In industrial environments, the concept of automation is nothing new. Ever since the Industrial Revolution, machines have been doing jobs once done by

Arduino and Automation Systems in Industrial Environments

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2021-05-30 04:25:48

In industrial environments, the concept of automation is nothing new. Ever since the Industrial Revolution, machines have been doing jobs once done by the human hand – and have done so on a huge scale. As we now look towards what comes next, industrial automation will normally comprise engineered systems or programmable logic controllers. But each has its own pitfalls – whether that’s cost or inflexibility. So, could Arduinos provide a solution to both problems?

A programmable logic controller (PLC) is a commercial, solid-state computer control system. In an industrial setting, PLCs will take data from inputs such as sensors or other devices and make decisions based on pre-determined parameters. As such, PLCs can be installed in a broad range of settings and can offer an effective control and monitoring solution.

But PLCs aren’t without their disadvantages. One of the main issues that can emerge with PLCs is when something goes wrong. It can be hard to locate faults and – when they are found – it’ll often need specialist technicians to resolve them. In addition, some PLCs can’t perform too well in applications where they are exposed to high temperature or vibrations.