Latest PLCs & PACs Articles

The quality of content from our educational site comes from understanding our audience and your needs. Help give us the…

The quality of content from our educational site comes from understanding our audience and your needs. Help give us the best snapshot of today’s control industry, along with a free chance to win one of several Amazon card prizes!

As summer heat continues to scorch the northern hemisphere, manufacturers face potential equipment damage and downtime.…

As summer heat continues to scorch the northern hemisphere, manufacturers face potential equipment damage and downtime. Learn about the ways extreme heat can damage automated equipment and systems. 

​​​​​​​Arduinos have been a staple in the community of makers, students, and project innovators for many…

​​​​​​​Arduinos have been a staple in the community of makers, students, and project innovators for many years. For many using Arduino’s IDE, there can be difficulties in translating between PLC ladder rungs and text programming.

Moving data is a critical function of PLCs. In this article, we’ll talk about Move, Masked Move, Copy File, and…

Moving data is a critical function of PLCs. In this article, we’ll talk about Move, Masked Move, Copy File, and Synchronous Copy File and show how they can be used to move individual pieces of data and entire arrays. 

The latest networked position indicator from SIKO, the AP05 IO-Link, is bus compatible and compact. Its user-friendly,…

The latest networked position indicator from SIKO, the AP05 IO-Link, is bus compatible and compact. Its user-friendly, easy-to-read display and reduced set-up and installation time make for simple I/O technology.

Learn about the differences between red, green, infrared, and more recently, blue photoelectric sensors and how the…

Learn about the differences between red, green, infrared, and more recently, blue photoelectric sensors and how the different light spectrums can aid in varying industrial automation processes.

Learn about the common applications, programming procedures, and safety protocols of collaborative robot work cells,…

Learn about the common applications, programming procedures, and safety protocols of collaborative robot work cells, which are often simpler and less expensive than industrial robot work cells.  

Inside a controller, code is interpreted into the binary signals that influence input and output signals, flags and…

Inside a controller, code is interpreted into the binary signals that influence input and output signals, flags and registers, and even the communication of network signals. This is the job of firmware.

Centralized control systems are often seen as outdated compared to decentralized systems; however, both have their…

Centralized control systems are often seen as outdated compared to decentralized systems; however, both have their advantages and disadvantages when it comes to choosing which one to use in manufacturing. 

Automation and digital technologies in the food and beverage industry provide manufacturers with greater operational…

Automation and digital technologies in the food and beverage industry provide manufacturers with greater operational efficiency, improved worker safety, and higher quality goods for end-consumers. 

​​​​​​​We will show you how to recognize, utilize, and efficiently operate your comparison instructions in…

​​​​​​​We will show you how to recognize, utilize, and efficiently operate your comparison instructions in Rockwell Automation’s Studio 5000 and Automation Direct’s Productivity Suite to make your program flow smoothly.

Programmable Logic Control (PLC) systems are the core of most industrial control systems that drive modern manufacturing.…

Programmable Logic Control (PLC) systems are the core of most industrial control systems that drive modern manufacturing. In this Control Automation video, we discuss the important hardware elements that define a PLC, regardless of its size or purpose.

Watch our 'Introduction to PLCs' series by our very own Control Automation engineering staff. Join us for the YouTube…

Watch our 'Introduction to PLCs' series by our very own Control Automation engineering staff. Join us for the YouTube premier LIVE event on Wednesday, July 6th with a Q&A from the video author and engineer.

The newly-announced CIP Safety I/O Module from Balluff supports CIP Safety specifications over an Ethernet network,…

The newly-announced CIP Safety I/O Module from Balluff supports CIP Safety specifications over an Ethernet network, providing a platform for safety device distribution directly on the machine center.

One common challenge when working with legacy control systems is establishing communication with old devices that use old…

One common challenge when working with legacy control systems is establishing communication with old devices that use old protocols like RS232 and RS485. Learn about the importance of converting from serial to Ethernet.

There are many distributed fieldbus capabilities for valve manifolds that can save on network overhead and wiring. In…

There are many distributed fieldbus capabilities for valve manifolds that can save on network overhead and wiring. In this article, we will look at PLC programming of fieldbus manifolds highlighting Festo's CPX layout.

We will show you how to use the basic trigonometry functions to build ladder logic in a PLC, allowing for a clean,…

We will show you how to use the basic trigonometry functions to build ladder logic in a PLC, allowing for a clean, well-organized, and easy-to-use code that allows you and other users to troubleshoot your programs.

Communication protocols are a key component for an industry 4.0 compliant facility and are used to enable communication…

Communication protocols are a key component for an industry 4.0 compliant facility and are used to enable communication back and forth between cloud servers to transmit data or receive instructions.

We will show you how to use common math functions from two popular PLC programs—Rockwell Automation's Studio 5000 and…

We will show you how to use common math functions from two popular PLC programs—Rockwell Automation's Studio 5000 and Automation Direct Productivity Suite.