Issue 52, 2024
Automation NotebookLearning Resources

Issue 52, 2024

AutomationDirect has a long history of providing high quality industrial automation technology at affordable prices through the convenience of e-commerce. But their company is not just an online catalog retailer of controllers, HMIs, components, instrumentation, wiring solutions, and the like. The AutomationDirect websiteprovides a resource for engineers, offering product comparisons, training, technical support, system integration…
Brain Teasers Answers
Automation NotebookIssue 52, 2024Learning Resources

Brain Teasers Answers

Check out the answers to Brain Teasers from Automation Notebook below: Qualified Distributions Answer Starting with the lead electrician, the starting (and ending) lug quantities must have been 12,10,8,6,4,2,0. To reason this though, start with the last electrician – they must be left with 0 lugs, because the last redistribution is for THAT last electrician…
Issue 51, 2024
Automation Notebook

Issue 51, 2024

Learning how to catch and clean a fish, how to change a flat tire, and how to drive a stick shift are some of the many important life lessons I learned over my years. Those lessons have served me well, but at this stage of my life I have found another, equally important lesson and…
Issue 49, 2023
Automation NotebookLearning Resources

Issue 49, 2023

One of the best things about AutomationDirect, in my opinion, is our continuous focus on customer needs. We strive to go above and beyond for our customers, and we always appreciate feedback on how we’re doing and what products we may be lacking. Using surveys, reviews, forum posts, etc., we try to reach out as…
PLC Package Handling
ApplicationAutomation NotebookDistribution/LogisticsIndustryIssue 42 - 2019Issue 46, 2021Learning ResourcesMaterial HandlingNotebook IssuePackagingProductProgrammable Control

PLC Package Handling

PLCs play a major role when it comes to material or package handling operations. Conveyors, motors, drives, object detection sensors and of course controllers are used quite often when it comes to delivering your suitcase to the right airplane or getting the laptop you ordered to the right delivery truck. But how would you go…
Mobile Industrial is the New Normal
Automation NotebookData System MonitoringIssue 42 - 2019Learning ResourcesMachine ControlNotebook IssueOperator InterfaceProduct

Mobile Industrial is the New Normal

Most plant floor workers already carry mobile devices, so using them to access, control and monitor equipment is a natural next step. The September 2018 issue of Control Design magazine featured a cover story spotlighting new and better ways for delivering a mobile industrial operator interface experience. Titled A Better Interface, the article presented input…
Copley High School Student Project and Update
Automation NotebookAutomationDirect SpotlightIssue 41 - 2019Learning ResourcesNotebook IssueStudent Spotlight

Copley High School Student Project and Update

We’ve covered the engineering students at Copley High School twice in recent years here in the Student Spotlight. Copley HS is a suburban, public high school just west of Akron, Ohio.  The school’s engineering program works closely with local industry and with their disabled employees to help automate various processes to achieve additional productivity for…
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…