PLC application kit a 'low-cost' PLC alternative for automation and control users

15 November 2006 Design Automation Access Control & Identity Management Commercial (Industry)

Rabbit Semiconductor has introduced an application kit that offers PLC (programmable logic controller) developers the ability to incorporate low-cost Rabbit hardware in lieu of more expensive PLC systems.

The new Rabbit Embedded PLC Application kit includes ISaGRAF software and the Rabbit BL2500 single board computer, as well as sample application programmes. The company says that traditional PLC programmers will enjoy programming the new Rabbit-based solutions, using the ISaGRAF programming software, which has been recently upgraded to support Rabbit products. This industrial programming software package supports all of the familiar industrial programming environments listed in the IEC61131-3 standard and is currently in use by thousands of PLC programmers worldwide.

The ISaGRAF v3.5 workbench is an industrial Soft Logic programming system, supporting six different programming languages. Industrial users of PLCs will be able to use their language of choice and deploy lower-cost Rabbit-based solutions as easily as they implement their traditional PLC systems. ISaGRAF is fully compliant with the programming languages specified in the IEC61131-3 standard, recognised world-wide as the standard for PLC systems. These languages include Sequential Function Chart (SFC), Function Block Diagram (FBD), Ladder Diagram (LD), Instruction List (IL), and Structured Text (ST).

The BL2500 SBC is a platform that is equally suited for single unit installations as well as high-volume applications. Based on the Rabbit 3000 microprocessor, the BL2500 incorporates a powerful feature set of flash memory, digital I/O, analog I/O, multiple serial ports and 10/100 Ethernet. These features are all encompassed on a compact board size of 100 x 100 mm and easily mountable on a standard 100 mm DIN rail tray.

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