Jeremy Pollard

Columnist at Control Design

Featured in: Favicon

controldesign.com

Articles

Remote monitoring and diagnostics require security

1 month ago | controldesign.com | Jeremy Pollard

Imagine this happening in Y2K: You’re sitting in a coffee shop, and the system goes down 1,000 miles away. It is your responsibility to get it back up and running. What do you do? In 2025 the solution is easy. You spark up your VPN software on your trusted laptop, and you connect to the system and diagnose the issue. Then you fix it, all within the time it takes to drink a cup of joe. Get your subscription to Control Design’s daily newsletter.
How machine builders in US and Canada can survive talk of tariffs on automation components

1 month ago | controldesign.com | Jeremy Pollard

“You think you're gonna break up. Then she says she wants to make up.” Those lyrics from the 10cc song, “The Things We Do for Love,” seem appropriate to the recent North American and global trade environment. I’m looking at the automation market and how the talk of tariffs is affecting pricing and availability of products. The proposed cross-border tariffs could affect projects now and in the future. Get your subscription to Control Design’s daily newsletter.
What can VFDs do besides reduce energy costs?

2 months ago | controldesign.com | Jeremy Pollard

One of my very first orders when I took over a territory in northern Ontario, Canada, was from an entrepreneur who was making insulation from newspaper and newsprint. It had a big shredder/pulverizer, which was run by a 250-hp motor. In Ontario, there is an electrical component for running large machines called a demand charge. This charge was a separate line item on the bill, which related to the peak power used during any given time period.
Anything can be an HMI with wireless connectivity

Oct 30, 2024 | controldesign.com | Jeremy Pollard

Wireless human-machine interface (HMI) control and monitoring has come a long way since its inception. What it has brought to the factory floor and the attached processes has access to everything from effectively anywhere. HMI hardware can now be a smart phone, mobile tablet or standard PC located in a panel, but the connectivity doesn’t have to be wired. But beware of implementation gotchas. Get your subscription to Control Design’s daily newsletter.
What is a programmable automation controller?

Sep 26, 2024 | controldesign.com | Jeremy Pollard

Defining things in our orbit can take on the look and feel of an argument. What is a programmable automation controller (PAC)? If you ask 10 people, you might get 10 different answers. In the early days of the automobile, there were various silos of expertise in niche-based cars that forged a market rather than reacting to one. Dick Morley states in his book, “Out of the Barn,” that Alfred P. Sloan bought these silos of expertise and brought the best of each silo and created General Motors.
How do industrial networks differ from commercial networks?

Aug 27, 2024 | controldesign.com | Jeremy Pollard

An industrial Ethernet network is primarily no different than a commercial IT Ethernet network. They both can present multiple communication protocols on the same cable. They both use routers, bridges and switches, and the devices typically use the same Ethernet chips and drivers in order to communicate. The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANet) was the first network employed for wide area networking. It was government-funded. Wide adoption of system networking started in the 1970s.
Sensing devices protect and serve data to the system

Jul 29, 2024 | controldesign.com | Jeremy Pollard

“Honey, I’m home.” This was a normal thing to say in the 1950s and 1960s by Dad when he came home from work to let Mom and the family know that he had returned. Today is different. My presence is known by simply approaching the house. My Ring camera goes off, my wife’s iPad tingles, and my phone lets Google Home know that I am on the premises—presence sensing at its best, and no words are even spoken.
How do Arduino and Raspberry Pi stand up against PLCs, PACs and PC-based machine control?

Jul 22, 2024 | controldesign.com | Jeremy Pollard

New players are coming into the programmable logic controller (PLC)/programmable automation controller (PAC) market all the time. Some are CoDeSys IEC-61131 based, some are C/C++ and/or Python. Suppliers have the ability to add in C/C++ routines. For OEM-based solutions, where no one will be troubleshooting the application, it won’t matter much. But for solutions used in industrial applications where people interfacing is needed, the C/C++ implementation wouldn’t be optimal.
Wireless networks offer risks and rewards

Jul 1, 2024 | controldesign.com | Jeremy Pollard

Control, mobility and data access—local or cloud—are becoming the battle cry of industrial automation. Hard to accomplish with a 2,000-ft cable attached to a laptop, yes? Wi-Fi or wireless communication, Bluetooth and 3/4/5G cell networks can provide us with that cable replacement by allowing users to connect to systems and devices in real time to provide us with control, mobility and data access that we all need.
How has I/O evolved?

May 6, 2024 | controldesign.com | Jeremy Pollard

What you want from your enclosure is long-term, productive service. Knowing your application, enclosure materials and the environment in which it will be located will help.