rxforspeed,

If advice is given Melanie and myself, go with Melanie's. She is one of the people I am learning from

But just for the record. I do have two automatic punch presses using relays to control the solenoids ( air and hydraulic ). I picked the relays to work directly from the PIC. I can not remember why I went that direction, I normally use a MOSFET. Both machines run five days a week and run between 2,000 and 8,000 parts a day depending on the part punched. One machine has been in operation for five years and the other for four.