This AC motor and drive information will aid in selection and application. Jeff Payne, product manager for the drives & motors group at AutomationDirect, wrote an article for the January 2019 edition of Plant Service magazine titled Get schooled: AC motor basics Here’s a summary, click on the link above for the full text. Payne…
UPDATE #2: You can now 1) drive a BLUE team lift bot (much easier to score), 2) Press buttons to load hatch panels and cargo in the human player loading stations and 3) preset the field with hatch panels and cargo (Start doesn’t reset the field anymore) **The New update is at the same link,…
Our software developers have been very busy adding new features and improvements to our Productivity Suite PLC programming software. Since its release many years ago, Productivity Suite has continually been improved with ongoing enhancements many of which were derived from customer requests. Thank you for your feedback and please keep us informed of any features…
A variety of analog signals must be transmitted to a PLC for monitoring and control, with each processed to ensure correct operation. Winn Paulk, the Automation Controls Group Product Manager at AutomationDirect, wrote an article for the November 2018 issue of Processing magazine titled Configuring analog devices to integrate with PLCs. All programmable logic controllers…
The Fruitport High School Robotics Team (FRC team # 2405), known as the Techno Trojans, were approached by the Lakes Mall in Muskegon Michigan to restore an animatronic Christmas moose display and ‘bring the moose back to life’. Originally the moose – affectionately known as Kris Moose – was a part of the Christmas display…
The AttaBox brand from Robroy Enclosures offers large selections of non-metallic corrosion-resistant polycarbonate, fiberglass-reinforced polyester, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) enclosures for equipment protection in a wide range of applications. AttaBox non-metallic industrial enclosures offer significant economic savings over metallic alternatives such as stainless steel while providing comparable or superior physical properties. AttaBox models are available…
When selecting a controller, current and future needs should be considered to ensure flexibility. Winn Paulk is the Automation Controls Group Product Manager at AutomationDirect, and he wrote an article appearing in the September-October 2018 issue of IMPO titled Choosing the Right Controller for Your Industrial Automation Application. Here’s a summary, please click on the…
Jerry Reaves, PLC silo product manager at AutomationDirect, wrote an article for the July 2018 issue of Control Engineering titled Comparing ladder logic and object oriented programming In the article, he discussed how many young automation professionals are comfortable with object oriented programming (OOP), but Reaves says ladder logic remains the standard for industrial automation applications:…
What is a Proximity Sensor? Proximity sensors allow non-contact detection of objects. In particular the presence of parts and/or machine elements for the purpose of counting, indexing, verification, end-of-stroke or travel, determining orientation, and many other common automation tasks. They are used in many industries, including manufacturing, robotics, semiconductor, etc. Selection Criteria There are several types of proximity…
June 20, 2018 – AutomationDirect’s NITRA® brand of pneumatic products now includes new 22mm pushbutton and switch pilot devices intended for use with pneumatic valve bodies. These pneumatic pushbuttons can also combine valve bodies and electrical contact blocks. ECP series 22mm pneumatic pushbuttons and switches are used with EVP series valve bodies to create manual…