Those who want to build a PLC by themselves, come in!

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Perhaps many people think that PLCs are very mysterious and complex, but in fact their structure is quite simple. It is mainly composed of a CPU, memory, power supply module, input/output module, and communication module. The CPU module determines the characteristics of the PLC, while the manufacturing of the other components is generally similar across different brands of PLCs; it is merely the choice of components used in manufacturing that varies from company to company. Simply put, the most difficult part of developing a PLC is the development of its CPU; if ready-made CPU products are available, manufacturing a PLC becomes simpler. Now, there is a PLCcore available on the market! With PLCcore, it is possible to customize one’s own dedicated PLCs, specialized industrial controllers, or OEM products according to specific needs. The biggest advantage of doing this is the low cost! Next is meeting personalized needs. I am currently using PLCcore to create a dedicated PLC with 8 inputs and 8 outputs, an Ethernet interface, a serial port, as well as an LCD and keyboard for human-machine interaction. I first considered using Siemens’ 200 series because I am familiar with Siemens’ S7 series. However, there are no models in the S7-200 series that come with an Ethernet interface. It was also found that the scalability was extremely poor; external modules were needed frequently, and those external modules were very expensive! Expanding the human-machine interface is too costly. The total cost for implementing the function after expansion is over 5,000 yuan per unit. So I was forced to design and implement it myself. In total, it costs a little over 1,000 to take care of everything. Hehe. It’s much better to use than the S7-200 PLC. The price is actually much cheaper. Ecstasy! The boss praised me specifically for this, saying my ideas were very innovative, and rewarded me with a certain amount of RMB. Hehe, those interested can discuss it. This post was last edited by visavis on 2009-4-13 at 16:20