Micro800 vs MicroLogix

I rarely like to weigh in on these X vs Y PLC threads. But I do believe RA sacrificed standards we have come to expect from the to compete in the low end market. I just wish that they would have called it something besides "Micrologix" since it is absolutely nothing like the 1100/1400 counterpart.

In fact the main reason I discourage it's use is that its software is nothing like RsLogix 500 or 5000. If someone has learned 500 they can catch onto 5000 pretty quick and vice versa but whether you love or hate the 800's software, when your application is too large for it, there isn't an easy transition to a larger PLC family.

Also, as others have stated, only the 1000 and 1500 are being phased out. I wish they would clarify this on their site because it is becoming a common question.
http://ab.rockwellautomation.com/Programmable-Controllers/MicroLogix-1000
It's not called "MicroLogix", it's called the Micro800 line, the word "Logix" is decidedly NOT in the name, because it is NOT a Logix product.

It's a cheap little PLC using "free" software mainly for the high volume Asian small machine OEM market, manufacturers what were NEVER going to use "Logix" anything. It just happens to work out OK for some of us low volume small machine customers too.

But you're right, "Logix" it isn't and in fact they definitely WANT to maintain that differentiation. The "upgrade" issue is not there, because that was never the intent. RA was trying to capture NEW business that they were missing and never going to get with the Logix family products. It's more likely that we may see a "Logix-Lite" product to someday replace the old MicroLogix (so that it can use Studio 5000) before we see an easy migration path from Micro800 into the Logix platform. That migration path was never part of the plan for the M800 line.

And yes, it IS actually built by RA at a plant they built and operate in Singapore, not China. It's their plant, their design, just like the new PowerFlex 520 drives and E300 OL relays (also built there).

As said, if you know and love Logix 500/5000, CCW is hard to get used to, but if you were using something else, it's actually kind of simple in my opinion (for what the PLC is capable of). NEW users with no previous AB experience to compare it to, or those who HATED Logix for simple tasks, don't seem to find a lot of fault in it.
 
It's not called "MicroLogix", it's called the Micro800 line, the word "Logix" is decidedly NOT in the name, because it is NOT a Logix product.

It's a cheap little PLC using "free" software mainly for the high volume Asian small machine OEM market, manufacturers what were NEVER going to use "Logix" anything. It just happens to work out OK for some of us low volume small machine customers too.

But you're right, "Logix" it isn't and in fact they definitely WANT to maintain that differentiation. The "upgrade" issue is not there, because that was never the intent. RA was trying to capture NEW business that they were missing and never going to get with the Logix family products. It's more likely that we may see a "Logix-Lite" product to someday replace the old MicroLogix (so that it can use Studio 5000) before we see an easy migration path from Micro800 into the Logix platform. That migration path was never part of the plan for the M800 line.

And yes, it IS actually built by RA at a plant they built and operate in Singapore, not China. It's their plant, their design, just like the new PowerFlex 520 drives and E300 OL relays (also built there).

As said, if you know and love Logix 500/5000, CCW is hard to get used to, but if you were using something else, it's actually kind of simple in my opinion (for what the PLC is capable of). NEW users with no previous AB experience to compare it to, or those who HATED Logix for simple tasks, don't seem to find a lot of fault in it.

Yes Jraef, but what do you really think?
 
This is a myth that won’t go away. Rockwell developed the Micro800 and the software was developed by a Rockwell company. I think they sacrificed their high quality standard to try and buy their way into a market share they weren’t having any luck in (the low end PLC market). In my view it’s more of a black eye than a success but to be fair my experience in working with the Micro800’s was when they first hit the market and nobody, and I mean NOBODY, knew how to program them (including Rockwell tech support). Having said all of that, some people love them so they aren’t a total failure.

I am with you there Firejo!! I was in the same boat. Bought a 810 thinking it would be a cheaper option for the ML1100 we now use on our systems. At the time is was only about $100. I started rewriting our software in CCW v1.0 and hated CCW. After I wrote one of the simple routines I decided to test it. It was a routine that would start a pump and turn on a light. I XIC the input on 2 different lines, one started the pump and one light the light. I could not get it to work like it did in the ML1100. Called my distributor and got their expert on the phone. He couldn't find a answer to the issue. We called RA Technical Support and no luck there either. If I re-wrote the code to use a internal bool bit it worked (I know that is proper programming technique).

