Comprehensive Guide to Common PLC Models

LOGO and S7-200 are ultra-compact PLCs suitable for single machine control or small system control, applicable in various industries and situations for automatic detection, monitoring, and control.

S7-300 is a modular small PLC system that can be used for direct control of devices and can monitor multiple lower-level programmable controllers. It is also suitable for medium or large control systems and can meet the performance requirements of medium applications.

S7-300 targets small and medium systems, and its modules can be expanded up to 32 modules. The backplane bus is also integrated within the module, and its network connections are relatively mature and popular, featuring MPI and Industrial Ethernet, making communication and programming straightforward, with multiple options available, and configuration and parameter settings can be aided by tools.

S7-400: The main difference from S7-300 is in the hot start (WRST) section, while other aspects are basically the same. It also has an external battery power interface that can provide backup power to RAM when the battery is replaced online.

S7-1200 is a compact PLC, an upgraded version of S7-200, featuring modularity, compact structure, and comprehensive functionality, suitable for various applications, ensuring long-term safety of existing investments.

S7-1500 is a new generation of medium and large PLCs, significantly improving various indicators compared to S7-300/400, specifically designed for mid-to-high-end equipment and factory automation, providing users with ample resources and ultra-fast processing speed, boasting excellent system performance, and integrating a series of functions including motion control, industrial information security, and fault safety features for convenient and secure applications.

FX1S: Mitsubishi PLC is an integrated small unit PLC with complete performance and communication functions, making it an ideal choice considering installation space and cost.

FX1N: A powerful, popular PLC launched by Mitsubishi Electric. It features expandable input/output, analog control, and communication/link functions, widely used in general sequential control applications.

FX2N: At the time, it was the most advanced series in the FX family of Mitsubishi PLCs. It features high-speed processing and expandable special function modules to meet individual needs, providing maximum flexibility and control capability for factory automation applications.

FX3U: A newly launched third-generation Mitsubishi PLC, possibly regarded as a supreme product in the small category. Basic performance has been significantly enhanced, and the transistor output type basic unit includes a 3-axis independent positioning function with a maximum of 100kHz, and new positioning commands have been added, making positioning control more powerful and user-friendly. The FX3U series products are replacements for FX2N.

FX3G: A newly launched third-generation Mitsubishi PLC, the basic unit comes with two high-speed communication interfaces (RS422 & USB), built-in up to 32K large capacity memory, with a basic instruction processing speed of up to 0.21μs in standard mode, and control scale: 14~256 points (including CC-LINK network I/O), with easy positioning function settings (up to three axes).

Q Series: Large PLC, the Q series products meet high performance and low cost requirements. Mitsubishi Electric Automation has launched the economical QUTESET type Mitsubishi PLC, which is a 5-slot Q00JCOUSET with a built-in 64-point high-density mixed unit. Another model is the 8-slot Q00JCPU-S8SET with two 16-point digital input and two 16-point digital output boards, fully compatible with Q00J’s performance indicators and completely supports software like GX-Developer, thus offering excellent cost performance.

FX5U Series: Although small and exquisite, the system bus speed has been greatly increased by 150 times compared to previous products FX3U, with a maximum expansion of 16 intelligent expansion modules, built-in 2-in-1 analog function, built-in Ethernet interface, and 4-axis 200kHz high-speed positioning function.

ES: Series with high cost-performance, capable of achieving sequential control.

EX: Series equipped with digital and analog I/O, capable of achieving feedback control.

EH2: Series equipped with digital and analog I/O, capable of achieving feedback control.

PM: Series capable of achieving 2-axis linear/circular interpolation control, with a maximum pulse output frequency of 500kHz.

SA: Series with a memory capacity of 8k steps, strong computing ability, expandable with 8 functional modules.

SC: Series with high-speed pulse output of 100k Hz and pulse counting of 100k Hz.

SS: Series lightweight, capable of achieving basic sequential control.

SX: Series with 2 channels of analog input and 2 channels of analog output, expandable with 8 functional modules.

SV: Series lightweight, using CPU+ASIC dual processors, supporting floating-point operations, with the fastest instruction execution speed of 0.24μs.

XC1 (Economical) (Control points: 10/16/24/32) A small point control system suitable for general applications, relatively simple functions, capable of performing logical control, data operations, and other general functions.

XC2 (Basic) (Control points: 10/16/24/32/42/48/60) Equipped with general data processing, high-speed counting, high-speed pulse output, communication, and other functions, with faster processing speed, equivalent to XC3 series’s 2 times, fewer registers, can meet most needs, no external expansion modules, but can connect BD boards to achieve temperature control (except for 14/16/42 points).

XC3 (Standard) (Control points: 14/24/32/42/48/60) The standard model in the XC series, fully functional, in addition to general data processing capabilities, also has high-speed counting, high-speed pulse output, communication, PWM pulse width modulation, frequency measurement, precise timing, interrupts, etc., supports expansion modules and BD board connections (14 points do not support any expansion, 42 points do not support BD boards), can meet various usage requirements.

XC5 (Enhanced) (Control points: 24/32) In addition to all the functions of XC3, it also supports 4-axis pulse output, expansion modules, and BD board connections, with larger internal resource space.

