C.G. Masi

Embedded control: broadband LAN delivers infotainment options

One of the themes at the Embedded Systems Conference (April 3-5, 2007) was the ubiquitous nature of broadband LAN technology. Machine builders and designers of vehicle control systems are gaining new options for small-space, high data throughput networking.

How green is my power supply?

Most electronic devices work best with direct current power. Thomas Edison advocated dc power distribution, but we use George Westinghouse’s ac power distribution system because, as Nicola Tesla pointed out, you can move electricity over long distances much more efficiently as high-voltage, low-current ac.

Safe-motion choices

The motion control industry “is going to see a flood of new standards…that promote fresh, new ways to provide machine operator safety,” says J.B. Titus, manager of business development and industry standards at Siemens Energy & Automation. That is already happening. The old way—point-to-point wired safety systems for automated machinery installations—is less th...

PLC Users Like What They Have

俗话说“没有消息就是好消息”,当然eems to apply in the world of programmable logic controllers (PLCs). Control Engineering’s 2006 PLC Product Research Survey, with help from Reed Corporate Research, indicates that PLC users seem to be happy, or, at least complacent. They’re happy with their suppliers.