What I/O card to use???

[cfordyce]

I am trying to replace an old Siemens TI-500 PLC which we use for monitoring Thermocouples, RTDs, 110VAC discrete contacts and a few 4 - 20 mA signals. The PLC has a TIWAY serial connection to a local PC and from there the data is available on our LAN. I cannot even figure out how to access the current program with the old 286 laptop and DOS software that we have for it. There really shouldn't be much of a program anyway because the PLC is only used to monitor - no control funtioning.

I recieved pricing on a replacement Siemens 505 PLC but it is too costly for all that the PLC needs to do. So someone on this forum suggested Automation Direct's KOYO plc series... I got pricing and it s half of the Siemens cost. Only instead of a standard PLC CPU, I use an Ethernet Base Controller. The Process Engineers use FIX 7.0 SCADA software to work with the field data collected through this PLC.

My point? I would like any suggestions, comments, etc. that may help me to understand my options for this application. Is KOYO a good choice? Should I (can I) put a PLC in the system also, in case I need to do some control later down the road? I am in Ontario, Canada and Automationdirect does not have a local support person available in the area, is there anyone who might be cabable of implementing this for me (system integrator?) Would you recomend the Advanced training for myself and a few electricians in order to be comfortable with this system? Any experience with the Automation Direct training programs?.. or the Video training?? Any expert comments, advice would be appreciated.

 

[djs]

Hello;
One quick and dirty way to determine if any control is done in the PLC is to see if there are any output cards. If there are (descrete or analog) then be careful, there might be some control logic in the PLC.
Siemens might be able to help you in accessing the program.

 

[ctolbert]

ADC does have a local VAR in Canada:

Franklin Empire Inc. / Control Mart
1180 Martin Grove Road
Rexdale, Ontario M9W 5M9
Canada

Phone416) 248-0176, or
1-800-263-4961 (in Canada)
Fax416) 248-2735
E-mail: rex@feinc.com
Web Site:

http://www.feinc.com

These guys also do integration.

Ask for Phil Aitken, we've worked on some projects together.

Carl

 

[SteveMeisel]

Sounds like you have made a good choice on the plc. I am not familiar with Siemens so I can't help you on the differences between the programming of them. With AB the dominate plc and Automation Direct #2 the only major difference I have found between them is with the handling of numbers. It takes some extra steps (loading accumulators) instead of one command. I sat down with the programming manual and went through some of the commands. If given the opportunity for some type of formal training I would jump on it. If you would like a sample code I could e-mail it to you.

Good Luck.
Steve

 

[bogdal]

You can also try with some field ellements if you want only to monitor and not to control those signals. Check out for National Instruments - Field Point. Or, if you want to use the Siemens family, you can visit their site and check for SIMATIC ET-200.

 

[cfordyce]

Thank-you. I have gotten prices from Franklin Empire on the KOYO Ethernet Base Controller system. I have 376 inputs currently, 72 RTDs, 48 Thermocouples, and 224 AC inputs. So I want to go with a system that I can save a little on the Analog Cards, which are the most expensive. Then of course the software is the next expensive item. I have been told that Automation Direct has an SCADA software package similar to the FIX software from Intellutions or CiTech but much cheaper. The interface we have created with FIX is very rudimentary, so anything with a half decent graphical display and enough tags available would probably be a nice improvement. But I'm not sure what the software pack is called.??

Steve, I would appreciate the sample program. What demo software can I run it in? Even though I am not actually using the CPU in this Application, I am selecting an appropriate PLC line in order to be able to standardize our PLCs for future installations in the plant. So we will definately be using the PLC programming in the near future. I have downloaded the DirectLogic Demo software but since I don't have a PLC yet I don't think that I can do much. It does'nt have a simulation mode does it??

Thanks for you input folks.

 

[ctolbert]

The package is called LookoutDirect. It is a National Instruments product...the only diference is the amount of I/O points available (550 from the ADC product). NI sells the package with more.

The demo version of the software would only write to 10 bytes of memory. You could connect and download an "END" statement and that's all. I would suggest buying the DL05 plc, DS software package, and cable...so for a little over 2 bills, you can have a fully functional plc and software package.

No, there is no simulation mode as far as I know.

Glad I can help out.
Carl