AutomaNews

The 1.0 version of Super-Flash was released in 1989. Apart from announcing the technical characteristics of the product, Automa took the market by surprise, proposing its original Royalty-Free formula: you purchase the development system and there are no royalties on the applications made. This is a sales formula which has allowed customers to considerably reduce the costs for each individual SCADA/HMI application made. This has meant being able to build HMI stations even for very "cost-sensitive" plants or machines. Automa's proposal has made a significant contribution towards "widening" the market for SCADA/HMI applications. From 1989 to the present day, there have been some attempts to imitate the Royalty-Free proposal - attempts which have regularly failed against a more complex business model than the traditional approach "with royalties". Over the past few years, as the SCADA/HMI market has achieved complete maturity, and with the simultaneous growth contraction of the automation sector, Automa has responded to this by placing the Runtime proposal alongside its historic Royalty-Free one: the development system is free of charge, and the royalty on each application has a different cost according to its size (number of alarms and variables). Now interesting opportunities are opening up, linked to reducing the panel PC costs and increasing their reliability. The SCADA/HMI systems can encroach on the space so far occupied by traditional Operator Panels which are often proposed by PLC manufacturers. The essential "closure" typical of solutions based on Operator Panels, are countered by a SCADA/HMI system with an openness which allows not only more personalised implementations, but also implementation of the data exchange needed to integrate machines and plants with the end customer's information system. The real hurdle remains the cost. Once again, the Royalty-Free version becomes absolutely strategic from this viewpoint: it is the only chance to reduce the royalties on each single application "to zero". For Automa, 2008 will be the year of the Royalty-Free solution: important novelties will be announced which will make this version even more appetizing and strategic. To know more, you can contact the Automa staff directly by telephone on +39.035.32.33.911, or via e-mail at the sales@automa.it address.

2007, the year of Automa's twentieth anniversary, is drawing to a close. To end this important event with a flourish, a special promotion on Royalty-Free Super-Flash licence updates has been launched.
In fact, a special promotion could not be missed out regarding the version of the development system which has always been the salient feature of Automa's offer. To give everyone who owns a licence the chance to benefit from all its new features and potentials, Automa will allow all the owners of an old Royalty-Free Super-Flash version to upgrade their development system at a 50% reduced cost. The promotion is valid for all orders reaching Automa by and not later than 31/12/2007. Whoever purchases a new version of Royalty-Free Super-Flash will be able to take advantage of the financing service which allows payment with up to 48 monthly instalments.
For further information, please contact Automa on number +39.035.32.33.911 or at the e-mail address: sales@automa.it.

The telephone assistance service is the pride of our business proposals. It is not often that those dealing with automation have the chance to use support provided directly by the team of developers. This is a precise choice made by Automa which allows customers to be given the highest possible level of service and which keeps the development team in direct contact with the application problems actually found out in the field. After a year of hard work, always at the disposal of our customers, the technical assistance team and the staff at Automa will take a little rest over the Christmas period. Our offices will remain closed from Monday 24th December 2007 to Friday 4th January 2008. Then, back on form, and plumper than ever, we will start up all our activities again from Monday 7th January. We should like to remind you that our technicians are available free of charge every Tuesday and Thursday morning, from 9.30 a.m. to midday. On the other hand, for those who want to have consultancy available every day from Monday to Friday, from 9.00 a.m. to midday and from 2.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m., it is possible to sign a contract at any time with a duration of between 2 and 12 months. For further information, please contact Automa on number +39.035.32.33.911 or at the e-mail address: sales@automa.it.

In the automation field, solutions based on Ethernet are growing exponentially. The need to connect devices, which are perhaps already installed and only fitted with a serial line, to Ethernet is becoming more and more frequent. To help solve these problems, Automa proposes and technically supports a low cost converter, able to work with TCP, UDP and Virtual COM technologies. Using Virtual COMs, it is also possible to use the Ethernet network for the software which only implements interfacing with the Windows standard COMs. The device can be configured via a browser and supports remote upgrading of the firmware. For further information, please contact Automa on number +39.035.32.33.911 or at the e-mail address: sales@automa.it.

The number of visitors to the www.automa.it web site Solution Providers page, and those who have consulted the editorials which Automa has prepared with their collaboration, has topped the 13,000 mark. For further information about the Solution Providers' Initiative, please contact Automa on number +39.035.32.33.911 or at the e-mail address: sales@automa.it.

As already announced in the previous issue of AutomaNews, the Beta 4.0.1 version is now available in the freedownload section.
This is the second Beta, which will rapidly lead to release of the final 4.0 version of Super-Flash.

Here below are some of the main features you will find in the Beta 4.0.1 version:

• Extension to 50 of the languages managed in runtime
• Extension to 10,000 of the number of resources for each language
• Extension to 1,024 characters of the size of the string type resources
• Increase in object tracing speed (Text, Variable, Resource) in the graphic editor and in the Runtime engine
• Complete management of long file names, both with local paths and network paths
• Configurability of the recording path for each trend variable
• Trend with mixed local or remote recordings
• Configurability of the alarm recording path
• Remote management of alarms
• Configurability of the recipe work path
• Graphics with 16 million colours
• Management of JPEG, TIF, PNG and GIF graphics
• New graphics resolutions: 16:9 and 16:10
• Fully personalized resolutions with the Xres and Yres parameters
• Windows-Like style system windows with automatic adaptation to the system colours
• Connection to the colours of Windows system
• Adaptation to the Windows-Like mode of existing 3D graphic objects
• Tracing of variables with transparent background
• Virtual input keyboards with description of the associated variable
• New MicroC functions

The development team is now concentrated on the final finishing touch stage and on carrying out the test plan. The aim remains that of making Super-Flash users able to work with the new version immediately, and with peace of mind.
For further information, please contact Automa on number +39.035.32.33.911 or at the e-mail address: sales@automa.it.

For Super-Flash users, MicroC is an exceptional work tool which allows all-round widening of the spectrum of applications which can be made.
MicroC is solid and reliable as it was born to allow developments and modifications directly on the plant. Being a language at the service of Super-Flash, it can be learned easily and used gradually, i.e. starting from very short and extremely simple programmes. It is therefore particularly suitable for those who do not have very much programming experience.
MicroC is powerful: it manages up to 255 programmes, of 1 Mbyte each, in multitasking, provides more than 500 library functions ready for use, allows definition of the speed and execution priority of the individual programmes and implements data sharing among several programmes.
Among other things, MicroC makes it possible to: make highly configurable applications, create its own communication and processing drivers, manage report formats and the data files produced by the applications in a completely free way, optimise the number of resources required for each individual application, and interact with the application resources, alarms and trends.
Many, perhaps worried by the complexity of programming in C, do not yet use MicroC. This is a real pity because MicroC is in no way as complicated and tricky as traditional C compilers.
To bring everyone closer to this powerful work tool, so that they can take the advantages MicroC makes available, Automa has studied an initiative which foresees some moments of training.
3 courses, each lasting 4 hours, have been planned during November, on the following days:


The training plan will be worked out according to the needs of those attending. The courses are held at the head offices in Gorle, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The cost for taking part is limited to 95.00 € + VAT per person.
Since MicroC is already integrated in both of the Super-Flash, development system licences, all users have the possibility of starting to use it immediately and without any additional licence costs.
PFor information or to book a course, please contact the Automa staff directly by phone on +39.035.32.33.911, or by e-mail at the address: sales@automa.it.

