Weight controller outperforms PLCs
An
Applied Weighing International product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
Jun 14, 2006
Much more than just a basic weight indicator, the 920i HMI/controller offers a number of advantages over PLCs currently in use across many automated industries.
Much more than just a basic weight indicator, the 920i HMI/controller offers a number of advantages over programmable logic controllers (PLCs) now in use across many automated industries.
Available from Applied Weighing, the UK's leading manufacturer of load cells and supplier of industrial weighing systems, the 920i performs most of the functions carried out by traditional PLCs but at a much faster rate and at a fraction of the cost.
With the ability to display, monitor and control temperature, pressure and moisture, the 920i combines the functionality of a traditional PLC with an on-line programmability and the ability to operate on standard computer networks.
PLCs excel at turning outputs on or off based on the state of inputs and can compress a great deal of data, but are built with proprietary, closed hardware architecture that imposes networking limitations and makes them difficult to modify.
For applications requiring high speed response, the 920i has clear advantages.
The recent introduction of analogue cards enables it to perform the same functions as a PLC, while the integrated RAM and storage memory exceeds those of a full-size PLC by 10 times.
With this processing ability, the 920i can make the decision to turn on or turn off an output the instant the target weight is reached.
PLCs, operating on a program cycle, can only respond to the weighing decision when various internal "housework" operations, including decision-making, maths function and memory movement, have been completed.
In a manufacturing environment where speed of operating process is critical, any delay may result in a loss of efficiency that will impact on the bottom line.
The 920i weigh controller from Applied Weighing is an excellent point solution and a dedicated and fully programmable task controller that can easily be modified on the production line.
Capable of controlling up to 32 weighing systems, it is the ideal dedicated task controller.
However, combining the 920i with a PLC can offer a very effective hybrid solution where a single point solution is not sufficient for a particular operation.
An open-architecture instrument, the 920i can communicate with any PLC.
When the two are linked, the processing cycle within the 920i decides when to turn on or turn off an output, write to the display and send data to the required communication ports.
The PLC performs the major housework supporting the process and sends the target value and start command to the 920i, creating a unique hybrid weighing solution.
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