Frank Lamb

Spot on from Dylan here… UNS is an architecture, not an MQTT Broker Once you have current state - semantically organized, normalized and contextualized - the next question everyone asks is ‘what about transactions?’ And the answer is, ‘it depends on what type of transaction and its function to the business… but transactions are easy with UNS.’ 🙏

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Manufacturing Automation – the Excuse Automation Starts by Starting! -- Following up on a project slatted to proceed but tied up in the 2024 Capex "deep freeeze" along with other projects, the reply was. "Hi Chris, No update yet...there has been an indication that awards won't be made before Thanksgiving but they should be made before Christmas." Disappointing ... but perhaps with the election now completed .... one more excuse scratched off the list ... What next? Waiting for the PMI to go above 50? Automation Starts by Starting! -- "Manufacturing Automation – How Much Does it Cost? The short answer: Nothing! It's free, since you're already paying for it without benefiting from it!" -- How do you measure the Opportunity Cost of not Automating? Your thoughts are appreciated and please SHARE this post if you think your connections will find it of interest. 👉 Comment, follow or connect to COLLABORATE on your automation for increased productivity. Adding value on the WHY, WHAT and HOW of Automation! What are you working on that I can help with? https://lnkd.in/eM75C7sJ #industry40 #automation #productivity #robotics #innovation

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#Micro800 TAB Tip 09: We take a first look at Micro800 Plug-in Modules in this episode of #TheAutomationMinute -> https://lnkd.in/gUS_QyHw #Automation #RockwellAutomation #TheAutomationBlog

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#Micro800 TAB Tip 09: We take a first look at Micro800 Plug-in Modules in this episode of #TheAutomationMinute -> https://lnkd.in/gUS_QyHw #Automation #RockwellAutomation #TheAutomationBlog

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#Micro800 TAB Tip 10: We take a first look at Micro800 Expansion I/O in this episode of #TheAutomationMinute -> https://lnkd.in/gY5NjstY #Automation #RockwellAutomation #TheAutomationBlog

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#Micro800 TAB Tip 10: We take a first look at Micro800 Expansion I/O in this episode of #TheAutomationMinute -> https://lnkd.in/gY5NjstY #Automation #RockwellAutomation #TheAutomationBlog

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Agile applied in Manufacturing – When done right A mid-sized factory specialising in consumer electronics was facing increasing production demands and high labor costs. The management aimed to improve its quality control (QC) processes by automating defect detection with software. Initially, the plan was to build a new QC system over 18 months. But with mounting pressures, they decided to take a different approach. The traditional approach was too slow. They needed faster results to keep up with production demands and reduce labor costs. What if Agile could help speed up the process and still deliver high-quality results? They made the bold decision to adopt Agile. The team shifted to working in 3-week sprints, focusing on high-impact features and collaborating closely with QC operators to gather immediate feedback. In the first sprint, they built a basic dashboard to log defects and track production line data in real time. This MVP replaced paper logs and gave operators instant access to data trends, streamlining reporting tasks and providing early insights into defect patterns. As they continued with Agile sprints, the team added automated visual defect detection on the production line. Each sprint brought incremental improvements based on operator feedback, ensuring real-world functionality and accuracy. In just 6 months, the factory launched a fully automated QC system—6 months ahead of schedule! By adopting Agile, they reduced project delivery time, enhanced defect detection accuracy, and significantly reduced waste. This led to a more efficient and productive factory. How have you used Agile in manufacturing to drive results? Just send me a DM if you’d like to talk more about this. 