Many new features have been put into the Super-Flash 4.0 version. Some of these are particularly important and regard the possibility of activating some functions which allow the Super-Flash applications to act as a data Server for other applications. On this point, we remind you that Automa has always identified serverless architecture as the most correct solution for satisfying the needs of operators and processes at the HMI level. In contrast with client/server architectures which are intrinsically more critical, serverless architectures allow fully redundant HMI stations to be made, and which do not require a station specifically dedicated to communication with the field or with the higher levels. With the most recent functionalities of the 4.0 version, for a Super-Flash, application, it is possible to keep the reliability of serverless solutions, whilst at the same time activating some functions which make organization of more complex architectures simpler. It becomes possible to have independent stations for some functions and those in client/server relationship for others. Each application can be stand alone and client of several servers at the same time, thereby allowing true distribution of the functions based on the data and on the protocol instead of on one of the many client server technologies currently available. This means implementing true distribution of the processing capability, and of the functions, in contrast to the centralisation typical of the client/server approach. Trying out these features may be problematical for customers: in fact, several PCs need to be set up simultaneously to enable these functions on them, apart, of course, from the time needed to study the functions and verify their performances.
To help practical verification of the new characteristics introduced into the 4.0 version, Automa has planned 3 free-of-charge dedicated presentations, on the following dates:


Since places are limited, we suggest booking sufficiently in advance. To learn more and to indicate your booking, please contact the Automa staff directly by phone on +39.035.32.33.911, or by e-mail at the address: sales@automa.it.

Over the past two years, the exclusive service of providing a guarantee against theft or loss of licences, which was created by Automa to reduce the costs customers would have to meet in the case of one of these two disagreeable events, has met with great success. Theft and loss are a particularly insidious problem and above all regard the products which use a hardware protection device for the licences - normally a parallel or USB key. Especially during business trips, the development licence system key can, in fact, be lost or stolen. It is worth reminding you that, in conformity with the law, Automa proposes a repair and replacement service for faulty keys: when under guarantee, the device is replaced at the sole cost of shipping expenses, otherwise the cost of a simple repair is added. However, the event of theft or loss cannot be counted under the cases of faults and replacements: in fact, a lost or stolen licence is still active and, since it cannot be returned, it cannot be repaired or replaced. Management of these events is left up to the licence holders, who may see to procuring insurance for this item themselves in order to cover the costs linked with the need to re-purchase the stolen or lost licence. In view of the fact that, in the case of the Royalty-Free version of Super-Flash, there are serious values involved, and insurance companies are not yet ready to provide a tailor-made service to this regard, Automa thought up a specific guarantee service against theft/loss back at the end of 2005. The service is on payment, can be activated at any time and lasts for a maximum of 12 months. In the case of theft or loss, with presentation of a regular report given to the competent authorities, Automa sees to putting the case through the normal channels of replacement for faults. In the case of a service stipulated for a key, a replacement fulfils this service and brings about its expiry.
For further information, please contact the Automa staff directly by phone on +39.035.32.33.911, or by e-mail at the address: sales@automa.it.

Perhaps not everybody knows that, apart from being available with I/O and with TCP/IP stack, the Erco&Gener Modems proposed by Automa can also be programmed!! By using Wavecom's Open AT programming environment it is possible to make ANSI standard C programmes able to use the resources made available by the Modem CPU. By combining this characteristic with the availability of I/O, the possible applications become very numerous and are only limited by imagination.
For further information, please contact Automa on number +39.035.32.33.911 or at the e-mail address sales@automa.it.

The telephone assistance service will be suspended during the long bank holiday weekend on 1st and 2nd November 2007 and will start again regularly on Monday 5th November.
For further information, please contact Automa on number +39.035.32.33.911 or at the e-mail address sales@automa.it.

The users of Super-Flash have the possibility of making applications without resorting to programming in traditional procedural languages. However, Super-Flash also makes MicroC available - a powerful programming environment which uses the C as the reference syntax. MicroC consists of a compiler and a Runtime engine.

The compiler is already integrated in both the Super-Flash development system licences. The MicroC Runtime engine is always integrated for those who possess the Royalty-Free licence, whereas when users of the Super-Flash Runtime licence have to install an application, they have the possibility of choosing the Super-Flash Runtime licence with or without the MicroC engine, according to their needs.

With MicroC it is possible to create programmes which interact with the resources of the application created with Super-Flash.

Here are some of the MicroC features:

• Up to 255 simultaneous programmes, each 1 Mbyte, in a single application
• More than 500 library functions ready for use
• Functions for defining the execution priorities of the programmes
• Controlled sharing of the data among the MicroC programmes
• Independent of the operating system

With MicroC it is possible to:

• Process the data before sending them to the field (e.g. PLC) or to management systems (e.g. MES)
• Modify the characteristics and addressing of the variables in runtime
• Create complex applications using fewer variables than the development system, reducing the size of the applications and the cost of the Runtime licences
• Create calculated complex variables
• Develop communication drivers
• Develop processing drivers
• Handle the trend, alarm and recipe data
• Record, on the basis of history time, alarms and trend
• Create fully configurable applications
• Create complex applications
• ...

Since MicroC is already integrated in both the SUPER-FLASH development system licences, all the users have the possibility of starting to use it right away and at no cost.

Perhaps because they are worried about the complexity of programming in C, many do not yet use MicroC. This is a real pity because MicroC in no way has the complexity and trickiness of traditional C compilers. Furthermore, being a language at the service of Super-Flash, it is possible to learn to use it in a very gradual way: the first MicroC programme can really just be a couple of lines!!

To bring everybody a bit closer to this powerful work tool, and thereby allow them to exploit the advantages offered by MicroC, Automa has worked out an initiative which covers a few specific training moments. In November, some training events will be planned both for those who are not using MicroC to get closer to it, as well as to offer some in-depth information for those who are already using it at various levels.

To encourage everybody to take part, each event will last just a half day and will be proposed with a low cost formula allowing each person to attend every individual event at a cost of less than € 100.00 per person. The training programme will be worked out so that people can also take part in more than one event.

