Passing of an Automation Legend

The “father of the PLC,” Dick Morley, has passed—but not without leaving a legacy that forever changed industrial automation.

David Greenfield

Oct 18th, 2017

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In an industry where few innovators receive widespread recognition, Richard “Dick” Morley was an exception—and for good reason. Morley was considered to be the “father of the PLC (programmable logic controller)” based on his involvement in the production of the first PLC—the Modicon (MOdular DIgital CONtroller). He passed away on October 17, 2017.

Though his work in developing the first PLC is what Morley was most known for, he remained active on the engineering, manufacturing and automation fronts through his work with the ISA and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, among others.

Over the years, Automation World interviewed and published contributions from Morley on numerous occasions. Following are a few links to content published by Automation World relevant to Morley.

Thank you, Dick, for all you did for industry and the world of automation.

Emerson executives Peter Zornio and Stuart Harris provide insights into Emerson’s future following its acquisitions last year of Aventics and GE Intelligent Platforms.

Emerson and the Integration of Process and Discrete Automation

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Are Servo Motor and Drive Combinations from One Vendor Better?

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Motion Failure Alarm Facilitates Commissioning and Configuration

Motion Failure Alarm Facilitates Commissioning and Configuration

The Sitrans WM300 (MFA) motion failure alarm from Siemens detects changes in the motion and speed of rotating, reciprocating, or conveying equipment.

Virtual Sensor Reads Safe Speed

Virtual Sensor Reads Safe Speed

The Safe Speed Observer from B&R determines speed of the company’s Acopos P3 servo drive in accordance with SIL 2 / PL d / CAT 3 requirements.

Remote HMI Without Attached Display

Remote HMI Without Attached Display

The EA9-RHM headless C-more Remote Human-Machine Interface from AutomationDirect provides all the functionality of an EA9 touch panel without the extra cost of a touchscreen interface.

Machines that sense the world around them

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ADI gives cobots the ability to sense, adapt and interpret its surroundings. Our motion detection and machine learning expertise is transforming factory floors. From invention to breakthrough with ADI.

Evergreen UV's EDU with Lascar Electronics' PanelPilotAce HMI as the device interface.

HMIs Play Role in Portable Disinfection

Evergreen UV expands the functionality and accuracy of its air and surface disinfection devices with the incorporation of HMIs from Lascar Electronics.

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Schneider Electric Unveils IIoT-Ready PLCs, AR, and Motion

Demos of IIoT box as server for hands-free augmented reality and next-generation of motor controls.

Wireless IO-Link Master For Remote Motion Control

SMC’s next-gen wireless base module gets reduced in size and adds flexible connectivity capabilities.

Peter J. Photos of Streamline Innovations in front of a live HMI view from one the company's processing plants.

Today’s Digital Transformation Reality

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Making the Plant a Safe Place

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Manufacturers and OEMs must understand that there are many sides to machine safety, including standards, regulations, functional requirements, technology, and even unforeseen circumstances.

Beckhoff’s XTS (eXtended Transport System) linear transport system.

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Brian DeFanti, project engineer, Avanceon

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Nonroutine work is any action that is out of the norm where the chance of error is increased. Image courtesy of OpX Leadership Network

Understanding Safety in Nonroutine Work

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The Mini Wireless I/O Module from SignalFire Wireless Telemetry integrates an antenna capable of a 3-mile range, which allows a pair of modules to communicate in a point-to-point mode or directly to a Gateway.

Mini Wireless I/O Module for Remote Monitoring and On/Off Automation

The Mini Wireless I/O Module from SignalFire Wireless Telemetry integrates an antenna capable of a 3-mile range, which allows a pair of modules to communicate in a point-to-point mode or directly to a Gateway.

The Modicon M262 controller from Schneider offers intuitive, scalable and reliable machine integration into Industry 4.0 environment, machine to device, machine to human, machine to machine, machine to plant or machine directly to cloud.

IIoT-Ready Controller for Logic and Motion Applications

The Modicon M262 controller from Schneider offers intuitive, scalable, and reliable machine integration into Industry 4.0 environment, machine to device, machine to human, machine to machine, machine to plant, or machine directly to cloud.

Allen-Bradley FLEX 5000 I/O modules from Rockwell Automation can meet the needs of producers in process and heavy industries that require fixed field-wiring terminations or both vertical and horizontal I/O mounting in their distributed safety applications.

Safety I/O Modules

Allen-Bradley FLEX 5000 I/O modules from Rockwell Automation can meet the needs of producers in process and heavy industries that require fixed field-wiring terminations or both vertical and horizontal I/O mounting in their distributed safety applications.

