Mitsubishi Electric has released the company’s smallest and most powerful compact PLC to date,
the FX5UC series Premium Micro PLC. Its diminutive size is set to help machine builders and
manufacturers pack ever more functionality into a smaller space – while also providing the web
access and network connectivity demanded by the latest Smart Factory applications.
Mitsubishi Electric launched its first range of micro controllers, the FX family of PLCs, over 35 years ago as part of the MELSEC-F series. The high quality, compact size and cost competitiveness of control systems built around them established a precedent for creating new opportunities and revolutionised the industrial automation landscape and this still applies today. Over the years, the FX product portfolio has expanded to deliver state-of-theart solutions to address different applications and requirements.
Now re-positioned as part of the high functioning MELSEC iQ-F series the new FX5UC model (the ‘C’ denotes compact) is engineered to handle the increasingly sophisticated data processing and communication tasks demanded by Smart Manufacturing applications. More precisely, this tiny PLC now houses the same performance CPU as Mitsubishi Electric’s premium FX5U model in a product as small as a micro FX3S.
Multitasking is the future
This super compact PLC features a program memory of 64,000 steps and a large device memory. In addition, it has an execution speed of 34 ns, resulting in extremely fast machine responses and increased productivity. Even more, the FX5UC PLC can perform positioning and advanced motion control functions for up to four axes, eliminating the need for dedicated controllers that would increase hardware and maintenance costs, programming time and equipment footprint.
Additional built-in functions include tools to prevent data theft or tampering such as security key authentication, while allowing operators to access system status safely via the Web and interact with onboard features such as data logging.