There are many factors that affect the selection of an appropriate PLC. Depending on your background, where your work, your skill level etc., some PLC options may be better than others. But, selecting the appropriate PLC for the type and scale of your project is crucial in ensuring that your project runs smoothly. This process can become extremely daunting due to the sheer number of competitors in the automation industry; especially, when these manufacturers produce different PLC products that perform similar tasks. Given the multitude of the options that fill the automation landscape, we have decided to take the time to outline the types of PLC models from four of the major PLC manufacturers that are available in today’s market. The selection was made based on two important factors, project scale and desired capability. When selecting a PLC starting off with these factors – factors that are at the core of any project – ensures a higher success rate.
In your experience or research, you have most likely come across PLCs from these four major manufacturers – ABB, Rockwell Automation (specifically Allen Bradley), SIEMENS, and OMRON. You also most likely have a favourite brand of PLC that you prefer over another, or, you are limited to the type of PLC that you can use on the job. However, knowing suitable substitutes based on the scale of your project and desired capabilities may be beneficial for selecting the appropriate PLC and knowing what it can be replaced by. Below is a table that contains a list of products from the four manufactures that can be used in your project. You may be looking for a micro control system controller, a large control system controller, or something in the middle. This table lists a few options from each of the manufacturers that can be applied in your project.
Note that this is by no means an extensive list of all available controllers, or, even all the top manufacturers in the industry. The intention of this list is to provide a starting point for selecting an appropriate PLC for your project based on the scale of the project and the desired capabilities.
PLC Comparison Table Based on Scale and Desired Capabilities
We hope you found this list interesting, and that this table summarizes some useful PLCs that can be used depending on the scale of your project and your desired capabilities. Let us know if you have used any of these PLCs in your own projects and how they worked out. Also, feel free to provide your recommendations on which PLCs or manufacturers should be in this list.
– TechBasics Team