Build Better Machines Faster Using Today’s Enhanced Motion Controllers and PLCs
Issue 53, 2024Motion ControlNotebook IssueProductProgrammable Control

Build Better Machines Faster Using Today’s Enhanced Motion Controllers and PLCs

Process-enabled motion controllers and motion-enabled PLCs give OEMs the flexibility to optimize design and performance. By: Kevin McClelion and Joe Scoccimaro, AutomationDirect There was a time when designing machines that included motion control followed a standard architecture. The PLC handled basic machine control and a dedicated motion controller managed the motion axes. Today, the trend…
Automating a Luxury Bus
Application StoriesDistribution/LogisticsHMIIndustryOperator InterfacePLCProductProgrammable Control

Automating a Luxury Bus

Industrial automation products are useful for much more than traditional applications, as PLCs and HMIs can be used in all sorts of unique commercial markets. Byline: Mark McHenry, Systems & Controls Other than being large and generally rectangular-shaped, a modern custom bus—the type frequented by touring music stars, mobile multi-millionaires, and campaigning politicians—bears little resemblance…
Enhancing Automation System Performance with the EtherCAT Protocol
Issue 53, 2024Motion ControlNotebook IssueProductProgrammable Control

Enhancing Automation System Performance with the EtherCAT Protocol

The EtherCAT protocol is a high-performance and cost-effective Ethernet networking technology, providing a versatile solution when EtherNet/IP and PROFINET simply aren’t fast enough. By Joe Kimbrell, AutomationDirect Ethernet rapidly expanded into and throughout commercial information technology (IT) networking connectivity environments beginning in the 1980s, and it has experienced rapid performance advancements and adoption since then…
Turning Up the Heat on a Balky Boiler
Application StoriesHMIOperator InterfacePLCProductProgrammable Control

Turning Up the Heat on a Balky Boiler

Applying commercial off-the-shelf automation products can provide the most capable and supportable solution for end users trapped with underperforming automation systems, as with this application. By: Aaron Stahl and Edward Stahl, Spring Valley Electric Worldwide, there are countless examples of businesses forced to work inefficiently because they are using equipment which is automated by systems…
Automating Escape Room Experiences
Application StoriesHMIOperator InterfacePLCProductProgrammable Control

Automating Escape Room Experiences

Industrial automation products can also be applied to unique applications, like the advanced control needed for a sophisticated escape room. Escape rooms are immersive adventure games where players solve puzzles to break out from a themed environment within a set time. While seemingly unrelated to industrial automation, a systems integrator (SI) leveraged expertise gained from…
Investigating Smarter I/O Options
CommunicationsIssue 52, 2024Notebook IssueProductProgrammable Control

Investigating Smarter I/O Options

IO-Link modules, sensors, and other automation field devices help designers architect intelligent and cost-effective digital solutions so they can easily connect with industrial edge data for monitoring and controlling equipment. Byline: Kevin Kakascik and Chris Kregoski, AutomationDirect Traditional hardwired input/output (I/O) works well for monitoring and controlling sensors, actuators, and other field-installed devices associated with…
Options for Open Industrial Programming
ProductProgrammable Control

Options for Open Industrial Programming

Industrial automation designers now have a variety of ways to incorporate an open programming approach for their projects. Although industrial-grade digital technologies have been available for over five decades, much of that time the hardware and software has been specialized and even proprietary. This is at odds with a large segment of the commercial market,…
PLCs Can Deliver Advanced Motion Control
ProductProgrammable Control

PLCs Can Deliver Advanced Motion Control

Motion-optimized PLC platforms combine traditional controls functionality with advanced multi-axis motion control, providing a streamlined automation solution. Industrial motion control applications range from simple to complex and are generally considered a design specialty. Currently, there are some entry-level solutions, and designers are also aware of high-performance motion control platforms. However, there are many cases where…
Starting Digital Transformation from the Edge
ProductProgrammable Control

Starting Digital Transformation from the Edge

Edge-enabled PLCs are an accessible and affordable way for most users to collect and create value from use field-sourced data. While many operations personnel at production and manufacturing companies are aware that their automated equipment can be a source of valuable data for analytics and other purposes, far fewer companies are positioned to create the…
PLCs: Predicting the Next 10 Years
ProductProgrammable Control

PLCs: Predicting the Next 10 Years

Improved technologies and expanded user demands have pushed the evolution of industrial automation technologies, and PLCs continue to advance and meet these needs. Almost a decade ago, Jeff Payne at AutomationDirect wrote a Control Engineering article titled Future of the PLC . At that time, PLC technology was already 50 years mature but still a…