Recently I was involved in a discussion on the best method of numbering and labeling devices for systems and machinery. I have used several different methods in the past, depending on customer preference and the type of application; these methods…
Tag: design
Device Numbering Methods: A Poll
Posted in Automation Concepts, Controls Design, Machine Design, Process, Techniques Tagged with: design, device numbering, labeling, p&id, polls, process
Fuses
Continuing the topic on motor control circuit design I started a few weeks ago, today’s topic is on fuses. Last week we discussed circuit breakers: these are circuit protection devices that can be reset when a fault such as a…
Posted in Circuit Protection, Controls Design, Panelbuilding, Vendors and Manufacturers Tagged with: Bussman, circuit breakers, design, Ferraz-Shawmut, fuses, Littelfuse, panelbuilding
Motor Control Design
Today’s topic is in response to Saravanan who posted a request last week on my “Panel Layout and Electrical Design” post of about a year ago. He asked “Thanks for the post. I want to learn about designing control circuits…
Posted in Controls Design, Motors and Actuators Tagged with: Allen-Bradley, circuit breakers, design, fuses, Motor Control, Siemens, starter, VFD
Raytheon Missile Material Handling Application
In my previous life as a project engineer at Wright Industries (a Doerfer company), I worked on some projects that I couldn’t talk much about, being either government-related or potentially breaching confidentiality agreements. The project discussed in this post was…
Excel – Automate your Automation
Probably the most useful tool I have in my arsenal when doing preliminary design is Microsoft Excel. In many of the projects I have worked on over the last couple of years since I left Wright, the company I was…
Posted in Automation Concepts, Controls Design, Engineering, Productivity, Software & Programming Tagged with: ActiveX, Allen-Bradley, design, engineering, Excel, HMI, ladder logic, OLE, OPC, software, tools
CAD and Wire Numbers
Today’s topic concerns an area that affects engineers, technicians and sometimes even office personnel and yes, management. A major part of building anything involves accurately designing and describing the thing that is to be built. If all of the required…
Posted in CAD, Controls Design, Panelbuilding Tagged with: CAD, design, engineering, panelbuilding, wiring
Product Development
Last week I had the privilege of sitting in a doctor’s exam room for about 45 minutes with nothing to do. Next to me was an exam table (not the one shown above…) that brought back some old memories. Back…
Posted in Engineering, Machine Assembly and Fabrication, Machine Design, Product Development, Vendors and Manufacturers Tagged with: design, OEM, product development
Emergency Stops and Guard Circuits
Before the implementation of safety standards as defined in the machinery directive and OSHA the single channel circuit on the left was often used for most machines regardless of the hazard level. In the 1990s several events led to the…
Panel Layout and Electrical Design
I had planned on writing a bit about my meeting with the publisher last week, but I received a comment on a post from about a year and a half ago on Controls Specifications. Doug asked me to cover a…
Posted in CAD, Controls Design, Panelbuilding Tagged with: CAD, design, engineering, panelbuilding, wiring
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