Re: [foxboro] InTools

Thanks, Alex.  That answers all my questions.

Tim Lowell
Control Systems Engineer
ConocoPhillips Trainer Refinery
(610) 364-8362
tim.c.lowell@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


-----Original Message-----
From: foxboro-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:foxboro-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Johnson, Alex (Foxboro)
Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 2004 10:54 AM
To: foxboro@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [foxboro] InTools

I'll offer my two cents:

1) There was a formal relationship between Invensys Foxboro and the
original

   owners of INtools a number of years ago. As part of that agreement,
we:
   a) Resold INtools as FoxCAD.
   b) Bundled INtools with FoxCAE and sold them as FoxProductivity.
   c) Developed and packaged with FoxProductivity a bridging mechanism
to=20
      make moving data easier.

2) The sales volume was low which is never good for a product.=20
   a) We were private labeling the InTools product which is costly for
both=20
      companies.
   b) We found that most of our larger companies preferred to buy
directly
      from the vendor.
   c) The versions of FoxCAE and INtools constantly change which
requires=20
      updates to the private labeled package.
   d) The ownership of INtools changed and the new owner had better
sales=20
      channels than the original or we could provide.=20
   e) In the end, Invensys decided that the cost of updates was too high

      given the apparent lack of interest in the market so we let the=20
      private labeling agreement lapse and development of re-branded
product

      stop.

3) There is no current relationship between the owners of INtools=20
   (Intergraph) and Invensys with regard to this interface.


I'd say that this is a case where we got into the market before there
was
enough interest to sustain the business.=20


The lack of customer interest in INtools integration appears to be
changing.

Our engineering group in Houston has considerable experience working
with
INtools data if that would be of value to you. They tell me that:

   The same import/export capabilities are still part of the INtools=20
   utilities.  You can export to an intermediary file of different
formats=20
   (i.e. xls, dbf, ASCII txt, etc).  You can likewise import from=20
   intermediary files of the same formats. =20

   The most difficult task is importing wiring data.  This is because
the=20
   wiring module is comprised of a series of tables which are convoluted
and

   non-intuitive.  So, all you really need to do in INtools is identify
the=20
   fields you want to import/export and the file format of the
intermediary=20
   file.  Of course you would use a dbf file since FoxCAE is a FoxPro=20
   application built on dbf files. =20

   Bottom line, we should be able to do all the things we used to do and

   ultimately import/export data to/from IACC.  The PCS Nitrogen project
has

   been producing wiring and loop diagrams for FF loops for a long time.

As you might expect, we have people available to help you setup the data
conversions that you need. Give Dave Gaertner a call (713.722.2866) or
drop
him an e-mail (dgaertne@xxxxxxxxxxx)

Regards,
=20
Alex Johnson
Invensys Systems, Inc.
10707 Haddington
Houston, TX 77043
713.722.2859 (voice)
713.722.2700 (operator)
713.932.0222 (fax)
ajohnson@xxxxxxxxxxx
For the latest information on ArchestrA, go to
http://www.invensys.com/Archestra.html.
=20

-----Original Message-----
From: foxboro-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:foxboro-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On
Behalf Of Lowell, Tim:
Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 2004 10:05 AM
To: foxboro@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [foxboro] InTools

This is probably directed more at the Invensys people who read this
list, but some others of you may have some information.  A while back in
the mid-90's Foxboro was a distributor for InTools, and one of the main
selling points was that it could import FoxCAE data directly into it.
In fact, InTools was sold as FoxCAD.  Is this relationship completely
severed?  Does this import function still exist somewhere deep in the
Invensys knowledge vaults?  We will most likely be installing InTools as
part of a corporate initiative, and I'm sure it would be a big money and
time saver if we could import our FoxCAE data right into it.  If anybody
has any information on this, I would appreciate it.
=20

Thanks,

=20

Tim Lowell

Control Systems Engineer

ConocoPhillips Trainer Refinery

(610) 364-8362

tim.c.lowell@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

=20


=20
=20
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