Micrologix approaching product end of life

I am speccing out a system for some burner controls and the customer has two SLC500s that will need to be upgraded. There is no distributed IO.

I share my office with another controls guy, who keeps recommending the micrologix800, but I heard from our AB distributor that micrologix is at end of life, wont be supported within the next few years and that they are redirecting their silicon chip resources towards other, newer, more in-demand lines.

I would recommend a compact or control logix over micro but this guy just wont shut up about it. I was possibly thinking of the 440C industrial safety controller as well, its a neat little device.

Does anyone have any thoughts on speccing micrologix for upgrades or new installs in the current AB ecosystem in the northeast united states?

Thanks. :site:

I was possibly thinking of the 440C industrial safety controller

Rsflipflop256 said:

I am speccing out a system for some burner controls and the customer has two SLC500s that will need to be upgraded. There is no distributed IO.

I share my office with another controls guy, who keeps recommending the micrologix800, but I heard from our AB distributor that micrologix is at end of life, wont be supported within the next few years and that they are redirecting their silicon chip resources towards other, newer, more in-demand lines.

I would recommend a compact or control logix over micro but this guy just wont shut up about it. I was possibly thinking of the 440C industrial safety controller as well, its a neat little device.

Does anyone have any thoughts on speccing micrologix for upgrades or new installs in the current AB ecosystem in the northeast united states?

Thanks. :site:

I was possibly thinking of the 440C industrial safety controller

Click to expand...

the micro800 series are the new series. micro 810-870

you are thinking of micrologix 1100/1400 which are either gone this year or going out completely. (and Micrologix 1000/1200/1500 which have been discontinued for a while)


in my opinion, I wouldn't recommend anyone use the micro800 series and CCW. they need to let that thing die, It's too clunky, the software is painfully slow, even for Drive use (using Drive executive is far quicker and easier than CCW still).


recommend a compactlogix where you can, recommend a controllogix where you need.

This is where you find out what they are killing off

https://www.rockwellautomation.com/...ility-migration/product-lifecycle-status.html

They list the 1400 "Active Mature" there were rumors about it going away but I think it will be some time still

The 800's (Micro800) not to be confused with the MicroLogix line is getting better and I use a lot of them but I still like the 1400 because I grew up on the RSLogix 500 software so its easier to understand

I have no experience working with the Micro800, but it is not part of the MicroLogix or SLC 500 family. It is a separate product line.

Yes, the MicroLogix has been discontinuing different models, piece by piece over the past several years. But the Micro800 or a CompactLogix would be Rockwell's replacement for these units. The Mico800 isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

OG

I was just told that the 1400 is still OK for a while.

CCW is alive and well as with the Micro800 series Plcs from Allen Bradley.

I have 100's of Micro800 series Plcs in the Oilfield (10x worst enviroment) that any plant floor. I have units older than 9 years and have not had the first problem.

If your going to be in this industry for the future, I think you will find that CCW and the Micro800 series is here to stay.

It would probably be worth the effort to actually learn CCW then to just play with it.

I run P.I.D. loops on Injection pumps up to 250 hp and run P.I.D loops on 9 million BTU/Hr Methane Gas Flares.

I love working with CCW and Micro800 Plcs.

THIS IS MY OPINION ONLY!

CCW software is free, right?

One of the older CCW revision toasted a coworker's laptop so I still haven't install it yet.

harryting said:

CCW software is free, right?

Click to expand...

Yes they have a free version and a pay for, I use the free and have not needed the pay for as of yet

This is V12, I am running both V12 and V20

https://compatibility.rockwellautom...umb=112&refSoft=1&toggleState=&versions=57681

Old Man said:

THIS IS MY OPINION ONLY!

Click to expand...

I think I am going to start a new club... "Fan's of CCW" (not to be confused with gun carry permits)

The Old Man and I can hang out, drink beer and write programs for Micro800's

Several years ago I started developing a personal project to learn how to program. Started with a Micrologix 1000 and the free software but decided to upgrade due to the limited memory and I/O.



I did download CCW to try it (Standard edition is free to download) and it was horrible. It was very buggy and wouldn't run right. I tried to un-install it and it made a mess of the computer. (I ended up choosing a Micrologix 1400 for the project)


A month ago, I found some parts from a machine that was no longer used and it has a Micro830 PLC in it. So I downloaded the latest version of CCW and installed it on the company laptop (figure if it trashes it, oh well) It does run pretty good, but slow (The laptop isn't a speed demon either) So they have improved the package a lot since a few years ago. I have been able to connect to the PLC and look at the code that was left in it. It looks like I will be using it for a project for work since we already have the PLC and its working fine.



I am used to RSlogix, but it seems the learning curve for CCW won't be too bad.



Mike

Mike,

You are welcome to join our club also.... but yes I started with (I think) V10 and it was TERIABLE and stopped using them as well but its a lot better now

The MicroLogix termination is what made me switch to the Siemens 1200 series for small applications. If you have to learn a new platform anyway, why not? You have to buy the software, but the hardware is Robust and decently priced.

Plus, there are Fail Safe models available, might be a better choice for a burner controls system.

Right now I am doing small projects for the place I work for. The first one was a box dropper. Two filled cans would be dropped into a box and the box would be pushed out onto a conveyor. The original pneumatic controls failed and we couldn't get parts for it. I also had to deal with the problem of obtaining PLC parts since a lot is out of stock for months now. I loaned them a Micrologix 1000 and a Cmore panel I wasn't using. It was a pretty simple program to operate the cylinders in a sequence. This production line is due to be replaced in a few months so I will be getting these parts back (and it made no sense to spend a lot of money to get it running)


Anyway, there was some sort of weighing machine that was decommissioned and I used some of its parts for that project. The HMI was missing (probably a panelview) but it still had a Micro830 PLC with a load cell and signal conditioner. They asked me if I could use the parts to make a scale for a dry powder filler for another production line.



So it looks like I will writing a program in CCW. I am more familiar with RSlogix due to my train project but it looks like it shouldn't be to bad to learn it. I did find out with some testing of the parts, the load cell is defective so I will have to get another one.



It won't be a big project, operator will put a container under the filler and press a start button, the material will fill the container until it reaches a certain weight and shut off.



Mike

JMO, but in the workplace I can't justify a Micro 800 CCW or older Micro RS500 based controllers because of the extra time needed to program them. I designated a minimum of Compact Logix for our company's controls standards. If its 'such a simple machine' that its hard to justify a Compact Logix, this is exactly why I purchased a single 5380 5069-L380ERMS2 to run about 12 smaller stations via remote IO (EthernetIP & CIP safety).