Will PLC's help my applciation????

Hello, I know what PLC's are but I do not have a working
understanding of them. I work for a small manufacturing
company and I am working with a machine that sews patterns.
I can call up to 63 unique patterns. The machine has user
interface but it is too confusing and slows down our operators.
I am looking for a touch screen interface to call up these
patterns. The sewing machine has a terminal block with 6 wire
inputs for external control. The programs can be changed by
turning on/off different terminals. Can a PLC/touch screen
be hooked in to this terminal block? Is this practical? What
kind of equipment would I need to do this? Thank You!

The answers yes and its a pretty easy job for any systems integrator.

If you wait about 10 minutes, some idiot will recommend you use Automation Direct and drive another nail into the coffin of the US economy..

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......

; )

thebern.

Many touch screens can show photos or bitmaps. This can greatly reduce the risk of selecting the wrong pattern.

Are the patterns fixed, or do you occasionally need to update the touch screen with new patterns ?

If the answer is that you dont need to update with new patterns, then the task is relatively trivial.
If on the other hand you need to update with new patters, then it is a bit more complicated.

big_OT said:

If you wait about 10 minutes, some idiot will recommend you use Automation Direct and drive another nail into the coffin of the US economy..

Click to expand...

CLASSIC....damn i'm late

thebern,
big_ot is correct, just about any HMI and PLC will do, are you thinking about doing this yourself?

Yes, I looked at the "c-more" touch screen panel the
automationdirect web site(sorry big_OT). The panel can
show bitmaps. That would be perfect. Once I create a pattern
it will not be modified.

Sounds like you are going to have to resort to BCD conversion for your Inputs. (Unless your machine can be interfaced with RS-232). In my experience, most of these sewing systems are PC based.
Sounds like a neat project, but then you are integrating a PLC and HMI into an already rolled out package.
I would look into using a Graphical HMI with BCD outs.

Yes, I was thinking of trying this myself.
maybe because I don't know any better???
I am an IE but I have expierence with c++
and other programming. I believe I can use the
touch screen software. I am just not sure of the
exact hardware I need between the touch screen and
sewing machine. thanks.

It's a very simple application for a PLC. Your sewing machine has six inputs and 63 possible patterns. That implies that to select a pattern the operator turns some of those inputs on and others off. It also implies that the operator has to look up the correct switch settings for each pattern and set them accordingly. The switches can easily be connected to a PLC with relay outputs. In fact, there are dozens of micro PLCS with exactly six outputs. Automation Direct is one company that offers them. There are American companies that offer them also, but you'll probably find that the manufacturing of these units has been outsourced to non-US factories.

Your HMI choice can depend on how the operators need to identify the pattern. If they use a pattern number, there are inexpensive text-based operator interfaces that allow the operator to enter a number. Then your PLC program converts that number to the correct output settings. If the operators identify the pattern by a picture, then you will need a slightly more expensive operator panel that let the operator scroll through a series of pictures of the patterns and make a selection.

It is a simple enough application that you might want to tackle it yourself as a learning project.

How does your budget look?, I would look at a Red Lion (HMI) and a Allenbradley PLC, this will give you a very reliable system.

If you don't have the funding then go with AD

You will get a lot of help here if you choose to do it yourself..

If all you are using the PLC and HMI for is to select one of 63 different patterns, then a simple PLC with 6 outputs and an HMI to store your information will be sufficient.

Hitech America (Now Beijer) and sold by Micro Decisions offers a 4.7" 16 shade gray touch screen that includes RTC and 4 Meg of Memory for $360.00 This includes software. Their 5.7" 16 shade screen starts at $500.00. If you had a customer that wanted color, they are $700.00.

http://www.hitech-america.com/H-T50.htm

http://www.hitech-america.com/H-T60.htm

You can import and display - .bmp, .jpg, .gif, .dwg files

The Hitech/Beijer units are imported.

Any micro PLC will work for you...because all you are doing is creating a glorified dip switch. If there is additional functionality you are adding, then your I/O numbers will increase.

A product that we offer that will satisfy your requirements is the Smart-PAK series. www.entertron.com/smart-pak.htm

The Smart-PAK is not imported.

I am not certain about other PLCs, but I know we support binary to decimal and decimal to binary conversion. When you unpack a decimal to internal relays, the internal relays assume a binary form that is equivalent to the decimal value. All in all you may be looking at a PLC program of approximately 10 rungs of code.

The touch screen portion of your program will be more involved in that you will be configuring screens and icons / bitmaps for 63 different patterns.


You will require a 24 VDC power supply for both the touch screen and PLC. Both units can run off the same source.

Hope this helps and answers your questions.


God Bless,



FYI - I am employed by Entertron Industries.

big_OT said:

If you wait about 10 minutes, some idiot will recommend you use Automation Direct and drive another nail into the coffin of the US economy..

Click to expand...

<sarcasm>

If your interested in preserving the US economy you can look into these PLC manufactures, all of their products are made in the US.

http://www.ab.com/

http://automation.usa.siemens.com/automat/default.html

http://www.gefanuc.com/en/

</sarcasm>


This company also has some PLCs that will work well for your application -

http://web2.automationdirect.com/adc/Home/Home

For what it's worth, all our HMIs are designed and made in the USA, with a little bit of design help from our two UK-based engineers. I don't know another HMI 'manufacturer' who can say that -- and I use the scare quotes advisedly since many people whom you might think to be manufacturers don't even design the panels themselves, but just buy them from asia-pacific suppliers...