Temecula, CA - January 6, 2009 - Opto 22, developer and manufacturer of the award-winning SNAP PAC System(tm) family of programmable automation controllers, I/O, and accessories, has extended its series of free technical seminars designed to educate engineers and other automation professionals on the company's intelligent I/O for Allen-Bradley Logix Platforms (coined "IO4AB"). The seminar series began in October of 2008 and, due to popular demand, will continue throughout the U.S. with stops in Tampa, Nashville, Salt Lake City, Seattle, San Francisco, and other major cities.
The Opto 22 seminars are designed to give Allen-Bradley and other automation end users, original equipment manufacturers, and systems integrators information on the options they have for maintaining or expanding Logix systems through the implementation of Opto 22's SNAP I/O, an Ethernet-based input/output system for remote or distributed control systems. SNAP I/O integrates into ControlLogix® and CompactLogix® control system architectures natively, with no additional programming, and is unique in the industry by offering new intelligent, remote I/O capabilities for users of these control platforms. Seminar attendees will learn the scope and details of these capabilities and witness a live demonstration as SNAP I/O connects to and communicates with an Allen-Bradley CompactLogix programmable logic controller. The demonstration will showcase distributed analog process control functions (including PID loop control, scaling, engineering unit conversion, and thermocouple linearization) being performed independently of the PLC. Discrete control capabilities will also be demonstrated.
"We originally slated these seminars to run through the end of 2008," says Benson Hougland, Opto 22 Vice President of Marketing. "The seminars have been so well attended, however, and feedback so positive, that we've decided to extend the seminars into 2009. We've also had very high levels of interest from the Allen-Bradley users we've reached out to. They're eager to learn more about the new choices they have for designing and complementing their A-B systems, particularly in an economic climate where many of them are required to do more with less."
Opto 22 has also received a great deal of positive feedback from past seminar attendees regarding the technical expertise of the presenters, the outstanding live demonstration, and even the food that was served:
"Being a new engineer, I was quite happy to attend and see that such a technology was available. I appreciate being invited and having the chance to be able to see and learn SNAP Intelligent Remote I/O and hope to implement it someday soon."
- Ken G., Instrumentation & Controls Engineer
"As a department, we use both Opto 22 hardware and Allen Bradley hardware in our systems. We love the price, flexibility, support, and much of the free software that comes with Opto's hardware. One thing that appealed to me was the lower cost of adding I/O to an existing Allen Bradley system."
- Josh W., Automation Programmer
"I was very satisfied with the location, length and detail of the seminar and feel that the I/O may have a place in some of our systems. A small installation has already been ordered, received, and is being developed. The speaker was very qualified and his delivery kept our interest."
- Larry L., Project Engineer
Dates and locations for Opto 22's free "IO4AB" seminar are available at www.opto22.com/ad/io4ab_seminar.aspx. To register, please contact the host company for the seminar in your area, or for more information, go to www.io4ab.com.
About Opto 22
Opto 22 develops and manufactures hardware and software for applications involving industrial automation and control, remote monitoring, and data acquisition. Opto 22 products use standard, commercially available networking and computer technologies and have an established reputation worldwide for ease of use, innovation, quality, and reliability. Opto 22 products are used by automation end-users, OEMs, and information technology and operations personnel. The company was founded in 1974 and is privately held in Temecula, California, USA. Opto 22 products are available through a worldwide network of distributors and system integrators. For more information, contact Opto 22 headquarters www.opto22.com or www.io4ab.com.