Lucky for me I decided to stay with the ML1100 but I do try and read the post here and even do some practicing on CCW just in case.
 
So what are the alternatives to the Micro800

Where I work, we employ about 20 MicroLogix 1000's that we are looking to upgrade/replace down the line due to RA not supporting them anymore. All 20 are in different machines that are not networked and do various operations. Does anyone have any suggestions for alternatives to replacing these other than RA Micro800 series that I should look into? 90% of this plant is programmed with RA equipment via Ethernet IP so I thought it just made sense to go with this product. But if the language is different and it's a pain, perhaps it's time to look at something else?
 
I would replace them all with ML1400s and forget about them for another 15 years or so. As a bonus, you will be able to mostly copy+paste the code over.
 
Agreed, any savings in h/w will quickly be swallowed up by re-writing the code and then it may not even perform as expected and you'll have to debug all over again. Save the big investment - the application.
 
I think the Micrologix 1400 is a workhorse for the price point and isn't going away for a long time. I think Rockwell is going to be kicking themselves when they try to phase it out because it's just way too popular. For me, it's my go-to small project processor. No, it can't do tag-based addressing, but it can do a lot with legacy equipment. It has two RS-232 ports as well as a port with native RS-485 pins (no adapter required). It has Ethernet/IP and online editing.

Where it really shines is it's ability to communicate via Modbus easily. You can use the two serial ports for Modbus RTU or the enable Modbus TCP on the Ethernet port. The thing is, it's actually EASIER to communicate Modbus TCP on a ML1400 than it is on a Compact or Control Logix! You can do it on CLogix, but the sample code you have to download to make it work is extremely complicated, which works find until you need to expand the basic capabilities Rockwell gives you. My company is looking into a job right now where we're planning on using a ML1400 solely to be a Modbus TCP/Ethernet IP gateway. I've controlled networked drives over Modbus RTU and Servos over Ethernet/IP with it.

The 1400 is just a workhorse and an incredible value for the money. The 800? It's a few hundred dollars cheaper, but the software is clunky and not as familiar. I don't have much use for languages other than ladder and the occasional FBD, and the Micro800s look and feel so chintzy compared to the 1400. I feel like I'm using "Baby's first PLC" when I'm programming a Micro800.
 
This is a myth that won’t go away. Rockwell developed the Micro800 and the software was developed by a Rockwell company. I think they sacrificed their high quality standard to try and buy their way into a market share they weren’t having any luck in (the low end PLC market). In my view it’s more of a black eye than a success but to be fair my experience in working with the Micro800’s was when they first hit the market and nobody, and I mean NOBODY, knew how to program them (including Rockwell tech support). Having said all of that, some people love them so they aren’t a total failure.

I think Rockwell with budget PLCs is like when the American auto industry tried to make small cars in the 70s to compete with the Japanese. It's a product nobody asked for that fills a role that plenty of other people are filling just fine. There are already PLENTY of low-end PLCs on the market, and there are plenty of companies who do it better than Rockwell. The Micro800 line to me is basically the Ford Pinto or the Chevrolet Chevette.
 
I used it last year to automate some small powder coat booths and no problems with the plc portion but the HMI portion ground to a slow crawl when I had to populate the screen with a couple of dozen objects.

Were these with Panelview Component or Panelview 800s? Panel view 800s have a much faster processor.
 
My next post in reference to that. Panelview C400.

Sorry for not reading enough. That is a Panelview Component. As I said the Panelview 800s are much faster. I've used a few. They're fairly decent, but for the price I'd rather use a C-More with far more capabilities and a similar price point. I only use them when I have a customer who is stuck on Allen-Bradley but doesn't want to pay for a Panelview Plus.
 
I didn't have an issue with the speed of that c400, felt adequate for the application. It was the development software that was agonizing. While developing a screen with more than a few graphic components, every change required a update and it took forever to redraw.
 
I understand that for my application the ML1400 is prob the best choice but is there anything going forward I should look at outside of RA that someone has had a good experience with?
 

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