FEAT RE FEA ATURE
PLCS IS, I, NDUSTR L P S & H
STRIAL PCS & HMI S STEPPING THE AUTOMAT
STEPPING THE AUTOMATION M LESTONES The last 25 years has seen the pace of technological
TION MILES TONE S
The current rate of innovation is likely to continue over the next quarter of a century
N
ever has technology moved as quickly as it has over the last 25
years. Omron saw the opportunities that this industry disruption would bring, and decided that 1991 was the ideal time to open a location in the UK. Previously the company serviced the whole of Europe from its headquarters in the Netherlands, which was established in 1974. The company then supported its UK
customers through distributors instead of being involved directly.
The firmspecialised in sensing and
vastmajority of panel buil electrical components tha safety components, as we
PLCs had been around fo r some time but in general, they were too large, complex and expensive for all but themost demanding installations, such as those found in the oil and gas sectors. Omron had recognised the potential to penetrate the UKmarket with its own PLC’s and drives, which led to the establishment of
wiring diagrams that ele c used to program PLCs wa Even though the ladder Omron Electronics UK, 25
trical engineer s s based on the logic language years ago.
used to wire relays in panels, PLCs still needed highly skilled experts to write the programs. The programming devices used to input the ladder logic were very primitive by today’s standards, and generally only had a smal allowing the programmer
to only see a l screen,
few lines of code at a time. Getting engineers up to speed required extensive training and support, which Omron could now offer on a direct basis to allow customers to realise thei r automate d control requirements. At the time, programming experts were thin on the ground, so setting up the support network to help customers adopt PLCs was a very expensive undertaking. Of course, history has proved Omron correct in its determination to push
20 20 MAR MARCH 201 2017 | AU AUTOMA MAT ATION
ll as the general tmade up the ds at the time. ,
Dave Halon, Omron european distribution manager
Dave Halon, Omron manager
european distribution
The last 25 years has seen the pace of technological change rise dramatically in industry. A quarter of a century ago, industry was just starting the process of adopting computing power, in what is now termed as the third industrial revolution. Now, thatthat technology has been almost fully incorporated intointo manufacturing processes and we have reached the sta t o th in
change rise dramati al y i century ago, industry w
of adopting com uti g power,
dustry. A quarter of a st starting the process what i now
termed as the thi d i dustrial revolution. N echnology has been al
st fully incorp
anufactur g processes and we have reached t start of the next industrial revollution, which is being driven by information, as Dave Halon, Omron’s European distribution manager, explains
in iv Om stria re inform io
complex products as PLCs and drives have displaced almost all of the huge relay cabinets that were prevalent throughout the industry 25 years ago. Each new generation of computerised products like PLCs and drives is more powerful, cheaper and easier to integrate, driving the adoption of the technologies throughout different industries.
Even though PLC control has replaced relays in the majority of applications in the control industry, the market for relays remains huge. Omron was founded as a manufacturer of relays and timers in the Omuro region of Kyoto in 1933, and the company is still a major supplier of relays throughout the world. It employs 3,500 staff globally, on the design, manufacture, and supply of relays alone. Today’s relays aremuchmore diverse in design and found inmany niche
applications - fromtiny solid state relays that are found on printed circuit boards, to larger DIN railmounted and standalone relays. In general, today’s relays are smaller, faster andmore reliable than
cabinets 25 years ago. A goo d similar relay types found in co
example of ntrol
how some relays have shrunk is Omron’s G2R relay range, which originally had products thatmeasured three (76mm) wide at launch. Now, under a tenth of that size at 6
mmwide. they are inches
On the other hand, some relays have barely changed – Omron’sMY4 range is a prime example of this type of relay. This range is around 25 years old, and it is only a change in the faceplate’s colour and the addition of a test switch that that differentiates the old fromth e new. The changes in products have not just come for relays. The PLCs and drives that persuaded Omron to base in the UK originally have also seen some very considerable changes. When people think of Ohm’s Laws, it is generally context of home computing,
but the law in the
utio , w ich is lo
’s European distributionm nager explains also holds true for industrial computing.
The PLCs available today have computing of magnitude more
than those found 25 power that is orders
extra power enable s
more precise contro l years ago. That
through faster processing. More complex functions can also be undertaken, which has enabled another revolution, allowing industrial robots to become much more prevalent in manufacturing.
The extra power and memory available has also seen a change in the way PLCs are programmed. Although ladder logic is
programmed in muc still used in some ca
h more modern and ses, PLCs can be
easier ways, usually on a modern high resolution PC scree n instead of th e original small LCD displays of the past. High level computing languages like C are often used. Tasks can be more easily broken down into functional blocks, which can then be put together into full applications. In some cases, a mixture of two, or even all three of these methods can be used in the same application. This ease of program development over the years has probably been as vital to the adoption of PLCs a s the fall in cost. An d the costs have dropped almost as quickly as performance has increased. A basic PLC 25 years ago would have cost many thousands of pounds. Today, a basic but powerful compact PLC can be bought for
Another maj around £100.
ajor way that the PLC has
changed is that it is now much more flexible. You would have chosen the PLC that was closest to your requirements from a range of PLCs with similar specifications 25 ye ars ago Today yo u can purchase a base PLC that has the computing power required, and then add different modules, such as a web server or for extra inputs and outputs, to give the full feature set r application. A modu
. , makes it easier to accommodate future /AUTOMATION AT /AUTOMATION
lar approach like this equired for the
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