GE Micro vs AB MicroLogix 1000,1500

Hello folks,

I've been lurking in this forum for some time and find this site to be an excellent resource. I hope to contribute to it some day.

My small company is going to evaluate GE's Micro line of PLCs for the fresh water and waste water clients. Those of you who have used both line of PLCs, can you give me some feedback (pros/cons) on them? We are suppose to have a meeting with our GE distributor tomorrow during which we'll be shown a nice dog & pony show I'm sure.

Here's a little background on us: we've been using GE IFIX 5.0 SCADA package for our clients for some time. Couple of our clients are using Modicon PLCs with IFIX and one is using ICONICS with a Modicon. However, these Modicons are obsolete and we, as their integrator, need to decide which direction to take them.

My employer is intimately familiar with the MicroLogix 1000 & 1500 PLCs and uses them in oem packages that we build and sell. He states that they're very robust PLCs but also becoming more expensive.

Apparently AB is falling behind on the manufacturing of these PLCs and supply is a little backed up. My local dist tells us that the supply chain may return to normal in July 2010.

Our Allen Bradley support has been ok at best. My employer tells me that he doesn't "enjoy" talking to tech support at Rockwell as they aren't the most forthcoming bunch. Most of his questions are answered by "go check out our knowledge base" or something similar. We let our support contract lapse two months ago with Rockwell.

Our GE dist is extraordinarily easy to work with but we've only interfaced with them heavily on IFIX related items. We're hoping that their GE plc support staff is just as helpful and friendly. We are a GE Solution Provider so there is a fair amount of $$ investment with this distributor. As you can imagine, the dist is tickled pink at the thought of selling us the Micro PLCs as we'll be purchasing quite a bit throughout the year on various water system projects (if we go the GE route).

Things we like so far about GE Micro Family:
- use a single software to program all PLCs. Proficy Machine
- most competitively priced than AB plc's
- life cycle is not due to mature anytime soon.

What we need to find out:
- hardware robust in an industrial environment?
- easy to communicate with PLCs using Proficy Machine?
- does it cost $$ to include Ethernet port module to a PLC?
- how big of a task will it be to convert existing Modicon and AB plc programs over to GE plc?

Well, I think this post is long enough for now. Our company takes this decision very heavily so we want to make sure that we know what we're getting into. I hope that you experiences will help us deciding our course of action.

Thanks in advance (TIA) for your inputs.

Ash

I am not an 'AB' user, but I can offer a little knowledge of the GE VersaMax Micro. If you stick with the 20, 40, and 64 point CPU's they have an inexpensive <$150 Ethernet Port, however it is an 'Ethernet to Serial' adapter, but very usable. If you use RTU protocols you will love them as it is practically a native language in this family, either Client or Server, either serial or Ethernet.
As far as conversion, it will be a complete re-write, but the VM Micro has a full set of functions and you will not find much if anything missing, so if your systems are typical Water/Wastewater systems, no problem. IMO
Ask your distributor about available application notes, and even AE assistance in the conversions.

I like the AB software better but GE is a good product hardware wise.

We use Micrologix 1000 and 1500 PLCs and the Versmax Micro IC200UDR005. I installed the Versamax Micro over a year ago in an area where temperatures range from below freezing up to 100 F. I have not had any problems with the PLC.

I like it better than the AB ML1000 or ML1500 because the Micro has a good variety of I/O and Communications and the price was great. If you are only going to be programming the Micro, you can use Proficy 6.0 Standard, which should cost well under $1,000.00. Once you start using Proficy, I think that you will find that it is as good, if not better, than RSLogix 500.

Also, we have GE Global Support and they are pretty good about answering my questions, although sometimes it is difficult to get through to a technician because of call volumes.

Regards

The GE line will get the job done, you can be confident in hardware.

Personally, I HATE the ladder editor that GE uses. Proficy Machine edition is a nice piece of software, but the ladder editor is still based on the same DOS based ladder system from 20+ years ago.

I used to work in a facility where it was 90% GE, easily 100+ separate plcs from the micros to versamax, to 9030, to 9070 and the RX3I platform. I've since changed jobs working for a Rockwell preferred SI, and quite frankly I cringe when I have to work in GE again. My productivity drops like a rock.

But, with supply problems that AB has, and your need for an inexpensive, available solution, GE is the way to go (considering your aforementioned options).

EDIT: I did not renew our Globalcare support as any "real" question I needed help on could never be answered by them, I had to wait for a call back from someone more knowledgeable.

One feature that the VersaMax Micro has that the MicroLogix 1000 and 1500 don't is floating-point math. Also all of the VersaMax micros larger than the 14-point unit have a real-time clock included. You don't need to purchase an additional module.

An earlier post mentioned that you'd need Proficy Machine Edition Standard for programming and that it would cost under $1000. There once was (and still be) a version of Machine Edition software strictly for the VersaMax Micro and Nano. Part number was BC646MPM001 and it was under $150.

But you're a Solution Provider, so Machine Edition Professional should be included in your license dongles.

There are a number of us here who are familiar with both product lines, so if you have any questions about how to convert any specific AB functions to GE, just post 'em here and I'm sure you'll get answers.

Business is Business. If you need to compete, get over being spoiled by the more user-frendly Rockwell software and go with the cheaper GE stuff. GE is just as robust.

Thanks for the input folks.

You started the thread because you wanted feedback, so here's mine.

I much prefer Proficy Machine Edition software to RSLogix 500. Of course software preference is a personal thing but I wanted to contribute a pro-GE opinion.

I listed some things about Proficy ME software in this thread:
http://www.plctalk.net/qanda/showpost.php?p=350249&postcount=11

There is no online edits with the ML 1000 / 1500. When your program gets large it can take minutes to download a simple change from N.O. contact to N.C. contact. I have a customer with around 15 of these things on a plant floor. I have timed it and it takes 4-6 minutes to download a program. No - I am not exaggerating. This is on a near full 1500 with a DH-485 serial connection to my laptop.

Another caveat: AB downloads everything: logic, configuration, and data tables. With GE you get to choose what you want to download - one, two, or all three things. Very handy to avoid writing over existing setpoints in register tables. (It also saves a lot of time.)

As for hardware reliability I'd put GE up against AB any day. I cannot speak specifically about the ones you are looking at, but as an overall manufacturer GE has a VERY LONG history of reliable PLC products.

GE tech support is great - I call 5-10 times a year. I always receive help in a timely manner. They ask for my solution provider number but don't make near as big a deal about it as AB.

One more thing: Proficy ME is tag based but uses addresses. A really neat feature is there must be a third thing in a database that ties the tag name to the address. For example I can edit the tag name and then edit the address and the plc logic follows it. There is no switching between symbolic or absolute priority.