The 13th MICONEX opened grandly in Beijing in the golden autumn — a large show with many exhibitors and high-level products. Over 40 actuator-sector vendors exhibited, a considerable share: famous names such as Fisher Controls International (US), Siemens (DE), ABB (DE), Samson (DE), Burkert (DE), ToMoE valve works (JP), MoToYAMA works (JP), KOSO (JP), Bernard (FR) — and the big domestic instrument groups: Shanghai Automation Instrumentation, Sichuan Instrumentation, Tianjin Instrument Group, Dalian Instrument Group, Xi'an Instrument Group, Wuzhong Instrument, Shenzhen Maxonic — all with large stands.
Exhibits included electric and pneumatic control valves, electric, pneumatic and hydraulic actuators, and solenoid valves — reflecting the state of the art, especially in field-instrument intelligence: every company pushed its smart products, such as smart positioners and smart actuators.
A division of Emerson Electric — a Fortune 500 company headquartered in the USA — Fisher is among the largest control-valve makers and technology leaders in process control, with over 120 years of valve manufacturing. In 1992 Fisher merged with Rosemont to form Fisher-Rosemount; in April 2001 it was renamed Emerson Process Management.
Exhibits centred on pneumatic control valves: ET, EAT and ETR globe valves; EI globe valves; EW and HP series valves; type 8560 eccentric-disc valve; V200 angle valve; 657 and 667 diaphragm actuators; the HART-communicating FIELDVUE DVC6000 digital valve controllers; and the FOUNDATION-fieldbus FIELDVUE DVC5000f series.
Fisher also launched the Chinese third edition of the Control Valve Handbook — covering valve introduction, common terms, performance, valve and actuator types, positioners and accessories, a complete guide to choosing the best valve for an application, special valve selection and application, desuperheaters, steam regulating valves and turbine bypass systems, typical installation and maintenance procedures, valve standards and Ex certification, engineering reference tables, piping reference data, unit conversions — a superb window for domestic engineers onto the world's most advanced control-valve technology.
Siemens showed the SIPART PS2 smart electropneumatic positioner — a digital field device with a highly integrated microprocessor: 3 keys and a two-line LCD for simple operation and programming; automatic zero and span adjustment; manual operation without other equipment; selectable or programmable output characteristics and self-diagnostics; minimal air consumption; selectable setpoint and output limits; programmable tight-closing function. Piezo valves perform the I/P conversion, giving extremely long life.
The SIPOS 5 Flash variable-frequency intelligent actuators are the second generation from Siemens' actuator division (spun off on 10 October 1999 into SIPOS Aktorik). Beyond traditional functions: output torque never exceeds the preset limit (even with the valve jammed); starting current never exceeds rated (thinner cables); automatic phase-sequence correction; comprehensive motor protection; user-set output speed. SIPOS 5 Flash has an open control interface compatible with all control systems — a few added modules adapt it from simple open/close to Profibus communication.
ABB exhibited mainly pneumatic valve control instruments — I/P converters, analogue electropneumatic positioners, smart positioners — and Ontrac intelligent actuators.
The TZID smart positioner series communicates, configured via buttons or communication. Its core is a microprocessor board with 12-bit A/D and D/A plus an I/P module with a 3-way amplifier. Built-in automatic parameter matching gives adaptive control; commissioning uses auto-tuning; buttons select among five characteristics — linear, equal-percentage, quick-opening etc.; dedicated software provides remote setting and diagnostics. 4–20 mA input or fieldbus interface, with HART, Profibus-PA and FF communication.
The Ontrac intelligent actuators are a wholly new series designed by ABB's former H&B: worm-gear transmission with three-phase motors, the latest variable-frequency technology and Hall-sensor position/torque detection minimising moving parts and raising reliability; full use of microprocessor processing makes it truly intelligent. Panel buttons plus a backlit dot-matrix display give human-machine dialogue with clear menus and alarms — easing commissioning and maintenance; an infrared interface reads all stored parameters to a PC; fieldbus interfaces optional.
Samson is also a control-valve specialist. Products: pneumatic and electric single-seat and three-way control valves; micro-flow valves; high-pressure valves; butterfly valves; pneumatic, electric and electro-hydraulic actuators; pneumatic, electropneumatic, HART, Profibus-PA and Foundation-fieldbus positioners; self-operated temperature, pressure, differential-pressure and flow regulators.
One of the world's largest butterfly-valve makers, specialising in their development and manufacture — leading the field for over 40 years since 1953. Products: high-temperature high-pressure high-performance 300-series; TRITEC triple-eccentric; 500-series for modulating duty; corrosion-resistant 800-series; long-life zero-leakage 700-series. Control: lever, gear, pneumatic, electric.
Devoted to "fluid control", MoToYAMA has served Japan and 90-plus countries for over 70 years. Products: type 89 single-seat (top-guided) valves; type 83 cage-guided valves; 02-F angle valves; type 03 (merging) and 04 (splitting) three-way valves; 3306 Small Flow micro-flow valves; 2911-1M wafer butterfly valves; 2916B eccentric rotary butterfly valves; 2992 eccentric rotary plug valves; sterile valves for biochemical, pharmaceutical, food and semiconductor industries; dust-free control valves for ultra-pure semiconductor gas lines; safety valves; and control valves, steam traps, expansion joints and traps for building air-conditioning, water supply and district heating.
Formed in 1999 by merging Finland's Neles Automation and Valmet Automation, Metso is a world-known controls and field-instrument maker — its pulp-analysis instruments and metal-seated ball and butterfly valves lead the world; its digital and intelligent products serve the global paper, petrochemical and energy industries. Products: X-series flanged ball valves; Top 5 top-entry flanged ball valves; D-series fixed-bore fire-tested ball valves; MBV and MBV S5/S6 metal-seated flanged ball valves; E2/E6 ceramic ball valves; 5000–9000 soft-seated ball valves; Elininator soft-seated valves; R-series V-ball valves; Finetrol high-performance eccentric rotary valves; Neldisc high-performance butterflies; NelesACE metering valves; BIC/BIJ cylinder actuators; Quadra-Power spring-diaphragm rotary actuators; VPVL rack-and-pinion actuators; EC/EJ double-piston actuators; ND800 smart positioners; NE700/NP700 positioners; limit switches and position transmitters.
Maxonic is a Sino-foreign joint venture specialising in automation instruments, engineering and trade. With Germany's second-largest actuator maker PS Automation GmbH it formed PS-Maxonic, producing and selling German PS actuators. Products: PSL linear series; PSQ and STR quarter-turn series. The newest PS-AMS intelligent actuator uses a built-in microprocessor with multiple interfaces (4–20 mA, RS-485, fieldbus), intelligent diagnostics and protections, run-data transfer and storage, valve characteristic and travel-time setting, and built-in PID. All parameters set from a PC or portable setter; actuator status reaches the host over serial link for control-room monitoring; it can also accept field-sensor signals for local PID control.
From this show's actuator sector:
