Issue Archive

IEC 61131
Read Jeremy Pollard's Complete Report on IEC 61131

IEC 61131: Part III—The Benefits
There Are Some Good Reasons to Use an IEC 61131-Based Product

Control Hydraulic Pumps and Actuators
Can Hydraulic Pumps and Actuators Be Controlled With the Same Standard PLC?

Systems Vs. Machines
Strong Project Management, Good Quality Control and Stringent Cost Monitoring Are Keys to Successful Systems

Why Machine Builders Sell Services
Comparing Product Sales to Services from a Machine Builder’s Perspective

Know Your Cuts of Cable
Using the Wrong Wire or Cable Could Cause Machine or Safety Problems and Potential Interference

Will This Machine Work?
Find Best Test Methods for Proving Your Machine Operation

Relay Races to Forefront of New Design
Replacing a Legacy Greenboard Controller With a Programmable Relay Creates A Needed Level Of Performance for Bag House Control System

Integrator Uses Simulation to Close Design Loop
Software Emulation Helps Identify Potential Control Problems

Proactive on Prototyping
Probes and Probing Prototype-Test Systems Avoid Customer Site Tests

Integration Nation
Schenck AccuRate Builds Feeders That Work With Larger Systems

Engineers Win in Market Economy
In a Free Market Economy, Price Is a Reflection of Supply and Demand

What Cost, These Controls Engineers?
Salaries Skyrocket, According to Our Annual Survey

You Know You Know
Control Design Has Come to Your Rescue

Feedback: June 2008
A Reader Asks Us to Focus on Our Core Mission of Delivering Information Relevant to Controls Engineering

A Virtually Real Advantage
The Top Challenge of Mechatronic Product Development Is Lack of Cross-Functional Knowledge or Qualified Systems Engineers

Programmable Relay Gets an HMI
Almost Every Industrial Manufacturer Faces Mounting Pressure to Increase Production While Reducing Waste and Maintenance Downtime and to Do It All with a Shrinking Workforce

Handheld OI Aids Security, Safety and Efficiency
There Often Are Machine Installation Conditions in Which One Person Could Configure and Commission Equipment if He Had Access to the Operator Panel as He Worked on Various Parts of the Machine or Cell

Panel Meters Take on New Jobs
Panel Meters Also Can Be Used in Conjunction With PLCs as Part of a Redundant System to Help Ensure the Safety of Production Equipment and Operators

The Eyes Have It
Interfaces and Standards Have Made Machine Vision Inspection Cool

Panel Seeks Ways to Attract and Retain Workforce
Ways to Address the Global Scarcity of Engineering and Technical Talent