tests. Our commitment is to provide quality to enable you to make your application precise, flexible and robust. An investment that pays off - C10 offers an attractive price and high performance.
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Best Measurement System 2014

PMX Measurement and Control System
HBM Test and Measurement (Germany) - Advanced lab measurement technology from HBM, perfectly designed for use in modern production: PMX is the leading data acquisition and control system for use in production lines and industrial test benches.

PMX enables professional and precise acquisition of force, torque, vibration, pressure, strain, temperature, voltage, current, frequency, speed, angle of rotation, rotational direction and many other quantities.

All channels are rated with 38,400 samples per second. With 16 measuring channels and 32 calculating channels, PMX as a whole is rated up to 400,000 values per second.
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Best Automation Software 2014

InduSoft Web Studio
InduSoft, Inc. (USA) - InduSoft Web Studio® is a powerful collection of automation tools that provide all the automation building blocks to develop HMI, SCADA systems and embedded instrumentation solutions. Over 240 native communication drivers allow you to easily connect to a wide variety of PLCs and controllers, and the full feature set includes everything from alartms, trends, reports, recipes, historian integration, database connectivity, and more. InduSoft integrated Web technologies allow you to deploy your HMI almost anywhere, and access your project from mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.
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Best Motion System 2014

Gold Twitter - NANO Servo Drive Provides over 4000 Qualitative Watts
Elmo Motion Control (Israel) - Elmo’s Gold Twitter, a new NANO ultra-high power servo drive weighs a mere 18 grams (less than 1 ounce) and is less than 13 cm3 in volume. Delivering up to 4,000 qualitative watts, an ultra-high current of 50A/100V with advanced servo capabilities, Gold Twitter supports EtherCAT or CANopen fieldbus communication and is compliant with international safety, EMC and environmental standards and high safety STO (Safety Torque Off) certification.

This advanced, high power density servo drive provides top performance, advanced networking and built-in safety, as well as a fully featured motion controller and local intelligence.

The Gold Twitter is ready for deployment in a variety of application configurations specifically for those that require very high servo performance, high efficiency, utmost reliability and are limited in space. This ultra-small and ultra-efficient Gold Twitter is designed to be mounted on a PCB thus saving space and considerable costs in hardware and cabling.

The Gold Twitter is available in a variety of models. There are multiple power rating options, different communication options, a number of feedback options and different I/O configuration possibilities.

Based on the premise that “the best way to dissipate heat is not to generate it in the first place,” the Gold Twitter incorporates proprietary “Fast and Soft Switching Technology” resulting in >99% efficiency yet negligible EMI.
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Best Network Technology 2014

S3EC : Sercos/EtherCAT-Bridge
CANNON-Automata (Germany) - The Sercos®/EtherCAT-Bridge from CANNON-Automata bridges the gap between Sercos and EtherCAT Real-time Ethernet Networks.

Both Sercos and EtherCAT have established oneself as high-performance Ethernet-based communication standards and are used in a variety of different applications. The two busses are also encountered more and more often as internal communication platform for intelligent sub-systems like robots and assembly or transport systems. With the Sercos/EtherCAT-Bridge from CANNON-Automata it is now possible to connect Sercos and EtherCAT masters and to transmit data bidirectional in real-time within heterogeneous real-time Ethernet communication structures. Multi-master applications are now easy to handle, the constraint to a homogeneous bus structure is eliminated.

The Sercos/EtherCAT-Bridge is represented on both busses as IO device. The width of the real-time data is flexibly configurable in the range of 32 to 2048 bytes and can be adapted to the needs of various applications. Copying the data between the two buses is supported by hardware and is executed within one communication cycle. In addition to the application-specific IO data information about communication status and diagnostic data of the Sercos or EtherCAT bus is transferred to the respective other side. This allows a fast reaction of the two masters on changes of the communication state or on error events.

