Category: Mechatronics, Industrial Control & Instrumentation
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How to Wire an Industrial Control Motor
Option 1: With a Toggle Switch Let’s consider a simple three-phase, 480V AC motor control circuit consisting of a contactor, overload block, control power transformer, power fuses or (you may use circuit breakers) and the associated components as illustrated … Read more
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How PLC Systems are Protected from Plant Voltages
Internally a PLC typically operates at 5 V dc. The external devices such as solenoids, limit switches, motor starters, etc. operate at voltages up to 110 V ac. The mixing of these voltages will cause irreparable damage to the PLC … Read more
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Key Facts about RS-485 Industrial Network
RS-485 network is used in many industrial applications to gather data and control addressable motor drives, PLCs, cameras, time clocks, barcode scanners for process control and other factory automatic apparatus. RS-485 devices can be connected to a computer … Read more
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Industrial Motor Control Using Contactors
Motor contactors are large, high-current rated electromechanical relays. These are special relays in the sense that, they have heavy duty contacts that can handle the motor’s inrush current over many start and stop cycles. The contactor is actuated by … Read more
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Key Requirements for Industrial Control Computers
A computer is often used as part of a control system. The input data is typically from the operator’s commands and signals from the plant (flows, pressure, temperatures, limit switches, etc.). The output data comes in form of … Read more
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A Basic Introduction to Ladder Diagrams for PLC Programming
The ladder diagram which is a special type of wiring diagram consists of two power rails, which are placed vertically on each side of the diagram, and rungs, which are placed horizontally between the power rails. The power rails are … Read more
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How Synchros are used as Position Transducers
Let’s consider the transformer in Figure 1.0 whose secondary winding can be rotated with the respect to the primary winding. Figure 1.0 Synchro torque transmitter At an angle ϴ, the output voltage will be given by: Vo = KV… Read more
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Actuators as Automation Components
An actuator is normally controlled by the controller. The actuator, in turn, changes the output of an automated process. The actuator in an automated process may in actual fact be several actuators, each of which provides an output that … Read more
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The Role of Forms in Robotics: Creating Smart Data Inputs for Automation
Introduction Hello and thank you for joining us here in the exciting realm of robots and automation! Prepare yourself for the “forms” notion, which is the ultimate game-changer that will determine the efficiency and smarts of operations. Prepare to have … Read more
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Passive vs. Active Sensors
Sensors are normally used to convert physical variables like pressure to signal variables. Sensors are also often termed to as transducers since they are devices that convert input energy of one form into output energy of another form. Sensors can … Read more