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Industrial Automation Knowledge Base

634 guidesSelection & sourcingUpdated 2026

Practical guides for industrial buyers and maintenance engineers: product categories, brand families, model variants, application architectures and step-by-step selection procedures. Every guide ends with the RFQ checklist a supplier needs to quote accurately.

Product Categories (104)

Equipment categories: controllers, drives, sensing, power and network.

industrial automation equipment

programmable logic controller

human machine interface

variable frequency drive

industrial sensors

proximity sensor

photoelectric sensor

pressure sensor

temperature sensor

pneumatic cylinder

pneumatic valve

air preparation unit

conveyor system

roller conveyor

industrial robot

collaborative robot

industrial power supply

DIN rail power supply

uninterruptible power supply

industrial ethernet switch

circuit breaker

molded case circuit breaker

miniature circuit breaker

motor protection circuit breaker

thermal overload relay

industrial relay

solid state relay

temperature controller

motion controller

remote IO module

digital input module

analog input module

communication module

industrial valve

electric actuator

pneumatic actuator

butterfly valve

surge protection device

signal tower light

push button station

industrial keyboard

machine vision system

industrial camera

barcode scanner

wireless module

industrial 4G router

protocol converter

safety light curtain

safety laser scanner

emergency stop button

safety fence system

industrial touchscreen

linear motion guide

linear actuator

electric cylinder

industrial connector

M12 sensor cable

control panel enclosure

panel cooling fan

harmonic filter

braking resistor

ultrasonic sensor

vibration sensor

Brand Guides (62)

Reference brands: family maps, ordering codes and sourcing notes.

Siemens industrial automation

Allen-Bradley industrial automation

Mitsubishi Electric industrial automation

Omron industrial automation

Schneider Electric industrial automation

Delta Electronics industrial automation

ABB industrial automation

Yaskawa industrial automation

Panasonic industrial automation

Danfoss industrial automation

Beckhoff industrial automation

Phoenix Contact industrial automation

WEG industrial automation

Lenze industrial automation

Hitachi industrial automation

Fuji Electric industrial automation

Rockwell Automation industrial automation

KOYO industrial automation

IDEC industrial automation

Autonics industrial automation

KEYENCE industrial automation

SICK industrial automation

IFM industrial automation

Balluff industrial automation

TURCK industrial automation

Banner Engineering industrial automation

Festo industrial automation

SMC industrial automation

Parker industrial automation

AIRTAC industrial automation

Proface industrial automation

Weintek industrial automation

Weinview industrial automation

KUKA industrial automation

FANUC industrial automation

Cognex industrial automation

Murrelektronik industrial automation

Rittal industrial automation

Honeywell industrial automation

Emerson industrial automation

Endress+Hauser industrial automation

WAGO industrial automation

Harting industrial automation

Lapp industrial automation

Bosch Rexroth industrial automation

Pilz industrial automation

Leuze industrial automation

Baumer industrial automation

KEB industrial automation

Kollmorgen industrial automation

Sanyo Denki industrial automation

Oriental Motor industrial automation

Harmonic Drive industrial automation

Nidec industrial automation

Norgren industrial automation

Aventics industrial automation

Carlo Gavazzi industrial automation

Krohne industrial automation

Yokogawa industrial automation

Vega industrial automation

CKD industrial automation

Nabtesco industrial automation

Model Guides (204)

Model-level guides: variants, ordering codes and replacement checklists.

