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 …
Author: Frank
Electrical Engineer and business owner from the Nashville, Tennessee area. I also play music, Chess and Go.
Safety PLCs
As safety systems become more and more complex (primarily because of the influence of European safety standards), the cost-effectiveness of safety PLCs has improved. I first noticed Safety PLCs being used only about five or six years ago, though according …
Ladder Logic 206: Scanning
In last week’s post I mentioned that there was a mistake in the organization chart I have been using in my ladder logic posts. My friend Gordon mentioned it at lunch a couple of weeks ago and when I checked …
Mastering the Machine
If you visit this sight regularly you may have noticed a change in the sidebar; there is now a button that says “Download Mastering the Machine”. I wrote in a previous post about changes I am making to both this …
Ladder Logic 205: System Routine 1
This is a continuation of the series on PLC ladder logic. It is meant to be a mid-level tutorial for people who have some familiarity with programming in ladder logic, but want to start the next phase of writing their …
Misuse of Tools
There has never been a better time to be an engineer when it comes to the tools available to help us in our jobs. Computers operate at amazing speeds, new software comes out every year with more and more capability …
Ladder Logic 204: Auto Sequences
Today’s post is a continuation of the series I started a few weeks ago on PLC programming in ladder logic. So far I have covered the topics of Inputs, Outputs and Faults; this topic does a lot to tie the …
Final Book Cover
Well, I guess its official… this is the cover of my new book. Several weeks ago I asked if anybody had any preferences for the cover; there weren’t any responses to that particular post, so McGraw-Hill ended up just picking …
Ladder Logic 203: Faults
This is the third in a series of posts on Ladder Logic. So far I have discussed input and output routines and a bit on program organization. This week I am going to cover faults. As shown in the organization …
New Book Cover Ideas
The pictures above are two new cover ideas for my new book “Industrial Automation: Hands On”. I mentioned to the editor that I thought the cover they had proposed looked more process-oriented, while the book concentrated more on machinery. They …