IDEC
A small, yet powerful — and smart — PLC
The MicroSmart FC6A Plus (photo) is a powerful PLC, with up to 2,060 local I/Os. With its expanded I/O capacity, the FC6A Plus can control and monitor the largest machines or entire small-scale manufacturing facilities, a capability seldom found in a micro PLC, says the company. To ensure high-level performance with this expanded I/O count, basic instructions can be executed in the extremely fast speed of 21 ns, and program memory is 800 kB (100 K steps), much larger than other micro PLCs. These capabilities are combined with extensive data memory, more than double the capacity of a typical micro PLC. These features allow the FC6A Plus to handle large programs with complex control requirements, such as PID, flow totalization and recipes. Two models are available, each with 24-V d.c. input power. The 16 I/O model has eight inputs and eight relay or transistor outputs. The 32 I/O model has 16 inputs and 16 transistor outputs. Each model also includes an integral 0–10-V d.c. analog input with 12-bit resolution. Each model can accommodate up to three plug-in discrete, analog, serial communication or Bluetooth cartridges. Each discrete cartridge has four discrete I/O points, either four inputs or four outputs. Each analog cartridge has two analog I/O points, either two inputs or two outputs. Up to 63 I/O expansion modules can be added. This gives the FC6A Plus the capability to handle up to 2,060 I/Os with a maximum of 511 analog I/Os. — IDEC Corp., Sunnyvale, Calif.