To improve performance and reliability, this grain blending company knew it needed to upgrade its homebrew controls to a modern control system platform. Many small- and mid-sized manufacturing operations have some degree of automated equipment, but lack the in-house skill to perform upgrades and capital projects. Ethan Taylor founded Taylor Controls to help this market…
By partnering with a local systems integrator and using AutomationDirect products, this machine shop enhanced its capabilities, allowing it to deliver the services required by its customers. Throughout the country, networks of small businesses—including machine shops and systems integrators (SIs)—innovate and integrate to deliver successful projects. One example is a collaboration between Stephens Machine and…
A truck customization shop expanded their capabilities by offering AutomationDirect PLCs and HMIs to control expansive on-vehicle lighting displays. Just as many car owners like to customize their rides, there is a growing convoy of truck operators who like to do the same as a personal and promotional statement. Dickerson Custom Trucks has been catering…
This resort site uses AutomationDirect VFDs to control waterpark systems, in the process adding the capability to manage and upgrade their own equipment. When the Triple R Camping Resort enhanced their facility to include a waterpark with interactive water features, they also needed to upgrade some behind-the-scenes elements, such as pumps, and the VFDs controlling…
A modern PLC automation platform will keep a classic industrial machine running for years to come. Cotton production originated thousands of years ago, but modern machines, like the cotton gin and the cotton baler (or cotton baling press), have made its processing much more efficient over the past 200 years. These machines can be kept…
ApplicationApplication StoriesFood and BeverageHMIIndustryIssue 51 2024Machine ControlOperator InterfacePLCProductProgrammable Control
In-House Automation Focuses on People, Plant, and Profit
A cheese manufacturer developed in-house automation capabilities to keep legacy equipment running and responsively adjust to production demands. Many companies rely on external firms for automation upgrades and changes, and this works well for countless applications. But Pacific Cheese Company faced a dual challenge of maintaining and improving manual and legacy systems, while at the…
These University of Colorado—Colorado Springs students performed their capstone design project by using AutomationDirect products to optimize operations for a master distiller. A team of electrical and computer engineering students at the University of Colorado—Colorado Springs (UCCS) got a flavor of industrial automation and the taste of success as they designed and tested an automated…
Many types of legacy equipment can last for decades from a mechanical standpoint, but periodic digital upgrades are necessary to keep these systems running efficiently. A significant amount of machinery used in manufacturing industries is built using electromechanical components that can be readily repaired or replaced to keep capital equipment in service for many decades….
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A team of students at the UMass Amherst College of Engineering recently completed a capstone project to allow remote monitoring of a wind turbine. This team of mechanical engineering students consists of five students, each with an area of primary responsibility: Jay Sant; Team Lead, Ryan Sullivan; Design Lead, Thomas Haley; Analysis Lead, Jack Drummond;…