"The trends most influencing programmable controllers are the use of IEC 61131-3 and PLCopen programming standards, a unified controller solution for robots, motion and other functions, and safety and network safety," says Jacky Wong, Yaskawa's product marketing manager.
"Programmable controls increasingly are moving on-machine," adds Geoff Sieron, GuardLogix safety controller product manager, Rockwell Automation. "The on-machine approach simplifies design and cabling, and reduces maintenance costs. With M12 quick-disconnect cables, it's much easier to install or replace I/O connections without additional wiring."
"One of the problems that programmable controls address is the lack of skilled labor in proportion to the worldwide demand for consumer goods production," argues David Bachman, product manager, c3controls. Economies are bouncing back, and an expanding middle-class is creating a demand for more products. But there aren't enough workers for that demand. To meet consumer demand, goods manufacturers can either work faster or automate. Our controllers self-check and determine not only when they need attention, but also when something in the application itself needs attention."
Tom Schermerhorn, CEO of CTC, says, "We made the strategic decision to support EtherCAT based on feedback from customers who are under greater and greater pressure to develop machines and systems with two specific characteristics: First, the builder or integrator has the design flexibility to choose the best components for the project, and be confident the component devices will play well together. Second, the builder can develop, prototype, set up, test and move the machine/system to the user's site with minimal interruption to the manufacturing process. Since EtherCAT obviates the need for much point-to-point wiring and is supported by many devices in our industry, it was a natural choice to move in that direction."
Do-more T1H Series PLC with Terminator field I/O hardware as a platform supports stackable base units and discrete and analog I/O modules. Fast processor speeds support Ethernet connectivity and custom communication protocols as built-in functions. The controllers are programmed using free, downloadable Do-more Designer software, version 1.2.1 or later. The PLC provides an advanced instruction set to reduce programming time, superior memory mapping to improve data management, and data structures to simplify initial programming and long-term software maintenance.
AutomationDirect
800/633-0405
With Intel Core i7 technology, Panel PC 900 has multi-touch displays ranging 15.6 in. to 24 in. with full HD resolution. Many of the panel PC's variants can operate without fans. Used with SSD drives and/or CFast cards, these systems completely eliminate rotating components.
B&R Industrial Automation;
770/772-0400
Standalone Snap PAC S-series and rack-mounted PAC R-series industrial controllers are fully integrated with PAC Project software, Snap PAC brains and Snap digital and analog I/O modules to form a complete control system. The controllers can log data to a remote PC or controller, as well as to a microSD card in the controller itself. Free PAC Control programming software is included.
Opto 22;
951/695-3000
Relay the Commands
Series 900 smart programmable relays have eight digital inputs and four relay outputs and, in the 12-24 Vdc model, two analog inputs that can be used as digital inputs. Three modules can be added, expanding digital inputs to 32 and relay outputs to 16. The relays enable creation of complex programs that increase application options with features such as analog comparators and up to 250 lines of ladder logic programming.
c3controls;
724/775-7926
Simatic S7-1518 failsafe CPU with 10 MB of memory handles up to 128 drive axes, operates isochronously in 250 µs and has 1-ns bit performance. It has a Profinet interface with a two-port switch for communication with the field level, two Profinet interfaces and one Profibus interface. Programs are created with standardized Step 7 Safety Advanced V13 engineering tool, and the device is certified to EN 61508 (2010) for functional safety, and is suitable in safety-relevant applications up to SIL 3 per IEC 62061 and PL e per ISO 13849.
Siemens Industry;
800/333-7421
UTAdvanced hybrid temperature controller combines PID control with embedded ladder sequence control. It supports 84 ladder commands, 24 DIO points, four analog inputs and three analog outputs. Up to 500 ladder steps can be programmed and run with the PID control. It has full text scrolling configuration prompts, three configuration levels, user-defined function keys, user-settable default values and multiple language support, along with a NEMA 4/IP56 front panel, USB powered configuration tool with software and fuzzy logic.
Yokogawa;
281/340-3800
Compact rack-style Model 5300 PAC with up to 512 I/O and 16 axes of advanced motion control and data logging can be used standalone or networked via its serial and LAN connections. Built-in web server provides Internet or intranet access fast. Programming is handled in QuickBuilder state language, or advanced applications can use C/C++.
