Industrial Automation News for the Next Generation
Welcome to Library.AutomationDirect.com, where the stacks are filled with tons of industrial automation news & you don’t even need a library card! Here you can read articles from the Automation NOTEBOOK loaded with informative technical articles keeping you on top of what’s happening in the automation industry. Company news, press releases, application stories and more are right here at your fingertips!
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Recent Posts
Highlights As industrial automation moves into a digitally-enabled connected era, three conversations that once lived in separate silos — network design, device level security, and control programming — are converging. That merge is resulting in systems that are built to be both open and resilient. This issue of NOTEBOOK explores these three topics — and…
By Tim Wheeler, Cybersecurity Manager, AutomationDirect When customers purchase industrial components, they’re looking for more than a part number. They want products they can rely on in real-world machines, panels, process lines, and production environments where uptime, maintainability, and predictable operation matter every day. Increasingly, they also want confidence that those products were designed with…
A new class of edge-optimized Ethernet switches are purpose-built for industrial environments and protocols, providing a streamlined approach for connecting valuable OT data with enterprise IT resources for improved visibility, analytics, and proactive diagnostics. By Damon Purvis, AutomationDirect Throughout all aspects of industrial automation, the historical separation between operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT)…
For decades, ladder logic has been the undisputed leader as a PLC programming language, but today’s controls engineers are taking greater advantage of another option, structured text, for advanced applications incorporating data handling, communications, recipe management, and more. By Tim Ensminger, AutomationDirect Programmable logic controllers (PLCs) have served as the preferred machine and factory automation…
Reliable off-the-shelf automation components can accelerate the development of prototype projects and ready them for scale-up. By: David Powell The shipbuilding industry—where lead times for new vessels often stretch into years and repairs are time and safety critical—often requires large, specialized parts, which are costly and time consuming to manufacture with conventional methods. For this…
The IT/OT convergence is inescapable in the modern industrial market. Here’s how to optimize performance while maintaining a secure network. By: Damon Purvis, Alexander Maercz, and Winn Paulk; AutomationDirect For decades, the operational technology (OT) networks responsible for industrial controls were kept separate from IT networks. The approach protected critical industrial operations from vulnerabilities introduced…
Application StoriesDrivesHMIIssue 60 - 2026Notebook IssueOperator InterfacePLCProductProgrammable ControlVariable Speed Drives
Supporting Small and Specialized Automation Applications
How a small system integrator relies on proven automation products to reliably and responsively serve clients. Byline: Mike Watkins, AutoWorks Like enterprises in almost any sector of the economy, industrial automation systems integrators (SIs) come in a wide range of sizes. Many designers and developers, myself included, have worked at a few operations both small…
How a main-street innovation center is helping small-town utilities, students, and researchers get comfortable with industrial controls. By: Greg Martz, CoStream Small municipal water and wastewater systems are among the quietest success stories in American infrastructure. Some estimates suggest that about 90% of the water systems in the United States fall into the “small” category,…
Incessant Crescent Determine the area of the green shaded portion of the diagram, given only the lengths of the three chords on the major axes of the larger circle. Demonic Ultrasonics Twelve di-soric® Ultrasonic Proximity Sensors have been laid out in a familiar “3-4-5” triangular pattern, such that the bounded area of the right triangle…
Press Releases
August 19, 2026 – AutomationDirect has added Murrelektronik M12 A-coded 8-pin shielded cables that are made to deliver dependable connectivity in harsh industrial and hygienic environments. These cables are available in straight or right-angle configurations, offered in various lengths, and feature an industry-standard M12 A-coded female connector with open pigtail ends that enable seamless integration…
August 19, 2026 – AutomationDirect has added Penn-Union BBLU series copper compression lugs which deliver superior electrical connectivity across a wide range of applications. Featuring high-conductivity, tin-plated copper construction, these long barrel lugs provide enhanced mechanical strength, deeper conductor insertion, and excellent pull-out resistance compared to standard barrel designs. Available in 1-hole and 2-hole tongue…
August 19th, 2026-AutomationDirect now offers Optris Xi 410 LT series infrared thermal cameras that combine the functionality of a thermal imaging camera and an infrared pyrometer in a compact, fixed-mount solution. Unlike single-point infrared sensors, the Xi 410 LT monitors an entire field of view, allowing users to visualize heat distribution, identify hot spots, and…
August 12, 2026 – AutomationDirect has added Wenglor weFlux2 insertion-style flow sensors which measure flow velocity and temperature using a single probe for closed-pipe systems. By eliminating the need for a separate temperature sensor, they reduce installation and wiring complexity, as well as overall system cost. Operating on the calorimetric measuring principle, they detect changes…
August 5, 2026 – AutomationDirect now offers Ashcroft T4 series mechanical temperature switches which provide reliable temperature monitoring and control for demanding industrial applications. These rugged switches feature high 15A SPDT switch contacts that can directly control larger loads, reducing or eliminating the need for external contactors or interposing relays. The T4 series offers field-adjustable…
August 5, 2026 – AutomationDirect has added Gefran GRM-H series SCR power controllers that convert analog signals (0–10 V, 4–20 mA), PWM duty-cycle outputs, potentiometer, and discrete ON/OFF commands from PLCs and PID controllers into precise SCR-based control of AC power for industrial heating applications. These ultra-compact controllers are available in 10 A, 25 A,…