Beside the real-time data channel the device also supports a bidirectional channel for asynchronous data transmission. On the Sercos side this mailbox mechanism is represented by IDNs which are readable and writeable over the service channel. From the EtherCAT side the mailboxes are accessible over CoE objects or VoE protocol.

The device is carried out as compact module for DIN-rail mounting. For both Sercos and EtherCAT two RJ45 ports are available. A further RJ45 connector at the front side serves as standard Ethernet port. Over this interface devices can communicate with other devices connected to the real-time busses using the respective mechanisms (UCC channel and EoE protocol). The IEEE 1588 master also available on this interface can be used for clock synchronization.
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Best Packaging System 2014

HI 4050 CW Checkweigher
Hardy Process Solutions (USA) - Give Your Check Weighing an EDGE. How important is using a Hardy Check Weighing bundle in your process? We’ve done the math for you:
  • Your system produces 250 cans packs per minute with an uptime of 85%/year.
  • Overfill is 2 grams per pack.
  • Product cost of $0.001 per gram.
  • Overfill cost per year = $223,380
  • Reduction of just 1 gram overfill per pack =$111,690 savings per year.
The high speed HI 4050CW check weighing system can process up to 250 high resolution (1:30:000) weight measurements per second. The 4050CW consists of a special version of the HI 4050 weight controller connected to up to four analog load cells and a Hardy junction box or a to a high speed Digital Sensor Point (DSP) via a digital interface card.

4050CW is perfect for building new systems for either static or dynamic check weighing or retrofitting the weight electronics of older, less reliable systems.

The 4050CW breaks the traditional analog strain gauge “speed barrier”, without the cost of MFR (Magnetic Force Restoration or other similar high speed/resolution technologies) yet it still delivers accuracies of up to 0.01% of full sensor capacity.

OPEN PLATFORM: The HI 4050CW system is made of Commercially Available Off the Shelf (COTS) parts that are easy to understand, maintain and troubleshoot. Connect to your plant-wide system using standard protocols such as EtherNet/IP, Devicenet, ControlNet, Allen-Bradley® Remote I/O, Profibus-DP, Modbus TCP/IP, or Analog. It features a lower Total Cost of Ownership because it's simple to use, calibrate, integrate, and maintain. A Rockwell Add-On-Profile makes it easy to configure with RSLogix.

AUTOMATIC EDGE DETECTION: Smart features of the HI 4050CW include EDGE detection, an algorithm that optimizes when weight readings are captured:
  • Automatic EDGE detection starts weight processing the instant a load settles onto the scale by monitoring changes in the signal waveform from connected load point.
  • Also works in conjunction with up to two additional external sensors such as photo-eyes to optimize process timing of weight readings.
DIGITAL CERAMIC SENSOR: The Hardy ADVANTAGE® DSP is a high speed, high resolution, shock resistant sensor designed for industrial applications requiring a fast, accurate and repeatable response to changes in weight.

ANALOG: Connect the HI 4050CW to up to four ADVANTAGE® load points and a Hardy IT junction box for high speed, high resolution weight readings compatible with Hardy's C2 calibration.
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Best Data Logger/Analyzer 2014

Kilo Net D6: Power Quality Energy Analyzer and Wi-Fi Web Data Manager
AKSE - ELECTREX (Italy) - The management of energy efficiency and power quality in the big / medium-sized buildings of private or public companies.

The Kilo net D6 Q is a Power Quality Energy Analyzer and Wi-Fi Web Data Manager including power quality analysis. It is the optimal solution for: continuous monitoring (e.g. ISO 50001); energy efficiency projects (e.g. 2012-27-EU-Directive and the Energy Efficiency Certificates); power quality analysis (harmonics campaign, peaks, dips, interruptions, etc.).

The Kilo net D6 Q is characterized by an open platform, high performance, reliability and various connectivity possibilities (Ethernet, Wi-Fi, RS485, E-Wi, NFC, etc.).
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Best Electrical Product 2014

LÜTZE LCOS
Friedrich Lütze GmbH (Germany) - Open, modular, universal.

