Welcome to The Automation Store
An online store for PLC Cables, Surplus,Simulators, and Trainers
We are a UL508A certified panel shop who also sells products used in the industrial automation industry. We specialize in Allen Bradley and Automation Direct PLCs but are well versed in many other brands as well including GE Fanuc, Mitsubishi, Omron, Red Lion, Siemens, etc.
We offer a full line of high quality PLC programming cables, PLC products, and electronic simulators and testers plus repair services for PLC and HMIs.
In addition to our PLC products, we offer PLC trainers to help you get started learning about industrial control panels. You can also find many great articles and a series of lessons in our support section to help you with your PLC training.
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Our Most Popular Articles
Nov 24 2018
Getting Started with ResinsThis past weekend we experimented with resins for some upcoming projects. We learned a lot about … read more
Nov 22 2018
10,000 Subscribers! PLC Programming is FUN!Thank you so much for your support! If you haven't already, please subscribe to know when new … read more
Nov 20 2018
Control Panel Building Testing and Finishing Touches Part 6 of 6This week we go over some testing tips and finishing touches on your control panel. … read more
Categories
- Analog Simulators
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Control Panels
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Motor Starter Control Panels
- Motor Starter Panel with 120VAC Transformer
- Motor Starter Panel 24VDC Power Supply
- Enclosed Motor Starter Control Panel
- Enclosed Motor Starter Control Panel Hand Off Auto
- Enclosed Motor Starter Control Panel Start Stop
- Enclosed Reversing Motor Starter
- Enclosed Reversing Motor Starter Hand Off Auto
- Reversing Motor Starter Panel Start Stop
- Temperature Heat/Cool Control Panel
- AC Drive VFD Control Panels
- Pneumatic Control Panels
- Custom Control Panels
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Motor Starter Control Panels
- Encoder Frequency Simulators
- Ethernet Devices
- HMI and SCADA
- Industrial Controls
- Other
- PLC Cables
- PLC Products
- PLC Trainers
- Servo Motion Control Simulators
- Temperature Simulators
- Voltage Testers and Multimeters
- Wire
Information
- Shipping
- Blog
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Support
- Drivers, Software, and Manuals
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Technotes
- Technote #1 - SIM-ALP battery life
- Technote #2 - SIM-ALP2 fine increment improvement
- Technote #3 - Clarification of power up procedure and power icon on SIM-ALP2 and SIM-IPE
- Technote #4 - What types of analog signals can the SIM-ALP2 connect to
- Technote #5 - How to use SIM-ALP2 with 1762-IF4 and 1762-IF2OF2 module in Current Source and Two-Wire modes
- Technote #6 - How to convert our START STOP motor starter panel to an HAND OFF AUTO
- Technote #7 - What does the "OPEN WIRE" banner mean on the SIM-ALP2
- Technote #8 - Revisions to Industrial Control Panel Trainer to make way for HMI and other improvements.
- Technote #9 - Motor Starter Control Panel Naming Revisions CP-EMSXX
- Technote #10 - How to convert our NO BUTTON motor starter panel to an START STOP
- Technote #11 - Determining the SIM-ALP2 0-20mA Engineering Units from 4-20mA scaling parameters
- Videos
- FAQs
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Articles
- Top Ten Automation Topics - PLC Programming, Industrial Control Panels, Electrical Design
- PLCs
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Electrical
- Using a Multimeter, Voltmeter, Ammeter, and an Ohmmeter
- Ohm's Law Power Formulas and Pie Chart
- Reading wiring diagrams and understanding electrical symbols
- Control Wiring - Electrical Contacts - Normally Open and Normally Closed contacts
- Control Wiring - Switch Types | Toggle, Push Button, Selector Switch, Etc.
