Automation Direct PLC's, First timer

I thinking of trying one of these PLC's for a project but have noticed that you have to pay for the manuals. It makes me wonder about their tech support. Do they have any? Is it any good?
I know the pricing is better than AB but are you getting what you pay for?
How is their PLC Software compared to RSLogix, Mitsitbishi GX, Omron CX? Is it easy to use. I am going to download their demo and try it out but I am looking for some feedback on their product.
Can anyone give me a quick comparison with their PLC's to AB.

Thanks for the help and feedback.

I found the manuals but would still like to here from the experienced users.
Thanks

Automation Direct PLCs


You can read and/or print out all of their manuals on-line in pdf format.
I just finished a project using 12 DL-205 PLCs each with a D2-260 CPU, an 8 chnl analog input, hi-speed counter, 4 chnl relay output. This was the first time I have used these PLCs and can say that I am now a regular customer. They also have an on-line forum simular to this that their techs monitor and are always willing to help. Their ladder logic software "Direct Soft" was really nice to use. I also installed a 6" EZ touch panel on each unit that really impressed the users and managers here. I got everything from AD including the power supplies, enclosures.
I am now thinking of buying one of their $99 brick PLCs to experiment with at home, just got to think of some uses (work) for it to do.
You will like them, good people all around. FAST shipping too.

I have been using AutomationDirect.com (formerly PLCDirect) since they opened the doors. Their tech support, in my opinion, is as good as any and better than most. It is also the most accessible. In addition to direct phone (you can get a real human being first try most of the time) e-mail, and FAX, they have a Q & A web site at

http://forum1.automationdirect.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi

Another point in their favor is that, unlike some of their competitors, all the required info is generally in one manual. You don't need five different "books" to layout and use a system. I/O cards, CPUs, communications, and programming integrated in one place - what a concept!

Koyo !!!!

You, guys sound like walking talking ads for this PLC line, remember no advertising!!!

A-D doesn't need advertising help from us, their products speak for themselves!...

We don't need to get into the endless "Which PLC is best" debate again, so I'll shut up... shutit

As far as the "paying for manuals" issue....

• 1.) You only need one copy of the manual, so why get additional ones free* with each purchase?
  
  *Nothing is "free", it will be included in the (increased) cost of the product
  
  2.) You have the option of downloading PDFs instead (hey, that IS free!)
  
  3.) The manuals are relatively cheap (in price, not quality)
  
  4.) In addition to what Tom said, they're also spiral bound so they lay flat! :nodi:

beerchug

-Eric

Mickey, you said "You, guys sound like walking talking ads for this PLC line, remember no advertising!!!"

Well, pardner, I realizes you is talkin with yer tongue in yer cheek. But fer some o' the other fellers, I want to state fer the record I is not associated with, nor does I receive reimbursement from, nor does I derive any income from AutomationDirect.com. I is merely a highly opinionated (but in this perticlar case) satisfied customer. I reckon if'n I kin rant about some PLCs I kin babble on complimentary like 'bout others, with neither bein' advertisin'.

I too am a long time fan!!!
I am just now finishing the debuging of a AD250-1 in a 9 slot rack, w/ a 6 slot expansion unit....all this replacing 4 panels of 1966 era cam & stepping sws & code relays in a stacker/destacker...the only thing I didn't use was a touch screen - too many people w/ sharp tools in their hands. This is the 5th AD project I've done this year.
If we can be of any help in getting you up and spueing (SP?)code let us know.

David

beerchug

Thanks for the feedback, sounds like a winner.
I wasn't trying to start the whole who's PLC is better, I just wanted to know if AD is a good company and if they support their product.
Thanks again.

The Manuals are worth it(gotta have em')..the tech support is great
get a manual for every base ie 05...205 etc, that you purchase also
analog manual if you dabble in that..

Hey m,

Just one thing to watch out for with the ad plc's that I have encountered... the older setups use an earth ground, and the new setups use a 'floating' ground setup. If updating a machine, this can be a bit of a problem. I encountered this with an outdated machine that had been updated at one time, then a contractor came in and added an HMI. The only problem was that they kept frying the comm cable from the plc to the display... Ahh, the lovely smell of ozone.

What I had found is that the machine had been updated about 6 times by some ham fisted electricians (or so they thought they were...) and they were running the 120 VAC neutral to the mounting plate within the panel. The machine was to be 'portable' and they never grounded back to the main plug in, they were using the machine as 'ground'. When they added the voltage to the plc, then introduced the 5 VDC that they use for the HMI, it had about 13 volts of feedback. You can picture the rest...

Other then that, they seem to work pretty well. I feel it is definitely a 'more bang for the buck' setup.

Hoot

I started my plc days with Allen Bradley but when I switched companies I had to learn AutomationDirect. At first I was a bit frustrated with the programming sofware compared to RSLogix 500. I soon got the hang of it and I don't mind using AD plc's at all. Two things I didn't like about AD was octal addressing and having to use the accumulator stack to perform simple instructions (like add). I still can't figure out why you cannot use a constant number in the add instruction instead of a constant stored in an address. Support for AD is awesome.