Siemens S7-1200

Siemens S7-1500

Siemens S7-200 SMART

Siemens ET 200SP

Siemens ET 200MP

Siemens ET 200S

Siemens SINAMICS

Siemens SIMATIC HMI

Siemens SMART LINE

Siemens SIMOCODE

Siemens 3RT contactor

Siemens 3RV circuit breaker

Allen-Bradley CompactLogix

Allen-Bradley ControlLogix

Allen-Bradley MicroLogix

Allen-Bradley SLC 500

Allen-Bradley PLC-5

Allen-Bradley PowerFlex 525

Allen-Bradley PowerFlex 755

Allen-Bradley PowerFlex 4M

Allen-Bradley Kinetix 350

Allen-Bradley Kinetix 5500

Allen-Bradley Kinetix 7000

Allen-Bradley Point IO

Allen-Bradley Flex IO

Allen-Bradley PanelView 800

Allen-Bradley PanelView Plus 7

Allen-Bradley 1756

Allen-Bradley 1769

Allen-Bradley 1794

Mitsubishi Electric FX5U

Mitsubishi Electric FX3U

Mitsubishi Electric FX3G

Mitsubishi Electric FX2N

Mitsubishi Electric Q Series

Mitsubishi Electric L Series

Mitsubishi Electric FR-E800

Mitsubishi Electric FR-A800

Mitsubishi Electric FR-D700

Mitsubishi Electric FR-F800

Mitsubishi Electric MR-J4

Mitsubishi Electric MR-JE

Mitsubishi Electric MR-J5

Mitsubishi Electric GOT2000

Mitsubishi Electric GOT1000

Mitsubishi Electric HG-KR

Mitsubishi Electric HG-SR

Omron NB series

Schneider Electric Modicon M241

Schneider Electric Modicon M251

Schneider Electric Modicon M262

Schneider Electric Twido

Schneider Electric Premium

Schneider Electric Quantum

Schneider Electric Altivar 71

Schneider Electric ATV320

Schneider Electric ATV630

Schneider Electric ATV930

Schneider Electric ATV12

Schneider Electric Lexium 32

Schneider Electric Lexium 28

Schneider Electric LC1D

Schneider Electric NSX

Schneider Electric EasyPact

Delta Electronics DVP

Schneider Electric HMIGTO

Delta Electronics ASDA-A2

Delta Electronics ASDA-A3

Delta Electronics ASDA-B2

Delta Electronics ECMA

Delta Electronics MS300

Delta Electronics C2000

Delta Electronics VFD-EL

Delta Electronics VFD-M

Delta Electronics DOP-100

Delta Electronics DOP-B

Delta Electronics CliQ

Yaskawa Sigma-7

Panasonic MINAS A6

Panasonic MINAS A5

Danfoss VLT FC 302

Danfoss VLT AutomationDrive

Danfoss VLT Midi Drive

Beckhoff EL terminal

Beckhoff AX5000

Phoenix Contact QUINT

Phoenix Contact AXL

Phoenix Contact PLCnext

KEYENCE IV series

Weinview MT6000

Siemens SINUMERIK 808D

Siemens SINAMICS G130

Siemens MICROMASTER 440

Siemens 3RW soft starter

Siemens SIMOGEAR

Allen-Bradley GuardLogix

Allen-Bradley PowerFlex 40

Allen-Bradley Micro850

Allen-Bradley Kinetix 2000

Allen-Bradley ControlLogix 5580

Allen-Bradley CompactLogix 5380

Schneider Electric M241

Schneider Electric ATV340

Schneider Electric Altivar Process

Delta Electronics AS300

Delta Electronics CP2000

Beckhoff CX5000

Beckhoff EL6631

Phoenix Contact QUINT4

Bosch Rexroth IndraDrive

Sanyo Denki SANMOTION

Oriental Motor AR Series

Rockwell Automation Guardmaster

Siemens SINUMERIK 828D

Mitsubishi Electric M80

Mitsubishi Electric FR-D720

Panasonic MDDLT

Delta Electronics DOP

Delta Electronics ME300

Fuji Electric FRENIC-MEGA

LS Electric iS7

Allen-Bradley 2711P

Siemens SIMATIC IPC

Rockwell Automation 2711P PanelView

Applications (89)

System architectures and equipment lists by application.

