Highlights
- Feature: Secure by Design: What It Means When You Buy Industrial Components
- Tech Brief: Ladder Logic vs. Structured Text
- Student Spotlight: Industrial Motion Control Powers Open-Source Metal 3D Printing
- New Products!
As industrial automation moves into a digitally-enabled connected era, three conversations that once lived in separate silos — network design, device level security, and control programming — are converging. That merge is resulting in systems that are built to be both open and resilient. This issue of NOTEBOOK explores these three topics — and more!
In this issue of the Automation Notebook…
By Tim Wheeler, Cybersecurity Manager, AutomationDirect When customers purchase industrial components, they’re looking for more than a part number. They want products they can rely on in real-world machines, panels, process lines, and production environments where uptime, maintainability, and predictable operation matter every day. Increasingly, they also want confidence that those products were designed with…
A new class of edge-optimized Ethernet switches are purpose-built for industrial environments and protocols, providing a streamlined approach for connecting valuable OT data with enterprise IT resources for improved visibility, analytics, and proactive diagnostics. By Damon Purvis, AutomationDirect Throughout all aspects of industrial automation, the historical separation between operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT)…
For decades, ladder logic has been the undisputed leader as a PLC programming language, but today’s controls engineers are taking greater advantage of another option, structured text, for advanced applications incorporating data handling, communications, recipe management, and more. By Tim Ensminger, AutomationDirect Programmable logic controllers (PLCs) have served as the preferred machine and factory automation…
Reliable off-the-shelf automation components can accelerate the development of prototype projects and ready them for scale-up. By: David Powell The shipbuilding industry—where lead times for new vessels often stretch into years and repairs are time and safety critical—often requires large, specialized parts, which are costly and time consuming to manufacture with conventional methods. For this…
The IT/OT convergence is inescapable in the modern industrial market. Here’s how to optimize performance while maintaining a secure network. By: Damon Purvis, Alexander Maercz, and Winn Paulk; AutomationDirect For decades, the operational technology (OT) networks responsible for industrial controls were kept separate from IT networks. The approach protected critical industrial operations from vulnerabilities introduced…
Application StoriesDrivesHMIIssue 60 - 2026Notebook IssueOperator InterfacePLCProductProgrammable ControlVariable Speed Drives
Supporting Small and Specialized Automation Applications
How a small system integrator relies on proven automation products to reliably and responsively serve clients. Byline: Mike Watkins, AutoWorks Like enterprises in almost any sector of the economy, industrial automation systems integrators (SIs) come in a wide range of sizes. Many designers and developers, myself included, have worked at a few operations both small…
How a main-street innovation center is helping small-town utilities, students, and researchers get comfortable with industrial controls. By: Greg Martz, CoStream Small municipal water and wastewater systems are among the quietest success stories in American infrastructure. Some estimates suggest that about 90% of the water systems in the United States fall into the “small” category,…
Incessant Crescent Determine the area of the green shaded portion of the diagram, given only the lengths of the three chords on the major axes of the larger circle. Demonic Ultrasonics Twelve di-soric® Ultrasonic Proximity Sensors have been laid out in a familiar “3-4-5” triangular pattern, such that the bounded area of the right triangle…
June 10, 2026-AutomationDirect now offers Greenlee® knockout punches, hydraulic drivers, and accessories, providing even more ways to create clean, precise holes in a variety of materials without drilling or rework. The expanded selection covers manual, hydraulic, Quick Draw®, and cordless battery‑powered ram or driver options. Greenlee’s proven Slug-Buster® and standard round punch series are available…
June 3, 2026 – AutomationDirect has added METEcon multi-wire connectors that simplify complex industrial wiring while improving long-term reliability. Our expanded offering includes more inserts, housing components (including new 32B size), and configuration options without increasing complexity. With pole configurations from 2 poles plus ground up to 108 poles plus ground, screw or crimp terminations,…
June 3, 2026 – AutomationDirect now offers Continental hydraulic valves which provide rugged, high‑performance control for industrial hydraulic systems built around NFPA standards. Available in D03 and D05 sizes, these valves support a wide range of circuit requirements while maintaining consistent operation under high pressure and demanding duty cycles. NFPA D03 solenoid valves deliver reliable,…
April 29, 2026 – AutomationDirect has added Mindman MVSC and MVSC1 directional control solenoid valves and manifolds which provide reliable, high performance air control for a wide range of automated systems. The MVDC stackable solenoid valve series builds on that capability with a modular design that keeps installations clean and scalable, making it easy to…
March 25, 2026 – AutomationDirect has added IronHorse ACM Series AC drives provide basic V/Hz and sensorless vector control for low-horsepower motors when only single-phase power is available. These VFDs accept a 120 VAC or 230 VAC single-phase power source and control motors from 1/8 to 3 horsepower. 5 digital inputs, 2 relay outputs, 2…
March 25, 2026-AutomationDirect now offer Datalogic Smart-VS vision sensor family models with expanded features. The new Smart-VS Plus sensor includes all the features of the standard Smart-VS sensor, including Ethernet communication and several I/O points, but adds additional object classifications for a total of 3 classes, which is useful when Good/No Good/No Object tests are…