As you gain practical experience, you may naturally want to dig deeper into one facet of the Pentagon of Power or another. Any preceding chapter, or, truly, most sections within each chapter, could be studied on their own and expanded into a book in their own right. When you are working on an automation project that hits the boundary of your knowledge in a particular area, this chapter can give you some guidance on what to read next. Study the following resources and experiment to galvanize your understanding. Also grab catalogs from automation manufacturers, which are filled with pages of useful information.
•Hendrickscon, Alan Mechanical Design for the Stage: Focal Press, 2008
A comprehensive compilation of mechanical design concepts specifically applied to the classic stage machines.
•Hughes, Austin and Drury, Bill Electric Motors and Drives: Fundamentals, Types and Applications: Newnes, 2013
A deep exploration of how motors are constructed and powered. This spans both the Machine and Amplifier points of the Pentagon of Power.
•Eaton Hydraulics Training Services Industrial Hydraulics Manual: Eaton Corporation, 2008
The Industrial Hydraulic Manual by Eaton is a good handbook covering basic hydraulic pumps, actuators, and valves.
•Erdman, Arthur G. and Sandor, George N. Mechanism Design: Analysis and Synthesis: Vol 1: Prentice Hall, 1991
A great book explaining techniques for designing mechanical linkages which is helpful when converting simple rotary motion into linear or curvilinear motion.
•Entertainment Services and Technology Association (ESTA) ANSI E1.6-1 Powered Hoist Systems: ESTA, 2012
A thoughtful and approachable standard for theatrical hoists that was crafted by leaders in the entertainment automation business. It is free to download from tsp.esta.org/tsp/documents/published_docs.php.
•Creative Conners, Inc. “MotorCalc.” motorcalc.creativeconners.com/
A simple, free, online mechanical calculator to compute horsepower and reduction ratios for machinery.
•SEW-Eurodrive. “PTPilot.” www.seweurodrive.com/s_ptpilot/
SEW-Eurodrive’s online tool for sizing gearmotors is exceptionally helpful when trying to find a motor for your machine with instant pricing and delivery quotes.
•AutoDesk. “Fusion 360.” www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/overview
A 3D parametric CAD tool for machine design with built-in CAM capability. Available for free to students and educators, inexpensive for commercial use yet rivals the capability of much more expensive solutions like Solidworks and Inventor.
•Hughes, Austin and Drury, Bill Electric Motors and Drives: Fundamentals, Types and Applications: Newnes, 2013
A deep exploration of how motors are constructed and powered. This spans both the Machine and Amplifier points of the Pentagon of Power.
Manuals from the manufacturer of your amplifier should be studied for deeper understanding of the specific amplifier in your project. Mitsubishi, Schneider, Siemens, Automation Direct, Beckhoff, NORD, SEW, KEB, ABB, and others all include good, if somewhat dense, documentation on their products. As daunting as it may seem, it is worthwhile to read the entire full product manual at least once to learn all the capabilities of the device.
•Danaher Industrial Controls Encoder Application Handbook: Danaher Industrial Controls, 2003
www.dynapar.com/uploadedFiles/Products/Danaher_Encoder_Handbook.pdf
This guide explains the technology for both absolute and incremental encoders.
•Eaton Volume 8 Sensing Solutions CA08100010E: Eaton, 2014
Regardless of whether you use sensors from Eaton, this catalog has useful diagrams, vocabulary definitions, and a representative range of solutions that are available.
•SICK Top-Products from SICK (8011993): SICK, 2014
SICK makes a huge range of industrial sensors. This catalog illustrates the wide range of sensors that are available.
•Herman, Stephen Industrial Motor Control: Delmar, Cengage Learning, 2010
Written for the industrial field technician, this book primarily looks at simple control techniques, but also includes information on amplifiers. Herman also covers wiring diagrams and schematics.
•Ball, Stuart Analog Interfacing to Embedded Microprocessor Systems: Newnes, 2003
Most of Ball’s book is too low-level for theatre technicians since it is aimed at engineers designing systems at the micro-controller level. However, it has one of the best explanations of PID control loops. Probably not worth a purchase, but certainly one to check out of the library.
•Rockwell Automation Understanding the Machinery Directive: A Road Map to CE Marking and Safety-Related Control Product Applications: Allen-Bradley, 1997
www.mib.org.tr/uploads/kutuphane/Understanding%20the%20Machinery%20Directive.pdf
A good survey of European safety standards. Written for US manufacturers wishing to export goods to Europe, but it is full of useful information for the practicing technician as well.
•Smith, David J. and Simpson, Kenneth Safety Critical Systems Handbook: A Straightforward Guide to Functional Safety, IEC 61508 (2010 Edition) and Related Standards: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2011
A guide to the IEC 61508 safety standard.
•Tapeswitch Corporation “Understanding the Fail-Safe Concept”
www.tapeswitch.com/support/fail-safe.html
Tapeswitch Corporation makes safety sensing edges and mats. This link explains how to make such devices failsafe.
