help me decide between brands (Newbie here)

I've had good luck with the Horner all in one. I'd avoid the EZAutomation - their quality didn't impress me.

With the Horner I suggest using their remote I/O. This avoids the wiring issue mentioned above, is still cost effective, and makes for easier service. I also found out (te hard way) that their on-board analog I/O isn't reverse polarity protected.
 
Wow, many to consider. Thanks very much for all the suggestions, folks.
Based on the input so far and my own preferences, I think the best way to go would be:
-free programming software
-all in one software and hardware
-the remote IO sounds good and so does the tag-based addressing
-I want at least a 6 inch screen.

What brand does that leave me with?

Finally someone mentioned the EZAutomation product, thanks Tom, and yes that was a concern I had... are you being swayed by the way they market themselves? Their website and catalog look like Crazy Joe's Stereo World. Which draw in amateurs like me. Have you seen their product up close, or worked with it?

I will take a closer look at most of the brands mentioned by you good people.
 
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I have no complaints with unitronics. Have deployed a dozen vision 230 between 2006 and 2010, they are still going fine. Lightning blew out the ethernet port on one but that was understandable due to extremely poor grounding, installation, and design.

In retrospect I would have missed being able to make blocks, and generally prefer function block to ladder, and the vision 230 didn't have structured text so the solvers I implement now would have been difficult to program clearly, but the unitronics are good at what they are for and someone above said you can make your own blocks now.

that's about as good as an endorsement as I'll give to anything.
 
Hmmm...thanks.

One thing I forgot to mention is that I will need the PLC to periodically produce printouts showing time/date and analog readings during some of the subroutines. Also some preset text that never changes. The printer is a small RS 232 serial dot matrix, 24 columns wide using the calculator roll-type paper.
It looks to me like the lower-end PLCs will not have this capability but I really don't know .....would I be able to do this as long as it has a serial port or is there something I need to look for in the specs of any given PLC? Is there a particular command or instruction I should look for when I go to program this?
 
Finally someone mentioned the EZAutomation product, thanks Tom, and yes that was a concern I had... are you being swayed by the way they market themselves? Their website and catalog look like Crazy Joe's Stereo World. Which draw in amateurs like me. Have you seen their product up close, or worked with it?

It has been a few years, so they may have improved. I'm not influenced by their web site - haven't even visited it.

Several years ago I got one and tried it out. The wiring terminals were cheezy - too small, easy to strip, and hard to access. The documentation (at that time) was poorly done and, in my opinion, not thorough. The software (at that time) was quirky and not intuitive. The fit and finish (at that time) was poor.

I looked at Horner, liked it and my local Horner distributor, and never tried EZAutomation again.
 
Just an update, I am leaning towards the Unitronics. And for a parallel project where I want a separate PLC and HMI, I think it will be a MicroLogix 1400 and an HMI from a different firm. Not sure who. Maybe EZAutomation.
I can say that based on my research, the documentation and manuals are better from AB and Unitronics is good too plus they have logic examples that I found quite helpful.
 
after some research , i believe unitronics is the one for all in one plc and hmi, i believe jazz is the only plc who has a simple hmi without touch screen and graphics.
 
I'll just throw another one into the pit:
Siemens S7-1200 Starter kit. S7-1212C PLC plus KTP400 panel plus programming software.
Order no 6AV6651-7KA01-3AA4.
Price: approx 530 €.

It is not all-in-one as far as the hardware goes. Software is all-in-one though.
As someone has already mentioned, hardware all-in-one has some serious drawbacks.
All the wiring has to go to the panel front, if there is a defect the entire unit has to be replaced, it is inflexible.... these are good reasons why most PLCs are modular, and not everything integrated into one unit.

About the assignment of absolute addresses to tags (symbols) then normally that is something you would want to take control of, but if you cannot be bothered to enter an address, the software will autosuggest an address for you.
 
after some research , i believe unitronics is the one for all in one plc and hmi, i believe jazz is the only plc who has a simple hmi without touch screen and graphics.

Like This? http://www.heapg.com/xl-series-/114-xle.html

The point of running the I/O wires back and forth to the door is valid. However, with the expansion I/O on the Panel, and the built-in I/O on the door, any physical operators and indicators on the door don't have to be wired down to the panel... :D

The biggest point is the all-in-one software environment, IMO.
 
Wow, many to consider. Thanks very much for all the suggestions, folks.
Based on the input so far and my own preferences, I think the best way to go would be:
-free programming software
-all in one software and hardware
-the remote IO sounds good and so does the tag-based addressing
-I want at least a 6 inch screen.

What brand does that leave me with?

Just to be sure, there is no such thing as FREE programming software. You may not pay $$ for it, but every s/w will cost you something (features, training, frustration, support, etc.).


IDEC for sure!
Use the FT1A SmartAxis Touch series.

Their Automation Organizer Software is NOT free but they have great pricing on starter kits that include the FT1A HMI/PLC, full version of Automation Organizer software and even a small DC power supply to get you started!!

http://us.idec.com/CMSContent/SmartAXIS/public-touch/index.html

My 2 Cents


For a simple all in one, I would also agree with IDEC.
Their programming software is much further along than Horner or Unitronics (when you look at both PLC and HMI).
IDEC also seems better at coming out with new hardware and software updates; versus something that looks like code from the 90's.


Tip: You can call a distributor and ask for a loaner for you to try out (Horner, Unitronics, and IDEC will all do that).
 
+1 for Unitronics

I have done one small project with the Unitronics v570,
and i must say i was really surprised by the good and responsive Touchscreen.

The programming software is free and fairly good (not the best, but ok).

One plus is the direct integration of HMI and PLC in the same program. You dont need to worry about HMI Tags and communication between HMI and PLC.

Also the ladder has a lot of prebuild functions like filters, scalers, even communication modules.

The only problem it has at that time was that the preset value of variables was difficult to implement, so it was not practical for bigger projets. Maybe there is a solution already, i dont know.

I also had a short contact with their support (because of the mentioned issue), and the support was very responsive and good.

I think it's a really good product if you're searching something in the lower price segment.
 
OP here...I have decided to go with a MicroLogix PLC and a panel from a different vendor (not A-B) but I don't know who yet. It will probably be a toss-up since for the panel, I need (in order of importance) ease of HMI programming, good versatility/capability, good graphics and good quality as it will be a hot environment.
 
OP here...I have decided to go with a MicroLogix PLC and a panel from a different vendor (not A-B) but I don't know who yet. It will probably be a toss-up since for the panel, I need (in order of importance) ease of HMI programming, good versatility/capability, good graphics and good quality as it will be a hot environment.

What network will you want to communicate over?
 

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