Control Systems
Control systems for machines, processes and vehicles. SCN offers PLC and safety PLC systems, industrial HMI and operator panels, mobile control systems, gateways, AS-i products and SCADA software. We help you build a complete, scalable solution, from single machines to connected production lines and mobile equipment.
Industrial control systems – PLC, HMI, SCADA, AS-i and control for mobile machines
A control system reads sensors, runs a program and drives motors, valves and other actuators, while operators follow and adjust the process on an HMI or in SCADA. Industrial control systems are built for continuous operation in cabinets and machines, with standard I/O signals, fieldbuses and industrial Ethernet. SCN supplies Yaskawa SLIO, MICRO and 300S PLCs, Bihl+Wiedemann AS-Interface, Weintek HMIs, Wieland samos PRO safety controllers, Inter Control digsy mobile control systems, Progea Movicon SCADA and Moxa remote I/O.
The range covers PLC systems from micro PLCs to modular controllers and distributed I/O, safety PLC, industrial HMI and operator panels, SCADA software, AS-i products with gateways, safety monitors, I/O modules and motor modules, protocol gateways and mobile control systems with controllers, CAN I/O and displays for mobile machines. Switches, routers and protocol gateways for the network are under Network Products.
How to choose: count the I/O and the cycle time the process needs, choose the fieldbus or industrial Ethernet the rest of the plant uses, check whether safety functions require a safety PLC up to PL e/SIL 3, and decide how operators will work – on a local HMI, with SCADA for the whole site, or both.
Frequently asked questions
What is a control system?
A control system is the hardware and software that keeps a machine or process doing what it should: sensors measure, a controller such as a PLC compares the values with the program or setpoint, and actuators respond. A small machine may need one compact PLC with an HMI, while a plant combines PLCs, distributed I/O, safety controllers and SCADA over industrial Ethernet.
What is SCADA?
SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) is software that collects data from PLCs, RTUs and meters across a plant or distributed sites and presents it to operators as overview screens, alarms, trends and reports. It supervises rather than runs the fast control loops, which stay in the PLCs. Progea Movicon is one example, with drivers for Modbus, OPC UA and the major PLC brands.
What is the difference between a PLC and a DCS?
A PLC is a compact, fast controller typically used for machines and discrete processes, whereas a DCS (distributed control system) is one integrated system of controllers, operator stations and a shared database for large continuous processes such as chemicals, power or pulp and paper. Many plants combine PLCs with SCADA instead, because it is more open and scales from a single machine upwards.
What is AS-Interface (AS-i)?
AS-Interface is a simple fieldbus that carries both data and power to sensors and actuators on one unshielded two-wire flat cable, which saves a lot of wiring compared with parallel I/O. ASi-3 connects up to 62 devices per master, ASi-5 adds more data, faster cycles and IO-Link, and ASi Safety lets safety devices share the cable. Bihl+Wiedemann gateways link it to PROFINET, EtherNet/IP or EtherCAT.
Not sure which model you need?
Get help choosingRead more in our guides
Facts and advice that make the choice easier.
What is a PLC? How it works and how to choose oneIndustrial Ethernet protocols – PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, ModbusHMI and operator panels – how to chooseAll guides