In the world of hobbyist electronics most people are accustomed to 3.3V or 5V level logic signals. Step into the world of industrial electronics and they tend to use 24V logic signals. PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers) work with 24V I/O but they cost anywhere from several hundred to a couple of thousand euros. The reason they are so expensive is partly due to the fact that they are built to last for years and are very reliable, but basically all they are is a microcontroller with some level shifting circuitry built in.
The VM1AT_R1 Industrial Microcontroller board made by Tutan takes the basic idea behind a PLC and puts it into a nice barebones PCB. On the board you have an ATmega328p and several shift register chips which handle all of the inputs and outputs. The board can be powered from 9-30VDC thanks to the LM2596 DC-DC switch mode power supply module. Since all of the I/O pins are done using shift registers, you get 16 digital inputs and 7 digital outputs that can operate at 24V.
Are you in need of an industrial board to read some sensors and switch some outputs but don’t want to shell out for a PLC?. This board will let you do most things a traditional PLC can do for a fraction of the price.
