On 4/26/2012 10:30 AM, Lloyd E. Sponenburgh wrote:
Tom Gardnermars@tacks fired this volley in
:

There are a few local vendors that offer training on their products, do
you have any preferences like AB or such?

Fifteen or twenty years ago, AB and a couple of others were the only
decent PLCs around, and everyone used them for everything.

Now there are lots of Pacific Rim companies making dandy, inexpensive
PLCs.

You might investigate TRI-Plc. They are inexpensive "board" solutions
(no fancy plastic cabinet). Despite that basic nature, they're capable,
reliable, and easy to learn. They have hundreds of sample programs in
their downloads area to help you learn.

They're also readily expandable, with extra ports, extra program or data
memory, and a real-time clock. It has an event-triggered BASIC language
extension built-in, and all the programming utilities and simulator come
with it for free. It's also web-enabled. Just plug it into your
network, and you can access and program it from anywhere you have an
internet connection.

It's a cheap way to get into the groove. Then if you want to go to a
'classic' brand, you'll have some experience under your belt.


Funny you mention them, I have a 8 I/O relay model kicking around here
somewhere. I had forgotten all about it and I forget exactly what we
got it for...probably some hair-brained idea that got shelved. I'll dig
it out and re-reserech it.