As companies grow and evolve, their needs change—and that’s proven true for one longtime ControlByWeb™ customer. D-J Engineering serves the aerospace industries, providing high-caliber engineering and manufacturing for even the most complex projects at low production runs. They’ve grown to an organization of 300+ employees spread across three campuses; two in Kansas and one in Newfoundland. With that many buildings, HVAC and other I/O automation becomes increasingly complex—and increasingly necessary.
In charge of industrial control and ever-expanding special projects at D-J Engineering is Technical Analyst Tarka Ellips. Before she started, the company was using Ignition SCADA software to monitor temperatures across a variety of machines. Some ControlByWeb devices were also being powered by their own on-board logic. Tarka stepped up the company’s use of Ignition and found ways to implement our controllers and sensors within the SCADA to extend programmability.
Currently, Tarka is using ControlByWeb’s X-400™, X-405™, X-410™, and X-420™ units across applications that include controlling AC units, monitoring temperature of a mylar room (archived engineering prints), and monitoring the operating temperature and inflow and outflow of water jets. There are plans to expand D-J Engineering’s use of our controllers and sensors—something Tarka’s been discussing with ControlByWeb Sales Engineer (and all-around I/O expert) Eric Bennett.
“Every time I come across some harebrained idea that might work for these modules, I run it by Eric and he’s like, ‘yeah, use this module.'” ‐ Tarka
Common I/O Problems
Compatibility Headaches
Some devices don’t work as well outside of their own ecosystem.
Too Expensive or Unreliable
Low cost monitoring and control is often unreliable, costing more to maintain.
Limited Use-Cases
Devices that are purpose-built often have narrow applications.
ControlByWeb™ Solutions
Seamless Integration
Our modules work just as well in other software as they do using on-board logic.
Low Cost & Reliable
Affordability without sacrificing quality, justifying monitoring in more places.
Limitless Potential
Monitor and control anything, anywhere‐your only limit is your imagination.
Current Applications
Buddy Willis, director of technical services at D-J Engineering, is no stranger to our products. “I think we’ve been using ControlByWeb for possibly 7, maybe even 8 years. Initially what I was looking for when we started going down this route was something that could be PoE-powered and able to record [data]. And then Tarka expanded on that.” Originally, Buddy had been using an X‐600™ as a centralized device to operate outside of a SCADA.
One strength of ControlByWeb’s products is the flexibility they offer to either be powered through our web interface or plug-and-play with other software. D-J Engineering uses a combination of the ControlByWeb device’s on-board logic and a MODBUS map for I/O that sends data to Ignition to be acted upon. Other devices that D-J Engineering use have had their share of issues integrating.
A view within Ignition logging temperature values for the mylar room.
A view within Ignition where a transaction group has been set up to log temperature values and flow rates from the water jet to the database.
“Some of these devices that aren’t [ControlByWeb] devices have issues connecting with [Ignition], but your devices are green all across the board.” ‐ Tarka
This ease‐of‐integration and optional on-board logic has led the company to incorporate our devices in various applications across their campuses.