Most Recent

• Edge computing, fog computing, system control and IoT: Is this a recipe for disaster?

  By Jeremy Pollard

  I’ve had trouble identifying edge computing as something different, something that we haven’t had before, and I have always come up with the fact that it is nothing more than a standard control system—a PLC or a PAC—with a new name and maybe a renewed topology.What may be different is that…

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• Is wireless safety an oxymoron?

  By Rick Rice

  Safety, particularly machine safety, has kept the design industry busy for more than 20 years. While the conscious thought of safety goes back much further, it has really been the past 20 years or so that products have been produced specifically with safety in mind.I can remember back to an earlier…

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• How do I choose a signal device in dangerous environments?

  By Mike Bacidore, chief editor

  What types of signaling devices make the most sense in hazardous locations?Alvaro Sanchez, product manager, Rockwell Automation: Typically, high-output horns and high-brightness beacons are being used in these kinds of applications, as long as they meet the hazardous-location ratings required by…

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• Stacklights: how much is too much?

  By Mike Bacidore, chief editor

  Red, yellow, green and blue are standard stacklight colors. But a variety of other colors can be used to indicate specific conditions and needs.What are the pros and cons of additional colors or flashing patterns? Are they helpful, or do they just create confusion?Lee Clore, owner/controls…

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• 5 questions with CiA's recently re-elected CiA managing director

  During the organization's annual CAN in Automation General Assembly, the members re-elected the three members of the board yet again. Technical director Uwe Koppe, business director Christian Schlegel and managing director Holger Zeltwanger were all re-elected.Besides the board-of-directors, the…

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• Reusable software is ever-developing

  By Rick Rice, contributing editor

  My life as a controls guy for a food co-packer is spent maintaining existing machines and processes with far less of it on my favorite part, software development. Software is my Mount Everest—the peak of my career aspirations. For me, there is nothing finer than getting an opportunity to start…

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