Industrial Ethernet or Fieldbus Network?
Automation NotebookCommunicationsCover StorieseBookIssue 27 – 2013Learning ResourcesNotebook IssueProduct

Industrial Ethernet or Fieldbus Network?

With only about a quarter of the overall installed base of industrial networking using 4-20 mA and other hardwired methods, fieldbus communication systems are becoming the de facto choice for automation. Now the debate is shifting to the question of whether fieldbus-based networks will remain the standard or if it will be supplanted by industrial…
How to Improve Process Control by Automating Data Flow
+Tech TopicsApplicationCommunicationsData and IIoTData CollectionData System MonitoringeBookFeature StoryIIoT and DataIssue 17 – 2010Learning ResourcesNotebook IssueOperator InterfaceProductProgrammable Control

How to Improve Process Control by Automating Data Flow

Whether you are responsible for a manufacturing facility, a utility plant or a bio-dome—you need to control and know what’s going on in your processes. Properly managing information is imperative to improving your process control—specifically controlling, monitoring and maintaining information flows into and out of your process control system. Most processes consist of the machines,…
The Evolution of Wireless Communication
Automation NotebookCommunicationsCover StoriesIssue 3 – 2005Learning ResourcesNotebook IssueProduct

The Evolution of Wireless Communication

In 1901, Guglielmo Marconi used Morse code to communicate the letter “s”. This transmission was an analog equivalent of a “digital” signal. By 1914, the Marconi Company was engaged in experimental voice transmissions that laid the groundwork for broadcast radio. With the advent of short wave radio, costs came down and reliability went up, ensuring…
The Evolutionary PLC: Past, Present and Future
+Tech TopicsAutomation NotebookCommunicationsIssue 5 – 2005Learning ResourcesNotebook IssuePLC SpeakingProductProgrammable Control

The Evolutionary PLC: Past, Present and Future

Everyone knows there’s only one constant in the technology world and that’s change – inevitable change. This is highly evident in the evolution of PLCs and their varied applications. Let’s take a look at yesterday’s focus and more importantly, today’s and beyond. Preparing and equipping users to meet the challenges of technological change head-on is…
HMIs and PC Control: Upwardly Mobile With Upscale Connections
+Tech TopicsAutomation NotebookCommunicationsIssue 1 – 2004Learning ResourcesNotebook IssueProductProgrammable ControlTechnology Brief

HMIs and PC Control: Upwardly Mobile With Upscale Connections

Remember when you had to be an artist to design HMI faceplates that resembled your process? Remember configuring your HMI software by filling in cryptic addresses and values, something resembling the Microsoft® Windows™ registry? Remember when your HMI was a dedicated system that only connected to a single process? Or when it was cool to…