A/B Pre-Assembled I/O Module Cables - Experiences?

Does anyone have any experience (Good or Bad) with the Allen Bradley pre-made I/O cables (IFM)?

My company is considering standardizing on these for larger panels that we build, which primarily use Compact Logix I/O modules.

I know that these are expensive, but we feel that savings in wiring labor (especially on 32 Pt. DI/DO modules) and the savings in testing (we typically will test EVERY I/O point from the field terminal blocks back into the PLC to be sure the panel shop didn't make any mistakes) will make this cheaper in the long run.

I have done a search and cannot find any 3rd parties that make these cabling systems that work with the Compact Logix (1769) I/O modules.

Any opinions would be appreciated.

For what it's worth, I've used plenty on SLCs without any problems, dig and analogue. You'll need wider trunking tho, to stash the folded excess multicores. Minor negative point: The leds fitted to the o/p boards are too bright to look at!

CCasalie,


I have used plenty of them.

#1 premade on both ends - make sure you have a little extra length and the wireway (trunking) take up the slack. we found this was harder to deal with than option #2

#2 premade connector at the ifm connector only - we ordered the 5 or 10 meter lengths and cut the cable to length.

the first panel will be rough - wiring time that is.
add 2 additional hours for each cable for first 10 cables of each type and 4 hours cad work for each module cable.

you must detail the cable for the panel builders and spend time with them showing them what you mean. you must also help debug the wiring.

its rough the first 1 or 2 panels. gets easier after that.

If I had to do it over again, I would buy a module of each, cad the drawing, wire it and prove the wiring before ever attempting it on an actual panel build.

this was my experience.
regards,
james

I have used pre-assembled cables for compact and controllogix for several years no problem at all.

I just used them for the first time on a recent build. It would have went better if I ordered the correct length cable. I ordered 1 Meter cable and would have been fine with 1/2 Meter cable. Take some time and order the right lengths!!

So I ended up cutting the cable and rewiring each one. I didn't take that long to do maybe a couple hours for 9 modules.

I can say that the install was much easier than traditional terminal block wiring. Even with me having to cut and re terminate the cables I guesstimate it saved me 8 + hours.

The field install went very good too. Easy to terminate field wires and easy to identify the terminals. I will use them all the time if I can.

Wago make some cables compatible with the AB plc. Although the brochure http://www.wago.us/downloads/AB_Interface_Brochure.pdf says they are 40% cheaper than the AB ones, the pricing I got wasn't.

I am going to buy 20 conductor #22 UNITRONIC series cable from LAPP and make my own, as for us the cost savings aren't worth the price of the AB cables.

I've used it and had no great problems. For me it was a lot faster then individual wires.

If you are looking to save some money, then check out the AutomationDirect.com ZIPLINK system. You can get the cable with pigtail ends and the Remote Terminal Block for about $50. You will have to wire the pigtail end to your module. I just got a few in to check them out. I am impressed with the quality. Seems like a nice system.

The P/N I got were ZL-RTB20 Block and ZL-CBL24-1P Cable. I was planning on using these with Digital I/O Modules.

I've used IFMs on ControlLogix systems several times. As Bullzi mentioned, spend a little time getting the length right. Making them all more than long enough, is not a very good solution.

The digital I/O versions work fine, no complaints.
The analog outputs work ok.
The analog inputs are something of a train wreck. Too many different "limited" options. You can have differential only (I never use this configuration, it's just dumb). You can have single ended all 2-wire configuration.
To get single ended with the option of 2-wire or 4-wire on any channel, you get this enormous IFM with clumsy wiring arrangement.

I prefer 16 triple-deck terminals jumpered on the top and bottom decks. Put +24v on the top deck, common on the bottom deck. 2-wire signals go to top and middle decks. 4-wire signals go to middle and bottom decks. Mount a ground bar below the terminals for the shields. Still use the prewired RTB with pigtails. With 6mm terminals it takes about 4-5 inches of space on a DIN rail. This is *so* much cleaner that it is worth the extra panel wiring time.