- Control Wiring - Series and Parallel Wiring
- Control Wiring - NPN-PNP Devices and Connections
- Control Wiring - 2-Wire Control - ON/OFF Circuit
- Control Wiring - 3-Wire Control - Start Stop Circuit
- Wiring - Determining Wire Size and Voltage Drop for Amps - 240/120 VAC
- Wiring - Determining Wire Size and Voltage Drop for Amps - 480/277 VAC
- Wiring - Maximum Number of Conductors in Conduit
- Wiring - Typical wiring color codes
- Wiring - AWG to Inch to Metric Wire Size Conversion Chart
- Wiring - What is VA Volt-Amps and KVA Kilovolt-Ampere and How to Calculate It
- Wiring - Voltage and Amperage for a Given Wattage for Single Phase and 3 Phase Power
- Wiring - Transformer Overcurrent Protection for Primary and Secondary Windings Using Fuses or Circuit Breakers
- 3 Phase Power - What is 3 Phase Electrical Power
- 3 Phase Power - Delta Systems
- 3 Phase Power - Wye Systems
- 3 Phase Power - Delta and Wye Circuit Equations
- 3 Phase Power - Making 3 Phase Electrical Power from Single Phase
- What is a CT? Current Transformer or Current Transducer?
- How to measure a 4-20mA signal without blowing the fuse in your voltmeter
- Detecting an open circuit in a 4-20mA loop using the SIM-ALP2
- Capacitor Color Codes and Standard Capacitor Values
- Resistor Color Codes and Standard Resistor Values
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Motors and Drives
- Motor Poles & RPM
- Motor Enclosure Types - ODP, TEFC, TENV, WDN, XPRF, etc
- Absolute Encoders
- AC motors & Variable Frequency Drives
- Adjustable Drives
- Encoder Basics
- Locked Rotor kVA/Hp
- Motor Connections
- Motor Formulas
- Motor Tutor
- Regenerative Drives
- Star Delta Start Up Principles
- Unbalanced Currents
- What Is A Drive?
- Motors - Horsepower and Amps of 120VAC 1 Phase 60hz Electric Motors
- Motors - Horsepower and Amps of 230VAC and 460VAC 3 Phase 60hz Electric Motors
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Lessons
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Allen Bradley RsLogix 500 PLC Trainer Lessons
- RsLogix 500 - About Us
- RsLogix 500 - Notes to Instructors and Employers
- RsLogix 500 - Notes to Students
- RsLogix 500- Warnings and precautions before you get started
- RsLogix 500 - Lockout Tagout (LOTO)
- RsLogix 500 - Getting familiar with your trainer
- RsLogix 500 - Wiring enough of your trainer to get started
- RsLogix 500 - Downloading and installing RsLogix 500 and RsLinx for FREE
- RsLogix 500 - Configuring RsLinx Ethernet/IP Driver to Communicate
- RsLogix 500 - Configuring RsLinx Ethernet Devices Driver to Communicate
- RsLogix 500 - Configure your IP Address for PC to PLC Ethernet Communication
- RsLogix 500 - Configuring RsLinx Serial DF1 RS-232 Driver to Communicate
- RsLogix 500 - Uploading from a PLC and Merging Comments and Descriptions
- RsLogix 500 - Downloading a program to a PLC
- RsLogix 500 - Going Online with a PLC
- RsLogix 500 - What can you learn from a blank program
- RsLogix 500 - PLC Scan Cycle
- RsLogix 500 - Basic ON/OFF Control XIC XIO OTE
- RsLogix 500 - What do the GREEN Highlights Mean on the Instructions?
