PLC

• Cost and Safety are Among the Pros and Cons of PLC IO Fusing

  Cost and Safety are Among the Pros and Cons of PLC IO Fusing Opinions vary on whether or not to fuse individual inputs and outputs when wiring a programmable logic controller (PLC) module in an industrial control panel. Different opinions stated by many end users include fabrication panel cost and size to accommodate the additional […]

  Read MoreDan Wood / Automation Planning / Control Panel Design / Controls / Electrical Engineering / I/O Fusing / Industrial Automation Engineering / Manufacturing Process Control / Panel Fabrication / PLC / Process Design / Maintenance / Planning /

• A Retrospective on 35 Years in Automation

  A Retrospective on 35 Years in Automation Having recently celebrated my 60th birthday, as well as 30 years with Matrix Technologies, I thought the readers might just be willing to indulge me in a bit of reminiscing about the changes I’ve seen in the automation business. Depending on your perspective, you may say, “Hey, I […]

  Read MoreCharles Sheets, PE / Industrial Automation Engineering / Legacy Upgrades / Manufacturing Operations Management / Manufacturing Process Control / PLC / Upgrade / GE / IBM / Microsoft / Modicon / Modvue /

• Converting Old PLC Code: Benefits and Pitfalls

  Converting Old PLC Code: Benefits and Pitfalls Sounds great, doesn’t it? Buy the new programmable logic controller (PLC) equipment, run the old PLC code through a translator program, and the new system is up and running. Now to give credit where credit is due, very few people would actually believe a control system upgrade would […]

  Read MoreDave Blaida, PE / Automation Integration / Control System Upgrade / Conversion / CPU / Industrial Automation Engineering / Manufacturing Operations Management / Manufacturing Process Control / PLC / Source Code / Planning / Upgrades /

• SCADA remains relevant for industrial automation

  SCADA remains relevant for industrial automation Embedded workflow, engineering model support, and auto-discoverable assets are among the technologies keeping SCADA alive. by: Kevin Paker Placing computer power onto “edge devices” as near to production as possible is a goal hotly pursued in today’s industrial automation circles. What’s more, in just the past few years, copious […]

  Read MoreDave Blaida, PE / Distributed Control System / Edge Devices / Industrial Automation Engineering / Oil and Gas Engineering / PLC / Process Control System / ABB / Rockwell Automation / SCADA /