Control Technology;
888/818-2600
Multi-core Intel Atom E3800 embedded computers operate from -40 to 85 °C. They include on-board USB, gigabit Ethernet, serial ports and additional I/O expansion through MiniPCIe and IO60 connectors. They maintain a low thermal design power (TDP) range of 5 to 10 W. Intel Generation 7-based graphics engine supports up to two simultaneously active displays with interfaces available for analog VGA, DisplayPort 1.1 and LVDS connections.
WinSystems;
817/274-7553
MLC motion logic controller version 13 supports integrated safety, robotics and new application development. Integrated CIP Safety on Sercos protocol ensures safe communication from the controller to the drive without additional wiring. Open Core Engineering functionality enables creation of machine applications using any platform and programming language. FlexProfile on the MLC creates motion profiles without costly programming.
Bosch Rexroth;
630/654-0170
FT1A SmartAxis Touch with 3.8-in. touchscreen interface and logic controller in one has a built-in RJ45 Ethernet port and an embedded RS232C/RS422/RS485 interface terminal. Available in 65K TFT color or STN monochrome display with brightness to 700 cd/m2, the unit has 12 I/O (eight inputs, four outputs), 10-A relay outputs, built-in, two-point, analog inputs and 5 MB of programming memory. Automation Organizer software suite includes WindO/I-NV3 software, and the controllers support ladder, function block and script programming.
IDEC;
800/262-4332
PFC200 line of four controllers combines dual Ethernet ports with multiple fieldbus interfaces, enabling the controllers to serve as fieldbus gateways while communicating with other control systems. Users change between integrated ports to switch a field device between CANopen, Profibus or Serial RS-232/RS-485 within one unit with no third-party converters. The devices have a 600-MHz ARM Cortex-A8 processor, and compatibility with DHCP, DNS, SNTP, FTP, TELENET and HTTP protocols enables the units to interface with standard PLC applications and additional control systems.
Wago;
800/din-rail
Armor GuardLogix programmable automation controller (PAC) can be installed directly on-machine with pre-configured, quick connect systems to simplify wiring layouts. The PAC is IP67-, SIL 3-, PL(e)-, CAT 4-rated with 4 MB of application code storage space with two full-featured EtherNet/IP device-level ring (DLR)-capable connections. It provides access to the controller-mode switch, USB port, secure digital (SD) card and power-supply switch, along with 24-Vdc power pass-through to supply power to other on-machine products. The controller is programmed in the Studio5000 design and engineering environment.
Rockwell Automation;
414/328-2000
Nanoline controllers include a temperature expansion module and an operator display for connection of two RTDs or thermocouples, and is compatible with PT-100 and PT-1000 in two- or three-wire configurations or thermocouple Types B, E, J, K, N, R, S and T. It has four PNP outputs rated at 500 mA each and two temperature inputs. Color-switchable dot-matrix display offers up to four lines with 20 characters per line. It's programmed with free nanoNavigator software with relay ladder logic (RLL) or flow-chart language.
Phoenix Contact;
800/322-3225
PACSystems RX3i modules provide communication protocols as in-rack solutions standardized on Profinet, and include IEC61850, DNP3 and IEC60870-5-104 Ethernet-based communication protocols. The modules enable two-way communication between the SCADA and intelligent electrical device (IED) levels. By uniting the control and software layers under a common architecture, information stored in the controller becomes more accessible and actionable.
GE Intelligent Platforms;
800/433-2682
Sysmac NJ machine automation controller provides direct control of up to eight Delta robots in multiple conveyor pick-and-place applications with a single controller. The controller CPUs have the same functionality as standard NJ5 CPUs with addition of dedicated robotic function blocks (FB) in Sysmac Studio software. Update time is 1 ms with up to four robots and 2 ms with five to eight robots, and can be synchronized with multiple conveyors.
Omron Automation and Safety;
866/88-omron
OEMs can custom-build an in-house PLC for their own line of equipment products. Design one's own carrier I/O board and snap on the SmartTile integrated logic engine. Programmed in iTriLogi Ladder+Basic language, it includes an integrated Ethernet port and carries all the processing capabilities of company's F-series PLCs, including floating-point math.
