Internet Tools links for Instrument and Control Engineers

Acronym Finder

Find out what any Acronym, Abbreviation, or Initialism stands for: With more than 1,000,000 human-edited definitions, Acronym Finder is the world's largest and most comprehensive dictionary of acronyms, abbreviations, and initialisms. Combined with the Acronym Attic, Acronym Finder contains more than 5 million acronyms and abbreviations.

Instrument and Control Acronyms - Acronyms for Engineers - from ICEweb.

Acronyms and Initials Index - Used in Instrumentation, Controls and on the Net - from the excellent Read-Out Instrumentation Signpost and The Institute of Measurement and Control.

Glossary of Process Control Terms - John Gerry and George Buckbee - from Expertune.

Honeywell Acronyms List - This list is a good list for Honeywell Automation Acronyms along with some more general ones.

An Online Glossary of Technical Terms used by ABB - This list is useful for multidiscipline engineers.

Engineering Directory - In this link from the excellent Engineering Directory you will find thousands of definitions of engineering terms and phrases encountered in a range related fields. It includes Acronyms, Cross-References, Abbreviation Scientific, Technical, Mathematical Entries, Rubber industry terms and Automotive and automation terms in a convenient, quick-find format.

Electronic / Electrical terms and definitions - Looking for an electronic or electrical term and its definition? Electropedia is the world's leading online electrical and electronic database containing more than 20 000 terms and definitions in English and French organized by subject area, with equivalent terms in German and Spanish. This is a terrific resource thanks to the IEC.

Calculators for Instrument and Control Engineers

Mate - online symbolic calculator by Tusanga - This free online symbolic calculator enables you to define variables and functions as well as to evaluate expressions containing numbers in any number system from 2 (binary) over 8 (octal), 10 (decimal) and 16 (hexadecimal) to 35, roman numerals, complex numbers, intervals, variables, matrices, function calls, Boolean values (true and false) and operators (and, or, not ...), relations (e.g. greater than) and the if-then-else control structure. Comments are C-style /* */.

The Ultimate Collection of Online Calculators - This site certainly has a huge swag of calculators covering a range of industries, subjects and those useful for those everyday conversions etc. From Crest Capital.

Tank Volume Calculator - This App can be used to determine the volume of almost any vertical tank, based on varying parameters. While the tank volume calculator is invaluable when sizing a mixer for a tank or specifying a tank for a particular volume, it can also be helpful on the processing floor in determining how much to fill a vessel to get a specific volume for a particular batch or formulation. Similarly finished batch volume can be worked out using the tank volume calculator. There are also Bonus Tools - Since many engineers and operations personnel work in a global environment switching between metric and U.S. measurements, the conversion tool app is a handy reference for just about any process environment. Initially designed as a quick tank volume calculator for use in place of a slide rule, the new Silverson Conversion Tools app also offers users eight additional conversion applications, ranging from motor power to weight. Along with the conversion tools, the app lets users Email or Share tank volume calculation results with colleagues and includes a browser for viewing the Silverson website and product lines. Today the Silverson Conversion Tools app is available on the iOS platform for iPhones, iPads, etc. Watch later this summer for the release of an Android-based version. Download the app or if you prefer, go to the Apple App Store and search under “Silverson” or “Silverson Conversion Tools.”

Instrument and Control Commissioning Tools

Commonsense Engineering Safety Tips When Commissioning Plant - IDC have compiled a list of tips on working safely when commissioning a plant or with machinery from an electrical, mechanical, instrumentation and IT point of view.

Unit Converters

Conversions
http://onlineconverters.com/
http://www.math.com/students/converters/online_converters.htm
http://www.martindalecenter.com/Calculators.html
Calculator
http://joshmadison.com/software/convert/
Change Units - Convert Units Your Way - Easily convert any units.
SI Unit Converter - Have you ever need to convert millimeters in to inches, or Miles in to Kilometers then this utility is for you. It can convert just about anything to anything else. More then 50 different units in 20 categories - this useful utility resides on your computer - from chipkin.com.
Pressure Unit Conversion - Look up conversion factors or select a conversion table for a particular pressure unit - from Sensors One.
A Useful Degree C/F/Kelvin Conversion Tool - from Metric Conversions.

