Dear Sir or Madam:
Rockwell Automation appreciates that Voith Hydro will be making a significant investment in the Allen-Bradley Logix Control Platform for current and future Programs. We will continue to support that investment now and in the future and it is important that customers understand the commitment Rockwell Automation has to the Logix control platform.
The Logix Control architecture is the core of our Programmable Automation Controller (PAC) family which includes ControlLogix, CompactLogix, GuardLogix, DriveLogix, and SoftLogix products.
CompactLogix, which began shipment in 2001, is in the early stage of the product life cycle. To put this in perspective, Allen-Bradley’s 1747 Series SLC500 family, which was introduced in 1989, is still available for sale today. That is a product life in excess of twenty one years.
The CompactLogix control platform is designed with an emphasis on software. The hardware will continue to migrate to newer technology that offers better performance, ease of use and more features while maintaining compatibility with the software and firmware. The applications developed in the older platform are forward compatible with the newer technology hardware.
Rockwell Automation has a major ongoing investment in the CompactLogix control architecture. Development and enhancement of an integrated architecture such as this is a very large undertaking, requiring thousands of manyears of engineering effort. This includes:
Over $600M invested in Logix over the last 13 years.
Over 400 Development Engineers and Commercial Engineers, globally located, to support technology developments and to integrate customer functional requirements into the product line.
In 2006, we introduced CompactLogix L43 with Integrated Motion support.
In 2008 we introduced CompactLogix L23 controllers with embedded I/O.
In 2009, we introduced Compact GuardLogix, a SIL3 certified controller, with the L43S and L45S CPU supporting integrated Safety.
In 2011, we plan to launch the next generation controllers with higher performance and enhanced features including CIP motion, focus on meeting the dynamic changing needs of customers.
Protecting our customer’s investment is a significant reason that we have an installed base far in excess of 2 million programmable controllers. Furthermore, it is our practice to support products for seven years from the date they are removed from general sale, pending commercial provisions (e.g., availability of components).
I hope that this brief correspondence will give you some idea of Rockwell Automation’s ongoing commitment to the CompactLogix product line. Rockwell Automation is committed to the success of the Logix control platform. Our long term plan is to continue to sell and support these products globally as long as they are important to our customers.