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#GaryPratt gives us a detailed look inside his #BookOfCODESYS in this episode of #TheAutomationPodcast: https://lnkd.in/gJH_scTJ #Automation #IndustrialAutomation #VideoPodcast #AudioPodcast

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#Micro800 TAB Tip 6: We take a first look at the Micro850 Starter Pack in this episode of #TheAutomationMinute -> https://lnkd.in/gzDFn6sa #Automation #RockwellAutomation #TheAutomationBlog

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What Hardware do you use for your Home Automation Project? I get asked all the time what are you using for your home automation system, and the truth is I have used a lot of different hardware over the years and I have some great bits of kit. Here are some my key qualifiers for my Home Automation Hardware Selection. It’s got to be Cost effective, I’m looking for a deal, when your wanting to do things for both commercial use and your investment is personal, I want best bang for my buck. So in this category are SBC’s, I have a selection of Raspberrypi’s, Arduino’s, Esp32’s and some other small time devices doing logic or data mining for me. Easy to Integrate, If it’s too hard I run out of time pretty quick, so for edge sensors the task has to be quick and painless, Online market places are great for picking up a sensor or two. Door sensors, temp and humidity, proximity, energy monitoring, Smart Switches. Open Data, the same goes for Industrial settings my number one rule is I want access to my data, that is the minimum, this could be through an Api or other means but I want access. Edge Compute Technology, below are a few items I’m currently running in my house to do my data collection and distribution. I have the Seeed Studio R1000, running a home brewed chat bot. I have the Smithtek Pty Ltd Passport running an MQTT broker and node red instance for my UNS. I have the Opto 22 Grove Rio, Doing Api calls to various sources like the Tuya Smart Cloud and publishing data like weather and google tasks into the UNS. Then I have my desktop pc running Inductive Automation’s Ignition Maker Edition collecting my now 8k+ tag system. To some up, you can start small with cool cost effective hardware, use off the shelf technology and make a system that works for you. I have spent the last 10 years on building the system and there is plenty of tech debt there. But the most important thing is.. I learned a lot. #automation #industrial #homeautomation #iiot #technology #tinkering

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Today our senior engineers talk casually about programming those old PLCs when they were cutting-edge. Now they're pushing boundaries with advanced robotics and machine vision. And that timeline of experience matters more than most realize. Although I’m a huge fan of ChatGPT, there’s no substitute for 30 years of hands-on troubleshooting and problem-solving. Especially when you're dealing with hazardous processes, complicated code logic, or complex safety systems where one mistake could be catastrophic. • Tools change.  • Technology advances. But, there's no shortcut for understanding what's actually happening inside that black box of code. That knowledge only comes from years of diving deep, making mistakes, and learning why things work (or don't). The best engineers I know didn't start as experts. • They started curious.  • They dug into the fundamentals.  • They built their knowledge piece by piece. I do worry that when you lose sight of what is going on (black box code from AI), especially in high hazard areas, you need to have the "deep roots". I think it will supercharge the ability for inexperienced engineers to have real-time answers and remove roadblocks, which is good. But it can't replace the wisdom that comes from time in the trenches. The next generation will build their own deep roots - just like we did. But they'll have to slow down and learn the content first. How do you think we should train the younger generation on how to slow down and actually learn the content?

