Reviews for Programmable Controllers

I purchased this because it is the most affordable controller (PLC) that offered ethernet connectivity. It also offered MQTT capability which I was hoping to import into the Google IoT cloud. I bought it with a C2-08AR-6C option card, which I promptly slotted into the unit. I usually work with Rockwell and Siemens components, so the mechanical case felt a little flimsy to me. The plastic casing bends when squeezing on the left and right sides of the unit. Thankfully, it?s much stiffer front to back and top to bottom. The unit is also very light. The entire unit has ventilation holes on the top bottom and sides. I would suggest extra caution when drilling subpanels around this unit. Metal shavings could easily fall in. Removing it before drilling would be best. Thankfully the unit unclips easily from the DIN rail with a tab at the bottom that can be pulled down. I appreciate that buying a Click power supply is not required, and just about any 24v DC power supply can be used. Take note that the connector at the bottom of the unit for wiring power is not sized very generously. You can fit just your power supply wires in there, and nothing more. Don?t think about trying to fit two wires in the same terminal. Not going to happen. The unit also did not come with a coin cell battery for the real time clock. Make sure to add this to your order if time is important to your application. The software prompted me to create a password for the controller which I seem to forget every time I want to use it. Thankfully, It is possible to reset the password with a factory reset. While the user interface to the programming software felt relatively modern, the practice of directly addressing memory to create variables felt archaic. I am a rather young engineer and grew up learning object-oriented programming like C/C++ where a variable is given a name and the compiler handles the task of assigning it to memory. I have no experience writing FORTRAN, but that is what I imagine while picking memory addresses for variables. Additionally, the available instruction set felt rather small. Obviously coils and contacts were there, but ?extra? functionality was not simply given to you. I would suggest researching these ahead of time to learn what you are getting into. The scientific calculator, however, felt very useful and allowed variables and constants to be easily chained into a formula. As I mentioned earlier, I was hoping to send data from this unit to Google IoT cloud through MQTT messages. I was disappointed to find out, that Google requires encrypted packets which this unit is not capable of. I wish this was better advertised. If you look at the Do-More product line, it advertises MQTT(S), where I assume the (S) stands for secure (and encrypted) messages. This unit just advertises MQTT. My take is that the processor is not capable of encrypting the packets while maintaining timing for the rest of the processes running on it. If you are implementing this device in a typical factory application with a local MQTT broker, the lack of encryption may not be of much detriment to you. The broker could handle encryption before pushing to the cloud, and concern of bad actors on the local network should be minimal. AD offers a MQTT gateway that can take in Modbus TCP and convert to MQTT(S) if you really need encryption. This is somewhat harsh criticism for a device that is truly a great value. The Click platform is one of the cheapest PLCs available and does a great job at making industrial automation components available to the hobbyist. The Click Plus further adds to it with the addition of a real time clock and ethernet. I have no doubt that this is the perfect device for automating a simple machine. Additionally, the tutorials available on YouTube make this a great device for learning PLC programming on.

Can't beat this for the money. Compact CPU with inexpensive I/O modules. Only complaint is the software is a bit basic and missing some functionality that I was looking for (cannot use a variable to set the slave ID for Modbus communications, have to hard code it.) Beyond that have had very little issues with the PLC or functionality. Will continue to use in our industrial equipment builds.

This card says it is 16 bit but it is NOT 16 bit unless you are using bipolar signals. This is VERY deceiving as it has the same 16 bit listing as the unipolar card which has 16 bit capability.

Ive been upgrading existing D2 racks with D2-260 Cpu with the DO-MORE DME, using the Modbus server to populate up to 16 Excel screens. This unit kicks butt on most other PLCs including Allen Bradley. Its rock solid platform that has plenty of capacity for the most demanding application. A few installs Ive used the Do More have over 240 analog inputs, most being accessed via the simple Modbus remote racks, all channels being converted to real numbers with hi-hi hi low low-low trips and alarm setpoints.

Best value on the market. Software is awesome and free, and in my opinion is a very close copy to the Allen Bradley software. It doesn't look the same, but if you work with Allen Bradley you will have no trouble using this software. Very intuitive, love it.

Easy to setup and program, easy learn curve to use the software. Scalable for small and big projects, amazing control of temperature, easy to read sensor values, compact design and very rugged and durable. thanks

I enjoy the programming software the most. We use this particular PLC for a DC Drive on a carriage in a sawmill and it has preformed perfect. I really like the BRX lineup because you can pick what you need for your application. I have been using Automation Direct for all my PLC and control needs the past 4 years and they have exceeded my expectations on price and availability! Thanks, Michael

Works as it should. I have been upgrading small production machines and works great.

I recently constructed a piece of equipment to automate a portion of one of our production lines. I needed a PLC that I could quickly write a program for, and easily update as needed. This I/O module was perfect for controlling the outputs. The entire setup (PLC, I/O module, and power supply) were a great value and have operated flawlessly since the install. I couldn't be happier with Automation Direct, or their innovative products!

This processor is slightly less capable than the P3000 version (mostly in terms of network connections) but the footprint is smaller, and what I really needed was the +/-10VDC analog output module (the P3000 analog out card only gives 0-10VDC) . Programming was the same as the P3000.