How to choose PLC reasonably

There are three types of PLC brands on the market: imported European and American brands such as Siemens, Schneider and GE; imported Japanese and Korean brands such as Omron, Mitsubishi and Panasonic; domestic brands such as Inovance, Delta and Xinjie. It should be noted that all PLCs of different brands meet international standards. IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) is an international organization that sets global standards for all areas of electronic technology. IEC61131 is the international standard for PLCs. my country issued the national standard GB/T 15969 for PLCs in December 1995 with reference to the IEC 61131 standard.

IEC 61131 consists of the following five parts: general information, equipment and test requirements, programming language, user guide and communication. The third part (IEC61131-3) is the programming language standard for PLC. IEC 61131-3 is the world's first and so far the only programming language standard for industrial control systems.

Currently, more and more PLC manufacturers are providing products that meet the IEC61131-3 standard. IEC 61131-3 has become the de facto software standard for DCS (distributed control systems), IPC (industrial control computers), FCS (fieldbus control systems), SCADA (data acquisition and supervisory control) and motion control systems.

All PLC programming languages ​​are basically developed based on this standard, so no matter which brand of PLC you learn, you can learn from it. In actual use, for different equipment and different process flows, we must reasonably select PLC, use its strengths and avoid its weaknesses.

1. Learn and master a PLC first

There are many PLC manufacturers, each with its own characteristics. For those who are new to PLC, it is hard to know where to start, and you can only slowly discover and learn in the future. However, we can choose the right PLC to learn in a targeted manner according to our region and industry at the beginning, so as to save more time and energy. In the beginning, there is no need to worry about which brand. You can choose the corresponding product to learn according to your different needs.

2. Learn from others and master other brands of PLC

For many novices, it is easy to get confused whether to learn Siemens or Mitsubishi when learning PLC. The teacher of Sanrenyixing replied: Learning the brand of PLC that you can get in touch with and use in your daily work is your best choice. After you are proficient in one PLC, it will be much easier to learn other PLCs by analogy.

Electrical engineers of different natures need to master different numbers of PLCs. For example, for electrical engineers in equipment factories, the company only specifies one or two PLC brands, so they need to study and specialize in these one or two brands. However, if they are outsourced electrical engineers, they need stronger learning ability and will be exposed to PLCs of various brands. Therefore, the nature of the work is different, and the breadth of learning will be different, but the total amount of content is similar.

According to different control methods of different equipment, it is necessary to reasonably select PLC, use its strengths and avoid its weaknesses. Japanese Mitsubishi, Omron; German Siemens; domestic Inovance and Delta are all PLC brands with high market share.

It is recommended to first choose one of these brands with high market share, master it, and then learn from it and learn other brands of PLC. The functions of PLCs of various brands are actually similar, and the instructions are also similar. Don't learn those unpopular PLCs. If you want to learn, you must learn PLC brands that are more widely used, such as the Japanese Mitsubishi, German Siemens, or domestic Inovance mentioned above.