Pneumatic Application Stories
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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…
Giving OEMs Freedom Gets Best Results
+Tech TopicsApplicationCommunicationsLearning ResourcesMachine ControlOnline BlogOnline OnlyOperator InterfaceProduct

Giving OEMs Freedom Gets Best Results

Owners, managers and other decision makers in production facilities should focus on how purchased equipment fills production needs to get the best pricing, delivery and support from machine and process skid builder OEMs. Unfortunately, some instead focus on component specification details, which can make it difficult for OEMs to provide the best pricing, delivery and…
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….
Linking Machines to IT Systems
+Tech TopicsApplicationCommunicationsCover StoriesData and IIoTData CollectionIIoT and DataIssue 33 - 2015Learning ResourcesMachine ControlNotebook IssueOperator InterfaceProductProgrammable Control

Linking Machines to IT Systems

Once upon a time, individual machines were stranded on an island, or just linked to other machines using a few discrete I/O and dry contact relays. Then came machine-to-machine data links such as a proprietary PLC-based network. Today, and certainly in the future, machines are being linked to IT systems.
Converting a Mill/Drill and Installing a VFD
AC Motors and ControlsApplicationApplication StoriesAutomation NotebookDrivesEducation/DIYEnclosures & AccessoriesIndustryIssue 33 - 2015Learning ResourcesMachine ControlMachine ToolMotorsNotebook IssueProductUser SolutionsVariable Speed Drives

Converting a Mill/Drill and Installing a VFD

Several years ago I purchased a Wadkin lathe made in England in late 1964. It is equipped with a very special motor that is 220V, three-phase and 50Hz. Because of the special design of the motor, it has a long extended shaft that carries the four sheave pulley, and because I do not have three-phase…
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…
Trending Towards Green Machines
+Tech TopicsApplicationEnergy/UtilitiesIndustryLearning ResourcesMachine ControlOnline OnlyProcess Sensing & ControlProductVariable Speed Drives

Trending Towards Green Machines

When wandering the plant floor, keep an eye out for energy wasting machines. Those running conveyors, rattling pumps and hissing air lines on idle equipment not only raise the decibel level in the plant—they also waste energy. With proper monitoring and analysis, machine energy use can be optimized, and these energy saving measures will also improve…
The Bulgarian Bat Detector - Simulating Bat Echolocation
ApplicationApplication StoriesAutomation NotebookAutomationDirect SpotlightEducation/DIYIndustryIssue 32 - 2015Learning ResourcesMachine ControlNotebook IssuePLCProductProgrammable ControlSimple PLCSystem IntegratorsUser Solutions

The Bulgarian Bat Detector - Simulating Bat Echolocation

Over my years working as an Automation Systems Integrator, I occasionally get projects that are different from the normal industrial, process and manufacturing systems. I was recently asked to develop the controls for a museum exhibit to simulate a bat’s echolocation. The museum, Children’s Center of Sofia, in Sofia, Bulgaria, and I promptly named the…
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!
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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…