Node-Red as a soft/meta-PLC

[Ηλίας Καρακουλάκης]

Below is a partial list of functions in a popular FBD editor for a legacy entry-level PLC (although its yet unreleased version 8 appears to be quite modernised with web services, etc):

So here's my raw uncooked thought: Node-Red as a meta-PLC for the IOT era. Most of these "blocks" are just binary blocks, but imagine being able to describe a complete FBD diagram as a node in NR, then use messages to have these nodes interoperate and exchange data between them.  Imagine being able to drive hierarchies of these PLCs from a flow to do complex stuff such as aggregating usage patterns, driving power usage according to electricity rates etc.

Thoughts?

[Lorenzo Maiorfi]

Great idea, according to me. We already envisioned several application fields bound to industrial space (i.e. scada, hmi, etc.) that could take advantage of node-red as a general-purpose engine and I personally think it could rapidly become a killer-application in that sense.

--
http://nodered.org
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Node-RED" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to node-red+u...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

[Lawrence Griffiths]

Fit's with where I want to apply node-red.

The new seimens logo! 8 has a built in web server so for some projects I will combine to the two.

When I have time I'm planning to create a Modbus node from one of the modules on npmjs.org where there are also several PID-controllers.

Lawrence 

[Jéan Roux]

Hi all, this is a 2 yrs old discussion, any more thoughts on this? I am not in the process control industry, but after automating many things in my house, now feel like doing more for instance in a hydroponics plant, with some more thinking of industrial type solutions. I have been reading up on PLC's, specially the many open source / arduino based ones emerging on the market. I think I can do a more reliable control than at my house with some of these PLC's, ie. not build my own relays linked to an ESP8266, to which I send MQTT messages over wireless, but wire from a NR Raspberry Pi to a PLC, give it the instructions via NR.

So Elias, I like your term "Soft PLC", as after studying all the PLC type functions, I think many of those, that I need now, I can do in a function node. I see that the PLC's - and now many open source ladder editors exist, but think that I do not have to do the control rules, in the PLC, but in NR, and use the PLC only for its hardened electronics, i.e. improved engineering of the relay, easily swoppable if it becomes faulty, etc.

But I am still confused about how to control the PLC from a RPi with NodeRed.

- Connect the PLC with RS485 to some conversion from NR, maybe using SPI or I2C, or USB / Serial ?

- Get a PLC with Ethernet & IP, but what protocol to talk from NR to PLC ?

- Any others, like ModBus, I see many Arduino Modbus discussions & lib's

Some other interesting discussions I see on the web on this:

- Node-RED Nodes for Industrial Programmable Automation Controllers - http://themanufacturingconnection.com/2016/08/node-red-nodes-industrial-programmable-automation-controllers/

- Open PLC : http://www.openplcproject.com

Any advise? (I know it depends....), any new thinking on your "soft PLC" idea ?

[Ηλίας Καρακουλάκης]

I just saw that Siemens has discontinued support for KNX on their Logo! series. I wonder who will fill in the gap...
http://w3.siemens.com/mcms/programmable-logic-controller/en/logic-module-logo/modular-communication-variants/Pages/Default.aspx

--
http://nodered.org
 
Join us on Slack to continue the conversation: http://nodered.org/slack
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google Groups "Node-RED" group.
To unsubscribe from this topic, visit https://groups.google.com/d/topic/node-red/6wnFDPWrIlI/unsubscribe.
To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to node-red+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to node...@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/node-red.
To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/node-red/3e0dedb2-913f-4227-9199-b91079c3d2b3%40googlegroups.com.

For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

--

Elias Karakoulakis

Electrical & Computer Engineer NTUA Athens

Msc Information Systems, AUEB Athens

KNX Advanced Partner