Issue Archive

Know your serials
Created back in the 1960s, serial communication interfacing (SCI) today is a relatively standard method of communicating on the factory floor—particularly in legacy machine control systems.

Conveyor collaboration lets one drive do job of four
Cooperation by a builder’s electrical and mechanical engineers led to the creation of a more integrated straight-track conveyor, which uses one onboard drive motor to do the work of four.

Trends in consolidation and globalization
This month’s cover story sorts out the advantages and disadvantages of consolidation trends affecting industrial machine builders, and takes a look at how one company is coping with globalization.

A look back at the future
Editor in Chief Joe Feeley introduces November's look back at 2006, and tells us what to look forward to when we next meet in 2007, Control Design’s 10-year anniversary.

Less math = better engineers
More free electives equals more free time equals more socialization equals engineers with much better people skills. It’s amazing that engineering deans cannot comprehend such a simple equation.

30 years young
Embedded Intelligence columnist Jeremy Pollard notes the divergence of people doing things and machines doing things has led to a large segment of workers who don’t have to think because machines do it for them.

See and sort see-through plastics
A systems integrator combined a special lighting technique, a specific camera-acquisition mode, image processing in color space, and a well-synchronized rejection device to create a new machine vision solution.

A Little Machine Vision Advice
A custom machine builder gets answers to its problems concerning the pros and cons of buying a turn-key, all-in-one vision sensor package vs. something more versatile and powerful.

Pneumatic solutions in machine control design
For machine designers, the introduction of servo-pneumatic systems has meant new applications for pneumatics that were, not too long ago, reserved strictly for electric servos driving optimized mechanisms.

Essential alarm management
Executive Editor Jim Montague takes a look at a new book covering how to justify alarm management, deciding what should be an alarm, real-time alarm handling methods, and the future of alarm management.

Compact operator interface eases upgrades
In this Control Design exclusive, IDEC unveils the latest addition to its family of operator interfaces, a 4.6-in. monochrome HG1F touchscreen panel that monitors multiple PLCs in various locations.

Successful SI relationship tips
A little OEM insight says to expect integrators to bring their knowledge into your project, but your specific domain expertise is invaluable to avoid reinvention or, even worse, repeats of past mistakes.

Our web poll on after-sales support is closing. Vote now
Does your company provide after-sales technical support, and if so, how much and what kind? And what's the cost structure? Take our new Web Poll and let us know. Also find out how others have voted on this poll and previous polls, too.

Control software expands possibilities
While demand grows for platforms that include HMI, logic and communications, today's software-based motion control systems make machine builders and end users more aware of open-architecture benefits.

Does your company belong to a machine builder trade organization?
Check out our Web Poll results to find out how many of you belong to a machine builder trade organization.

Touchscreen fingerprints are everywhere
Touchscreens led the way in shipments of operator interface terminals to North America in 2005, according to a recent market report by Venture Development Corp.