Small plant, eight machines, a mix of CompactLogix on the newer ones and two SLC 5/05s on the old presses. Every machine's got its own PanelView, mostly Plus 6 and Plus 7. The owner walked through last week and wants one screen in the office showing all eight, running or stopped, counts and alarms, by year end.
I'm the electrician here, not a programmer. The integrator we use says SCADA, Ignition or FactoryTalk View SE, licence and a server with it. The PanelView bloke at the distributor says stick a big Plus 7 in the office with all eight controllers in one application and be done. So I've priced both and the SCADA's four or five times the money, and nobody here has ever asked me for a report.
For eight machines, does the SCADA money ever pay for itself, or is the big Plus 7 in the office the honest answer? I'm not sure I'd know the difference in two years.
We did the big PanelView in the office thing. Eight controllers on one Plus 7, and it worked, right up until the owner asked why the count was different Tuesday. No history, no way to answer him.
I reckon you want to ask him what he'll do with the screen the first time it says something he doesn't like.
Fair. Asked him.
He said he'd want to know when it stopped and for how long. So that's history, whether he calls it that or not. He still says he doesn't want reports.