Featured Engineer: Tom Edwards

Senior Application Engineer

In a company where employees tend to stay a long time, Tom Edwards has still been around longer than most: he's been at Opto over 25 years. Tom holds a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering Technology from Weber State University in Utah, and a Doctorate of Law from Western State University in California.

At Opto 22 he provides pre-sales engineering assistance to customers who call in with questions about configuring their control systems, solving design problems, and finding the best products for their industrial automation applications.

Tom's ability to understand a customer's needs and explain the best solution also makes him an effective trainer and seminar leader. He often teaches free SNAP PAC System classes at Opto 22 headquarters. Over the years he has been all over the world, training customers at sites from Japan and China to the industrial hubs of Europe, the Middle East, and Australia. Most recently he's contributed his expertise to our IO4AB technical seminars, demonstrating how intelligent remote SNAP I/O is used with Allen-Bradley PLCs.

His years in automation have given Tom an in-depth understanding of the industry. His comments appear from time to time in industry publications such as Control Engineering, Control Design, Automation World, and InTech.

Talk with a real person. Call Opto 22.

Featured Engineer: Ben Orchard

Application Engineer

You can recognize Ben Orchard by his distinctive Aussie accent when you call Pre-sales Engineering to ask about isolated analog modules, the easiest way to set up I/O for PID loop control, or any other question about your industrial automation application. Ben knows from years of field experience what will work.

Though he's been a pre-sales engineer at Opto just since 2008, Ben has extensive experience with Opto 22 equipment as well as products from other automation manufacturers, including Siemens and Andover Infinity. He has an electronics background and a B.S. in Engineering Management.

As a Plant Control Technician for Ballarat Health Services in Australia, Ben developed power, HVAC, refrigeration, and emergency response systems for two hospitals plus convalescent homes, psychiatric services, six nursing home hostels, and rehabilitation centers. Over a period of 18 years he integrated control systems from varied manufacturers; migrated to new technologies; handled serial, ARCNET, and Ethernet networks; and adapted automation to the rapid growth and exacting requirements of the healthcare field.

Always willing to help others with his experience, Ben contributed sage advice to customers in OptoForums long before he came to work here. He's also been quoted in Control Design and other industrial automation publications. Ben's PAC Display tips and tricks video is helpful for anyone using our HMI software.

Talk with a real person. Call Opto 22.

Featured Engineer: Selam Shimelash

Sales/Application Engineer

Part of the Opto 22 pre-sales engineering staff since 2007, Selam Shimelash came to us with a B.S. in Marketing Management from Pune University in India plus a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Her emphasis in school was control systems and machine intelligence, and her senior project involved creating a cognitive Wi-Fi network.

Since joining Opto, Selam has helped customers who call in for pre-sales product advice, especially about the SNAP PAC System and applications involving motion control. In fact, Selam programmed the G4 Handler, our own motion-controlled machine for testing G4 I/O modules. (You can learn more about it in our G4 Handler case study video.)

In addition to her support for customers, Selam also developed an electrical energy monitoring system to help manage energy and save money.

Talk with a real person. Call Opto 22.