AutomationDirect Releases DirectSOFT6
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AutomationDirect Releases DirectSOFT6

AutomationDirect’s DirectSOFT6 PLC programming software, the 32-bit Windows certified programming software for the entire DirectLOGIC line of PLCs, provides faster status updates and contains many new and upgraded features to make ladder logic programming faster and easier. DirectSOFT6 includes over 40 additional “IBoxes”. The popular packetized fill-in-the-blank style instructions (compatible with DirectLOGIC DL05, DL06, D2-250-1,…
Automating a Donut Packaging and Labeling Line
ApplicationApplication StoriesAutomation NotebookDrivesFood and BeverageFood Beverage AutomationIndustryIssue 25 – 2013Learning ResourcesMachine ControlMaterial HandlingNotebook IssuePackagingPLCProductProgrammable ControlUser SolutionsVariable Speed Drives

Automating a Donut Packaging and Labeling Line

When people hear the name Mel-O-Cream, they usually think of donuts. Founded in 1932 as a retail shop in Springfield, Ill, Mel-O-Cream International (www.mel-o-cream.com) manufactures bakery products, primarily for wholesale distribution to supermarkets and bakeries.
ApplicationApplication StoriesAutomation NotebookAutomationDirect SpotlightEnergy/UtilitiesIndustryIssue 20 – 2011Learning ResourcesMotion ControlNotebook IssuePLCProcess ControlProductProgrammable ControlStudent SpotlightStudent Spotlight

Multi-Mirror Solar Array Pleasantville High School

The Industrial Technology students at Pleasantville High School, in Pleasantville, Iowa (southeast of Des Moines), have spent the last three years building a multi-mirror solar array. Students from four different technology classes have contributed to the project over the three year period; the AutoCAD and drafting classes have helped design and document the project, students…
Sam Flournoy - Biodiesel Entrepreneur
ApplicationApplication StoriesAutomation NotebookAutomationDirect SpotlightData CollectionEnergy/UtilitiesIndustryIssue 18 – 2010Learning ResourcesNotebook IssueOperator InterfacePLCProcess Sensing & ControlProductProgrammable ControlStudent SpotlightStudent Spotlight

Sam Flournoy - Biodiesel Entrepreneur

Sam Flournoy first contacted Automation Direct in February of 2009. As a 14-year old who had just finished building a biodiesel processor in his garage, he now wanted to automate the process. We immediately began looking around for the candid camera! But it turns out he was serious, as he was producing about 180 gallons…
Beverly Hills High School Science/Technology Student Spotlight: Alexander Kern
Automation NotebookAutomationDirect SpotlightIssue 17 – 2010Learning ResourcesNotebook IssueOperator InterfaceProductProgrammable ControlStudent SpotlightStudent Spotlight

Beverly Hills High School Science/Technology Student Spotlight: Alexander Kern

Alexander Kern is a member of the Beverley Hills High School MorTorq Robotics team. He contacted AutomationDirect in February of this year with questions about interfacing a C-more touch panel to his high school’s robot. In a few short weeks, Alex and his team built a robot from scratch, interfacing the C-more panel to operate the robot during competition,…
Volatile Material Handling for IBM
ApplicationApplication StoriesAutomation NotebookAutomationDirect SpotlightFacilitiesIndustryIssue 17 – 2010Learning ResourcesNotebook IssueOperator InterfacePLCProcess ControlProductProgrammable ControlSystem IntegratorsUser Solutions

Volatile Material Handling for IBM

When IBM needed a control and delivery system for Silane gas at the T. J. Watson Research Facility in Yorktown Heights, NY, they turned to KCC Software of Huntsville, AL. Managing Silane Gas Silane gas is essential in an ultra-pure method of applying silicon in the manufacturing of semiconductors and solar panels. The SiH4 compound,…
Bale Hay While the Sun Shines: A Revolution in Commercial Hay Production
AgricultureApplicationApplication StoriesAutomation NotebookCover StoriesIndustryIssue 17 – 2010Learning ResourcesMachine ControlNotebook IssueOperator InterfacePLCProductProgrammable Control

Bale Hay While the Sun Shines: A Revolution in Commercial Hay Production

A steam generating plant on wheels? That’s right. The DewPoint 6110 hooks up between a large farm tractor and hay balers that make large rectangular bales from 1,500 to 2,000 lb each (Fig. 1). Its purpose is to add moisture to dry hay to prevent mechanical damage to the crop during the baling process. This revolutionary…
DL06 PLC Puts Heaters To The Test
ApplicationApplication StoriesAutomation NotebookEducation/DIYHMIIndustryIssue 13 – 2009Learning ResourcesMachine ToolNotebook IssueOperator InterfacePLCProductProgrammable ControlTest and MeasurementUser Solutions

DL06 PLC Puts Heaters To The Test

Pyromatics Automation Systems of Crystal Lake, IL, was contracted by Durex Industries of Cary, IL, to develop a Life Cycle Test Station for its electric heating elements. After extensive research, Pyromatics chose AutomationDirect as the primary supplier of hardware and software for the project. This test station needed a user-friendly graphical interface to give operators…