Do More PLC's

[ssutton]

New member here.............just returned from the Do More class at Automation Direct given by Doug Bell. I am an old DirectLogic guy, having used the product line extensively over the past 7 years. I have waited to use the Do More line to give the product some time to mature. All I can say is I am impressed! Virtually everything that I always wanted my old 205 platform/software interface to have the Do More does with exceptional clarity. Looking forward to future projects based on the Do More system.

Scott Sutton 

[franji1]

Welcome!  Many users of Do-more monitor these forums, along with Do-more developers at Host Engineering.
 
Definitely post any questions or comments or ideas about Do-more PLCs, Do-more Designer, or any other Host Engineering products: CTRIO/ECOM100/EBC100 modules, DirectSOFT, et. al.

Also, the Search mechanism (see the box in top-right of page) is another good way to learn about specific features (i.e. read about other people's questions/answers, comments, ideas, etc.).  Do-more has a LOT of breadth and depth.  Doug Bell can only touch the tip of the iceberg in 3 days.  Doug mentioned to me that he is thinking about developing an "advanced" class for Do-more, which we think is a great idea!

For a pretty thorough list of the new features added to Do-more since it launched just 2 1/2 years ago, see the Updates.pdf document that is installed with Designer, or click here:
http://forum.hosteng.com/wndm/updates.pdf

We are currently working on 1.4 and "2.0".  We're just getting started!

Looking forward to helping you any way we can with our product line!

[MAEdwards]

I was in the same class as SSutton, but had a couple of Saturdays prior to the class to play with the new hardware/software.  This development is impressive. The software lends itself much better to array programming, and conventions that are often used in structured text programming.  Also, the "under the hood" data type conversions are what we always wanted. I think those familiar with DirectSoft will embrace this like a loved one.

MAEdwards

[BobO]

We wanted to build a PLC that would compare well to the best in the business, while still being a "brand new pair of comfortable old shoes" for DL users. Hopefully we've done that.

[Garyhlucas]

I'm new here. I worked with the DL205 PLCs for about 5 years then changed jobs and worked with AB PLCs, but we stopped using the PanelViews and switched to the C-More panels, a couple of years back. Now I am with a new company where I got to choose the PLC for a new product line, and the Terminator I/O with the Do-More looks like a really good fit. How I got involved with AD may be little interesting to some of you.

I was working for a small packaging machine company when AD did their first advertisement, I believe it was in Control Engineering.  At the time we used what was then called the TI305 and we had one small product that used the TI315 brick PLC. I didn't like the TI315 it was about $600 and it sometimes took 15 minutes or more to go on line for programming!  So when I saw the DL205 at $199 that looked like a nice replacement. However when I called about the DL205 I learned that the software was $1200! That was the same price that the TI, AB, and Omron software cost at that time. However how do you convince your boss the try a whole new PLC to replace a $600 one on a product you don't build often, when you have to spend $1400 to try it? So I was complaining about this to the salesman and he put Tim Hohmann on the phone.

Over the next 45 minutes that we spoke I argued that if AD wanted to be a player in the PLC market with the big guys that they needed to adopt the razor blade marketing model.  You give away the handle to sell blades over and over again.  I said that for a PLC the handle was the software.  We had only one copy of the TI program but we built 15 machines with a PLC every year.  I said they needed to give away the software.  He protested that software cost a lot to develop and they couldn't just give it away.  However Tim said he would think about it.  About a week later I was really surprised when he called back.  He told me that they were going to offer a single PLC software package for $99 and the complete package for $499. So I immediately purchased the DL205 and software. I was very pleased with it and used it in many projects after that.

I was really amazed when AD introduced the PAC 3000 PLC with free software, and now the Do-More software from host that is free.  I am guessing that this has all worked out. After the past ten years of software licensing hell with AB I am so happy to be here!

[Controls Guy]

I've been buying ADC (then PLC Direct) products almost from the beginning myself, so it's news to me that they wanted to sell DirectSoft for $1200.  I made the same point to Omron about costs; that the cost of software goes to a different place than the cost of hardware and it may be strategic to cover some of the costs of the one with the sales of the other.  It's not like you can use Brand A software to program a Brand B PLC.  ADC listens better than Omron, evidently!  

I've even still got the software manual binder that came with my first version of DirectSoft!

[BobO]

Not sure who told the OP it was $1200. As far as we were aware, it was always $499.

The difference in free vs charged software pricing model is that Host was an independent company whose only product was DirectSoft. As we made the move into hardware, I wanted to tie the software to hardware sales, but it simply wasn't possible for DL and DirectSoft. When Host finally jumped into the the PLC business with Do-more, we finally had the opportunity to change that.

[Controls Guy]

Well, the question of what ADC pays Host is a separate issue from what ADC charges customers.  ADC could have chosen to still pay you per copy what they were going to pay you before, but make less or no profit (or even maybe take a small loss) on it themselves if they thought it would encourage PLC sales, from which they profited.

Even when a company sells both software and hardware and sells the software for less than what they could get for it, there are still some stranded costs, but just in the form of labor rather than purely in cash.  Same-same.

[Controls Guy]

Although, their sales model was rock bottom prices, so they'd be the less likely company to do what I suggested.  It was a general, theoretical point, not having to do with any ADC decisions specifically.

[Garyhlucas]

I am quite sure about the $1200 price point because at $499 for the software I'd have simply bought the AD PLC and gone with it. So it was the software price only that was the issue at that time. As I said I called the day the magazine came out with what I think was their very first ad. So I'd bet that there were probably some anxious moments at that point in time about whether people would buy.  Then the guy calls and says you should give it away for free! Bummer huh?