learning Rockwell 5000

Hi, I just came out of retirement and need some help on AB 5000.
I ended my carrier with AB500 and now decided to come out of retirement and it seems 5000 is the new software being used in RSlogix.
I just want to know if they have a simulator and what would be the best way to learn this since I do not have active RSlogix software available since retirement. Plus I need to reawake the old brain again.

You can use SoftLogix and Emulate but you need to have the proper licensing to do so.

The biggest thing you'll need to be prepared for is being tag-based. Gone are the days of B, N, F files. You won't find B3:0/0 or N7:0 anymore. This is the biggest adjustment people need to make. Plenty of threads about tag-based here just do a bit of searching.

The ladder editor will be familar, but the hardware tree, UDTs, AOIs, Tasks, Programs will be new.

Jimmeade,
I found that my conversion from RSL 500 to 5000 was pretty easy. The big difference was learning how to declare your tags. In 500 if you want a bit you use a B address, If you want a Integer you use a N address and if you want a float you use a F address. Those are already set up for you by the software. In Studio 5000 you don't have any data types set up for you. Now you enter a tag name like "PUMP1_START" then you assign it to the data type you want (BOOL, DINT, Float). The nice thing is you dont have to remember the cryptic addresses like B3:1/1 you just type in the tag name and select it.

As for simulators they have Emulate 5000 that is similar to the 500 version and very expensive. RA doesn't offer any "free" versions of the Studio 5000 software like they do for 500 with the Micro Starter Lite. So it practice with it I would recommend getting a licensed version of Studio 5000 and maybe a used Compact Logix processor off eBay. the L16 "Brick" style of processor is a good choice.

Welcome back to the PLC field.

Edit: Paully is faster than me

you might check and see if there is a community college or a tech school in your area with any ControlLogix/CompactLogix lab equipment available ...

even if the course material isn't quite up to par, for the tuition price for a semester, you might be able to get your hands on the school's hardware and software for about 16 weeks ... if possible, ask the instructor (or better yet, the lab assistant) if you'll be able to put in some "extra time" on your own whenever the lab isn't being used ...

Thanks everybody! its really good to get back to the field , just need to brush up on
this new stuff. I assume going to 5000 was like going from 6200 to RSlogix.
Sounds very interesting. Thanks again!!

I assume going to 5000 was like going from 6200 to RSlogix.

Click to expand...

been there – done that ... I think that you'll find that this is going to be a much bigger step ... for one thing – this time it's not just the software package that's changed – the controller is different (in many ways) "under the hood" ...

here are a couple of PDFs that you might find handy – one for ControlLogix topics – the other for topics in RSLinx ... sort of like a cafeteria-style menu of things to learn about ... naturally you won't need ALL of these topics – but having a checklist at hand might help give some direction to your journey ...

I'll be retiring myself at the end of 2016 ... I miss this stuff already ...

I wish you well ...

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Thanks Ron for the encouragement . I wonder if staying on retirement would be a better Idea, however that would not be a challenge. PLC guys need challenges and retirement is considered an adventure. You will enjoy it however, leave the PC close by for comfort.

left to my own devices, I wouldn't even consider retiring - but the lease on the office space that I'm using will expire - and I'll be 70 years old ... so everything is just sort of "lining up" for a graceful exit at the end of next year ... we'll see ...

for anyone who might be interested - here is an updated copy of the RSLinx Topics Index ... basically I've just recently added items 108-112 to show how the AB_VBP-1 driver for USB connections fits into the big picture ...

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