AutomationTechBrian
Lifetime Supporting Member
I just finished making my 3rd service call to a large machine shop, troubleshooting PLC issues. I can see that none of the PLC or HMI programs are backed up, and it's all legacy Allen Bradley so far. So, I mentioned to them that we've been lucky that none of the PLCs or HMIs have lost their programs. We then discussed the idea of going through everything and backing up programs. They counted all the PLCs and found they had 45. I've got the current AB software, plus RSLogix 500, but not Panel Builder 32. I used PB in school, and I have one customer that I re-did their HMIs with their own PB 32, on their computer. Now, I just got a quote from my local AB distributor... about $650. Not sure if that's a reasonable price or not. But regardless, it's a valuable program for someone like me who sees a lot of legacy hardware.
But my question is, will I have any issues hooking up to existing legacy Panelview HMIs and uploading the file? I've just assumed I can do this, without asking anyone. I suspect that I won't be able to convert anything back from the runtime file to make it editable, but at least we could save the file, and then check Ebay for a replacement if needed. For you guys with the legacy AB experience, will I be able to upload files, and are there other considerations to think about before I start?
I also think its just a matter of time before I get a customer wanting me to update their legacy HMI to a new one. This must be something others are doing, so I'm casually gathering my thoughts about getting prepared for that service.
But my question is, will I have any issues hooking up to existing legacy Panelview HMIs and uploading the file? I've just assumed I can do this, without asking anyone. I suspect that I won't be able to convert anything back from the runtime file to make it editable, but at least we could save the file, and then check Ebay for a replacement if needed. For you guys with the legacy AB experience, will I be able to upload files, and are there other considerations to think about before I start?
I also think its just a matter of time before I get a customer wanting me to update their legacy HMI to a new one. This must be something others are doing, so I'm casually gathering my thoughts about getting prepared for that service.