We are working to define the dates and these will be communicated officially in the next Automa News. We should therefore like to ask anybody who is interested in the MicroC subject to contact us as soon as possible so that the training plan can be made out in keeping with the effective needs found.

To know more and to show your possible interest, you can either contact Automa's staff directly by phone, on +39.035.32.33.911, or by e-mail at the sales@automa.it address.

Super-Flash is supplied using two different sales methods: Royalty-Free and Runtime. With the Royalty-Free method, the user purchases a licence for the development system and produces applications free of any Royalties. This means the end user has no limits as to copying and the functionality of the supervision application. To prevent operation of a copy of the application, it is possible to use PROTECT, a product included in the Royalty-Free version of Super-Flash, so that the application can only work if a suitably programmed dongle is found to be present (parallel or USB). Automa provides the dongles partially programmed and, with Protect, the developer completes the programming thereby setting up a true reserved code which the Wrunfile engine will use as authorization to launch the application. If you are not interested in preventing operation of a copy of the application, but you want to prevent any changes being made by the user, it is sufficient not to supply the application sources. In fact, Super-Flash is a product based on a Runtime engine. To generate the programme to be handed over to the engine, some source archives are compiled to produce programmes the engine can execute. On the other hand, if you intend to leave both the possibility of operating copies, and changes being made by the end user, but feel it is advisable to "protect" some algorithms or application logics, or some particularly critical parts of the software, then you can fall back on MicroC: it is possible to implement the logics in one or more programmes where only the compiled versions will be provided. This way the end user (or the solution provider customer), can make the changes as is the case, but cannot alter the application logics which you intend to protect. Protecting your own work is therefore possible at various different levels with Super-Flash, according to the specific requirements of each individual developer. For further information, contact Automa's staff directly on number +39.035.32.33.911, or by e-mail at the sales@automa.it address.

Within the context of the promotional initiatives linked to its 20 years of activity, Automa is launching a special promotion for the SmartDB product and for the PROTECT protection keys. SmartDB adds the possibility of advanced interfacing with local and remote databases to the Super-Flash applications.

Promotions for orders received by 30th October 2007:


During 2007 various promotions have been set up which have offered Automa's customers some very concrete opportunities of making a saving. For the last quarter of the year, other important initiatives are being looked into, which will allow this 2007 - the anniversary year of 20 years - to end in the best possible way.

For further information about the special promotion and to take advantage of the special conditions linked to the 20 years of activity, you can contact Automa by e-mail at the sales@automa.it address, or telephone directly on +39.035.32.33.911.

In view of the various needs expressed by the market, Automa now offers, and supports, two different outdoor solutions for making wireless networks: Lancom and Sparklan.
The Lancom devices are recommended for making true and proper wireless networks. The outdoor parts are to all effects the network nodes, able to carry most of the services and software technologies over IP. Those who have to make complex networks, or in any case network infrastructures, can find efficacious solutions in the Lancom products.
The Sparklan outdoor devices are excellent and reliable Access Points. They are machines particularly suited to those who have to join two points together by means of an Ethernet wireless network, even on public ground. Focusing on a specific need has made it possible for Sparklan to propose some very valid items at decidedly competitive costs.

Automa is at your disposal to help you select the most suitable solution for your specific requirement. For further information, please telephone on number +39.035.32.33.911 or send an e-mail to the sales@automa.it address.

Following the 4.0.0 version issued a few months ago, the second Beta - the 4.0.1 version - is now coming out, which will rapidly lead to the official release of the Super-Flash 4.0 version.

Here are some of the headings of the new performances introduced with the 4.0.1:

• Graphics with 16 million colours
• Connection to the Windows colour system for the Super-Flash applications
• 3D graphic objects in Windows Like mode
• Tracing of variables with transparent background
• Virtual input keyboards with description of the associated variable
• Configurable trend recording path
• Trend with mixed local or remote recordings
• Configurable alarm recording path
• Configurable work path of the recipes
• Addition of UDP for all the communications over IP
• Expansion up to 64 simultaneous communication channels
• Automatic synchronization and acceptance of alarms between the local and remote applications
• New MicroC functions

These performances are added to the ones already implemented in Beta 4.0.0 and complete the development stage foreseen for the final 4.0 version.

Following release of Beta 4.0.1, the classic intense period of tests is foreseen, which will guarantee Super-Flash users the possibility of working happily with the new 4.0 version.

For further information, please contact Automa on number +39.035.32.33.911 or at the sales@automa.it e-mail address.

Automa proposes the GSM/GPRS modems produced by Erco Gener. Compared with the classic GSM/GPRS modems which are on the market, these products have two important features: the integrated TCP/IP stack and the availability of I/O which can be managed directly by the modem by means of an extended set of AT commands.
For further information, please contact Automa on number +39.035.32.33.911 or by e-mail at the sales@automa.it address.

Maintenance is a strategic company function which goes to improve efficiency of plants. It deals with failures and must eliminate them, prevent them and make sure that they do not occur again. To do this, maintenance technicians use different maintenance methods, among which are the following: ordinary, preventive, and improvement maintenance. Each method has an impact on the structure, activities and capabilities of the maintenance team, and has implications regarding the cost of spare parts and relative stock management. With ordinary maintenance, resources are structured to offer the best "Rescue" service. Work is for "emergencies" and presence or immediate on-call presence of a rapid intervention team must be guaranteed. The activities are mainly tactical, there is very little time available, and the aim is to eliminate the fault in the shortest time possible. The team will be evaluated on the basis of the rapidity of intervention and its duration. Personnel is redundant to the extent that faults can and do occur simultaneously. The spare part is almost always exploited until it fails, and this allows optimisation of the cost. On the other hand, there must be sufficient stocks to cover any simultaneous faults and take into account the typical delivery time of your supplier. Preventive maintenance requires skills and resources aimed at collecting the data from your plant, its analysis and planning interventions. The objective is to avoid faults by suitably planning replacement of critical pieces. A higher cost of the spare parts is acceptable, in order not to incur in the greater costs linked to unexpected production downtime. Since the interventions are scheduled, these maintenance activities are more strategic because several interventions can be foreseen and planned. The individual spare part is more costly because it is not exploited until it fails. Programmed consumption of spare parts allows optimisation of warehouse stocks and procurement of materials. Correct planning of the interventions strictly depends on the availability of the nameplate data of the spare parts and of the actual operating data.  Improvement maintenance aims at reducing the causes of faults. The maintenance team structure is similar to that of a technical office. Apart from the capacity to collect and analyse the plant operation data, a design skill is also needed to think up the modifications which will make it possible to reduce failures. A company’s maintenance programme generally implements all three methods, placing a different weight and importance on each of them, although ordinary maintenance can generally be considered as a common basis for all of them, whereas preventive maintenance and predictive maintenance are developments of the basic method. The various methods can be effectively implemented if the actual operating data of the plant are available. MainteX is software for management of maintenance which, by being connectable to the plant, can be used to advantage in the three methods mentioned above.

