Most appropriate pseudo AB hardware

I wish to develop 2 "standard" plc programs and matching HMI applications.

One program is intended to ultimately run on a CompactLogix PLC and the other on a ControlLogix PLC.

PLC programming will be in RSLogix5000. HMI programming will be Crimson 3.0

For development/test and maybe demo purposes I would like to get a "cheap" PLC instead of Compact/ControlLogix.

So my question is which of the Micrologix PLCs could be programmed most like a Compactlogix or ControlLogix PLC using RSLogix5000.

I probably won't need 100% feature functionality, but I would like to be able to develop/test on Microliogix and with little effort, adapt to suit Compact/ControlLogix.

Any suggestions on hardware suitability would be appreciated.

Also, until I get set up with hardware and RSLogix software, what ladder diagram software is available as "freeware" which closest resembles RSLogix5000.

TIA for any advice.

Micrologix are programmed using RSlogix 500, not 5000.

Micro Starter Lite will allow you to write programs for thee Micrologix 1000 and 1100 in ladder logic. It is free. The emulator software is also available at that same link.

@Christoff84
Noted. Seems I will be developing in RS500 then adapting to RS5000 until I decide to invest in a CompactLogix for development.

@Bernie Carlton
Thanks very much for those links, I have downloaded the software and will be using it for development.

suggestion: you can also download a legal "demo" version of RSLogix5000 too ... it will NOT go online so you can't write a working program with it - but at least it will give you an idea of how DIFFERENT RSLogix500 and RSLogix5000 systems are in theory - and in practice ...

recommendation: compare the ways that the various platforms work - and how different the software packages are ...

I've got a hunch that you really need to go ahead and start from the beginning with the higher priced equipment ... I'm afraid that the amount of "conversion" that you'll need is going to be unpleasantly surprising to you ...

just friendly advice - feel free to ignore me ...

good luck with your project ...

Thanks for the heads up Ron.

Do u have a link for the RS5000 demo?

TIA.

ais said:

Thanks for the heads up Ron.

Do u have a link for the RS5000 demo?

TIA.

Click to expand...

Ron appears to be offline now, so here is a link for you:

http://www.rockwellautomation.com/rockwellsoftware/design/rslogix5000/demo.html

In case it matters to you, the MicroLogix 1500 shares the same I/O platform (1769) as CompactLogix. However, the free version of RS500 is not compatible with the 1500. You'd need RSLogix Micro Starter, which is still pretty cheap.

@OkiePC
Thanks for the link

@kolyur
Thanks for the input. I will have to study the various compatibilties to decide which way to go.