EC: SAMBA integrated PLC

Hardware — Integrated HMI Controllers: SAMBA is an integrated PLC with a 3.5-in. color-touch HMI, used to control any automated process. This is a Control Engineering 2015 Engineers’ Choice award winner.

By Control Engineering October 20, 2014

System integrators and OEMs often develop applications that require PLC control, but that settle on simple text displays due to limited budget. Unitronics, a trendsetter in the field of all-in-one PLC and HMI integrated controllers, has specifically developed a device for these situations: Samba.

Samba is an all-in-one, palm-size controller. The beautiful HMI 3.5-in. QVGA 16-bit touchscreen enables data entry and display of variable data, including color trend graphs and alarm screens. Samba supports 24 user-designed screens, and up to 40 images per application.

The integrated PLC offers a broad range of features including two auto-tuned PID loops, time-based RTC control, datalogging, recipes, and more. Internal memory holds 0.5 MB of application logic, plus 512 KB for fonts and 0.5 MB for images. Onboard I/Os offer digital, analog, and high-speed functionality.

The flat fascia and IP66/IP65/NEMA4X rating makes Samba an excellent fit for the food and pharmaceutical industries-ideal wherever spray/wipe down requirements apply. Samba offers a built-in RS232 port. You can add an additional RS485 serial, Ethernet, or CANbus port. Samba supports GPRS/GSM, email, SMS, as well as industrial TCP/IP protocols, MODBUS, DF1 slave, CANopen, J1939, and more-and it may be adapted to any third-party protocol.

Unitronics free VisiLogic software provides a single simple environment for hardware and communications configuration, Ladder application development, and HMI design, including a free library of industrial images. Free utilities support remote PC access and data export. Unitronics offers free technical support for all of their products, and an active user forum.

Samba offers all the functionality system integrators need for small applications, reduces space requirements, wiring, and eliminates the need to set up panel-PLC communication-resulting in an excellent price/performance ratio.

Unitronics

www.unitronics.com