Allen Bradley PLC alternatives

johnd_125

Member
Join Date
Apr 2012
Location
Missouri
Posts
146
The time has come when I need to seriously look at AB alternatives. Whats out there that has the communications and performance of AB without the 4x price?

I would primarily be looking at something in the CompactLogix size
-no motion
-pid
-remote i/o, preferably ethernet
-easy to use software that doesn't cost $5,000 a year.

Of course I will use the alternative to get better pricing on AB but I am tired of having to do this on every single larger project while they jack the price back up on all the smaller projects I do.

Thanks in advance
 
The time has come when I need to seriously look at AB alternatives. Whats out there that has the communications and performance of AB without the 4x price?

I would primarily be looking at something in the CompactLogix size
-no motion
-pid
-remote i/o, preferably ethernet
-easy to use software that doesn't cost $5,000 a year.

Of course I will use the alternative to get better pricing on AB but I am tired of having to do this on every single larger project while they jack the price back up on all the smaller projects I do.

Thanks in advance
Automation direct seems to be the go to whenever anyone asks for cheap PLCs. I know they have a bunch of different lines, so I would assume that would one be at least at a compactlogix level. I'm sure someone else will chime in with what's right.

Siemens tends to be the traditional next brand up when you're looking for an AB comparison. A large 1200 (1215) can do a small, maybe up to medium, compact logix. Otherwise a smallish 1500 should do the job.

If you're looking to ACTUALLY reduce your cost, vs just making the sales guy nervous, but you don't want to give up your AB PLCs, then take a look at switching up your HMI. Most brands, even Siemens, have drivers to talk to a Logix.
 
there are plenty of plc brands out there.
AB, Omron, Siemens, GE, Automation Direct, Mitsubishi.....
May I suggest that you go on the internet and look for these brands and locate a distributor first.
then visit the guy and see what he has in stock, look at his software, let him show you how to use it., ask questions.
the next thing to consider is how many copies of the software will you need for the plant.
will it be easy for maintenance to transition to?
Yes, Ab is expensive, we pay around 12K per year for the tech connect contract, but its worth it to us. local guy gives us emergency support and when downtime is over $1200/minute, the tech support contract pays for itself every year in downtime calls.
james
 
Siemens seems to be capturing a lot of the market, locally. Many machine builders have switched due to better pricing. Plus, Siemens appears to have given a lot of hardware/software to the local Technical colleges, so new graduates have Siemens exposure. Mostly 1200's and TIA portal. The 1500's are very powerful, not sure how pricey they are.
 
My advice would be to look into Siemens. The 1200 series is really powerful, the software is about 3 times cheaper and most manufacturers under the Sun will make products that work with Profinet or Profibus.



On the programming side, once you realise how powerful it is to have functions and function blocks you can actually edit, doing anything in AB will just be painful.
 
We switched to Siemens for bread and butter jobs a few months back due to cost.

That said we are in the middle of a project for a customer that spec'd a Weintek screen, with Full HD 15.6", built in Codesys PLC, Built in Remote capabilities amongst other things and it cost us £800 with free HMI & PLC Software.

We were that impressed with it, we ordered more bits to built a test rig, but suffice to say this set up will likely be used for more run of the mill stuff.
 
My goto is Omron - the CJ2 series. I bought the software once and it just continues to update over the Internet and costs me nothing. The Ethernet IP I/O is also quite inexpensive. For example a 4 RTD input card costs me about $350 AU and an 8 4-20ma input card about the same. 16 bit digital input cards are about $75 AU - pretty good.


I have done a couple of jobs with Schneider hot standby systems lately - oh so expensive - and the software is really clunky. OK if you want to write everything in ST and use FBs all the time.


AD are cheap and OK for smaller jobs but a bit limited.
 
The time has come when I need to seriously look at AB alternatives.

Is it that time of year again :)

There are many options in the market and they are all getting better

We have seen a increase in Siemens TIA PLC's and Weintek/Weinview HMI's... that said the Micro800 series is a very reasonable package and by far our number one seller to schools
 
The Micro800 is too expensive for what it is. And then the issue of software - free but? You have to pay for the software that allows online programming - GEEZ!!!!! In Oz anyway.
 
AutomationDirect Productivity 2000 or 3000 (I'm talking about replacing the Allen Bradley CompactLogix). The new version of the software has UDTs!
 
The Micro800 is too expensive for what it is.

Bob, The 820 is a Ethernet PLC for 250 bucks... how much cheaper should it be? I agree with you on the software, but here the developer is 165 a year and compared to the others thats cheap.
 
If you really need something cheap you can buy a Raspebrry PI for about US$ 100, a Codesys USB dongle for EUR 50.00 plus UPS shipping charges and the activation license for Codesys for Raspberry PI which is around EUR 75.00. You can then choose any Ethertnet IO such as EtherCAT, Profinet or EtherNet/IP. The engineering tool is free of charge and you can program a web interface for HMI. You have to figure out how to mount it safey. I use Codesys for testing of firmware in lab environment, not for actual application controlling machinery. I have managed to attach the Raspberry Pi to a DIN rail mount hook. The point is though, this is consumer grade hardware. That is why it is so cheap, but I do not think this will have a reliability that other products mentioned here will have.
 
The point is though, this is consumer grade hardware.
You can get a Raspberry PI in an industrial enclosure and with a CE mark:
https://revolution.kunbus.de/revolution-pi-serie/

I find it extremely interesting, but at the same time I dare not take the jump; this mostly due to that the big vendors have a support system that can assist you about most anything and 24/7 if needed.
With the Raspberry PI I think you are very much on your own.
 

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