The traditional approach to maintenance covers various methods: ordinary preventive and predictive. A careful dosing of these methods allows implementation of an effective and efficient maintenance service. However, it is possible to go further by working on reduction of the negative aspects of the various methods. This was how maintenance "on condition" and "predictive" maintenance came about : methods which have already been known about for some time. The true innovation today lies in the real time availability of operating data and its relative processing. As its reference point, maintenance on condition takes one or more correlated parameters and, on the basis of the results, updates the maintenance plan. Predictive maintenance continually processes the real time data in order to obtain a time-based projection sufficient to schedule an intervention. In the past, these methods were very costly to implement because they required an enormous effort for manual collection of the data. Nowadays most plants have programmable control systems which are able to collect the data in real time, carry out their initial processing, and easily transmit them to supervision systems fitted with even greater processing and historic analysis capabilities. Although it is an excellent support for the traditional methods, MainteX gives its best in the most innovative approach since its basic characteristic lies in the possibility of obtaining the data directly from the SCADA/HMI applications or even from the PLC, where necessary.

MainteX is software for management of ordinary and preventive maintenance. It features a strongly operational direction, having been designed thinking of having the maintenance technician as its user. Ease and simplicity of use are some of the product’s plus points. A particularity is added to this, originating from Automa’s twenty-year-long experience as a producer of software for industrial automation: the possibility of interfacing MainteX directly with machines and plants to collect the data from the field. This way the maintenance technician is not obliged to carry out extra work to obtain the information needed for good operation of the system. This means the time required for collecting data is reduced, as well as transcription errors.
To evaluate the product, a DEMO version can be downloaded from the FreeDownload section, where a lot of information on the general subject of maintenance as well as on the software is available.
For further information about MainteX, please contact Automa on number +39 035.32.33.911 or at the following e-mail address: sales@automa.it.

The catchment audience of potential MainteX users is really very large: maintenance departments, machine and plant manufacturers, companies operating in automation of continuous or discontinuous industrial processes, companies in the building automation and home automation sectors, etc. To best satisfy the extremely variegated requirements of those who can gain a competitive advantage from a product like MainteX, Automa has drawn up a commercial proposal which provides seven different "sizes" of the product. For example, the smallest licence for 199.00 € (MainteXpress) allows the use of MainteX as a valid alternative to pure and simple supply of the maintenance manual, either paper or electronic, normally combined with supplies of machines and plants. Automatic management of maintenance cards and elements, and historic recording of interventions are superior functions compared with the traditional systems based on electronic sheets. The proposal goes as far as the licence with an unlimited number of cards and elements, to allow easy implementation of even highly complex and subdivided maintenance systems. For those who have, or foresee having, particular integration needs, the sources of the software are available as well. Together with the MainteX product, Automa also offers the training services, telephone assistance and assistance with start-up, with the intention of making implementation of a system based on MainteX easier. The service providing assistance with start-up is particularly appreciated: Automa puts one of their people at disposal, who works alongside the customer to help them and make the design stage of the system and its initial implementation simpler and faster.
To know more about the commercial proposal, which contains special conditions reserved for solution providers and distributors, simply ask for the MainteX Price List by e-mail at sales@automa.it or by telephoning directly on +39 035.32.33.911.

Integration of maintenance software can be a particularly critical point since you have to interact both with the process and with the logistics (warehouse) and with management. The standard software products may not suffice to satisfy the requirements of the end customer: it becomes necessary to develop personalisations. Automa takes this need into account and proposes MainteX in source format as well. This way the solution provider and the end customer have the possibility of making the maintenance system evolve over time, adjusting developments according to their own specific requirements. Therefore with  MainteX it is possible to start from a standard and reliable product, thus making the start-up stage easier, but at the same time to have the guarantee of being able to pilot developments of the product in a completely independent way. Supplying MainteX with the sources comes with different types of licences for Solution providers, Manufacturers or End Users.
For further information about the software and the commercial strategy, you can contact us at sales@automa.it or directly on + 39 035.32.33.911.

Within the frame of the promotional initiatives linked with their 20 years of activity, Automa is launching a special promotion for the MainteX product. The period of August has been chosen to do this – a month traditionally dedicated to maintenance activities.

For orders by 31st August 2007 it will be possible to purchase the product at the following conditions:

MainteXpress Licence: MainteXpress Licence + course at Automa:

Price List 199,00 € Price List 599,00 €

promotion 99,00 € promotion 399,00 €

50% reduction on all MainteX licences.  

The initiative is aimed at stimulating the use of MainteX to encourage maintenance technicians of end user companies to come closer to technical experts on PLC and supervision.  These are two professional figures who can create extremely positive synergies for companies, and who, until now, have often been a bit too far apart from each other and even almost competitors. Partly overlaying their respective adjacent competencies can bring about innovative solutions capable of truly surprising results.
To know more about the special promotion and to take advantage of the special conditions linked with their 20 years of activity, you can contact Automa by e-mail at sales@automa.it or telephone directly on + 39 035.32.33.911.

The initial feedback from those who have downloaded and tried out the new Beta 4.0.0 version is very positive. In fact, since the month of June it has been possible to download it from the Download section. In the meantime, work is going ahead fast on the next Beta version. For further information, please contact Automa on number +39 035.32.33.911 or at the following e-mail address: sales@automa.it.

We remind you that during the holidays in August the telephone assistance service will be suspended from 6th to 25th. The service will start again regularly from 27th August 2007.

Remote...assistance, tele...diagnosis, remote...control, remote...management, tele...metry, remote...work, remote...help, remote...etc.  Back in 2000, the Zingarelli Italian dictionary had already reached 100 words starting with the TELE/REMOTE prefix. For those who deal in TELE or REMOTE Automation, they instinctively have a fairly clear meaning: being able to offer your end customers a service without the need to go to their premises physically. It is therefore a very clear requirement and has such a positive aim that, on principle, it is difficult to find end customers making objections about it. However, the problem arises when you actually attempt to set up a system able to satisfy this need efficaciously. Modem, Gateway, Router, ADSL, VPN, static IP, Wi-Fi, GSM, GPRS, UMTS, firewall, remote control software, etc.: those who have tried to find a single solution to cover all the requirements have often lost themselves in a labyrinth of technologies and products which are not clear even to those selling them. Technology offers numerous possibilities and gives companies the chance to change the way they put forward their services on the market. Nowadays, those dealing in automation see these technologies as an obligation or as an imposition, whereas they should be a great opportunity for rationalising and making services efficient and competitive, able to satisfy the customer’s needs. Being able to continue to provide services for customers, installations or plants which are geographically far away from their own head office, mainly comes from the familiarity with which companies work with the new remote technologies. The answer does not lie in a single product, but in a series of instruments, competences and services. Automa, which has been dealing in monitoring and remote control systems since 1989, is able to offer support in clearly identifying the "tele/remote" requirements and to create really effective and competitive remote control solutions. The experience gained on the subjects of geographic and company networking, and automation, help to provide clear identification of the most suitable solutions in order to satisfy the specific needs of each individual user at all levels. For further information, please contact Automa on number +39 035.32.33.911 or at the e-mail address: sales@automa.it.

