Hey Guys-
I'm very new at electronics and still getting my feet wet, building guitar effects and other small projects. My biggest problem is that I have lots of ideas, but I still lack the knowledge and proficiency to realize them. I'm currently thinking about a small electro-mechanical apparatus that basically would utilize a couple of servos to manipulate a few mechanical parts, initiated by the output signal of some type of proximity or opto switch, and all wrapped up in a user-adjustable timed sequence. I have decades of mechanical experience, including a bit of PLC ladder programming, but I don't code (yet).
I'm weighing the use of a circuit board/components against using a PLC unit (something din-rail-mountable would be great!). I'm not too up on the current state of miniature PLCs, so I'm not sure exactly what's available or good. My project has a fairly simple layout, so I don't want to spend a lot of money on a controller if it's not feasible, but it would make the design much cleaner. I'd like to ask for advice that would help to guide my decision. If any of you have experience with relatively modern PLCs (I'm not necessarily looking for state-of-the-art), I'd appreciate any assistance you can offer. Thanks.
John
I'm very new at electronics and still getting my feet wet, building guitar effects and other small projects. My biggest problem is that I have lots of ideas, but I still lack the knowledge and proficiency to realize them. I'm currently thinking about a small electro-mechanical apparatus that basically would utilize a couple of servos to manipulate a few mechanical parts, initiated by the output signal of some type of proximity or opto switch, and all wrapped up in a user-adjustable timed sequence. I have decades of mechanical experience, including a bit of PLC ladder programming, but I don't code (yet).
I'm weighing the use of a circuit board/components against using a PLC unit (something din-rail-mountable would be great!). I'm not too up on the current state of miniature PLCs, so I'm not sure exactly what's available or good. My project has a fairly simple layout, so I don't want to spend a lot of money on a controller if it's not feasible, but it would make the design much cleaner. I'd like to ask for advice that would help to guide my decision. If any of you have experience with relatively modern PLCs (I'm not necessarily looking for state-of-the-art), I'd appreciate any assistance you can offer. Thanks.
John