Redundancy Options for Smaller Automation Systems
Electrical PowerOperator InterfaceProcess Sensing & ControlProductProgrammable Control

Redundancy Options for Smaller Automation Systems

There are many practical and cost-effective ways for designers to incorporate automation redundancy for systems of any size. Automation redundancy has largely been reserved for larger process automation systems due to cost and complexity. However, there are now more products and design strategies suitable for applying redundancy to smaller-scale systems. Rin Irvin at AutomationDirect covers…
Automation Expands a Machine Shop’s Success
Application StoriesHMIOperator InterfacePLCProductProgrammable Control

Automation Expands a Machine Shop’s Success

By partnering with a local systems integrator and using AutomationDirect products, this machine shop enhanced its capabilities, allowing it to deliver the services required by its customers. Throughout the country, networks of small businesses—including machine shops and systems integrators (SIs)—innovate and integrate to deliver successful projects. One example is a collaboration between Stephens Machine and…
When and Why to Upgrade HMIs
Operator InterfaceProduct

When and Why to Upgrade HMIs

Intelligent HMI advances can justify upgrades based on significant improvements associated with ease-of-use, cybersecurity, and other advanced features. Consumers are accustomed to rapidly upgrading their personal electronic devices by buying new hardware and updating apps, but the industrial automation world usually works at a slower and more delayed pace in this regard. Greg Philbrook, HMI…
Tech Brief - HMIs
Issue 50 - 2023Operator InterfaceProduct

Tech Brief - HMIs

Human beings are visual creatures. It’s believed that our brains can process visual information 60,000 times faster than text, with 90 percent of information transmitted to the brain being visual and over half of the brain being devoted directly or indirectly to vision. Knowing that, it’s easy to see how a visualrepresentation of an automated…
In-House Automation Focuses on People, Plant, and Profit
ApplicationApplication StoriesFood and BeverageHMIIndustryIssue 51 2024Machine ControlOperator InterfacePLCProductProgrammable Control

In-House Automation Focuses on People, Plant, and Profit

A cheese manufacturer developed in-house automation capabilities to keep legacy equipment running and responsively adjust to production demands. Many companies rely on external firms for automation upgrades and changes, and this works well for countless applications. But Pacific Cheese Company faced a dual challenge of maintaining and improving manual and legacy systems, while at the…
Modern PLCs Provide Support for Advanced Data Access
CommunicationsData and IIoTData System MonitoringIssue 51 2024Operator InterfaceProgrammable Control

Modern PLCs Provide Support for Advanced Data Access

Although many think of PLCs as primarily for real-time control, modern versions make it easy to implement extensive data connectivity and analytics. While everyday consumers are familiar with getting things their way, this type of flexibility has often been less available within the industrial manufacturing arena. This is an issue for many end users when…
In-House Automation is the Key to Customization
ApplicationApplication StoriesHMIManufacturingOperator InterfacePLCProductProgrammable Control

In-House Automation is the Key to Customization

Manufacturers are finding they can rapidly and flexibly adapt to changing production needs by engaging in-house personnel to deploy automation solutions. Automation is essential for improving productivity and quality, but many manufacturers serve markets where production volumes and product options vary drastically. As a senior maintenance and integration supervisor at Keytronic, Jose Luis Rodriguez Persona…
Upgrading Agricultural Automation
Application StoriesCommunicationsHMIOperator InterfacePLCProductProgrammable Control

Upgrading Agricultural Automation

This company is using modern PLCs and HMIs to revamp existing agricultural equipment automation systems, improving efficiency and adding advanced IIoT capabilities. Modern agriculture relies directly and indirectly on automated equipment for growing, processing, and transporting product. Vinny Endres grew up in a farming family and quickly learned how to keep things up and running….