LÜTZE has introduced a new electronics housing, the LCOS, which is an intelligent housing solution that can be individually adapted to the requirements of the control cabinet.

The LCOS from LÜTZE is a IP20 housing system that can be used for both modular housings or as a stand-alone solution; it can also be expanded into a complete modular I/O system via the toll-free connection of data or energy modules. The LCOS electronic housing is based on a device carrier that holds the separate housings or the plug-in function units. The patented four-wire bus allows the field side to be supplied with up to 16 A of nominal current per conductor. This facilitates the realisation of three-phase functions with an operating voltage of 500 V or also 24 V applications with a current load of DC 64 A. The LÜTZE electronic housing LCOS has UL-approval and can therefore be used worldwide. The temperature application range lies between -40° C and +85° C. On the basis of the various approvals and fire tests, such as V-0, NFF I2 and NFF F2, the LCOS housing is also suitable for use in rough ambient conditions.

Various models allow individual solutions.
If the LCOS housing system is used in a modular way, plug-in data or power modules with supply options supply power to the system and allow the creation of a data and power bus. The modules are interchangeable so that four results are possible: 2x data; 2x power, 1x power/data, 1x data/power. A further advantage: The connection between the modules does not need to be wired, it is connected via insulated bridges. The LCOS function housing is available in four models: Either as a housing that is 22.5 mm or 35 mm wide, or alternatively with or without side terminals. In combination with the supply the construction width is 57.5 or 70 mm. The LCOS housing is equipped with three standard markers so that a total of 18 characters can be used for labelling purposes. As an additional service, LÜTZE supplies both customised front plates and also individual colours to implement the Corporate Identity of the device manufacturer.

Thanks to 64 freely selectable codes, it is impossible to connect the modules incorrectly. They are connected directly to the carrier rail via PE contacts. Regardless of the housing configuration, the LCOS system has 42 connection points. The data bus is equipped for future purposes with 12 data contacts to allow the individual design of the device communication system e.g. the connection of the power modules or bus-capable load monitoring modules.
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Best Cabinet Solution 2014

LÜTZE LSC AirSTREAM
Friedrich Lütze GmbH (Germany) - Less heat problems with actively controllable and targeted routing of cooling air in the control cabinet with the new LSC AirSTREAM.

The LSC AirSTREAM wiring system provides an actively controllable and thus targeted flow control of the cooling air in the control cabinet.

A total of 10 patents, and various research results from the “Innovation Alliance Green Car Body Technologies,“ have contributed to this state-of-the-art air conditioning concept. Special feature: the construction of a conventional control cabinet uses a backplate for component mounting and cable trunking is used to provide wire routing. The LSC AirSTREAM system separates the mounting and wiring in two planes and this design allows the air to circulate as there is space behind the frame which can be used for circulation of cool air. The air flows over the components on the front of the frame and dissipates the heat efficiently as the air can flow freely around all components. This creates permanent air circulation in the cabinet. Hotspots behind and in front of the components can now be dissolved through the additional installation of flow guiding components, so-called AirBLADES.

With LSC AirSTREAM, the user can utilise significantly smaller cooling systems (heat exchangers, compression cooling devices) due to the efficient use of the cooling airflow for dissipating the lost heat. From a cooling perspective, backplate construction restricts airflow and the cable trunking creates hot spots. Combining the minimisation of the energy consumption used for cooling control cabinets with the optimum integration of LÜTZE AirSTREAM air conditioning unit, in addition to preventing formation of heat pockets by using intelligent airflow, significantly contributes to reducing CO² emissions and increase operation and system safety. Apart from the energy reduction, this also results in a significant increase in service life of the electronic devices used in the control cabinet.
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No winners for the Best Embedded System/HMI 2014

No winners for the Best Identification Technology 2014

No winners for the Best Encoder 2014

No winners for the Best Signaling System 2014

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