Rockwell’s A-B Fair rocks Philadelphia

More than 10,000 users, developers, partners, and other technical professionals attended Rockwell Automation ‘s Allen-Bradley Automation Fair 2000 at the convention center here on Dec. 6-7. The event featured 115 hardware, software, and systems integration exhibitors, 48 technical sessions, 20 hand-on training labs, and one-on-one, information management consulting sessions in the event’s new Manufacturing Information Expo program. For more information, visit www.automation.rockwell.com or www.controleng.com/freeinfo .

Some of the significant innovations and products shown at A-B Fair included:

Allen-Bradley CompactLogix5320 Controller, which uses Logix control engine to achieve cost-effective, machine-level control for OEM applications. The product drives Logix technology into a smaller, lower-cost platform supporting as many as eight Compact I/O modules for up to 128 local I/O points.

DeviceLogix, a smart component technology, that can be integrated into plant-floor devices to allow low-cost control at the device level. The first components to use DeviceLogix technology are Allen-Bradley 1792/1792D High Current and ArmorBlock MaXum I/O, 1791D CompactBlock I/O, 1799 Embedded I/O, 800E DeviceNet Push Button Stations, and the DeviceNet Starter Auxiliary. DeviceLogix technology is a simple method of embedding control technology into many components, such as I/O blocks, motor starters, overload relays, sensors, and valve manifolds.

Rockwell Automation and its Encompass program partner Hardy Instruments introduced a weigh scale module that delivers cost-efficient weight and diagnostic data from strain gauge load sensors or load cells. Hardy’s HI 1756-WS single-slot module mounts in an Allen-Bradley ControlLogix chassis and reads and communicates weight and diagnostic data over an I/O chassis backplane to a ControlLogix 5550 processor.

Expanding on its EtherNet/IP catalog with products featuring real-time I/O capabilities, Rockwell launched new offerings in its ControlLogix, Flex I/O, MicroLogix, and PanelView lines.

RAC6186 (Pro performance) and the RAC6185 (economy) monitor lines provide features for meeting specific requirements, and can be used in Human Machine Interface (HMI), open systems, discrete manufacturing, and process and machine control applications.

Allen-Bradley’s PanelView 300 Micro measures 5.23 x 4.38 x 1.39 in., complements MicroLogix controller, and provides a low-cost, high-functionality control solution for applications with space constraints. PanelView 300 Micro is compatible with Rockwell Automation’s MicroLogix and SLC 500 controller families. Screen graphics are created using Allen-Bradley PanelBuilder32.

Exhibits by Rockwell Automation’s partners included: ProSoft Technology (Bakersfield, Calif.), which showed MV156-GSC module, a serial port card for ControlLogix platform—a solution for connecting with barcode readers, scanners, scales, printers, and other serial devices. Microscan ‘s (Renton, Wash.) MS-880 barcode scanner offers read range of up to 90-in., auto focus, programmable, raster-wireless programming, linear and PDF-417 reading capability, and integrated industrial protocol options. Cognex (Natick, Mass.) unveiled Ethernet connectivity for its In-Sight 3000 machine vision system and a new camera-based vision sensor, In-Sight ID Reader, designed for reading 2D matrix and linear barcodes.

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