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Monitoring Paragliders, the Samba PLC+HMI takes flight

Industry - Miscellaneous

Summary: Jiri Sramek needed a PLC that monitor a parglider motor in action. This PLC would have to be small enough to fit in a backpack and reliable enough not to fail in extreme situations. He selected the Samba 4.3 from Unitronics with great results.

Jiri Sramek, a system integrator in the Czech Republic, set out to more accurately track and communicate the speed and tension of motorized paragliders. The paraglider motor is mounted in a backpack worn by the pilot. In order to monitor and track the relevant data, Jiri Sramek needed a light-weight, compact PLC that could fit into the pilot’s pack.

“Clear, simple programming … The work is very intuitive.”

He selected the SM43-J-T20, an all-in-one PLC+HMI from Unitronics; it offers a full-function PLC, integrated 4.3-inch touchscreen HMI, and 20 onboard I/O points. The Samba is connected to a strain gauge, measuring tension as a function of speed. The PLC displays this data On the HMI screen as a graph and also writes it to an Excel file. The data can then be exported either to a server or to a PC via USB. The Samba offered a PLC and HMI all in a compact package that was easy to fit into a backpack, while still offering, in the words of Sramek a “visually impressive application.”

In addition to providing all the necessary features and functions, the Samba is very cost effective. The all-in-one programming is included free of charge to all users. Jiri Sramek was impressed by the single-environment software, VisiLogic, saying it provided “clear, simple programming … The work is very intuitive.” Unitronics dedicated, expert tech support staff are also always on call to help with any problem that arise.