Steve,
The so called death of PLCs has been errouneously reported for years.
What has happened in that time is the evolution of the PLC from a basic relay replacer to a process solution. Now many PLCs offer analog I/O in the forms of temperature, milliamp and voltage. Where, several years ago, you would require separate devices for a process, now can be done with one PLC.
Customers that were using temperature controllers in their applications, in addition to PLCs, can now reduce their components. We are currently developing a next generation version of a solder machine that we will be using next year. The new design will use our PLC and touch screen. We will replace an enourmous amount of wiring, two temperature controllers and an array of lights and push buttons. The new design will be able to store setup parameters for different types of circuit boards.
The amount and type of applications that a PLC can be used in is endless. Believe it or not...there are still companies using relays, timers and counters in their application.
To look at one type of application does not do the industry justice.
Food for thought.
God Bless,