So an engineer walks into a theme park and while the kids are waiting in line for the kids’ coaster he carefully analyzes the mechanical construction details and postulates how the controls work.  Mechanically, it’s round tubular steel tracks, supported...

Continuing to answer questions from an Anaheim training class attendee:  There are lots of great Internet resources; finding them is the challenge.  Of course I’m a little biased towards our site, www.us.profibus.com and the PROFIblog. ...

An attendee from our Anaheim PROFINET one-day training event made a comment to my blogged report which I’m promoting to this post to answer:   “As a former automation engineering in the process industries, and a DeltaV user, I have been pre-programmed...

Funny coincidence: yesterday I mentioned using fiber optics for noise immunity (and thinking I probably should have expanded that thought) and today’s email brings reference to an article at Control Design, “More Than a Backbone.”  The article meets...

It was old-home week for me last week in Anaheim.  I lived in Orange County from 1994 until 2000 while working at Wonderware.  So after catching up with some other Wonderware alumni on Tuesday, it was off to the training class on Wednesday....

Automation World’s Process Automation Newsletter today reprised an article from the magazine’s October issue: “Fieldbus Reigns in Process Control.”  I liked the article when it first came out; I even blogged about it then.    A quote...

Trying to make sense of the wireless milieu?  Good luck!  Here’s my attempt to help with some commentary and links to recent articles on wireless in automation:   First, remember that there is more than one type of “wireless.”  I...

Isn’t it just always the case?  You brag about something and it completely turns around.  Phoenix temperature was 110 when I blogged on Monday; now on Friday we may get all the way up to 70… and rain – very unusual for this late in May. ...

The plane landed too soon Friday and cut short my OPC story.  So, here’s the conclusion:   A number of people have raised the question about OPC UA replacing PROFINET CBA (Component Based Automation).  First, a reminder of what CBA is...

As many of these PROFINET one-day training events as I’ve done, there is always something new that arises.  There are also some things that are always the same.  We always get requests on the course evaluation forms to do some hands-on training. ...

Another airport today – Phoenix Sky Harbor – waiting for my outbound flight to Raleigh for the PROFINET one-day training event tomorrow.  If you’re in North Carolina, I hope to see you there.  Mike A was in Richmond yesterday for a PROFIBUS...

A recent poll by Control magazine shows that only 12% of users report using primarily digital buses.  Keith Larson mentioned the report in the article, “Industrial Networking: The Next 20 Years”: “…a just-completed survey of Control readers indicated...

Sitting in another airport (Houston Bush) waiting for a plane delayed by weather, here’s my report from ABB Automation World:    Many of the industrial automation bloggers were here in Houston and they blogged about the conference. ...

The final numbers for Hanover Fair are just in – in time for this, my final Hanover Fair post:   5,100 exhibitors from 60 countries   200,000 visitors   3,200,000 leads generated (a 15% – 20% increase)   This blogging software...

Now I’m at the airport with time for my next to the last observation from Hanover:  I spent some time with PROFIsafe expert Wolfgang Stripf in front of the PROFIsafe display.  Here’s the display:  It depicts an automotive example but...

Monday morning and I’m about to leave for the airport en route to Houston for the ABB Automation World.  I’ll be speaking about PROFIBUS and PROFINET on Thursday.  But before I go let me share some of the discoveries I made at Hanover Fair....

The final new press release from the PI press conference covered new white papers.  [From O’Hare airport in Chicago, between flights.]   The news: PI publishes two new strategy documents The gist, part 2: The second one is “Enhancing the...

The big news related to PROFIBUS and PROFINET (and maybe for the show over all) was the continuing growth of the PROFIBUS and PROFINET fieldbuses.  What the numbers were and meant were in an earlier post.  The other topics from the PI press...

The leading news at the PI press conference covered the continuing growth of PROFIBUS and our first node count of PROFINET devices.  (You can read the full press release here.)  I tend to get all excited about PROFINET at the expense of PROFIBUS,...

I’m finally able to sit down and blog about this year’s Hanover Fair (starting on the train from Hanover to Frankfurt).  The sitting part feels really, really good after four very full days at the fair plus evening meetings.  Over the next several...

Where are the automation professionals of tomorrow?  Today, many of them are in Atlanta competing in the FIRST Robotics Competition.  I know because my oldest grandson is there competing.  They just finished a match.  The first 15...

Hanover, Houston, and Raleigh?  Is this a blog or a travelogue?  Maybe both.  It’s certainly travel season in my world now.  In the last month, I’ve been to Portland (OR), Montreal, Toronto, and Cleveland.  I’m headed for Hanover,...

It’s hard to keep up with blog-able news when your laptop battery dies.  Finding a power outlet in an airport is not easy… and that’s the only place I’ve had “spare” time lately.  Thanks to those of you who noted my absence and “gently chided”...

…it’s Wednesday night.  <insert pratfall here>  On second thought, there’s no need for the pratfall.  We’ve had a good couple days here in Oregon.  [If you missed the obscure SNL reference, click here.]   The PROFINET...

“One in-depth study conducted by a group … with a combined exposure of over 50 billion hours, concluded that production increased as safety increased,” reports Charles M. Fialkowski in “Safety Instrumented System design is all about the process.”  ...