Electrical and controls design
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 …
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 …
*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) …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
