In industrial applications, controlling relays, servos, solenoids, as well as the like isn’t just a matter of wiring in an Arduino as well as plugging in some code. No, for trustworthy operation you’ll requirement a PLC – a programmable logic controller – to automate all your hardware. PLCs are usually quite costly pieces of hardware, which led [Warwick] to find up with his own. He developed two versions, one big as well as one small that can handle just about any type of task thrown at them.
Both gadgets are powered by an ATMEL SAM7S ARM chip running at 48 MHz. The smaller of the two gadgets has 10 digital inputs, 4 analog inputs, as well as 8 digital outputs able to sink 200 mA each. The larger PLC has 22 digital ins, 6 analog ins, as well as 16 digital outputs. Both of these gadgets have a ton of connectivity with USB, RS-232 as well as RS-485 ports
Below you can see the big PLC being utilized as a barcode scanner as well as as a strange gadget utilizing compressed air to levitate a ping-pong ball. There’s likewise a demo of the smaller PLC illumination up some LEDs.