The Latest Thinking on Using Ethernet for Machine Safety Networks

A networking expert takes a look at how networked machine safety has evolved, examining the implications of Ethernet-based machine safety networks as a replacement for field buses. The rate of evolution exemplified, and perhaps driven, by Moore’s Law is not limited to computers and consumer products like tablets, PCs and phones. The same innovative wave has splashed across all aspects of technology, including the automation industry, which has been inundated with constantly... Read More

Understanding Your Automation Control Options: Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), Programmable Automation Controllers (PAC), PC-based Controllers (PCbA)

Learn to differentiate “marketing-speak” from fact in this assessment of similarities and differences between automation control platforms. Like everything in the highly Darwinian world of the manufacturing industry, automation systems are in a constant state of evolution. One of those evolutions was the advent of the PLC in 1968. Before then the American manufacturing industry – especially the automotive sector – was reliant on a system based on hundreds or even thousands... Read More