Latest Military/Aerospace Technical Articles

Industrial robots are a valuable investment because of their speed and accuracy. However, failing to establish the tool…

Industrial robots are a valuable investment because of their speed and accuracy. However, failing to establish the tool center point (TCP) can decrease the accuracy, effectiveness, and ROI for a robot workcell.

Electrical signal analysis has come to the forefront of predictive maintenance, helping to reduce downtime in industrial…

Electrical signal analysis has come to the forefront of predictive maintenance, helping to reduce downtime in industrial manufacturing by remotely identifying problems with electric motors and generators.

Communication protocols are a key component for an industry 4.0 compliant facility and are used to enable communication…

Communication protocols are a key component for an industry 4.0 compliant facility and are used to enable communication back and forth between cloud servers to transmit data or receive instructions.

We will show you how to use common math functions from two popular PLC programs—Rockwell Automation's Studio 5000 and…

We will show you how to use common math functions from two popular PLC programs—Rockwell Automation's Studio 5000 and Automation Direct Productivity Suite. 

Software obsolescence poses a threat in industrial automation equal to hardware obsolescence and should not be…

Software obsolescence poses a threat in industrial automation equal to hardware obsolescence and should not be overlooked. Many PLC OEMs offer tools to migrate upgraded software projects to the newest controller revisions.

Configuring analog signals into usable digital quantities is accomplished by scaling function inside the PLC, which,…

Configuring analog signals into usable digital quantities is accomplished by scaling function inside the PLC, which, along with analog signal wiring, is important to understand.

Counting up and down are commonly required functions in PLC lagger logic programs for tracking inventories, placement…

Counting up and down are commonly required functions in PLC lagger logic programs for tracking inventories, placement patterns, and gaining informational insights about machine performance statistics.

Designing an obsolescence mitigation plan to detect and solve mitigation risks before they occur is key to avoiding…

Designing an obsolescence mitigation plan to detect and solve mitigation risks before they occur is key to avoiding costly downtime and a potential catastrophe in control environments. 

Many PLC commands are well-known to programmers, including contacts, coils, timers, and counters. But a less-common…

Many PLC commands are well-known to programmers, including contacts, coils, timers, and counters. But a less-common instruction is the one-shot, capable of harnessing the incredible processing speeds in a CPU.

Control engineering is integrally woven together with electricity and electrical circuits. Even so, sometimes the most…

Control engineering is integrally woven together with electricity and electrical circuits. Even so, sometimes the most basic scenarios become misunderstood through lack of training or experience.

One of the most considerable risks in aging control environments is that eventually, spare parts become obsolete and…

One of the most considerable risks in aging control environments is that eventually, spare parts become obsolete and unavailable, and the lack of an upgrade plan can turn a simple failure into a catastrophe.

Credited with coining the name ‘PLC’, Allen-Bradley and parent company Rockwell Automation are major players in the…

Credited with coining the name ‘PLC’, Allen-Bradley and parent company Rockwell Automation are major players in the world of control systems. Learn how the hardware platforms have evolved into the familiar modern configurations.

The timer is a fundamental function of ladder logic programming. In this article, we discuss on- and off-delay as well as…

The timer is a fundamental function of ladder logic programming. In this article, we discuss on- and off-delay as well as retentive timers and define the inputs and outputs required to properly use them.

Scaling values has a wide range of applications and helps to match output values to their real-world applications. Most…

Scaling values has a wide range of applications and helps to match output values to their real-world applications. Most scaling is linear, but many of these real-world changes are not quite so simple.

In the world of modern manufacturing, we want the tools to be effective, safe, and very easy to install and commission.…

In the world of modern manufacturing, we want the tools to be effective, safe, and very easy to install and commission. But when we say ‘easy’, how easy can it really be to commission robotic tools?

Power supplies tend to get a reputation as one of the most important power considerations of a DC control circuit - but…

Power supplies tend to get a reputation as one of the most important power considerations of a DC control circuit - but we can’t ignore other key players: power filters, converters, and backup power modules.

Hello acoustics, my old friend. I've come to monitor you again. Because a worn-out bearing softly creeping, slowly got…

Hello acoustics, my old friend. I've come to monitor you again. Because a worn-out bearing softly creeping, slowly got worse while I was sleeping. And the vibration that was planted in my brain still remains… Within the sound of Maintenance

What if you could control the end position and the speed of a hydraulic actuator accurately with just a simple signal?…

What if you could control the end position and the speed of a hydraulic actuator accurately with just a simple signal? Some systems use simple open/close valves, but others require far more precision.

Even with the most reliable networks, network outages are inevitable for a host of reasons, and managing these outages in…

Even with the most reliable networks, network outages are inevitable for a host of reasons, and managing these outages in VFD systems becomes critically important.