VC3-1616MDR Veichi VC3-1616MDR PLC: 16 inputs / 16 outputs, relay outputs, 24VDC supply, RS232/485, CANopen, Ethernet.

VC3-1616MDR is a VC3 CPU module for 24V DC supply: 16 digital inputs, 16 relay outputs. RS232/RS485 ports, CANopen and built-in Ethernet (Modbus-TCP). This is the relay version for panels with a common 24V DC source, where you would rather not run a separate 220V to the controller. Relay outputs switch both AC and DC, so they suit mixed loads.

Typical applications:

• A machine or unit in a panel with a single 24V DC supply.
• Driving contactors, valves and lamps with Ethernet data exchange.
• Linking drives over CANopen where the loads are of different kinds.

Note: for a 220V AC supply there is the direct counterpart VC3-1616MAR. If you need fast pulse to a stepper/servo, relay outputs are not enough — take the transistor VC3-1616MDT (eight 200kHz channels).

Veichi VC3 — dual-core mid-range PLC with built-in Ethernet

VC3 is the third generation of Veichi controllers on a dual-core processor. We reach for it where VC1's basic logic falls short but a full EtherCAT bus is still overkill: 64,000 program steps, 0.065µs basic instruction, eight pulse inputs and eight outputs at 200kHz with S-curve ramping. The main reason to choose VC3 is the onboard ports: Ethernet (Modbus-TCP, up to 16 slaves) and CANopen (301/402 profiles) are built in, not added through a separate module.

This is a workhorse controller for a mid-complexity machine that needs both an Ethernet link to SCADA or an HMI and a few pulse-driven positioning axes. RS485, RS232 and USB Type-C for commissioning, up to 15 right-side expansion modules (up to 8 of them special), 8 external interrupts and a real-time clock.

What VC3 is good for

• Machines exchanging data over Ethernet: a line where the PLC feeds SCADA or polls several slaves over Modbus-TCP with no extra module.
• Pulse positioning: feed, cut-to-length, dosing on steppers and servos — eight 200kHz channels with S-curve.
• Linking VFDs over CANopen: controlling a group of Veichi VFDs over the 402 fieldbus.
• Packaging, textile, wood and metalworking: 16 or 32 onboard points plus modules for the rest of the signals.

How VC3 differs from neighbouring series

In practice VC3 is the sweet spot: it gives the built-in Ethernet and CANopen that VC1 lacks, without carrying the cost and complexity of the VC5 EtherCAT platform. If you need coordinated motion across many axes over a bus, that is VC5 or VH600 territory.

When VC3 is not the right fit

• You need coordinated bus motion, interpolation or an electronic cam — go for VC5 or VH600 with EtherCAT.
• The task is purely logic and budget-driven, with no Ethernet out of the box — VC1 will do.
• You need heavier pulse and motion functions in the VC3 form factor — look at the VC3M motion variant (transistor outputs + 200kHz, motion-control function).
• You work inside another brand's ecosystem — compare with Delta or Fatek.

Our experience with VC3

VC3 gets picked when a machine has "grown up" into a network: the typical buyer question is "can I get a link to the HMI and the VFDs without an Ethernet module". Yes — the port is on the board, and that is often the deciding argument against VC1. We recommend settling on the output type up front: for relay use the MAR/MDR versions, for fast pulse to steppers/servos the transistor MAT/MDT. Buyers often pair it with Veichi operator panels on the same machine.