I am looking to build a factory, that has 10-15 appliances which will be used in different processes.
Essentially the software has to interact with the appliances, turning them on and off, monitoring temperatures, and moving parts.
We have 2000 recipes (or processes) that need to be stored in memory that can be applied to our product.
Our thoughts are that this would probably done with a micro-controller. Can vb be used in a microcontroller What operating system does microsoft have for microcontrollers
Industrial/factory automation.....is vbnet the way to go?
pravee
Can it be used Yes.
Would you use it No.
Use a small PLC (e.g. Siemens S7, SLC500, GE Fanuc, etc.) for the low level real time control of I/O devices. Interface to these devices through TCP/IP/MODBUS/Profibus/DeviceNET/serial(RS485 for multi-drop), for example, to VB application acting as a supervisor/master controller.
Although you can get multifunction cards to perrform the controlling (for temperatures, sensors, etc.) it's not viable for an industrial application beyond 1 or two systems. PLCs are designed for that kind of stuff - e.g. relay logic to perform a safe start/stop, and will also transition to a safe condition on failure. This last point is the biggest issue with using PCs as control devices: in general, a PC is not failsafe, nor is it real time (side note: there are real time extensions - RTX - to Windows, but it's an expensive route to go).
However, a PC is ideal as a supervisor. You can program a nice HMI, information acquisition system with VB - it's far cheaper than applicatons designed for such things, like Wonderware (with a potential $10K development license and a $2-3K runtime license), but may not be as simple to use. You need to know precisely what you want to do with it for it to be cost effective - flailing about in VB can cost you a lot of time (nd money) trying to get it right.
If you undersand the process, and what the operators of these machines need to do, then VB is by far the best choice. 99% of the PCs I work on are in industrial environments, and have proven themselves as information gatherers, supervisor, analysis machines; but not as part of a significat control loop.
mowali75
I would like an HMI program for my company's control system product. I have very little VB or C++ background, but the SCADA software providers charge so much for their runtime licenses, I would like to invest the time to develop a VB based solution. The control system communicates Modbus TCP as a slave. I need a program that acts as the ModBus master.
Could someone tell me where I would find the source code for a ModBus master Or even better, has anyone here ever built an app that displays Modbus TCP data on a screen
Thanks for any help I might receive.
Curt (209) 483-3910
davidakos
HI There... I am Not answering the Question only Commenting... I Found the Question Interesting....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microcontroller
It seems to me from the above Definition the micro-controller solution is hard wired..... meaning once you burn the chip that's it.... You live with what it does.... This is not a general purpose solution... A general purpose solution would require a $600 microcomputer and a $60000/year IT Professional..... General Purpose means as your Business changes the IT Professional can adjust your Computer system Dynamically.... It's your Call.... Cheers