If you need the functionality of a PLC for your project, and don't want it to be a total kludge, this device is pretty nice:
You have to buy the I/O expander cards. A lot better product than a Labjack for about the same price. I could not even drive stepper motors with internal encoders with a Labjack because of insufficient current so I had to build a board with high-current drivers. This would have been a faster, more flexible, solution.