Control Intelligence

Field-mounted devices change the way controls engineers approach industrial networking. The shift toward on-machine connectivity can simplify design, streamline wiring and enable strategies like conveyor zone management. In this episode of Control Intelligence, written by contributing editor Rick Rice, editor in chief Mike Bacidore talks about how field networking unlocks automated setup and diagn...

While China's technical design report for its proposed circular electron-positron collider (CEPC) is still awaiting government approval for inclusion in the next five-year plan, hope is still strong that construction of the $5.2 billion supercollider could begin as soon as 2027 and be completed in a decade, surpassing CERN's large hadron collider (LHC) as the world's largest machine. In this episo...

The guest on this episode of Control Intelligence is Jeremy Pollard, who was a 10-year veteran of Allen-Bradley as a technical specialist. Pollard established Allen-Bradley's Toronto District Training Office where PLC-2, PLC-3 and PLC-5 courses were implemented, and more than 1,000 students were personally trained by him. Pollard has consulted for SoftPLC, Flexis Control, Wonderware and IndX Softw...

For many years, real-time control software, whether running on a dedicated controller or an industrial PC, operated on a single CPU core. The runtime scheduler could precisely calculate scan times, and the engineer’s mental model of “one processor, one control loop” held true. In this episode of Control Intelligence, written by contributing editor Joey Stubbs, editor in chief Mike Bacidore shares...

The combination of technology and market forces is reshaping the automation supply chain for machine builders. Where can you turn for guidance? In this episode of Control Intelligence, editor in chief Mike Bacidore discusses automation distribution and Control Design's upcoming webinar on the supply chain.

At its core, an industrial machine vision system comprises high-resolution cameras, specialized illumination, image processors and software algorithms. The system captures images or video of products and processes and then analyzes this visual data to detect defects or anomalies, measure dimensions with high precision, verify the presence or position of parts and guide automated equipment or robot...

Industrial enclosures and human-machine interfaces (HMIs) represent a pivotal advancement in automation and control. These integrated systems enable seamless interaction between operators and complex machinery, offering robust protection for sensitive electronics and user-friendly access to real-time data. In this episode of Control Intelligence, written by contributing editor Charles Palmer, edit...

In factories, motion control systems are more complex than ever. Multi-axis machines, integrated robotics and tight production schedules leave little room for trial and error. For decades, programmers have had to wait until the first machine was assembled to test their code, often discovering issues once it was most costly to fix them. In this episode of Control Intelligence, written by contributi...

There are many applications in the industrial automation realm that benefit from state machines. Therefore, it was surprising to hear from an industrial programming specialist who says he does not like state machines and was adamant about their not working. In this episode of Control Intelligence, written by contributing editor Tobey Strauch, editor in chief Mike Bacidore discusses state machines.

Control systems use direct current (dc) motors for many applications. Many systems displace dc with alternating current (ac) technology because ac motors are more cost effective and lower maintenance than a dc motor with brushes. But are they? In this episode of Control Intelligence, written by contributing editor Tobey Strauch, editor in chief Mike Bacidore discusses ac and dc motors.

It has become a de facto standard in plants and machines for interconnecting systems and in fact individual devices. So, what happens when it fails? What would make it fail? In this episode of Control Intelligence, written by contributing editor Jeremy Pollard, editor in chief Mike Bacidore network-troubleshoots dos and don’ts.

In 2023, the Control Intelligence podcast on RS-232 was greeted with immediate popularity, and it remains an often-downloaded podcast episode. Electronic Design, an EndeavorB2B partner brand, republished the podcast episode, initiating some feedback from listeners. Hear their stories, and revisit the original podcast, in this refreshed Echolocation Episode.

In this episode of Control Intelligence, editor in chief Mike Bacidore is joined by Mike Devereux and Tim Finerty from national accounting and consulting firm Wipfli. Mike Devereux is a partner at Wipfli in the St. Louis area. He is a certified public accountant (CPA) and certified manufacturing professional (CMP) and the author of "More cash, better machines: your guide to the new tax law". He is...

In 2021, Control Intelligence spoke with Austin Park, winner of the first ever Acopian Power Supply Scholarship in 2017. Park had completed his master's degree in energy resources engineering, Cleantech, machine learning and decarbonization at Stanford University and was working as a machine learning engineer at Gridmatic, where he's now been for almost six years. At Gridmatic, located in the San...

This week’s guest on Control Intelligence is Tobey Strauch, senior staff electrical engineer, project manager and one of Control Design's most trusted controls engineers. Over the course of her career thus far, Strauch has accumulated valuable experience with a variety of industrial heavy hitters, including DWFritz, International Paper, Doosan Fuel Cell, Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Air Force. She...

In 2020, editor in chief Mike Bacidore spoke with Mattias Altendorf, then- CEO of Endress+Hauser Group. Much has changed since then. Since January of 2024, Altendorf has moved from the CEO role to become the president of the supervisory board for Endress+Hauser Group. He also founded Bionic Leadership, which applies evolutionary principles to modern management, extending to evolutionary economics...

The “safety PLC” is no longer more expensive for the hardware. Availability still may be an issue at times, and the programming costs may go up, but the safety chassis is becoming a mainstay. In this episode of Control Intelligence, written by contributing editor Tobey Strauch, editor in chief Mike Bacidore discusses CIP Safety and FSoE.

At the end of 2023, the Society of Automobile Engineers (SAE) sponsored a report from consulting firm BCG called “The US Needs More Engineers. What's the Solution?” in December 2023. It showed that the United States is facing a massive shortage of engineers. In this episode of Control Intelligence, written by contributing editor Joey Stubbs, editor in chief Mike Bacidore discusses IEC 61131-3 lang...

In this episode of  Control Intelligence , managing editor Anna Townshend shares  machine builder and system integrator news highlights from the month of July.

The landscape of industry is undergoing a profound transformation, largely driven by the increasing integration of robotics. Once confined to the realm of science fiction, industrial robots are now an indispensable part of manufacturing and production processes worldwide. In this episode of Control Intelligence, written by contributing editor Charles Palmer, editor in chief Mike Bacidore discusses...

Many times, in industrial automation we hear the term “safe speed” in motion conversations. It’s important to define safe speed and how it applies to control design, in relationship to functional safety. In this episode of Control Intelligence, written by contributing editor Tobey Strauch, editor in chief Mike Bacidore discusses how smart control design implements safe speed principles.

Two technologies that have risen to prominence in industrial settings over the past few years are light detection and ranging (LiDAR) and IO-Link. The discussion, popularity and implementation of both continue to rise. Aaron Rothmeyer, manager, market product manager, at SICK, explains why in this episode of Control Intelligence.

Industrial panel displays have undergone significant advancements in recent years, driven by the growing demand for better performance, durability and functionality. In this episode of Control Intelligence, written by contributing editor Charles Palmer, editor in chief Mike Bacidore discusses displays.

Commissioning a stand-alone machine project based on control with a programmable logic controller (PLC) and a human-machine interface (HMI) has many facets to the successful implementation of the equipment that the control system is controlling. In this episode of Control Intelligence, written by contributing editor Jeremy Pollard, Mike Bacidore discusses machine commissioning steps.

A programmable logic controller (PLC) is essentially a term used for any controller these days. A programmable automation controller (PAC) is the alternative. It could be looked at as a flip phone vs. a smart phone. However, there are distinguishing characteristics. In this episode of Control Intelligence, written by contributing editor Tobey Strauch, editor in chief Mike Bacidore discusses PLCs,...