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Theres 20 seats and im only doing this once in 2025. OVERVIEW OF TOPICS (1)How to develop IO Lists (2)Types of Devices and Signals -IO 2A: Digital Inputs: Switches, pushbuttons 2B: Digital Outputs: Piloy Lights, Solenoids, Relays 2C: Analog Inputs: 4 to 20mA Transmitters 2D: Analog Outputs: Positioners, 4 to 20mA, PWM 2E: Other:Thermocouples (3)Sizing PLC and IO modules types (4)Intro to Ladder Diagrams (how to read them) (5)Wire Colors According to NFPA79 (6)Conductor Sizing according to NEC/NFPA70 (7)Motor Control Design 7A: Variable Frequency Drives VFDs 7B: Soft starts 7C: Contactors, starters 7D: Hybrid motor starters 7E: Servos, Steppers and Encoders (8)Power Distribution & Branch Protection -Main Disconnects, SCCR Calculations, Accessories 8A: Molded Case Circuit Breakers 8B: Fused Disconnects 8C: Rotary versus Flanged Handle Actuators (9)Control Transformers and Power Supplies (10)IO Wiring & Interposing Relays (11)Wiring Specialty Controllers: 11A: Burner Safety Relays 11B: Process controllers 11C: Limit controllers (12)Considerations for safety circuits, redundancy, 12A:Safety PLC 12B:Programmable safety relays 12C:Safety relays (13)Network Architecture drawings (14)Terminal Blocks and Accessories (15)Wireway, Din Rail and device mounting (16)Wire Ferrules and Types of wire Labels (17) Consuderations for maintenance or programming personnel: 17A: Enclosure Lights 17B: Programming ports 17C: Power receptacles 17D: Folding Tables (18)Enclosure Sizing and temperature control (19)Control Panel Bill of Materials (20)Enclosure and Back Panel Layouts (21)Labels and Nameplates (22)How UL508a and Efile numbers work (23)UL698A considerations for control panels with circuit extentions to Hazardous Classified locations (24) How to order parts and build control panels, tools and ergonomics https://lnkd.in/gWc5SBus

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Manufacturing Automation – HOW Automation is easy ....Knowing HOW to automate, requires some experience! -- John was an old time machinist, colorful and direct, he got his last job by showing up with his toolbox to a local machine shop and telling the owner: "Hire me, if I can't do the job, Fire me!" Automation is easy ....Knowing HOW to automate, requires some experience! -- "In our present context, experience doesn't mean we simply design and build the same form factor or use the same architecture constantly without reviewing the efficacy of that architecture for the application at hand. As enticing as that is from a maintenance and user training perspective, if we do that, we will be depriving our process from advances in various components and functionalities which are always evolving in the automation toolkit available. (In essence we will be falling behind our competition and depriving our process from the benefits of new innovations.) The experience we seek to leverage is the soft knowledge accumulated over many years of custom systems development and using a “cut and paste” approach, where appropriate, to speed the development of our next solution while maintaining a balance between technical risk and execution risk. Ideally, our experience will minimize execution risk so that we can focus on the overall performance and reliability of our new design while incrementally "moving the ball forward" in terms of innovation and evolution of our process. Depending on the organization, the in-house team is unlikely to have the breadth of cross industry – cross applications experience that a 3rd party systems integrator will have accumulated over many projects, in many industries, along with the rigorous project management procedures which all work to make a properly specified, custom automation project less risky and ultimately profitable. In short, an integrator often makes it look easy because they have done it before!" -- How are you leverage experience in Automation? Your thoughts are appreciated and please SHARE this post if you think your connections will find it of interest. 👉 Comment, follow or connect to COLLABORATE on your automation for increased productivity. Adding value on the WHY, WHAT and HOW of Automation! What are you working on that I can help with? https://lnkd.in/ezxRQNBD #industry40 #automation #productivity #robotics

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Nowadays, there’s a lot of talk in the automation space about text-based IDEs 🗒️. Many of the main automation vendors understand the value of using version control tools like Git during development—but we still have a long way to go 🚧. Here’s an example of an older HMI framework that is not Git-friendly. On the surface, it appears to store its data in XML files, so that’s text-based, right? Wrong. ❌ In this case, when I move a button a few pixels over in the IDE, many of my XML files are modified behind the scenes. This leads to a diff like the one I’m showing below: a meaningless series of changes because the IDE decided to add a space to every XML tag. The advent of modern IDEs is upon us 🚀: Beckhoff’s PLC++, B&R’s Automation Software 6, and Siemens’ Simatic AX, to name a few. These tools all claim better integration with modern software standards, and I’m hopeful that we can finally move away from noisy Git diffs ✨. What are your thoughts? Have you faced similar frustrations when using version control with automation tools? #IndustrialAutomation #Git #VersionControl #SoftwareDevelopment #ModernIDEs #Engineering #PLCProgramming

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