newbie question

[thepoolnerd]

Again I am a bit of a neophyte when it comes to this stuff, so pardon the simple questions.  I have a simple 20 line program that has four timed, conditional outputs that will cycle through in 6 seconds.  I also have 4 stations that run the exact program, but they all start 1.5 seconds apart.  Station 1 starts at 0, station 2 starts at 1.5 seconds, station 3 starts at 3 seconds, and station 4 at 4.5 and then repeats.  I have written the program for one station.  Should I just copy the same program 4 times and use a timer to sequence the stations?  Or should I use a drum sequencer?  The drum seems simpler but I am not familiar with them and am not sure if they have drawbacks.  THANKS!

[b_carlton]

Your description is a little unclear. Let me ask some questions.

Do the 4 station use the same 4 outputs? Or are there 16 outputs - 4 for each station? Or perhaps each station has only 1 output dedicated to it?

When you note a 'program' for a station, does a station complete its program in 1.5 seconds or does it take 6 seconds, offset by 1.5 seconds from the previous. This implies a separate set of outputs.

Can you post your 20 line program? It may help use help you.

[thepoolnerd]

Pardon my lack of details.  We are cycle testing parts, 4 at a time.  There are 4 different stations and 4 different pnuematic outputs per station; 16 total.  Each cycle lasts about 4.0 seconds.  The start times of the cycles are staggered by 1.5 seconds.  Cannot post the program right now.  Thanks!