Control to the locals

Two new product ranges have been introduced to meet the need for localised control. The products from Turck Banner – one from each of the principals – provide a method for engineers working on automation projects to add more control functionality where in the past local devices were typically restricted to data IO.

The Banner solution is the Sure Cross DXM100 – an industrial wireless controller (pictured). Available with an internal Sure Cross DX80 wireless gateway or a multi-hop data radio, this Modbus communications device reliably connects local wireless networks with the internet or host systems.

Apart from adding control capability, one of the attractions of the new device is the ease of programming, which may replace some of the more complex PLC programming. The DXM100 allows for secure email and text messaging for alarms and alerts, ideal wireless applications on large sites.

Turck has also introduced a new product range. The FLC (field logic controller) relies on ARGEE, the revolutionary programming environment that allows users to set conditions and actions directly at the field level. BY utilising HTML5, Turk provides a complete engineering environment for users to write, run, simulate, debug and monitor code, all without the need for a PLC.

ARGEE allows users with little or no experience to configure and programme FLC devices to carry out tasks that Fieldbus devices have never been able to do before – arithmetic functions, timing functions, counting and toggle bits and share data with a PLC via assigned IO variables.