The PSRswitch from Phoenix Contact’s is for smart door safety and position monitoring in machines and assembly lines.

Safety Switch Works Without Contacts

The PSRswitch from Phoenix Contact’s is for smart door safety and position monitoring in machines and assembly lines.

The GOT610-837 vehicle-mounted touch panel computer from Axiomtek is aimed at logistics and manufacturing applications.

10.4-inch Rugged and Versatile Vehicle-Mounted Touch Panel Computer

The GOT610-837 vehicle-mounted touch panel computer from Axiomtek is aimed at logistics and manufacturing applications.

Acromag’s VPX4520 and VPX4521 6U carrier boards feature five mezzanine slots to interface a combination of I/O, communication, FPGA, GPU, or CPU modules to the bus over a high-speed PCIe Gen 3 link.

OpenVPX Carrier Cards Provide Flexibility

Acromag’s VPX4520 and VPX4521 6U carrier boards feature five mezzanine slots to interface a combination of I/O, communication, FPGA, GPU, or CPU modules to the bus over a high-speed PCIe Gen 3 link.

More in Control

Airgas Upgrades a Legacy DCS

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The rip-and-replace project took two years of preparation, but the system cutover required just a 10-day shutdown. Now, using Siemens PCS 7, the company has a more reliable and maintainable DCS that’s ready for the future.

Offshore oil explosion

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Craig Correia, Director of LifeTech & Process Industries, Festo

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Examining the installation of IoT technology in a pharmaceutical production environment can help illustrate how IoT can aid energy conservation efforts, provide predictive analytics for machine and manufacturing processes, and help pharma companies reach ISO 50001 targets.

John Kowal, Marketing director, B&R Industrial Automation

Why OPC UA Over TSN Will Prove Critical to Manufacturing IIoT

Industrial system interoperability is on the way through a combination of the determinism supplied by Time-Sensitive Networking and OPC UA’s machine-to-machine communications to better synchronize machinery on the plant floor and the device-level communication inside those machines, regardless of supplier.

Global Pharmaceutical Optimizes Electronic Batch Records

With the pharmaceutical industry pushing for ever greater plant optimization, a major pharma manufacturer updated its batch processing platform and improved its electronic batch record process.

Machine designers can use Rockwell’s Allen-Bradley ControlLogix CIP Safety I/O modules to reduce panel space and setup time in larger applications that require a high-density I/O solution.

Safety I/O Modules Simplify Large Control Applications

Machine designers can use Rockwell’s Allen-Bradley ControlLogix CIP Safety I/O modules to reduce panel space and setup time in larger applications that require a high-density I/O solution.

Emerson’s Rosemount 628 Universal Gas Sensors add carbon monoxide and oxygen depletion to the list of measurable hazards.

Wireless Gas Sensors Increase Toxic Gas Safety

Emerson’s Rosemount 628 Universal Gas Sensors add carbon monoxide and oxygen depletion to the list of measurable hazards.

AMETEK STC’s intrinsically safe HPC50 provides laboratory accuracy in a versatile field instrument.

Handheld Pressure Calibrator for Oil & Gas, Process Control Verification

AMETEK STC’s intrinsically safe HPC50 provides laboratory accuracy in a versatile field instrument.

Benson Hougland and Terry Orchard of Opto 22

Assessing Open Source Software for Industrial Use

The “Automation World Gets Your Questions Answered” podcast gets insights from Benson Hougland and Terry Orchard of Opto 22 about the practical realities of using open source software for SCADA applications.

The name Urgent/11 refers to the 11 zero-day vulnerabilities discovered in VxWorks by Armis Labs.

Vulnerability Impacts Products from Multiple Suppliers

The Urgent/11 zero-day vulnerabilities in VxWorks affects internet-facing devices across industrial, medical, and enterprise environments.

The Plantweb Insight Location application used for Location Awareness provides an intuitive user interface with features for geofencing, safety mustering, and man-down alerts.

Location Awareness Helps to Protect Industrial Personnel

Emerson’s Location Awareness system, one of the latest Plantweb expansions, operates on WirelessHART, making it an easier, more cost-effective way to safeguard process workers.

The robotic flexible sortation system (RFSS) in a one-robot configuration. Source: JR Automation

Virtual Commissioning of a Robotic Cell

To develop a new robotic system for the material handling industry, JR Automation used a combination of Siemens simulation technologies to create a digital twin of the system that included the robots, PLC, HMI, and sensors.