How to stay ahead in engineering with PLC technology

⚙️ How do SoftPLCs differ from traditional PLCs? Find out here: https://bit.ly/3JQX5tg PLCs have been a cornerstone of industrial control for the last half century, but new technologies are making it possible to build smarter, more flexible automation solutions. In a new article on Control.com, OnLogic Senior Product Manager Hunter Golden, P.E. discusses how SoftPLCs and unified edge management, from experts like Avassa are helping engineers modernize their control systems and overcome some long-standing technology challenges. Read the article to learn more and discover how this modern approach could benefit your next project: https://bit.ly/3JQX5tg #automation #industrialcontrol #plcs #edgecomputing #hardware #technology

Condition Monitoring – Rethink Remote Monitoring with Ayyeka’s Wavelet Ayyeka’s Wavelet is a powerful and adaptable solution for remote condition monitoring in demanding industrial environments. Designed to simplify data acquisition and integration, it supports virtually any sensor, network, and data platform—including SCADA systems and cloud-based analytics—delivering true plug-and-play functionality with no integration barriers. Highlights include: - Supports up to 10 sensors with analog, serial, or discrete ports - Available as modular kits or standalone units - SCADA/cloud integration and user-friendly interface - IP68-rated for harsh conditions - Built-in cybersecurity and data encryption - Multiple network options (2G to LPWAN) for connectivity redundancy - Intelligent power management for extended field deployment With Wavelet, remote monitoring becomes more efficient, secure, and scalable—perfect for utilities, infrastructure, agriculture, and more. www.partnexus.com

Condition Monitoring – Rethink Remote Monitoring with Ayyeka’s Wavelet Ayyeka’s Wavelet is a powerful and adaptable solution for remote condition monitoring in demanding industrial environments. Designed to simplify data acquisition and integration, it supports virtually any sensor, network, and data platform—including SCADA systems and cloud-based analytics—delivering true plug-and-play functionality with no integration barriers. Highlights include: - Supports up to 10 sensors with analog, serial, or discrete ports - Available as modular kits or standalone units - SCADA/cloud integration and user-friendly interface - IP68-rated for harsh conditions - Built-in cybersecurity and data encryption - Multiple network options (2G to LPWAN) for connectivity redundancy - Intelligent power management for extended field deployment With Wavelet, remote monitoring becomes more efficient, secure, and scalable—perfect for utilities, infrastructure, agriculture, and more. www.partnexus.com

From teaching a PLC how to think (Chapter 7) … to making an entire factory work as one (Chapter 8). Continuing the Series: Chapter 8 – Industrial Networks of PLCs Individual PLCs are powerful, but how do you make an entire factory think and act as one system? 🌐 Chapter 8 of "Introduction to Industrial Automation" explores the world of Industrial Networks—the communication backbone that enables modern large-scale automation and lays the foundation of Industry 4.0. Instead of thousands of point-to-point wires, networks like Profibus and AS-i use a single communication cable, providing: ✅ Decentralized control with local PLCs. ✅ Centralized monitoring for plant-wide supervision. ✅ Reduced wiring cost and simpler maintenance. ✅ Higher reliability—faults don’t crash the whole system. The chapter also explains the fundamentals of networking in automation: 🔹 Topologies – Bus (simple & scalable), Ring (fault-tolerant), Star (fast but hub-dependent). 🔹 Protocols – Master/Slave (polled control), Token Passing (deterministic & collision-free), CSMA/CD (shared but less reliable for time-critical tasks). 🔹 Physical Media & Devices – Twisted pair, coaxial, fiber optics, along with repeaters, bridges, routers, and gateways to build larger integrated networks. Finally, we look at how industrial networks are implemented at different levels: ✏️AS-i connects sensors & actuators at the machine level. ✏️Profibus integrates PLCs, robots, and controllers at the control level. ✏️SCADA systems provide a plant-wide view—monitoring, logging, alarms, and centralized operator control. 👉 Chapter 8 shows how industrial networks transform individual machines into intelligent, connected factories. #IndustrialNetworks #PLC #SCADA #Industry40 #Automation #Profibus #ASI #ControlSystems #SystemIntegration #Engineering

Continuing my journey through “Introduction to Industrial Automation” by George Nikolakopoulos! 🔗 From connecting PLCs across entire factories (Chapter 8) … to precisely controlling continuous processes (Chapter 9). 🚀 Continuing the Series: Chapter 9 – PID Control in the Industry We know how to turn things ON and OFF—but how do modern factories maintain perfect stability in continuous variables like temperature, pressure, flow, or motor speed? 🌡️⚡ Chapter 9 of "Introduction to Industrial Automation" explores the PID Controller—the proven feedback algorithm that has been the backbone of industrial control for over 70 years. Here’s how PID works: 🔹 Proportional (P): Reacts to the present error. 🔹 Integral (I): Accounts for the accumulated past error, eliminating drift. 🔹 Derivative (D): Anticipates the future by reacting to the error’s rate of change, reducing overshoot. By blending these three terms, a PID controller delivers fast, stable, and accurate control for almost any industrial process. The chapter also explores: ✅ Tuning Methods – from mathematical modeling to the classic Ziegler–Nichols method and hands-on trial-and-error adjustments. ✅ Implementation in PLCs – as a software Function Block (FB) for most processes or via a dedicated PID hardware module for high-speed, mission-critical control. ✅ Auto-tuning features – enabling PLCs to intelligently optimize PID parameters. 👉 Chapter 9 reveals how PID turns industrial automation from simple ON/OFF logic into continuous, intelligent control—the key to efficiency, safety, and product quality in today’s factories. #PIDcontrol #ProcessControl #IndustrialAutomation #ControlSystems #Engineering #Automation #PLC #FeedbackControl

