Got Sensors?
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Got Sensors?

Photoelectric, proximity and capacitive sensors are used in a wide variety of machines and industrial equipment, but selecting the best sensor for the job can be confusing. This blog post and the accompanying articles will help you sort out the best sensor for your application. During sensor selection, it’s important to understand sensor requirements and specifications…
Trending Towards Green Machines
+Tech TopicsApplicationEnergy/UtilitiesIndustryLearning ResourcesMachine ControlOnline OnlyProcess Sensing & ControlProductVariable Speed Drives

Trending Towards Green Machines

When wandering the plant floor, keep an eye out for energy wasting machines. Those running conveyors, rattling pumps and hissing air lines on idle equipment not only raise the decibel level in the plant—they also waste energy. With proper monitoring and analysis, machine energy use can be optimized, and these energy saving measures will also improve…
5 Steps to Improve Machine Safety
+Tech TopicsLearning ResourcesOnline OnlyProductSafety

5 Steps to Improve Machine Safety

So the story starts with you looking at a plant full of equipment, some new, some old, with the operators working hard to meet production requirements. If your safety sign reads: “We Have Worked 1 Day(s) with Zero Accidents”, then maybe it’s time to review and improve your plant safety program. It’s everyone’s responsibility to…
AutomationDirect Offers Additional Full-Featured Soft Starters
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AutomationDirect Offers Additional Full-Featured Soft Starters

AutomationDirect’s line of Stellar® soft starters now includes the SR55 series of solid-state soft starters to control three-phase AC induction motors. Designed to withstand up to 477 FLA (at 200-480 VAC), SR55 full-featured solid-state soft starters are available in three frame sizes and provide many advantages over electromechanical contactors. SR55 soft starters are fully digital, provide…
Safety is in Your Hands
Automation NotebookeBookLearning ResourcesOnline OnlyProductSafety

Safety is in Your Hands

How are you keeping your operators’ hands, head and other body parts away from running machinery? Suitable mechanical guarding and guard switches are a good place to start—whether they are tongue interlock, non-contact, hinge interlock, cable pull or other types of safety switches. However, for improved protection of operator body parts from operating machine hazards,…
HMI Upgrade Contest Winner
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HMI Upgrade Contest Winner

We asked you all to submit a photo to show us why you’re in need of an HMI upgrade. It didn’t matter if you were planning to build a new project, trying to bring life to an old machine, or wanting a new HMI just to have it. We just said get creative. So we didn’t know…
Simulation Has Its Advantages
Automation NotebookCover StoriesIssue 32 - 2015Learning ResourcesNotebook Issue

Simulation Has Its Advantages

Creating an accurate software simulation for a complex system can be difficult, but there are many reasons to do it. Creating simulations of automated equipment, processes, and robot sequences is a great way to validate controller programming, test hardware settings, and check HMI configurations—all without cycling the actual equipment.  There can be many advantages to simulation,…