Compact DAQ versus SCADA

[PRT]

Hello,
We were planning to use a conventional SCADA for our pilot plant data acquisition and control. And then we came to know about Compact DAQ.

We are trying to evaluate wheter it can substiute a SCADA. We are going to use it for measure, control and acquisition of data from pressure, remperature and flow transmitters.

Kindly provide info about the same.
Thanks.
pranav Thakkar

[andre.buurman@carya]

FP will be better suited for these tasks, unless you need to higher acquisition speeds of a compact DAQ system.
How are you going to interface the compact DAQ system? (Software to be used for development).
Is the "SCADA system" only the hardware for I/O?
Is it NI or some other manufacturer?
What would be considerations to use one or the other?

Unless you provide some more info on your plans and requirements it will hard not to say impossible to give a sound advice.

[PRT]

Hi,

Thanks for the response.

Well, I am a process engineer but I am also dealing with the aspects of instrumentation recently. Please bear with me if i am not that precise with the instru stuff.

Well we are planning to use the following SCADA as suggested by a vendor.

Data Acquisition System along with hardware & software
for data handling & processing
Make: GE Fanuc
RS 232 Communication port

SCADA will have the following functions,
1. Process graphics animation
2. Real time trending
3. Historical Trending
4. Manual data entry tags
5. Alarms
6. Recipes
7. Reports with automatic storage in M.S. Excel format
8. System Dynamic data exchange
9. Security
10. Loop screen for all control loops

I am just trying to figure out whether Compact DAQ can be used for our requirements or not. Note that we require not just data acquisition but also process control. Compact DAQ offers control?

I know i havent probably given the complete specifications of the SCADA, still can anyone suggest whether the costs for SCADA and Comact DAQ would be comparable or not?

[andre.buurman@carya]

Seems like a comparison of apples with pears (dutch expression, literally translated). You're comparing a HW/SW system to a HW system. To use the compact DAQ system you would need either a SCADA system that support compact DAQ of NI or create a custom application that does what the SCADA system GE Fanuc delivers.

So to compare it:

See if the HW requirements are are OK.
Compare HW prices
Compare software licenses
Compare software engineering costs (Even the GE Fanuc software will not work out of the box for your process)
Compare total costs
Compare component replacement costs (components do die)

I would still choose FP over compact DAQ for process control if the acquisition speed is below 10 Hz.
See the presentations I posted in this thread.


Message Edited by andre.buurman@carya on 06-25-2008 07:20 AM