Machine safety design can be a daunting task with all the different safety devices on the market today. Choosing the correct device for your design can be made easier by understanding when to use the proper device. Machine Safety Automated equipment can be a simple pneumatic cylinder or an assembly of different automation components all … Read more
Robots as a service (RaaS) can open the door to automation for small to mid-sized companies that are looking to automate a process without a large upfront capital investment. Figure 1. Autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs) are common in warehousing applications. What is RaaS? The software industry, particularly cloud computing, has been developing products as a … Read more
Why do we need to use PNP sensors in certain applications, and which markings and diagrams allow us to identify these devices? Integrating sensors into control systems can be a tricky process. Not only is there a wide diversity of sensor types, but there are also competing electrical characteristics I love programmable control systems. They … Read more
Sensors with timer functions advance modern automation systems, enhancing the precision and flexibility of in-process controls to ease the strict requirement for an external, clock-based logic CPU. Modern, sophisticated sensors often include integrated timing capabilities, allowing for precise coordination of actions based on input signals. These sensors offer a range of functionalities, including on delay, … Read more
Many PLC commands are well-known to programmers, including contacts, coils, timers, and counters. But a less-common instruction is the one-shot, capable of harnessing the incredible processing speeds in a CPU. One-Shot Functions In a previous article, I wrote about how to use timers in ladder logic. A typical next step is to discuss counters, being … Read more
This article investigates the basic principles of inverters, different types of DC-to-AC conversion, and common applications for generating AC voltage in manufacturing. With greater electronic prevalence, increasing renewable energy sources, and industrial automation processes, inverters have become ubiquitous electrical equipment for supplying AC power from a DC source. What is an Inverter? Most power supply … Read more
An overview of the requirements, standards, applications, and main differences between Profinet and Profibus communication protocol, connectors, and evolution from its original technology. Profibus and Profinet are two of the most popular communication protocols used in industrial automation. Both protocols share a similar origin story, as they were conceived out of the need for standardizing … Read more
In this first of an upcoming series, we investigate Siemens as a major PLC manufacturer, learning about the hardware, software, and key applications of each product lineup. Siemens AG is the largest energy and industrial manufacturing company in Europe, and with more than 170 years of history, it is also an innovator in many fields. … Read more
The welder shortage is continuing to grow. Are cobots the answer to help relieve the welder shortage gap? Trade positions, such as machinists, welders, sheet metal workers, plumbers, and others, are in short supply. The shortage has been anticipated for decades, but the past few years have been a perfect storm. Between COVID-19 restrictions, supply … Read more
As we approach the conclusion of Python data structures, we’ll examine the tuple. Used less frequently than lists and dictionaries, tuples do serve some handy use cases where immutability is a critical requirement. The final data structure to cover in this tutorial is called the ‘tuple’. In math terms, a tuple is an ordered arrangement … Read more