Difference between AB and GE

What is the differnce between AB, GE and other manufactures in software and hardeware?


Yasser

Chalk and cheese!!!!!

Price is the first factor.

You can buy a large AB system, or several GE, for the same money.

You can buy AB software, then pay for support and pay for software "renewals", or you can pay (less) and get GE.

You can find AB salespeople and users ALL over the world. There are fewer GE.

You can spend a lot of time learning AB, or considerably less learning GE.

Which is better? Not much difference, both will do most things, some have a little advantage in some small areas.

I learned on AB, then was introduced to GE 8 years later.

My first, second, and third choice, not AB.

regards.....casey

Everyone has a preference. I will never again have a GE PLC, or GE software in my plant or on any of my computers.

Ever.

I see equipment come in with a GE PLC, it is A) Returned, or B) the PLC has an unfortunate accident with a large, heavy metal object.

Every PLC and Programming package reflects the philosophy of the manufacturer. Some go for ease of use, others trade that for more power. Some go for low cost, others go for higher quality or better support. Some specialize in niche markets, others try to cover broad application areas. Some market direct, others use distributors. Some have beter distribution in the US, others have better distribution in other specific areas of the world. You have to evaluate your application against each supplier's capabilities in these areas and decide accordingly.

Price / Quality / Service - a supplier can be best at any two, but not all three. Each supplier makes it's choice of where to concentrate. (Of course, some suppliers are no good at any of the three!)

rdrast:

As someone who recently spent time learning GE plcs, I'm curious what your reasons are for disliking them. I'm not defending GE, just wondering what you've encountered.

newbie: Basically, everything. I had to use Complexity, er, Cimplicity (now Proficy) for a series 90, on a few jobs. Getting the software 'Authorized' was a two week fiasco, with GE's web site not working, and their customer service personell passing me from one 'on hold' phone to another.

Once I did get it loaded, the software is buggy, clumsy, poorly documented, poorly organized, easy to crash, and more user-unfriendly that Simatic Manager version 2.

I also found memory allocation for variables to be a pain in the tail, with no way to streamline it. It reminded me a lot of working on a Simatic/TI 545 series... No warnings about when you double used memory, no good way of modifying existing allocations... Just horrible.

I felt like I stepped back 20 years in PLC's working on those projects. Since that experience, I'll never do another, or even have one in my presence.

Amen, brother.

I have heard similar things said about the first release of Control Logics. Most of them were fixed (or missunderstood) too.

Plc

Hi all
AS a PLC user for more than ten years with different brands experiance i found that the major difference betwwen PLCs located in the software programming tools i confess that AB software programming tool RSlogix 500 is the easiest one i have ever met now other brands like telemechanigue(PL7),Mitsubishi(GX developer),LG (KGL win)are also easy and simple but not as rslogix500.now i switched to deal with two new brands which is koyo and GE.
for me Koyo programming is not bad except that v memory map method which it use.still exploring GE so i can't give an opinion about Ge software in this days.
hardware cabibility is differ from manufacturer to other i found that the Pack system from GE is a very good product while i found that the high speed counter module HSC2 for AB SLC500 series is very hard to program.
Any way as i always said the best PLC you can use is the one which could give a solution to your process with good technical capabilities and economic price.
Also i believe that with much more experience switching between PLC brands is easy while the PLC programmer have the programming basics.
BR

rdrast said:

newbie: Basically, everything. I had to use Complexity, er, Cimplicity (now Proficy) for a series 90, on a few jobs. Getting the software 'Authorized' was a two week fiasco, with GE's web site not working, and their customer service personell passing me from one 'on hold' phone to another.

Click to expand...

I never had to experience any of that.

On the rare occasion that I couldn't get local GE support, I had acquired the name of a couple of field guys in Milwaukee that were fantastic.

When I contracted to a GE plant, I didn't have any support, but I was always able to get the answers out of the manuals.

I do not understand the "two week fiasco".

It sounds like you had logistics problems with your local supplier.

Sort of what I have with AB, since I personally do not buy anything, I do not matter.

In Peoria, a "light curtain" distributor did not return my call last spring. So far, he has lost out on over 100 light curtain sales. Big ooops!!!

I know that there are a couple of excellant GE people onthis site. Perhaps you recognize their names. They have posted on this thread.

regards.....kc

If you have long term experience with an individual PLC brand, and have comments, why not add it to the PLC Reviews section of this site? (See link at top of page Or....)

http://www.plcs.net/reviews/

When I started at my current job we were mostly a GE plant. 90/30's and Versamax. GE was mandated by management some years ago and nobody can remember why (even mgmt). Over the past 4 years we have slowly been making the transition to Allen-Bradley PLC's, mostly for the following reasons:

1. Our electricians, and myself, were dismayed to learn that the VersaPro programming software had been discontinued and replaced with Cimplicity Machine Edition. We did purchase a license of ME to give it a fair test and I will reiterate rdrast's opinion: "buggy, clumsy, poorly documented, poorly organized, easy to crash, and more user-unfriendly..."
2. In addition to building our own equipment, we frequently purchase OEM machinery and 9 times our of 10 the manufacturer uses Allen-Bradley. On custom builds we can request GE but the builder would usually come back and ask if AB would be permitted.
3. For the type and volume of PLC's that we purchase, the cost difference between GE and AB is nil.
4. Yes, annual software maintenance fees are a pain but we are not an overly large facility and the cost is reasonable. I have found the web updates for software to be convenient.

Of course we've had issues we AB as well (such as networking PLCs... grrrrr), but I'll take a MicroLogix over a Versamax any day of the week.

Just my thoughts.