Small PLC

HoldenC

Member
Join Date
Sep 2012
Location
Cumberland, KY
Posts
215
Ive done so much research that my head hurts.

Im looking for a PLC that can meet the following criteria :

Runs on 12 or 24 VDC.
Has 2 or 3 Analog Inputs.
Has 2 or 3 Analog Outputs.
Has 2 or 3 Discrete Inputs.
Has 2 or 3 Discrete Outputs.
Has Ethernet connectivity.

Would be nice to be able to connect a small panel for real time view.


I was looking into some Linux based plcs, and possibly a raspberry Pi. However both options I looked at required buying parts from different countries.

Anyone have any other options ?
 
I think that Allen Bradley Micro820 meets your requirements and the basic version of the programming software is free.
 
Yea, I would also look at a 820 and a Red Lion or PV... then option two a Click and a C-More
 
I was looking into some Linux based plcs, and possibly a raspberry Pi.

Why ? Do you think that those will give you very low purchase cost, or do you have a reason for not wanting a commercial industrial product, or do you need to connect to Linux-based software onboard the controller ?

Is this a homebrew project, or something you plan to put into a single industrial application, or something you're going to be cranking out dozens of per year ?

Your post history shows some Allen-Bradley PLC-5/SLC-500 and Logix experience. Is there a reason you don't want to use CompactLogix ?
 
Allen Bradley Micro820 and a Maple Systems Hmi!

The Micro820 should cost you around $189.00 and a small Maple System Hmi will cost around $290.0
 
Seems like everyone has the same recommendation. Ill look into the Micro 820.

I was only looking at the Raspberry Pi and Linux stuff to keep the cost down since this would be going into a system Im developing with some partners.

I do like the idea of staying with an AB system, since I'm pretty familiar with them. Also, I would trust their products more than anything else.
 
Seems like everyone has the same recommendation. Ill look into the Micro 820.

I was only looking at the Raspberry Pi and Linux stuff to keep the cost down since this would be going into a system Im developing with some partners.

I do like the idea of staying with an AB system, since I'm pretty familiar with them. Also, I would trust their products more than anything else.

If you are developing this and planning to distribute it commercially, having a commercial PLC platform takes care of SOOOOO much of the product lifecycle stuff for you. If you are truly worried about cost, click is a great way to go. You can call up automation direct and they will help you spec a PLC that suits your needs.
 
Regardless of your project, ALWAYS remember who the end user is, MAINTENANCE !!

i'll always say it
if maintenance cannot understand the program and how it works, it's a boat anchor.
the machine breaks, maintenance can't figure out the problem, production is down, management hears about it, you (since you are part of the ones developing the system) get a call at all hours of the night / day to fix the problem.

so what ever you do, make it user friendly to the point maintenance can understand the system and debug the problem.

james
 
I was only looking at the Raspberry Pi and Linux stuff to keep the cost down since this would be going into a system Im developing with some partners.

You can load Codesys into the raspberry pi, but there's no telling when the SD card will fry. This is a major concern...

The pi would allow you not to need an HMI I guess, but would add the cost on the IO as you would need to buy remote IO instead of embedded IO which the Micro820 already has.
 
Will your analog need to use PID?
If so then, I would look at the Productivity 1000 series.
https://www.automationdirect.com/productivity/p1000
I would look at the Click PLC if PID is not required.
https://www.automationdirect.com/clickplcs/index

HMI -
C-More Micro
https://www.automationdirect.com/adc/Shopping/Catalog/HMI_(Human_Machine_Interface)/C-more_Micro_Panels
AdvancedHMI
This is just free software that will operate on your raspberry pi. It will turn it into your HMI.
https://sourceforge.net/projects/advancedhmi/
https://www.advancedhmi.com/forum/index.php?topic=666.0

Regards,
 
Schneider tm221 plcs. somachine software is free. Even zelio smart rely or siemens logo. Problem with the latter is you are very limited to what you can do over ethernet
 
will your analog need to use pid?
If so then, i would look at the productivity 1000 series.
https://www.automationdirect.com/productivity/p1000
i would look at the click plc if pid is not required.
https://www.automationdirect.com/clickplcs/index

hmi -
c-more micro
https://www.automationdirect.com/adc/shopping/catalog/hmi_(human_machine_interface)/c-more_micro_panels
advancedhmi
this is just free software that will operate on your raspberry pi. It will turn it into your hmi.
https://sourceforge.net/projects/advancedhmi/
https://www.advancedhmi.com/forum/index.php?topic=666.0

regards,
+1
 
Allen Bradley Micro820 and a Maple Systems Hmi!

The Micro820 should cost you around $189.00 and a small Maple System Hmi will cost around $290.0

I'd second this.

The other option is EZautomation PLC / HMI. If you are a first time customer, they have some really great starter packages that come with software, power supply and HMI/PLC.
 
Runs on 12 or 24 VDC
Must it be able to run on 12VDC ? Must the I/O also be for 12VDC then ? That would limit the number of candidates a bit !
If it is OK if it can run on 24VDC, then that means basically any PLC will be OK.

Apart from that, the way the original quesion is phrased, anyone will basically recommend their favorite PLC.
 

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