What are Industrial Automation Pilot Devices (Pushbuttons, Selector Switches, Indicating Lights, and More)?
Control & Signaling Devices

What are Industrial Automation Pilot Devices (Pushbuttons, Selector Switches, Indicating Lights, and More)?

Pilot devices are essential operator interface components for most automated equipment and processes. As the industrial age dawned, machinery and equipment were controlled manually by operators pulling levers, turning hand cranks, and making similar actions and adjustments as they saw fit. Industry 1.0 was powered by water and steam, 2.0 relied on electricity and added…
It's Time to Have A Talk About Safety
Content CollectionsProductSafety

It's Time to Have A Talk About Safety

I remember physical education from elementary school back in the 1980s. Phys ed was always a treat as I got to get out of our regular classes and do something besides sit in a classroom. It was almost as if I had a bonus recess that day. Now, that was until third grade when my…
Efficiently Updating Pump Stations
Application StoriesIssue 55, 2025Notebook IssueOperator InterfacePLCProduct

Efficiently Updating Pump Stations

Because industrial automation systems often remain in service for decades, it is important to select a hardware/software supplier and integration specialist familiar with performing incremental updates as needed. By: Randy Ames, Ames Electrical Consulting, Inc. Repair or replace: a conundrum familiar to owners of appliances, consumer electronics, cars, homes, and also industrial processing facilities. For…
Outfitting Your Panel Shop to be Safe and Efficient
+Tech TopicsHand Tools &Test EquipmentIssue 55, 2025Learning ResourcesNotebook IssueProductTech Thread

Outfitting Your Panel Shop to be Safe and Efficient

AutomationDirect has created an extensive portfolio of professional-grade control panel products, tools, and test equipment, all readily available at reasonable cost so that shops can equip their technicians to deliver high-quality results. By Zach Ganster, AutomationDirect The “good/better/best” concept is familiar to most people. When it comes to obtaining anything we use in our daily…
Beyond Safety Slogans: Cultivating a Workforce Culture to Protect People and Productivity
+Tech TopicsIssue 55, 2025Learning ResourcesNotebook IssueProductSafetyTech Thread

Beyond Safety Slogans: Cultivating a Workforce Culture to Protect People and Productivity

By Travis Morris, Safety Administrator, AutomationDirect As we recognize National Safety Month this June 2025, it’s the perfect time to reflect on how industrial safety has evolved alongside technological advancement. At AutomationDirect, we’ve seen firsthand how the safety landscape in manufacturing and logistics continues to advance rapidly, creating both new challenges and unprecedented opportunities for…
Building a Safety Component Fortress Around Equipment
Issue 55, 2025Notebook IssueProductSafety

Building a Safety Component Fortress Around Equipment

By: Larry Reynolds, AutomationDirect Safety systems play a crucial role in industrial equipment, protecting personnel, guarding against machine damage, and minimizing unscheduled downtime. To make a machine totally safe, we could build a wall around it, cut the power, send staff home, and lock the doors after them. That approach isn’t particularly practical, however. Instead,…
Get Ahead with Node-RED
Content CollectionsProductProgrammable Control

Get Ahead with Node-RED

Node-RED is a visual programming tool for connecting physical hardware devices, APIs, and online services together as part of the Internet of Things. It was originally developed by the IBM Emerging Technology Services team and is now a part of the OpenJS Foundation. Node-RED’s low-code, drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to create complex data flows…
Solving Frequency Signal Conditioner Challenges
Process Sensing & ControlProduct

Solving Frequency Signal Conditioner Challenges

Complex high-frequency signaling challenges, for both existing and new applications, can be solved using signal conditioners. Frequency signal conditioners—designed to handle high-frequency pulse signals from sensors and convert them into other useful automation signals—are an important industrial automation design component for both new and retrofit applications. High-frequency pulses may be generated from a proximity sensor…
How Low-Code and No-Code Visual Programming Tools Can Simplify and Accelerate Seamless Industrial IoT Connectivity
Issue 54 - 2025Notebook IssueProductProgrammable Control

How Low-Code and No-Code Visual Programming Tools Can Simplify and Accelerate Seamless Industrial IoT Connectivity

In this article, we explore the transformative impact of low-code/no-code PLC programming in industrial automation with Tim Shippy, a veteran AutomationDirect Product Engineer. With a wealth of experience spanning decades in industrial and enterprise software development, Tim has been at the forefront of integrating industrial systems with enterprise connectivity. His expertise in both traditional and…