Check out our fun, new video featuring our five-decade journey to see what products started it all and how far technology has come.

What's important to you in an industrial automation supplier? We often hear about reliability, innovation, and long-term support being at the top of that list. Rest assured, Opto 22's product philosophy incorporates all those ideals. 

You can feel secure in your product designs and confident in a manufacturer who is here to help support and achieve all your long-term project goals. 

Whether you’re looking for a product to take you to the next level of control and data communications, want a reliable automation system proven over many years, or just need another SSR to accompany that dusty, guaranteed-for-life one in some dark enclosure, Opto 22 is the place to come. 

This new video is a fun look back on how we got here. Please join us in celebrating 50 years of our company and product philosophy. We're glad you're along for the ride.

In 1974, Robert Engman III stared down at 22 optically isolated, highly reliable, liquid epoxy-filled, solid state relays (SSRs) with no moving parts—quite an innovation back then—and he contemplated what to name the new company.

The result? "Opto" signifies optical isolation, and the "22" represents the original lineup of 22 relays. But this year, there’s another important number that we need to discuss—50!

Yes, Opto 22 is 50. Years. Young. 

This week, as we celebrate Opto’s Golden Anniversary of existence, I’d be remiss not to reflect on the legacy of a company I have loved being a part of for the last decade. And while my 11 years may seem like a long time, many of the folks I work with each day have tenures twice or thrice as long—they’ve been carrying the torch, maintaining the legacy that we are still building today.

Laundry OEM Gurtler Industries reinvents their dispensing systems with groov EPIC and Opto 22's free Software Development Kits (SDKs).

What do you do when competitors in the chemical storage and dispensing industry are surpassing you, and a shift in technology is needed to put you back at the forefront of laundry operations?

Learn how Gurtler Industries, a third-generation family business based in the United States Midwest, regained its position as a leading provider of laundry chemical products, services, and support for many industries including healthcare, hospitality, and textile rentals. When their competitors began leveraging data collection, remote monitoring, and enhanced visualizations, Gurtler knew they also needed to expand the capabilities of their dispensing systems to maintain their competitive market position.

In this case study, find out how Gurtler Industries was able to stay ahead of the competition by transitioning to an open-source platform with Opto 22's free Software Development Kits (SDKs) and advanced hardware solutions.

The annual Ignition Community Conference is your opportunity to see how Ignition software can provide new, innovative solutions for your projects and industrial applications.

The exciting tradition continues as Inductive Automation recently announced the dates and theme of this year's Ignition Community Conference. We invite you to attend the 2024 Ignition Community Conference taking place September 17 - 19th in Folsom, California, and experience your own "A-ha!" moment. 

Meet industry thought leaders, see innovative Ignition use cases, and learn from Ignition experts. And of course, meet with Opto 22 engineers and see live demos of groov EPIC and groov RIO working together with Ignition.

This year's "Breakthrough" theme is focused on three categories designed to educate about Ignition software:

• Keynote speakers, exhibitor presentations, and table talks
• Product announcements revealing software version updates and exciting new features
• Discover Gallery with videos and project demonstrations of real-world Ignition application scenarios from a variety of industries, from all over the world

This event has sold out the last few years, so get your tickets now! Attend in person or with a livestream pass.

How do you go from serial comms to serious SCADA without downtime or compromise?

Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, Varland Plating has provided high quality, precision barrel-plated finishes to their customers since 1946. Varland manually performed plating operations until the early 1990s. Then automated systems improved turnaround times and product quality. More recently, the company saw the advanced capabilities of Opto 22's groov products—smaller equipment footprint, Ethernet, data visibility, and more—and entered a new era of industrial automation.

In this case study, find out how Varland Plating was able to bring a 30-year-old automation system into the future without downtime or compromising their SCADA goals.

Learn how all the pieces of digital transformation come together to add another level of data connectivity and security to your projects.

Get Enterprise WiFi and several other updates in the latest free firmware download of groov RIO.

If you have been getting some friction from your IT department about connecting any of the groov RIO family to your corporate WiFi network, this firmware update is for you!

Just like the groov EPIC firmware update 3 weeks ago, we have added WPA-2 Enterprise WiFi connectivity to the groov RIO MM1, MM2 and EMU (Energy Monitoring Unit).

This enterprise WiFi configuration complements the existing LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) authentication options, which have been part of the RIO for a long time.

Join Opto 22 and several industry experts at the first annual OT SCADA CON event in Houston.

Dive into the world of operational technology and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems with industry experts and fellow enthusiasts. Opto 22 is a proud sponsor of a first-of-its-kind SCADA event taking place in Houston July 25–26, 2024: OT SCADA CON.

Don't miss out on the opportunity to expand your knowledge and grow your professional network. It promises to be the perfect chance to connect, learn, and network in person.

OT SCADA CON is for controls people, maintenance staff, technicians, and sales professionals to learn all about operational technology and the world of SCADA.

New case study follows Cambrex as they reduce false alarms and increase usability for plant operators with groov EPIC and Ignition.

As in most manufacturing sectors, pharmaceutical companies prioritize safety and security when it comes to facilities management and control systems. Recently, addressing updates in both these areas became crucial for Cambrex.

For 40 years, Cambrex has been a leading contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) with more than a dozen global locations. They deliver drug substance, drug product, and analytical services to some of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. At their Charles City, Iowa location, their work with highly potent molecules and controlled substances requires a complex alarm and monitoring system. But they hadn't planned for scalability.

This new case study shows how Cambrex revamped their systems to be more efficient and user-friendly.

Two recent IntegrateLive! workshops on open source and interoperable manufacturing systems are now available to watch on demand.

With a promise to revolutionize your approach to information management, the IntegrateLive! team hosted a two-part webinar series focused on solving information management challenges in the manufacturing industry. 

The PI System, once popular in the industrial automation space, was acquired a few years ago by Aveva. Since this change, there's been a bit of turmoil in the market, causing former PI enthusiasts to look for other ways to acquire and manage their manufacturing data—without being locked in to a specific vendor.

This IL webinar offers new open source and cybersecure solutions...with a live build to show you how. They invited IL community members from Software Toolbox, Inc., Canary, Flow Software Inc., and even brought some groov hardware from Opto 22 to demonstrate.

Now you can watch both webinars here in the OptoBlog.