- RsLogix 500 - XIC XIO OTE Program Scan Step by Step
- RsLogix 500 - Electrical Contacts - Normally Open and Normally Closed Contacts
- RsLogix 500 - Seal In Rung and PLC Scan Explanation
- RsLogix 500 - Latches OTL and OTU
- Rslogix 500 - Online Edits
- RsLogix 500 - Program Flow, Which Rung Wins Part 1
- RsLogix 500 - Program Flow, Which Rung Wins Part 2
- RsLogix 500 - Program Flow, Which Rung Wins Part 3
- RsLogix 500 - Start Stop Motor Programming - Four Different Ways
- RsLogix 500 - Timers - TON, TOF, and RTO
- RsLogix 500 - Counters - CTU and CTD
- RsLogix 500 - The Big RED Fault - Finding, Understanding, and Clearing
- RsLogix 500 - Flip Flop - One Shots ONS OSR OSF
- RsLogix 500 - Math and Math Errors - ADD, SUB, MUL, DIV
- RsLogix 500 - Reading wiring diagrams and understanding electrical symbols
- RsLogix 500 - Understanding Analog Circuits 0-10VDC 4-20mA
- RsLogix 500 - Analog Circuits - Wiring and Programming - 0-10VDC 4-20mA
- RsLogix 500 - Analog Scaling with the SCP Instruction
- RsLogix 500 - Data Table Configuration and Sizing
- RsLogix 500 - Data Types B3 T4 C5 R6 N7 F8, What do They Mean
- RsLogix 500 - Binary to Integer and Integer to Binary Conversions
- RsLogix 500 - Program Control JSR JMP LBL RET SBR MCR SUS
- RsLogix 500 - Sequencing Machine Steps Part 1
- RsLogix 500 - Sequencing Machine Steps Part 2 - Controlling Outputs
- RsLogix 500 - Sequencing Machine Steps Part 3 - Cascading Timers
- RsLogix 500 - Sequencing Machine Steps Part 4 - Counters
- RsLogix 500 - Sequencing Machine Steps Part 5 - Word/Bit Manipulation
- RsLogix 500 - Sequencing Machine Steps Part 6 - Multiplying Integers by Two
- RsLogix 500 - Sequencing Machine Steps Part 7 - Sequencer Instructions
- RsLogix 500 - STI Selectable Timed Interrupt for Precise Timing
- RsLogix 500 - What happens to a OTE vs OTL/OTU during a power cycle?
- RsLogix 500 - Appendix
- RsLogix 500 - Clearing memory from an Allen Bradley SLC 500 Including Passwords
- RsLogix 500 - Configuring your PC's IP Address When You Can't have a Static IP
- RsLogix 500 - Where can I download RsLogix 500 and what is the price/difference of each version?
- RsLogix 500 - Using Allen Bradey's RsLinx BOOTP DHCP Server to Set and IP Address
- RsLogix 500 - Allen Bradley RsLinx Harmony Files. Deleting to Fix Browsing Issues
- RsLogix 500 - Allen Bradley PLC flasher
- RsLogix 500 - Allen Bradley Micrologix Data Logging
- Allen Bradley RsLogix 5000 PLC Trainer Lessons
- Allen Bradley Connected Components Workbench CCW for the Micro and Micro800 Lessons
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Designing and Building Electrical Control Panel Lessons
- Introduction to Electrical Control Panels including PLCs and HMIs
- Control Panel Building Getting Started Part 1 of 6
- Control Panel Building Cutting Holes in Enclosures Part 2 of 6
- Control Panel Building Mounting Components Part 3 of 6
- Control Panel Building Power Wiring, Control Wiring, and Shielded Cable Wiring Part 4 of 6
- Control Panel Building Mounting the Panel in the Enclosure Part 5 of 6
- Control Panel Building Testing and Finishing Touches Part 6 of 6
- Cutting Holes in Control Panels - Cutoff Wheel vs Jigsaw vs Plasma. Which one Wins
- Installing a Through the Door Disconnect the Right Way
- Drilling holes in a control panel
- Control Panel Environmental Ratings NEMA and IP
- Shielded Cable - Uses and Terminating
- Short Circuit Current Rating Calculations
- Identifying Industrial Control Panel Components
- Electrical Control Panel Layout
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Allen Bradley RsLogix 500 PLC Trainer Lessons
- Contact Us