Many versions of ControlLogix. Concerns?

[12brich]

I've always been a fan of AB SLC500 stuff. I own licensed software and have lots of spare parts. From what I've heard so far, ControlLogix is the future and I need to move there quickly. This means a new round of software/hardware investment. A friend of mine told me that if you were using older software (RSLogix5000) with ealier models, the new software version will not be backward compatiple. My last Rockwell seminar kept talking about new features, bug fixes will be available in v13,14... Can you download the new features,fixes onto older CLX processors once they become available? Is this development platform ok?

I know with the SLC, no matter how old the processor is, RSLogix500 works fine with it. I still have so many customers operating under that environment. On new projects, I would like to go with CompactLogix. Tag arrays and structures are exaclty what I am looking for.

Should I wait a year?
Don

 

[panic mode]

Version control of the CLX is still major pain but it is
getting better... It is just criminal how slow things move
or that AB was making people buy unfinished product(s).
You can instal multiple versions of the software just to be
covered for all scenaros you see in field. You also get
CDs with firmware for different versions so you can load
any version you like.

 

[Ken Roach]

[Salesman] If the SLC platform works for you, stick with it! It's still sold and supported by A-B, and new features and modules are still being built for it. [/Salesman]

Right now I run RSLogix 5000 Versions 8, 10, 11, and 12 on my PC. The newer versions (10,11,12) all run with the same GUI and executable, while I do have to execute a different file to run Version 8. You can run one copy of Version 8 or older along with the new Version 10+ on Windows 2000 and XP.

All the CPU's I've ever used will accept the newest firmware; I have a 1756-L1 running Version 12 that is marked "Engineering Prototype - Not for Sale". As far as I know, that will remain the goal for future hardware.

I still have one customer running a dual-boot NT laptop to maintain the Version 6.0 controller running his boiler (which shuts down only once a year).

If you're interested in CompactLogix, I'd take a good look at the 1769-L31 and L32E controllers that will be available this spring. I am waiting anxiously for their channel-to-channel passthrough and DeviceNet messaging support features, as well as the increased speed, memory, and storage features. What I tell people is the 1769-L20 and 1769-L30 are good substitutes for SLC-5/01 and 5/02 controllers, but if you want to build a small Logix that can do what the 5/05 does you need a bigger L35E or L32E controller.

 

[12brich]

So, what are you saying Ken? Should I wait a year for all the excitement to quiet down before jumping in to this new platform of CLX? What's all this firmware up keep business?

You are right about the L32E and the wait. I now use the SLC505 Ethernet strictly and am very happy with it. Well, it looks like the next project (around Feb. 04) will have to be a SLC505 E.

Don

 

[PhilipW]

First up ControLogix is NOT a development platform. It was first sold in New Zealand about six years ago, and now controls (and I have to guess) around 30-40% of our dairy industry, major projects in our pulp and paper, timber processing, water supply and treatment plants, and so on.

Secondly, ControLogix represents a change in thinking about how products are developed. In the days of PLC5 and SLC500, products were launched with a relatively fixed feature set, and were enhanced maybe only once every few years. CLX however has it's firmware resident in flash memory and was always intended to be a moving target.

This is true with ALL significant software projects. Is Win98 the same as Windows XP? If you look at RSLogix 5000 Ver 12 it contains a host of major features that were not available at Ver 1.0. Now I am the first to grumble that the speed of development is not quick enough for my tastes...but I am not naive enough to think that everything I wanted was going to appear fully blown and bug free in the first release.

This ability to enhance and flash upgrade ControLogix in the field is a major feature, that once you get used to managing it is a real plus. Ever get caught having to send back a PLC5 for a "EEPROM" upgrade because the old Series A, B or C didn't do something you needed it to?

Thirdly. Yes ControLogix has bugs, most are fairly minor, some a pain in the arteries. So do ALL major PLC systems. I know of one large dairy project in NZ that underwent MAJOR grief with a non-Rockwell PLC, and Seimens are not exempt either. Part of the engineering discipline of using any modern PLC is keeping informed of new releases, product safety advisories, technical bulletins and change management in general. It isn't all that onerous, but it is a change from the old way of doing things.

Overall I find that I tackle much larger and higher risk projects in CLX than I would have ever attempted in SLC500. The engineering time is about half that of the earlier generation of PLC's, and the the system is so powerful and flexible that it can be applied to almost any automation task with success.

Until recently I would have said that if you are happy with SLC500, and especially if you tend to do smaller projects, then I would recomend you stick with it. But with CompactLogix now becoming a viable commercial alternative even for the small systems....then now is definitely the time to consider the change.

 

[12brich]

It sounds like I have to do this sooner or later. And it does not sound like too much of a headache either. I guess I will be buying CompactLogix L35E. Thanks.
Don

 

[Operaghost]

You know when the SLC500 came out the same problems existed. You bought a new processor like the 5/05 only to find out that your old software didn't support the new processor. That happens with every PLC system. It wasn't as noticable then though as the changes came at you so much slower than they do today.

With the ControlLogix and CompactLogix the revisions have been fast and furious. As far as the hardware goes, you can flash the firmware to the newest revision or flash it back to an earlier rev. This applies to any of the modules, not just the PLC processor.

Much of the griping was very valid on earlier revisions. Lets say your facility has standardized on revision 7.0 firmware. That meant your computer must have revision 7 software. You receive a package in the mail from Rockwell with version 8.0. Great!! New features, we like those. So you install it (uninstalling rev 7 in the process)and now your computer cannot talk to your PLC anymore because the revs don't match. That means you have to go back to rev 7 software or upgrade the firmware of the PLC which means shutting it down.

Starting with rev 10 the software revisions install side by side. So when you have 10 installed and you install 11 then your computer now supports both rev 10 and 11. The software automatically switches between the revs as needed. Today I have rev 10, 11 and 12 on my PC and the firmware is no longer an issue (for me). As Ken stated earlier, there is only one executable (one Windows icon) so you start the software and it will switch revs as it needs to.

This was a pretty nasty growing pain but today at least I believe it is nearly a non-issue as long as you have reached at least rev 10 firmware.

Good Luck!

OG