Duwop said:
Hey,
I was wondering what some opinions were on Automation Direct PLC's? I haven't used them, therefore I don't know alot about them. The reason I'm asking is because I have some projects coming up but my boss has put his thumb down hard on the budget spending & these plc's seem to be priced somewhat better than the Allen Bradley's I've been using.
The other thing is the addressing structure in the Automation Direct plc's. I'd seen in some threads on this forum that the addressing is similar to old TI 505's (which I started on). Aside from X,Y,C,V does the Automation Direct PLC's have drums, sfpgm, etc like the TI's?
Thanks to all!
Duwop.
You'll be just fine. I mostly work with multi-pump controls and have always used IDEC from the Micro 1 thru the MicroSmart in the "brick" style and also the IDEC FA3 series multi-slot. I started out programming them with the "CLIP" application and shortly after "CUBIQ" both of which run directly in DOS. The Windows application "Winldr" was a giant leap forward. But enough of memory lane. I just wanted to emphasize how deeply rooted I am/was in IDEC.
ANYWAY......I have a DIFFERENT customer, this one with a tomato packing plant. I arrived late in the game because their other IDEC guy was getting unmanageable. The plant is PACKED with IDEC PLCs. I'm in heaven.
Problem is... the box fillers (there are almost 100 of them all together) are all set up with MICRO1's. They are obsolete. They are starting to wear out.
Ssssooooo..... the search began for an inexpensive replacement, readily available, and well supported. I started this week switching them out to the DL 05.
So far I am pleasantly surprised. The programming is similar enough, the tech support is better than expected, and the conversion is going swell.
I had one little disappointment though... the 120v powered, 24vdc input model requires an EXTERNAL 24v power supply (the IDEC comes with one built in), so I had to rush in a batch of EXTRA power supplies (egg-on-face). Also the DL 05 has an expansion slot into which I plugged a "4 output relay out" expansion card and I was a little surprised that it didn't have indicator lights to tell you when an output is active.
All in all though, the experience has been a good one. The product works as advertised. It is smaller, the connector comes off for change out (unlike the IDEC), and shipping is free (at least to my zone) if I order more than $300.00 at a time.
Let me say though... these box fillers are pretty simple machines. The program is only about 20 rungs. Inputs, outputs, relays, and timers only.
I have not used DL in any of my more complicated pump station controllers yet. And since my pump station program was developed and has evolved in IDEC ladder, and is quite large, I don't anticipate switching platforms for that application.
Stationmaster