Arduino PLC IDE Released

[JeremyM]

Doing a complete reinstall of the IDE Tools 0.28 fixed the limited target memory.

Now its 121KB for code and 128KB for data. Way better.

 

[JeremyM]

Very cool to see an enumerated type in action.

 

[Manglemender]

This sounds like a really interresting product. Can anyone tell me if it supports safety I/O?

Nick

 

[JeremyM]

Doing a complete reinstall of the IDE Tools 0.28 fixed the limited target memory.

Now its 121KB for code and 128KB for data. Way better.

Well, not quite. Online updates/downloads somehow bring it to the lower limit. Their software probably needs a patch.

 

[JeremyM]

This sounds like a really interresting product. Can anyone tell me if it supports safety I/O?

Nick

None so far. It can readily accept diagnostic feedback from stuff like safety relays and issue hardwired reset signals.

 

[Skim_Milk]

This is amazing!!
Might be the way to go for learning the programming.
Now I'm wondering how I can make home automation work with this...

 

[thingstodo]

This is amazing!!
Might be the way to go for learning the programming.
Now I'm wondering how I can make home automation work with this...

+1 on that! I'm pretty good at Ladder logic. Not so good at SFC, ST, FB, IL .. not even sure that's all of the languages!

I would like to figure out how to roll-my-own sensor interfaces, do some minor stuff automagically .. but mostly monitor to ensure that things are operating correctly. Interfacing to a google home or Amazon system would be a huge bonus.

ie
When the alarm system is armed away:
- there should be no water use unless something is leaking. There is an existing interface to the water meter used to give me a bill. The pulses appear to be run off 5V and are quite short ... may be difficult to sense via non-contact
- power usage should be low unless I forgot to turn off the stove
- the septic pump should be running when the level is high .. but it should not be high for more than 5 minutes. If it is, the pump is having an issue

Normal usage stuff:
- the fridge and the freezer vibrate when they run, so I should be able to sense when they are running and just log when they start and stop. Running for .. maybe 4 hours in a row .. should alarm that the door was left open.
- the exhaust blower on my hot water heater should not run for more than an hour. If it does, the water tank is leaking and making a huge mess (happens about once every 10 years)

 

[goghie]

Hm, I bought license and I found out that Portenta Machine Control is not available at moment for purchase as is it sold out. Also I can't find way to enable IEC61131 languages, maybe it is because I do not have Portenta connected to IDE, or I am doing somethong wrong?

 

[JeremyM]

You should be able to just write code in any language. When you create a POU you can select the language. The license is for deployment to a target runtime.

Mouser has lots of the PMCs in stock, by the way.

 

[goghie]

Yes, it was my error regarding language selection, I did not see it. Thank you.
Unfortunately, there is no Mouser in my country, so if I order from them it will cost me about 420 Euro with shipping and custom taxes (without VAT).

 

[JeremyM]

Ah I see.

Three Opta models and prices are also now listed on Mouser.

 

[goghie]

I am reading this document now(https://docs.arduino.cc/resources/datasheets/AKX00032-datasheet.pdf), and I don't like what I am reading.
Exceeding 25V will trigger the ESD protection diodes. No galvanic isolation. Each temperature channel can measure non grounded thermocouples or PT100, but cannot measure them at the same time. RTC chip is backed up with A 100mF supercapacitor that has guarantied 48 hours of power supply to chip. Analog inputs are in fact basic voltage dividers. And so on.
I hope that Finder with OPTA is making more robust PLCs.

 

[JeremyM]

I am reading this document now(https://docs.arduino.cc/resources/datasheets/AKX00032-datasheet.pdf), and I don't like what I am reading.
Exceeding 25V will trigger the ESD protection diodes. No galvanic isolation. Each temperature channel can measure non grounded thermocouples or PT100, but cannot measure them at the same time. RTC chip is backed up with A 100mF supercapacitor that has guarantied 48 hours of power supply to chip. Analog inputs are in fact basic voltage dividers. And so on.
I hope that Finder with OPTA is making more robust PLCs.

Is the excess voltage cutoff that bad of a thing? Robust power supplies' voltages won't waver. I don't take issue with the all-RTD or all-thermocouple configuration - typical installs go with one sensor type or the other without mixing them, anyway. The thermal envelope is pretty good at -40F to 185F.

The voltage division is to meet the much-lower-voltage Arduino MCU hardware, so I'm also interested in seeing whether the Opta hardware is a ground-up industrial design.

 

[goghie]

Is the excess voltage cutoff that bad of a thing?

Definitely not bad thing, but 25V voltage level is to low. At lease 10% is needed, 20% recommended, for industrial applications.

The thermal envelope is pretty good at -40F to 185F.

In fact that is excellent.

At this moment I think that there are better alternatives to PMC, from respectable brands in this financial segment. On other sides I have high expectations for OPTA.

 

[JeremyM]

Fair on the voltage point. I’m probably used to (spoiled by) Phoenix’s rock solid QUINT4.

I would agree that there are more mature offerings in terms of hardware in the space. On the other hand, the IDE basically mops AutomationDirect’s stuff off the floor, even the Productivity (which itself is solid hardware, 50MB heck yeah!).

The PMC + a $20 license to begin cranking out a CODESYS/TwinCAT3 compatible framework with a simple test bed means I’m in business even if later hardware hits the terrain.