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
For more than four decades, Mindman Industrial has been helping machine builders and manufacturers turn compressed air, motion, sensing and fluid control into reliable automation. Founded in Taiwan in 1979, Mindman began with pneumatic components and has steadily evolved alongside the automation industry. Today, the company’s portfolio extends well beyond traditional pneumatics, encompassing solenoid valves,…
Mounting a Wi-Fi PLC directly atop a rotating aeration bridge keeps the equipment on track and adds real-time stall protection. One wastewater treatment plant’s aeration basins have run fairly well for 30 years using the same rotating bridge equipment, but there was no effective way to warn operators if anything went awry. In an August…
Choose the Right Safety Components with Confidence Selecting the right machine safety components begins with a clear understanding of risk, safety ratings, and industry standards. Safety ratings provide a standardized framework for evaluating the reliability and risk-reduction capability of safety systems. This white paper explains the key safety ratings used in industrial automation, helping engineers…
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…
Press Releases
September 16th, 2026-AutomationDirect now offers KNIPEX pliers that are professional-grade hand tools engineered for electricians, panel builders, plumbers, maintenance technicians, and automation professionals. This new lineup includes the industry-renowned Cobra water pump pliers, with pushbutton adjustment and self-locking jaws for fast, slip-free gripping, and the innovative pliers wrench, which combines the versatility of adjustable pliers…
September 16, 2026-AutomationDirect has added IronHorse AC motor bases which are designed to simplify installation, improve belt tensioning, and support reliable motor operation. Made in the USA, these motor bases provide convenient mounting and adjustment of AC motors with an expanded selection that includes fixed bases for a wide range of NEMA or IEC frame sizes, pivot-style…
September 16, 2026-AutomationDirect has added Lapp OLFLEX TRAY II power/control cable that is a versatile industrial wiring solution engineered for power, control, instrumentation, and wind turbine applications. Its UL TC-ER rating allows exposed runs from cable trays to equipment without conduit for up to 6 feet, helping reduce installation time, labor, and material costs. Built…
September 9th, 2026-AutomationDirect now offers G.M. International safety solutions that are designed for use in process industries where reliability and operator protection are essential and support safety instrumented functions with features such as SIL-certified performance, high channel density, line and load diagnostics, transparent fault indication, and compatibility with a wide range of control and monitoring…
September 9, 2026 – AutomationDirect has added Metal Work 12mm dual guide rod cylinders expanding the existing guided actuator lineup with a new compact bore size for packaging, material handling, and industrial automation applications. With stroke lengths from 10mm to 250mm, these double-acting cylinders feature dual guide rods for enhanced stability, a magnetic piston for…
September 9, 2026 – AutomationDirect has added Klemsan phase monitoring relays that are compact, DIN rail-mounted devices that continuously monitor 3-phase electrical systems to protect motors and equipment from damaging power quality faults. Available in fixed and adjustable versions, these relays detect phase loss, phase reversal, phase unbalance, overvoltage, undervoltage, neutral loss, and PTC thermistor…