Created Date: September 17,2018

Created by: Ibsft

The DL06 plc we normally use is full and we need more slots. The 06 doesn't appear to be expandable, unless I'm missing something. I don't have time to switch to any other programming software than Directsoft5. What would be the least painful switch in the direct logic series plcs? We need relay outputs, 4-20ma inputs, and Ethernet connectivity. Way back we used the 305 series, but I'm assuming the 205 series will work? Any pitfalls to the 205? Which would you guys recommend that would be roughly equal to the 06 and has more expandability than the 06? Thanks.

Created Date: September 17,2018

Created by: RogerR

I used the 205 series with the 260 cpu on many projects using full racks and the extended I/O.

Believe most or all of your code would move over from the 06 to the 205 series.

The I/O and some memory may change slightly, but could be edited.

The BRX uses the 205 hardware, so it could replace the 260 CPU if you ever wanted to learn the BRX/upgrade without changing hardware.

Created Date: September 17,2018

Created by: MikeN

If you absolutely have to stick with DSoft, then moving to a 205 would probably be best. As Roger said, in the future you can swap out the CPU only to a Do-More H2 and keep the rest of your rack for a platform upgrade.

Another possibility would maybe be to get a second DL06 and have them run their own programs and any data that needs to go between them could just be sent over a modbus network

Even though you don't think you have time to switch to a new platform, you could try downloading the Do-More Designer and import your DL06 program into it. Just to see how well the program will import, and you may not have many changes that even need to be done. At least, hardly more than changing similar things as re-making the program for the 205 series anyway. The majority will probably be the same code.

Created Date: September 17,2018

Created by: BobO

Do-more Designer started life as DirectSoft, so much of what you know will translate. Depending on the type of instructions you 've used, a good bit of the program may well migrate. It's easily worth some time to download DmD and do the migration. Perhaps some posters around here will talk about their migration experiences. I 've heard some pretty great success stories, although I'm sure there are others as well. Most take a bit of time to mentally transition to Do-more, but once they do, nobody wants to go back and most will say that the time savings of the Do-more instruction set will quickly cover the initial cost of switching.

From a hardware perspective, if BRX will do the job, that's the better choice. Nothing wrong with DL205 (with or without a Do-more CPU), but BRX should cost considerably less if the I/O you need is available.