Lisa Richter, Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) Industry Director PostedFebruary 1, 2019 AT 12:53 PM Looking for a Pathway to Robust and Secure Industrial Automation? Artwork by Caroline Whalen System integration often happens in the later stages of a project and typically represents a relatively small part of the overall spend. If it’s not done right, it can torpedo the entire venture. You might want to ask yourself a few questions: Does your manufacturing operation rely on automation for success? Do you need your systems integrator to be your go-to supplier to perform your automation and configuration activities? Do you feel like your automation system is a black box, and you just hope it works when it is time to run your operation? Do you lose sleep at night worrying that someone will cyber-hack into your automation system and create havoc? Do you hope your systems integrator is there for you day in and day out for the long-haul? Does procurement commoditize system integration? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are not alone. Your next question is most likely: Where to ... Read More
Dennis Nash, Control Station, Inc. President PostedJanuary 29, 2019 AT 2:04 PM PID Tuning Fundamentals: Simple ‘Recipe” for Tuning PIDs Highly effective and repeatable methods for tuning PID controllers manually do indeed exist. Read More
Dennis Nash, Control Station, Inc. President PostedNovember 29, 2018 AT 12:15 PM PID Tuning Fundamentals: Calculating Model Parameters Tuning PID control loops involves the collection and analysis of test data as well as the modeling of the associated process dynamics. Read More
Dennis Nash, Control Station, Inc. President PostedOctober 16, 2018 AT 9:19 AM PID Tuning Fundamentals: Bump Test Options The bump test is a critical step in any PID controller tuning method. Read More
Dennis Nash, Control Station, Inc. President PostedOctober 4, 2018 AT 12:55 PM PID Tuning Fundamentals: Collecting Good Data At one time or another we’ve all heard the old adage: Garbage in, Garbage out. While it’s an old saying, it’s a good one and it’s highly relevant to PID controller tuning and process optimization. Read More
Dennis Nash, Control Station, Inc. President PostedSeptember 25, 2018 AT 10:06 AM PID Tuning Fundamentals: Good Control Should Be SIMPLE After all these years the Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controller remains the workhorse for process manufacturers. Still, after more than 50 years of use in industry many practitioners continue to view the tuning of PID controllers as a “black art”. Read More
, Applied Manufacturing Technologies PostedJuly 16, 2018 AT 8:30 AM Don’t be Phased by Your Automation Project Finding yourself with more questions than answers about your automation project? Make or buy? Robots? Conveyors? Tooling? How much will this cost? Do we have the expertise in house to even try to tackle an automation project? Read More
, RedViking PostedJuly 12, 2018 AT 8:30 AM 5 Principles of Flexible Assembly Line Design https://www.automationworld.com/5-principles-flexible-assembly-line-design By following these principles of flexible assembly line design, manufacturers can pursue lean manufacturing in their current operation while also building capabilities to maintain or add lean improvements in the future. Read More
Vryan Constantino, Panacea Technologies Inc Lead Engineer PostedJuly 9, 2018 AT 8:30 AM Thin Clients, ThinManager and the Mobile HMI https://www.automationworld.com/thin-clients-thinmanager-and-mobile-hmi As you make your move to mobile human-machine interfaces, ThinManager is a good way to ease the integration and operation of your thin client. Read More
, Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) PostedJuly 2, 2018 AT 6:30 AM Obsolescence and Aging Infrastructure—Call the Guy! Quick! https://www.automationworld.com/obsolescence-and-aging-infrastructure-call-guy-quick Nearly every manufacturing facility, no matter the industry, has the equipment that’s been there for decades, and the one old-timer who knows how to fix it. Prepare now before he retires and that knowledge walks out the door. Read More
Luigi De Bernardini, Autoware, S.R.L. CEO PostedJune 29, 2018 AT 8:30 AM Digitalization Is Disrupting the Supply Chain https://www.automationworld.com/digitalization-disrupting-supply-chain A range of technologies have changed the industrial landscape. Companies that can successfully manage those technologies will also change the way they manage their supply chain. Read More
Michael Bachelor, Bachelor Controls, Inc. President PostedJune 21, 2018 AT 8:30 AM Oh, the Things We Can Do https://www.automationworld.com/oh-things-we-can-do When considering the important anatomy of an Internet of Things system, don’t neglect your focus on the ‘things’ themselves. Then you can worry about the cloud, analytics and dashboards. Read More
Stephen J Malyszko P.E., Malisko Engineering, Inc. President & CEO PostedJune 18, 2018 AT 8:30 AM Is Your Plant Floor Capable of Connection? https://www.automationworld.com/your-plant-floor-capable-connection All buzzwords aside, it’s time to start planning for the future if you’re not already doing so. Three important areas that manufacturers need to focus on are security, physical infrastructure and the logical topology. Read More
Mario Ishikawa, scadaHUB Tecnologia Ltda Business Director PostedJune 14, 2018 AT 8:30 AM Brainstorming the Future of SCADA Systems https://www.automationworld.com/brainstorming-future-scada-systems Supervisory control and data acquisition systems have some evolving to do to keep up with adoption in an IIoT era. But they still have a big market ahead. Read More
Lee Lohff, Interstates Control Systems, Inc. Business Analyst PostedJune 11, 2018 AT 8:30 AM Metrics Enable Common Ground for Project Evaluation https://www.automationworld.com/metrics-enable-common-ground-project-evaluation Discussing the scope of the problem you’re trying to solve through actual measures will help prepare management for better capital investments. Read More
Thomas Roth, Hargrove Controls + Automation Cybersecurity Engineer PostedJune 7, 2018 AT 8:30 AM IT/OT Monitoring: Does Your Data Center Have a Check Engine Light? https://www.automationworld.com/it-ot-monitoring-does-your-data-center-have-check-engine-light Redundant designs have become so capable that we often don’t miss a beat when a failure occurs. Without monitoring these assets, issues can fly under the radar until a catastrophic failure occurs. Read More
Elisa Costa, Autoware, S.R.L. Software Engineer PostedJune 4, 2018 AT 8:30 AM How IIoT Could Help OEMs https://www.automationworld.com/how-iiot-could-help-oems If machine builders are not incorporating an Industrial Internet of Things solution into their systems, they’re missing out on an opportunity to grow their businesses with additional services for their customers. Read More
Peter Kalish, O'Brien & Gere dire PostedMay 31, 2018 AT 8:30 PM Smarter Sourcing Is the Key to Smart Manufacturing https://www.automationworld.com/smarter-sourcing-key-smart-manufacturing Legacy procurement processes aren’t designed to handle the complexities of smart manufacturing. High-tech solutions that fail to rapidly deliver business results are all too common. Read More
Rafael Amaral, SAGE Automation Principle Consultant PostedMay 28, 2018 AT 8:30 AM True Industry 4.0 Value Lies in Finding the Real Problem https://www.automationworld.com/true-industry-40-value-lies-finding-real-problem A full understanding of your current state can ensure you fix the root cause of the problem rather than just the symptom. Read More
William Pollock, Optimation Technology, Inc. President PostedMay 24, 2018 AT 8:30 AM Unemployment, Automation and Manufacturing 2018 https://www.automationworld.com/unemployment-automation-and-manufacturing-2018 How will we go about filling the control system engineering positions we as an industry need to fill? Here’s a look at the issue and some ideas about overcoming it. Read More