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….
Designing Control Panels for Processing Plants
Operator InterfaceProductProgrammable ControlVariable Speed Drives

Designing Control Panels for Processing Plants

Modern processing plants need control panels built in accordance with specific design details. Chris Kregoski, product engineer for AutomationDirect, authored an article for the July 2022 Processing magazine titled Process Control Panel Design Basics. Here’s a summary, click on the link above for the full text. Processing plants typically incorporate extensive automation. The control panels…
Making the Cut with Upgraded Automation
Application StoriesCommunicationsOperator InterfacePLCProductProgrammable Control

Making the Cut with Upgraded Automation

Using the AutomationDirect Do-more BRX PLC, an extrusion company progressively upgraded and simplified their legacy manufacturing lines, greatly improving performance, while minimizing scrap. The situation is common at many manufacturing sites: production equipment is old, degrading, and mismatched, leading to operational and maintenance inefficiencies and nightmares. In an April 2022 Automation.com article bylined by Gary…
Connecting AI to the OT
ApplicationApplication StoriesIssue 48 -2022Notebook IssueOpen source controlOperator InterfacePLCProcess ControlProductProgrammable Control

Connecting AI to the OT

This greenhouse automation startup shows how AutomationDirect controllers are a flexible platform for connecting cloud-based artificial intelligence to practical operations manufacturing automation. Connecting AI concepts to age-old agricultural operations using modern IoT methods is the ambitious undertaking of Kenneth Tran and his team at Koidra. The resulting “artificial intelligence of things” (AIoT) is yielding positive…
Helping Automation Users Wake Up and Smell the Coffee
Application StoriesDrivesHMIOperator InterfacePLCProductProgrammable ControlVariable Speed Drives

Helping Automation Users Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

Automation of a tabletop coffee roaster demonstrates how home automation projects can help users explore new technologies and develop their skills. Michael Hoffman, who works at Dragos and is a member of the SANS Technology Institute, wrote a success story for the October 2021 issue of Design World titled Brewing Up DIY Automation Solutions. Here’s…
Industrial Mobile Access Getting Better and Easier
CommunicationsIIoT and DataOperator InterfaceProductProgrammable Control

Industrial Mobile Access Getting Better and Easier

Users are increasingly using AutomationDirect HMI, PLC, and router technologies to provide easy and secure industrial mobile access. Bill Dehner, technical marketing engineer for AutomationDirect, wrote an article for the November/December 2021 issue of Industrial Equipment News titled Evaluating Mobile Access Options. Here’s a summary, click on the link above for the full text. Using…
Crafting More Complete Customer Service
Application StoriesHMIIssue 45, 2021ManufacturingOperator InterfacePLCProductProgrammable Control

Crafting More Complete Customer Service

AutomationDirect products and services enabled an industrial calibration provider to deliver more services to help their clients save time and money. Industrial calibration firm Gulf State Instruments (GSI) has a 20-year track record of helping their customers optimize operations. In this success story published in the July edition of Control magazine, titled Gulf States Instruments…
Automating Nehemiah Manufacturing
ApplicationApplication StoriesHMIIssue 45, 2021ManufacturingOperator InterfacePLCProductProgrammable Control

Automating Nehemiah Manufacturing

Using AutomationDirect hardware and software, this company self-performed automation work to meet their needs and ready their team for the future. At Nehemiah Manufacturing in Cincinnati, OH, the core work is producing consumer products such as detergents and cleaners, but the company also supports the community by employing those who need a second chance. Writing…
Embedded HMIs Do More With Less
CommunicationsOperator InterfaceProduct

Embedded HMIs Do More With Less

Dedicated HMIs can do many of the same things as industrial PCs, often making them the best choice for automation applications. Bill Dehner, technical marketing engineer for AutomationDirect, wrote an article for the August 2020 issue of Control Engineering titled Embedded HMIs Excel in Automation Applications. Here’s a summary, click on the link above for…