# Click PLCs



## shockme123 (May 13, 2009)

Has anyone used one of these and could give me their thoughts about it? Was going to by one to use as a cheap trainer with some switches and lights.

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## Peewee0413 (Oct 18, 2012)

That or a 1000/1100 series micrologix. Good to know your way around rslogix.

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## shockme123 (May 13, 2009)

Quite a bit more expensive than a Click unfortunately. I'm not in the US.

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## Peewee0413 (Oct 18, 2012)

I've used one automation direct plc, and countless AB. Any knowledge is good, but for a little more youll learn a more popular brand. 

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## shockme123 (May 13, 2009)

A Micrologix 1000 for me would cost about $300 not including anything else. An 1100 would be even more.

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## shockme123 (May 13, 2009)

I'll just use a simulator for Allen Bradley stuff.

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## sparkiez (Aug 1, 2015)

A click works fine for a trainer. It costs a nice bit more, but make sure to get the model with ethernet. As far as they go, they instruction set is fairly limited, but the software is pretty easy to pick up, the documentation is okay, and they are tough. I wouldn't hesitate to deploy one in a tough environment.


That being said, I prefer the extra for the Productivity Series. The P100's are fairly cheap and you can get a P1000, power supply, and combo IO card or high-density IO for pretty cheap.


In addition to this, you can get a cmore micro for like $100 bucks. They function really well for what they are and would be good for introductory HMI training where you could make screens and not get too bogged down in the details.


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## Rora (Jan 31, 2017)

The question is whether you want to add this to your list of marketable skills. If it's the latter, consider that AB is like Cisco or Microsoft--even if a company uses something else, they understandably expect that most people will have experience with the most popular manufacturer and have no problem considering the skill to be transferable to other platforms.

For non-commercial purposes, I highly recommend getting the hardware on ebay. I just bought a MicroLogix 1400 for a project, latest hardware revision factory sealed on ebay for a mere 1/3 of MSRP. You can get a used MicroLogix 1100 for <$200 and that is the highest model eligible to be used with free software (RSLogix Micro Starter Lite). Click PLC looks to be ~$100-200, if that's the case, training on the industry leader platform is well work a few more bucks.

If you are really tight on money and just want to practice, look at RSLogix Emulate 500, which is free.


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## shockme123 (May 13, 2009)

The issue being a Click PLC that uses the same programming as a Micrologix can be had for 1/3 of the price. If you go to eBay.ca and look at the PLC listings there the prices are disappointing.

Automation Direct PLCs must be popular somewhere otherwise they wouldn't be in business.

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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

There is nothing wrong with the Click or a bunch of other brands. If you're building a machine, they might be a great choice. 

A member on here posted a few months ago, he self-taught himself SCADA with an Automation Direct Click and relocated and got a job in the SCADA department at some utility company. Not bad...

There is no question Allen Bradley has brand recognition and you'll get more mileage on your resume with their products. And the entry level cost is similar. 

Of course to hedge, a lot of entry level PLC jobs are just looking for someone they can train, they might not care that much about teaching you AB because there's going to be so much more to learn before you are productive. A lot of maintenance jobs are just looking for someone with a little experience with PLCs and don't care if you know the programming environment. 

There is no doubt in my mind that AutomationDirect.com is a LOT easier to deal with than Allen Bradley, there is far less this-works-with-that to learn, their web site is much easier to deal with, their sales support is much easier to work with. AB, Siemens, Schneider, the bigs, are all too big to deal with, web sites are a disaster, very difficult to get answers what works with the junior software, etc.


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## oliquir (Jan 13, 2011)

ive used clicks plc since they were on market on no trouble with them, i have complete machines that used click plcs. I also often used them just a remote IO (modbus) with other brands plc/hmi or directly with scada software.
One bad point is that their serial ports are not isolated so you must take care when using them. (not a problem for me anymore, i only use the ethernet version)
In fact i had more ab failure (slc500) than i had failure with automation direct plc (direct dl205, dl05 06,...) I still have some 90's direct plc's running on machines.
Also dont forget that a lot of AB products are other brands products that are rebadged (all the IEC stuff is not made by AB)


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## jcaden (Oct 30, 2016)

The Click is an excellent choice for small projects and for learning basic PLC's.
It has free software, great free tech support, and free training video's. While you can get used AB PLC's fairly reasonable, their full version software is expensive.
AB Tech support is not free, either.


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## just the cowboy (Sep 4, 2013)

*Depends on what you want.*

My thoughts.

AB: Micro with free software will get you in the AB field. 
Pros: Uses same address as larger PLC's and you learn one of the most common PLC languages. 
Cons: Stuck at this level of training with going up in cost.

I have used Automation Direct PLC's for years with no problem. You can get a CLick PLC and CMORE micro HMI for under $300. You can get a demo of Indusoft SCADA ( I think if you reinstall it you get 40 more hours each time) that will talk to it and learn a lot.

Click with Ethernet and Analog combo is a great choice for basic learning. 
Pros: You can learn and test digital and analog input/output in real life.
Cons: Limited instructions.

Productively Series: This hardware costs more but Software is free and has many more instructions to learn.

Direct logic: Low cost and will do motion control.

Good luck and don't let the name Automation Direct scare you, it is like getting a GMC (AB) or a Chevy (AD), they both get you there, but one rides better and lasts longer under abuse.

