General impressions of idec

I am new to PLCs, but just talked to a local IDEC representative who seemed knowledgeable and helpful. I'm trying to decide who to begin an association with and do not want to get too involved with a company which may not be able to meet my current or future needs. If there is anyone out there who can compare and contrast IDEC with other companies on cost, support, capabilities, etc. I would really appreciate hearing from you.

Thanks.
Barry

Try to go to their website. Then try to find their automation products, such as PLCs, HMIs, and the programming software.
I tried, and ended on this page
http://www.idec.com/home/products/automation.html
Full of texts and images, but not a single link to anything useful.

There are companies that have so much to show and tell that it becomes confusing. And there are companies that seems to have nothing to tell. Idec seems to fall in the latter category.

Apart from that, I saw a little bit of activity from Idec/Izumi some 15-20 years ago. Today they have all but disappeared, at least in my end of the world.

since you are new to plc's I suggest the following.

what does your plant use?
what other vendors are in the area.

we use ab here and at the other plants I worked at.
their pricey, but very reliable. we have 1 idec unit and left it sitting there in the panel, we know ab.

regards,
james

JesperMP said:

Try to go to their website. Then try to find their automation products, such as PLCs, HMIs, and the programming software.
I tried, and ended on this page
http://www.idec.com/home/products/automation.html
Full of texts and images, but not a single link to anything useful.

There are companies that have so much to show and tell that it becomes confusing. And there are companies that seems to have nothing to tell. Idec seems to fall in the latter category.

Apart from that, I saw a little bit of activity from Idec/Izumi some 15-20 years ago. Today they have all but disappeared, at least in my end of the world.

Click to expand...

I don't use IDEC - not even for Power Supplies anymore, but I went to your link and once I chose my location (USA) there was a lot available.

http://us.idec.com/Catalog/ProductFamily.aspx?FamilyName=Programmable_Controllers_PLCs

I got the same dog and pony show from my local IDEC guy too. He is a friend of one of the salesmen I worked with so I listened politely. Their stuff seemed to be OK but a little on the cheap side. The salesman didn't really seem to know a lot about the PLC line.

I had already stated working with AB stuff and was happy with it. Most of my Customers use AB stuff. So it didn't make much sense to make a change mid stream.

As James mentioned, see what is around you. Find out what is in stock locally. See who has a local "expert" you can call if you need help. Most important is what does your company and customers use. Once you know the answers, your choice will be pretty clear.

I programmed a few Idec Mirco-1 PLCs for a customer a number of years ago. That was the PLC the customer wanted. The PLCs were running stamping machines.

The PLC was not significantly cheaper than an AB Micrologix, but had significantly lower capabilities. I don't know about other models.

Hello,

I use a lot of IDEC product, PLC's HMI's, tower lights & switches.

Their MicroSmart & Pentra PLCs are a real value, unlike other value brands which want you to think they are inexpensive (Auto****** Dir***).

The Pentra has extremely fast processing time and the instruction set is pretty extensive. There manuals are very good as well, which is handy.

I am doing a quick operator panel where the operator selects a product and discrete outputs are set depending on the selection. The HG2G HMI allows the piggy backing of their standard PLC's output modules directly onto the back of the HMI eliminating the need for any other devices.

Overall, I feel that the Idec product is very competitive pricing wise (your vendor should be able to help here) and the product line, though with some limitations) is very powerful.

I have no stake in Idec other than being a long time user.

Cheers