My boss has come up with the idea of renting machines and charging on a per use / per hour basis, so I'm looking into it - just getting my feet wet.
We want a PLC that has the ability to connect to the customer's wi-fi and allows us to remotely see the machine usage and stop it from functioning if bills are unpaid. The I/O count will likely be minimal. We're at the early planning stages but <= 8 discrete ins, <= 4 discrete outputs, <= 4 analog 4-20mA inputs, <= 2 analog outputs.
We would want to operate a fan motor via a VFD and would like the PLC/VFD control to be over a comms bus, preferably Ethernet/IP implicit messaging, that is simple to set up and use (like the Allen-Bradley implicit messaging that I've used previously). My boss has stated an aversion to AB for this particular project - I'm suspecting it's based on perceived cost. He's hoping there's something "cheap & cheerful" in the Automation Direct range. Has anyone used one of their PLC/VFDs in such a fashion? How did it compare with AB?
Does anyone have any insight or suggestions on system architecture?
We want a PLC that has the ability to connect to the customer's wi-fi and allows us to remotely see the machine usage and stop it from functioning if bills are unpaid. The I/O count will likely be minimal. We're at the early planning stages but <= 8 discrete ins, <= 4 discrete outputs, <= 4 analog 4-20mA inputs, <= 2 analog outputs.
We would want to operate a fan motor via a VFD and would like the PLC/VFD control to be over a comms bus, preferably Ethernet/IP implicit messaging, that is simple to set up and use (like the Allen-Bradley implicit messaging that I've used previously). My boss has stated an aversion to AB for this particular project - I'm suspecting it's based on perceived cost. He's hoping there's something "cheap & cheerful" in the Automation Direct range. Has anyone used one of their PLC/VFDs in such a fashion? How did it compare with AB?
Does anyone have any insight or suggestions on system architecture?