Special machines and custom projects
Usually my work involves designing and building new equipment, or occasionally completely rebuilding and upgrading old machines. Last week I got an emergency call from an existing customer that their production line was down and they couldn’t get help quickly …
If someone asks me what I do and I answer “System Integration”, sometimes I get a blank stare. System Integration is defined in Engineering as bringing together the component subsystems into one system and ensuring that the subsystems function together …
As many of you know, I have been pretty focused on my Automation Academy project. Because of this and some guidance I received this Summer to “repurpose everything”, I have decided to start an applications series here on the Primer. …
Most of the people who follow this blog know me as an instructor or trainer, and that is certainly what I have focused most of my efforts on lately. I do however still do some programming and systems integration work, …
Have you ever wondered why some seemingly simple systems integration jobs take so much time and money to complete? The picture above shows a section of a film wrapper build by a French company, Cermex. I would estimate that this …
Just an update on my PLC Trainer project. These are two of the Allen-Bradley Micrologix 1400 Trainers along with the Fischertechnik models I mentioned in my last post. The program and documentation for the Color Sorter, shown at left, is completed. …
Today’s post is a response to frustration. Some times when dealing with potential customers you waste a lot of time trying to save them money. They may want you to cut corners, spend a lot of your time (for free) …
How To Design And Build A Small Controls Project Read more »
This post is both an update on the status of “My Little Factory” and an article on some new fun trainers that I am working on. As you can see in the above picture, all of the hardware for the …
Today’s post concerns how sensor choices are made in real applications. I have written various posts on sensors in the past, and even participated in a Control Engineering webcast and forum last year on the topic. While I have covered …
A few weeks ago I made a trip to Seattle to visit my daughter Yuki and her family. She used to work at Starbucks’ corporate headquarters, and among other projects was involved in the design and startup of the Roastery, an …
Today’s post is inspired by an ongoing adventure I have been having in the design and fabrication of My Little Factory. For those who haven’t been following my post since the beginning of this year, a great deal of my …
