Hello all.


I've been making automation projects from a while, using Labview and I think I'm very proficient on it. I have limited knowledge in PLC programming.

Successfully, I'm controlling a reactor this way: PC - Labview - (you are going to kill me...) Arduino - relay board. Input side: Rs485 Temp controllers and RS232 Weight transmitters, Arduino's digital inputs. It has been working for almost a year surprisingly well , but lately the Arduino freezes, so replacing the Arduino for a new one shouldn't be the right answer. It's time to improve!

Well, I just want to stick to the PC based control and Labview, and add a reliable relay control and input acquisition to my system, including some kind of watchdog timer/security relay if the communication is lost. In my google searches, appears several I/O devices but i realize that I can use a PLC for this, and the Micro800 series seems to be the bang-for-the-buck device. What do you guys think? Any recommendations would be highly appreciated. Thank you.

 

It was many years ago Rockwell went with PC based control. All seemed fine but every so often the PC crashed for no obvious reason. Can't remember now what it was called.

So have stuck with PLC's - and the Micro800 is an excellent small, good value for money PLC.