OptoBlog

Dan White

Dan has worked at Opto 22 for more than a decade. His Tufts Engineering background, MBA in International Business, and prior industrial controls experience give him a unique edge in automation. Dan enjoys staying active through biking, basketball, skiing – and keeping up with his three young kids!
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Recent Posts

Capture remote sites live: Your ICC booth cam view

Posted by Dan White on Oct 7, 2024 12:00:00 PM

See how you can quickly, easily, and cost-effectively capture and publish live images from remote sites to the cloud via MQTT/Sparkplug.

If you couldn’t attend the Ignition Community Conference or want a closer look, here’s your chance to experience it recorded with Opto 22's groov EPIC booth cam.

With the expertise of Alex Marcy from Corso Systems and Jason Hamlin from Inframark, we captured live booth footage using an off-the-shelf, IP-based camera, Ignition Edge, its MQTT Transmission module, and Node-RED, all running on a single groov EPIC.

Check out this one-minute time lapse video.

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Topics: Events & conferences, MQTT, groov EPIC, Sparkplug, Ignition, Ignition Community Conference

What you missed at ICC 2024

Posted by Dan White on Sep 26, 2024 8:08:20 AM

Get a recap of all the adventures that made last week's Ignition Community Conference a memorable occasion for all attendees.

Couldn’t make it to ICC 2024? You’re not alone—but you still have plenty of time to learn before Inductive Automation’s 8.3 release of Ignition—it’s still a few months away. 

This year’s #ICCBreakthrough showcased advancements to the Ignition platform, real-world projects that tackled the same automation hurdles you’re facing every day, and a community of dedicated partners working together to drive the industry forward—starting with your success at the core.

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Topics: Events & conferences, Ignition Edge, Ignition, Ignition Community Conference, Inductive Automation, Ignition Cloud Edition

Hands-on Learning Opportunity with Ignition Edge

Posted by Dan White on Sep 16, 2024 12:06:06 PM

Can’t make this year's Ignition Community Conference? Don’t miss your chance to learn how to collect, model, and democratize OT data with Ignition Edge in a virtual workshop.

Opto 22 is in Folsom, CA this week—ready to rock at ICC 2024. 

We’re looking forward to seeing you there, but if you can’t attend, here’s a great opportunity to stay up on the latest SCADA tech.

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Topics: Ignition Edge, Ignition Community Conference, virtual workshop

Uptime guaranteed with groov EPIC

Posted by Dan White on Sep 5, 2024 1:29:15 PM

OptoPartner Enginuity shares how their engineers ensure reliability and minimize downtime with custom scalable redundancy.

When your operations rely on consistent performance and uptime, you can't afford to be caught off guard by control system failures.

But nothing lasts forever—failures will occur. A robust redundancy system ensures your processes continue running without costly downtime. 

This blog post, written by Daniel Baugh of Enginuity Inc., an IIoT-certified OptoPartner, explores how you can implement effective redundancy solutions using groov products from Opto 22.

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Topics: CODESYS, groov EPIC, OptoPartner, redundancy

Modern Edge Devices Bring Harmony to Disjointed Protocols

Posted by Dan White on Aug 19, 2024 12:44:04 PM

Without disturbing existing systems, edge devices make it easy to convert data from a custom fieldbus into open protocols for digital transformation.

If TCP/IP won the “protocol wars” in the ‘90s, then WHY are you still fighting protocol battles on the plant floor today? Because industrial networks were around long before the internet. As far back as the 1960s, machines communicated via serial networks like RS-232, RS-485, and CAN Bus—with specialized proprietary fieldbus protocols like Modbus, Profibus, and DeviceNet.

Even with TCP/IP on Ethernet, specialized protocols remained. Modbus now has a TCP/IP version, Profibus gave way to ProfiNET, DeviceNet to EtherNet/IP, and even some new ones joined the protocol party.

After the industry demanded interoperability, OPC was born—now OPC UA—a big step toward a unified architecture on OT networks. Meanwhile on the IT side, using HTTP and HTTPS was common. It’s how web browsers—and most of the internet—work today.

MQTT Sparkplug came later. A recently named International Standard, it’s built on efficient, secure, and scalable publish/subscribe communications—a great fit for digital transformation projects and the IIoT.

I want to digitally transform, but my existing machines don’t support all these protocols.
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Topics: MQTT, edge computing, digital transformation, OPC UA

OT SCADA CON—An Engaging and Efficient Format

Posted by Dan White on Jul 29, 2024 12:03:43 PM

Why a first-of-its-kind event is changing the world of SCADA.

Attending the inaugural OT SCADA CON in Houston can only be described as “a breath of fresh air.” I attend a lot of automation industry events, and this one was a hit—thanks in large part to its excellent format.

Informative sessions were kept to 30 minutes—a block of time long enough to highlight each speaker’s real-world experience and expertise, but short enough to keep the audience engaged, attentive, and in some cases, QUITE entertained.

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Topics: Events & conferences, IIoT, SCADA, OT data

50 years of Opto 22 - a personal perspective

Posted by Dan White on Jul 22, 2024 9:33:28 AM

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.

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Topics: groov EPIC, snap pac, groov RIO, Anniversary

Trade shows are back—Automate 2024 was electric

Posted by Dan White on May 14, 2024 2:41:58 PM

Were you in Chicago for Automate 2024? Dan White shares some highlights from last week's show.

As cities worldwide buzz back to life post-pandemic, trade shows are reclaiming their spotlight, and none more so than the recent Automate Show held in Chicago. With over 800 exhibitors showcasing the latest in automation and robotics tech, the McCormick Place was the place to be.

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Topics: Events & conferences, groov EPIC, Ignition, groov RIO, Inductive Automation

Energy management starts with energy monitoring

Posted by Dan White on May 8, 2024 8:25:33 AM

Start analyzing your energy data to manage and reduce your energy consumption.

Managing and reducing your energy consumption sounds like a no-brainer. Save thousands on electricity, maintain critical machine health, reduce carbon footprint? Sign me up! 

Where to begin? Well, the best place to start is analyzing your energy data, but unfortunately, you can’t find that data on your electric bill—it’s barely a summary. To manage your energy, start by measuring it. Once you determine where, when, and how that energy is consumed, areas for improvement become obvious. 

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Topics: Energy management, groov rio emu, energy monitoring

Learn with Interactive Demos: groov View and Ignition Cloud Edition

Posted by Dan White on Mar 4, 2024 1:42:11 PM

Visit Opto 22's two product demo sites for a hands-on learning experience.

I know, you're always on the hunt for tools that make your life easier and your projects cooler, and I've got something you might want to check out—interactive demos for groov View and Ignition Cloud Edition.

This is a chance to dive into what these platforms can really do for your visualization and overall SCADA needs. If you’re already familiar with Opto 22 products, you’ve probably heard of groov View—an intuitive, web-based HMI/visualization software that comes standard on every groov EPIC. You may not have heard of Inductive Automation’s Ignition—a versatile industrial application platform for SCADA, MES, IIoT projects, and more.

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Topics: groov View, groov EPIC, interactive demo, Ignition Cloud Edition

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