Need an inexpensive PLC and software for personal use

[geniusintraining]

does getting better mean....

Well I wouldn't go that far... but it does open now when you double CLICK (pun intended) the icon

 

[arpus4KM]

Well I wouldn't go that far... but it does open now when you double CLICK (pun intended) the icon

I swear... All the programming software is going back in terms of usability. Pinnacle was being able to click on the instruction 'XIO,XIC' etc while it was in the ladder. being able to just type what you want, or double click to edit, use the dropdown there, or anything at all.

Now it seems they want to put all instruction information and changes off to a giant list on the side of the screen and give no option to just type things in.



Don't get me started on the newest V36 studio....

 

[WhinnieThePooh]

I swear... All the programming software is going back in terms of usability. Pinnacle was being able to click on the instruction 'XIO,XIC' etc while it was in the ladder. being able to just type what you want, or double click to edit, use the dropdown there, or anything at all.

Don't get me started on the newest V36 studio....

Have they changed this feature in V36? I am running version 32. Not sure it would be worth updating for a downgrade.

 

[arpus4KM]

Have they changed this feature in V36? I am running version 32. Not sure it would be worth updating for a downgrade.

No that's not changed. That is one of the good things about it.


What's changed is all the text names for a lot of comparison instructions. It may not seem like a big things, but it's one more step towards rockwell trying to be more global, so instructions that have remained the same for 20+ years are now changing by 1 letter in order to jump on the train of IEC.

 

[WhinnieThePooh]

What's changed is all the text names for a lot of comparison instructions. It may not seem like a big things, but it's one more step towards rockwell trying to be more global, so instructions that have remained the same for 20+ years are now changing by 1 letter in order to jump on the train of IEC.

And so it goes... I wonder if it will automatically change instruction names when migrating from an older project i.e. RSlogix500.

 

[OkiePC]

Does the free AD Click software have simulation?

No simulator. No trending. No viewing data values offline. Those are a few shortcomings. You can Trend PID tags and the PID function works really well. I have voiced my suggestion to allow trending of other tags. I have frequently complained about how ALL A/D PLC software should provide a means to view and edit offline data values. Also, some tags are not retentive by default. Not sure what advantage there is to having a PLC forget a bunch of numbers on power cycle, but whatever...that's an A/D tradition apparently.

Edit: I downloaded the software, I am impressed. Might buy a processor, just to play around with. Without digging to deep, looks like to get started, I will need a processor, a power supply and maybe a usb cable, is that correct?

You will need a USB cable, in my opinion, at least once per new processor you set up. When you first connect, you usually have to update the firmware to match your software version. You can do this over Ethernet and if the Ethernet port is already set up it works fine. If it is a brand new CPU with the Ethernet port in the default state, the firmware update will hang up about 2/3 through.

So to set up the Ethernet port, you would need to use a software version that matches the hardware. To avoid all that, I just use my old Android phone charging cable in the USB port for that initial setup and download and then Ethernet afterward.

The things Click with Ethernet or Click Plus does better than Micrologix 1400:
1) All comments stored on the PLC
2) MSG instructions can be edited live (Send and Receive instructions)
3) PID instruction is better, although I think you are limited to fewer of them. The scaling is superior and the Click Software has an Auto-tune that worked great the one time I used it so far.

 

[Ken Moore]

Well, bought the cheapest Click Plus (CLICK PLUS PLC, 24 VDC required, (1) option slot, Ethernet, serial and microB-USB ports,) no on-board I/O. Only $97. Works for me. I will only be playing around anyway, and don't need physical I/O. Per the specs it supports 2000 Coils, a lot better than the old TI controllers with only 512.

Already have a power supply and a USB cable, so I think I'm set. Plus free 2 day shipping.

I already have a small piece of plywood and din rail on hand. Will be fun to play around with ladder logic again, my last few years were mostly Siemens PCS7, all function blocks.

 

[strantor]

My favorite thing about Click is the stupid simple method of creating a custom Ethernet/IP I/O table and the ability to export a custom .EDS file for easy import in other software. Usually I use click as remote I/O because it's cheaper than "actual" remote I/O and gives full fledged programmability if needed. Like for advanced fault handling beyond "if comms lost, leave outputs at last value or turn outputs off." Maybe a remote section of the system needs to go through a shutdown sequence instead of just abruptly halting in the event of fault or comms loss.

But Click isn't my favorite thing for regular PLC applications. I find it a little "rough around the edges" for that. Good for learning I suppose, but for anything more advanced than what I already described, (if there is a tight budget) I prefer to use Productivity PLCs. A P1000 costs double what a Click does, which is to say "still dirt cheap" and software is also free. It is way more efficient to program IMO and if your time is worth money (I.E. you're not self teaching but actually working) then paying more for the P1000 is actually saving money.

 

[jaden]

I am a big fan of the Click. Also, check out the free training videos.

 

[mikeexplorer]

I don't see anything with Rockwell's name on it being inexpensive, but maybe I'm getting gouged.

Click comes to mind for inexpensive that works as expected. I used a TECO smart relay type of device before that was less than $100.

I don't have enough experience with it to recommend but some of the Codesys options might be a good choice and perhaps more future oriented, if you want to learn some relevant skills for down the road.

Good luck!

RSlogix Micro Starter is inexpensive which is what I have been using for my PLC projects. It will only program the Micrologix series.

 

[lostcontrol]

And AD's Productivity Series now has Codesys.

Really.?
Would this be the first ‘main stream’ vendor that supports codesys.?

I know there are variants out there, but having the single IDE IMHO is massive!

 

[lostcontrol]

whatever raspberry pi you want, and the codesys runtime (runtime license if needed is 60$, otherwise 2hr runtime can be restarted infinitely).
.

Check that $$ value as I think it has recently changed to be ‘modular’ based.

 

[durallymax]

I would spring the extra money for a processor with an ethernet port over the RJ12, personally.

There ethernet only plus is cheaper than most of the other Clicks, even with an IO card there is no reason to buy a standard Click anymore IMO unless a few bucks really makes the difference.

I swear... All the programming software is going back in terms of usability.

CLICK Programming software has gotten progressively slower and buggier with each update.

Really.?
Would this be the first ‘main stream’ vendor that supports codesys.?

I know there are variants out there, but having the single IDE IMHO is massive!

There's a few hundred OEMs that support Codesys, some have their own wrappers, many that do also allow a license for vanilla runtime to be installed, others have abandoned their own and gone back to vanilla (Wago).

 

[dwoodlock]

There's a few hundred OEMs that support Codesys, some have their own wrappers, many that do also allow a license for vanilla runtime to be installed, others have abandoned their own and gone back to vanilla (Wago).

Why someone would put effort into developing their own skin is beyond me. I guess the sales people think logos is what sells it instead of working well.

I rep one of these wrapper brands, and when I run into issues with a proof of concept, I revert to my rpi running vanilla.

 

[geniusintraining]

RSlogix Micro Starter is inexpensive which is what I have been using for my PLC projects. It will only program the Micrologix series.

The bad thing about RSLogix is that the 1000's and 1100's are no longer manufactured.... now if they would open the 1400 up and let the free software program the 1400's