By STMicroelectronics 83
PLCs are at the heart of any manufacturing plant, and even more so today, as Industry 4.0 ushers in smarter factories that help to improve efficiency and drive down manufacturing costs. With STMicroelectronics’ STM32 Open Development Environment, users can now build a complete PLC with 16 0.5 amp digital outputs and 8 digital constant-current inputs that can be programmed using common ladder-logic, right from a Wi-Fi-connected smartphone.
Just connect an X-NUCLEO-PLC01A1 industrial input/output board to an X-NUCLEO-OUT01A1 digital output expansion board for the I/Os, add an X-NUCLEO-IDW01M1 board for Wi-Fi connectivity, and stack these onto an STM32 NUCLEO-F401RE development board. Then upload the FP-IND-PLCWIFI1 function pack, install the ST-PLC app on a smartphone, and it is ready to go.
The expansion boards are based on a range of ICs, each specifically designed to meet the strict requirements of international standards like IEC61000 for EMC and IEC61131 for programmable controllers.
Function pack and other software: