Understanding different data types in your PAC Control programming.

You don’t need to have the title "software engineer" on your business card before you code up your first automation process. In fact, I suspect that many industrial automation folks are like me—self-taught and come from the school of hard knocks.

This blog post is more of a musing out loud than a "you must" edict. Programming, after all, is often more art than science.

Opto 22's Director of Technical Marketing, Dan White, explains the features and importance of modern edge devices in this new Control Engineering article.

The industrial automation industry is now being driven by the idea of digital transformation and the industrial internet of things (IIoT). Understanding the concepts of edge and cloud technology and how they relate is becoming a necessity.

Opto 22's Dan White does an excellent job of explaining these terms and what it means for you and your future designs and applications. He shares his insights on edge devices, data management and cybersecurity in this newly published article from Control Engineering, "Edge to cloud: Understanding new industrial architectures."

New case study shows how a new dosing and batching system saved labor costs and time.

Pinturas Tropical is a leading paint and coating producer operating in Santo Domingo, the capital city and main industrial hub of the Dominican Republic. They have been delivering durable paint products for over three decades. However, their existing PLC-controlled dosing and batching system required manual adjustments and led to waste in raw materials.

How Pinturas Tropical overcame these challenges is the subject of a new groov EPIC case study.  Read how and why they turned to renowned systems integrator and certified OptoPartner RMS Industrial Tech to revamp their batch control system through better visualization and record keeping.

Another opportunity to see groov EPIC and groov RIO demos using Ignition software.

Have you ever attended the Automate show? Considered the leading industrial automation event in North America, this year's Automate event takes place at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, May 6 - 9, 2024.

Opto 22 technology partner, Inductive Automation, will be there located in booth 5020. That's where you'll find the Opto 22 team doing live action demos of groov EPIC and groov RIO.

Some tech tip advice to help keep your industrial systems running smoothly.

Whenever I say this blog title out loud to the Premium Factory Training class attendees, I get some funny looks. I'm not sure if it's the Aussie accent, or the idea of adding delays to speed up that causes the double-take chuckles.

Compute power has come a long way in the last 10 years or so, but regardless, we programmers of all things industrial still need to be mindful of optimizing our code and systems to run as smoothly as they possibly can.

Arguably, one of the biggest tips for programming in PAC Control I can share with you all is to add delays through your flow charts and OptoScript blocks.

Make plans to attend the first annual Digital Transformation Forum at the Boston Convention Center, May 1-2.

Experience two days dedicated to helping manufacturers take on digital transformation challenges. Join Opto 22's Director of Technical Marketing, Dan White, at the upcoming DX Forum.

On May 1st at 1:45 p.m., see how ALTA Refrigeration created more efficient, productive, and secure systems by leveraging digital technology. Dan will be joined by ALTA's Peter Santoro and Todd Hedenstrom for a presentation of their case study.

A new case study explains how Paloma Irrigation and Drainage District bridged the gap between operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) for seamless data flow and efficient management.

The Paloma Irrigation and Drainage District (PIDD) has been operating for over 100 years in Gila Bend, Arizona. It provides essential irrigation and drainage services to 30,000 agriculturally diverse acres and nearly 100 homes. More than just irrigation, the PIDD safeguards the environment and upholds the community's water rights.

The PIDD faced several pressing challenges, including high maintenance costs, limited monitoring and control, and inefficient manual operations. These challenges led them to look at industrial internet of things (IIoT) possibilities, which highlighted the need for a more modern, cost-effective, and data-driven approach to water management.

In this case study, read how PIDD bridged the gap between their operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) for seamless data flow and efficient management, propelling them into their SCADA expansion.

Learn more about how this energy monitoring unit works with the newly published groov RIO EMU user's guide.

When introduced in 2020, the groov RIO series introduced a new kind of I/O product: edge I/O. Communicating data to other systems doesn't require a PLC, PAC, or IPC. Instead, this intelligent, distributed I/O includes security, data processing, and networking to meet the needs of IIoT projects independently.

Then we introduced the groov RIO energy monitoring unit (GRV-R7-I1VAPM-3), or RIO EMU for short, to bring the same level of connectivity to projects that require power and energy data acquisition and communication. Whether you're already using groov RIO for energy monitoring or still researching your options, the new groov RIO EMU User's Guide can help you understand its full capabilities and features.

You can count on high-quality Opto products and continued support for all your automation and IIoT applications.

I have a hard time believing it’s been 50 years since my dad and mom started Opto 22. My dad, Bob Engman, was an engineer who helped develop a better way to manufacture solid state relays. 

SSRs had just been invented in the early 1970s, and the improvement was to pot SSRs with epoxy to protect the electronics from shock, vibration, and environmental contaminants. When Opto 22 began in 1974, our first products were, you guessed it, twenty-two SSR models manufactured by the new method.

For pilot projects, proofs of concept, and exploring, get the new groov EPIC LC2 with more features and capabilities than the original.

A complete package of fully functioning EPIC hardware and software, the groov EPIC Learning Center is designed as an integral part of our free OptoU Online Training at training.opto22.com.

And it's now available to order!

See what's included in the new GRV-EPIC-LC2, and be ready to take on your industrial automation and IIoT applications.