🚀 Bridging Siemens S7 PLCs with Node-RED – A Practical Guide for the Next Era of Industrial Automation In today’s connected world, data visibility and seamless integration are no longer optional in industrial environments—they are essential. Siemens S7 PLCs remain the backbone of automation, but integrating them with modern platforms for monitoring, control, and IIoT applications can be challenging. That’s where Node-RED changes the game. 🌐 With its low-code, flow-based approach, Node-RED empowers engineers to rapidly connect, visualize, and interact with PLC data—without complex middleware. 🔧 In my latest deep-dive, I explored how to: ✅ Configure S7 PLCs (PUT/GET, access levels, DB optimization) ✅ Install & set up node-red-contrib-s7 for direct PLC communication ✅ Write data to control outputs (e.g., tower lights) ✅ Access PLC memories (Inputs I, Outputs Q, Markers M, Data Blocks DB) directly from Node-RED ✅ Read structured data efficiently using Words, DWords, Reals, and Date/Time ✅ Build dashboards with FlowFuse for secure remote monitoring ✅ Apply best practices for data integrity, scalability, and troubleshooting 📌 Example Addressing (TIA Portal vs Node-RED): DB5.DBX0.1 ➝ DB5,X0.1 (Boolean) Q2.1 ➝ Q2.1 (Output bit) M3.2 ➝ M3.2 (Marker bit) IW16 ➝ IW16 (Unsigned 16-bit input word) DB21.DBD7 ➝ DB21,REAL7 (Floating point) 💡 Key takeaway: By combining Siemens’ reliability with Node-RED’s flexibility, engineers can bridge legacy PLCs with modern IIoT ecosystems—unlocking predictive maintenance, advanced analytics, and enterprise-wide integration. This isn’t just about remote control—it’s about creating a smarter, more connected factory floor where memory-level access gives you true real-time insights. #Industry40 #NodeRED #Siemens #PLC #Automation #IIoT #IndustrialAutomation #DigitalTransformation #FlowFuse #SmartFactory #EdgeComputing #ManufacturingInnovation

Ever wondered how entire industries, from power plants to manufacturing facilities, keep running seamlessly? The secret weapon is SCADA: Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition. This powerful system provides real-time monitoring and control of industrial processes, allowing operators to oversee complex operations from a single screen. SCADA is the brain behind the brawn, collecting data from sensors and equipment to ensure efficiency, prevent costly downtime, and enhance safety. It's the unsung hero of modern industry, making sure the lights stay on and the assembly lines never stop. #SCADA #IndustrialAutomation #RealTimeMonitoring #Tech #Manufacturing #PowerGeneration #GR #GRAUTOMATION #industrial

Pascal Pesendorfer from Schneider Electric presented at the “Advancing Industrial Automation: IEC 61499 in the Industry” event (https:/bit.ly/3GPCCn7) at IEEE IES ETFA 2025 in Porto on “Cyberphysical Systems with the IEC 61499 Standard: A Modular Framework for Plug & Produce Production.” The talk presented a modular framework for cyber-physical systems built on IEC 61499. The speaker framed CPS as the vital bridge between physical shop-floor devices—robots, sensors, actuators—and the digital layers above. Schneider’s work in EU research projects like MODUL4R EU Project and MetaWeb led to a structured approach where devices connect via edge controllers into a “CPSizer” gateway, with southbound connectors (OPC UA, MQTT, IEC 61499, etc.) gathering data and northbound links pushing it to the cloud. This setup not only centralizes connectivity but also allows logic execution close to the edge. A central concept in the framework is the Composite Automation Type (CAT)—a software object with its own HMI interface that represents a real device or subsystem. CATs can be nested hierarchically (“cat-in-cat”) so that a company is represented at the top level, production lines and machines below it, and down to sensors and actuators at the base. This hierarchy serves both modeling and integration: it auto-generates unique MQTT topics, eliminating naming clashes and ensuring clear, reusable structures for data exchange. CAT-based connectors also simplify parameterization, handling security credentials and addresses in one place. Pesendorfer illustrated the approach with a live demo of a fictional soldering line: robots, feeders, and PLCs simulated in OPC UA, connected via the CP-Sizer, and publishing structured data into a local MQTT “cloud.” Adding a new soldering head required only a quick CAT instance copy-paste and minor configuration; within a minute, new data was flowing seamlessly. The takeaway was clear: IEC 61499 enables object-oriented, plug-and-produce automation, where complex shop floors can be modeled, extended, and connected to IT systems with minimal engineering overhead. #ETFA2025 #Industry40 #IEC61499

Not every measurement point needs a high-end #ethernet system. Sometimes, the right #solution is the one that fits the complexity level - and that’s what makes #IOLink so powerful. It allows you to standardize and simplify large areas of your plant while still enabling full #digitalization. Combined with Ethernet-APL at critical points, it creates a superb, #scalable #automation #strategy. 🔧 Endress+Hauser offers premium integration support and full compatibility with Siemens TIA Portal and Rockwell Automation PlantPAx. 👉 Download the #whitepaper to see how IO-Link fits into your automation strategy: https://eh.digital/44BtjRe

The BLIIoT BE190 Edge I/O Module combines PLC + I/O + Protocol Gateway + Remote Access in one compact device. Supporting IEC 104, it allows remote configuration and logical control without PLC programming, enabling fast deployment and simplified automation. Perfect for industrial automation, energy systems, and IIoT applications, the BE190 helps reduce cost while improving flexibility and efficiency. 👉 Discover how edge I/O can make your IIoT easier with BLIIoT. #IIoT #EdgeComputing #Automation #SmartIndustry #IndustrialIoT