MrWeigel
Electrical
- Jun 8, 2005
- 5
I'm new here, and besides that I know very little about electrical systems. I have a project in mind, and it's going to be a learning experience to be sure. My main background is in toolmaking, fixture building, and general machining. I found this sight hoping you guys could steer me in the right direction with this project.
Here is what I had in mind...
I am trying to build a custom liquid dispenser. The basics of it is that there will be containers sitting on a shelf, and the liquid will run through a tube down to a nozzle. A glass will be underneath the nozzle. I would like to control the volume of the liquid dispensed via a valve with a timer, and possibly add a "power assist" to the liquid by shooting a bit of compressed air through the line a few seconds after the other valve shuts.
After a little research I found out about PLCs, and was wondering if this is something a PLC could do? Open a valve for a set amount of time, then closing it, and then opening another valve?
I was also thinking along the lines of using a PC for the interface, and having a menu where you can select a liquid or a combination of liquids. And with the PC having some sort of database that you can add combinations to or subtract them from. I would have 10+ containers with 2 valves for each container, one controlling the disppensing, and one controling the air assist.
Is this something I could do with PLCs?
Is there an interface out there that can do what I want or would I need to program one from scratch?
What are some good guides/research material for setting this type of system up?
As I said, this is a learning experience for me...I'm not looking for someone to do it for me, though any help would be appreciated.
Here is what I had in mind...
I am trying to build a custom liquid dispenser. The basics of it is that there will be containers sitting on a shelf, and the liquid will run through a tube down to a nozzle. A glass will be underneath the nozzle. I would like to control the volume of the liquid dispensed via a valve with a timer, and possibly add a "power assist" to the liquid by shooting a bit of compressed air through the line a few seconds after the other valve shuts.
After a little research I found out about PLCs, and was wondering if this is something a PLC could do? Open a valve for a set amount of time, then closing it, and then opening another valve?
I was also thinking along the lines of using a PC for the interface, and having a menu where you can select a liquid or a combination of liquids. And with the PC having some sort of database that you can add combinations to or subtract them from. I would have 10+ containers with 2 valves for each container, one controlling the disppensing, and one controling the air assist.
Is this something I could do with PLCs?
Is there an interface out there that can do what I want or would I need to program one from scratch?
What are some good guides/research material for setting this type of system up?
As I said, this is a learning experience for me...I'm not looking for someone to do it for me, though any help would be appreciated.