DL205 Performs in Theatrics
ApplicationApplication StoriesAutomation NotebookAutomationDirect SpotlightEntertainmentIndustryIssue 6 – 2006Learning ResourcesMachine ControlNotebook IssuePLCProductProgrammable ControlStudent Spotlight

DL205 Performs in Theatrics

Theatrical automation is a newly emerging field of technology. Through the use of automation, the University Of Arizona School Of Theatre Arts is enhancing the overall theatrical experience. Students Nathan Cross and Phillip Toussaint are using various types of AutomationDirect equipment to automate scenery. According to Nathan, the use of motors and computer control gives…
Dredging Up The...FUTURE
ApplicationApplication StoriesCover StoriesIndustryIssue 6 – 2006Machine ControlNotebook IssuePLCProcess ControlProductProgrammable ControlWater/Wastewater

Dredging Up The...FUTURE

People around the world are aware of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina along the coast of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. What started around the southeastern Bahamas on August 23, 2005 as Tropical Depression number 12, quickly became the fourth hurricane of the season just 48 hours later. When her catastrophic winds finally subsided,…
Controlling Nature's Way of Cooling
ApplicationApplication StoriesAutomation NotebookEnergy/UtilitiesFacilitiesIndustryIssue 3 – 2005Learning ResourcesNotebook IssuePLCProcess ControlProductProgrammable ControlUser Solutions

Controlling Nature's Way of Cooling

When conventional air conditioning systems were no longer adequate to cool General Tool Company’s (GTC) facility in Cincinnati, OH, the company began looking for an alternative solution. A roof mist sprinkling system from Sprinkool™ Systems International, Inc. in Killen, AL, would provide evaporative cooling of the roof and ceiling zone of the plant to reduce…
2005 DARPA Grand Challenge
ApplicationApplication StoriesAutomation NotebookFeature StoryIssue 5 – 2005Learning ResourcesMachine ControlNotebook IssuePLCProductProgrammable Control

2005 DARPA Grand Challenge

“After preliminary testing of our vehicle, and the subsequent breaking of a couple of welds, we’ve come to a few conclusions. First, our steering actuator has a lot more power than we really need! Second, we never should have attempted to test the steering system without the use of the encoder feedback. And third, we…
PLC, PC, or Custom - Which Control Choice Is Right For You?
Automation NotebookCover StoriesIssue 1 – 2004Learning ResourcesNotebook IssueProductProgrammable Control

PLC, PC, or Custom - Which Control Choice Is Right For You?

Choices and change are the only constants in control system technologies today. Current industrial controller products can no longer be classified by the internal design architecture they possess. More often than not, any type of modern controller uses some portion of Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) technology in its CPU, operating system, memory, or data…