Alright, here's a question for those maintenance tech who dabble with PLC's for troubleshooting equipment...
What is the most maintenance friendly PLC?
I have some experience with the Allen Bradly line. I've used RSlogix 500 and 5000, so I like Allen Bradley PLC's for troubleshooting. What I'm looking for is some input from someone who has used different brands of PLC's for troubleshooting equipment. Are there more maintenance-friendly PLC's on the market?
What do you guys think?
I like Rockwell PLC's personally. I've taken courses over the years in RSLogix programming so it makes them user-friendly in my mind...
It's probably that way for any brand PLC if you've been to training and seminars.
I've also had lots of experience with Allen Bradley products and I agree that they are the most user-friendly PLC's. if there are any out there that are easier than that, I would be interested in hearing about them.
Allen Bradley PLC's are maintenance friendly. Their ladder logic, in particular, is easy to follow. I am partial to PLC ladder diagrams so there others that would qualify as maintenance friendly, not far behind the Allen Bradley's.
Koyo makes maintenance friendly PLC's. They are definitely a cheaper PLC than most other brands, but they are easy to use i think. They can be bought at quite a few places online like http://plcproducts.com/koyo (http://plcproducts.com/koyo). And you can find plenty of info about them on the official Koyo PLC website: http://www.koyoele.co.jp/english/product/plc/ (http://www.koyoele.co.jp/english/product/plc/).
I don't want to sound like an advertisement but I think they are underrated PLC's.
I like the simplicity of RS Logix. I think that puts Allen Bradley PLC's at the top of the easy list. The program itself makes their whole system better than the others. I don't know if the PLC hardware is the beat, or longest lasting, but from the stanpoint of software usage and troubleshooting, it seems to be a better design.
The Allen Bradley PLC product line gets my vote. Once you've taken a crash course in RSLOGIX programming, you are good to go.