Robust right out of the box
The iE 350 PLC is designed to get the job done, even in harsh conditions. Fully functional from -40 °C, the controller can start-up by self-heating and control and do surveillance of auxiliary equipment from this extreme temperature. The base-mounted rack and sturdy metal cabinet give it superior bump, 50G shock, and vibration resistance properties during operation and transportation. For example, the rack is mounted with a large screw on the switchboard's back plate, so that the unit cannot fall off the DIN rails after transportation.
The flanges ensure improved grounding, increasing protection against electrical disturbances. The backplane interconnection of the I/O modules ensures reliable communication in harsh environments. Built-in components provide efficient protection of power supply and I/O circuits against lightning impacts. The iE 350 PLC is immune to ESD bursts at a level conforming to international standards, reducing the risk of damaged terminals.
All units are fully production tested and verified at the factory through HALT (Highly Accelerated Life Testing), and the Linux-based platform provides fail-safe and robust system software. These and other features add up to a lifetime of at least 10 years for the iE 350 PLC, plus supreme robustness which reduces service and downtime costs.
Flexible solution design options
The modular architecture of the iE 350 PLC allows you to use it for compact, flexible, and service-friendly solutions – from simple plug-and-play rack modules to cabling with pluggable connectors. Its native EtherCAT fieldbus supports several hundreds of I/O points through a modular concept with distributed nodes based on EtherCAT and supporting EtherCAT cable redundancy. As a result, you have complete freedom to place multiple I/O nodes in different physical locations to reduce cabling, and the built-in 5-port switch of the PCM3.1 module can be configured with individual VLANs, saving the cost of external equipment.
The fully open Linux software platform gives you full access to system setup, and you can take advantage of the great amounts of Linux documentation and support available online. The controller is based on CODESYS V3 and supports IEC 61131-3 programming. This ensures easy programming and configuration, and you can easily reuse existing PLC code if converting from other PLC solutions, giving you complete freedom to choose your preferred hardware vendor. You can configure the iE 350 PLC remotely using a browser. The device is discoverable using its host name, and remote visualisation is possible via TCP/IP.
Despite these flexible hardware and software options, installing the iE 350 PLC is very easy: It comes pre-assembled in racks according to your configuration requirements. You do not have to assemble the controller yourself and can complete your sourcing process without assembly and testing.
Performance and system design freedom
The high-speed EtherCAT fieldbus on the iE 350 PLC is fast enough to handle distributed I/O with one main controller and hundreds of distributed analogue and digital I/O and communication channels in multiple locations. You get the same update speed for local and distributed I/O nodes in an external network.
The system software launches very quickly and offers fail-safe start-up with two operating system images separated from the application. If one image fails to start up the iE 350 PLC, the controller falls back to the other image and completes start-up. Each image can be updated remotely. After a successful start-up after an image update, the new image can be set as active. The iE 350 PLC uses a special file system that tolerates sudden loss of power and monitors itself for errors.
The high-performance features of the iE 350 PLC also include direct 690 VAC 3-phase grid measurement, allowing you to measure voltage and frequency in a wide range from 2 to 897 VAC.
Built-in operational cyber security features
With connected and online controllers, operational security is critical. The Linux system in the iE 350 PLC provides cutting-edge security features. For example, boot and firmware updates can only be carried out with signed update packages. By default, there is only one user (admin) account on the iE 350 PLC. Still, you can create and manage multiple users and access rights to ensure that the necessary users can handle the unit while protecting theiE 350 PLC from unauthorised access.
CODESYS web visualisation is managed through certificate handling via the system web page. Authentication keys are added via system web configuration, and the iE 350 PLC builds on standard secure file transfer and access protocols like SSH and SCP. Finally, the Linux system is less vulnerable to ordinary computer virus attacks than Windows-based PLCs.
Service-friendly, now and in future
With a design lifetime of no less than 10 years, the iE 350 PLC is with you for the long haul. Combined with its robust construction and reliable performance, you get years of uninterrupted operation with little need of service, maintenance, or repairs. If spare parts do become necessary, we have you covered: The iE 350 PLC uses few spare parts thanks to its modular and multi-functional architecture, and new parts can be supplied quickly if needed. We offer a 10-year spare part supply warranty so you can keep your parts stock up to date.
All software updates are handled by the iE 350 PLC itself with no need of user intervention. No special tools are required; the new software update files are uploaded via the system web configuration pages.
Like all other DEIF products, the iE 350 PLC comes with our 2-year warranty (not including wear parts) which can optionally be prolonged to 3 years.
Linux® is the registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the U.S. and other countries.