Changing out a powerflex VFD

WILLY888

Member
W
Join Date
Jan 2015
Location
saskatchewan
Posts
7
Is there a way to change out a powerflex 700 VFD revsion 8 to 9 without downloading the controller.

Using Rslogix 5000 V 20

Make sure the drive is powered up and the comms module had been properly addressed.
1. Open up the old RSL5K application file.
DO NOT GO ONLINE!
2. Right-click the old drive module and choose Properties.
3. Under the General tab pick the Change button.
4. Within the Module Definition applet, in the lower left corner pick the Match Drive button.
After the Drives Services Communication utility uploads the connected drive configuration Apply the changes to the application file and then Save it.
5. Download to the controller.
 
jraef said:
Not sure what you mean here. You want to change out the drive and NOT tell the controller it is a different firmware revision? Why?
Click to expand...
Currently when a drive fails the replacement is generally a newer revision and a download is required, the question was is there a way to replace the drive with the new revision without taking a download to update the controller which intern takes down a part of the facility.
 
You could ask you RA/AB distributor to downgrade the spare VFD's firmware to the RSL5K application configured level if CPU downloads are not permitted.
Although I have downgraded PFs' firmware myself several times, I would not recommend it since plenty could go wrong and you might get stuck with a hefty bill...:unsure:
 
Last edited:
WILLY888 said:
Currently when a drive fails the replacement is generally a newer revision and a download is required, the question was is there a way to replace the drive with the new revision without taking a download to update the controller which intern takes down a part of the facility.
Click to expand...
So I take it you are NOT taking advantage of ADC then? Because that would automatically downgrade your firmware to whatever level is known to work with your controller. That's the purpose of this, you ALREADY KNOW that a particular version of firmware in the drive works with the program in the controller. So if you install a newer version of drive firmware, you know longer know if those changes will affect how the drive responds to your programming.
 
dmargineau said:
You could ask you RA/AB distributor to downgrade the spare VFD's firmware to the RSL5K application configured level if CPU downloads are not permitted.
Although I have downgraded PFs' firmware myself several times, I would not recommend it since plenty could go wrong and you might get stuck with a hefty bill...:unsure:
Click to expand...
We asked the rep this same question, the answer was it can be done but not recommended as you have stated.

The other thing that we been throwing around is go online build a new VFD with a new tag name, give the replacement the new tag, not sure if this will work or is practical.
 
It could work, however, you will have to duplicate all existing code and relate it to an inhibited drive module which might or might not be "comprehended" by the CPU at the time of the replacement. You will not know if it is functional until crunch time and then you will have to download anyway if prompted by hardware question marks.
 
jraef said:
So I take it you are NOT taking advantage of ADC then? Because that would automatically downgrade your firmware to whatever level is known to work with your controller. That's the purpose of this, you ALREADY KNOW that a particular version of firmware in the drive works with the program in the controller. So if you install a newer version of drive firmware, you know longer know if those changes will affect how the drive responds to your programming.
Click to expand...
We are not taking advantage of ADC, just spent some time reading up on it, thank you for the heads up.
 
If you are not using ADC and Firmware supervisor then why not make a place where you can power the drive up on the bench and downgrade the firmware before you install?

Or you could downgrade your spare on the bench and put it back in the box and in your spare storage until its needed?
 
You can change the Powerflex without problems . You will not be able to go online via property-panel in RsLogix 5000 after,use CCW instead to upload from the old and download to the new.
I have had the same problem then the Plant runs 24/7 and it's not possible to take the controller out of run.
 

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