Yokogawa claims to have developed the world’s fastest PLC, with the ability to scan a 100k-step program in just 1ms. The company hopes that the FA-M3V controller will boost its share of the PLC market and thus expand its factory automation business.

The new PLC is capable of controlling not only discrete manufacturing processes, but also batch processes. Its high operating speed is achieved through a combination of Yokogawa’s Vitesse engine and a parallel instruction processing system. It has a built-in Ethernet port, thus saving space and eliminating communications overheads for a higher throughput.

Yokogawa claims that the FA-M3V is the first PLC to offer an ECC (error check and correct) function for added security. It also uses a login function with three different layers of access control, and the login history can be archived on a removable memory card.

The PLC was launched in Japan in November 2010. Yokogawa estimates that, together with other models in its FA-M3 series, it now has 30% of the Japanese market for mid-to-large PLCs. The FA-M3V is due to be launched in Europe in mid-2011, once it has received CE approval.