Giving OEMs Freedom Gets Best Results
+Tech TopicsApplicationCommunicationsLearning ResourcesMachine ControlOnline BlogOnline OnlyOperator InterfaceProduct

Giving OEMs Freedom Gets Best Results

Owners, managers and other decision makers in production facilities should focus on how purchased equipment fills production needs to get the best pricing, delivery and support from machine and process skid builder OEMs. Unfortunately, some instead focus on component specification details, which can make it difficult for OEMs to provide the best pricing, delivery and…
Riada Solves Difficult Packaging Problem
ApplicationApplication StoriesAutomation NotebookIssue 35 - 2016Learning ResourcesMaterial HandlingNotebook IssueOnline OnlyOperator InterfacePneumaticsProductProgrammable ControlUser SolutionsVariable Speed Drives

Riada Solves Difficult Packaging Problem

When selecting the right shampoo, what factors do you consider? Scent, ingredients, cost? How about packaging? That’s right, packaging. For the follicly-challenged, like myself, packaging may be a real decision maker. After all, luster, sheen and volumizing abilities are kinda lost on me. For most, packaging is an afterthought, if it is a thought at…
SCADA Systems | Automation Notes
+Tech TopicsData and IIoTeBookIIoT and DataLearning ResourcesOnline OnlyOperator InterfaceProduct

SCADA Systems | Automation Notes

Many control systems these days need a way to interact with the process or machine operator. Legacy systems might present a whole panel full of pushbuttons, lights and switches; the development of electronic HMI (Human Machine Interface) devices made operator control and monitoring operations much more flexible, presenting text, graphics and even video to help…
Linking Machines to IT Systems
+Tech TopicsApplicationCommunicationsCover StoriesData and IIoTData CollectionIIoT and DataIssue 33 - 2015Learning ResourcesMachine ControlNotebook IssueOperator InterfaceProductProgrammable Control

Linking Machines to IT Systems

Once upon a time, individual machines were stranded on an island, or just linked to other machines using a few discrete I/O and dry contact relays. Then came machine-to-machine data links such as a proprietary PLC-based network. Today, and certainly in the future, machines are being linked to IT systems.
Portable Water Treatment Platform Removes Phosphorus Economically
ApplicationApplication StoriesAutomation NotebookAutomationDirect SpotlightData System MonitoringEducation/DIYIndustryIssue 34 - 2016Learning ResourcesMotion ControlNotebook IssueOnline OnlyOperator InterfacePLCPLC eBookProductProgrammable ControlStudent SpotlightStudent SpotlightWater/Wastewater

Portable Water Treatment Platform Removes Phosphorus Economically

A trailer-mounted water treatment process controlled by a Productivity2000 PLC has recently been developed at the University of Idaho. Professor Greg Möller, in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, along with engineers from the College of Engineering have teamed up to build the platform, and to further research the economical removal of phosphorus from various…
HMI Upgrade Contest Winner
Online OnlyOperator InterfaceProduct

HMI Upgrade Contest Winner

We asked you all to submit a photo to show us why you’re in need of an HMI upgrade. It didn’t matter if you were planning to build a new project, trying to bring life to an old machine, or wanting a new HMI just to have it. We just said get creative. So we didn’t know…
New C-more Configuration Software
Automation NotebookIssue 32 - 2015Learning ResourcesNotebook IssueOperator InterfaceProduct

New C-more Configuration Software

The new C-more HMI configuration software version 6.0, from AutomationDirect, delivers more functionality, more usability and more value to our popular C-more HMIs. The new software offers more alarm and recipe features, additional math and tag logic, plus improved Windows compatibility. New menu options, customizable toolbars, and updated graphics provide improved ease of use. The…
Pick and Place your HMI
+Tech TopicsAutomation NotebookeBookIssue 32 - 2015Learning ResourcesNotebook IssueOnline OnlyOperator InterfaceProductTechnology BriefWhy HMI

Pick and Place your HMI

There are many ways to irritate an operator working with automated equipment and a bad human-machine interface (HMI) implementation is right up there with the worst of them. Following these guidelines can help you pick the right HMI for your application, keep you on the good side of your operators and engineers, and also help…