Sam Flournoy - Biodiesel Entrepreneur
ApplicationApplication StoriesAutomation NotebookAutomationDirect SpotlightData CollectionEnergy/UtilitiesIndustryIssue 18 – 2010Learning ResourcesNotebook IssueOperator InterfacePLCProcess Sensing & ControlProductProgrammable ControlStudent SpotlightStudent Spotlight

Sam Flournoy - Biodiesel Entrepreneur

Sam Flournoy first contacted Automation Direct in February of 2009. As a 14-year old who had just finished building a biodiesel processor in his garage, he now wanted to automate the process. We immediately began looking around for the candid camera! But it turns out he was serious, as he was producing about 180 gallons…
Beverly Hills High School Science/Technology Student Spotlight: Alexander Kern
Automation NotebookAutomationDirect SpotlightIssue 17 – 2010Learning ResourcesNotebook IssueOperator InterfaceProductProgrammable ControlStudent SpotlightStudent Spotlight

Beverly Hills High School Science/Technology Student Spotlight: Alexander Kern

Alexander Kern is a member of the Beverley Hills High School MorTorq Robotics team. He contacted AutomationDirect in February of this year with questions about interfacing a C-more touch panel to his high school’s robot. In a few short weeks, Alex and his team built a robot from scratch, interfacing the C-more panel to operate the robot during competition,…
Volatile Material Handling for IBM
ApplicationApplication StoriesAutomation NotebookAutomationDirect SpotlightFacilitiesIndustryIssue 17 – 2010Learning ResourcesNotebook IssueOperator InterfacePLCProcess ControlProductProgrammable ControlSystem IntegratorsUser Solutions

Volatile Material Handling for IBM

When IBM needed a control and delivery system for Silane gas at the T. J. Watson Research Facility in Yorktown Heights, NY, they turned to KCC Software of Huntsville, AL. Managing Silane Gas Silane gas is essential in an ultra-pure method of applying silicon in the manufacturing of semiconductors and solar panels. The SiH4 compound,…
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,…
AAA Absolute Automation and Electrical Services, Inc. Implements Energy Savings Through Machine Control
ApplicationAutomation NotebookAutomationDirect SpotlightIndustryIssue 17 – 2010Learning ResourcesMachine ControlMotion ControlNotebook IssueOperator InterfaceProcess ControlProductProgrammable ControlSIDirectSystem IntegratorsVariable Speed Drives

AAA Absolute Automation and Electrical Services, Inc. Implements Energy Savings Through Machine Control

AA Absolute Automation And Electrical Services, Inc. is an independent control systems and industrial electrical company based in Covington, Georgia. They provide solutions to both end user and OEM clients in many industries including material handling, chemical processing, food and beverage, metals processing, plastics, recycling and general manufacturing. Services offered range from complete turnkey automation…
Bale Hay While the Sun Shines: A Revolution in Commercial Hay Production
AgricultureApplicationApplication StoriesAutomation NotebookCover StoriesIndustryIssue 17 – 2010Learning ResourcesMachine ControlNotebook IssueOperator InterfacePLCProductProgrammable Control

Bale Hay While the Sun Shines: A Revolution in Commercial Hay Production

A steam generating plant on wheels? That’s right. The DewPoint 6110 hooks up between a large farm tractor and hay balers that make large rectangular bales from 1,500 to 2,000 lb each (Fig. 1). Its purpose is to add moisture to dry hay to prevent mechanical damage to the crop during the baling process. This revolutionary…
Ohio Energy Group Finds Alternative Control
ApplicationApplication StoriesAutomation NotebookEnergy/UtilitiesHMIIndustryIssue 13 – 2009Learning ResourcesNotebook IssueOperator InterfacePLCProcess ControlProductProgrammable ControlUser Solutions

Ohio Energy Group Finds Alternative Control

The Problem I am a member of a small alternative energy group in Ohio. Many of us generate our own power using wind turbines. These wind turbines vary widely from low power to high power and from homemade to high-tech. Among all of this diversity, we had one common problem – we were looking for…
DL06 PLC Puts Heaters To The Test
ApplicationApplication StoriesAutomation NotebookEducation/DIYHMIIndustryIssue 13 – 2009Learning ResourcesMachine ToolNotebook IssueOperator InterfacePLCProductProgrammable ControlTest and MeasurementUser Solutions

DL06 PLC Puts Heaters To The Test

Pyromatics Automation Systems of Crystal Lake, IL, was contracted by Durex Industries of Cary, IL, to develop a Life Cycle Test Station for its electric heating elements. After extensive research, Pyromatics chose AutomationDirect as the primary supplier of hardware and software for the project. This test station needed a user-friendly graphical interface to give operators…
C-more HMI With Enhanced Allen-Bradley PLC Driver Support (Part Two)
+Tech TopicsAutomation NotebookIssue 13 – 2009Learning ResourcesNotebook IssueOperator InterfaceProductProgrammable ControlTechnical ReviewWhy HMI

C-more HMI With Enhanced Allen-Bradley PLC Driver Support (Part Two)

In part one of this two-part article, we discussed the types of Allen-Bradley PLCs that are supported by the AutomationDirect C-more HMI and covered in detail which protocol should be selected for your application. We also covered the various Data Types for Tags that are supported. The latest group of C-more drivers (seen below) supports the A-B…
Natural Gas Reclaimed from Expired Wells
ApplicationApplication StoriesAutomation NotebookEnergy/UtilitiesIndustryIssue 15 – 2009Learning ResourcesNotebook IssueOperator InterfacePLCProcess ControlProductProgrammable ControlUser Solutions

Natural Gas Reclaimed from Expired Wells

Natural gas can come from wells specifically drilled to reach gas trapped in pockets beneath the surface of the Earth. These wells produce huge quantities of gas which can be piped directly to distribution centers and then on to consumers. Some wells produce a lower-quality gas which has to be processed to remove unwanted components…