David Peterson

3 days ago | control.com | David Peterson

If you ever get the chance to drive Interstate 90 across the panhandle of Idaho in the northwest US, you’ll drive through the small town of Wallace, ID. This town traces its roots to a (literally) rich history of silver mining, and you can still stop by the local park and explore the massive mechanical and electrical devices that chewed through mountains in search of valuable ore in the past.

2 weeks ago | control.com | David Peterson

Motion is critical in automation. Virtually every system includes some moving element. Perhaps this is as simple as a pneumatic cylinder or a solenoid, but more often, there are motors involved. If the motion must run with a very precise speed or positional path, we are likely to find servo-driven motion axes. Servos are just standard brushed or brushless motors with a built-in sensor for feedback.

2 weeks ago | control.com | David Peterson

Following our previous article where we configured a single motion axis, we will now investigate the design and execution of a PLC program directly onboard an SBD servo drive from CMZ Sistemi Elettronici, thanks to a generous loan of equipment from Bright IA, a system integrator from Texas. For many motion projects (especially complex ones), we rely on a PLC or IPC to calculate and deliver the set points to the drive.

4 weeks ago | control.com | David Peterson

Although the Automate trade show is now several weeks past, our editorial engineering team got to meet with so many excellent companies and professionals that they deserve unique articles. Thanks for reading our Automate Highlight Series, and we look forward to seeing you again at a future show!When industrial control manufacturers use the term edge, they are referring to the ability to process large amounts of data right inside the processor on the shop floor.

1 month ago | control.com | David Peterson

In any modern automated manufacturing setup, we need quick and seamless communication between every system. FANUC, being a leader in industrial robotics, offers various communication protocols, with Ethernet Global Data (or EGD) being a somewhat unique standout among a mix of industry-standard protocols.