Schneider (Modicon) PLC's

Our Schneider local rep is trying to woo us away from Automation Direct. I'm hesitant to walk away from AD's incredible service but the Schneider rep has been a reliable supplier for us over many years.

The positives:

1. Schneider uses IEC-61131. I like international standards. I am also not very fond of AD's stage programming.

2. The SoMachine software ties everything together. PLC, HMI, drives, and communications are all handled in one package. I was not impressed with AD's HMI software.

The negatives:

1. Schneider uses IEC-61131. It is so powerful and complex it frightens me. I'm not a full time programmer.

2. The SoMachine software ties everything together. That makes it one gigantic, complex program that may be too difficult to grasp for a part timer like me. Sheesh! The program needs a minimum of 2GB ram (recommended 4GB) just to run.

Is anyone here using SoMachine? What are your observations? Is it the learning-curve monster it appears to be?

We don't build anything complex. 60 I/O points is a big job for us.

TNX;
Doug

I haven't used SoMachine, but I have used both Schnieder (Modicon)and AutomationDirect.com (ADC) My opinion: It is very hard to beat ADC, and I prefer them over Schneider.

The last Schnieider plartform I worked with was Unity software and Premium PLCs. Definitely an improvement over the old stuff, and as tag based prgramming had some advantages over ADC. I did most in ladder with a few function blocks - you don't have to use the full IEC suite.

An asociate has just done a project with Schneider HMIs - I belioeve the old TCP products(?). The most ringing endorsement was "OK".

I haven't used the new click, but I've used most of the other ADC stuff. It is hard to beat the bang for the buck with ADC in my opinion. I still prefer their PLCs, and their HMIs, for overall value. They have some limits, but the total package averages out near the top of the scale.

I would give the Schnieder system a change, maybe buy a small controller as a demo unit and play around with that first before using it in a full blown system.

Thanks Tom;

I agree it's hard to beat AD's prices, service, and marketing approach. Our Schneider rep has always been good to us with various electrical products. Still, I never will fully accept the notion that pricing/availability is a call-and-see mystery.

Vendors that don't publish prices irritate me. More than once I've received good prices while at one employer, only to be told "You don't get those prices anymore" at the next job.

We have to decide quickly for the current project. I think the best approach is to stick with AD for now but buy a Modicon PLC to tinker with as time permits.

Doug

Q121 said:

I would give the Schnieder system a chance, maybe buy a small controller as a demo unit and play around with that first before using it in a full blown system.

Click to expand...

Great minds think alike

Update

I just got the quote yesterday and that killed the order, dead as a hammer. $610 for an M238 and $205 each for the I/O modules. That's three times the price of Automation Direct.

Once I realized I wouldn't need SoMachine I tried to uninstall it from my office computer. It left eight processes running and more than a thousand entries in the registry. I spent two hours to manually remove everything.

So it looks like I might as well get comfortable with Stage programming and CMore HMI software.

Doug

I run their software inside a Virtual Box - shut down the box and it all stops. Same with Alan Bradley and most other software that behaves badly grabbing serial ports etcetera.
I found the software a bit painfull to be honest.