Mower Drive Belt Test

[Jon A 0]

Hello All, Very grateful to find this resource. New to all this so please forgive the noob questions. At the R&D facility where I toil, engineer would like to test belts/pulleys. Parameters include cycling tension on the belts between 300 and 1000 lbs for a specific time in seconds and auto shut-down if anything should fail. We do have a fixture with a motor and variable frequency ac drive and three 3.5" diameter cylinders. No PLC is my problem. Can I trust used equipment from Evil-Bay? How much can I expect to pay for something like a new Allen Bradley SLC 500 system capable of this? Or is that overkill? What would the experts say to use for monitoring this amout of pulling force? We are a brand new facility here so nothing on the shelf at this point but company is willing to purchase whatever is needed. Thanks in advance for any - all comments and/or suggestions.

[stm62 0]

I have bought a micrologix 1000 off of ebay with no problem. just make sure you get the right input and output voltage for what you are going to be working with and how many inputs and outputs you need.. I bought the unit to play with at home , and it has been a lot of fun. I use the 1000 at work .. we set up tests with items cycling off and on all the time. Just buy from some one with good feedback. I prefer the 1000 for light duty stuff as you can get the software for free !

[Jon A 0]

Thanks STM62 That answers another question then, that a free download is available. All I need to do then is get a cable. We do have a MicroLogix 1000 in house on an environmental chamber. Can I find that software on mrplc.com?

[Steve G 1]

Can you trust equipment from E bay. If you have ever bought anything from E bay, used, you know it is a crap shoot if it will work and last for years. I would say no, this is for your employer you work for, you would be better off getting a new one or maybe look at PLC Center. I have bought stuff from them in the past at it has been pretty good. As for the question is a SLC 500 platform overkill. It all depends on what you are doing with it and how much I/O you will use in the system. From what you have stated in your post I would most likely say yes it is overkill, but would need more info to make a sound Yes or No it is overkill. I would say to look at the MicroLogix family of PLC's, a 1500 or a 1100 would most likley do the job. They give you I/O on the unit and the posibility of adding more I/O down the line. These two also have options for analog signals that could be used for you 300 to 1000 lbs messurements if used with a analog sensor. The last thing you need to think about is the software. Do you have a copy of RsLogix 500, if not you will need to buy it to program the SLC 500. Edited 20 Jun 2011 by Steve G

[TConnolly 13]

A micrologix 1000 is a bottom dweller. Also the free software works only with the 10 point version. I suggest that a Micrologix 1100 would be a better choice. The free AB software will still program it, but you can add up to four expansion modules, including analog IO.