You Search, I Search

Katherine Bonfante is senior digital editor for Control and ControlDesign. You can email her at [email protected] or check out her Google+ profile.Information. That's what we look for when we go to the web. Well, maybe we launch our browsers to watch some viral videos or stalk people through Facebook and other social media sites. In general, though, we power up our computers and open an Internet browser to stay informed and get the latest news around the world.

On ControlDesign.com, we've had thousands of searches this year, and among the most popular topics you and your peers have searched for, we find machine safety, industrial networks, EtherCat and ac servo motors. This month, I want to point out some of the most popular articles our online community has read on our site after performing those specific searches.

A recent popular article is "Machine Safety Matters," in which we review machine safety products and talk about how comprehensive solutions in the industry have advanced and industry devices have gotten smarter. Yet, even with these advances, there still are many concerns with machine safety devices.

"Manage Your Network" is one of the most popular articles clicked on after searching for industrial networks. This article highlights industrial switches and routers that answer industry demands on Ethernet, security and complexity.

This year, learning about the IEC 67184-3 specification and the Safety-Over-EtherCat protocol has been very important to you, our reader. "Safety-Over-EtherCat Becomes Global Standard" is a news item written late last year that still is helping readers understand the requirements of a communication system in terms of safety-relevant data transmission.

The latest advances in motion and motors always have been widely covered on our site. Our online audience has shown a great interest in finding out if you can rewind a standard-efficiency motor to bring it to a higher efficiency. Well, can you?

If you are a machine builder and need information on industrial processes, you know where to find it. Continue visiting ControlDesign.com to get the answers to your questions and to stay ahead of the curve.