Fairmount Automation Successfully Deploys First Chameleon® Decentralized Control System onboard USS Boone (FFG-28)

PHOENIXVILLE, PA-DECEMBER 10, 2003-Fairmount Automation announced today that it has successfully deployed the first shipboard control system based on its new Chameleon® Process Automation Controller (PAC) product family onboard the USS Boone (FFG-28). The decentralized Chameleon system provides full regulatory control and integrated condition monitoring for auxiliary processes and machinery supporting the Frigate's four Ship Service Diesel Generators (SSDGs).

Fairmount Automation representatives worked closely with engineers from the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) in Philadelphia (Code 9223), to develop a new implementation of Ship Alteration 480D, formerly based on a Foundation Fieldbus solution. The new control system consists of a network of five Chameleon PACs that regulate the cooling of the four SSDGs, as well as the SSDG waste heat temperature, the fuel temperature in two sets of oil service and transfer heaters, the hot water tank temperature, and the start-air-mixer air temperature. Chameleon PACs are also controlling the main engine lube oil purifier, cooler, and service pressure loops.

The Chameleon controllers are connected over an RS-485 multi-drop network to a Wonderware® InTouch® Human-Machine Interface (HMI) operating in the ship's Central Control Station (CCS). The touch-screen HMI allows operators to remotely monitor all of the processes, log alarm events, adjust set-points, and take manual control over various process loops.

Gary Cane, co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Fairmount Automation personally assisted in the system design, implementation, installation, and testing. "I was proud to witness our equipment in full-fledged shipboard operation and was delighted to hear the overwhelmingly positive feedback from Navy engineers and operators," said Cane. "They commented time and again, regarding the system's overall improved performance, its quick network response to set-point changes, and the PAC's tight control over process loops as compared to the previous solution based on Foundation Fieldbus."

Following successful sea trials of the system on USS Boone, Fairmount Automation has received orders for three additional ship sets. Over the next four months, duplicate systems will be installed onboard USS McInerny (FFG-8), USS Gary (FFG-51), and USS Vandergrift (FFG-48). There are currently 30 active guided missile frigates in the U.S. Navy fleet.

Chameleon is a family of industrial control, communication, data acquisition, user-interface, and power modules that integrate seamlessly to form a high-performance Programmable Automation Controller (PAC). Chameleon PACs offer multi-domain functionality-including logic, sequence, motion, and process control-on a single very flexible and highly configurable platform. Chameleon's modular architecture and network centric design allows the selection of hardware capabilities to strictly match the specific requirements of a particular application without compromising future expansion needs.

About Fairmount Automation, Inc. 

Fairmount Automation is a leading provider of high-performance distributed control solutions for extreme environments. The Company is an original equipment manufacturer of rugged programmable automation controllers used to monitor and regulate industrial processes and machinery. It also provides advanced engineering services to investigate and develop automated damage control systems for U.S. Navy surface combatants, including the Navy's next generation land attack destroyer. The Company is developing distributed intelligent systems that automatically detect and isolate equipment failures and reconfigure themselves to sustain the ship's mission. The Company is based in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. For more information, please visit www.FairmountAutomation.com .

Chameleon is a registered trademark of Fairmount Automation, Inc. Wonderware and InTouch are trademarks of Invensys plc, its subsidiaries and affiliates.

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Laura Lebaudy
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