Written by Fraser Cowie

As we move inexorably towards the end of the decade every manufacturer of ‘Smart’ products is focused on making sure their products reflect the needs of the market and Industry 4.0 and Phoenix Contact is no exception.

In this blog Fraser Cowie talks about ‘Smart Relays’ and compares the quirky PLC Logic smart relay with other products on the market:

Smart relays have been around since Duran Duran first came to our attention, but unlike Duran Duran, have not evolved significantly and in some cases no longer meet the needs of the marketplace.

So what’s wrong with some smart relays available today?

1. They can be inflexible and if additional analogue I/O is needed they can more than double in size
2. The associated screens are too small and impractical
3. They can be difficult to programme
4. You may have to pay for the original programming software or new releases
5. Their internal relays are too small to switch any sizable load and cannot be adapted to different applications
6. It may be impossible or impractical to integrate them into higher level systems

So let’s see how the PLC Logic from Phoenix contact addresses each of the above shortcomings:

1. The basic 16 I/O offer is only 50mm wide and 10 of those I/O are configurable and can be used as inputs or outputs, digital or analogue, thus providing great flexibility
2. There is Modbus RTU on-board to link to a traditional HMI. The same port can be used to attach a Bluetooth adapter, which via an Ap can be accessed from an iPad, effectively giving the user a mobile HMI
3. The PLC Logic software called Logic + is very intuitive and can be programmed in minutes using function blocks or traditional ladder
4. Logic plus software and all function blocks are free to download from the Phoenix Contact website.
5. As PLC logic is based on the PLC plug-in compact relay range, all of the relays can be configured as electro-mechanical or solid state and if needed, can be replaced without disturbing any wiring
6. With the use of an IoT gateway, the PLC Logic smart relay can be connected to the open IOT platform.

If you want to know more about this unique take on Smart relays please contact Fraser Cowie directly on 07584514963 or email him at fcowie@phoenixcontact.com

To watch a video, download the software, or find out further information you can go directly to the PLC Logic web page using the web code #0687