Arduino Opta PLC Unboxing: Bit Underwhelmed
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 มี.ค. 2023
- Just thought I'd quickly share the new Arduino Opta. I'm a big Arduino fanboy but bummed out by the extra charges so not going to power it up yet. Hopefully in the next video.
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Hi, I'm Hamed, I just graduated in Electronics & Electrical Engineering. I'm now working as a PLC Control Engineer.
My GitHub: github.com/hadefuwa
My website: www.hamed.engineer
If you have any questions you can email me at hamed@hamed.engineer or just comment below.
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I'm currently working through getting this stupid thing online with the PLC IDE, and underwhelming is an understatement. They have misunderstood what a PLC is supposed to be about: not only robust for industrial setting, but the software that programs these also has to be very robust, user-friendly, with a lot of guardrails in place. The targeted demographic of PLC programming does not always come from a software background, but so far I've seen a LOT of software engineering level jargon about using the C++-based IDE to install a base sketch so it can then be detected by the PLC IDE, one guy was giving a run-through on what install files to modify yadda yadda. I would have had a Rockwell PLC in the cabinet and going days ago. I know the price difference warrants this ease of use, but to me this is not worthy of being called a PLC yet.
I was excited about this, managed to grab one and shat myself when I got hit with the import charge. Should have went with a logo! Especially considering how the Arduino PLC software doesn't yet work with this. I bought this to learn ladder logic, now I'm having to program it with C++
Wait!!! You have to use C++ 🤦🤦🤦. It just gets worse. That ridiculous import fee knocked the excitement out of me and now your comment has just reconfirmed it's place on the shelf for now. 😭
Wondering if you can compile it with codesys...
Hey, the port on the side is not a usb port, that's a communication port for future modules.
I don't want to state the obvious but as far as the arduino opta vs logo plc goes, it depends on the complexity of your application.
Even though Logo would be perfectly adequate for a garage door or Irrigation system application, the opta offers so much more like wifi or rs485 (protocol agnostic) communication, webserver, webclient capabilities multicore programming, iot/rest api capabilities huge amount of libraries that add additional functionality etc.
I mostly consider logo as an augmented programmable relay than an actual modern plc.
That said, will i be using the opta? Probably not or at least not yet. I would rather try an esp32 based plc due the better and more professional libraries/framework (ESP-IDF) that is written from the ground up with multicore capabilities in mind.
Thanks mate for the detailed response. I'm hoping my next video is me loving this thing. I have TIA Portal so I'm good with the 1200s but for someone who doesn't, the free Arduino IDE will be massive. Do you have any esp based PLCs you can recommend? I hadn't even considered those.
@@HamedAdefuwa
Even though as of now there isn't an ideal platform for my needs, i can surely share some thoughts on the matter.
My main issue is that i dislike being limited in terms of functionality and also i dislike switching between solutions and vendors based on application. I would rather settle on a modular and affordable solution even if it means investing time to prepare/program the base of my functionality.
Up until now i have used the LOGO 8 plc for some very basic applications and i have moved mostly to OPEN 600/800 EMS by DeosAG which is a BMS system that offers a lot of flexibility (as it uses a macro/function block approach) but not as much flexibility as a programming language. Though they surely bite you in the ass in terms of pricing, so this in turn limits the customer base.
The form factor that i really like is the PRODUCTIVITY OPEN P1AM-100 which is very affordable (like 60€ for the CPU) and very expandable (with their expansion modules). It also seems very professional and well made. Though the downside is that they are arduino/single core/1bit SPI SDCARD only which makes the coordination of serving graphical pages and doing logic a bit tricky and also maybe slow. I only wish they introduced a new ESP32 series, that would be game changing imo.
In terms of ESP based solutions, i have purchased a model from Industrial Shields (ESP32 PLC 19R) for testing and i'm quite pleased with it. I haven't tested it with ESP-IDF though, instead i have been testing ESP-IDF with the development modules by espressif (ESP32 and ESP32-S3) and their framework seems very robust. Also i have been looking into cases such as KC868-A4S (th-cam.com/video/6BDfn7qxrqE/w-d-xo.html) as it is dirt cheap (89$) but i have to clear out a few more things about their certifications and import fees. Neither though (Industrial Shields or KC868-A4S) offers (in the basic package) the IO's that i really need which are mostly relays, optocoupled DI's and NTC10k or PT1000 for temp readings which will force me to use external 3rd party modules even for the most basic application.
I also have considered linux based solutions such as MOXA ioThinx 4530 but they are neither cheap nor does having a full OS running for each point sound like a good idea to me.
I do look forward to some proof of concept from opta users in the future and better multicore support from Arduino in terms of software. I definitely plan on doing more field tests with some of those solutions and we'll see how this goes since this is a relatively new direction for the field.
@@HamedAdefuwa Also will definitely be looking forward to more content, take your time...
I just spent 3 days waiting for UPS to get their act together. It's like déjà vu all over again. I had to get irate and tell offshore support to speak English. The issue of £40.77 duty should have been spelled out. Contradictory statements said the driver accept payment, cool! But customer service said cash only and I had my card ready. Day 2, no show. Day 3, finally arrived and driver said they get mugged if they carry cash.
The flimsy box contained the loose device with no packing material, and it was totally open with brown tape, hardly professional.
I expect the usual Arduino IDE BS trying to connect, once I stop shaking.
For devices that became available in 2008, one would expect that Arduino would load all drivers and configuration when plugged in. The Mini LE (of which I had 6 - given away to local students) states 10 million UNO boards sold, so open-source was not detrimental to their success.
Not impressed with this plc fairly expensive.