External Counter

OK, I've had scores of sales people come through my office over the past 10 years with small counters. Never needed one till now.
I'm looking for one to count pcs going through a machine. I have a Micrologix 1000 in the panel, but no HMI. I need it to be cheap,small(fit in a 30mm KO would be nice), 24VDC, and have a reset. I just want to tie it to an output. Any ideas?
Thanks,
Olias

Try the Omron H7E series...

Start your search here.

Newark has one right here for just US$34 bucks. No external power required, 8 year lithion ion battery life. I've used lots of these for external counting and never had a reliablility problem.

Data sheet

I have used the H7EC series from Omron myself. It suited my application and is generally a stocked item. Check the following site for details.https://www.omron247.com

olias said:

OK, I've had scores of sales people come through my office over the past 10 years with small counters. Never needed one till now.
I'm looking for one to count pcs going through a machine.

Click to expand...

Get an extra counter to keep track of all the salesmen who call on you. Put a prox switch on your door as the input to this counter. Then be sure to keep a file of all of these poor guys' line cards! They (the line cards, not the salesmen) come in handy later.

Red Lion Cub:
http://www.redlion.net/Products/DigitalandAnalog/Counters/CounterRate/CUB5.html

I do keep the line cards of those that still actually carry them. I do like the counter at the door, though.

I agree with the Omron line I use th H7CX extensively and rarely have any problems with them plus they have a good range of options I particularly like their debouncing options with checking the input signal length

I've had machines that used an air activated mechanical counter. It got the job done. Each time the cycle was complete, a small valve would pulse air to the counter. It would count up one. You could even tap into an existing air valve that activates at the end of the cycle, like an unclamp air solenoid.

It'll even be nostalgic for your operators. They'll remember the good old days of elementary school lunch lines and the guy that sat at the end with a ticker, ticking as each person walked by with a plate of food.

Cheap Counter

Try these guys....
http://www.kep.com/catalog/ii/pages/counters.html

This is my opinion derived from my personal experiences. If I read it right he wants a counter that will fit in a 30mm knockout, 24vdc, resettable. cheap and can be used with an ML1000

Cheap will be an operative word here. I know some have offered some cheap models but in some cases the battery powered units only work direct from an external switch/sensor.

You may find a counter that may work but the price may not be as low as you would think. You can goto www.grainger.com and find numerous counters, usually there is a Grainger nearby.

I read it that you have a machine with no HMI that was thought to never need one but now it needs a counter; which also was probably thought never needed.

This is my suggestion since I think to find what you need you may have to pay much more then you think. Look at the Blue series HMI from Maple http://www.hmidirect.com/products/blu300m_blu.htm

The kit is $235 but has software and cable included. This works with ML1000 and can provide a counter and more if/when needed. The size is larger then you wanted (6"x4") but there is always a method around that since it will not be much larger then some counters.

I do not work for Maple but considering costs of counters etc the feature difference makes this unit cost comparative in many cases.

Replace the Micrologix 1000 with an 1100 and you get ethernet connectivity, online editing as well as an LCD display for your counter and more.

1/2 the size and Under $500

Okay, let me throw one more idea at you...Wouldn't it be nice to have an HMI for your Micro?

Check these out...you can have 6 or more display and/or data entry points in your micro for under $200 including programming software and cable.

http://web4.automationdirect.com/adc/Shopping/Catalog/Operator_Interfaces/Optimate_Text_Panels/Optimate_400_Series/OP-414

So far, good help. We developed a machine and locked down the design. We ordered all the components and now as we start production, the customer asks for a counter to keep track of the daily count. I do not need a HMI or anything fancy. If I could go back a year I would have designed a Counter into the enclosures. We already had all the enclosures cut. I do have one 30MM hole as an extra and I did have someone come through here with a small counter that went into a 30mm knockout. I really hate to start cutting square holes into 20 enclosures I just had custom made. 20 times the time it takes to cut= expensive. Thanks for the links. I saw a couple of external bolt on counter that should work. Thanks,
Olias