Do PLC's have a future in controlling tomorrows machines and processes?

Do PLC's have a future in controlling tomorrows machines and processes? I need some feedback from you guys. Thanks

Yes, why would you think otherwise? If not a PLC or something very similar to one, then what would propose replacing it with? The thing that we call a PLC has evolved over the years, and will undoubtedly continue to evolve.

If you think computers will take over I have one question for you. Would you let your Windows-Based PC control the car you drive?

2 cents

I have seen where Linux boxes are used in high tech instances. There are also chip based control packages that can be part of a circuit board such as Microchip's PIK. But new PLC installations will still be around for a while, there will also be service needed for years, and it shouldn't be too difficult to migrate into the new technologies if you keep up on what's going on.

Undoubtedly the "computers" will control more and more our life in the future. For the moment we consider PLCs and "PCs" as different things though many times they use the same hardware (on chip level). In reality they are the same.
So, I can take the question as meaning "Will different people involve in PLC and PC programming?". To this question the answer is YES, to my opinion. It is not easy for the same people to do all, the same way that no one seems capable to program all type of PLCs today, ignoring the fact that process knowledge is also needed.

I hope so, at least till I retire!

If PLCs don't have much of a future left, I sure hope it lasts as long as I have till retirement. I need to keep working to eat and PLCs have helped me do that for quite some number of years now. Good question, Shah, wish I had thought of it.

A rose by any other name...

I think it depends on what makes a plc a plc in your mind.
I think ladder editors are on the way out to be replaced by some type of flow chart editor with text editing of functional blocks where required. I tink the main reason that ladder editors are still with us is to help out the guys like me who have most of their experience using ladder. I truly believe that as new (read younger) people come into the field they will gravitate toward a different editing style. So if a plc to you is something you can program in ladder, I think that is going away.
I think that proprietary hardened processors running realtime operating systems will always be with us. I think the fact that fully open systems have not completely taken over the market highlight the fact that users still want to be able to pin all their problems on one supplier. If that's a plc to you, they will still be around.
If a plc is something that sits in a rack with rack-mount standard and specialty I/O I think that will be around for a while too. The physical rack may disappear but I think the linking of I/O together on a common physical bus will hang around. So if that defines a plc, I think it will still be here.

Just some ramblings on a Friday afternoon.

Keith

Well, obviously some sort of controller does.

Whether it comes with ladder logic or not remains to be seen. But if it needs to be maintained or modified, then it will more than likely look very much like what we have today.

Some vendors would love to button up their equipment to force the customer to go to them for every little change (as an alternative to an "open" PLC).

This isn't going to change, but I don't see it getting any better or worse over time (we seem to be swinging towards the closed system at the moment, but as the downtime keeps adding up I expect that to change).

The problem has always been response time when the equipment needs attention. Should it be a "closed" system, then support requests usually have to go several levels up and both uptime and the equipment suffers. And even once everyone agrees that it needs service, then you are usually a day or so away until the service guy gets there.

As for whether it has its own "OS" or uses a "repurposed" OS (e.g. Microsoft or Linux) to run the hardware, my vote will probably always go to a OS created by the manufacturer. Not that early versions are all that great (no need to name names here ), but once they finally get it, the equipment tends to be extremely stable.


John

PLCs as we know them will become obsolete on May 12th 2009... This will coincide with the release of a new electrical connector known as the Mar-X9 which will contain a built in triac like device c/w processor that may be controlled and monitored remotely using the new transgressive radio signal spectrum... From that date forth, the use of these connectors on all new and existing electrical equipment will be federally mandated, while global enforcement of same will fall under the auspicious of the W.Gates Global Communications Commission.... The WGGCC also known as Gates Global will provide all programming and communications support to effect the complete control and monitoring of all electrical equipment world-wide... Electrical consumers will be able to simply express their desires verbally while within a 300 foot radius of a Mar-X9, and their request will processed by Gates Global staff, and if approved, control algorithms will be altered to effect the desired change in their equipment operation.............Remember...You heard it here first.!!!

Is this guy for real??????

You must have stayed on the beach in the sun to long yesterday. Either that our you are running low on your cold quotient and need to travel north to at least New York to get your fill of that now famous North Eastern chill. However if the MAR-X9 does come to fruition, I would love to get in on the ground floor of that deal.

Well, we all know Gates Global's track record when it comes to meeting their release target dates, so I think we're safe for at least a couple hundred fortnights. But if you needed an excuse to go out and buy the equipment you'd need to go off-grid...

Randy old buddy, you were the last person I'd expect to be mocking my prediction about PLCs..!! .... Then to rub salt into the wound, you not only publicize, but even joke about my recent escape (by motorcycle) from the canadian winter, and make it sound as though I'm just lounging around the beaches in florida sipping on your cheap american whisky.... Well I'm not at the beach, but rather hiding in one of those tin houses that you americans call homes just waiting for the inevitable visit from one of your immigration swat teams,,,,, do have a good stockpile of whiskey however... and I'm warm....

As for Shah03, you posed a good question, but I'm still sticking with my prediction, and I'm going to suggest that you pass it on to your instructor... Even though I'm a bit peeved at his recent comments<grin> I still believe he's one of the best instructors out there, and I'm sure he'll give you a few marks for making the effort.. Also tell him that he'd better plan on retiring before 2009..

Steve,,,best not to mock Mr. Gates..

Bill Simpson said:

PLCs as we know them will become obsolete on May 12th 2009... This will coincide with the release of a new electrical connector known as the Mar-X9 which will contain a built in triac like device c/w processor that may be controlled and monitored remotely using the new transgressive radio signal spectrum... From that date forth, the use

Click to expand...

Huh? What?

Oh, yeah, that's right, you Canuks get to smoke stuff that us Yanks don't

Good one tho...


John

I thought it was funny

rootboy said:

Huh? What?

Oh, yeah, that's right, you Canuks get to smoke stuff that us Yanks don't

Click to expand...

It must be the cheap American whiskey.

PLCs will change. I think Terry has the better vision. Parrallel processing of rungs that emulate real relay system much better that the relays themselves will be possible because the circuits can respond in nanoseconds if need be. High speed counter/timer card will not be necessary because the PLC will be so fast.

Just incase you guys think I am smoking stuff or drinking cheap American whiskey, you should be aware that this is available now.
We use field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) to do some amazing things that off load much of the work of the DSP or microcontroller. FGPAs allow parellel logic. We can count at rate to 500 MHZ if need be. That shouldn't be too surprising in the world of 3 GHZ pentiums.
That also means we can count with resolution down to a couple nanoseconds. If we could time intervals with 3 GHZ we could use light as a range finder at resolve distances down to a tenth of a meter. Mulitple rungs, networks or equations can be executed in parallel in 10 nanosecond or less. These capablities will only increase in the future. When FPGAs can be programmed using ladder this will all be possible for all of you.

Hi all
i agree with peter,Plcs will not disappear but i think that it will be enhanced may be they will add fast processors to speed up the processing time ,communication features also will increase as well as memory capacity,