What your go-to PLC for budget conscious projects?

[defcon.klaxon]

I've found Automation Direct products to be trustworthy and reliable. Their support is also much better than what you can expect from some of the more expensive brands.

I'm glad to hear several reports of Automation Direct having great customer service, I will definitely keep them in mind.

 

[Doug-P]

Interesting, were the caps leaky? I used probably 2-3 of the DL105's years ago.

I don't remember them leaking, they just wouldn't hold the memory anymore when power was cut (an all too common occurrence where they were installed).

 

[dginbuffalo]

Sometimes i read the customer and offer 2 choices-good and better. ANd sometimes it's solely on what they are trying to do and what platform can pull that off more effectively. If I was needing to talk to Modbus I'd either lean to Automation Direct because I feel it's easier or I'd go AB and add a Red Lion Datastation plus. If it's a small job without much communication for devices, i may offer up an Automation Direct. I'm pretty much an AB guy but Automation Direct has it's place and I've got nothing but excellent FREE service, support and usually software.

 

[DwSoFt]

I have heard good things about automation direct.
I also have a client that has 100's of the DL6's installed.
Currently I have only dealt with their Allen bradley stuff (that they bought from another company) and I have the software but currently they have a offered Contractor looking after it, probably because they also host the server for them. none the less I think it's all about familiarity with the products. not familiar the more time for install and commissioning.

 

[OkiePC]

The best thing about A/D is the web store and quick delivery. I use it more and more as time goes by. Even if the prices were not so low, I would still use them for the convenience and quick, free delivery. I don't have to call anyone or send an email to get quotes and delivery dates, I just create a shopping cart and a few clicks later it is confirmed. Often, I get a shipping notice within an hour. The BOM feature on the website is very handy too.

 

[hinddhindsa]

Most economical and reliable

Dear friend,
you can think of the fuji electric plc WSZ series. it can extend upto 256 Input outputs. while starting from a basic cpu of 14 total input outputs.

the software wsz-prolad is freely available and monitouch fuji electric HMI you can purchase and i found the programming in it to be easier as well as cost friendly for providing your customer a good solution at the lower prices.

Thanks.

 

[geniusintraining]

The best thing about A/D

You should come back to my site Paul, I dont have the AD stuff but I have good prices on the MicroLogix and ControlLogix, I now have HMI's (Weintek) and in the next week or two I will be selling Wera hand tools... that said I do like AD's and use them a lot, they have a good setup on the website and I like the one stop shop... just bought everything need for a 2 motor small enclosure and had it the next day, I try and run my business after the ones I like and theirs is one of them.

With my other business ML1400, Siemens 1200 and if I am trying to stay really low Click's, I like the Click better then the DL05's but I was installing them (DL05's) about 1-2 a week, I just wish there was a better way to wire it up the Click, I like my wires more hidden and not so much in your face

 

[Onstege]

For those quick-n'-dirty projects where money usually is a concern I really like the IFM CR 0403:http://www.ifm.com/products/gb/ds/CR0403.htm

 

[icky812]

I don't usually chip in on these sorts of threads, but I thought I would throw my two cents worth in.

Disclaimer: I am an AutomationDirect Employee.

A lot of people think they don't like AutomationDirect PLC's because of the software. While the software for the older Directlogic PLC line; DirectSoft which supports the DL05, DL06, DL105, DL305, DL405 families is somewhat different and some find it difficult to use, we do have quite a few newer generation PLC's that do not use the same software or command set. In fact with the newer PLC's you might find the software not that much different than what you are used to. I won't comment on reliability, that is something that speaks for itself.

The Click is our low end line with 22 instructions. That doesn't sound like a lot of instructions, but for most simple jobs it is more than enough to get the job done. Software is free and we offer free technical support just like on all of our products.

The Productivity line is more advanced and is a tag based processor family with a lot of memory available. The Productivity 2000 is the newest member here and it is feature rich with a low entry price tag. Again, free software and technical support.

Last but not least is the Do-more family. I like to say with Do-more if you can think it, you can do it. While it is currently available as a CPU for both the DL205 and Terminator lines it might appear at first to be tied to legacy hardware, but it is a very new generation of processor. Yet again, free software and technical support.

AutomationDirect is hard at work on all three of these new platforms and they will continue to evolve and improve as time goes on. So don't think of us as that company you tried a long time ago and didn't like, we've listened to you, our customers and done our best to make products that you will love.

 

[Jimbojones]

+1 ad

I worked for a machine builder, and the "budget" choice for small projects was between

AD DL06 + DirectSoft
and
Micro800 + CCW

Both platforms were hard to adapt to as I started in controls using RSLogix5000 and the CompactLogix line. CCW is nothing like RSLogix5000.

I found the DL06 had better documentation and support than the Micro800 + CCW. Out of two DL06 PLCs purchased, we did have one just fry. AD was quick in getting a replacement out.

The DL06 did have a cheaper feel to it - just physically comparing it to the Micro800, but that's just me personally. The DirectSoft software was a tad buggy, but I was using version 5 (version previous to the one just released).

I'd lean towards the AD for these smaller, budget-conscious projects.

 

[rQx]

Siemens LOGO

 

[Stephen Luft]

If your application requirements include analog I/O and Ethernet, then you won't find a better value than Triangle Research.

Their FMD88-10 is $229.00.

What do you get for $229.00?

8 digital in / 8 digital out
8 analog inputs
2 analog outputs
Stepper / PWM / High Speed counter capabilities
Ethernet - Modbus TCP/IP
RS232 / 485

Try pricing out the same functionality and see what it costs.

http://www.eternity-sales.com/tri-plc/fmdseries.htm

For a few dollars more, you can purchase the starter kit and get the software and cables.

Disclosure - ESI is an authorized distributor for Triangle Research.

 

[just the cowboy]

HMI also

All very helpful info, thanks so much for chiming in. Financially challenged municipals is a very good way to put it and they very much appreciate when we can provide a solution that doesn't break the bank.

Automation direct is great for budget, there HMIs are good too.

 

[OkiePC]

You should come back to my site Paul, I dont have the AD stuff but I have good prices on the MicroLogix and ControlLogix, I now have HMI's (Weintek) and in the next week or two I will be selling Wera hand tools... that said I do like AD's and use them a lot, they have a good setup on the website and I like the one stop shop... just bought everything need for a 2 motor small enclosure and had it the next day, I try and run my business after the ones I like and theirs is one of them.

With my other business ML1400, Siemens 1200 and if I am trying to stay really low Click's, I like the Click better then the DL05's but I was installing them (DL05's) about 1-2 a week, I just wish there was a better way to wire it up the Click, I like my wires more hidden and not so much in your face

Believe me, I am using your site for Micrologix, Cables, Red Lion and whatever else I might need since your prices are tough to beat.

I agree about the Click as far as wiring sticking out the front. We have not used them in production yet, but have two for experimentation and they seem to work just fine even for our intended use to test radio communications.

I got my first P2000 last week sans power supplies which should arrive today. I am looking forward to putting them to the test in "real life" to see how they compared to the Micrologix 1400.

 

[brendan.buchan]

Everything we do is pretty much AB so for budget projects we've persisted with the Micro 800 series since they were first released. The early days were very painful but they have come along way now to version 8.

Micro 820 is hard to beat with 12in, 8out (shared with 2x analog in and 1x analog out), on-board Ethernet/IP and ModbusTCP, RS232/485, RTC, SD card data logging.

The new Panelview 800 series budget HMI's are miles ahead of the old Panelview Component series too, and the integration is very easy in Connected Components Workbench.