micro or plc

[mr.engineering]

which is better micro controller or pLc

i know micro gives you more pins to use and a variety of controlling but also plc is easier and faster

so can anyone tell me how to choose between them for a certain project

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

which is better micro controller or pLc

i know micro gives you more pins to use and a variety of controlling but also plc is easier and faster

so can anyone tell me how to choose between them for a certain project

Depends what you want?, a micro-controller is a small single chip and very cheap, a PLC is a complete system (which may contain a micro-controller) and if far more expensive.

I would suggest a micro-controller is far cheaper, far faster, and far more versatile - a PLC is far more expensive, far slower, far less versatile - BUT much simpler to use, they are intended for non-electonics engineers to use.

It's pretty easy to build a PLC from a micro-controller, you can't do it the other way round!.

 

[mr.engineering]

i think u're right...but on the other hand there're small size plc's
also plc controlling is easier than micro controlling

 

[evandude]

also plc controlling is easier than micro controlling

As a teacher of mine once explained, PLC's with ladder logic were designed to be used by guys who were electricians, because it was so similar to the way they used to wire everything up with relays. So, yeah, it's easy to use for what it's meant for, but what good does that do you if the PLC can't do what you need it to do? clearly PLC's are well suited to certain applications, such as industrial automation and things like that... But there are a ton of things a microcontroller can do that a PLC can't.

It's kind of like asking "which is better - a forklift or a car?" Sure, the forklift would be great if you need to work in a factory, but you don't see people driving them around on the road as their daily vehicle

 

[mr.engineering]

got u man.....btw nice example lol


Thanks guys

 

[raedbenz]

depends on the application..if you are going to use 220V,then there are some plc work on AC supply directly..so u can safe extra power circuits,instead of using microcontroller

 

[dknguyen]

My forklift would toast your lemon-of-a-car in a drag race.

I've never heard of a PLC, but I assume they are on the same level as a FPGA and CPLD? THose require a lot of support and some things are super hard to do on them since you are working at the transistor level.

 

[mr.engineering]

My forklift would toast your lemon-of-a-car in a drag race.

I've never heard of a PLC, but I assume they are on the same level as a FPGA and CPLD? THose require a lot of support and some things are super hard to do on them since you are working at the transistor level.

first: u dunno how much easier plc's are

second:u're working on relays not transistors


third:controlling is done by ladder or block diagrams which is much more easier than assembly code

that's enogh

 

[dknguyen]

I'm pretty sure a PLC isn't made of thousands of mini-relays. You don't *have* to use assembler (although like always, it's probably best to learn). YOu can use a higher level language like C...or god forbid BASIC, haha.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

I'm pretty sure a PLC isn't made of thousands of mini-relays.

No they are not, but they often use relays for inputs and outputs - as suggested, it's basically a process control solution for those with no electronic or programming knowledge.

 

[tdg8934]

PLC vs Microcontroller

PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) is a system (much like a personal computer) with many inputs and outputs for modules to control 5/12/28vdc or 120/220vac or higher current devices too. Ladder Logic is the graphical language for PLC's. It takes some getting used to understand this but it is very common for Industrial / Electrical Engineers. On the other hand, microcontrollers such as PICS, Basic Stamps, etc. are just the controller chip "or brains" for a larger system such as a PLC or custom electronic device.