Student Spotlight: Droid Names, Faraway Galaxies or Automation Components?
2018AutomationDirect SpotlightIssue 39Issue 39 - 2018ProductStudent SpotlightVariable Speed Drives

Student Spotlight: Droid Names, Faraway Galaxies or Automation Components?

VFDs, RS485, PLCs — these terms may seem like names of droids or faraway galaxies and planets in a “Star Wars” movie. However, they really refer to earthly based components that Vermont Technical College engineering student Dan Rapoza learned about when he set out to help a dairy farmer save time and money by automating…
Brainteasers - Issue 39, 2018
Issue 39 - 2018Uncategorized

Brainteasers - Issue 39, 2018

1.) Conveyor Race Three boxes of automation equipment are traveling in the same direction on parallel conveyors in the AutomationDirect warehouse. At a certain moment, a box full of motors is a certain distance behind a box of gears, which is twice that distance behind a box of timing belts. The conveyors are all moving…
Brainteaser Answers - Issue 39, 2018
Issue 39 - 2018

Brainteaser Answers - Issue 39, 2018

1.) Conveyor Race The box of gears will pass the box of timing belts 6 minutes and 40 seconds after the box of motors passed the box of timing belts. 2.) Fuse Ruse They shipped four boxes of 17 and two boxes of 16 – for a total of exactly 100 fuses. 3.) Paint Match…
Pick the Right Solenoid Valve
Learning ResourcesOnline BlogPneumaticsPneumatics MoreProduct

Pick the Right Solenoid Valve

To control pneumatic cylinders and actuators with fluid power, air flow must be reliably controlled, typically with a solenoid valve. Pat Phillips, Product Manager, Fluid Power & Mechanical Products at AutomationDirect, wrote an article titled There’s a Valve for That, which ran in the November-December 2017 issue of IEN magazine. In the article, he discussed…
Microcontrollers versus PLCs: There’s a Clear Winner for Your Industrial Applications
Learning ResourcesOnline BlogProductProgrammable Control

Microcontrollers versus PLCs: There’s a Clear Winner for Your Industrial Applications

The world of single-board computers and microcontrollers offers interesting and inexpensive opportunities for automation applications, but can these components be trusted in critical production applications? The assortment of microcontrollers emerging in the “maker” world has been growing rapidly, with no signs of abating. These devices—including Arduino, BeagleBone, Raspberry Pi and others—offer extraordinary capabilities, along with…
Arduino versus BRX PLC in Industrial Automation Applications
+Tech TopicsIssue 38 - 2017Learning ResourcesNotebook IssueProductProgrammable Control

Arduino versus BRX PLC in Industrial Automation Applications

In the world of garage or basement automation and robot builders, numerous low-cost microcontrollers and related software are used for real-time control. Arduino and Raspberry Pi are perhaps two of the most popular out of dozens of options (Figure 1). These open-source controllers are available from several suppliers, but using them in a real-time industrial…
Efficient PLC Programming Driven by Programming Software
Issue 38 - 2017Notebook IssueProductProgrammable Control

Efficient PLC Programming Driven by Programming Software

Programmable logic controllers (PLCs) are available in a variety of sizes for applications big and small.  While the application’s hardware requirements often drive the PLC selection, the programming software’s capabilities should also be considered as it has a significant effect on program development. Some programmers may open the PLC programming software, create a new project…