Lock your doors, board up the windows, and prepare yourself for a deeper look into PID loops! Now, if you are still here, great! If you ran out of the room screaming like I did, you can catch up later. For some, PID loops can be scary. After all, they are pretty complex and involve…
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PLC Communications - Coming of Age
PLC communications has grown and changed over the many years since the controller’s inception decades ago. Industrial needs and technological advances have kept PLC communications evolving, and this post will explore some past and present communication standards, and what the future may hold. PLC Partners in Communications PLCs need to communicate to a number of different…
+Tech TopicsCommunications and Ethernetethernet explosionLearning ResourcesOnline OnlyPLC eBookProductProgrammable Control
EtherNet/IP: Implicit vs. Explicit Messaging
Over the years, Ethernet/IP has grown into an impressive industrial Ethernet communication network for connecting automation equipment, processes and machines. Keys to its success are the network and transport layers where explicit and implicit messaging takes place; here’s how to use these features to optimize your EtherNet/IP networks. Please refer to the Table and Diagram…
Motion control is generally understood to mean the use of servo and/or stepper systems as the “muscle” to move a given load. These motion control systems are capable of extremely precise speed, position, and torque control. Applications which require positioning of product, synchronization of separate elements, or rapid start/stop motion are all perfect candidates for…
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Portable Water Treatment Platform Removes Phosphorus Economically
A trailer-mounted water treatment process controlled by a Productivity2000 PLC has recently been developed at the University of Idaho. Professor Greg Möller, in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, along with engineers from the College of Engineering have teamed up to build the platform, and to further research the economical removal of phosphorus from various…
You’ve probably seen and read way too many articles telling you to use variable frequency drives on your AC motors to save energy, reduce maintenance and lengthen motor life. This is not one of those articles. Instead, we’re going to show you just how to calculate whether or not a VFD makes sense for your…
Circuit Protection is a big topic. With so many types of products available, coupled with the fact that I think I am getting old, I have found that it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep it all straight. If you share in this frustration, no worries because conveniently located below is a chart that I think might…
For those who work in electrical design, a prominent concern is circuit protection. While a lot of circuit protection technologies exist, it is most common to guard against overcurrent situations. Overcurrent protection can be achieved by incorporating fuses or circuit breakers along the primary power feed. But which of these devices do you use for branch…
Photoelectric, proximity and capacitive sensors are used in a wide variety of machines and industrial equipment, but selecting the best sensor for the job can be confusing. This blog post and the accompanying articles will help you sort out the best sensor for your application. During sensor selection, it’s important to understand sensor requirements and specifications…
What is a Fuse? Fuses are sacrificial devices used to protect much more expensive electrical components from the damaging effects of overcurrent. They consist of a low-resistance metal or wire that is used to close a circuit. When too much current flows through the low resistance element of the fuse, the element melts and breaks…