Benefits and limitations of Chosen PLC

Demandfivehd

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Can anybody help me with this question I have spent a lot of time researching and not understanding :S, I just need redirections and notes. and maybe the answer...

Choose 1 of the PLC:

a. SLC 500 system -allen bradley
b. Simatic s7-300- siemens
c. Melsec FX1s

question: describe in 5 sentences the benefits and limitations of the plc you cose above when applied to : (how they used in such applications)

a- packaging applications and general industrial machinery

b. food and beverage

c. material handling

Can someone please help or hint me, either would be appreciated. I have to hand in this in TOMORROW and I have been trying for ages.. đź“š and found nothing

Thank you for even reading this.
 
what even is this type of PLC I mean in their website they only put up advantages which is ****. how is that suppose to help they dont say how it is used in food and beverage and what the advantages and disadvantages are.
 
You're getting a torrent of (deserved) grief in the other thread, so let's duck in here and talk about this question.

Those three controllers are popular models from three major manufacturers who have major shares of the market in the USA, Europe, and Japan (respectively).

Geography will be part of your answer. Let's say you chose the Siemens S7-300; you would include information about the Siemens market share in Europe, and the availability of parts from Germany, and the availability of skilled maintenance people who are familiar with the S7-300 controller.

The three industry categories listed are similar, so let's talk about some of the differences.

For "food and beverage" you might mention the availability of distributed I/O modules using the Profibus DP network protocol. Those modules are available in waterproof enclosures that will allow them to be mounted on machines that are frequently washed or hosed down in a food or beverage factory.

For "packaging applications", typically a fast PLC is necessary to handle the fast mechanisms and position measurement and control. You can write a sentence about connectivity to motion controllers and availability of encoder and fast input modules. Look up the Siemens part numbers for extra authenticity.

For "material handling", typically there will be a supervisory inventory management system that runs on networked computers. Network connectivity over an easy-to-use and commonly-understood network protocol (like Profinet or Modbus/TCP) would be an important feature for a PLC that is used in conjunction with such a supervisory computer system.
 
So you have done your research so I assume you know technical details about each PLC. This is how I would start the process.

List 10 things about each PLC on a blank paper. ..Communication abilities, I/O count, safety options, software, these are general ideas.

Then make up a scenario where you would use each of them and think why you would use one over the other in that specific scenario.

If you don't have enough info I great place to start would be the user manual for the individual product. If your getting into this field get used to reading manuals... I usually reference one user manual a day.

PS its not likely you will get someone to just write out the answer for you, but I will help you if you are willing to do the work.
 
You're right that manufacturers don't typically write about disadvantages.

One disadvantage of using a market-leading, well-established and well-supported controller is that they tend to command the highest prices. Companies with less market share tend to discount their products to gain market share. You can frequently buy an Allen-Bradley controller cheaper in Germany than you can in the USA.
 
a. SLC 500 system -allen bradley
b. Simatic s7-300- siemens
c. Melsec FX1s
For (a) and (b), both of these are on their way to becoming obsolete and no longer supported very much by the manufacturers. They have been made obsolete by newer models which will gradually replace the old working models. I don't know about the status of the Mitsubishi FX1.
 
You are comparing different classes of PLC:
For example FX-1s is micro PLC, excellent in it's own class but it is small class. Mitsubishi has iQ platform, which is excellent, versatile, multiprocessor etc. FX-1s is entry level, with limited capabilities but cost effective and it is not comparable with S7-300.
To make analogy, it is like comparing Mitsubishi Colt with VW Tuareg, both excellent in their class, but not comparable. You want to compare Tuareg and Pajero.

Best regards,
Vuckovic Goran.
 
I'd hazard a guess that the question paper here is somewhat dated.
What would you expect? In my experience, most teachers (luckily not all) choose to teach simply because they're lazy bums. I know it might sound harsh, but it is the truth. For example: in the 80's I've been taught mathematics from someone who still used his 25 year old lesson plans, I was taught electronics by a teacher who used schematics containing transistors that weren't even in the market no more.

In my 20 years career as a trainer (I'm not a teacher) I've written 22 courses. Why? Because I wanted to give up-to-date trainings and at the same time wanted to remain up-to-date with the work field. If you're loving the job, you have to continue learning and transferring what you've learned all the time.

Regards,
 
Jean Pierre,

I whole heartedly agree and commend your efforts to tailor course work to suit the needs of the present.

A lot of automation courses contain generic and outdated material that do not delve into the specifics of the topics involved in the field of today. They are fine for learning the fundamentals of a given subject, but I believe a curriculum should be iterative and not used for several years while the subject matter is ever evolving.

I have lots of Mickey Mouse certificates for courses that I fell asleep in due to lack of interest in the redundant course material.

They just keep churning the same stuff out.

Bravo! my friend (y)

G.
 
I couldn´t agree more with Jean Pierre and Geo spark.

It´s not even like they need to be cutting edge with their stuff. Taking a rockwell example, they dont need to be talking about L7x Control Logix stuff. Heck even if they were using L5x ControlLogix stuff it would still be somewhat relevent. Its when they bring out PLC 5 stuff and teach it like its cutting edge! I can only imagine what would happen if these guys had to teach CIP motion using the new Compact Logix L18 or something like that. Quite possibly their heads would explode :sick:

One of my teachers in University (I graduated in 2009 so its not that long ago) still used a slide rule instead of a calculater! I´m not saying its a bad thing to know how to use a slide rule as a back up incase your calculater batteries die etc but come on its was 2009!
 
One of my teachers in University (I graduated in 2009 so its not that long ago) still used a slide rule instead of a calculater!
Watch it, you are stepping on my toes now! I went through engineering school using a slide rule because calculators were not invented yet! Just kidding, you are right that a person has to learn the new tools, and I hung up my slide rule in the closet long ago. I still have it there---just in case.
 

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