Metal Work Series 70 Valves from AutomationDirect
Issue 52, 2024NewsPress ReleasesPress Releases

Metal Work Series 70 Valves from AutomationDirect

May 8, 2024 – AutomationDirect has added Metal Work Series 70 valves to their Valves and Pneumatic Components categories. Metal Work is a trusted name in pneumatics and several new valve types are available, including toggle and axial lever manual valves, push-pull manual valves, mechanically operated air valves (mechanical limit switch valves), pushbutton air valves,…
ifm efector Barcode Scanners, Cameras, and Vision Sensors from AutomationDirect
Issue 52, 2024NewsPress ReleasesPress Releases

ifm efector Barcode Scanners, Cameras, and Vision Sensors from AutomationDirect

May 1, 2024 – AutomationDirect has added machine-mountable barcode scanners, 2D cameras, and 3D vision sensors from ifm efector to their Barcode/RFID/Vision category. Machine-mountable barcode scanners can read popular industrial 1D and 2D codes such as Code 128, Code 39, QR codes, and many more. They are excellent for applications requiring machine mounting, conveyor mounting,…
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…
Harnessing the Power of Play: Engaging PLC Students with a Vehicle Simulator
AutomationDirect SpotlightIssue 52, 2024Student SpotlightStudent Spotlight

Harnessing the Power of Play: Engaging PLC Students with a Vehicle Simulator

Students in Belleville, Ontario, Canada, have found a way to combine their passion for video games with the industrial controls coursework they are studying at the Centennial Secondary School. The team  of 11th  and 12th year students was guided by their instructor; John Harpell, an electronics and automation controls veteran with thirty years of experience….
Industrializing an Arduino: Making a Single-Board Controller Fit for the Factory
Issue 48 -2022Notebook IssueProductProgrammable Control

Industrializing an Arduino: Making a Single-Board Controller Fit for the Factory

Arduinos and similar devices can be highly versatile but are too delicate for industrial environments. We test a new version designed with a tougher form factor. Byline: Doug Reneker In two previous project articles, we set out to prove that single-board controllers, common to the maker community, can be adapted to industrial applications. Or it…
Issue 48, 2022
Issue 48 -2022

Issue 48, 2022

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” This is known as the prayer for serenity, and it seems now, more than ever, that this simple prayer holds an immense amount of weight. Currently, there are…
Student Spotlight: OSU Students Save Dying Fish
AutomationDirect SpotlightIssue 48 -2022Notebook IssueStudent SpotlightStudent Spotlight

Student Spotlight: OSU Students Save Dying Fish

A team of engineering students from Oklahoma State emailed Automation Direct last year with a disturbing problem: Fish were dying! These engineering students had been contacted, in turn, by students in the nearby Culinary Arts program who run an aquaponics farm.  Aquaponics combines aquaculture (raising fish and other marine life in tanks) with hydroponics (growing…