As industrial facilities embark on their digital transformation journey, the integration of smart technologies and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) into existing manufacturing environments has unlocked unprecedented efficiency and connectivity. But with more connectivity comes an increased risk of cyber threats that can have severe implications for operational integrity and safety. Rather than continue with an engrained approach of maintaining independent management of IT and OT systems within an organization, we believe it is necessary to recognize the invaluable contributions of IT ..read more

Have you ever asked a young automation engineer to crawl on the floor to search for the lost token because someone removed the terminating resistor from the token passing network? Maybe you were that young engineer? In the early days of automation networking, we relied on custom protocols and physical layers that were quite limiting. However, since then, manufacturing networks have evolved to look like those used in business systems and even in our homes ..read more

From inspecting raw materials for quality and identifying defects in finished products to performing precision measurements or rapid part verification, incorporating vision systems into your production process is a great way to boost quality and efficiency while accelerating production. While hardware and software selection for your vision system may seem paramount, there are other factors - lighting, part positioning, and testing - that are also incredibly important. In this blog, we explore how taking these factors into consideration upfront will result in optimization that eliminates many ..read more

In 2023, monthly manufacturing job vacancies in the US averaged around 620,000 – a 44 percent increase in openings versus the years immediately preceding the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This labor gap is predicted to rapidly grow over the next five years as the perfect storm of increasing demand and a shrinking workforce is brewing ..read more

Plant floor control systems serve as the backbone for efficient and streamlined operations in both the critical infrastructure and manufacturing sectors. These systems play a pivotal role in maintaining production continuity, serving plant utilities, and even providing hot water, heat, and air conditioning to offices and hotel guests. However, the increasing reliance on digital technologies exposes manufacturing facilities and plants to a range of potential threats, from cyberattacks to equipment failures and natural disasters. To mitigate the consequences and ensure business resilience, a co ..read more

In the automation industry we are constantly looking for ways to improve our efficiency, streamline processes, and minimize errors to keep up with today’s expanding digital world. Part of our solution is to eliminate repetitive tasks and automate testing. One helpful tool is to automate reading and writing PLC tags via Excel ..read more

Discussing operational technology (OT) and public facilities, such as hospitals and universities, may seem surprising as OT is most often associated with manufacturing. However, public facilities depend on the reliable functionality of critical infrastructure including their utilities and HVAC systems, which consist of numerous OT components such as digital industrial control systems and other computers designed to monitor and control physical processes, servers, and network devices ..read more

We are excited to announce that ACE is officially opening our ninth office in Allentown, PA! This office will open in January 2024 and help us service our growing customer base. Some of our engineering staff from our existing Quakertown office will relocate to the new office and both Lehigh Valley offices will be looking to expand from that point. Our  local team’s in-depth expertise includes hardware design and integration, OT modernization planning and execution, DCS system development, MES, and cybersecurity project management.  ..read more

If you're considering implementing a new SCADA system, watch this webinar first. Our Vice President of Operations, Mike Lennon was joined by other expert systems integrators to share real-world examples of successful SCADA implementations, what not to do, how to begin your search, and SCADA best practices ..read more

As businesses and industries evolve, many engineers and managers find themselves struggling with changing business requirements around their historians. Perhaps the company is moving from one technology platform to another to get some product-specific functionality/synergy. Maybe they are trying to standardize their systems across a larger array of sites. Or perhaps they are simply performing an upgrade of a legacy historian – getting it back to a supported operating system or software level. Regardless of the motivation, the ability to easily transfer data between two or more historians is c ..read more