January 2017 marks the sixth consecutive year that Automation World readers have voted for their “FIRST TEAM” suppliers in PMMI Media Group’s 2016 Leadership in Automation program.
AutomationDirect’s Terminator I/O line includes a new thermistor input module for the Do-more T1H-series PLCs. The T1F-16TMST is a 16-channel Thermistor input module with a temperature input range of -40° to 150° C (-40° to 300° F) and a resolution of +/- 0.1°C or °F.
Linear motion actuators are used in factories for pick and place operations, CNC lasers and routers, complex adhesive application or whenever super-precise and accurate positioning is required.
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The Halloween Box
In every haunted house, you’ll find automated props: chairs that rock on their own, slamming doors, rattling chains, drawers opening and closing as if by some supernatural force. These “tricks” enhance the “treat” of getting the life scared out of you. The process behind making a Halloween prop can be quite simple. Here is just…
On a walk around most any city, you’ll discover dozens of gray “boxes” that are fast becoming an ordinary part of the landscape. You can see these “boxes” attached to utility poles, along sidewalks, and near businesses and schools. Such “boxes” are really enclosures that protect wiring and electrical components vital to our ever-increasing automated…
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Lock-Jaw2 Robot Competes in BattleBots TV Show Using AutomationDirect Parts
Robots Activate! Is a familiar phrase to those fans who follow the BattleBots competition which just completed its 2016 season broadcast on ABC Television in the United States. One of the BattleBots competition veterans, Donald Hutson, has been involved since the show began and has been on the robot combat circuit since 1986.
Part presence sensing is a critical part of automation. A controller must often sense a part is present in a fixture, or sense the part position on a conveyor, to make logic decisions such as run, stop, etc. Presence sensor types include photoelectric, inductive, capacitive and others—and this abundance of choices can complicate specifying the…
AutomationDirect’s enclosure offering now includes rugged INTEGRA polycarbonate enclosures. Integra’s superior polycarbonate design provides an enclosure that is
Automation NotebookCompany TopicsCover StoriesIssue 36 - 2016Learning ResourcesNewsNotebook IssueOnline Blog
Should You Purchase Direct?
Online purchasing has taken over much of the consumer goods sector, and is now a viable option for many industrial automation products. The automation products used by machine builders,
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Keeping the World's Largest Model Train Display On Track
Ahhh… model train displays. There is just something about walking into a showroom with model trains in operation. But what does it take to control the world’s largest indoor train display with over 80?