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I was hoping to inquire into whether anyone in the forum has used this hardware? Some of the hardware such as the analog module that supports 8 4-20ma inputs are very reasonably priced to compete with replacing a PLC for monitoring needs. I hope this is the correct area for this post
I’ve not used these exact modules before but I’ve used ones very like them. They can be useful when your system doesn’t involve any control - I would be very wary about trying to implement control in the PC and using these as input/output modules. I prefer to keep control in a device designed for it, like a PLC.
Some of these Ethernet-based modules will send out the data only when it changes - if this is how you plan to use them, make sure to check periodically that you actually have comms to the units, or you could end up relying on stale data.
Modules like these are very flexible, but they do introduce many more links in the communications chain than the old fashioned directly-wired serial devices, so you have to make sure you design your system carefully.
I have finally gotten to use one of these modules. I purchased the temperature module.
It uses modbus tcp but I have found it much easier to use it with the xml minidom.
I am parsing the xml every 2.5 seconds and writing that to a tag in Ignition. The setup was a breeze.
It has many functions including relay outputs and e-mail alerts. I was planning on using Ignition to do the messaging since I can script it. After reading some new posts I am excited to use 7.6 although the SIM card necessity is a bummer.