We always have a great time working on Automation Notebook but this one was extra special as we hit our 40th issue! It’s always exciting to see another one come together after weeks of hard work. This month we took a look at enclosures in our panel builder checklist and our article on how to select and size enclosure thermal management systems. Brush up on your NEMA ratings and learn a few simple tricks to avoiding wiring errors. This issue is chock full of useful information to keep your systems running smoothly. As always, check out our brainteasers in the back of the issue for a midday jolt of brain power. We hope you enjoy!
In this issue of the Automation Notebook…
Building the Electrical Control Panel There are many things to consider when building an automation control system. Some control systems are extremely simple, like a pump control system that consists of a pump, level controller, and a contactor, or they can be complicated and control a full production line with a series of sub control…
Electrical control systems are used on everything from simple pump controls to car washes, to complex chemical processing plants. Automation of industrial machinery, tools and more has increased productivity and reliability in all areas of manufacturing, utilities and material processing. When an operation or process used to produce an end product is very laborious, time…
In a Control Design September 2018 Automation Basics column titled “Terminate the Rat’s Nest”, author Dave Perkon gets right to the point when he writes, “For those who think it’s okay to open a control enclosure and see a monochromatic rat’s nest of wires without any wire labels, you should be aware, that’s worst-case practice.”…
Housing electrical components inside an enclosure in industrial applications facilitates the protection of controllers, power distribution components, power supplies and other electronics from harsh factory floor environments. Factories, plants and facilities often experience considerably warm ambient temperatures, and many of the electrical components housed in the control enclosure generate heat, so many enclosures require cooling….
Those of us who have worked with, or around, electrical equipment have witnessed electrical arcs. At the very least, we’ve seen the sparks produced when a relay or contactor switches off. This is easily observed by watching a motor starter with open contacts. When the motor turns on, the contacts close in a fairly uneventful…
1.) Loopy Lapel To setup this puzzle: drill a hole in a pencil and tie a loop of string through the hole (as shown in the picture). Make sure that the loop of string is short enough that it will NOT pass over the long end of the pencil (the pointy end). Now, the trick:…
Did you figure out this issue’s answers? If not, we’re here to help! Check out the solutions below.