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• Automation Today
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UPDATE #10

• Summary

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In this issue:

• ControlLogix increases EtherNet/IP performance
• Rockwell Automation wins Best New Product award
• SmartGuard safety controller offers complex logic in a smaller footprint
• New non-contact interlock switches
• New Safety Relays save time and space
• Integrated motion and distributed control for small applications
• VersaView now serves broader industrial applications
• I/O Modules extend Integrated Architecture to small applications
• Versatile new bases for Flex and Point I/O Families
• Process Solutions – Field Devices
• Energy efficient liquid-cooled AC drive delivers 65% space saving
• New IP69K-rated ArmorStart Distributed Motor Controller
• Cost-effective micro drives get even more powerful
• Easy vision sensor tackles production errors
• HMI Conversion Services

Premier Integration helps to reduce cost, time and errors

Communication is more vital than ever before in the modern factory. Getting discrete equipment elements to talk to each other is not the hard part; getting them to understand, interrogate and interact with each other is the real challenge. Getting them communicating to the enterprise level provides an immensely powerful capability. Dave Withenshaw takes us through the compelling reasons for having an integrated automation environment.

This communication capability throws up some obvious benefits during the actual operation of the equipment, but some of the most important benefits – ones that can lead to significant savings in both time and money – can be gleaned at the design and commissioning stage. This is where Premier Integration comes to the fore, offering design and installation engineers far more power and flexibility than they have had in the past.

By offering pre-configured profiles, engineers will no longer have to endure overly long and arduous setup routines; providing time savings which offer the real potential to offset any perceived savings in unit cost figures.

The main protagonist is RSLogix 5000 version 16 software. By integrating comprehensive PowerFlex AC drive profiles into the software's database, a simple EtherNet/IP or ControlNet connection will eliminate the need to create tags and individually program the drive parameters. The PowerFlex drive profiles package provides drop down lists of all drive parameters, so the user can simply pick the communication parameters, which are turned into real tag names in the user program.

Apart from the obvious ease-of-use benefits, the possibility of errors creeping in can also be reduced as engineers will only require one software tool to configure the entire Logix/drive system. The likelihood of I/O mismatch can also be reduced thanks to all connections being configured from the user program. Using this approach, only one repository for file information is needed.

All the drive configurations are stored within the RSLogix project file, on the Logix controller, so there is no need for multiple files stored across a myriad of automation components. Another primary benefit of the single-repository approach is that drive replacement during maintenance, and profile duplication across multiple drives in new projects, is far simpler.

RSLogix 5000 version 16 also introduces far more flexibility when it comes to future upgrades. In the past, an updated version of the RSLogix 5000 software was required if new products were introduced into the range. Now it is simply a case of downloading and installing a new Add-On Profile (AOP) which embeds all the necessary code into the Logix database. Once the initial set-up has been established, a simple software wizard guides the user through application-specific data entry points, highlighting conflicts or anomalies on the way and once downloaded, the drive is ready for action.

A further feature introduced in RSLogix 5000 version 16 is Add-On Instructions. For example, the user can program a routine which provides all the inputs and outputs to control a conveyor. This can be encapsulated as an Add-On Instruction which can be easily re-used. Add-On Instructions can also be shared with a wider automation community through a special website, called the Sample Code Library that Rockwell Automation set up to foster collaboration.

Using the EtherNet/IP interface as a link to the outside world, drives can also share information by using Internet protocols. Thanks to the built-in web page server on the EtherNet/IP interface, engineers can get a snapshot of the current operating conditions and primary parameters. The Ethernet interface also allows drives to send e-mails or SMS messages should an alert condition arise. This remote capability really comes to the fore for remote diagnosis. The machine builder or end user can interrogate the drives over the web and provide any remedial action, based on the information on display.

A PowerFlex drive in a comparison test was up and running within 3.5 minutes using Premier Integration. A competitive product, with a similar specification, took more than 25 minutes to configure and run. In addition, the duplication of the program onto 10 drives took just seven minutes, with the competitor's product taking six times longer at 42 minutes.

Premier Integration can lead to significant savings and, some would say, much happier engineers.