Upcycling with Automation
ApplicationApplication StoriesIssue 47 -2022Machine ControlOpen SourcePneumaticsPneumaticsProduct

Upcycling with Automation

An innovator found a way to upcycle bottle caps into extraordinary products, an activity that also helps support local children’s charities. By applying practical AutomationDirect devices and components, he has efficiently scaled up production. When Nathan Rues started a hobby of collecting bottle caps while in college, little did he know that one day this…
Eastern Washington University Students Look for a Smooth Ride
ApplicationApplication StoriesAutomationDirect SpotlightEducation/DIYIndustryIssue 42 - 2019Machine ControlNotebook IssuePneumaticsPneumaticsProductStudent Spotlight

Eastern Washington University Students Look for a Smooth Ride

Everyone likes a smooth ride in their vehicle — unless you are off road in a 4-wheel drive vehicle. Most of us will avoid the bumps and potholes to drive on the smoothest pavement possible. Car manufacturers recognize this too. They spend lots of money on TV, print and digital advertising to promote that their…
Halloween DIY How To Prop - Automated Door
ApplicationApplication StoriesEducation/DIYIndustryMachine ControlOnline OnlyPneumatics

Halloween DIY How To Prop - Automated Door

Things that go bump in the night takes on a whole new meaning with AutomationDirect’s latest Halloween project. The recent installment in their long-running Halloween DIY How To Prop series shows how quick and simple it is to create a Haunted Automated Door with AutomationDirect parts and service. You and your spooky decorations are guaranteed to…
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…
Pneumatic Application Stories
ApplicationApplication StorieseBookEducation/DIYIndustryLearning ResourcesMachine ControlManufacturingOnline OnlyPneumatic eBookPneumaticsPneumaticsPneumatics eBookProduct

Pneumatic Application Stories

Want some examples of what people are doing with pneumatics? You’re in luck, we have a full collection of Application Stories here. For your convenience we took the time to list some of our favorites. You can see a preview below and then pick the ones that look the most interesting to you. Just remember that…
DIY Halloween Pneumatic Props
ApplicationApplication StoriesEducation/DIYEntertainmentIndustryMachine ControlOnline OnlyPneumaticsPneumaticsProductProgrammable Control

DIY Halloween Pneumatic Props

Halloween will sneak up before you know it. So have you started planning your creepy, scary, or horrifyingly haunting Halloween props yet? If not, take a look at our three Halloween YouTube videos that I’m sure will scare…I mean…inspire you. Each video below explains how to build a DIY Halloween pneumatic creation step by step….
Shier Terror Haunts West Coast
ApplicationApplication StoriesAutomationDirect SpotlightEducation/DIYEntertainmentIndustryIssue 33 - 2015Machine ControlNotebook IssuePneumaticsPneumaticsProductStudent SpotlightStudent Spotlight

Shier Terror Haunts West Coast

Scott Shier, with his namesake organization, Shier Terror, presented a pneumatics seminar in May, 2015, at the West Coast Haunters Convention in Portland, Oregon. His intent was to expose a group of fifteen “Home Haunter” students to the capabilities of pneumatic systems as they are often used in haunted houses. ‘Haunting’ with Pneumatics West Coast…
Ohio Students Improve Assembly Process for Employees With Disabilities
ApplicationApplication StoriesAutomation NotebookAutomationDirect SpotlightControl & Signaling DevicesEducation/DIYIndustryIssue 32 - 2015Learning ResourcesManufacturingManufacturingNotebook IssuePneumaticsPneumaticsProductStudent SpotlightStudent Spotlight

Ohio Students Improve Assembly Process for Employees With Disabilities

The annual SourceAmerica® Design Challenge is a national engineering competition to design workplace technology for people with disabilities. For this competition, high school students spend months partnering with a nonprofit that employs people with disabilities to invent a device, process, system or software for a more productive work environment. Kirby Harder, Copley High School’s (CHS) Industrial technology…