Instrument and Control Engineering Design Tips

The following articles are contained in IDCs Steve Mackays "Little Red" book which is not so little at 160 pages. There are some really useful tips to be found here. This pdf is worth putting on your computer for reading on those long trips. You can get it for free here.
Be foolish more often in engineering	Don’t spend another penny on formal training	Fearsomely outstanding engineering presentations	Engineering innocence
Is there anything left for us to do?	Where have all our engineers and technicians gone?	Roadshow through the Outback	The Great Move
Fingertip engineering knowledge	Have we forgotten the important aspect of our business	Excellence in Australian engineering	Why our engineering education system is broken and what to do about it
Woz - What an inspiring engineer	Real time engineering collaboration	Giving it all away - or retirement from engineering	Tethered to your desk and smothered by your work - whilst mobile
Safety - different countries/different standards or not?	Invest in your people before you lose ‘em	As an engineering professional - what are you really worth?	Where on earth has the electronics (or indeed, plain old) hobbyist gone to?
Where have all our engineering leaders gone?	The (erratically) mobile engineer	In the thrall of politicians	Putting your engineering brain into overdrive - with guaranteed improvements
Trust your guts and not always your engineering brain	Nuclear power: to hell? Or maybe, just maybe … heavenly bliss	What on earth do you expect the world to do with your rubbish?	One of education’s greatest confidence tricks - lectures
Making up for the problem solving toolbox defect in our formal engineering education	How many of us are guilty of negligent engineering and potential disasters?	Don’t communicate with a battering ram or a twisted whisper, but with engineering panache!	Don’t despise engineering advice from so-called simpletons
Accountants are killjoys and engineers over-engineer	Why nanotechnology is important to engineers	Are we tilting at windmills with solar or wind energy	The myth of bottling your techie’s know-how before they leave
How to avoid engineering career killers - 11 tips	Can we make engineering safety standards work?	Welcome to another brilliant year	Engineering and the ‘long tail’ distribution
Testing engineering systems: but only perfunctorily	Power travails of Africa or Don’t let your politician walk over you	Common sense with safety is not so common around here	A sure-fire way to electrocution and immediate sacking
Why is battery technology so slow in growing up?	Hard-won experience makes you master of the engineering universe	Innovation in engineering using (mainly) the KISS principle	Engineering multi-skilling in your part of the universe
Invisible engineers and technicians - undervalued, disappearing and needing your support	Engineering conference papers for you	Originally from the Wild West, we engineers now need to be attuned to style and culture	Grasp the engineering nettle in biology and medicine
Beat a gadget-strewn path to your local geek fair	Collaborate in creating your next engineering project	Freely-available know-how and our Automation and conversions guides	Engineering cloud computing
Your list of favourite engineering videos	What’s better? Real engineering or styling and marketing?	We all need an engineering mentor (or advisor, teacher, role model, friend)	Does management know how to retain engineering professionals?
Fossil fuels are almost done for

Internet Tools

Have you wondered about the speed of your broadband internet connection? Check it out on the following sites;
http://www.speedtest.net/.

Cuil - This search engine combines the biggest Web index with content-based relevance methods, results organized by ideas, and complete user privacy. Cuil has indexed 120 billion Web pages, three times more than any other search engine. This is a fantastic resource!

Cool "Techie Website" - WolframAlpha is sponsored by Stephen Wolfram who developed Mathematica - the scientific software program used in colleges all over the country. It is effectively the GOOGLE for SCIENTISTS. Simple word queries can be useful in getting answers to everything.

Meeting Tools

How to Hold an Effective Meeting - Peggie W. Koon - From the participant’s vantage point I have reaffirmed over and over again that meetings are just another way of communicating. Whether you are leading the meeting, are a participant on the agenda, or are an attendee with something to say, if you can follow a few basic principles, you can communicate effectively in the meeting. First, be prepared. You may think that being prepared means something different depending on your role in the meeting. But in reality, there are a few common areas on which all types of participants should focus. So here is a primer that includes 10 of my best practices for participating effectively in meetings - from the ISA and InTech.