Triangle Research Int'l;
877/874-7527
SC26-2 programmable safety controller uses safety function blocks, Boolean logic functions and a user-friendly programming environment to create safety control logic. It has 26 input terminals and two redundant, solid-state safety outputs to monitor E-stop buttons, rope pulls, interlock switches, safety light curtains and other input devices. Free configuration software has pre-configured safety function blocks, a ladder logic diagram, and text-based summary of the input device and controller output settings.
Banner Engineering;
888/373-6767
Apax-5620 with Intel XScale PXA270 CPU supports Microsoft Visual Studio .Net for PC-based users to develop applications. Two CAN bus interfaces support CANopen stack, and two RS-485 ports connect to remote I/O devices, and support up to 32 I/O modules. It's compatible with IEC-61131-3 based Multiprog KW languages and supports WinCE.
Advantech Industrial Automation;
800/205-7940 Â Â Â Â
MultiCell Type 8619 multi-channel controller can be used for regulation of pH, dosing of chemicals and ratio control. The controller is factory set to customer specifications. Standard version includes user interface, mainboard and ac adapter, two analog and digital outputs, and two digital inputs.
Burkert Fluid Control Systems;
949/223-3100
CP26xx Panel PC series with ARM Cortex A8 processor has a hardware-based floating-point unit, which makes floating-point operations significantly faster for motion control applications in addition to running the HMI software. An on-board 10/100BaseT Ethernet adapter, an EtherCAT adapter with RJ-45 connector and an RS-232 interface with two USB 2.0 ports are also available. The multi-touch panels with projective capacitive touchscreen (PCT) technology have a high touch-point density, and response is assured even while wearing thin work gloves.
Beckhoff Automation;
877/twincat;
PXU PID controllers come in 1/16-, 1/8- and 1/4-DIN size models, and include optional RS485 communications. They're also programmable via front-panel pushbuttons and/or Crimson configuration software, have on-demand auto-tuning, and have universal inputs supporting thermocouple, RTD, 0 to 10 Vdc and 4-20 mA. They're UL-listed to 61010-1.
Red Lion Controls;
717/767-6961
M580 ePAC has Achilles Level 2 Certification for cybersecurity. Firmware integrity is checked at every start-up, and is compiled and stored in memory, preventing its decompilation by a third party. Upgrading to the PAC is possible without additional investment in wiring, software development or training. It's compatible with the xBus communications of the Modicon M340 and Premium PLC. Users can switch between the controller sizes in the Modicon range without changing I/O racks and cabling.
Schneider Electric;
877/342-5173
iPC-Plus industrial computer includes a 15-in., front-panel keypad model, Intel Dual Core i5 and Quad Core i7 processing, UL/cUL hazardous location testing approval and a 55 °C rating. It offers three backplanes with various combinations of PCI and/or PCI Express (PCIe). All models come with a powder-coated aluminum front bezel and analog resistive touchscreen, 4 GB of DRAM, an 80-GB solid-state drive, a SATA DVD-R/W drive, Windows 7 Pro 32-bit operating system and 100-240 Vac power supply.
Nematron;
800/636-2876
Programmable and modular PCU Safety Control Unit bridges the gap in technology between traditional safety relays and PLC systems for safety device integration for machinery builders, rebuilders and users. PCU/1 main control unit is modular with 14 expansion modules, has up to 128 inputs, 16 dual-channel safety outputs and 16 status outputs. An available, integrated PCU/1 main unit has PCUEU/1 for adding multiple safety devices integration for switches, mats, edges, bumpers, etc. It's certified up to CAT 4 SIL CL 3 SIL 3 Ple safety level.
Tapeswitch;
800/234-8273
HEC-P5000 harsh environment controller is RoHS-compliant, has an operating range from -40 to 80 °C, sealed, water-tight enclosure, analog and digital I/O, high-speed counting, TCP/IP, communications ports, CAN network communications and Structured Text programming. Program using EZ Ladder Toolkit PC-based software that parallels the IEC-61131 standard.
Divelbiss;
800/245-2327;
AC500-XC PLC is protected against extreme conditions, eliminating the need for sophisticated protective enclosures. The operating range is -30 ºC to 70 ºC, with reliable system start-ups as low as -40 ºC. Circuit boards are conformally coated to protect against high humidity levels, and it has extended immunity against atmospheres with corrosive gases. Vibration and shock can be tolerated, with accelerations up to 4 g from random vibrations up to 500 Hz, or 2 g from sinusoidal vibration. It also offers extended EMC protection.
