If you are unfamiliar with what exactly PLC is then you should know that it is a dedicated computer that can be widely used all across the automation industry. It allows you to be able to keep an eye on and to control things very easily and it cuts out almost all of the hardwiring problems that are normally associated with relay circuits. You cannot make a comparison to the desktop computer that you have in your home because PLC offers up many other features.
The controller in plc programming can work in high temperature environments and also in workplaces where there is a lot of noise and vibrations as well. The programmable logic controller allows you to change the functionality of your system using programming and it helps when performing the functionality with regard to the application that you are using. With all of this technology comes many advantages and the following are just some of them for your business.
- It is much more reliable – If you are from the old school of industrial automation, then you will remember lots of wires which made it incredibly difficult to figure out what was wrong with a system if anything were to happen and create a negative impact. With a PLC system however, troubleshooting is a lot easier to identify and uploading and downloading the logic that is needed with regards to your programming is a lot better than these older systems.
- It is more flexible – With the older relay systems, if you want to change is the whole circuit then it would have to be totally rewired in order to be able to create a new one. With PLC, we don’t have this problem and all of the changes can be made inside the controller itself.
- It involves low-cost – You will be out the initial money that you will spend on the whole PLC but over the course of a business year and beyond, they will help to save you an incredible amount of money when compared to the older relay-based systems. When it comes to troubleshooting, things are more easily identified and so the number of man hours that are needed to fix everything is cut dramatically.
It is easy to see then why the programmable logic controller is the preferred method chosen when setting up a full automation system. The PLC itself can easily communicate with other controllers and it offers you a much faster response time.