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Category: Controls Design

Electrical and controls design

Emergency Stops and Guard Circuits

By Frank Posted on December 19, 2012 Posted in Automation Concepts, Controls Design, Safety Tagged with design, Emergency Stops, safety

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 …

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Panel Layout and Electrical Design

By Frank Posted on November 18, 2012 Posted in CAD, Controls Design, Panelbuilding Tagged with CAD, design, engineering, panelbuilding, wiring

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 …

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Ladder Logic 102: Organization

By Frank Posted on October 14, 2012 Posted in Controls Design, Software & Programming Tagged with design, ladder logic, PLCs, programming

*Note: This post was written in October of 2012. Since that time I have written a number of other posts on ladder logic you may find useful. These are listed below for your convenience: Ladder Logic 201: Inputs (March 2013) …

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CE Marking and the Machinery Directive

By Frank Posted on September 23, 2012 Posted in Controls Design, Machine Design, Safety Tagged with CE, safety

Last week I covered some of the US safety standards that apply to to machine building. As Tony mentioned in his comment on the subject, not all machines stay in the USA. This week I am going to discuss European …

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What’s in a name?

By Frank Posted on August 5, 2012 Posted in Automation Concepts, Controls Design, Machine Design, Software & Programming Tagged with design, naming, programming, templates

The project I am currently working on is the first one where I have had to simultaneously program machines with many other engineers. I have certainly worked on teams before where there were multiple programmers on a line, but this …

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Design Tools

By Frank Posted on March 25, 2012 Posted in Controls Design, Machine Design, Software & Programming Tagged with design, programming, timing diagram

As I re-acclimate myself to the machine building world after my vacation and re-starting my company I am reminded of all of the various design tools that are required to successfully implement a machine or production line. Of course there …

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Electrical and Controls Specifications

By Frank Posted on June 26, 2011 Posted in Controls Design, Panelbuilding Tagged with panelbuilding, specifications, wiring

Recently my wife took a job with a multinational OEM as a panelbuilder. This company recently built a new plant in our area and moved their panelbuilding operation here from Texas. They build custom refrigeration equipment and the associated compressors …

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HMIs and Operator Interfaces

By Frank Posted on June 19, 2011 Posted in Controls Design, Software & Programming Tagged with HMI

HMIs (Human-Machine Interfaces) are used to allow machine operators to control a machine or system. It can consist of items as simple as pushbuttons and pilot lights or use systems of computers and touchscreens. In todays manufacturing world it typically …

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Hello from Tucson

By Frank Posted on March 17, 2011 Posted in Applications, Controls Design Tagged with brainstorming, travel

As I travel on business I realized that it is more difficult to post when on the road. All of the familiar patterns are broken as I don’t have a ready plugged-in and booted up computer to sit down and …

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P&ID and Machine Design

By Frank Posted on February 24, 2011 Posted in Controls Design, Machine Design, Software & Programming Tagged with design, software

The process industry has used P&ID (Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams) for many years as a method of describing the relationships between piping, instrumentation and system components. Usually this is applied to chemical, batching or fluid transfer projects and is nearly …

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