Warning! Long read!
I find myself in a position of being able to influence the overall controls design at my current job. However, I still have to get everything by the owner who looks at the nickels and dimes (and doesn't 100% understand PLCs - but understands relay logic)
So, I'm trying to convince my employer to switch everything over to PLCs (yes, I still design many relay control panels unless the customer wants a PLC) to allow us to basically build the same panel for nearly everything we do. In sitting down and figuring the I/O, it appears 90% of what we build could be done with 20 DI and 16 DO - with an occasional extra 8 inputs or outputs depending on the options.
I personally would love to just put an Allen Bradley micrologix 1400 in every machine, but at ~$700 + for the PLC and I/O I would need, I can't totally justify that cost to my boss - a relay panel is cheaper. In sitting down and calculating the 'cost savings' (ie, relays, push buttons or pilot lights I wouldn't need with a PLC) I figure my budget is around $400-500.
A few of the Automation Direct PLCs look to fit that mold (DL06 or Click), as well as maybe something from the micro 800 from Allen Bradley. Anyone have any experience with any of these? What PLC would you bet your job on putting in every machine with these I/O requirements?
I find myself in a position of being able to influence the overall controls design at my current job. However, I still have to get everything by the owner who looks at the nickels and dimes (and doesn't 100% understand PLCs - but understands relay logic)
So, I'm trying to convince my employer to switch everything over to PLCs (yes, I still design many relay control panels unless the customer wants a PLC) to allow us to basically build the same panel for nearly everything we do. In sitting down and figuring the I/O, it appears 90% of what we build could be done with 20 DI and 16 DO - with an occasional extra 8 inputs or outputs depending on the options.
I personally would love to just put an Allen Bradley micrologix 1400 in every machine, but at ~$700 + for the PLC and I/O I would need, I can't totally justify that cost to my boss - a relay panel is cheaper. In sitting down and calculating the 'cost savings' (ie, relays, push buttons or pilot lights I wouldn't need with a PLC) I figure my budget is around $400-500.
A few of the Automation Direct PLCs look to fit that mold (DL06 or Click), as well as maybe something from the micro 800 from Allen Bradley. Anyone have any experience with any of these? What PLC would you bet your job on putting in every machine with these I/O requirements?