The automation trade body Gambica has formed a group to identify standards and best practice to help counter the threats of viruses, industrial sabotage and terrorism. The industrial network security group was set up as a result of feedback from Gambica members suggesting that this is an area of increasing interest to them.

A merger between two German engineering companies could revolutionise the way that control and switchgear cabinets are designed and built, with much of the process being automated – from the initial circuit design to final assembly of the wiring using robotic machines.

Keyence claims to have made a breakthrough in profile measuring technologies with a system that it says is about 30 times faster than its closest rival. The LJ-V system can measure 12.8 million points (or 64,000 profiles) in a second, and can scan targets moving at speeds of up to 6.4m/s in 0.1mm steps.

At the recent Hannover Fair, Danfoss unveiled an integrated servodrive based on a permanent-magnet synchronous motor sharing an enclosure with the drive electronics. The VLT ISD 510 drives cover rated torques from 1.7–15Nm and are equipped with Ethernet-based EtherCat and Powerlink communications.