Plcs - Articles | Food Engineering

New Open Source and AI Tools Make Keeping Track of Machine Programming Easier

Change management, aka version control, can be a challenge when all you want to do is get the packaging machine back up and running after a line change.

Wayne Labs

April 8, 2025

Keeping track of your PLCs’ programming is easy as long as you don’t have to change it. When you do need to make program changes, the ability to keep track of them is easier with modern tools and AI.

Ransomware is big business—and you can’t afford to play the game!

A cyberattack not only creates costly downtime but also can destroy IP, cause food safety issues and just be plain expensive—whether or not you pay the ransom

Wayne Labs

September 24, 2020

Ransomware could cost your food or beverage company millions.

Tech Update

PLCs and controllers are being used as intelligent gateways to IIoT

Wayne Labs

October 16, 2019

PLCs/PACs are the unseen workhorses in our processes and material handling/packaging equipment today.

Using incremental process control for largely manual processes

Wayne Labs

April 16, 2019

Some food and beverage plants are potentially well-suited to totally automated process control. Other applications may not be so easy to automate but can still benefit from incremental process control implementations.

Engineering R&D

New automation controller connects with sensors, actuators, PLCs, networks

Wayne Labs

February 20, 2019

Enter EPIC—a controller capable of handling analog and discrete I/O with direct connection to sensors and actuators, running real-time tasks on board and connecting safely to cloud-based and on-premises applications.

New Plant Products

IDEC MicroSmart FC6A Plus PLC

April 12, 2018

Capable of controlling large machines or entire small-scale manufacturing facilities, the IDEC MicroSmart FC6A Plus PLC has a 2,060 local I/O capacity.

Tech Update: PLCs & PACs

PLCs and PACs: Know when and where to use them

Programmable logic controllers have been around for decades, and programmable automation controllers for not quite so long, but each has its special role in the manufacturing hierarchy.

Wayne Labs

December 20, 2016

A look at things to consider when determining how much technology you need to solve an automation problem.

Rockwell, Cisco launch new architectures to reduce security risks

TECH FLASH

Major manufacturers’ ICSs remain vulnerable

The majority of ICS components connected to the internet are located in the United States and Europe

Jeremy Gerrard

July 13, 2016

According to a new investigation by Kaspersky Lab, 17,042 ICS components on 13,698 different hosts exposed to the internet, likely belong to large organizations.

Technology Sourcebook

All-in-one PLC

January 21, 2016

The Unitronics Vision700 all-in-one PLC offers a range of I/O configurations including digital, high-speed and analog I/Os, as well as PT100/thermocouple and weight/pressure measurement.