Plastics and Polymers
Today’s post is inspired by a project that I am going to have to redo at my house because of a property of materials that I didn’t take into account when I designed it. About three years ago we had …
Author: Frank
Electrical Engineer and business owner from the Nashville, Tennessee area. I also play music, Chess and Go.
Fun Facts About Conveyors
Today’s post is a guest article from Fastrax Conveyor Rollers, a manufacturer from the UK. I hope you find this as interesting and informative as I do! ******************************************************************* It was in the time of the industrial revolution, when manufacturers decreed …
Consulting
Back in 1996 when I first went into business for myself, I named my company “Automation Consulting Services”. At the time, I wasn’t really sure exactly what a consultant was, but coming from a technical sales background I thought that …
Device Labeling Poll Results
A couple of weeks ago I started a poll on device numbering methods, here are the results. Responses came from comments on this site and five different Linked In forums. Method 1: Labeling the device based on the I/O point …
Idec PLCs
Today’s post continues the series on PLC platforms started last year. This is another guest post from Steve Myres, who also wrote an article on Indirect Addressing. Articles in this series include Allen-Bradley, Siemens, Koyo and Panasonic platforms. I wrote …
Device Numbering Methods: A Poll
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 …
Automation Direct Field Trip!
Last week I had the privilege of visiting Automation Direct near Atlanta. I was hosted by Chad Crowe, who does online marketing and social media for the company. He contacted me a month or so ago after my post on …
Dynamic (Indirect) Addressing
Today’s post is another guest article, this one written by Steve Myres. Steve owns Automation Solutions, a controls integration company that also provides machine mechanical, electrical, and fluid power troubleshooting and design. ************************************************************ Dynamic addressing In this article, I’ll describe …
Panasonic PLCs
Today’s post is a guest post from my friend Tony, whose Factory Software Blog is an excellent resource for software, factory automation and… pens! Tony was a technical reviewer for my book Industrial Automation: Hands On and provides a different …
Machine Start-Ups
As I prepare for a trip to Japan and China, I am reminded of the many machine start-ups I have participated in over the past twenty years or so. One of the things I used to enjoy about project work …