As announced previously in the May issue of AutomaNews, it is already possible to download the new 4.0.0 Beta version of Super-Flash from the Download section. Among the new functions, we should like to remind you of the following:

• New JPEG, TIF, PNG and static GIF graphic formats
• Full management of long file names both with local paths and with network paths
• New graphic resolutions: 16:9 and 16:10
• Fully personalised resolutions with Xres and Yres parameters
• Windows-Like style system windows with automatic adaptation to the desktop colours
• Extension to 50 of the runtime languages managed
• Extension from 2,000 to 10,000 of the number of resources for each language
• Extension from 128 to 1,024 characters of the size of each string type resource
• Increased speed for tracing objects (Text, Variable, Resource) both in the graphic editor and in the Runtime engine

For further information, please contact Automa on number +39 035.32.33.911 or at the e-mail address: sales@automa.it.

Web Alarm Manager (www.sfwam.it) is an ASP application, supplied using the Royalty-Free method, which allows you to access a local or remote database where all your applications publish data. The Super-Flash applications can publish the data in a remote database by means of the SmartDB product. The basic version of the WAM product accesses the real time and historical alarm data. Within the sphere of the initiatives for its 20 years of activity, Automa is launching an unrepeatable promotion for the WAM product: for orders received by 15/7/2007, with delivery no later than 31/7/2007, the price of the product will be reduced by 50%. Automa offers a series of services combined with the WAM product:

• Training courses on the ASP sources of WAM
• Personalisation of the product
• Hiring Database space on the internet for data publication tests
• Customised adaptation of the Super-Flash applications for data publication
• Designing databases specifically aimed at one or more MES functions (traceability, maintenance, production progress, performance analysis, etc.)

For further information, please contact Automa on number +39 035.32.33.911 or at the e-mail address sales@automa.it.

Assistance, along with reliability and compatibility, is one of the basic values of Automa’s business strategy. To be able to satisfy their customers’ requirements in the best possible way, the assistance service features a high level of flexibility. There are two proposals for providing the service: the free service and the paid service.

Free service
The free service is available to everybody and is provided every Tuesday and Thursday morning from 9.30 a.m. to midday. The holders of a Super-Flash licence are automatically enrolled in the service. In any case, those who do not yet hold a licence can acquire the right to the service by filling in a request form which can be found on our site: this way they will be entered into our database. This kind of service has been thought up for those who need occasional technical assistance information which is never urgent. Typically these are those who are assessing the product or who are developing some trial applications, or who are dealing with development of applications which are not urgent, or, again, those who are evaluating the technical feasibility of an application in order to make out estimates for offers.

Paid service
This is the standard service for those who, by developing supervision applications professionally, need an immediate answer in order to solve any problems or to obtain detailed information. This service is provided every day from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to midday and from 2.30 to 5-30 p.m. Access to the service is regulated by a specific contract. Always with a view to absolute flexibility, and according to the customer’s requirements, the paid telephone assistance contract can last from 1 to 12 months. The telephone help line may be needed more at some times than at others. For example, when one is learning to use the supervisor, when a special application is being made, or when there is a certain urgency, or when the application made has to be installed on the plant, many customers feel it necessary to have the support of our technicians available at all times, whereas in other “quieter” moments the free assistance service provides sufficient help to be able to continue working efficiently. The assistance contract can be activated at any time and starting from any date.

For further information, please contact Automa on number +39 035.32.33.911 or at the e-mail address: sales@automa.it.

To allow our assistance team to "recharge their batteries" so that they are always ready to respond to any requests for help, during the August holidays, the telephone help line will be suspended from 6th to 25th, and will be active again as usual from 27th August 2007.

Perhaps not everybody knows that the Super-Flash applications also run with the Linux operating system. The WRunfile engine is able to run the same supervision applications which work in Windows in this environment as well, thanks to the WINE product (Wine Is Not an Emulator). Combining a diskless and fanless PC panel with Linux, Super-Flash and WINE, allows you to have a truly competitive and low cost HMI. If you also add RTAI (a real time extension) to this as well as a softPLC, you will get a real time control system, complete with a very high performing and reliable HMI. The use of Linux, WINE, RTAI and a softPLC, means being able to drastically reduce the costs of the Runtime licences. When the number of applications becomes significant, combination with a Super-Flash Royalty-Free licence allows you to reach and obtain an overall cost for the software runtime licences which is close to nil. The arrangement of a compact controller, based on Linux with integrated HMI, and with remote I/O over ethernet is particularly interesting for those who foresee a considerable number of applications. In these cases, Automa can offer its collaboration to make a complete prototype. For further information about this and other Automa products, please contact our commercial staff via e-mail at the sales@automa.it address or directly on +39.035.32.33.911.

The project for the new Super-Flash 4.0 version is going ahead. The Beta 4.0.0 version will be available by the end of the coming month of June. Among the new functionalities, we should like to point out:

• New JPEG, TIF, PNG and static GIF graphic formats.
• Full management of long file names both with local paths and with network paths.
• New graphic resolutions: 16:9 and 16:10
• Fully customised solutions with the Xres and Yres parameters.
• Windows-Like style system windows with automatic adaptation to the desktop colours.
• Extension to 50 runtime managed languages
• Extension from 2,000 to 10,000 of the number of resources for each language
• Extension from 128 to 1,024 characters of the dimensions of each string type resource
• Increased object tracing speed (Text, Variable, Resource) both in the graphic editor and in the Runtime engine

As soon as it is released, the new Beta version will be made available in the download section.

It is already possible to download Service Pack 2 of Super-Flash 3.9 from the Automa site, in the Download section. This eliminates some bugs found in this version so as to make the new functions present even more stable and reliable, before implementing others. To know what the bugs found are, in which version and those that have been eliminated, you can download the guide to "Fixed Bugs". The aim of this, but also of other documents regarding our products, is to provide maximum transparency for the customer and Automa wishes to constantly improve its software by solving any problems as they arise, according to established criteria of importance/seriousness of the bug.

