Collecting, writing, editing, discrete control info

You may know that Frank Bartos and I tailor the contents of the Discrete Control newsletter monthly, by writing, editing, and distilling. You’re always welcome to e-mail us input.

By Control Engineering Staff January 27, 2005

You may know that Frank Bartos and I tailor the contents of the Discrete Control newsletter monthly, by writing, editing, and distilling. You’re always welcome to e-mail us input. If monthly’s not enough for getting related information, you do have additional Control Engineering choices, including a Discrete Control Industry Channel, other e-mail newsletters, several specific recent articles, and upcoming conference sessions in March at the National Industrial Automation Show.

There’s an automated version available daily at Control Engineering Online by clicking on the left navigation bar under Industry Channels , Discrete Control. Here, items that staff editors classify appropriately appear, along with relevant items from other Reed Business Information publications.

At top of Control Engineering Online , you also can click on the “ Newsletters ” button, read descriptions of and subscribe to other e-mail newsletters, including ones focusing on System Integration (networks, system integrators, and control components), Software (along with embedded and HMI), and “Weekly News,” among others.

Links to three specific items you might find interesting…

  • Exclusive: Highly modular control system solves complex tasks

  • Rebirth: AVG recovers from fire to launch eight EZAutomation product lines

  • Electric vehicle converts happy to avoid pumps, accept cars’ limitations

Gathering information in person is also a great option, including at two conference sessions I’m moderating at the National Industrial Automation Show , part of National Manufacturing Week . The sessions are:

  • “Ethernet in the Manufacturing Enterprise” will be held at 8:30 to 9:20 a.m. on March 7, and will include Mike Bryant, executive director of the Profibus Trade Organization , Katherine Voss, executive director of the Open DeviceNet Vendors Association (ODVA), and Markus Sandhoefner, of B&R Industrial Automation USA, representing Ethernet Powerlink Standardization Group (EPSG).

  • “Position Sensing” will be held at 8:30 to 9:20 a.m. on March 8, providing “feedback” on what the latest position-sensing technologies have to offer, including application information from automation system integrators: Scott Shaw, president, Automated Control Systems Inc .; Ken Brey, technical director, DMC Inc. ; and Sam Hammond, chief engineer, Innoventor Inc .

Most of NMW 2005’s 322 conference sessions will be held 8 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. on the show’s four days to help most visitors go to conference sessions in the morning and visit the show floor afterward. All sessions can be searched with NMW 2005’s Conference Search Engine .

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