ABB;
262/780-3000
MPiec machine controllers have a motion engine integrated with IEC61131-3 and PLCopen programming standards, and provide scalability from single to 62-axis applications within company's MotionWorks IEC development platform. Sigma-5 servos are easily accessible through a built-in web server, and they have reusable program code libraries for PackML, camming and a variety of other functions to reduce development time.
Yaskawa;
800/927-5292
N410 panel-mount batch controllers have a full numerical keypad and a modern LCD display, and they provide multiple batch control data simultaneously, including a graphical indication of the batch process and relay status.
Fluidwell;
+31(0)41303430786
LPC-630F fanless, small-form computer has an Intel 3rd-generation Core i7 mobile processor, 2-gigabit LAN, two USB 3.0, four USB 2.0, Serial/RS232, e-SATA, Intel HD4000 graphics, two DisplayPort, DVI-I and audio in/out ports. It supports up to 16 GB of DDR3 memory, has optional, built-in 802.11 b/g/n wireless networking, and a 120-GB solid-state drive to protect against vibration and shock.
Stealth;
905/264-9000
Model BB is a low-cost platform that can act as a programmable automation controller, as a data gateway to existing controllers or as a data logger. Other functions include alarm or event notifications via email/text message. Ethernet, serial, USB and local I/O are options. An embedded web server allows the device to provide an operator interface that can be viewed via wireless/Bluetooth/cell to any web browser, including those on tablets and smart phones. An embedded firewall is included. Â
SoftPLC;
512/264-8390
TCN Series temperature controllers have dual preset indicators, newly developed PID control algorithm and 100-ms high-speed sampling. They have eight types of input sensors, built-in relay output or SSRP output selectable, and 2EA alarm outputs. SSRP output makes phase control and cycle control possible (ac power).
Autonics;
847/680-8160
GK-7000 touch-panel PC runs on Windows CE 6.0 and has an optional built-in rechargeable battery. It has a 7-in., 800 x 480 TFT color display with a four-wire resistive touch panel. Its Samsung ARM-based S3C2416 32-bit, 500- MHz processor is powered from regulated 9 to 12 V supply, and uses 8 W of power. Built-in interfaces include USB 1.0 x 3, USB 2.0 x 1, RS232, RS485, SD slot, and opitonal extras include 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi, GSM/GPRS, Bluetooth, VESA 75mm rail-mount and 2000 mAH battery.
Lilliput Electronics/Saelig;
888/7saelig
OmniClient runs real-time control and visualization simultaneously on one computer. It uses an Intel Core i3/i5/i7 processor, and includes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and RFID. It's shock- and vibration-resistant, thermally stable, has an IP65 front panel, and is EMC compliant.
Kontron America;
858/677-0877
RIO-47142 Pocket PLC includes an internal switch with two Ethernet ports for daisy-chaining multiple RIO units. Each RIO unit is self-contained, and provides 32 optically isolated digital inputs and outputs, and 16 analog inputs and outputs. The controller can be programmed using company's standard two-letter language. Software is available for converting relay adder logic into code for input into the RIO controller.
Galil Motion Control;
800/377-6329
RMCTools software, supporting the company's RMC motion controllers, includes built-in support for connecting to redundant sensors, support for gathering feedback information from multiple sensors of different types, and the ability to mathematically generate feedback inputs to control loops. User has flexibility in defining the logic by which the feedback is selected, permitting various types of redundancy methods. The controllers can switch between feedback sensors on the fly in position, speed and pressure-control applications.
Delta Computer Systems,
360/254-8688;
AKD PDMM combines a multi-axis motion controller, complete IEC61131-3 soft PLC, EtherCAT master and AKD servo drive in one compact package to reduce panel space, and simplify wiring and integration, while increasing flexibility, scalability and performance. In addition, the device is fully programmable through KAS Integrated Development Environment, and its solution is scalable from one axis to 128 axes with one controller.
Kollmorgen;
540/633-3545
FX3S battery-less PLC for space- and cost-conscious applications requiring up to 30 I/O includes integrated ac power supply, maintenance-free EEPROM memory, and built-in USB port for the programming communication function. This enables high-speed communication at 12 Mbps, built-in positioning control and integrated real-time clock. Programming is via GX Works2 or GX Works2 FX.
Mitsubishi Electric;
847/478-2100
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