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October 2004 PLCs, DCSs & Controllers

Programmable logic controllers (PLCs) have found wide acceptance as the core devices of control subsystems in the factory automation field thanks to their high speed, easy programming, low prices and other merits.

However, industry now finds itself in the midst of severe economic conditions and societal transformations, and to overcome these will expect PLCs to offer even greater performance and functionality. Users of PLCs embedded in mechanical equipment, in particular, are demanding high speed and sophisticated control performance, in the interests of higher productivity, and also that they are available at low cost. Yet at the same time users are also demanding features that will enhance operating efficiency, such as the ability to connect to multifunctional display devices to simplify machine operation, and failure diagnostic capabilities to reduce machine downtime when failures occur. Moreover, it has become mandatory to provide communication capabilities that will allow machines to be connected into company-wide networks to implement production monitoring and command facilities as parts of CIM systems.

Thus for a PLC to compete in today's market it must integrate high-speed control, data processing, and communication capabilities while still remaining inexpensive.

Emphasis is required on the following areas:

* Ultra high speed - Make input ->computation ->output time as short as possible, for fast response.

* Stable control with time management capabilities - strictly minimise the impact of software growth due to man/machine interface and failure diagnostic features. Design so that communications with higher-level network and remote I/O will not affect control stability.

* Size reduction - reduce size in the interests of control panel standardisation, and of simpler and more efficient control panel design and installation.

* Positioning control - fast start-up time, high-speed pulse output rate, smooth S-shaped acceleration and deceleration, and the ability to change target positions without stopping.

Yokogawa is offering its FA-M3 R3 Factory Ace PLC, which has been designed with the above-mentioned requirements in mind. Available for many years in Japan and the Far East, the FA-M3 has now arrived in South Africa. It provides the same level of ruggedness and reliability as has been field-proven with the rest of the Yokogawa product range, resulting in an extremely low long-term cost of ownership.

For more information contact Johan Pretorius, 011 681 2500, [email protected], www.yokogawa.com

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