Cybersecurity: Pursuing Basics First
+Tech TopicsIssue 55, 2025Learning ResourcesNotebook Issue

Cybersecurity: Pursuing Basics First

Many industrial automation end users are not staffed to deploy cutting-edge cybersecurity provisions, but they all will benefit from performing attainable and practical basic steps. By Tim Wheeler, AutomationDirect Albert Einstein said, “Genius is making complex ideas simple, not making simple ideas complex.” Modern cybersecurity is an example of an extremely complex subject, where a…
Outfitting Your Panel Shop to be Safe and Efficient
+Tech TopicsHand Tools &Test EquipmentIssue 55, 2025Learning ResourcesNotebook IssueProductTech Thread

Outfitting Your Panel Shop to be Safe and Efficient

AutomationDirect has created an extensive portfolio of professional-grade control panel products, tools, and test equipment, all readily available at reasonable cost so that shops can equip their technicians to deliver high-quality results. By Zach Ganster, AutomationDirect The “good/better/best” concept is familiar to most people. When it comes to obtaining anything we use in our daily…
Diving Deep into STEM Education
AutomationDirect SpotlightIssue 55, 2025Notebook IssueStudent SpotlightStudent Spotlight

Diving Deep into STEM Education

This student team gained valuable STEM experience by developing an underwater remote operated vehicle, and they accelerated their efforts by using commercially available industrial-grade components. By: Geoff Gardener, North Paulding High School Exploration of both the deep sea and of outer space share a lot in common. Both are extremely unforgiving environments where it is…
Beyond Safety Slogans: Cultivating a Workforce Culture to Protect People and Productivity
+Tech TopicsIssue 55, 2025Learning ResourcesNotebook IssueProductSafetyTech Thread

Beyond Safety Slogans: Cultivating a Workforce Culture to Protect People and Productivity

By Travis Morris, Safety Administrator, AutomationDirect As we recognize National Safety Month this June 2025, it’s the perfect time to reflect on how industrial safety has evolved alongside technological advancement. At AutomationDirect, we’ve seen firsthand how the safety landscape in manufacturing and logistics continues to advance rapidly, creating both new challenges and unprecedented opportunities for…
Building a Safety Component Fortress Around Equipment
Issue 55, 2025Notebook IssueProductSafety

Building a Safety Component Fortress Around Equipment

By: Larry Reynolds, AutomationDirect Safety systems play a crucial role in industrial equipment, protecting personnel, guarding against machine damage, and minimizing unscheduled downtime. To make a machine totally safe, we could build a wall around it, cut the power, send staff home, and lock the doors after them. That approach isn’t particularly practical, however. Instead,…
Issue 55, 2025
Uncategorized

Issue 55, 2025

In the world of manufacturing, efficiency and productivity often take center stage. However, there’s one element that must always be prioritized above allelse: employee safety. Recognizing that June is National Safety Month, AutomationDirect is dedicating much of this issue of NOTEBOOK to addressing the issuesthat impact safety in the manufacturing workplace — from culture to…
Brainteasers, Issue 55, 2025
Issue 55, 2025Notebook IssueUncategorized

Brainteasers, Issue 55, 2025

Polka Dot Remainder Find the area of the blue shaded portion in each figure below: Area Sensors Speaking of Area – did you know that AutomationDirect offers multiple types of Area Sensors? Also known as Measuring Light Grids, these sensors can detect the presence of an object within the grid, AND measure that object’s height….
Helukabel HELUKAT Ethernet and Profinet Cable from AutomationDirect
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Helukabel HELUKAT Ethernet and Profinet Cable from AutomationDirect

April 30, 2205 – AutomationDirect has added Helukabel’s HELUKAT industrial Ethernet and Profinet cables featuring a halogen-free, flame-retardant, and durable construction built to support a variety of industrial requirements. New Type B, Type B Hybrid (with power conductors), Type R, and Type C Profinet cables are designed to provide reliable data transmission in dynamic or…
Lika® Draw Wire Encoders from AutomationDirect
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Lika® Draw Wire Encoders from AutomationDirect

April 30, 2025 – AutomationDirect has added Lika draw wire linear measurement devices, also known as string encoders or string potentiometers, which use a steel cable wrapped on a spring-loaded reel to measure distance. The reel is connected to a rotary encoder or potentiometer that can provide very accurate feedback on how far the steel…