Tesi and Automa announce the realisation of a system for indelible marking of sleeves for cables. Tesi srl (www.tesigroup.com) is a company specialised in manufacturing and marketing accessories for power, telecommunications, electronics, anti-corrosion protection and power electronics and is able to design accessories for electric cables, igniters and induction heaters. Automa is specialised in production of software for industrial automation. Over the past few years it has also dealt in development of design and control software for marking in the laser sector. Thanks to its collaboration with Automa, Tesi can now also offer systems and services for indelible marking of cable sleeves within the sphere of its own offer of cable identification systems. The offer is aimed at electric switchgear or plant cabling manufacturers who want to add the indelible feature to their own cable identification systems. In fact, by physically altering the surface layer of the sleeve, the laser system resists the agents which deteriorate the traditional markings obtained by thermal transfer printing. The indelible marking is obtained by means of a fibre laser controlled by the MaMa software set up by Automa. For further information, please contact Tesi srl on number +39.02.9440501, or Automa directly on number +39.035.32.33.911 or at the sales@automa.it e-mail address.

The corrective version 1.0.1 of the ModBus TCP/IP driver for Super-Flash has been released and made available in the Download section. A problem has been solved regarding the 32 bit addressing, which involved the first reading or writing message.

RCC and Automa announce an agreement for distribution of products for telemetering on the Italian market. Following this agreement and adding the value provided by its wealth of experience in specific software and systems for monitoring and remote control, Automa will offer the products distributed by RCC. For further information about the products, please visit the site www.rccitaly.com or contact Automa directly on number +39.035.32.33.911, or at the sales@automa.it e-mail address.

Automa will be 20 years old on 29th April – an important age for any company, but out of the ordinary for a software house. In fact, during these 20 years of activity various "revolutions" in informatics have followed each other on. With great determination Automa has always offered products and services aiming at reliability, compatibility and assistance. Reliability, even more so than performances, because in the industrial sphere, software products must, as their prime value, ensure continuous trouble-free operation. Compatibility, to safeguard our customers’ investments so that they can easily take up projects and applications again, and re-use or modify them even if they were made 10/15 years ago. Compatibility, which also means simple low-cost technological upgrading, since using a new version of software products must never be a problem or a wager, or the source of serious worries or burdensome adaptation activities. Assistance because in a world or rapid technological development, a product without assistance has only a very relative value because it obliges the user to go through costly and unestimated stages of self-teaching or of investigation into abnormal behaviour of the products. Today Automa offers itself as a technological partner, able to complement the specific competence of its customers efficiently, and to set up a collaboration with them which, from the point of view of information, human-machine interface, communication and integration technologies, can be truly complete. In this role Automa offers its ability to stimulate and assist its partners towards exploration and practical application of new technologies. The most recent seminars on the subjects of embedded systems and wireless technologies provide further concrete evidence of this ability. At the finishing line of its first 20 years, Automa is ready to take up the challenge and commitment for the coming 20 years, always from the viewpoint of the values of Reliability, Compatibility and Assistance.

Over the past few months, following the route of continual improvement of reliability and performances, Automa has set up new versions of numerous communication drivers. The 1.2 version of SF OPC Client is now also available, and allows connection of Super-Flash applications to peripherals which supply an OPC Server conforming to 2.0 specifications. The OPC technology (OLE for Process Control), based on the Microsoft OLE standard, allows connection of a wide variety of peripherals, of different houses and models, without needing to use specific communication drivers and facilitating software configuration activities. The 1.2 version of the driver introduces management of the single string type (VT_BSTR), has an updated manual and manages the demo mode to allow the product to be tried out. The driver is available both in Royalty-Free and in Runtime mode. Those who need to carry out some connection tests, or functionality checks, can freely download the OPC driver in Runtime mode from the FreeDownload section. Once installed, this will work for 15 minutes each time the application is launched. To obtain continuous operation, you need to purchase a Runtime key/licence. We remind those who use Super-Flash Royalty-Free that they already have this driver available in Royalty-Free mode inside the package, which can be used, without further costs, for an unlimited number of applications. For further information about this and other Automa products, you can contact our commercial staff by e-mail at the address: sales@automa.it or directly on +39 035.32.33.911.

Hilscher proposes the Plus version of NetLink MPI, the Ethernet gateway which allows connection with Siemens S7 300/400 PLCs in MPI. The new device has all the functions of the previous NetLink MPI: it can be connected directly to the MPI connector of the PLC and to the standard Ethernet of a PC, and, by means of the driver for STEP7, it can also be used to programme the PLC. In relation to the basic version, the new NetLink MPI Plus also has numerous other advantages: an RJ45 connector on board to allow cables of different lengths to be used; up to 6 TCP/IP connections; 32 MPI connections, mounting on a DIN rail, an MPI connector with PG socket and more diagnostic LEDs. NetLink MPI Plus is interchangeable with the basic model. Automa is able to provide both the NetLink versions, fitted with the SF-NetLink driver for Super-Flash. To know more, you can contact the Automa staff directly by telephone on +39 035.32.33.911, or by e-mail at the following address: sales@automa.it.

Hilscher has recently launched its new NetLink MPI Plus gateway on the market, which allows connection in MPI with Siemens S7 300/400 PLCs. To be able to exploit all the potentials of the new device to the full, Automa has already made the new 1.1 version of SF-NetLink available – the communication driver which allows a Super-Flash application to communicate by means of the Hilscher devices. Apart from improving the reliability of the driver, the new version allows management of the 32 MPI multi connections, made available by the new MPI Plus NetLink. Thanks to this function, communication with various PLCs takes place simultaneously, without having to carry out the active node disconnection/connection procedures each time, which slow down communication. We remind you that SF-NetLink is 100% compatible with both the devices: you can therefore pass from one to the other without having to modify the applications. For those who wish to try the new version, the driver can be downloaded in Runtime mode from the FreeDownload section on our site. Once installed, the driver will work for 15 minutes each time the application is launched. To make it communicate continuously, it is possible to purchase a key/licence.

Automa makes some complete communication solutions available to its users. Thanks to agreements with some of the most well-known producers of connection devices, it is able to supply both the hardware and the software, offering valid technical support as well. The solutions range from Applicom servers, powerful communication engines suitable for complex and heterogeneous networks, with a high number of participants, and also with different protocols, or with large quantities of data to be handled, to the DirectLink series which, although keeping the high degree of reliability, is suitable for less complex situations and for fewer data and lower performances. However, in some cases it is not possible, or is not appropriate, to house a card inside the supervision PC. This means it is necessary to use external gateways. The new USB100PFB gateway has been brought out precisely to support these needs in an adequate way as well. This gateway is fully compatible with Applicom servers and with the DirectLink series, and allows the USB interface to be used to connect up to MPI or ProfiBus devices. The Applicom driver, which is already integrated as inborn in Super-Flash, manages all the various solutions available, allowing the user to exchange the various communication devices as they like without having to modify the application.

