Water Utility Improves Operations with Standardized Automation
Application StoriesCommunicationsHMIIndustryPLCProductProgrammable ControlWater/Wastewater

Water Utility Improves Operations with Standardized Automation

See how a water utility standardized around AutomationDirect products to improve operations while saving time and money. A team of operations, maintenance, and engineering personnel at Helix Water District in San Diego, CA has retrofitted and constructed many sites using automation hardware and best practices based on AutomationDirect products. David Reagan wrote an article with…
Modern Controls Automate Rock Crushing
ApplicationApplication StoriesHMIMachine ControlMaterial HandlingPLCProgrammable Control

Modern Controls Automate Rock Crushing

InterConnecting Automation, an AutomationDirect system integrator, helps in-house staff to upgrade an aging and highly manual control system into a modern and easy-to-configure design. Todd Timpa, assistant general manager at CTC Crushing, wrote an article for the October 2019 issue of Control titled Modern Controls, System Integrator Automate Rock Crushing. Here’s a summary, click on…
Crushing the Control System
ApplicationApplication StoriesDrivesHMIIndustryIssue 42 - 2019Machine ControlManufacturingMotorsNotebook IssueOperator InterfacePLCProcess ControlProductProgrammable ControlVariable Speed Drives

Crushing the Control System

Upgrading to a modern control system platform with the help of a local system integrator transforms a rock crushing plant from manual to fully automatic operation. By Todd Timpa, Assistant General Manager at CTC Crushing Impact Sand and Gravel is the leading supplier of aggregate and sand in the Las Vegas area, producing and distributing…
Honing in on Machine Automation
+Tech TopicsApplicationApplication StoriesEnergy/UtilitiesHMIIndustryLearning ResourcesMachine ControlManufacturingOperator InterfacePLCProductProgrammable Control

Honing in on Machine Automation

The automation and electrical system on a large, 82-year-old cylinder honing machine was replaced with a variety of AutomationDirect hardware to improve cycle time, safety and quality. Andrew Marks, Maintenance Foreman and Master Electrician at Exline Leasing Inc., wrote an article for the January 2019 issue of Control Design magazine, titled Honing in on Machine…
Automating Small-Scale Wastewater Treatment Plants
Application StoriesHMIIndustryPLCProcess ControlProductProgrammable ControlWater/Wastewater

Automating Small-Scale Wastewater Treatment Plants

Gary H. Lucas, Director of Innovation at Innovative Treatment Products, wrote an article that ran in the July 2018 issue of Control Design magazine titled Wastewater Treatment Plants Can Be Built for Small-Scale Applications. Any facility too isolated to connect to a larger sewer system—such as a school, office or retailer—will have to supply its…
System Integrator and AutomationDirect partner Affinity Energy Designed, Built and Installed a Research Chamber Temperature Control System
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System Integrator and AutomationDirect partner Affinity Energy Designed, Built and Installed a Research Chamber Temperature Control System

The University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill spends almost $1 billion on research annually, ranking eighth among universities in the U.S. However, it was spending too much money and time supporting an existing temperature chamber control system.
Improving Pivot Irrigation Systems with AutomationDirect
AgricultureApplicationApplication StoriesAutomation NotebookHMIIndustryIssue 37 - 2017Learning ResourcesNotebook IssueOperator InterfaceProcess ControlProductProgrammable Control

Improving Pivot Irrigation Systems with AutomationDirect

If you’ve ever taken a long road trip, you’ve probably passed large fields of crops, which every now and then contained odd looking metal pipe structures on wheels stretching across the fields. These metal monsters, known as pivot irrigation systems, are used extensively in agriculture and have greatly improved the efficiency of the crop irrigation…
The Halloween Box
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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…
Automation Improves Alternator Test System
ApplicationApplication StoriesAutomation NotebookEducation/DIYHMIIndustryIssue 31 - 2015Learning ResourcesNotebook IssueOperator InterfacePLCProductProgrammable ControlTest and MeasurementVariable Speed Drives

Automation Improves Alternator Test System

Opening the hood of your car will reveal a mass of cables and hoses running around the engine block. Somewhere in there is an alternator, which helps keep your car supplied with electric power when it’s running. When an alternator goes bad, most mechanics will replace it with a used unit that has been remanufactured,…