Cowboy


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

Now that I think about it a little, I'd say the best answer BOTH -

learn on Click first because Automation Direct is easy to work with, 

then when you have some comfort level, 

get the starter AB to tinker with so you can 

put the Allen Bradley brand on your resume.


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## sparkiez (Aug 1, 2015)

Actually, Productivity now does motion control as well. I learned on AB and then moved into AD. The problem with AB is that their software solutions are so convoluted and complex. The documentation is on-point, though and very thorough. Because of this, they get a lot of market share as far as the various regulated industries.


I would much prefer to go with a cheaper PLC so I had more budget for field devices to wire up a vast amount of stuff. Showing that you can think through, wire up and program a system, even if it is just to do arbitrary tasks, will at least get you in as a tech regardless of the platform.

All-in-all, the attitude in any interview needs to be, "Hey, I don't know your platform, but I taught myself this, and with some training I'll be able to teach myself <insert platform here> as well."


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## shockme123 (May 13, 2009)

Thanks all, very good posts. I'm thinking I'll just build a Click trainer and use the RSLogix software with simulator. The Click seems to be programmed similarly to other non-AB PLCs which is good because I can get knowledge using multiple platforms.

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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

sparkiez said:


> All-in-all, the attitude in any interview needs to be, "Hey, I don't know your platform, but I taught myself this, and with some training I'll be able to teach myself <insert platform here> as well."


This is VERY TRUE, coming up to speed on a different platform is the least of the challenges. Still there will be some situations where some person involved in hiring doesn't get this, and if you can check the box for "Allen Bradley experience" you're in, if you can't, you're out.


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## sparkiez (Aug 1, 2015)

splatz said:


> This is VERY TRUE, coming up to speed on a different platform is the least of the challenges. Still there will be some situations where some person involved in hiring doesn't get this, and if you can check the box for "Allen Bradley experience" you're in, if you can't, you're out.



I've actually been in that situation. I was told, "well, corporate wants to use X PLC in our machines from now on." I told them, "Sure. Since your corporation makes these, I could get a bit of time with the engineers, or set up a test bench, look into the scan cycle, how data is laid out in the controller, and get up to speed on the IDE." The guy looked at me and said, "Well our controllers aren't Allen Bradley."


What do you say to something like that? In the same interview I mentioned that I'm quite capable with networking and industrial integration of systems. The answer I received was, "Oh, we have an IT guy on staff. He knows a lot about computers."


I still have not figured out how to deal with these kinds of people if I'm expected to work for them. I can break it down for a laymen. I can't break it down for a laymen that doesn't realize they are a laymen.


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## Rora (Jan 31, 2017)

sparkiez said:


> What do you say to something like that?


"Allen Bradley runs all the standard IEC languages, you know, LD, FBD, ST... standard stuff. What language do you run on your PLCs? Do they at least use standard I/O? DI, DO, AI, AO? What about communications... Hart, Profibus, FF, CIP, CAN? You mentioned you had an IT guy. I'm assuming he manages everything on the OT side, including the control network and servers for DA, historian database, domain, and patch management? Seems like a lot of work for one guy.

Either way, I wouldn't worry about it, none of that stuff is important anyways. As long as you have someone to service your turbo entabulator... if THAT thing ever broke down it'd be a downright catastrophe. As I'm sure you know, those hydrocoptic marzel vanes and ambifacient lunar wane shafts don't fix themselves. It'll probably be fine, though, you guys only hire people who know every piece of equipment like the back of their hand.

Anyways, you're right--I couldn't possibly fathom how your obscure rats nest of Aliexpress PLCs actually manage to work, but it sounds like you've already got it all figured out!"


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## sparkiez (Aug 1, 2015)

Rora said:


> "Allen Bradley runs all the standard IEC languages, you know, LD, FBD, ST... standard stuff. What language do you run on your PLCs? Do they at least use standard I/O? DI, DO, AI, AO? What about communications... Hart, Profibus, FF, CIP, CAN? You mentioned you had an IT guy. I'm assuming he manages everything on the OT side, including the control network and servers for DA, historian database, domain, and patch management? Seems like a lot of work for one guy.
> 
> Either way, I wouldn't worry about it, none of that stuff is important anyways. As long as you have someone to service your turbo entabulator... if THAT thing ever broke down it'd be a downright catastrophe. As I'm sure you know, those hydrocoptic marzel vanes and ambifacient lunar wane shafts don't fix themselves. It'll probably be fine, though, you guys only hire people who know every piece of equipment like the back of their hand.
> 
> Anyways, you're right--I couldn't possibly fathom how your obscure rats nest of Aliexpress PLCs actually manage to work, but it sounds like you've already got it all figured out!"



This is fantastic. I could never come up with something like this on the spot. I'm just a bit too crass. I've spent too much time in the trades, I suppose. I can't help but not mince my words.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

@sparkiez - That is very frustrating - situations where you can see you're the best man for the job, but you are not going to get a crack at it, and for no other reason than there's someone in the process of hiring you that not only has a simplistic and uninformed view of your job, they have a simplistic and uninformed view of *their* job.



They aren't going to worry about getting the best person, they aren't going to worry about what's best for the company, they aren't going to worry about going the extra mile, or for that matter the extra yard, or even an extra inch. They're going to go home at 4:30 and retire when they're 65. 



IME, if you hit this kind of obstacle, you really have nothing to lose reaching out to someone outside the usual hiring process. Some companies, it might make a difference. Some it won't.


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