XCM (Motion) (Control points: 60) Can achieve 10-axis pulse output, while supporting most functions of a standard PLC, such as high-speed counting, interrupts, PID control, etc., does not support expansion modules, but supports BD board connections.

XCC (High Performance) (Control points: 24/32) Faster instruction processing speed, supports up to 5 channels of pulse output, 5 channels of AB-phase high-speed counting, supports basic motion control instructions, can achieve two-axis linkage, interpolation, tracking, coordinate transformation, etc., also supports most functions of a standard PLC, including high-speed pulses, high-speed counting, interrupts, PID control, etc., supports expansion modules and BD board connections.

Includes XD2 (Basic) (Control points: 16) The basic model in the XD series, with basic functions, in addition to general data processing capabilities, also supports high-speed pulse output, high-speed counting, communication, pulse width modulation, frequency measurement, precise timing, interrupts, etc., with faster processing speed (about 12 times that of the XC series), can meet basic needs, but does not support external expansion modules and expansion BD, expansion ED.

XD3 (Standard) (Control points: 16/24/32/48/60) The standard model in the XD series, fully functional, in addition to general data processing capabilities, also has high-speed counting, high-speed pulse output, standard clock, communication (Modbus RTU/ASCII), PWM pulse width modulation, frequency measurement, precise timing, interrupts, etc., with faster processing speed (about 12 times that of the XC series), all models support expansion modules (10), BD boards (1~2), and left expansion modules (1) connections, can meet various usage requirements.

XD5 (Enhanced) (Control points: 24/32/48/60) In addition to all the functions of the XD3 series, it has a faster processing speed (about 15 times that of the XC series), with larger internal resource space. The body comes with a serial port, a USB download port, and all models support expansion modules (16), BD boards (1~2), and left expansion modules (1) connections.

XDM (Motion Control) (Control points: 24/32/48/60) Supports basic motion control instructions, can achieve two-axis linkage, interpolation, tracking, etc., can achieve 4-axis independent pulse output, supports up to 10-axis pulse output, while supporting almost all functions of a standard PLC, such as high-speed counting, interrupts, PID control, etc., with faster processing speed (about 15 times that of the XC series), can insert SD cards for data storage, the body comes with a serial port, a USB download port (supporting high-speed downloads, monitoring, speed up to 12M), all models support expansion modules (16), BD boards (1~2), and left expansion modules (1) connections.

XDC (Motion Control) (Control points: 24/32/48/60) Has a faster processing speed (about 15 times that of the XC series), supports floating-point operations, supports up to 2 channels of pulse output, 4 channels of AB-phase high-speed counting, while supporting almost all functions of a standard PLC, such as high-speed counting, interrupts, PID control, etc., all models support expansion modules (16), BD boards (1~2), and left expansion modules (1) connections, can insert SD cards for data storage, the body comes with two serial ports, supports motion control bus, while controlling 20 axes to operate through the bus.

XG1 Series: The XG1 series is Xinjie’s latest modular mid-range PLC, targeting the domestic high-end market. Its powerful features include:

(1) Super strong motion control support function;

(2) Comprehensive improvement of CPU processing speed;

(3) Higher reliability;

(4) New Ethernet port communication, convenient and fast, powerful functions, and stronger adaptability.

XL3 Series is a new ultra-thin PLC launched by Xinjie, characterized by:

(1) Ultra-thin appearance, compact and practical, suitable for various industrial environments;

(2) Superior compatibility;

(3) Supports up to 10 expansion modules;

(4) Outstanding cost performance; (5) Saves installation space.

ControlLogix Series: This is AB’s most powerful large PLC system, with a modular structure, supporting hot-swappable components, redundancy, infinite I/O, supporting EtherNet/IP, ControlNet, DeviceNet, and other network communications, capable of sequential control, motion control, drive control, and process control, with very powerful functions and widespread applications; recommended for large projects.

CompactLogix Series: This is AB’s medium PLC system, with a modular non-rack structure, not supporting hot-swappable components, supporting EtherNet/IP, ControlNet, DeviceNet, and other network communications, capable of sequential control, motion control, drive control, and process control. It is rumored that AB is using this series to replace the SLC500 series, but customer acceptance is not high. On one hand, large systems have ControlLogix while small and medium systems have the long-practiced, slightly cheaper SLC500, making its promotion difficult.

FlexLogix Series: Distributed system, supporting hot-swappable components, used for distributed applications at the device site. Processors can be chosen to be used as independent distributed controllers or communication adapters with I/O as distributed I/O stations. Using Flex I/O distributed stations can reduce project costs.

SLC500: Small control system, modular rack structure, widely used.

MicroLogix: Micro control system, divided into four series: MicroLogix1000, 1100, 1200, and 1500, among which 1100 is newly launched with an integrated Ethernet communication port.

90TM Micro PLC: A member of the GE FANUC series 90TM PLC family. Its compact physical design, easy installation, strong control capabilities, and highly competitive pricing make it suitable for many budget-tight, low-cost small-scale control applications.

GE FANUC Series 90-30: Composed of a series of controllers, input/output systems, and various dedicated templates, suitable for various control needs in industrial settings.