March 21-25, 2011

The Do All and Be All of SCADA
As its name makes clear, SCADA can be broken into two parts: Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition. First, get the data and then make changes to control the process based on that data. Read more.

The Fieldbus Jungle
There have been countless articles that tout substantial savings generated by fieldbus networks. Most claim greatly reduced wiring, marshalling panel and I/O space, reduced commissioning time, and extensive savings from putting control out in the field devices. Read more.

Cloud Control
Definite-purpose devices have populated our software and hardware toolboxes for decades. These devices perform invaluable services for us at just the right time. Ask a guy about stuff in his garage, and he'll say, "I might need it someday." Read more.

Market Intelligence Report: Sensors & Vision Part 1
Vision-based and wireless sensors continue to expand their relative presence in machine applications. We've surveyed Control Design's readers to get a snapshot of the types of sensing components they employ in their machines and production lines, including those that use machine vision. In this first of two parts, Executive Editor Jim Montague gets insight from Ned Lecky, founder of Lecky Integration in Little Falls, N.Y., about the survey results. "It's fair to say that the technology advancement in all of these sensor areas is pretty astonishing, and we see tremendous growth in all the different types of photoelectric sensors," Lecky says. Watch this report to learn more.

The Burden, er, Value of Machine Safety
Although safety component suppliers are quick to point out the improved productivity and efficiency that can be gained with new machine safety standards, machine builders may be loathe to make the switch from EN 954-1 because the alternatives are more difficult and costly to deal with. But not only will machine builders and end users have to comply with either EN ISO 13849-1 or EN IEC 62061 by the end of this year, they are even beginning to come around to the suppliers' way of thinking, according to a new report from IMS Research. What do you think? Is machine safety a costly burden or a good way to improve machine performance and reduce unnecessary downtimes?

Understanding Programmable Automation Controllers (PACs) in Industrial Automation

This paper provides an understanding of how PACs provide in a single compact controller the advanced control features, network connectivity, device interoperability, and enterprise data integration capabilities found in PLC- or PC-based automation controllers.

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Wago's CoDeSys 3.0 Programming Software

Rockwell Automation's Logix Controllers With RSLogix 5000 v19 Software

Bosch Rexroth's IndraWorks

Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 5.0 Cabling Design

GE Fanuc's Alpha i AC Servo Motor