Storage in PLC

Hi All,
I have a project with RF IDs (Radio Frequency Identification). Currently the data of trucks are stored controlled in a PC.
Due to the power failure factors, client is thinking of implementing it using PLCs.
In that case,
1. is it possible to store such data in PLCs
2. is it possible to push/ transfer such data to a PC

Data of trucks are Reg. No:, Date of Expiry, Date of expiry of Permit etc.
Client wants to block/ let the vehicle according to the status of the permit

regards
fazlur
thanx in advance

To your questions, I would answer yes and yes.
But, in your case I would consider to get a real hard industrial PC plus an industrial 24VDC UPS.
Beckhoff and Siemens (and others) have rugged IPCs with no rotating fans or media.
Siemens (and others) have industrial 24VDC UPS devices.

thanx Jesper

but is it feasible/ advisable to go in for PLC or IPC when there is least processing or I/o

There is two devices that do it well. A PAC, such as Productivity 3000 from AD. The other (my preference) is a higher end touch screen, such as MT8104XH from Weintek.
"MT8000 series is the new HMI generation of Weintek. With the design concept of meeting customers’ satisfaction while easy-to-Use attribute as before, a MT8000 not only performs as a Human Machine Interface but also plays as a role of data exchange center. Through the most popular Ethernet connection, data can be shared among MT8000s without limitation and any SCADA/HMI software on the PC can simply access data from MT8000s."
With the touchscreen, you can send data to the PC, and/or store it on a removable device. Thumb drive, etc.

fazlurks said:

thanx Jesper

but is it feasible/ advisable to go in for PLC or IPC when there is least processing or I/o

Click to expand...

Yes it is possible, the real question is how much. Just like a PC a PLC has a finite amount of storage space. It is the reason that most programers use a function called FIFO (First in First Out)to store data on a PLC so they know exactly how much memory they are going to use. A PC will store much more data and are cheaper per memory area.

As for your second question, data transfers between PLC's and PC's is very common.

To figure out what hardware you need you have to answer several questions:

How much data do you want to store (calculate in bytes)
What else do you want to do with the PLC.
What do you want to transfer between PLC and PC and what kind of storage scheme do you want to utilize on your PC

There are several other details you would use in selecting the PLC. Budget being a major one but the ones above are a good starting point

thanx every1 for the valuable info

I would appreciate people participating in this discussion
I want more info on this as i haven't worked on this kind of requirement

thanx every1 in advance

Just an opinion

Just an opinion.

You can do this in a PLC. If I had to build this, I would make several datablocks with arrays in it. This way you can build-up a table like you have in excel. The length of the arrays depends on what CPU you use. In this way you can think in rows or records. Then you can use fifo like mentioned in previous posts. This data can be forwarded to a PC in several ways, via HMI software, OPC, etc...

Kind Regards,
Combo

Hi All,
Data of trucks are Registration No:, Date of Expiry, Date of expiry of Permit, in-time, out-time, payment etc.
Client wants to block/ let the vehicle according to the status of the permit

Is it possible to store and/or transfer the datas from MT8104XH in excel format.
Is it possible to give "Red Signal" from MT8104XH to block the trucks
Is it possible to view real time status of the Gates, Yard, trucks and its expiry, payment etc..

regards
fazlur
thanx in advance

Yes to all of the above but..a few points:

- PLC is not designed for string data and would run out of memory quickly.

- PC is perferred for storing data, but be sure to do it in a real database, not a spreadsheet. A DB stores data the mintue it's written, unlike a spreadsheet so it will survive the power failure.

- You would need a middleware of some kind to take between PLC and the DB, such as Inductive Automation product or Rockwell's Tranaction manager.