Stepper Motors | White Paper
Learning ResourcesMotion ControlProductWhite PapersWhitepapers

Stepper Motors | White Paper

Stepper motors play an important role for motion control applications requiring more precision than standard variable speed motors, but not warranting the expense and complexity of servo motors. For many applications, a stepper motor solution occupies the sweet spot of providing the required performance, but at a much lower cost than servo solutions. This white…
AutomationDirect PLCs and HMIs On Board Luxury Yachts
Application StoriesIssue 46, 2021Notebook IssuePLCProductProgrammable Control

AutomationDirect PLCs and HMIs On Board Luxury Yachts

A seagoing story about how a premier yacht builder has progressively incorporated reliable AutomationDirect devices for monitoring and controlling ship systems. Westport Yachts, based in Washington State, constructs luxury 112- to 172-foot-long models and has launched hundreds of seagoing vessels since 1964. As the leading yacht builder in North America, and one of the largest…
ProductivityOpen Speeds OEM Feature Development
ApplicationApplication StoriesIssue 46, 2021Machine ControlNotebook IssuePLCProductProgrammable Control

ProductivityOpen Speeds OEM Feature Development

AutomationDirect industrialized open-source hardware and software provides flexibility and options for OEMs looking to deliver tough, IT-capable systems. Güntner is a worldwide original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of evaporative condensers, serving a wide range of industries and users with their reliable large-scale heat exchangers. The company has developed in-house embedded microcontrollers specifically optimized for their equipment….
What is Safe Torque Off (STO)?
ProductVariable Speed Drives

What is Safe Torque Off (STO)?

Let’s say you have a system with some Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) and you want to integrate those VFDs into your emergency stop circuit to ensure the VFDs will place the motors into a safe state upon an emergency stop condition. How do you do this? There were many ways this was done before advanced…
PLCs Integrate Industrial Data to the Cloud
CommunicationsProductProgrammable Control

PLCs Integrate Industrial Data to the Cloud

New PLCs gain capabilities to connect industrial-sourced OT data with higher-level IT and cloud-based systems. Damon Purvis, PLC Product Manager at AutomationDirect, wrote a cover story article for the January 2021 issue of Control Engineering. The article is titled PLCs Power Industrial Data Integration and it looks at the many ways PLCs have gained enterprise…
Solenoids Enable Equipment Automation
PneumaticsProduct

Solenoids Enable Equipment Automation

Designers need familiarity with the variety of solenoid technologies used to upgrade equipment for remote operation and automation. Kevin Kakascik, Technical Marketing Engineer, and Pat Philips, Fluid Power Product Manager, both with AutomationDirect, wrote an article for the January 2021 issue of Design World. The article is titled Upgrading Equipment with Solenoids, and discusses solenoid…
Rodless Cylinders Provide a Compact Pneumatic Linear Motion Option
PneumaticsProduct

Rodless Cylinders Provide a Compact Pneumatic Linear Motion Option

Rodless cylinders are an ideal way to apply pneumatic linear motion for equipment. Kevin Kakascik, Technical Marketing Engineer at AutomationDirect, wrote an article for the December 2020 issue of Fluid Power World titled Rodless Cylinder Solutions for Compact Pneumatic Linear Motion, discussing how rodless pneumatic cylinders can be a great solution for implementing compact linear…
GS20 and GS20X Drives Overview
ProductVariable Speed Drives

GS20 and GS20X Drives Overview

AutomationDirect has recently introduced the NEW GS20 sensorless vector, general-purpose VFD. The GS20 was introduced to not only replace the GS2 series VFD but to also fill the gap between the lower cost GS1 VFD and the GS3 that is on the higher end of features for a general-purpose VFD. As the features of the…
Industrializing Open Source
Issue 45, 2021Open source controlProductProgrammable Control

Industrializing Open Source

Maker hardware and software is now available in industrially-hardened form factors, adding the reliability required for critical applications. Bill Dehner, technical marketing engineer for AutomationDirect, wrote an article for the May 2020 issue of Control Engineering titled Open-Source Benefits for Industrial Controllers. Here’s a summary, click on the link above for the full text. Industrial…
Measure More Using Cloud Connectivity
CommunicationsIssue 45, 2021Product

Measure More Using Cloud Connectivity

Tapping into data marooned on remotely-installed automation systems is made practical with new cloud-capable wireless devices. Bill Dehner, technical marketing engineer for AutomationDirect, wrote an article for the November 2020 issue of Flow Control titled Cloud-Enabled Multivariable Measurement. Here’s a summary, click on the link above for the full text. Industrial sites commonly operate a…