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15 years ago I would love to have had a product like this when working mechanical maintenance in a machine shop but Jesus Christ the price alone is ridiculous.

15 years ago I would love to have had a product like this when working mechanical maintenance in a machine shop but Jesus Christ the price alone is ridiculous. $360!?! some shops have hundreds of machines. Back when I was in mechanical maintenance, we would wire up every machine on the floor (lathe, shave, heat treat, cymbal cutters, you name it) to Serial Comm adapters that convert the RS232 from most machines into IP/CAT5. These only cost $80USD, and were bullet-proof enough to replace when needed. The CAT5 lines were shielded so they were robot friendly, and went all the way to the front office where the Linux administrator had them all wired into switch panels and network servers for the guys in the QC labs. Besides, most newer CNC come with remote desktop or SSH or something remote you can use to poll them or interact with them by default. Sometimes they even come with wifi antennas. I guess if you were building a new robot or machine, and needed a logic interface, this would be an excellent solution to a proprietary world, but as a bolt-on accessory no.

0xff00ffee 7y ago
> when working mechanical maintenance in a machine shop Hm? Most machining tools cost $100,000 to >$1,000,000. Why would a DIN bank of $360 control modules bust the budget?
Accujack 7y ago
If the modules work as claimed, then $360 a pop is fairly cheap. Real world PLC units capable of extensible digital and analog I/O, networked, usually cost anywhere from $1000 - $10,000 per unit. These aren't little gateways to CNC machines built-in interfaces (although they can be), they're controllers and automation systems for factories and production lines.
- LeifCarrotson 7y ago
  I don't think that most customers will use these to replace their PLC. There's just too much at stake. These are more likely to be used as 'glue logic' between the PLC and unusual devices that need custom software or only have PC-based interfaces.
- jecxjo 7y ago
  For most PLC customers this is a no-go. They aren't in the market to save money on hardware. They save money by reducing downtime and eliminating failures. Without certifications for industrial control protocols (which take years and lots of engineering time to get passed), these will only be useful for those who don't really need a PLC.
LeifCarrotson 7y ago
I've been working as a controls engineer at integration shops for close to a decade, and had the exact OPPOSITE reaction. The price is ridiculously cheap! Your serial to IP adapters are one use case where this could be used, and are one of the few things I've installed that was cheaper than this. If the machine needs a true PC for config/calibration software, displaying vision results from industrial camera, or reading/writing data to a plant network, the typical answer is an OnLogic ML100G-51 industrial fanless PC at $850. Sometimes the answer will be a PLC in with a built-in PC, like a Siemens S7-1500 or Beckhoff CX2020 at close to $3,000. Often, you also need an operator interface, which is usually some variant of a Windows CE computer bolted to a rugged touchscreen, and run between $500 for an off-brand 7" display to a $1500 software license plus that OnLogic PC plus a $500 or more large-format touchscreen. However, if the PLC needs to communicate with a USB or serial device like a barcode scanner, I'd reach for a Real Time Automation 435USB module at $640, which is basically the same as one of these. To remote into the machine we recommend every customer get a $600 Ewon Cosy industrial VPN appliance, it's an easy sell at less than the price of most service calls. If it needs a small camera, a $2000 smart camera marries a little ARM processor to a low-resolution monochrome sensor, or you connect GigE cameras to a higher-power vision processor for double that. If you're going to sell 10,000 units to fill a particular industrial niche, you can injection mold your own DIN rail enclosure, make your own baseboard for 24V screw terminal connections and which might use a Pi Compute module or fully integrate a little ARM processor, and which will hide any of the details from end customers behind "no user serviceable parts inside" and "warranty void" stickers. All of the above do essentially what a $35 RaspberryPi and a bit of Python scripting could do, but with a warranty, enclosure, manufacturer support, vendor support, and user manuals that customer maintenance departments can use. All of those are valued by many careful customers, but for half the price this is interesting enough to pay an engineer for a couple hours of custom work. For sales purposes, these go into the panel with 24V screw terminals and DIN rail mounting that checks off industrial standards conformance and don't look as crappy as wall warts and custom brackets. Those are the devices this thing is competing with.

0xff00ffee 7y ago

> when working mechanical maintenance in a machine shop Hm? Most machining tools cost $100,000 to >$1,000,000. Why would a DIN bank of $360 control modules bust the budget?

Accujack 7y ago

If the modules work as claimed, then $360 a pop is fairly cheap. Real world PLC units capable of extensible digital and analog I/O, networked, usually cost anywhere from $1000 - $10,000 per unit. These aren't little gateways to CNC machines built-in interfaces (although they can be), they're controllers and automation systems for factories and production lines.

LeifCarrotson 7y ago
I don't think that most customers will use these to replace their PLC. There's just too much at stake. These are more likely to be used as 'glue logic' between the PLC and unusual devices that need custom software or only have PC-based interfaces.
jecxjo 7y ago
For most PLC customers this is a no-go. They aren't in the market to save money on hardware. They save money by reducing downtime and eliminating failures. Without certifications for industrial control protocols (which take years and lots of engineering time to get passed), these will only be useful for those who don't really need a PLC.

LeifCarrotson 7y ago

I've been working as a controls engineer at integration shops for close to a decade, and had the exact OPPOSITE reaction. The price is ridiculously cheap! Your serial to IP adapters are one use case where this could be used, and are one of the few things I've installed that was cheaper than this. If the machine needs a true PC for config/calibration software, displaying vision results from industrial camera, or reading/writing data to a plant network, the typical answer is an OnLogic ML100G-51 industrial fanless PC at $850. Sometimes the answer will be a PLC in with a built-in PC, like a Siemens S7-1500 or Beckhoff CX2020 at close to $3,000. Often, you also need an operator interface, which is usually some variant of a Windows CE computer bolted to a rugged touchscreen, and run between $500 for an off-brand 7" display to a $1500 software license plus that OnLogic PC plus a $500 or more large-format touchscreen. However, if the PLC needs to communicate with a USB or serial device like a barcode scanner, I'd reach for a Real Time Automation 435USB module at $640, which is basically the same as one of these. To remote into the machine we recommend every customer get a $600 Ewon Cosy industrial VPN appliance, it's an easy sell at less than the price of most service calls. If it needs a small camera, a $2000 smart camera marries a little ARM processor to a low-resolution monochrome sensor, or you connect GigE cameras to a higher-power vision processor for double that. If you're going to sell 10,000 units to fill a particular industrial niche, you can injection mold your own DIN rail enclosure, make your own baseboard for 24V screw terminal connections and which might use a Pi Compute module or fully integrate a little ARM processor, and which will hide any of the details from end customers behind "no user serviceable parts inside" and "warranty void" stickers. All of the above do essentially what a $35 RaspberryPi and a bit of Python scripting could do, but with a warranty, enclosure, manufacturer support, vendor support, and user manuals that customer maintenance departments can use. All of those are valued by many careful customers, but for half the price this is interesting enough to pay an engineer for a couple hours of custom work. For sales purposes, these go into the panel with 24V screw terminals and DIN rail mounting that checks off industrial standards conformance and don't look as crappy as wall warts and custom brackets. Those are the devices this thing is competing with.