Assuming you are using a commercial system, the best resource available is the manual for your system. The popular SpikemarkTM software from Creative Conners (shameless plug!) is available for free, as is the operator manual. It includes a simulator mode so you can experiment writing and running cues without any equipment other than a computer running Windows. The most recent version is available from http://creativeconners.com/products/shop-a-la-carte/spikemark.
Other popular systems include: Navigator by TAIT, Raynok by Niscon, HMC by Hudson, Commander by PRG, AC3 by Show Motion, CAT by Waagner Biro, and Composer by Silicon Theatre Scenery. At the time of this writing, documentation for these systems is not freely available without contacting the manufacturers directly and none offers any free version of their software for evaluation.
If you are interested in crafting your own operator interface, your choice in platform (PLC, Windows, Mac, Linux) and programming language (PLC languages, C#, C/C++, Objective-C, Swift, Python) will guide which GUI toolkit (PLC HMI, WPF, WinForms, Win32, UWP, Cocoa, GTK+, wxWidgets, Qt) you choose. Those choices are complex and beyond the scope of discussion here, but there are general principles of good UI design that can lend guidance regardless of implementation. As the paraphrased quote of Einstein’s states – “Everything should be as simple as it can be, but not simpler.”
•Tufte, Edward The Visual Display of Quantitative Information: Graphics Press LLC, 2007
A brilliant book that explains how to convey complex information with clear graphics.
•Williams, Robin The Non-Designer’s Design Book: Peachpit Press, 2015
Aimed at aspiring graphic designers working in the print field, this book discusses broadly applicable principles of color, alignment, and typography that are usual in user interface design.
•Norman, Don The Design of Everyday Things: Basic Books, 2013
Don Norman explains how people interact with the world of manufactured objects, and how to make objects that work as expected rather than frustrate.
•Krug, Steve Don’t Make Me Think: New Riders, 2014
Written for web developers, Krug’s book bears lessons for the design of any interface on how to make software that tempts the user to do the right thing, at the right time, rather than hunting through a confusing maze of choices.
•Texas Instruments The RS485 Design Guide: Texas Instruments, 2016
www.ti.com/lit/an/slla272c/slla272c.pdf
A whitepaper with good background knowledge on the RS485 specification and useful implementation tips.
•Modbus Organization “Modbus Specifications.” www.modbus.org/tech.php
The specifications for the application protocol, serial implementation, and Modbus TCP are freely available online.
•Donahoo, Michael J. and Calvert, Kenneth L. TCP/IP Sockets in C: Academic Press, 2001
A small book aimed at programmers, but includes a good survey of TCP/IP and UDP protocols as well as the underlying technology.
•CAN in Automation International Users’ and Manufacturer’s Group CANdictionary: CAN in Automation, 2016
www.can-cia.org/fileadmin/resources/documents/publications/can_dictionary_v9.pdf
The CANdictionary is a glossary of the CAN protocol as well as a brief history of the protocol.
•CAN in Automation “CiA documents.”
www.can-cia.org/standardization/specifications/
The CAN in Automation specifications are available for download. Some require registration, some can be downloaded without any credentials. The CANdictionary can be helpful when trying to figure out which specification is relevant to your problem at-hand.
•PROFIBUS and PROFINET International “PROFINET System Description.” www.profibus.com/download/technical-descriptions-books/
Profibus.com has many downloadable resources for both PROFIBUS and PROFITNET. The two documents above are good survey documents to gain familiarity with the protocols.
•EtherCAT Technology Group EtherCAT – the Ethernet Fieldbus: EtherCAT Technology Group, 2012
www.ethercat.org/pdf/english/ETG_Brochure_EN.pdf
The brochure from the EtherCAT Technology Group serves as a good technical introduction to the protocol. This is a good document to read before diving into a manufacturer’s manual for a product that has an EtherCAT interface.
•Huntington, John Show Networks and Control Systems: Zircon Designs Press, 2012
Huntington’s book is a superb reference for the common network protocols used in the theatre.
•Square D Wiring Diagram Book: Schneider Electric, 2002
www.schneider-electric.us/en/download/document/0140CT9201/
•Allen-Bradley A Global Reference Guide for Reading Schematic Diagrams – Publication 100–2.10: Allen-Bradley, December 1992
Both of the documents above provide a good glossary of schematic symbols used in schematics.
•IEEE Standards Coordinating Committee 11, Graphic Symbols Graphic Symbols for Electrical and Electronics Diagrams IEEE Std 315 & ANSI 32.2: American Society of Mechanical Engineers Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 1993
Listed above is the formalized standard for electrical diagram symbols. The standards must be purchased, but most of the information can be gleaned from the previous two books, which are free publications.
Stage automation is a deep topic, and if you’ve made it to this chapter you already have explored the depths enough to get starting moving scenery on stage. There is no substitute for applying the principles you have studied in this book. Experimentation is critical to improving your technical ability. When talking to aspiring technicians who are just getting started in automation, I often warn them not to worry about making mistakes. You will definitely make mistakes. You will certainly break some equipment; everyone does. Experiment enough that your biggest mistakes happen on the workbench rather than onstage. Analyze and learn from each mistake. Never make the same mistake twice. If you can manage to work within those rules, you will be an effective, responsible automation technician.