[Currently in review] Finder: OPTA 8A programmable relay
Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2024 12:15 am
Two Italian companies, Finder and Arduino have come together to create the OPTA 8A. Depending on who you ask, it's either a programmable relay (according to Finder, a leading relay manufacturer with years of industrial experience) or a PLC (according to Arduino, eager to dip their toes into more serious industrial waters). Whatever the case is, this interesting Arduino-based board comes in three variants, depending on the IO you need, and is powered by a rather powerful STM32H747XI dual-core ARM MCU. This same chip is found in the Arduino Portenta H7.
The OPTA 8A integrates four of Finder's top-notch relays on its outputs (perhaps having just four outputs is the system's biggest limitation, albeit Arduino and Finder plan to release a series of custom expansion units), while inputs are handled by the ARM MCU itself. Programming is done through USB-C using the Arduino IDE or the new Arduino PLC IDE which enables the usage of industry-standard IEC/EN 61131 programming languages. Quite an interesting little package overall!
- Unlike other Arduino boards, the Finder OPTA comes packaged in an industry-standard rackmount case
- Finder OPTA.jpg (90.3 KiB) Viewed 274 times
The OPTA 8A integrates four of Finder's top-notch relays on its outputs (perhaps having just four outputs is the system's biggest limitation, albeit Arduino and Finder plan to release a series of custom expansion units), while inputs are handled by the ARM MCU itself. Programming is done through USB-C using the Arduino IDE or the new Arduino PLC IDE which enables the usage of industry-standard IEC/EN 61131 programming languages. Quite an interesting little package overall!