Switches Indicators & Gauges

Process control is a statistics and engineering regulation that deals with structural design, mechanisms, and algorithms for controlling the output of a specific process. General process controllers have always been high cost items, however, Semrad Pty Ltd have created the Unicont PM-300 series; universal process controllers incorporate at an affordable price.

Features

Features of the Unicont PM-300 series include:

• 2 universal inputs
• Up to 4 output relays
• RS485 modbus
• Autotuning
• 1000 alarm functions
• Auto tuning
• 32 point linearisation
• More than 1 million process configuration possibilities

The Unicont PM-300 series uses Modular design which guarantees short delivery times for the entire range. Unicont PM-300 series includes both PI and PID functions. This enables the control of both heating and cooling. It contains a 2-line, 4-digit bicolour display with a rounding system that can be manually defined for best results. A status indication is provided as well as high and low alarm set points to allow for optimal safety.

Level Display & Control

Semrad Pty Ltd offers a range of precise level measurement instruments, including the MultiCONT PR-100 series. MultiCONT is a universal display and controller, capable of accomplishing complex control tasks by itself. It is a Master for transmitters with HART communications, as well as a universal interface between field devices with HART and other components of the process control system such as PC, PLC, displays and various actuators.

Applied as a Master for devices with HART it can support between 1 and 15 field devices. It can be configured remotely, is wall mounted, can be supplied with both AC and DC power and has an LCD display. The MultiCONT series can be used for remote level metering of liquids, powders and granular mediums, such as cement powder, flyash or grain. It can be applied in situations such as sewage treatment plants, water treatment plants, chemical plants and fuel monitoring.

Level Indicator & Transmitter

The EasyTREK Ultrasonic level indicator and transmitter houses a high performance ultrasonic level measurement transmitter, transducer and processing electronics in one unit. It is a cost saver for liquids and bulksolids metering with all the sophisticated echo detection features of the EchoTREK measurement systems, but packaged into the 2 or 4 wire EasyTREK sensor housing.

The 4 wire version is best for single tank applications as it provides a simple transmitter with a power relay set of contacts that can be programmed with a magnetic key. The 2 wire transmitters are recommended for multiple tank applications, using HART multi-drop systems linked to the MultiCONT controller or a modem and PC.

This level indicator and transmitter can be used for both liquid level or bulksolid measurement in silos, bins, sumps, wells and tanks. It can be applied for tank content measurement or open channel flow measurement as well. It is compact, standalone, economical, fully temperature compensated with excellent signal processing via QUEST™ software and stainless steel sensors. It has secondary lightning protection and plastic or aluminium housing.

The Development of Tools

The basic definition of a tool is an object that creates more effective action of one thing upon another. Simple machines are based on what type of action this involves, whether a lever, wheel and axle, pulley, inclined plane, wedge or screw. These basic categories were defined by Renaissance scientists, and are the basis of complex machines. Although multiple species utilise tools, including monkeys, apes and sea otters, what is unique about humans is that we are the only species that uses tools to create other tools. There are called machine tools.

A machine tool is a powered mechanical device, usually used to fabricate metal components, thus removing the human element in the physical production of tools. After the Industrial Revolution and the development of the steam engine, machine tools were able to be powered by steam. Today most are powered by electricity, and can be operated manually or automatically. Examples of machine tools include the drill press, gear shaper, lathe, hobbing machine, shaper, planer, broaching machine and grinder.

Machine Tools and Mass Production

The invention of machine tools led to the development of mass production. David Hounshell states: “The new manufacturing technology spread first to the production of a new consumer durable, the sewing machine, and eventually it diffused into such areas as typewriters, bicycles, and eventually automobiles.” (1984, p4) It took off from the small arms industry such as Colt’s Patent Firearms Manufacturing Co. As manufacturers worked with the makers of machine tools, they overcame problems related to the cutting, planing, boring and shaping of metal parts.

This ” technological convergence” would lead to the Fordist system of manufacturing and labour division. This system, named after Henry Ford, was based on mass production to lower the price of the product, and simultaneously raising workers’ wages to feed massive consumption. The system emphasised synchronisation, precision and specialisation, and would lead to the economic dominance of the United States from the 1940s onwards.