Industrial Automation News for the Next Generation
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Recent Posts
Even desktop- and garage-sized process and manufacturing applications can benefit greatly from automation, but only when the right products are available to help designers easily create a solution. This Control Design October 2025 article titled How to Apply Industrial Control to Small-Batch Distillation: A Case Study in Smart Reflux Automation followed a small team as…
When you grab a snack from a vending machine or pick up a prescription from the pharmacy, you probably don’t think about the sensors working behind the scenes to make those conveniences possible. And chances are good that you don’t wonder about the sophisticated vision systems ensuring product quality or the precise measurement technologies verifying…
Automated Robotic Welding Cuts Production Time by Over 90% A manufacturing company teamed up with a systems integration firm to significantly accelerate an infrastructure project by integrating a robotic welder with precision motion control, intelligent safety systems, and other advanced automation components. Learn more Demystifying Motion Control Anyone who has ever observed a modern factory…
In process industries like oil and gas, chemical, paper, and water treatment, precision is everything. That’s why PLCs—once simple relay replacers—have evolved into powerful, real-time control hubs capable of enabling intelligent operations across increasingly connected systems. To explore how PLC technology is transforming process control, we spoke with Jeff Payne, Director of Business Development at…
Application StoriesAutomation NotebookHMIIssue 56, 2025Operator InterfacePLCProductProgrammable Control
Automation of a Pilot-Scale Distillation Process
Applying large-scale automation concepts and technologies to a small-scale process operation. By Doug Reneker Small-scale distillation processes can take many forms because there are countless possible objectives, but the underlying principles reflect those used by large-scale companies to produce fuel, chemicals, and alcoholic beverages. Boutique and hobbyist practitioners creating products worthy of aging and imbibing…
Building and Growing Robotics Teams AutomationDirect started supporting student robotics efforts in 2005 by sponsoring a single high school robotics team, as part of the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) organization. FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) Team 1746, also known as Team OTTO, which began as a community team of students from…
By: Rin Irvin and Josh Waters It’s an engineering truth that there’s no such thing as a perfect solution, just the best solution for the project at hand. This principle remains true for process control applications. PLCs are powerful and comprehensive control solutions, but not every industrial process needs that level of functionality. For every…
Highlights Since its humble beginnings in the 1960s as a replacement for relay logic systems on the automotive line, programmable logic controllers (PLCs) have evolved into multi-core processing units that run many critical functions in manufacturing plants. With more processing power and more memory, the PLC has also expandedbeyond discrete operations for basic sequencing into…
Application StoriesAutomation NotebookCommunicationsEnclosures & AccessoriesHMIIssue 56, 2025Operator InterfacePLCProductProgrammable Control
Cooking Up a Partnership
A system integrator supports their food processing client, implementing industrial automation technologies for a mix of OEM equipment and systems throughout the facility. By Jordan Hulsey, Caldwell Electrical Contractors, Inc. With busy lives and schedules often bursting at the seams, ready-to-eat (RTE) food has become a convenience that many indulge in—and some may even rely…
Press Releases
AutomationDirect has added Murrelektronik 7/8 in – 16 UN2 mini cables that enables the transmission of both power and critical control signals.
September 10, 2025 – AuotmationDirect has added IDEM UGB-NET gate boxes that are designed for installation on machine guard doors, serving as an integrated solenoid locking guard with a double tamper-resistant interlock mechanism. Similar to universal gate boxes, these devices add the ability to communicate over the CIP safety protocol, providing greater functionality and easier…
September 10, 2025- AutomationDirect has added Dehn EZ50-S series surge protective devices (SPDs) which protect equipment from harmful voltage spikes and surges and are designed for challenging outdoor applications. They ensure uninterrupted performance and system uptime and are ideal for electric vehicles, water/wastewater facilities, data centers, mobile phone sites, and many more commercial/industrial environments. These rugged…
AutomationDirect adds Penn-Union BLUA series aluminum compression lugs which are built from premium-grade materials, and deliver exceptional conductivity.
AutomationDirect has added AcuAMP 3-phase voltage transducers and ground fault sensors that deliver precise multi-phase voltage measurement.
AutomationDirect has added Eltwin solid state contactors which provide load switching control with the advantage of no moving parts, considerably extending service life and reducing maintenance costs.