Way to print PLC2/17 ladder logic?

I have an old PLC-2 system that I am upgrading to CompactLogix. At this moment I am not sure if I am going to use the old backplane with a 1771-ASB with the new PLC and a 1756-DHRIO, or just to go "pure compactlogix". Any comments on this are welcome.

In either case, I'm going to rewrite the code for compactlogix. The problem is that I have all of the PLC2's files (.lad, .adr, .pfd etc) but no way to print them. I don't need expensive software to convert or edit these files, merely to print the ladder logic. Is there anything that will read these? The one print-out I do have lists all of the i/o, with comments, so even if I could print the logic out without comments it would be enough.

Zip and post your PLC-2 program files here and somebody who has AI-2 (those are AI-2 file extensions) can open them and print. I used to run it in a DOS VM and "print" using a serial null modem cable back into an instance of Hyperterminal !

I'll dig around and see if I still have that software.

If it really is that easy I will be pleased! I've attached all the files I have for it.

I couldn't find an AI-2 activation, but the software will generate a report without it. It's a TXT file, Zipped and attached.

PLC-2 hardware is old enough that I would strongly recommend replacing it with new I/O if you have the chance. I did a big upgrade of 1978-1982 era hardware last year and we were seeing more module failures in the past three years than in the previous decades, as the modules and chassis started to wear out from vibration and corrosion. The fact that we were opening up the cabinets and messing with the hardware was probably a contributing factor; the years of dust and salt must have been holding things together.

We were dealing with PLC-2 systems that had been upgraded to PLC-5 in the early 1990s so there were lots of distributed 1771 racks and the cost to run new cables and the downtime to wire to new modules was high enough that we chose to keep the old hardware and deal with the module failures as they came.

If this is a PLC-2/17 with just one chassis, I'd say definitely trade in the PLC-2 hardware for a CompactLogix of ControlLogix hardware discount (if RA's still running those discount programs).

Thank you so much!. I might pick your brain about that later. My activation is long gone (don't have the original computer and trying to run in a virtual machine) but I couldn't get anything to open.

I also found out that I can't use the old rack for RIO with a CompactLogix system (only ControlLogix).

In this case it's a small project for our client to make some mechanical changes and the only way we can upgrade is if it's cheaper right now. With the CompactLogix/1771 option off the table, it looks like we are stuck with the PLC2 system for now and no upgrades. It will get upgraded fairly soon to full CompactLogix. I'd love to combine the two upgrades, but we're talking about different departments and different budgets.

You could use the 1771 rack with CompactLogix in a couple of ways:

1. Use the 1769-L32C or 1769-L32CR controller and a 1771-ACN(R)15 adapter connected with ControlNet. If you already have ControlNet in your facility this is a workable solution (because you'll already have RSNetworx and some similar hardware) but not for a one-off systesm.

2. Use the standalone AN-X-ABRIO scanner on EtherNet/IP with a CompactLogix that has an EtherNet/IP port. It's a relatively expensive module but has a lot of applications in migration projects (Ghost Mode is a fantastic tool).

Very old controllers present a risk factor, too: if that PLC-2/17 failed tomorrow, you would need to buy an aftermarket CPU and hire in somebody with an activated copy of the software to re-load it. That's at least two days of lost production and probably $5000 in hardware and labor, just to get back to where you were.

If I were in your shoes I'd at least ask to have the engineering time to prepare the migration to a Logix-family controller so if the existing controller goes toes-up you're a few days of program translation/debugging ahead and can push to do a quick migration instead of a replacement with 1970's hardware.

They don't have ControlNet there. The future upgrade that I was talking about will be to make the PLCs networked.

That scanner looks interesting. I probably will have the opportunity to manually make new CompacLogix code soon, so that we are ready to go as soon as the upgrade is approved.

Thanks for your help!