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
ApplicationApplication StoriesEnergy/UtilitiesFacilitiesHMIIndustryLearning ResourcesOnline BlogOnline OnlyPLCProcess Control

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
ApplicationApplication StoriesEducation/DIYEntertainmentHMIIndustryMachine ControlOnline OnlyOperator InterfacePLCPneumaticsPneumaticsProductProgrammable ControlVariable Speed Drives

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,…
Technical College Students Understand Protective Relays
ApplicationApplication StoriesAutomation NotebookAutomationDirect SpotlightEducation/DIYHMIIndustryIssue 31 - 2015Learning ResourcesMachine ControlNotebook IssueOperator InterfacePLCProductProgrammable ControlStudent SpotlightStudent SpotlightVariable Speed Drives

Technical College Students Understand Protective Relays

Protective relays are specialized devices designed to sense abnormal conditions in electric power systems, commanding circuit breakers to trip or close when needed. These relays are absolutely essential to the reliable operation of the electric power generating stations, substations, transmission lines, and distribution systems that comprise any large-scale electric power grid; they are increasingly finding…
Out of the Box - Contest Winners!
ApplicationApplication StoriesDrivesEntertainmentHMIMachine ControlNewsOnline OnlyOperator InterfacePLCPress ReleasesProductProgrammable ControlVariable Speed Drives

Out of the Box - Contest Winners!

What happens to AutomationDirect.com products when they are taken out of the box? We asked you guys to show us what happens when our products leave the box and you get your hands on them. Honestly, the applications that our customers shared with us were amazingly awesome. We had several great videos submitted over the last…
Precise Motion Control Gives Famous Vessel New Life
ApplicationApplication StoriesAutomation NotebookHMIIssue 30 - 2014Learning ResourcesMachine ControlMaterial HandlingMotion ControlNotebook IssueOperator InterfacePLCProductProgrammable ControlUser Solutions

Precise Motion Control Gives Famous Vessel New Life

A piece of Cold War history uses automation for precise control of its floating dry dock. Less expensive components and in-house engineering allowed for a more advanced system. A covered dry dock, with a history worthy of spy novels and action movies, recently received a sophisticated automation motion control upgrade from its previous all-manual controls….
People's Choice for a Cost-Effective and Energy-Efficient Solar-Powered Home
ApplicationApplication StoriesAutomation NotebookAutomationDirect SpotlightDrivesEducation/DIYEnergy/UtilitiesHMIIndustryIssue 29 - 2014Learning ResourcesNotebook IssueOperator InterfacePLCProcess ControlProductProgrammable ControlStudent SpotlightStudent SpotlightVariable Speed Drives

People's Choice for a Cost-Effective and Energy-Efficient Solar-Powered Home

UrbanEden, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s entry to the Solar Decathlon 2013, is a concept home consisting of four connected indoor and outdoor spaces that create a unique
Systems & Controls Takes Time for Tea
ApplicationApplication StoriesDrivesFood and BeverageFood Beverage AutomationHMIIndustryMachine ControlOperator InterfacePLCProductProgrammable ControlVariable Speed Drives

Systems & Controls Takes Time for Tea

Systems & Controls in Lenoir City, Tennessee, was contacted by a scale manufacturing company to develop a brewed tea and coffee container filling machine using four weight transmitters, a DirectLOGIC DL-205 PLC, a RHINO power supply,  a C-more touch panel and a GS2 variable frequency drive.