Need advice on a PLC

[jchal3 0]

Hello, I am starting a new project. Most of the machinery I have produced in the past were large enough to require full sized PLC's. I am familiar with the Mitsubishi Q- series PLC's. I am currently making a small piece of machinery. It will require about 10 I/O points, and control one stepper motor. I would like some opinions on what PLC I should buy for this project. I also need to be able to program the new unit using ladder logic. Thanks

[plcdp 11]

Hello, If you've used the Q series before an FX series might be a good fit. With 10 in and 10 out you could go with a FX3U-32xx-xxx. That would give you 16 in and 16 out. Also, the FX3U has built in commands for servo control. Hope this helps, plcdp

[drforsythe 15]

I second the idea to use a FX3U. Since you already have the Mitsubishi experience, that might be your best bet. I have used the predecessor to the FX3U in a simple coil wrapping application. In the case of my project, the servo amplifier (MR-J2 at the time) closed the loop and the plc was 'blind' to actual position. We could have added additional feedback to the plc for verification, but the application was so simple we chose not to. The drive did a great job of positioning our product for assembly.

[jchal3 0]

You guys seem like you know the mitsubishi series. What do you think about the alpha2?

[drforsythe 15]

I have not used the Alpha or any other micro plc at this point. Most of the stuff I work on requires more I/O or functions in larger plcs.

[BobLfoot 302]

My first thoughts on something like this were Allen Bradley Micrologix 1400 or compact logix. After that a Toshiba T1 PLC or whatever is the current evolution of the Omron CPM1 PLC.

[jchal3 0]

Thanks for the input guys. It looks like it is going to be the FX plc for me. I made that decision based on the fact that already have the programming software.

[plcdp 11]

Good Luck, Feel free to ask any more questions you may have. plcdp