Great 2004 information in machine control, discrete sensors

As much as I'd like to think that you've read every word we’ve written about machine control and discrete sensors, you might not have had time to see it all. Here are related items from 2004 Control Engineering worth reviewing.

By Control Engineering Staff December 15, 2004

As much as I’d like to think that you’ve read every word we’ve written about machine control and discrete sensors, you might not have had time to see it all. Here are related items from 2004 Control Engineering worth reviewing. Topics include predictive maintenance, control logic, machine vision, RFID, safety, design tips, real-time control, and PLCs, in print editions and the accompanying Online Extra materials. There is, of course, much more searchable on each, at top of and in Control Engineering ’s online Buyer’s Guide .

Pile on the savings : Combining expertise of controls and predictive maintenance technologies, rather than reacting to events, can save your facility a bundle. Here’s why buyers and specifiers in these two areas cannot afford not to cooperate.

Control logic strategies: With so many options for discrete applications, system integrators explain how to make the right choice for your control strategy.

Back to Basics : Proximity sensors shine on the shop floor

Product Focus research : Machine Vision Investment Increases: The next 12 months will see larger investments in machine vision technologies that are easier to set up and use, lower in cost, and diverse in application, according to Control Engineering research.

Technology Update : RFID: adoption increases despite costs.

Machine safety : Fail-safe PLC secures rail, barge traffic.

10 Design Tips for Machine Control : Upfront design saves time, effort, and grief later in the machine’s lifecycle. Here’s some indispensable advice, including sensor selection.

Real-time for machine control . The notion of “real-time,” or determinism, can apply to sensing, logic, actuation, and communications that connect the three. Here are some recent developments.

Product Focus research : PLCs become fast and smart. Programmable logic controllers (PLCs) are the logical choice for many control applications and, like many technologies in automation, continue to shrink in size, increase in function, communicate more, and integrate well with other forms of industrial computers.

Application Update : Machine vision. A foundry gives vision to robotics; inspecting transmissions and jar lids

Product Focus research : I/O modules on continuous improvement path

—Mark T. Hoske, editor-in-chief, Control Engineering, MHoske@cfemedia.com