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Colour touchscreen PLC targets SIs and OEMs

19 May, 2014

Unitronics, the Israeli specialist in integrated PLCs and HMIs, has developed a device aimed at system integrators and OEMs that need PLC control, but would usually choose simple text displays, rather than colour HMIs, due to limited budgets.

The Samba all-in-one, palm-sized controller has a 3.5” 16-bit QVGA touchscreen that can be used for data entry and to display data such as colour trend graphs and alarm screens. The controller/HMI supports 24 user-designed screens, and up to 40 images per application.

Built-in features include two auto-tuning PID loops, time-based RTC control, datalogging, recipes and more. The device’s internal memory holds 0.5Mbyte of application logic, as well as 512K for fonts and 0.5MB for images.

Onboard I/Os offer digital, analogue, and high-speed functions. There is a built-in RS-232 port, and users can add RS-485 serial, Ethernet or CANbus ports. The controller supports GPRS/GSM, email, SMS, as well as industrial TCP/IP protocols, Modbus, DF1 slave, CANopen, J1939 and more. It can be adapted to any third-party protocol.

A flat fascia and an IP66/IP65/Nema4X rating make the PLC/HMI suitable for use in food and pharmaceutical applications where spray and wipe-down requirements apply. 

Unitronics' Samba integrated PLC and HMI makes colour touchscreen displays affordable

Unitronics’ free VisiLogic software provides a simple environment for configuring hardware and communications, developing ladder applications, and HMI design. It includes a library of industrial images. Free utilities support remote PC access and data export. Unitronics offers free technical support and an active user forum.

The company says that Samba offers all of the functions that system integrators need for small applications, reduces space requirements and wiring, and eliminates the need to set up panel-to-PLC communications.




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