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  • Master Your Automated Machinery
  • The Blog
  • PLC
  • Sensors
  • Applications
    • The SmartBench
    • Sagger Load Station
  • Resources
    • Controls Hardware and Software
    • Mechanical Hardware
    • Machine Builders and Integrators
    • Blogs, Training and Other Resources
    • The Primer
      • Automation
      • Concepts
      • Data and I/O
      • Communications
      • Miscellaneous I/O
      • Numbers
      • Basic Electricity
      • Fluid Power
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      • Controllers
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      • Proximity Switches
      • Analog Sensors
      • Special Sensors
    • T.A.I.I.
  • Contact
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    • Hello!

Category: Trades

Jobs in the automation field

Controls Design, Training

Back to Basics 5: Industrial Training

Frank May 20, 2025 Tagged with PLC Hardware and Programming, PLC programming, PLCs, systems integration, training

In 2013, not long after leaving Wright Industries and going back out on my own, I taught my first PLC class for Automation Training, a Canadian company. I drove to Raleigh, NC, unpacked the equipment and set it up. It …

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Applications, Automation Concepts, CAD, Documentation, System Integration

Back to Basics 3: Design

Frank May 13, 2025 Tagged with design, systems integration

Everything that is accomplished in industrial automation requires design. It may be written on a napkin, but there is still thought required before starting a project. Industrial Automation Design Tools: CAD: My first CAD tool that I used was Autosketch, …

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Panelbuilding

Back to Basics 2: Control Panels

Frank May 4, 2025 Tagged with design, panelbuilding

In 1995 I started building control panels in my garage. I was still working for an electrical distributor at the time, and one way to make a sale was to provide a complete solution rather than selling individual components. Since …

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Integration, Philosophies

Building Blocks of Industrial Automation

Frank Nov 5, 2023 Tagged with Industrial Automation, industrial Education, PLC programming, systems integration

As with any field of study, industrial automation and system integration requires specific skills that need to be mastered to progress to the next stage of learning.

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Techniques, The Automation Academy, The Book, Trades

Maintenance and Troubleshooting Book

Frank Apr 17, 2022 Tagged with Industrial Automation, maintenance, training, troubleshooting

My new book is out! The title as you can see above is Maintenance and Troubleshooting in Industrial Automation, and it is for sale at Amazon and other bookstores. This is the fifth book I have produced that has an …

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Life, Me, System Integration

Random Thoughts Video

Frank Mar 4, 2021 Tagged with Automation Academy, systems integration

I recorded this video while driving from my home in Lebanon, Tennessee to visit a customer in Knoxville. It is the day before the one-year anniversary of the tornado, and I just kind of discussed the stuff that I have …

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Applications, quoting, The Automation Academy

Proposals and Quoting

Frank Feb 21, 2021 Tagged with applications, Automation Academy, Mastering the Machine, proposals, quoting and bidding

Our guest at Friday’s Mastering the Machine event at the Automation Academy was Doug Alward, Senior Applications Engineer (retired) at Wright Industries. Doug has a wealth of experience in the applications field and shared all kinds of insights on what …

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Integration, The Automation Academy

Mastering the Machine

Frank Jan 17, 2021 Tagged with Automation Academy, machine building, Mastering the Machine, systems integration

In 2013, I created a document called Mastering the Machine, a 26 page e-book about planning and building a machine or production line with an emphasis on documentation. I had just started my business again after spending 6 years working …

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Applications, Integration

What Is System Integration?

Frank Dec 13, 2020 Tagged with ABD, encoder, high-speed counter, Palletizer, systems integration, Top Tier

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 …

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Techniques, Trades

Your Goal – Your Path

Frank Sep 22, 2020 Tagged with Automation Academy, goals, industrial Education, path

In my last post I discussed my plans for the Automation Academy, a membership site related to improving skills and employment opportunities in Industrial Automation. An important part of this site is to identify skills and certifications required to obtain …

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