Industrial facilities use many electrical enclosures to house automation and electrical components. Several of these enclosures require cooling and/or heating to control the climate within the enclosure to prevent condensation or component overheating. In this SlideShare, you will learn about the different types of climate control, reasons for use, and how to select and size…
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What is IP69K?
IP69K Definition IP69K is a product standard rating developed to ensure that products carrying this rating comply with required simulated environmental conditions. The most common areas requiring IP69K devices are areas where heavy washdowns are required. Therefore, IP69K rated devices are a must to prevent damage to electronic devices and instrumentation during the washdown procedures….
What is a Ferrule? What is a Ferrule? I ask myself this question thinking specifically of the small metal tube with a colored insulated plastic end where you can insert wire strands and crimp the tube securely to the wire. To answer this question, I decided to do an internet search to see what I…
I remember years ago walking into a production facility and being intrigued by the processes taking place in each section of the production line. It was so interesting to see how things were shaped, packed, filled and more. Every step or section of the production line had a specific purpose that needed to be completed…
Just like electricity, natural gas and water, compressed air is often a required utility in manufacturing facilities. Although compressed air is a bit more expensive compared to electricity for industrial machinery applications, it has other advantages and is thus frequently used to drive mechanical motion. Simplicity of Pneumatics Chip McDaniel, Technical Marketing Engineer at AutomationDirect,…
In the August 2017 issue of Control Design, the cover story discussed how micro-controllers coming out of the “maker” world hope to someday challenge PLCs in industrial applications. The article makes for very interesting reading, but if a picture is worth 1000 words, a video must be worth 1000 pictures. Doug Reneker and the team…
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Robotics Is So Much More Than Robots
If you subscribe to any of our media channels then I’m sure you know about our involvement with after-school robotics programs in our community. These programs prepare students for careers in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields by getting them excited and engaged when it comes to not only learning new skills, but…
A quick look online for control of fluid power shows many types of pneumatic valves for use in factory automation, most of them standalone and individually mounted. But there are also many valve manifold options, including compact modular valves, which are often the best option in multivalve applications because they simplify selection, installation, use and…
Emergency. We need this working right away – stat! This may sound like a hospital ER, but when a customer’s technical system isn’t working properly, it can feel like an emergency situation. They want answers and solutions immediately to fix the problem right away so they can get back to work as quickly as possible….
Think your teenager receives and responds to a lot of messages and notifications on their cell phone? If so, they could be a good candidate for the AutomationDirect customer support team. That team processes a tremendous number of orders every day, by phone, email and fax – all with efficiency and accuracy.