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Electrical Cabinet Best Practices: A Field Guide for New Integrators

Electrical Cabinet Best Practices: A Field Guide for New Integrators

A practical, experience-driven guide to designing and wiring electrical cabinets for machine-tending robotic cells.


The Role of Electrical & Automation Products in Modern HVAC Systems

The Role of Electrical & Automation Products in Modern HVAC Systems

Electrical and automation components drive modern HVAC efficiency and reliability. Sensors, relays, and controls enable predictive maintenance and efficiency while keeping systems running smoothly.


Tricks of the Trade: Troubleshooting Industrial Control Cabinets

Tricks of the Trade: Troubleshooting Industrial Control Cabinets

When the blinking lights on automation devices stop blinking, the control cabinet is often the go-to troubleshooting culprit, but how do you make the best judgments for quickly locating the problem?


Facts Behind the Shock! Investigating the Dangers of Arc Flash

Facts Behind the Shock! Investigating the Dangers of Arc Flash

Even though electrical safety practices have existed for over a century, arc flash safety has only gained traction in recent decades. This article discusses the danger and prevention of arc flash injury.


Guide to Wiring: Conductor Materials, Styles, Sizes, and Best Practices

Guide to Wiring: Conductor Materials, Styles, Sizes, and Best Practices

The simple tasks can lead to the most failures. Basic practices in the wiring assembly stages of a project can lead to long-term success or haunting tales of intermittent yet persistent failures.


Fundamentals of Grounding and Safety: Protecting People and Equipment

Fundamentals of Grounding and Safety: Protecting People and Equipment

Electrical grounding is used to accomplish several different tasks, but none more important than for the safety of users and equipment while maintaining strict adherence to regulations.


Touching on Touchscreens | Capacitive vs. Resistive Technologies

Touching on Touchscreens | Capacitive vs. Resistive Technologies

Two primary technologies are used for creating touchscreens. For industrial HMIs, resistive and capacitive methods both contain certain advantages for various applications.


Understanding RMS and True RMS for Meters and Mechanical Measurements

Understanding RMS and True RMS for Meters and Mechanical Measurements

Electrical and mechanical measurements are often labeled with "RMS" and "True RMS." Aside from the simple math definitions we learned in electronics class, why is this distinction actually important?


Teardown: What’s Inside a Solenoid-Controlled Safety Interlock?

Teardown: What’s Inside a Solenoid-Controlled Safety Interlock?

Safety devices have two main purposes, both of them meant for (you guessed it) safety. They protect both machine and operator from harm. But what’s inside, and how do these switches work?


There’s This Thing Called ‘Skin Effect’ in Wires: What Does it Mean to You?

There’s This Thing Called ‘Skin Effect’ in Wires: What Does it Mean to You?

Current flow in wires is often modeled with a perfectly circular cross-section, with the size of the wire being responsible for the maximum current. This is true, but there’s more to the story.


Raspberry Pi Sensors: Sense HAT Temperature, Pressure, and Humidity

Raspberry Pi Sensors: Sense HAT Temperature, Pressure, and Humidity

Explore the sensors used to obtain temperature, pressure, and humidity for industrial applications on this value-packed, compact add-on for the Raspberry Pi.


Duties of Power Plant Operators, The Journey From Entry to Senior Operator

Duties of Power Plant Operators, The Journey From Entry to Senior Operator

When beginning a new career, an obvious question is how to take positive steps, from your first day inside the plant all the way to becoming an experienced senior operator.


Sense HAT: The Coolest HAT for the Raspberry Pi

Sense HAT: The Coolest HAT for the Raspberry Pi

This top-mount accessory for the Raspberry Pi offers various capabilities at a low cost, perfect for analyzing and solving problems related to vibration, temperature, humidity, and others.


A Tale of Two Standards | Comparing Analog Voltage and Current

A Tale of Two Standards | Comparing Analog Voltage and Current

Analog voltage and current are the dominating standards for industrial technology. Is one format better than the other? And if so, why do both signal types still exist in modern systems?


What Does ‘Explosion Proof’ Mean, and Who Should Care?

What Does ‘Explosion Proof’ Mean, and Who Should Care?

Some workplaces are more dangerous than others, not because of the practices, but rather the products. Where do explosions occur, and what practices exist to reduce such risk for equipment and workforce?


Managing Networks | Why Do I Need an Industrial Grade Switch?

Managing Networks | Why Do I Need an Industrial Grade Switch?

I could run down to the local box store or internet marketplace and buy a 5-port switch for less than 20 dollars, or invest in an industrial switch for hundreds. Why would I choose the industrial switch?


Temperature Profiling: The Process and The Underlying Benefits

Temperature Profiling: The Process and The Underlying Benefits

Temperature profiling is an effective tool to monitor thermal properties in process equipment. This article defines temperature profiling, discusses the process components, and describes the various benefits it offers.


Connectors Used in Industrial and Robotic Cable Termination

Connectors Used in Industrial and Robotic Cable Termination

Industrial and robotics cabling requires specialized termination strategies. This article introduces connectors involved in automation applications for cable-to-cable or cable-to-device termination.


Gas, Smoke, and Fire Sensors for Industrial and Commercial Applications

Gas, Smoke, and Fire Sensors for Industrial and Commercial Applications

We see smoke detectors on a daily basis in every house and building we visit, but the same sensor elements, and others, can be used to detect the presence of harmful gasses and heat in all industries.


Comparing Parallel Circuits: Practical vs Theoretical Electrical Systems

Comparing Parallel Circuits: Practical vs Theoretical Electrical Systems

We are taught that parallel circuits maintain equal voltage across all branch resistors, equally sharing the source voltage. But reality is often far from ideal, and individual devices certainly impact the rest of the circuit.