Software and Information Technology
GC/MS Software Suite Increases Productivity
Lab Forms 2.5 is a suite of gas chromatography / mass spectrometry (GC/MS) software designed for applications in environmental, clinical research and forensic toxicology, food safety, and general QA/QC laboratories. The suite includes three analysis and reporting software components. QuanLab Forms enables users to perform high-throughput quantitative and semi-quantitative GC/MS experiments. EnviroLab Forms assists environmental laboratories in balancing high productivity and throughput with strict quality-control standards. ToxLab Forms provides an intuitive, workflow-oriented approach to GC/MS acquisition, analysis and reporting in clinical research or forensic toxicology.
Appeared In Issue: February 2009
Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.
www.thermofisher.com
Interoperability Test Kit Update Expands Hardware and Software Support
Version 5.1 of H1 Interoperability Test Kit (ITK) supports temperature transducer blocks, device description 5.1 functionality, and field diagnostics profiles, enhancing organization and integration of device diagnostics (DD) within the manufacturer’s fieldbus systems. The kit verifies the functionality of an H1 (31.25 kbit/s) device and its conformity with the Foundation Fieldbus function block and transducer block specifications. It troubleshoots and debugs devices, and includes all hardware and software that are required to ensure complete device interoperability. The DD 5.1 enhancements include a cross-block device description, National Instruments (NI) communication driver 3.2.2, an updated viewer, and support for the FF-904 temperature transducer block specification (single and dual sensor) and FF-912 field diagnostics profile specification.
Appeared In Issue: February 2009
Fieldbus Foundation
www.fieldbus.org
Software Reports Plant-Floor Data on the Web
The VantagePoint addition to FactoryTalk Integrated Production and Performance Suite allows users to configure web-based dashboards, trends and reports without requiring expensive, time-consuming support resources. Its easy-to-use interface reduces installation times to as little as a few hours, which allows virtually immediate access for monitoring and management of productivity, as well as control over high-profile operations such as energy efficiency and global supply-chain execution. It handles applications from maintenance and production to quality to enterprise and supply-chain planning. It incorporates the manufacturer’s recently acquired IncuityEMI technology, which provides a data-modeling framework that is both flexible and extendable, and can capture and maintain complex relationships between a virtually unconstrained set of data sources.
Appeared In Issue: February 2009
Rockwell Automation
www.ra.rockwell.com
FEA Software Upgrades Modeling, Analysis and Presentation Tools
The latest version of ALGOR finite element analysis (FEA) software, V23, significantly upgrades its computer-aided engineering (CAE) tools. It has “smart” bonded contact with multi-point constraints that bond the surfaces of unmatched meshes, which makes hand-built models easier to tie together and computer-aided design (CAD) models easier to mesh. It includes a utility that generates vertices and beams to replace non-essential surfaces to reduce model size for quicker analysis. It allows multiple prescribed velocities for fluid-flow analysis to be defined using separate load curves to increase control and flexibility. Its upgraded analysis features include: expanded implementation of multifrontal massively parallel solver (MUMPS) for distributed memory systems on both Linux and Windows clusters; and improved 2-D steady fluid-flow analysis, especially for cases involving high Reynolds numbers and turbulence. The evaluation and presentation of results are enhanced through: an ability to display stress and strain results for midside nodes; beam code checking for mechanical event simulation (MES) to verify compliance with industry-standard AISC ASD structural code; and improved report generation with the ability to save selected results directly to the report as a customizable appendix.
Appeared In Issue: February 2009
ALGOR, Inc.
www.algor.com
Tool Builds Intelligent Models from Point Cloud Data
The CADWorx fieldPipe for CloudWorx tool facilitates building intelligent, specification-driven models by bringing point-cloud scan readings from Leica Cloudworx into the CADWorx fieldPipe model. The program calculates the center and diameter of the pipe run by selecting one point on the surface of a pipe cylinder. With all parameters set, the user can accurately place piping components using the point cloud data in the model. Intelligent deliverables, such as clash-free models, isometrics, and bills of materials, can be extracted directly from the model without requiring separate, additional models.
Appeared In Issue: February 2009
COADE
http://www.coade.com