Arduino vs. PLC for industrial control

[breen-machine]

This is a neat comparison. I've often imagined using an Arduino for industrial control, but have never actually done it for a few important reasons, some of which are hinted at in this video.

1) In industry, implementation time is very expensive (controls engineers are in high demand), so saving a few bucks on components isn't usually high priority.
2) In industry, downtime (when the machine isn't running because something broke) is very expensive, so people tend to be extremely conservative. Rugged components and familiar approaches are preferred.
3) The existing skill set in industry is focused on a particular way of doing things - typically ladder logic on a PLC. Maintenance techs and control engineers know how to troubleshoot and fix these types of systems. Could they learn something like Arduino? Certainly. Will they? Probably not. These people are focused on keeping equipment running, not sifting through all possible alternative technologies to learn. This is kind of a chicken or the egg problem, and is related to point 2.

The end of the video talks about documentation and resources available for the BRX PLC. I think it's only fair to point out that the Arduino has a ton of great resources.

[saintpine]

It's nearly 30 years now that I work with DCS and sometimes PLC in the Industry, and never heard of this BRX plc.

You simply cannot use an Arduino even with all the necessary components to be used in industrial applications, they do not have the necessary certifications.
There are several producers of PLC's certified for the Industry that are based on the Arduino IDE.
Controllino in an example.

[manuelkovacevich]

Everyone is wrong ... and everyone is right.
As the saying goes: "it depends on the glass through which you look"
As the video says, can industrial control be done with an Arduino? Answer: YES.
Is it cheaper to do industrial control with an Arduino? Answer: YES.
The right question to ask is: Is the industry willing to delegate control of its process to a $ 20- $ 50 device when a device failure costs them thousands (millions) of dollars per production stoppage?

[ApaPapaLah]

I've experienced both, but i'll surely choose PLC for industrial applications. Arduino and PLC is two different kind of controllers. Arduino is basically a Microcontroller that have basic signals interfacing while PLC is a complete product that have a preset interfacing module that we can choose and it also got microcontroller inside. Usually a PLC have a proggramming software with various indutrial application libraries using various languages. Simply said, both are a controller but for different applications. Arduino is best for research or projects in embedded system development while PLC is best for industrial applications. The outcome is same, to control something. But with different aproach. The cost and reliability promised also are very far different indeed. There are also arduino based industrial shields in the market. But you might need to use C/C++/arduino language to program it.

[heresteven]

The people at automation direct are wonderful. They helped me out a lot while I was starting out learning plc's.

[bjjohns]

The part I find the most interesting is the end devices (the flow meter, the control valve, etc.) easily run upwards of $3, 000.00.
A PLC is a Programmable Logic Controller, many models styles, types (and prices) are commonly used in the industrial world, that is what I do for a living.

[michaelmolter]

Whats frustrating about PLCs is the cost of outputs. Any sort of PWM (or step and direction) requires high-speed output cards that cost several hundred dollars. Even the most basic Arduino has eight built-in... Analog input, the Arduino has several! I would never use a Arduino in an industrial application, but Arduinos have a lot of things PLCs don't for a lot less!

[GeraldoSpT]

There are arduino based PLCs, like Controllino and Industrial Shields

[ΔανΖελ]

Of course plc's are is an inudtry standard, and arduino was only meant for educational purpose. Many arduino only users who are not familiar with plc's think that arduino can be used for industrial automation but I bet those people if they ever work in any industry if they ever saw arduino is used as a mode of automation especially in large factories. The arduino board has limited capabilities if this is in terms of industrial applications, but for something at small scale and cheap alternative may be necessary the arduino can come into play.

[cypherfx]

Even though I would side with a PLC for reliability this video is disingenuous about the Arduino. There are industrial shields and libraries to take care of the complexity, and yes that includes a PID library. You don't sit there and fiddle with knobs, you dial in your settings in software and unplug the USB cable, just like the PLC. The reason people are using them is the cost. That BRX PLC is $200 minimum, not including the power supply also needed. You can get Arduino compatible UNO boards for $3.

Then there's the CLICK PLC. Its got a nice ARM microcontroller running it, but compared to the others it's slow and can't do PID. It's crippled by firmware so they can sell more expensive models for simple tasks requiring PID loops.

[shamialgawzi]

I like the way of comparison and explanation.... thank you

[rabiesbabies]

Must be an old video arduino are $3 on amazon

[manuelalcala]

I Choose plc than arduino for industrial application.