Top 5 Control Engineering articles, March 30 to April 5

Were you out last week? Miss something? Here are Control Engineering's five most-clicked articles from last week, March 30 to April 5, including articles about Windows XP, robotics and motion control, safety, DCS upgrades, and cloud computing for manufacturers.

By Jessica DuBois-Maahs April 7, 2014

1. Goodbye Windows XP; Hello IsXP?

Microsoft Windows XP support ends April 8. What happens April 9? Three things to remember. 

2. PLCopen part 4 blurs the lines among PLCs, robotic, and motion control

Inside Machines: The PLCopen working group for motion control has standardized and logically defined all aspects of machine control programming, providing one of the best attempts of integrating PLC, robot, and motion control in an easy-to-understand language common among many manufacturers. 

3. Safety does not come out of a box

The solution to making your process plant a safer place isn’t something you can buy. Much of it depends on changing the ways your people work and think. 

4. Managing the DCS upgrade

The right process can take out the guesswork and lead to a successful migration. 

5. 8 ways the cloud is a no-brainer for manufacturers

Cloud computing: Some people still debate the merits of using cloud computing in manufacturing, but there are specific cases when a cloud solution is the obvious choice. Here are eight reasons why cloud computing works for manufacturers. Cloud computing is the quickest, most economical way to make things happen in a hurry. 

The list was developed using CFE Media’s web analytics for stories viewed on controleng.com, March 30 to April 5, for articles published within the last two months.

– Jessica DuBois-Maahs, associate content manager, CFE Media, jdmaahs@cfemedia.com.