A Nice, MicroLogix PLC for Home Use

[toTTy13]

Hello,

I've been browsing the Net for a while and I'm having trouble finding the PLC that's right for me. I just graduated from Iowa State University and we used a MicroLogix 1000 controller with some type of Ladder Logic software. The class isn't what got me interested with PLCs, so I didn't pay too much attention to the details of the whole setup. Now, I'm working at the John Deere Product Engineering Center and they have PLC setups all over the place that fascinate me! I want one at home! The problem is, I want something small and sleek with a nice, contemporary look to it. The ones at work look ancient and they wrote the Ladder Logic for them in Windows 3.1! I'm seeing a lot of PLCs on the Net that have nice specs, but I don't see good images of them. I'm too scared to simply order something that might be gigantic and/or ancient-looking. I'd like to stick with a MicroLogix PLC, so if you know what would be good for me I'd really like to hear about it!

If you need to know what I'll be using it for, the possibilities are endless. I have a few stepper motors, air cylinders, light detectors, motion detectors, sensors, and other things laying around the house that I have either bought or made. I'll probably use anything that can be hooked up to this at some time or another!

Thanks a ton!

 

[skills]

You might look at the DL05, or the DL06, or the DL105, or the DL205 families by Direct Logic @

http://www.automationdirect.com.

The Dl05 looks fairly modern and I use about 5 a month for projects in garages, homes, farms, poultry operations doing pretty much the things you probably have in mind. You'll need DirectSoft to program it and it runs on 95, 2000, and XP. They have a inventory reduction store that sells overstocked and returned items fairly reasonably, plus there is a guy selling on Ebay that has around $45,000 worth of these systems he's selling at about 15% of retail costs!! Check it out.

 

[toTTy13]

I probably should have asked what kind of MicroLogix PLC I should get instead. While I'm sure the DirectLogic PLCs are great, I'd feel more comfortable working with a MicroLogix PLC. I'm just not sure which model would work best for me and how I need to go about getting one. I know there are several things I need, and I'm clueless as to whether or not I'll need to order anything in addition to the PLC unit itself. Help along these lines would be great!

 

[chakorules]

There are only three famlies of Micrologix.

Micrologix 1000
Micrologix 1200
Micrologix 1500

For home use, I'd stick with the Micrologix 1000, (32) I/O model.

I picked one up on ebay for $89.00. They are very small, but fixed I/O.

If you want to expand your I/O, you might want to look at either 1200 or 1500. I don't know how much I/O you want to control in your home.

This is where you are going to crap...The software is very expensive to buy. It's called RS Logix 500, you'll get a free copy of RS Linx Lite, which is needed to communicate with the controller. You'll also need to purchase a programming cable. It's a special DIN shaped cable, unless you purchase a 1500 with the DB-9 connector on it which is the LRP controller, you'll have to buy the DIN cable to program the 1000 series. If you purchase a 1500 with a DB-9 connector on the side, then you can make your own programming cable to program the LRP series 1500 CPU.

If you have your heart set on a micrologix, I suggest buying a startup kit. You get a PLC, Software and a programming cable, I can't find the link to AB's website that describes it right now, maybe someone else can point it out.


For home use, you should get RELAY OUTPUTS, that way you can control any output, 110 or lowvoltage DC if you need it.

Info on 1000 and picture

http://www.ab.com/plclogic/micrologix/1000/

I/O cofiguration and catalog numbers

http://www.ab.com/catalogs/b113/micro1000/processor.html

Info on 1200 and picture

http://www.ab.com/plclogic/micrologix/1200/

Info on 1500 and picture

http://www.ab.com/plclogic/micrologix/1500/

Good luck


Chris Elston
Automation & Controls Engineer

http://www.mrplc.com

Download Sample PLC Ladder Logic Code
at MrPLC.com

 

[QUIPPDUDE]

If you are planning to control a stepper motor the Micrologix 1000 series do not have a high speed output.
The MLX1200 has a single high speed output [O:2] and the MLX1500 has two.

RSLogix provides Pulse Train Ouput [PTO] function files for for controlling stepper motors using these high speed outputs. Models with suffix BXB [FET outputs]include the high speed outputs.