March 2025

The Open Process Automation Standard (O-PAS) is bringing home the bacon. The "standard of standards" and its real-world applications are generating revenue and earning a living. After eight years of development and testing, O-PAS has achieved its goal of plug-and-play process automation and control, but its benefits don't end there.

March 2025

Digital Edition

O-PAS on the job

March 17, 2025

It’s real, it works, and it’s making money

Plug and Play. The cubes form a plug and play expression. Technology concept

Distributed Control

Plug-and-play punches in

Jim Montague

March 17, 2025

ExxonMobil’s resin-finishing plant runs with O-PAS, and company starts internal commercialization

PLCs & PACs

Machine automation controller uses control-connect-software architecture

Omron Industrial Automation

March 17, 2025

NX102 machine automation controller provides robust safety, precise motion, and transparent control by harnessing Sysmac’s One Controller, One Connection and One Software...

Plummer Forest Products in Post Falls, Idaho, endured a fire and had to rebuild its control system quickly.

Loop Control

Dealing with deadtime

Patrick J. Dixon

March 14, 2025

How Plummer Forest Products quickly overcame a fire and devastation to its control system by implementing high-performance automatic control on very complex interacting loops ...

Wildfire in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, January 8, 2025, towards Getty Center and Brentwood

Physical Security

Better protection from wildfires

Béla Lipták

March 13, 2025

Improvements to municipal water systems can help avoid a repeat of the Pacific Palisades and other Los Angeles-area fires

More content from March 2025

PLCs & PACs

Compact PLC with configurable Ethernet ports

Galco

March 13, 2025

750-8100 PFC100 PLC from Wago is a compact controller designed for Wago’s modular I/O system. It seamlessly supports digital, analog and specialty I/O modules from the 750...

PLCs & PACs

Compact, combined PLC and HMI with multi-touch display

IDEC

March 12, 2025

FT1J is a conveniently-sized, industrially-tough, 4.3-inch, multi-touch display combined with an integrated, full-function controller and onboard, expandable I/O, which makes ...

PLCs & PACs

Multi-loop, safety logic solver with alarming earns FM approval

Moore Industries

March 11, 2025

To provide reliable alarming and safety shutdowns in hazardous settings, SLA multiloop, multifunctional, safety logic solver and alarm has earned Factory Mutual (FM) approval ...

PLCs & PACs

Box PC supports high-speed memory and extended RAM

Pepperl+Fuchs, Inc.

March 10, 2025

Box PC 3200 series is based on the 7th-generation Intel Celeron and i5 (Kaby Lake) embedded processor. It supports high-speed memory technology (M.2 NVMe 1.3) and extended RAM...

Flow

How mass relates to flow measurement

Jesse Yoder

March 10, 2025

Understanding mass is important to understanding mass flow measurement

PLCs & PACs

Embedded PCs with powerful processors and expandable interfaces

Beckhoff Automation

March 7, 2025

CX5600 embedded, DIN rail-mounted PCs have added powerful AMD Ryzen processors, and offer expandable interfaces, operating system options and a familiar, rugged design for wide...

PLCs & PACs

Dual-core controller with 64-bit processor and 2 GB of RAM

Wago

March 6, 2025

With a dual-core, 64-bit processor and 2 GB of RAM memory, PFC300 controller is designed for complex applications, such as smart factories or working with renewable energy. It...

PLCs & PACs

Stackable, compact, motion-focused PLCs with Ethernet, serial and USB ports

AutomationDirect

March 5, 2025

XGB stackable, compact PLCs from LS Electric have IEC programming, two- or six-axis pulse/direction motion I/O (up to 200kHz), and include Ethernet, serial and USB ports. Any ...