Product Exclusive: Large, color PLC+HMI touchscreen

Unitronics new Vision1210 is an industrial programmable logic controller integrated with a 12.1-in. color human-machine interface with touchscreen.

June 22, 2011

Unitronics introduces the newest big-screen member of its PLC+HMI family, the Unitronics Vision1210. Industrial control processes can now enjoy full programmable logic controller (PLC) functionality with a larger-than-ever 12.1-in., 65,000-color touchscreen. Integrating a PLC and HMI gives users an opportunity to operate on a minimum of budget, programming time, and wiring, the company said.

With an IP66 rating, the controller is well suited for the food industry, wherever spray or wipe down applications apply. A wide variety of onboard I/O options can be added by snapping a module onto the back of the PLC. Expandable up to 1,024 I/O, these configurations include digital and analog inputs and outputs, high-speed I/O, PT100/thermocouple capabilities, and weight measurement. They can be mounted locally or remotely, up to 1000 m from the controller. This power-PLC is equipped with a built-in USB programming port, recipe capabilities, Micro SD card memory storage for data logging and backup, complete PLC cloning, and more.

Systems integrators can now rely on one device: The Vision1210 can support 24 auto-tuned PID loops to control temperature, level, and pressure, while the 16-bit SVGA color touchscreen displays data, color trend graphs, and attention-grabbing alarm screens. Display options are almost endless, with more than 1,000 user-designed screens, and up to 500 images per application. Internal memory holds 2 MB of application logic, plus 1 MB for fonts and 32 MB for images.

Communication options include TCP/IP Ethernet, cellular, and industrial protocols, such as Modbus, DF1 slave, J1939, CANopen, and others. In addition, the controller can be “taught” to communicate via almost any device-based protocol. It also is capable of time-based and immediate interrupts, making it a natural for rapid-response applications, such as packaging machines.

Unitronics’ free VisiLogic software provides one user-friendly environment for hardware configuration, modular Ladder application development, and HMI design, including a rich color library of industrial images, the company said. Unitronics also offers free technical support for all products.

Vision1210 reduces overall system costs by minimizing hardware requirements, saving cabinet space, and—above all—exempting the user from setting up panel-PLC communication.

www.unitronics.com

Unitronics