As you may know, Marshall Wolf Automation is located in Illinois. Illinois can also be referred to as the frozen tundra (and yes, we were in the 60's on Tuesday!).

Anyway, back to our topic. Beginning Monday, February 4th Marshall Wolf Automation will be open from 7:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. CST each and every day!

We'll have inside sales, customer service and tech support readily available when you need it from 7:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. CST.

Marshall Wolf Automation is your industrial automation distributor for everything from piezo buzzers, e-stops and solid state relays to industrial stack lights, variable frequency drives and industrial electric motors!

Search our products now!

 

German Pulse will be participating in the Chicago and New York Steuben Parades and festivities in September.

Marshall Wolf Automation, along with Hofbräu, are sponsoring these events!

If you are interested in marching in the parades, donating or getting involved you can learn more about these events here.

Marshall Wolf Automation is your industrial automation distributor for everything from pushbuttons and piezo buzzers to high performance AC drives, motors and enclosures!

 

 

Why do I think of safety in May?  Because May is Motorcycle Awareness month.  As a motorcyclist, safety is an important factor and one not often within my own control, so please watch for bikers, don't text and drive and share the road!  One of the ways we can help you be safe on your bike is by using on of our Piezo  Electric Buzzers to remind you to turn off your turn signals if you don't have self-cancelling signals!  We have a customer who builds these kits and it's a great idea.  These buzzers are loud and you will hear them over your pipes!

On the factory floor, you have more control over safety.   As your industrial automation distributor, we can help with all of your safety needs from intrinsincally safe barriers to safety limit switches.  Safety door interlock switches will fill any of your machine safe guarding needs. Our full line of safety door interlocks include a wide range of switch types (solenoid lock, solenoid unlock or non-locking) and sizes to fill any application requirement. From rugged models rated up to 2,000N of retention force or a compact unit with 100N rating, all switches carry worldwide approvals and full line of accessories to make your new design and installation a quick and easy process. 

Marshall Wolf Automation - 800-325-9653 - call us today!

 

 

One foot in front of the other. The next step in 'My Automation Education' is buzzers.

Jeopardy, Family Feud, Press Your Luck...all game shows, all with buzzers. But what do you need to know about the automation applications for buzzers to make sure you have "No Whammies"?

A buzzer is an audio signaling device, which may be mechanical, electromechanical, or piezoelectric. Typical uses of buzzers include alarm devices, timers and confirmation of user input such as a mouse click or keystroke. Lets explore each type of buzzer and their use.

First, the simple mechanical buzzer, also known as a joy buzzer. A joy buzzer is a practical joke device that consists of a coiled spring inside a disc worn in the palm of the hand. When the wearer shakes hands with another person, a button on the disc releases the spring, which rapidly unwinds creating a vibration that feels somewhat like an electric shock to someone not expecting it. Not much to it. Use: practical jokes, plus those little wind-up chattering teeth, and, though funny, not much else.

Next, comes something a bit more complex: the electromechanical buzzer. Early devices were based on an electromechanical system identical to an electric bell without the metal gong. Similarly, a relay (we'll cover relays and what they do in another post - for now just think of them as a switch) may be connected to interrupt its own actuating current, causing the contacts to buzz. Often these units were anchored to a wall or ceiling to use it as a sounding board. The word "buzzer" comes from the rasping noise that electromechanical buzzers made. Use: something along the lines of a firehouse or alarm clock.

Last, the piezo electric buzzer. A piezoelectric element may be driven by an oscillating electronic circuit or other audio signal source, driven with a piezoelectric audio amplifier. Sounds commonly used to indicate that a button has been pressed are a click, a ring or a beep. Use: think of any button you push to make a buzzer go off. A pressure activated buzzer is a piezo electric buzzer.

But what is piezo electricity? If you're like me when I first learned about piezo electric buzzers, you though piezo was a brand name from Italy that also makes cool super-futuristic race cars. That, however, is wrong - very wrong! The word piezoelectricity means electricity resulting from pressure.

Marshall Wolf Automation is an industrial automation distributor in Algonquin, Illinois. Make MWA  your go to stop for all buzzer needs. We offer a wide range of solutions for all your automation problems.

Another step on the path to Knowledgetown...keep following along on journey to 'My Automation Education'!

Explosion-proof, explosion-safe, hazardous locations, harsh environments... we have what you need for these applications!

• Woodworking Industry - saw dust, fine wood chips
• Food & Beverage Industry - ignitable grain dust, explosive sugar dust
• Refineries - hydrocarbons, oil processing plants
• Waste Disposal Companies 
• Pharmaceutical Industry - alcohol solvents, materials explosive when mixed
• Gas Suppliers - natural gas leakage or emissions
• Paint-Spraying Operations - overspray in bays, solvent vapor emissions
• Recycling Operations - unemptied flammable gas/liquid containers
• Chemical Industry - flammable gases, liquids, solids
• Agricultural - bio-gas production plants and on farms

Marshall Wolf Automation is your industrial automation distributor for a complete line of explosion proof industrial light towers, piezo electric buzzers, intrinsic safety barriers, zener barriers, connectors and enclosures.

Let us know what we can help you find for your explosion proof application or search our intrinsically safe products now!

I've seen a number of products released that call themselves intrinsically safe, explosion proof and safe for hazardous locations.

What is the difference between these or are they the same? A quick search online brought a number of explanations. Here is what I came up with to explain it:

Basically intrinsically safe means you can use a device in hazardous areas that may contain flammable gases or vapors or combustible dust in the atmosphere.

A device that is intrinsically safe is incapable of releasing enough electrical or thermal energy to ignite the fuel (flammable gases or vapors or combustible dust) and cause fire or explosion.

We have a number of intrinsically safe solutions including:

• Intrinsically safe barriers and zener barriers
• Intrinsically safe industrial warning lights
• Intrinsically safe piezo buzzers

Search all of our intrinsically safe barriers and solutions now!

Are you looking to replace a bulky piezo electric buzzer?
Would you like to use MP3 files as your alarm sound?

The Patlite BSV series is offers a sleek new design for industrial warning sounds!

You can replace audible alarms, industrial stack lights and similar products with this slim MP3 voice annunciator.

There is a free software download from the Patlite website that includes a playlist editor. 

An ideal application for this product is also elevators... as the speaker system!

Learn more about our Patlite BSV series or search all of our Patlite products now!

Do you need piezo buzzers? We have a full line of alarms in stock and ready to ship!

Marshall Wolf Automation is your source for piezo buzzers - from your basic panel mount style up to hazardous application alarms.

• All voltages
• Buzzers with LED's
• Square buzzers
• Multi-tone alarms
• Piezo pulse buzzers
• Square buzzers
• Signal horns

Take a quick look at our huge selection of piezo buzzers now!

You may be surprised to hear that the number one question customers have when asking about a piezo electric buzzer is 'how loud is it?"  How do you translate 90 decibels into something understandable to most folks?  Well, I'm going to give you some examples!

For example, our 12S31100-AC/DC-FN volume control piezo buzzer is rated at 90dB at the rated voltage but you can turn it up or down.  90dB is equivalent to a hair dryer, the quieter end of a rock concert or a bar.


Some piezo electric buzzers are as loud as motorcycles!  In fact, one of ours is even used on a brand that shall remain nameless that does not have self-canceling turn signals to remind the rider to turn off their signals!  And yes, you can hear it.  One of my friends has it on her bike and we all grumbled about it; it's loud! 

Marshall Wolf Automation is your industrial automation distributor.  Take a look at our line card today and if you need something you don't see, call us!  We carry much more than we have available on-line and a live person will answer your call:  800-325-9653