Hello,
We are developing smart logistics system and struggling on selection control system concept. Maybe you guys could help to decide? First of all I would like start with short description what we need:
1. System low-level control (PLC control). There are a lot of sensors, actuators, industrial robot for pick & place and so on. We need software PLC for handling I/Os, giving pick and place tasks for industrial robot and execute communication interface to middle level control system;
2. Middle-level control. Here we will have machine vision algorithms and .NET based applications for data mining, optimization of low-level controls based on data analysis from statistics. Basically it will be machine learning application which will optimize industrial robot paths and working sequence by forecasting actions ahead based on statistics. Also in the future for products identification/verification/sorting and picking operations we are planning to use deep learning algorithms, but it is next project stage and I guess we will use separate GPU powered Industrial AI computer for this purpose, so at the moment this functionality is not necessary. I guess there is no such IPC which is capable to run software PLC on hypervisor technology and has powerful GPU with a lot of Cuda cores for deep learning;
3. High-level control. ERP and Warehouse Management System, which will be on different machines, so only interface implementation will be necessary on this machine.
Previously I wanted to use hardware PLC + Industrial PC (PLC for low-level control tasks and Industrial PC for middle and high level control tasks), but then I thought why use hardware PLC when there are Industrial PCs on the market which has software PLC solutions. It is possible to achieve all these tasks on one machine. Actually, I'm considering about these brands and their products:
1. B&R APC910 with Intel Core i7 6820EQ, Quad core, 2.8 GHz + Automation Panel;
2. Beckhoff Panel PC CP22xx-0030 with Intel Core i7-9700TE, 1.8 GHz, 8 cores;
3. Siemens SIMATIC IPC677D with Xeon E3-1268Lv3, 4 cores, 2.3 Ghz. Actually wanted to select SIMATIC IPC677E with Core i7-8700, 6 cores and 3.2 Ghz, but it looks like it does not compatible with S7-1500 software controller;
What do you guys think about each brand and their products? What kind of experiences you had and which setup you would select? Maybe it is worth to check other brands as well? I see there are a lot of Industrial PCs manufacturers, but only some of them could offer IPCs with software PLCs based on hypervisor technology. For me personally it looks like B&R, Beckhoff and Siemens has the most advanced products.
We are developing smart logistics system and struggling on selection control system concept. Maybe you guys could help to decide? First of all I would like start with short description what we need:
1. System low-level control (PLC control). There are a lot of sensors, actuators, industrial robot for pick & place and so on. We need software PLC for handling I/Os, giving pick and place tasks for industrial robot and execute communication interface to middle level control system;
2. Middle-level control. Here we will have machine vision algorithms and .NET based applications for data mining, optimization of low-level controls based on data analysis from statistics. Basically it will be machine learning application which will optimize industrial robot paths and working sequence by forecasting actions ahead based on statistics. Also in the future for products identification/verification/sorting and picking operations we are planning to use deep learning algorithms, but it is next project stage and I guess we will use separate GPU powered Industrial AI computer for this purpose, so at the moment this functionality is not necessary. I guess there is no such IPC which is capable to run software PLC on hypervisor technology and has powerful GPU with a lot of Cuda cores for deep learning;
3. High-level control. ERP and Warehouse Management System, which will be on different machines, so only interface implementation will be necessary on this machine.
Previously I wanted to use hardware PLC + Industrial PC (PLC for low-level control tasks and Industrial PC for middle and high level control tasks), but then I thought why use hardware PLC when there are Industrial PCs on the market which has software PLC solutions. It is possible to achieve all these tasks on one machine. Actually, I'm considering about these brands and their products:
1. B&R APC910 with Intel Core i7 6820EQ, Quad core, 2.8 GHz + Automation Panel;
2. Beckhoff Panel PC CP22xx-0030 with Intel Core i7-9700TE, 1.8 GHz, 8 cores;
3. Siemens SIMATIC IPC677D with Xeon E3-1268Lv3, 4 cores, 2.3 Ghz. Actually wanted to select SIMATIC IPC677E with Core i7-8700, 6 cores and 3.2 Ghz, but it looks like it does not compatible with S7-1500 software controller;
What do you guys think about each brand and their products? What kind of experiences you had and which setup you would select? Maybe it is worth to check other brands as well? I see there are a lot of Industrial PCs manufacturers, but only some of them could offer IPCs with software PLCs based on hypervisor technology. For me personally it looks like B&R, Beckhoff and Siemens has the most advanced products.