assembly line automation

Application guide

automated assembly line

Application guide

packaging line automation

Application guide

packaging machine automation

Application guide

conveyor control system

Application guide

conveyor belt control

Application guide

HVAC VFD control

Application guide

water pump control system

Application guide

booster pump control

Application guide

robot palletizing

Application guide

palletizing robot cell

Application guide

machine vision inspection

Application guide

visual inspection system

Application guide

CNC machine control

Application guide

lathe automation

Application guide

textile machine control

Application guide

weaving machine control

Application guide

food processing automation

Application guide

bottling line automation

Application guide

filling machine control

Application guide

labeling machine control

Application guide

capping machine control

Application guide

pharmaceutical automation

Application guide

blister packaging automation

Application guide

warehouse automation

Application guide

automated storage system

Application guide

AGV navigation system

Application guide

battery manufacturing automation

Application guide

lithium battery equipment

Application guide

solar panel manufacturing automation

Application guide

injection molding machine control

Application guide

die casting machine control

Application guide

material handling automation

Application guide

sorting system automation

Application guide

rack automation

Application guide

HVAC building automation

Application guide

building management system

Application guide

elevator control system

Application guide

escalator control system

Application guide

compressor control system

Application guide

air compressor VFD

Application guide

fan control VFD

Application guide

dust collector control

Application guide

wastewater treatment control

Application guide

water treatment automation

Application guide

oil and gas automation

Application guide

chemical plant automation

Application guide

cement plant automation

Application guide

steel mill automation

Application guide

paper mill automation

Application guide

printing machine control

Application guide

woodworking machine control

Application guide

rubber mixing control

Application guide

cold storage automation

Application guide

incubator control

Application guide

greenhouse automation

Application guide

irrigation control system

Application guide

fish farm automation

Application guide

milk processing automation

Application guide

machine guard interlocking

Application guide

cartoning machine control

Application guide

shrink wrapping machine

Application guide

pallet wrapping machine

Application guide

checkweigher system

Application guide

metal detector inspection

Application guide

batch control system

Application guide

recipe control PLC

Application guide

cleanroom automation

Application guide

welding robot cell

Application guide

stamping press control

Application guide

extruder control system

Application guide

blow molding machine

Application guide

chiller control system

Application guide

cooling tower control

Application guide

boiler control system

Application guide

pick and place robot

Application guide

sortation system

Application guide

crane control system

Application guide

hoist control system

Application guide

tunnel ventilation control

Application guide

mine ventilation system

Application guide

slurry pump control

Application guide

paint shop automation

Application guide

laser marking machine control

Application guide

plasma cutting machine control

Application guide

brake press automation

Application guide

test bench automation

Application guide

end of line testing

Application guide

vision guided robot

Application guide

How-to Guides (151)

Selection, programming and troubleshooting procedures.

how to choose a VFD

how to choose a PLC

how to choose a servo drive

how to choose an HMI

how to choose a servo motor

how to choose a stepper motor

how to choose a proximity sensor

how to choose a photoelectric sensor

how to choose a pressure sensor

how to choose an encoder

how to choose a contactor

how to choose a circuit breaker

how to choose a power supply

how to choose an industrial switch

how to size a pneumatic cylinder

how to select a solenoid valve

how to program a PLC

PLC programming for beginners

PLC troubleshooting guide

VFD troubleshooting guide

servo tuning guide

servo oscillation fix

servo alarm reset

HMI programming software

VFD vs servo drive

soft starter vs VFD

contactor vs relay

Modbus vs Profinet

Profinet vs EtherNet/IP

EtherCAT vs EtherNet/IP

industrial ethernet comparison

safety PLC guide

safety relay wiring

machine safety circuit

control panel design guide

control panel wiring standards

PLC battery replacement

PLC firmware update

PLC memory card

VFD EMI noise fix

VFD cable length limit

VFD harmonic mitigation

motor starter sizing

overload relay setting

encoder wiring guide

incremental vs absolute encoder

pneumatic circuit design

pneumatic air preparation

industrial UPS sizing

power supply redundancy

obsolete PLC replacement

discontinued HMI replacement

surplus automation equipment

refurbished industrial parts

industrial parts sourcing guide

automation spare parts procurement

RFQ for industrial parts

automation parts lead time

industrial parts testing

factory tested automation parts

industrial automation trends 2026

industry 4.0 technologies

smart factory sensors

predictive maintenance sensors

industrial IoT gateway

MQTT industrial

digital twin manufacturing

edge computing automation

how to choose a safety relay

how to choose a light curtain

how to choose a safety PLC

how to choose a temperature controller

how to choose a flow meter

how to choose a control valve

how to choose a pneumatic actuator

how to choose an industrial PC

how to choose a UPS

how to choose a surge protector

how to choose a terminal block

how to choose a linear guide

how to wire a VFD

VFD parameter setup

VFD PID control

VFD braking resistor

control panel grounding

shielded cable grounding

Modbus RTU wiring

Profinet configuration

EtherNet/IP configuration

EtherCAT configuration

OPC UA server setup

SCADA alarm design

HMI screen design

servo brake wiring

stepper driver wiring

encoder feedback wiring

motor thermal protection

predictive maintenance program

preventive maintenance schedule

spare parts inventory management

MRO procurement

counterfeit parts prevention

automation obsolescence management

OEE calculation

downtime tracking

root cause analysis

automation ROI calculation

TCO industrial equipment

CMMS implementation

oil analysis program

infrared thermography

ultrasonic leak detection

vibration analysis

how to test a used VFD

how to test a used PLC

used vs new automation parts

surplus parts inspection checklist

refurbished parts warranty

how to identify a counterfeit PLC

used PLC programming

how to read a used HMI project

automation parts import guide

buy industrial parts online

how to price used automation parts

decommissioned equipment parts

control cabinet refurbishment

panel shop parts sourcing

used servo motor testing

VFD repair vs replace

PLC repair vs replace

HMI repair vs replace

servo drive repair vs replace

automation parts warranty terms

how to photograph a nameplate

nameplate decoding

ordering code suffix guide

used parts return policy

industrial surplus auctions

MRO surplus sourcing

automation parts supplier checklist

how to choose an automation supplier

CNC retrofit parts