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 …
Tag: design
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 …
Emergency Stops and Guard Circuits
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 …
Panel Layout and Electrical Design
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 …
Ladder Logic 102: Organization
*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) …
What’s in a name?
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 …
Engineering
I started my technical career in the US Air Force. I joined when I was 21 years old after holding a series of minimum wage jobs after failing to graduate high school and getting my GED in 1978. The military …
Design Tools
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 …
Process Types
In designing automated systems the first task that needs to be accomplished is to determine what type of process will be taking place. Often when making this decision we go with what we know: if building an assembly machine I’m …
An HMI application
This is a screen shot from a job I subcontracted for in about 2002 or so. A Kraft Life Savers plant was shut down in Michigan due to the US tariffs on sugar and moved to Montreal in Canada. This …