ZipLink with CLICK PLC

[PLCfromNZ]

Hey who has used a ZipLink with a Click PLC?
I am a bit unsure about the benefits, is it just a matter of extending the wiring? so wiring is now simply moved like below? Away from the PLC

 

[OkiePC]

I have used them with the P2000. It can make wiring faster and cleaner when compared with installing terminal blocks and wiring the modules by hand.

 

[T Gibbs]

Click terminals are very small and difficult to wire. The Zip links have larger terminals that are spaced apart making them a lot easier.

 

[Brandon_K]

This is my first install with ZipLinks and so far I really like them. It *can* be a pain in the *** to get the cordset from the I/O card to the module (the jacket on it is less than flexible and they put a thick heat-shrunk label on it right where I generally find I want to bend it).

I've attached two pics, one with the original cabinet install and another with an update that I did today. I needed to add another card to a full backplane, so I consolidated down from two 16pt input cards to a single 32pt (the 32pt was just released, it did not exist when I put the rack together two months ago).

The top PLC I installed with a semi-traditional field wiring > TB > I/O module configuration. The bottom PLC I said screw it and got rid of the terminal blocks and went straight to the ZipLink's (primarily because I was forced to. 50lb of **** in a 25lb cabinet!). I won't use terminal blocks anymore, not for I/O at least.

In the second pic it shows their 40 terminal (32pt for input) module. It's fantastic. 32pt's of input in only 4.5" of rail! Yes please! I do wish they offered a clean-face solution with hidden wiring like the P3K or the DL405's.

 

[keithkyll]

Click terminals are very small and difficult to wire. The Zip links have larger terminals that are spaced apart making them a lot easier.

+1.
I use them for all modules except the PLC and CO-04TRS (7 Amp relays).
The only thing I don't like is the angle of the terminal identification plate. You can't see the labels very well. The angle is much better on individual terminal blocks.

 

[diat150]

This is my first install with ZipLinks and so far I really like them. It *can* be a pain in the *** to get the cordset from the I/O card to the module (the jacket on it is less than flexible and they put a thick heat-shrunk label on it right where I generally find I want to bend it).

I've attached two pics, one with the original cabinet install and another with an update that I did today. I needed to add another card to a full backplane, so I consolidated down from two 16pt input cards to a single 32pt (the 32pt was just released, it did not exist when I put the rack together two months ago).

The top PLC I installed with a semi-traditional field wiring > TB > I/O module configuration. The bottom PLC I said screw it and got rid of the terminal blocks and went straight to the ZipLink's (primarily because I was forced to. 50lb of **** in a 25lb cabinet!). I won't use terminal blocks anymore, not for I/O at least.

In the second pic it shows their 40 terminal (32pt for input) module. It's fantastic. 32pt's of input in only 4.5" of rail! Yes please! I do wish they offered a clean-face solution with hidden wiring like the P3K or the DL405's.

are you using cat 5 for control wiring?

 

[Brandon_K]

are you using cat 5 for control wiring?

Yup. In this particular location, the games get refreshed every 12 months, so that means re-cabling 4-6 games in a site every 12 months. From the control room to each room is cat5 which lands on a 12-24 port patch panel in the ceiling above a given game. From there, a patch cable runs to a device or a set of devices. I terminate them with Winford RJ45 to terminal block breakout boards, which all of the field wiring wires to.

There is next to no current being pulled on any device. I think the highest current draw fed from the PLC is a 3w solenoid valve. There *are* some higher current devices (maglocks, small pumps, etc), but those are run via a relay at the point of use.

This is a themed attraction, not an industrial production facility, so our needs are a little different. If I were to cable with something like 18x8 control cable, I'm looking at ~85c / ft and that isn't plenum rated. For fair comparison, non-plenum CAT5 runs me ~9c / ft. This particular location I pulled 10k feet of cable. CAT5 cost me $900. 18/8 would have cost me $8500.

 

[Bullzi]

Brandon,
Games??

I say use them. The time you save in wiring is worth the extra cost.

 

[diat150]

Yup. In this particular location, the games get refreshed every 12 months, so that means re-cabling 4-6 games in a site every 12 months. From the control room to each room is cat5 which lands on a 12-24 port patch panel in the ceiling above a given game. From there, a patch cable runs to a device or a set of devices. I terminate them with Winford RJ45 to terminal block breakout boards, which all of the field wiring wires to.

There is next to no current being pulled on any device. I think the highest current draw fed from the PLC is a 3w solenoid valve. There *are* some higher current devices (maglocks, small pumps, etc), but those are run via a relay at the point of use.

This is a themed attraction, not an industrial production facility, so our needs are a little different. If I were to cable with something like 18x8 control cable, I'm looking at ~85c / ft and that isn't plenum rated. For fair comparison, non-plenum CAT5 runs me ~9c / ft. This particular location I pulled 10k feet of cable. CAT5 cost me $900. 18/8 would have cost me $8500.

that makes sense. Ive seen some companies use solid conductor telephone cable on oil and gas well sites, which is scary IMHO.

 

[Brandon_K]

are you using cat 5 for control wiring?

Brandon,
Games??

I say use them. The time you save in wiring is worth the extra cost.

I'm a partner in a company that does escape room games. Cliffs notes; we lock you in a room for an hour, you have to figure out clues, puzzles, riddles etc to get out of the room. It's really a blast, makes your mind work, gets you away from your digital leash for an hour. We do a TON of corporate team building events.

that makes sense. Ive seen some companies use solid conductor telephone cable on oil and gas well sites, which is scary IMHO.

Yeah, that wouldn't fly with me.

At this point we're not doing anything terribly outside what the 802.3at spec is doing, we're just not doing it in a IEEE-spec. Right now with PoE+ you're able to get ~30w powered to a device at up to 48v. Cisco has a new version called UPOE that enables you to get 60w at up to 55v on a single port / CAT5 line.

Since my lines are all "structured cable" and they start at a given point and terminate into a keystone, I'm not worried about solid wire bending or twisting. It's completely static, just like any other ethernet install would be.

 

[diat150]

yeah that sounds fun.