By Bill Lydon, Editor
The 2015 Rockwell Automation fair was the largest ever with more than 15,000 total attendees, including more than 8,250 customers. The event was described as a showcase of the latest advances in manufacturing and industrial automation enabled by the convergence of information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT).
The show floor exhibitors included 139 Rockwell Automation Encompass Partner companies, 8 universities, 3 trade associations, and 15 large Rockwell automation booths. The two-day event included industry forums, technical sessions and hands-on labs for attendees. Rockwell Automation and Encompass Partners’ products make up a Rockwell-centric ecosystem for users to find compatible products.
Rockwell Automation Notable Product Highlights
IO-Link
IO-Link has grown dramatically in popularity over the last couple of years. Joining in this movement, Rockwell Automation introduced a specialty IO-Link interface module for the 1734 Point I/O product that is an IO-Link master for 4 sensor connections. IO-Link is a worldwide standard IO technology (IEC 61131-9) for communication with intelligent sensors and actuators that have configuration and diagnostic information built in.
Each port of an IO-Link master is capable of processing binary switching signals and analogue values (e.g. 8 bits, 12 bits, 16 bits). Rockwell Automation I/O Link field devices are configured using Logix Add On Instructions (AOI).
Rockwell Automation 1734 Point I/O Support New IO-Link I/O Master Modules
Rockwell IO-Link Field devices are configured with Logix Add on Instructions (AOI)
More Information: IO-Link Organization
Rockwell Software Next-Generation Integrated Architecture
Rockwell continues to work towards the integration of their software offerings. Automation Fair demonstrated the latest release of the Studio 5000 software that includes three new applications: Studio 5000 Architect, Studio 5000 View Designer and Application Code Manager. These applications, along with the Studio 5000 Logix Designer application released in 2012, bring more functionality together into one environment to simplify and speed system development.
Studio 5000 View Designer
New ControlLogix Processor & I/O System
Rockwell introduced the 5580 ControlLogix processor and 5069 I/O system, as part of a new platform. This appears to be the beginning of a new field controller architecture that will eventually replace the current ControlLogix architecture. This is an evolution that has been discussed in interviews with Rockwell at previous Rockwell Automation Fairs:
- Rockwell Automation’s Plan for a New Controller Design & Ethernet Protocol
- Rockwell Automation's New SOA Architecture - Studio 5000
ControlLogix 5580 Processor
Extending the Rockwell Integrated Architecture capabilities, the Allen-Bradley ControlLogix 5580 controller was introduced to provide up to 45 percent more application capacity. The controller includes an embedded 1-Gigabit Ethernet port to support high-performance communications, I/O and applications with up to 256 axes of motion. The new port and additional capacity cuts the amount of control and communications hardware required, reducing system complexity, costs and required panel space.
New High Performance ControlLogix 5580 Processor
Allen-Bradley Bulletin 5069 Distributed Compact I/O
The Allen-Bradley Bulletin 5069 Distributed Compact I/O system with two 1-gigabit Ethernet ports scans 10 times faster than previous versions for greater productivity.
New High Performance 5069 Distributed Compact I/O
Allen-Bradley Kinetix 5700 Servo Drive
The Allen-Bradley Kinetix 5700 servo drive was demonstrated as a single-platform alternative to using multiple servo drives for large custom machines with high axis-count and power requirements. This can reduce cabinet-space requirements by up to 70 percent and wiring requirements by as much as 60 percent.
Kinetix 5700 Servo Drive
Allen-Bradley PanelView 5500 Graphic Terminal
The PanelView 5500 graphic terminal provides a modern design and enhanced integration with Logix controllers, using the Studio 5000 View Designer application. This integration improves programming efficiency since engineers can enter configuration information once and use it for the entire automation design.
