Mitsubishi Electric surpasses 10 million unit sales milestone for MELSEC-F series micro PLC

TOKYO, JAPAN: Mitsubishi Electric Corp. announced that sales of MELSEC-F series micro programmable logic controllers (PLCs) surpassed 10 million units. PLCs control small machines and manufacturing systems used for packaging, printing, transporting, food processing, pressing and injection molding as well as other tasks.

Mitsubishi Electric launched the MELSEC-F series PLC in 1981. Featuring built-in power supply, I/O, CPU and memory, the MELSEC-F series PLC enabled variable programming and provided a significant advantage over the relay wiring in use at the time. Since then, the sales of MELSEC-F series PLCs have risen annually.

The benefits of MELSEC-F series products are their compact size, advanced functions such as simple positioning and high-speed counting, a built-in 24V DC service power supply, a wide range of different expansion options such as analog control, positioning control and communications, and a highly flexible system to maximize usability and cost performance. Recent development of the MELSEC-F series is focused on strengthening and expanding the FX3 series, contributing to greater automation and cost savings in various types of machines and factory systems.

In 1982, Mitsubishi Electric launched sales in Europe, followed by China in 1985 and other markets subsequently. In 2002, global sales of MELSEC-F series micro PLCs surpassed five million units. Currently, the majority of MELSEC-F series micro PLC sales are outside Japan.

The FX3 series was launched in 2004, offering greater processing speed, more functions, and a wider range of expansion options than the previous generation of products. The FX3 series line-up continues to expand, and is applied in factory automation (FA) settings as well as a wide range of other applications such as alternative energy production and amusement parks.