When does the SLC completely out of date?

[yang1216]

Hi, all
We have several machines using SLC, and we find the spare parts are more and more difficult to buy.
But my boss refused to upgrade the SLCs to CLX or others because of the cost. He wants to use the SLCs until the spare parts completely cannot be bought.
So could anyone tell me that when does the SLC absolute out of date?

 

[jtashaffer]

What processor are you using? what I/O modules?

 

[Steve Bailey]

Given the number of SLCs in service and the quantities of modules produced, you will be able to purchase module for the SLC series for decades. Instead of buying them from Allen Bradley you may have to buy them from third-party suppliers or from ebay.

 

[GlenGineer]

About a year ago Allen Bradley had a press release saying that it still supported the SLC line of PLCs and has no plans to stop.

I believe Allen Bradley still supports the PLC 5 line of PLCs so it might still be a few year before the SLCs become obsolete. I for one have upgraded all my factory's PLCs from the fixed SLCs and SLC 500/2 to SLC 500/3 and 500/4. This was to help in networking and to make it easier to communicate with the PLCs. Our laptops are old but too new to communicate to the older processers.

If I were asked to start from scratch at my factory I think I would go with one of Automation Direct's line of PLC's. I hate using an (in my mind) unproven brand of PLC and yet their HMIs have impressed me.

Glen

 

[Mickey]

See link. Do you know the catalog number? Or type in 1747

http://www.rockwellautomation.com/g...ration-solutions/product-search/overview.page

 

[jstolaruk]

This webpage should help:

Lifecycle Status

 

[Bit_Bucket_07]

Any new processor that you replace it with will probably be "out of date" before the SLC is.

 

[JesperMP]

You should make a cost/benefit analysis of keeping replacing SLC parts versus upgrading to something newer. Do you know the "bath-tub curve" ? An old system will begin to fail more frequently at some time (no matter that SLC500 is/was a quite reliable PLC). Multiply that with the increasing cost for SLC500 parts, and upgrading becomes more attractive. Add to that, that new PLCs gives other benefits, in particular much much better networking.

But my boss refused to upgrade the SLCs to CLX or others because of the cost.

AB ControlLogix is one of the most expensive PLCs (if not the most expensive) out there. You could consider less expensive alternatives.
AB CompactLogix is roughly half as expensive as ControlLogix, and will allow you to port the SLC500 code relatively easily.
AB CompactLogix isnt exactly inexpensive either, so you may consider other brands, but wont be able to port the old code so easily then.

edit: Without naming brands, for the cost of one SLC500 CPU, you can probably replace the entire SLC500 rack if you consider alternatives. Just saying.

 

[jstolaruk]

Sure is a lot of emphasis on cost but usually its a small percentage of the total project/machine cost and the fuss is usually brought up by the controls guys. Probably why my two biggest customer's that use Siemen's specify the ET200pro line - no savings there. And its still a small fraction of the total machine cost.

 

[FactoryTalktotheHand]

It's generally not a good idea to wait until the last minute before you change parts. Does your boss understand that this is more than just hardware involved? How is he going to look when machines start going down for days because he wasn't proactive about getting replacements? A Compactlogix might be expensive, but I'm willing to bet several days of downtime are a lot more expensive.

 

[Cody]

For about the price of Automation Direct (WAY less than any Compact/ControlLogix) you can import the existing SLC-500 logic and either use the existing I/O or replace it over time with a SoftPLC (http://softplc.com). This is really the best of all options - no re-engineering of the logic (much less than if you converted it to Logix, in fact), existing networks and HMI code is supported, and lots of options for future.

We have updated dozens of SLC-500's to the Smart SoftPLC model.

 

[Firejo]

If you’re having problems buying SLC components I would have a discussion with AB. Nearest I can tell all of the SLC components are listed as “Active Mature” meaning that yes they are old but they are still supported and sold. Some distributors may chose to not stock them to try and push customers to a Logix solution but they can still get them and should get them if you order them. It might take a little more time but they are still available from Rockwell.