Top 20 Control Engineering articles of 2008 at www.controleng.com

Below are links to the top 20 articles posted during 2008 that received the most traffic during the calendar year at www.controleng.com. Most popular among Control Engineering readers were articles about electrical design software, rules for software project success, closing the engineering skills gap, copper versus fiber networks, and soft starters. Link to all 20 most valuable.

By Control Engineering Staff February 3, 2009
Control Engineering article says electrical CAD software is driving productivity gains for panel builders, system integrators and end users by adding layers of intelligence to two-dimensional drawings.

Oak Brook, IL– Below are links to the top 20 articles posted during 2008 that received the most traffic during the calendar year at the Control Engineering website, www.controleng.com. Of course looking at a calendar year favors stories that went online earlier in the year. They had more time to be searched and read. Even so, a remarkable eight of 20 appeared in June or later.
Top 20 Control Engineering articles of 2008
1

Cover story Electrical Design Software

6/1/2008 Use of electrical CAD software is driving productivity gains for panel builders, system integrators and end users by adding layers of intelligence to two-dimensional drawings.
2

IT & Engineering Insight Rules for software success

10/1/2008 Some simple rules to apply to software projects that significantly reduce the risk of failure. Here they are.
3

Cover story: Closing the Skills Gap

1/1/2008 Programs designed to inspire the next generation of engineers ensure that fresh talent is ready to work as today’s engineers begin to retire.
For numbers 4-20, see table below, for more about fiber optics versus copper, soft starter design, piping and instrumentation drawings (P&ID), preventing measurement errors, pressure sensing, PLCs and PACs, and more.

4 News – Fiber optic vs. copper: 5 reasons fiber wins 1/29/2008 Although similar to copper wire systems, fiber optics are steadily replacing copper wires as a means of communication signal transmission; applications include manufacturing, process control, and supervisory control and data acquisition. Learn five reasons why fiber optic cables are preferable to copper cabling.

5 Back to Basics tutorial on Soft starter designs, functions 6/1/2008 High inrush currents and mechanical wear and tear are two principal causes of motor damage. When a variable speed drive isn’t an option, a soft starter can ease the initial impact of the motor starting and soften the blow when it shuts off.

6 News: Learning piping and instrumentation drawings; How to read P&IDs 10/30/2008

7 System Integration eNewsletter: Legalities: Integrator uses wrong measurement, a $2.5 million error 1/3/2008

8 Article: Pressure Sensor Technologies 2/1/2008

9 Product Research: Servo Motors Speed Up 1/1/2008

10 News: Swarm robotics: Debugged naturally for 120 million years 6/20/2008

11 Engineers’ Choice ONLINE extra: 2007 New Product Compendium 2/8/2008

12 Instrumentation eNewsletter Tutorial: Differential pressure sensors 3/20/2008

13 News: Maker’s Mark fuels operations with bourbon waste 12/16/2008

14 PLCs and DCSs Converge 5/1/2008

15 Article Intrinsically Safe or Explosion Proof?

16 Supplement Control Engineering 2007 Engineers’ Choice Award Winners 2/7/2008

17 Winners: Machine and Embedded Control 2/1/2008

18 News – Skills gap: Consider an online Master’s in Systems Engineering 4/1/2008

19 News – Finding, retaining talent: Culture is key for motor manufacturer 1/31/2008

20 Article – Upgrading Control: Migration or Evolution? 9/1/2008

Blog posting: If included in the ranking above, the following blog entry would have placed first:

Back to the moon

, from a Control Engineering blog, AIMing for Automated Vehicles, by Paul Grayson, Jan. 14, 2008.
Also read the

Control Engineering Top 20 articles of 2007

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Mark T. Hoske , editor in chief
Control Engineering News Desk
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