Control Engineering - One (or more) Controller for Every Application Page 1 of 6

Welcome to controleng.com
( Subscribe / Log in here for extra fe
plc vs dcs
Advanced Search

May

Visit to query our

Career, Purchasing, One (or more) Controller for Every Application
and Customer Technology convergence and enhanced software capability combine to provide a broa
Satisfaction databases of controllers that handle a variety of applications, with a variety of form factors.
Gary A. Mintchell, Control Engineering
and access Product
Research, Tutorials, Control Engineering February 1, 2002
Case Studies and
eBooks Engineering conferences and publications thrive on controversy. There's nothing like a
Click here KEY WORDS
good religious debate to get one's blood flowing, and some engineering debates
assume a religious air. There are the "fieldbus wars" and the "PLC vs. DCS vs. PC- z Machine co
based control" arguments. Technology and competition are combining to put a "double z Embedded
whammy" on these arguments. The result is more competition and more choices for z Process an
System Integration control systems designers with less clear differentiation among the contenders. control
z Controllers
Information Control This article is the second of a two-part series focusing on industrial controllers. The first z Motion con
appeared in January ("Controllers: Heartbeat of Production") written by Control z Robotics
Process Control Engineering senior editor, Dave Harrold. Because controllers are the central element of
a control system, CE undertook an extensive survey of the latest controller offerings. A Sidebars:
Discrete Control comprehensive capability matrix was developed and can be found online at Compare logic con
www.controleng.com. Criteria for selectin
Scan these 10 issu
robot controller
Talkback Remember when it ADVERTISEMENT Introductions: cont
was a big deal that
New Products a PLC had analog
I/O modules?
e-Cards When a PID
function block was
offered with a
company's Ladder
Diagram (relay
Design News ladder logic)
editor? Not only
Food Manufacturing were specific
controller types
IAN identified by
application, often
MBT companies were,
too.
Packaging Digest
Pharmaceutical PLCs were good
Processing for sequential
control of an
assembly line or
some kinds of
machines. With

http://www.manufacturing.net/ctl/article/CA194639?text=plc+vs+dcs 28/05/2005
Control Engineering - One (or more) Controller for Every Application Page 2 of 6

More than 20,000 motion control in a stand-alone black box, many machines required a number of motion controllers plus a PL
technical terms control. These devices were all programmed differently. Some "DCS" products were good for large regulatory
defined applications, while others performed best for smaller process and batch applications. Certain companies wer
their type of products, so some were typecast as machine-control companies, others as batch-processing co
others as regulatory control companies.

Your online source of It's time to forget all these definitions. Discrete control vendors have added hardware and software to broade
technical terminology include batch and other process applications. CNC manufacturers have added sequential logic and commun
and definitions. one product can do the work that previously required three.

When the questionnaire for the CE study was composed, questions were constructed to discover what each
considered to be its products' strong application. The assumption was that each product would be designed w
a particular application. The very first feedback from these suppliers was a complaint about being "boxed in"
application. Results show that a full two-thirds of products are designed for multiple applications. In fact, 10%
Sign up today to
good for machine (discrete) control, batch control, and process (regulatory) control.
receive free e-
newsletters and
access our Buyers and Multiple applications
System Integrator
Guides, or subscribe The idea of multi-application controllers has several implications. First, choosing one company as a primary c
to our Resource may not limit choices or add complexity if different types of applications are added in the future. Another is in
Center competition. As companies that formerly were known as "discrete" product manufacturers expand product off
Subscribe expertise into the "process" arena, engineers seeking solutions there have more options to consider when se
solution at the best price.

What can we expect to see in the future? Rockwell Automation's (Mayfield Heights, O.) strategic marketing m
Nesi, pointed to a half-dozen items. Commercial technologies proliferate, primarily centered on processor spe
as well as memory enhancements. Web connectivity grows, along with an increased acceptance of Ethernet
Adoption of unifying architectures allows a single control architecture for use in multiple application domains.
object-based programming enables identical programming for each controller in a product line with the same
instructions and features, as well as a similar approach to configuring I/O and other modules. Finally, Mr. Nes
increased adoption of industry-wide safety standards for PLCs.

Specifying the wrong product is a leading cause of problems in the field. It causes delays, additional costs, a
reputation, and lost production. Considering this proliferation of competitive products from many suppliers, Co
Engineering surveyed application support people from many of these suppliers to discover tips for success d
system design.

Joe Campbell, Adept Technology (San Jose, Calif.) vp, offers a blunt assessment. "The guys that drive me c
who worry about which Microsoft Windows platform is in the controller yet ignore important things like the I/O
requirement, motion latching, I/O point latching, need for a microsecond response, yet specify I/O modules o
etc."

So, be wise and consider the entire system next time. How fast must the system respond? What is the cycle
controller scan and update all I/O points quickly enough? Is the communication network fast enough?