Presentation Tools

POWER POINT TEMPLATE LINKS

https://templates.office.com/en-us/templates-for-PowerPoint

http://www.soniacoleman.com/templates.htm

GRAPHICS

http://www.freebiedirectory.com/Free_Graphics/

PAPER WRITING

Armando's Paper Writing and Presentations Page

PRESENTATION TIPS

Engineer the Use of your PowerPoint Slides More Powerfully - Steve Mackay - IDC Technologies - I think you will agree that most of us have used PowerPoint slides at some stage in our careers. However, I often cringe when I see how slides are used in presentations - boring, rambling and not particularly useful - with an endless list of them thrust at a disinterested and confused audience. It is certainly impossible to deliver a good technical presentation without some use of PowerPoint slides - especially using graphics and diagrams in the engineering field - a great way to keep attention and explain complexity. After all, most engineering professionals appreciate a diagrammatic representation as opposed to boring text - from Mackays Musings.

Practice Always Makes for Perfect Presentations - Steve Mackay - IDC Technologies - Most engineering professionals will readily confess that they are not overly enthusiastic about making presentations. Often the reason is that they are nervous, the presentations come across poorly and it is not a particularly pleasant experience for both the audience or the presenter. You’re unlikely to ever hear from someone, who has to attend a presentation, that they are looking forward to it. However, doing a high quality presentation is a key part of every engineer or technologist’s toolkit. And helps make your career and job considerably more successful. And by application of one simple rule (sounds like black magic or a quick get rich scheme doesn’t it?); you can dramatically improve your presentations. And that is practice. Going through one’s slides a few times is often tedious and unrewarding work (like discovering your old smelly running socks in your backpack a few weeks down the track?). But it works; and pays off with great feedback from your audience.

Tips for your next Outstanding Engineering Presentation - Steve Mackay - IDC Technologies - You may be one of the many engineering professionals not particularly enthused with the idea of making presentations. The reasons may be that one gets nervous; the audience shows obvious boredom and the poor presentations reflect badly on one. It is thus not a particularly pleasant experience for both the audience or the presenter. You’re unlikely to ever hear from someone, who has to attend an engineering presentation that they are looking forward to it. However, doing a high quality presentation is a key part of every engineer, technician or technologist’s toolkit. And helps make your career and job considerably more successful. By application of this one simple rule (sounds like black magic or a quick get rich scheme doesn’t it?); you can dramatically improve your presentations - and that is practice, practice and more practice.

Useful Paper Printouts

"Things to Do" Reminder List - use this as a simple reminder tool.

Useful Technical Information

Save Money with Best Practices and an Energy Inspection Checklist - With the economic downturn, many facility managers are facing very tight operation and maintenance budgets. Luckily, many facilities are sitting on multiple energy conservation opportunities that can save thousands of dollars per year with relatively little capital investment. From Fluke.

SI System of Units

This superb link from the International Bureau of Weights and Measures covers just about everything one would wish to know about SI units, giving full text in English and French, a condensed version and a pocket guide.

Other Useful Tools

Mathematical Symbols

Math symbols that represent mathematical concepts.

Microsoft Office Converters and Viewers

With the help of these converters and viewers, you can share your Microsoft Office files with people who have versions of Office programs different from your own, or even with people who don't have Office at all.

https://www.investintech.com/resources/freetools/

Convert Word 2007 Documents to Word 2003 - Microsoft has provided a compatibility kit to convert Office 2007 files to be compatible with earlier versions.

Pdf Tools

Pdf 995 - This free tool makes it easy and affordable to create professional-quality documents in the popular PDF file format.

On Line Street Maps

WhereIs.com can give you realtime maps and turn by turn directions to anywhere in Australia.

Time Zones - What time is it in? Lots of choices

Travel Tools - The following travel tools are from timeanddate.com

International Dialing Codes - If you need to make a phone call to someone in another country and you are not quite sure how to dial the number, then this service should hopefully help you.
Distance Calculator - This distance calculator can find distance between any two cities or locations available in The World Clock. The distance is calculated in kilometers, miles and nautical miles, and the initial compass bearing/heading from the origin to the destination. It will also display local time in each of the locations.
Travel Time Calculator - Ever wonder what time it will be in New York when you arrive in Hong Kong? Or how much longer your trip will be with a stop-over in London? This service calculates the total traveling time for a round trip or a multi-city trip (up to 8 cities) between cities or locations available in our World Clock, as well as display the local time for the selected cities, time zone information, and a map showing the path of the journey.

Website Archive-If a page has disappeared, find it here

http://web.archive.org/collections/web.html

Website Tools

Looking to put a button on your website? - many are available at http://www.buttongenerator.com/index.php.

Working in the Sun?

The Cancer Council of NSW has released a guide for working safety in the sun - some great tips here that may even save your life.

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