Top 5 Control Engineering articles, August 12 to September 11: The first PLC, future of the PLC, System Integrator Giants, more
Articles about the competition for the first PLC, the PLC’s future, System Integrator Giants of 2014, writing a good process operation description documents, and cascade control fundamentals, were Control Engineering’s top 5 reader favorites from August 12 to September 11. You can catch up here.
1. Inside the competition for the first PLC
The race to develop the first programmable logic controllers was underway inside General Motors’ Hydra-Matic Transmission Division in Ypsilanti, Michigan, in 1970. Three finalists had very different architectures.
PLCs are evolving and continue to be the best option for a variety of industrial automation applications. Greater programming flexibility and ease, scalability, more memory, smaller sizes, very high-speed (Gigabit) Ethernet, and built-in wireless are among evolving programmable logic controller features.
3. System Integrator Giants of 2014
The 2014 System Integrator Giants boast a $396 million increase in system integration revenue, a greater concern for the economy’s impact on the automation integrator market, and a strong belief in educational and mentoring programs for employees.
4. How to write a good process operation description document
Back to Basics: Describe your process to preserve the process engineer knowledge for the future. To program the process controller, programmable logic controller (PLC), or distributed control system (DCS), follow these steps and methodology.
5. Fundamentals of cascade control
Sometimes two controllers can do a better job of keeping one process variable where you want it.
The list was developed using CFE Media’s web analytics for stories viewed on controleng.com, from August 12 to September 11, for articles published within the last two months.
– Chris Vavra, content specialist, CFE Media, cvavra@cfemedia.com.
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