Plc's for industries benefits and limitations

[Harrison_paul]

Hello there, I am currently doing a paper on what benefits a PLC system could bring to an Automation industries, however am not on here looking for some one to give me a quick answer but am a bit lost in what i should be looking to write about with the PLC system being such a big topic also i feel i need to be a lot more technical information with in my write up which is another point am struggling on. Any help i would be very thankful for. Paul Harrison.

[Crossbow]

A couple quick Internet searches will turn up tons of information about the features and benefits of PLCs over old relay based control systems.

[BobB]

It really depoends upon the industry you are targetting and what sort of control is required. For example I do a lot of swimming pools and use Omron PLCs. I also use lots of screens that are remote from the PLC. If there is motion control involved I would be looking at the newer Omron PLCs with EtherCat comms to the motors etc - fast as. I also do a lot of generator work and the requirements there are totally different - comms are really important to all sorts of devices and I often have to do heaps of floating point maths. Can you indicate in which business sector you are looking? It would be helpful for people to give you some advice.