Investment in New Plant Laptops - What is the best for Rockwell Software

Cydog

Member
Join Date
Feb 2018
Location
Maryland
Posts
313
Good Morning ,

I would like to invest in new laptops for the plant floor. Would like Serial Ports , Ethernet Ports , USB ports , and possibly a PCMCIA slot. Software installed would be RS Logix 500 , FactoryTalk View , CCW , and RS Logix 5000 versions 15.0 to 28.0 and higher with new equipment coming in . What would be the best laptops to get ?

Does Windows 10 play well with Rockwell Software , and does Windows 10 Professional come with XP Mode ?

Also , it seems like I have a hard time loading RS Logix 5000 versions under 20 , on anything higher than Windows XP .

Also , has Rockwell come up with a better method of converting FactoryTalk View 32 bit applications to 64 bit ?

Thanks so much for your help.
 
If you want native serial ports pretty much the only game in town is a Panasonic ToughBook. There's a lot to recommend for them as a maintenance laptop, as they will take a hell of a beating.
PCM slots? Forget it.
The Dell Precision M4800 is my go to for speccing a laptop, but I also use a Latitude 5770 and a Microsoft Surface. I think both those Dells are discontinued.
Operating system is immaterial, as you should run everything on VMWare, at least one Windows 7 and one XP. Solid state drives become important here, to boot your VM's faster.
 
Why VMWare ?

Operating system is immaterial, as you should run everything on VMWare, at least one Windows 7 and one XP. Solid state drives become important here, to boot your VM's faster.

Not to hijack this thread, but why is VM preferred for RsLogix ? We just install RsLogix straight to the computer. Plus VM would need another license I think.
 
...why is VM preferred for RsLogix ?

Not necessarily for RSLogix only; various automation software packages (Rockwell, Siemens, GE, etc.) do not always happily coexist on the same physical hard drive; sometimes they are using the same Windows services and drivers, however, with different settings.

If using only one software family a physical PC would suffice; for multiple platforms, VMs are the prefered approach.

Plus VM would need another license I think.

You would only need a Windows license for each VM.

Software licenses usage are similar in VMs as on real PCs.
 
Not necessarily for RSLogix only; various automation software packages (Rockwell, Siemens, GE, etc.) do not always happily coexist on the same physical hard drive; sometimes they are using the same Windows services and drivers, however, with different settings.

If using only one software family a physical PC would suffice; for multiple platforms, VMs are the prefered approach.



You would only need a Windows license for each VM.

Software licenses usage are similar in VMs as on real PCs.

Also, maintenance laptops (even Toughbooks) get trashed. A VM snapshot gets you back in business very quickly compared to getting a Rockwell license reset and then loading software.
 
Last edited:
+1 on vm machines.

we lost a hard drive on one of our programming laptops.
installed solid state drive. installed windows and updates.
copied 6 vm's from backup and we were running.
the installation of windows 7 and updates was the killer though.

james
 
I’ve moved to a Lenovo T470 for my day job and am never going back to dell. I would definitely recommend spooling a couple of VM’s for your software. For my personal/side job I will most likely move from my MBP to an MSI portable workstation or gaming laptop.

I also prefer usb dongles for serial connections. It’s only a matter of time before a serial port gets blown, especially when using patched together cables, or getting mixed up between different systems all using DB9’s. This way you have a chance to save your ports.

All of the bugs appear to be worked out between Rockwell and windows 10. I really enjoy working on windows 10 now. If you do have issues, I started a thread with some workarounds to get everything working.
 
Not to hijack this thread, but why is VM preferred for RsLogix ? We just install RsLogix straight to the computer. Plus VM would need another license I think.

I don't like having anything running on my host if I don't need it.
 
It will be a profitable investment. If you are in doubt, you can consult with a financial adviser. I always do. When I am offered to invest in any business, first of all, I consult with my financial adviser. By the way, a financial adviser is also one of the most profitable investments. Until I became interested in his services, I constantly invested money in those things that brought me only losses. When I decided to study , I realized that I needed its services. I have been working with a financial adviser for about a year, and my profit has doubled.
Troll alert. I deleted the link from the quote.
 
Just a couple of pointers for you take take into account if you havenÂ’t made up your mind.

-Serial ports are a thing of the past, if someone says you need a native serial port they donÂ’t know how to configure a USB-serial adapter.

-VMs are important, if you dont know how to use them then its a good time to figure it out. They will eventually replace every old laptop in your “tool bin”. Our plant only uses AB software and hardware, everything from PLC/2 to the latest greatest compact logix and control logix. I think I have close to 15 virtual machines for our plant which has just over 60 PLCs. They become even more important once you start networking and using servers in your plant.

-I maintain 2x PLC 2 machines and a lot of very old hardware that was configureable by serial. I have 2x windows 95 vms, one for field use and a backup from when everything was installed and working if I make any mistakes. They both run on windows 10 in VMWare pro. I use the same setup for every generation of hardware that I support.

-I personally like ThinkPads, have been using them for over 15 years in my professional career. I have used others such as dell and Panasonic, but always prefer my thinkpad.

-Pick the laptop you are comfortable with that has decent specs based on the quantity that you need and the money that is available. Spend the rest of your time creating images for the software that you need with the drivers configured. Will make your life much easier.

May be beyond the scope of what you are asking, but I hope it helps.
 

Similar Topics

For those of you who know, is it worth the 800 dollars to get the CCNA certification through cisco? Or what other certifications are out there...
Replies
15
Views
3,709
I've scored a project to upgrade an existing wind/unwind machine, and along with it the full version of Studio 5000, and FTView for Machine...
Replies
2
Views
1,434
In our area we had a 34,000 Volt line fall on a 12,000 Volt line and gave us a High Voltage surge for about 1 sec. but enough to cause a good bit...
Replies
10
Views
5,482
  • Poll
Is money allways the most important factor?
Replies
5
Views
2,560
Hello guys, I would need some help. I have installed the aveva plant scada and want to run a project. From the configurator, all are fine, as I...
Replies
0
Views
69
Back
Top Bottom