All things to all machines

While Rockwell is maintaining its vision of highly integrated manufacturing operations, it is also making moves into the standalone machine market. Part of Rockwell Automation's, Connected Components, is a control solution for low-cost stand-alone machines. Connected Components is built around a MicroLogix programmable logic controller (plc), PowerFlex4 class drives, the PanelView Component human machine interface (HMI) and Connected Components Building Blocks software. The latest MicroLogix plc is the 1400, which with seven expansion modules can handle up to 144I/O. It is based on the 1100 frame and builds on the Logix 500. The list price of the 1400 is £498 and £624 with analogue I/O. Although designed to sit in small stand alone systems, both have built in Ethernet to keep the door open for factory wide integration. Harwood added: "A lot of machine builders are becoming interested in building Global System for Mobile (GSM) communications into them so users can interface with them using just a phone." Typical applications that he mentioned included a car wash notifying its owner that the detergent container would soon need filling up, and a road tunnel control system notifying its operators of a raised level of carbon monoxide. When we asked Harwood if going into the stand alone business represented a change in Rockwell's thinking, he said: "Rockwell is very much in the traditional market with integrated architectures. And we see the future as being even more integrated, with more intelligent factories." The reason for pushing the MicroLogix and its associated products is simple; the company wants to have a significant slice of the OEM machine market, rather than leave it to the major Japanese companies. Interestingly, Harwood commented that the UK remains the fifth largest manufacturer of machines in Europe with annual revenue of over £4billion. While the plcs come with built in displays, there are also newly developed PanelView HMIs that range from devices with 2inch displays costing around £120, up to 10inch colour displays costing around £1700. Programming and setup is aided by the Building Blocks that include pre-written blocks of codes for the plc, pre-written HMI programs to assist setting up the operator interface, and pre-configured drive parameter files. The Building Blocks also help with product selection, panel layout, wiring diagrams and generate a bill of materials for projects. Pointers * System consists of a family of small programmable logic controllers, human machine interfaces, and drives. * While aimed at the OEM machine building sector, they also include Ethernet connectivity for integration with wider systems. * Modular software blocks have been written to ease programming.