Blog
Thanks for Visiting Us at The Inland AM Expo…
A heartfelt thanks to those who took the time to visit us at the third annual Inland Advance Manufacturing, Materials and Aerospace Expo. The event was held at the Spokane Fair and Expo Center on September 29 and 30th, 2014. A special thanks, too, to the event's organizers. SME's Dave Davidson has posted some great photos of the action here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/72325472@N04/sets/72157647822110128/.
5 Handy Loop Tuning Tips
A while back I attended a two day long PID loop tuning class. My initial thought was this: How can this class take 2 days of time? Of course, once I got into the class I realized there was a lot more to tuning a PID loop then I originally thought. Here are some the main takeaways. Hopefully you can get some value from them too: Trying to tune a PID loop without any training or knowledge can be very time consuming and expensive Perform a controlled test and use a mathematical approach to tune the PID loop rather than by trial and error Make sure you know the PLC or PID controller manufacturer and how their loops are designed before starting Make sure you know and understand the process and tune the loop based on a design level of operation PI loops (as opposed to PID) can be less[...]
Windows XP End of Support: Why You Should Care & What You Should Do About It
The Problem Microsoft has announced that April 8, 2014 will mark the “End of Support” for Windows XP and Office 2013. The announcement has IT folks scrambling to migrate any remaining XP machines to newer operating systems. At the same time, it has automation personnel wondering how big an issue the whole “End of Support” issue really is for them. After all, automation computers are usually separated from business networks by firewalls (or ought to be) if not completely isolated. The cost of upgrading computer hardware and software on a properly functioning manufacturing system can be a bitter pill to swallow, particularly when it’s unclear if the upgrade is really needed. We’ll explain why the migration is probably necessary and offer some suggestions to ease the pain. Why It Really Is a Problem It’s important to understand that “End of Support” really means that Microsoft will stop offering patches to[...]
DCS Alternatives: Hype or Substance?
A disclaimer: My entry into the world of automation was by way of the traditional PLC manufacturers, namely Rockwell Automation. My perspective is surely colored by this fact. In recent years, we've been hearing much from the Rockwell Folks about the PlantPAx system which is intended to put them in a position to compete directly with the big DCS manufacturers: DeltaV, Honeywell, Bailey, ABB for example. More recently I've learned of efforts by Schneider to do similarly by blending their PAC offerings with their Citect SCADA system. These efforts are interesting to me, since the DCS world appears largely as a closed ecosystem to independent integrators like Talos. This could change if the new "PAC" architectures begin to make inroads. All this has led me to ask the following questions of whoever I could find that might know: Why would people pay the price premium that a DCS system demands if[...]
Talos Celebrates 1 Year In Business!
Thanks to all who took time out of their busy schedules to come celebrate with us at our open house on April 23rd. The event was a great success and a fun way to mark a milestone for Talos. With the continued support of our customers, partners, friends and families, the future looks bright for Team Talos... Onward!
Is “Lean Automation” an Oxymoron?
Having recently completed reading the book Lean Thinking (Womack & Jones), I’ve been puzzling over the apparent contrast between Lean principles and the idea of Automation. In the book, the authors go to great lengths to emphasize that manual operations are often preferable to automated operations. So does this mean that automation is bad (or at least, inherently un-lean)? The issue came up again today, along with a glimpse at a solution: This afternoon I was having lunch with a friend of mine who happens to be responsible for plant automation at about a half dozen manufacturing facilities. He was relating to me his experience this morning at one of the plants: The maintenance staff was having trouble getting a motor to stay running. When they pressed the go button, the motor would run for two seconds and then stop. They were at a loss for what to do, so[...]
Using Data Displays to Improve Productivity
Years ago I was hired to do some software work to improve the performance of a board sorting system in a sawmill. The PLC that controlled the system was such that any changes to the code required that the line be stopped, albeit briefly. To me, this seemed like a small price to pay given the performance improvements that were being made. Any production shortfalls that were the consequence of these brief line stoppages would certainly be made up within a few days. What I had not noticed was the large reader board, which was installed above the line that displayed “board feet produced this shift”. After the second or third time that I’d stopped the line to load a new program, I was roundly scolded by several of the plant’s operators: I was impacting their production this shift, as displayed on the reader board. After discussing the issue with[...]