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You are here: Home / Controls / PLCs + PACs / What do USB data-logging ports do on programmable automation controllers (PACs)?

What do USB data-logging ports do on programmable automation controllers (PACs)?

May 10, 2017 By Lisa Eitel Leave a Comment

By Steve Meyer || Data logging (and use of that data later) was once a complicated venture possible only through specialty hardware and applications — often in the form of standalone supervisory control and data acquisition or SCADA systems. Even new software and PC-based systems come at significant cost. In contrast, many of today’s programmable automation controllers (PACs) and even many PLCs include built-in data logging, storage, and networking functions. These let users collect and access this output through connections such as an Ethernet network or (as we’ll explore here) the ubiquitous USB mass-storage devices we call flash drives, pen drives, or thumb drives.

As the name implies, a USB data-logging port provides a means of storing data from a system using removable memory in the form of flash drives. USB ports provide inexpensive and (in most cases) secure means of moving data without broadcasting information over a network.

This AutomationDirect Productivity 3000 programmable automation controller (PAC) is modular to let engineers set up reliable operations and communications. The controller provides the robust communication, user-friendly programming, integrated data storage, and processing power needed for today’s industrial automation projects. Notice how the controller CPU communications ports include those for USB data logging.

Such memory is self-contained and removable, so doesn’t involve any hardware resources within the controller beyond the port control function itself. In addition, flash drives can store controller programming to serve as a backup for existing programs — or as an upgrade if there are project changes needing implementation. Typical data-logging flash drives include a processor with memory to function as an intelligent peripheral — so can upload data and programs to the controller without a laptop.

For applications needing small size and convenience, there are now USB drives with enough onboard intelligence to operate full data-gathering devices for analog data storage of all kinds. Some USB drives are preconfigured to read signals from thermocouples and other temperature, pressure, humidity, current, and chemical sensors outputting 4-to-20-mA current-loop values. These drives are easy to configure for the number of readings to be taken and the time scale to be used. Such setups eliminate data-acquisition hardware where only a single of few channels of data are required. The memory format’s small size maximizes portability and ease of use in remote locations.

More complex applications generating multi-channel data (acquired through a PAC or other data-acquisition system) can store it on a USB drive. There’s typically less data within any given timeframe, as there are multiple channels. The convenience is that the data can then be sent or transported to a PAC for analysis as needed without concern for data-integrity loss.

 

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Filed Under: FAQs + basics, Featured, PLCs + PACs

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