The telephone assistance service will be suspended on occasion of the long weekend of 30 April 2007 and will start up again normally on Wednesday 2 May 2007. We should like to take the opportunity to remind you that it is always possible to send your requests for assistance, or any technical questions, to the following e-mail address assist@automa.it: by sending an e-mail in advance, with a description of the request for assistance, along with all the most significant information (Super-Flash version, operating system version, cards or communication drivers, etc.), is an excellent way to increase the efficiency of any telephone contacts which are then made.

The arrival of the new wireless technologies is bringing about a great revolution in both the industrial worldand in people’s private lives, and its effects can already be seen in part. However, "wireless" communications are not a novelty, by definition they are the oldest method of communicating at a distance: from tribal Tam-Tam to carrier pigeons, the wireless method was the only one possible for communications. With the discovery of electricity, power generation, conductivity, and the subsequent invention of the electric cable as the ideal element for transmitting power, it was already obvious how the world was destined for rapid "global cabling". The cable soon became the leading player (telegraph, telephone) in communications at a distance as well. However, the world of communications has always been in a much greater hurry than the time required for cabling over long distances allowed. That was how, over time, radio transmission, radio telegraph, radar, radio and TV came to life, to then arrive at satellite communications, mobile phones, electronic toll collection systems, localisation systems, satellite navigation systems, etc. All these devices exploit different "wireless" technologies. So why do we speak about Wireless today as if it were something new? What is the novelty which makes the present "wireless" approach so revolutionary? The answer lies in the advent of the Wi-Fi standard: for the first time there is the concrete possibility of creating a global wireless network available to everyone, able to be made up and spread rapidly with the direct contribution of each individual person or company. All existing services and most of the future ones can travel over this single network. Until a few years ago, most technologies were based on communication networks belonging to those who offered the service (such as TV or Radio, or Mobile telephones) and the use of "public ground" with the aim of making different devices communicate with each other almost totally excluded individual people and single companies. Thanks to Wi-Fi there is now the possibility of transferring all the contents at present carried by cabled networks based on IP (e.g. internet) over a wireless network, and all this without having to modify one’s own applications. In fact, Wi-Fi is a standard transfer technology able to guarantee interoperation of systems.

The spread of Wi-Fi technology, the availability of low cost devices on the market and government liberalisation from taxation of many frequencies have made wireless communications an excellent business opportunity for a great many companies and above all for those operating in the world of automation. But what concrete advantages are there in a system which communicates by means of Wi-Fi devices? First and foremost they increase the possibilities of implementing automation systems, because there are no longer any limitations due to physical dislocation of the components: not only is it possible to include areas in the system where laying a cable would not have been convenient, but one can think of making moving devices and/or those far away from each other communicate easily. It will also be possible to make "mobile automation" systems, for example with sensors which "move around" the factory and HMI applications which are always with the operators. In fact, all the components in a system will be able to talk freely with the whole world by means of the same network. And this would all be done without having to "lay cables" or modify the applications. For this reason, another significant advantage is simplification of reconfiguration, replacement, transfer and reuse activities of components as well as implementation of redundant systems. The economic benefits provided by the smaller dimensions of cabinets and electric switchboard must not be overlooked, and above all the reduction in installation costs. Finally there is the time factor: not having to dig to lay cables or design the physical "network", several devices can be made to communicate with each other within a short time.

Wi-Fi communications certainly have many advantages, but to use them to the full you need to know and be able to manage some typical problems of radio connections. To be able to start dealing with this type of communication, the environment where it takes place must first be taken into account: climatic conditions do, in fact, affect the quality of transmission of information. Then there are some parameters/values which are responsible for the data passing from one point to another with a positive outcome: transmission power, distance between the points, frequency, path loss, antenna gain, cable loss, etc. You also need to know the regulations which govern the numerous frequencies and the various application possibilities of those available. You need to know what kind of communication you want to create and its characteristics (point-point, point-multi-point, network, Roaming, etc.). Finally, it is as well to know the differences between the various Wi-Fi devices on the market and, for each device, the difference between the different models and makes. To enter the Wi-Fi world rapidly and gain from all its advantages, Automa has for some time stipulated a partnership agreement with the embedded division of Avnet, world leader in distribution of components with high technological value, who has chosen us as their reference company for automation. Thanks to Avnet’s support and to our twenty-year long experience in the communications sector, we have managed to rapidly acquire competences in the Wi-Fi field and we now want to make these available to our users.

To be able to exploit the opportunities created by Wi-Fi to the full, Automa puts its competence gained through direct experience and the help of Avnet, world leader in distribution of components with high technological value, at the disposition of its users. This is why it markets technologically advanced and selected hardware devices and puts itself forward as a cultural mediator between the world of radio communications and that of automation, in order to help its customers acquire the competences needed to make wireless systems. The products offered go from Wi-Fi radio network nodes to serial/Wi-Fi converters, from GSM and GPRS modems to industrial hand-held devices. The latter, in particular, have numerous functions, among which those of the computer, telephone, bar code reader, RFID reader, GPS, GSM/GPRS modem, etc. Apart from pre- and after-sales support for all these devices, Automa also offers numerous services to satisfy the most varied requirements: assistance during installation, configuration of the hardware, training and collaboration in building systems. For further information about the products and services offered, you can contact our sales staff on 035.32.33.911 or via e-mail at the sales@automa.it address.

In view of the great interest shown in the initiative and the high number of enrolments - exceeding the maximum limit of places available for both planned events (February, the 21th and March, the 7th), Automa will give the free "Wireless and industrial communication" presentation again, which is programmed for Wednesday 21st March, and will last for half a day (9 a.m. – 1.30 p.m.). The event, already held in February and particularly appreciated for the alternating moments of training on the new wireless technologies (standards, frequencies, characteristics of the new technologies, future developments, etc), and the demonstrations to show some "wireless" devices actually in operation. During the morning, some novelties regarding wired technologies will also be presented, to provide an all-round view of the world of industrial communication. Those taking part will therefore have hands-on experience of the most important novelties which are already available on the market and understand how to turn these into concrete business opportunities. Furthermore, they will also have expert communication technicians available both from Automa and from AVNET, one of the most important global distributors of electronic and technological components. For further information and to enrol, please contact ours sales staff via e-mail at the address: sales@automa.it or directly on 035.32.33.911.

SmartDB 1.0.1 can be downloaded from the Download section on the Automa site: with this new version, we have aimed at making the product even more reliable. Thanks to this driver, a Super-Flash application is able to connect securely to a database and carry out various data reading and writing operations: entering new records, cancelling one or more existing records, updating data, data extraction and management, etc.

