Effective Process Skid Automation
ApplicationProcess ControlProductProgrammable Control

Effective Process Skid Automation

Process skids are used in many industries and present a host of automation challenges, each of which can be met by using the right controller hardware and software. Jeff Payne, the Automation Controls Group Product Manager at AutomationDirect, wrote an article appearing in the September 2018 issue of Processing magazine titled Effective Process Skid Automation….
Mastering Machine Maintenance
+Tech TopicsApplicationAutomationDirect SpotlightIssue 41 - 2019Learning ResourcesMachine ControlNotebook IssueSystem Integrators

Mastering Machine Maintenance

Machine builders, robot builders and system integrators offer advice for maintaining industrial machines. In the May 2019 issue of Control Design magazine, the cover story focus was machine maintenance. The story, titled Machine design with maintenance in mind, discussed best practices for maintaining machines, with input from numerous sources including machine builders, robot builders and…
Data-Driven Trends
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Data-Driven Trends

The tried and true industrial data collection methods of the last several decades will expand into the future as Big Data and IIoT technology developments lead to more data, analytics and related benefits. Bill Dehner, Technical Marketing Engineer at AutomationDirect, wrote an article for the September-October issue of IEN titled Data-Driven Trends. Dehner says many…
Open System Provides Precise Temperature Control
ApplicationApplication StoriesAutomationDirect SpotlightFacilitiesIndustryIssue 41 - 2019Notebook IssuePLCProcess ControlProductProgrammable ControlSystem Integrators

Open System Provides Precise Temperature Control

System integrator Affinity Energy worked with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to design and install a new temperature control system for their research chambers. By Allan Evora, President of Affinity Energy The University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill was spending too much time and money supporting an existing control system….
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…
Combining Components in Pneumatic Systems Designs
+Tech TopicsLearning ResourcesMachine ControlPneumaticsPneumatics MoreProduct

Combining Components in Pneumatic Systems Designs

Pneumatics have been used in industrial machines and manufacturing plants and facilities for decades, so most of the basic components are tried and true, with significant innovations few and far between. But there are many innovative ways to combine these different components to create pneumatic subsystems. The explains four pneumatic subsystems, showing how combining basic…
Let’s Ride the Roller Coaster! - An AutomationDirect Case Study
ApplicationApplication StoriesCompany TopicsEntertainmentIndustryLearning ResourcesMachine ControlMotor ControlsNewsOnline BlogPLCProductProgrammable Control

Let’s Ride the Roller Coaster! - An AutomationDirect Case Study

Manny Salazar, the Manager at Automated Integration LLC, wrote an article titled Roller Coaster Overhaul for the April 2018 issue of Automation World. The article told the story on how Automated Integration replaced an old PLC, a bunch of relays and what seemed like miles of wire when upgrading the control and safety system on…
PLCs Improve Controls of Radio Broadcasts
ApplicationApplication StoriesAutomation NotebookEntertainmentIndustryIssue 38 - 2017Learning ResourcesMachine ControlNotebook IssuePLCProductProgrammable Control

PLCs Improve Controls of Radio Broadcasts

Broadcasting is a high tech industry and much of it is cutting edge, such as Ethernet-based audio over IP. Our industry employs the latest technology in many areas, such as the use of coding algorithms for bit rate reduction and remote broadcasting. But when it comes to controlling the radio signals sent out by the…