Distributed I/O

The new 5380 CompactLogix and 5069 Compact I/O don't come with terminal blocks. For well over a decade Allen-Bradley customers counted on terminal blocks being included when they purchased either a 1769 CompactLogix controller, or 1769 Compact I/O. However, with the...

Recently one of our readers brought to our attention that Rockwell Automation was preparing to launch a new I/O platform (thanks Brian!) Not having heard of it myself, I headed over to Rockwell's Literature Library to see if they had yet to published any...

While preparing a story on another product's life cycle status, we became aware of the fact that Rockwell had updated the status of their 1797 Flex Ex line to "end of life." The Flex Ex line of distributed I/O is based on the popular Flex I/O...

With the recent announcement from Rockwell Automation that the MicroLogix 1500's status has been changed to "End of Life," many are asking, "What's the best Micro to migrate too?" Since the 1500 has some unique features, in order to suggest a...

If you're like me you've likely used DeviceNet and Hart, but until recently have never heard of IO-Link. So in today's article we'll take a look at the basics of this sensor and actuator communications technology. 1) Point to Point Communications IO-Link is...

I was recently contacted about some very experienced controls engineers who had ran into a strange issue. They had come across a firmware problem with one of Rockwell's 1734 Point I/O modules, but weren't having any luck successfully upgrading the firmware. Actually, it was worse than that...

I recently became aware of an issue with the 1734-OE4C not holding late state. If you use this module in an installation in which holding last state is important, you'll want to read the following. As I described in Monday's blog,...

There are some control system applications where system outputs must hold last state in the event they become physically disconnected from the controller, or if the controller stops controlling those outputs for any reason. These applications include some heating, cooling, and pumping applications where the...

Mid-morning of the first day of Automation Fair 2013, I had the fortune of participating in a show floor meeting with Dexter Long, the CompactLogix product manager for Rockwell Automation. The meeting was to discuss the newly announced (and long desired)...

When designing or upgrading a system which relies on a network, bandwidth is always a concern. But for Rockwell's CompactLogix and ControlLogix on an Ethernet/IP network there is a free, easy to use utility to help you size your system. Rockwell's Ethernet/IP Capacity Tool: UPDATE 06/01/2018:...