To give everybody the chance to try it, the product in Runtime mode can be downloaded free of charge from the FreeDownload page on Automa site; SmartDB will work fully for 15 minutes each time it is launched. If you want to make it work continuously, simply purchase a key for each individual application. The technical manual is also provided with the product and, apart from explaining its installation and operation, can also be a useful support for evaluation. Thanks to SmartDB, it is therefore possible to communicate with most of the databases on the market without having to know the programming languages in detail. We should like to remind you that, apart from the product, Automa offers training and consultancy on SmartDB and data collection, on the SQL language and on integration with the MES level.

To satisfy the needs of its customers, Automa not only makes highly reliable products available, but also services which are innovative, especially for a software house: for example, the theft/loss guarantee for the licences purchased, or drawing up articles free of charge to publicise our users in the major magazines in the sector, etc. And now it has come up with another one! Over the past few years, market conditions have caused cash flow problems for many companies; this is a state which risks jeopardising the possibility of exploiting the opportunities of an upturn in the economy which, although shaky, seems to now be in place. This is why Automa has set up a financing service for 2007: all those who purchase the Royalty-Free version of the products can take advantage of consumer credit. But that’s not all! The new service is included in the initiatives to celebrate Automa’s 20th anniversary and so there will be zero interest 12-month financing throughout 2007! Thanks to special agreements made with banks, we can also offer investments spread out over 24 months at a reduced interest rate! For further information about this and the other services, please contact our sales staff directly via e-mail at sales@automa.it or by phone on 035.32.33.911.

Microsoft and Ecc Abacus, distributor for Italy of the XP/E Operating System and one of our partners during the "XP/E days", invite all Automa users to the free Road Shows. These events have the aim of illustrating the advantages and possible applications of the various Microsoft embedded solutions. Enrolling is very simple! Simply fill in the enrolment form which you can find on the Microsoft site at the following address: http://www.microsoftembeddedseminars.com/home.aspx and you’ll see which seminar is closest to you!

2007 is a special year for Automa because on 29th April it will be 20 years old! An important age for any company, but even more extraordinary for a software house. During these initial two decades of activity, we have grown a lot and have acquired capabilities and competency in various fields: whereas until about ten years ago the products we offered regarded just the industrial automation level, i.e. supervision and control of machines and plants, nowadays the company also makes solutions for production management available to its customers (management of a work plan, realisation of production reports, stock management, data collection, maintenance, traceability, etc.). To celebrate and share this important anniversary with its customers, Automa is organising a series of special initiatives throughout 2007. Keep an eye on the site and on the AutomaNews!


All the initiatives regarding Automa’s 20th anniversary will be marked with this stamp !

Super-Flash 3.9 Service Pack 1 can already be downloaded in the Download section on the Automa site. This eliminates some bugs found in this version, in order to make the new functionalities present even more stable and reliable, before implementing others. In fact, we are working on version 4.0, whose major objective is to provide a more Windows-like development environment. To learn which bugs were found, in which version, and which of them have been fixed, you can download the guide to "Fixed Bugs". The leitmotif of this, but also of other documents regarding our products, is maximum transparency towards the customer and Automa’s desire to constantly improve its software, solving any problems as they arise, following established criteria of bug importance/seriousness.

The new 1.02 and 1.2 versions of the SF-NetLink and SFABXETH drivers are available at the FreeDownload page on the Automa site. SF-NetLink allows a Super-Flash application to communicate in MPI with the Siemens S7 300/400 PLCs by means of the Hilscher NetLink devices (NetLink MPI and NetLink MPI Plus). On the other hand, SFABXETH allows a Super-Flash application to manage communication with one or more Allen-Bradley PLC Logix5000 Controllers, using Logix5000 messaging, on Ethernet/IP, for access to the Tags (Simt; Int, Dint and Real). The new versions aim both at providing new performances, such as management of the starting/offset in reading and writing tags of the array type in the SFABXETH driver, and at further improving their already high reliability. Automa’s twenty-year long competence in the communication field has, in fact, made it possible to set up, test and experiment a series of communication libraries successfully, which are the heart of every driver made and whose excellence is demonstrated by the very large number of applications, even dating back a long way, which are still perfectly operational. And we never stop! Within the spheres of its competence, and above all in the communication field, Automa is always at work to simplify development of integration between the various information system levels.

The first events in the initiative to celebrate Automa’s 20th anniversary regard integration. We are starting off with this subject because we think that communication between the various company information system levels is essential for those operating in the sphere of industrial automation and because the market now proposes a great novelty: the advent of Wireless technologies, which is bringing about a new revolution in the world of industrial communication. In fact, "wireless" technologies will eliminate connection problems caused by architectural barriers and long distances at their roots. This change will also and above all involve those operating in the automation field, who will therefore not do without getting to know the new technologies. Automa has been studying the Wireless technologies for some time and now wants to make the competence it has acquired in this field, as well as its twenty years’ experience with communication, available to its customers. For this reason, together with other partner companies, it is organising some presentations with the aim of illustrating the characteristics and potentials of "wireless" technologies, along with some devices which implement them. The subject will then also extend to industrial communication in general to give users a more complete view of the different communication possibilities. The presentation, lasting half a day, will take place at Automa’s head offices on Wednesday 21st February and Wednesday 7th March. To obtain further information and to enrol, please either contact our sales staff directly on 035.32.33.911 or via e-mail at sales@automa.it.

To best satisfy the needs of our users, who prefer to have the Automa staff available from early in the afternoon,starting from this year, our telephone assistance has changed its times.Our technicians are at the disposal of those customers who have signed a contract from Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to midday and from 2.30 to 5.30 p.m. On the other hand, free assistance, available on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9.30 a.m. to midday, remains unchanged. The technical support service is one of Automa’s plus points for two important reasons. First of all because it is given by the same programmers who develop our products, so it is provided by the most competent people in relation to Automa software. The second reason is that the service has been tailored to customers’ needs: twenty years ago assistance was only provided for those who signed an annual contract, then free assistance was introduced for those who only needed it occasionally, and later on the short-term contract of variable duration came into being. We did in fact realise that assistance can be more necessary at some times and less at others. (For example, when you are learning to use the supervisor, when you are making a particular application, when there is a certain urgency, or when the application made has to be installed on the plant, many customers think it necessary to have our technicians’ support available at all times, whereas in other “quieter” moments, the free assistance service is of sufficient help to be able to continue working efficiently). Finally, we have now also changed the times. But that’s certainly not where it will end...

The series of presentations regarding the new XP/E Operating System and its applications in the industrial sector successfully finished at the end of the year. As expected, there was great interest in this subject, shown by the large number of participants in the 3 events. Following this initial informative stage, which aimed at explaining the characteristics and potential of XP/E and the new industrial PCs, over the coming months we shall pass on to the second stage: training. This time the objective will be to show people how to use XP/E and how to create compact and reliable HMI applications based on PCs. For further information, please contact our sales@automa.it.