Industrial switchgear automation and energy management distributor ElectroMechanica (EM) says its AS200 programmable logic controller (PLC) series has been well received in South Africa, as it has one of the best price-to-performance ratios on the market currently.

“It’s still a new PLC and resides in a very busy market segment, but with this ratio, sales are expected to grow,” says EM product manager William Cameron.

He explains that the AS200 PLC series features automation company Delta Automation’s self-developed 32-bit central processing unit (CPU) for enhanced execution speed and supports various fieldbus options on the CPU.

The AS200 provides accurate position control for up to eight axes through a special CANopen motion network driver and a six-axis through pulse control at 200 kHz each. These features are widely used in manufacturing, labelling, food packaging and the textile industry.

Additionally these CPUs include Ethernet IP, CANopen DS301 (Motion or remote I/O) and 2x RS485 ports, both supporting Modbus master mode.

Along with the multiple extension options for analogue and digital I/O, including load cell and temperature options, this gives the AS200 series its tremendous flexibility.

All AS200 PLCs and extensions are stocked and available nationally from EM branches. A range of Delta automation products and general-purpose products supports the series, and is also available nationally.

Meanwhile, EM and engineering consulting/training services specialist PolyTech Africa collaborated to launch the Mechatronics Academy in February last year.

The academy offers modules that are a combination of mechanics and electronics, which are useful across various engineering disciplines.

When the academy was launched, it was fitted with the AS200 PLC series range of training equipment.

“The products are used to give practical exposure to the students, and they are used in the students’ progress and evaluation process,” Cameron concludes.