Aimed at distributed modular control applications in industrial automation and machine building research, the new PLCnext Control system combines the robustness and security of a classic PLC with the openness and flexibility of IIoT smart devices, says RS.
The first Phoenix Contact PLCnext Control device available from RS, designated the AXC F 2152, features a dual-core 800 MHz ARM Cortex processor with 512 MByte of memory. Housed in a 127 x 45 x 75 mm enclosure, it also includes an OPC UA server, fieldbus manager, diagnostic loggers, trace controllers, and automatic access to Phoenix Contact’s direct cloud connection, known as Proficloud.
The PLCnext platform is an enhancement to classical IEC 61131 compliant PLC programming that allows developers to program using a choice of high-level languages. Open-source software and apps can be incorporated flexibly within the system. The real-time performance and data consistency associated with proprietary, device-specific PLC coding are maintained while the limitations are avoided.
Multiple developers can work independently using their preferred development tools, their contributions being captured seamlessly into a single project. The result is that applications can be developed significantly faster than previously, says RS.