Seek reliability

Todd Walter, National Instruments' (Austin, Tex.) distributed I/O product manager, offers three criteria for cho
controller. "First is the reliability and form factor. Some applications, such as batch processing, may be instal
industrial environments and will need a more rugged packaging that can withstand high temperatures and vib
is flexibility, ability to perform advanced tasks like fuzzy logic for machine control or data logging for regulator
is speed of the processor and I/O system. Applications like machine control and CNC may require high-spee
acquisition and integration with vision and motion."

Another item to look for is compatibility with the preferences and training of those closest to the project. Joe K
Automation Intelligence (Duluth, Ga.) engineering manager, states, "As a control system integrator, we are d
machine-control solutions for a wide variety of industries and applications. We prefer a text-based programm
that gives us flexibility to use the same platform for each of our projects."

One of the most important requirements in control systems design today is communications. Control enginee
ever-growing demands to provide information to a wide variety of information consumers. David Harris, Eaton
Hammer (Milwaukee, Wis.) automation hardware product manager, says, "Since the main object of open con
data, consider whether the controller can take advantage of popular communication methods like Ethernet an
will the controller accept third-party hardware and/or software in order to provide a full solution? Regarding co
can the program share data and tags, as well as provide easy editing and file manipulation?"

http://www.manufacturing.net/ctl/article/CA194639?text=plc+vs+dcs 28/05/2005
Control Engineering - One (or more) Controller for Every Application Page 3 of 6

When a platform is chosen, for instance PLC or PC, decisions do not end there. There are sub-types of platfo
of those major types. Then the kind and form factor of I/O modules must be evaluated and picked.

Pick a platform

Alan Wells, technical marketing vp at ADLink (Irvine, Calif.), discusses pros and cons. "If you have picked PC
you will still have to chose a PC form factor. This is often decided by what type of I/O cards are available. ISA
supported and manufactured by a wide range of vendors. PXI and CompactPCI offer a more rugged euro-ca
plug-and-play serviceability and better overall cost of ownership.

"Next consider the overall application. If the I/O devices are centralized, then a single industrial PC with plugg
is a low-cost-per-I/O-point solution. With a large machine or manufacturing line, distributed I/O modules are r
to different I/O form factors."

George Liao, Advantech Automation (Cincinnati, O.) HMI product manager cites system complexity as a fact
a dedicated answer about which application should use which controller. Since the processor is the core of a
complicated the application, more powerful performance of the CPU is required. The state-of-the-art process
the right choice. It could be too big, too hot, and too expensive. For some simpler applications, a RISC proce
sufficient."

On the other hand, Paul Ruland, PLC and I/O product manager at AutomationDirect.com (Cumming, Ga.), di
choosing a PLC. "Specifying a PLC has traditionally been based on the required I/O count and types. More I/
bigger PLCs. Now with features like Ethernet communications, motion control, on-board PID, and remote con
have more controller choice flexibility. The most notable advances have been in nano- and micro-class contro
like analog I/O points, auto-tune PID, floating-point math, multiple serial ports, and Ethernet and network con
away the old specification model."

Know the geography

Glenn Graney, GE Fanuc Automation (Charlottesville, Va.) marketing manager, notes, "The demands of app
often based upon the scope of geography under the control domain. An OEM building a small, self-contained
often best served by a micro PLC or a combined PC/display product if HMI is also needed. A rolling mill appli
best served with traditional rack-based PLCs with inherent capability to access control LANs and coordinate

Dave Quebbemann, industrial automation marketing manager at Omron Electronics (Schaumberg, Ill.), detai
specifications for various applications:

z Batch processing-check Class 1 Division 2 requirements, need for function block programming, math
capabilities;
z Waste water treatment-look at remote diagnostics and networking capabilities;
z Machine control-look at processing speed, advanced instructions, and networking; and
z Material handling-analyze processing speed, high-speed counter inputs, compatibility with motion co
physical size of controller, and networking.

Some companies have standardized on one brand and model of controller, while others with a wide variety o
within a plant require several different types of controllers. A constant headache for engineers in multi-contro
problem of a different software package for every controller. This leads to cost, upgrade, and training problem

Greg Nelson, automation products marketing manager at Schneider Electric (Raleigh, N.C.), suggests evalua
from the programming perspective. "One common programming environment enables users to use the same
in the same training and maintenance environment saving money, inventory, and time."

Check out online the controller capability survey, but don't be intimidated by the size. Most suppliers offer ma
controllers, but this just means that there is one (or more) controller available for every application.

For more information...

For more suppliers, go to www.controleng.com/buyersguide; for more information, www.controleng.com/free
complete controller survey at www.controleng.com.

Adept Technology ADLink Technology Adventech Automation

www.adept.com www.adlinktechnology.com www.advantech.com

http://www.manufacturing.net/ctl/article/CA194639?text=plc+vs+dcs 28/05/2005