Integrated automation aids modern factories

Rockwell Automation's RSLogix 5000 version 16 software contains comprehensive PowerFlex AC drive profiles.

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, integrate and interact with each other is the real challenge.

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.

Premier Integration offers design and installation engineers far more power and flexibility than they have had in the past.

Premier Integration has evolved over time, mainly due to market demands, into a communication ethos that makes set up and data sharing a powerful tool in the engineers' arsenal.

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

Rockwell Automation's RSLogix 5000 version 16 software contains comprehensive PowerFlex AC drive profiles.

A simple EtherNet/IP or ControlNet connection will enable engineers to eliminate the need to create tags and individually program the drive parameters.

The PowerFlex drive profiles provides drop down lists of all drive parameters, so the user can simply pick the parameters for communication, 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.

RSLogix5000 version 16 also has released far more flexibility when it comes to future upgrades.

In the past, an updated version of the RSLogix5000 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, when run, 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 at RSLogix5000 version 16 is Add-on-Instructions.

The user can program a routine, which provides all the inputs and outputs to control a conveyor, for example.

This can be encapsulated as an Add-On Instruction, which can easily be re-used.

Add-On Instructions can also be shared with the wider automation community through a special website, called the Sample Code Library, that Rockwell Automation has set up to foster collaboration.

Using the EtherNet/IP interface as a link to the outside world, drives can also share information 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 gives drives the capability to send e-mails or SMS messages should an alert condition arise.

This remote capability really comes to the fore for remote diagnosis.

The original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or end user can interrogate the drives over the web and provide any remedial action based on the information on display.

The concept of Add-on Profiles is not just restricted to drives, it is a philosophy that is steadily spreading out across a greater selection of the company's product range, helping to ensure much faster design, installation and commissioning of a wide range of automation-centric devices.

Demonstrating these savings, in a comparison test a PowerFlex drive was up and running within 3.5 minutes using Premier Integration.

A similar specification competitor product took more than 25 minutes to configure and run.

In addition, the duplication of the program onto 10 drives took just 7 minutes with the competitor's product taking six times longer at 42 minutes.

The real value of AOPs and the Premier Integration approach is its ability to lessen many of the time and monetary costs associated with installation and commissioning of hardware.

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