Micro PLCs fit the bill for OEMs

London – In response to machine builders’ demands for flexible micro PLCs that can cost effectively improve machine performance, Rockwell Automation has introduced the new Allen-Bradley Micro850 and enhanced Micro830 PLCs.

Both micro PLCs feature embedded motion capabilities for up to three axes of motion, allowing them to support a wide range of applications.

“To be profitable, machine builders around the globe demand world-class micro PLCs,” said Steve Pethick, director - components & safety business for EMEA. “But these controllers must meet machine builders’ requirements for cost-effective control, whilst providing additional options and features that enable machine builders to differentiate their machines from those of the competition.

The new Micro850 and enhanced Micro830 controllers balance those needs and help machine builders compete more profitably.”

The Micro850 micro PLC is equipped with the same form factor, plug-in support, instruction/data size and motion capabilities as the 24-pt and 48-pt Micro830 controllers, but with the added capabilities of Ethernet and expansion I/O. The Micro850 controller specifically targets the needs of OEMs and excels at stand-alone machine applications.

The Micro850 controllers have an embedded Ethernet port for higher performance connectivity to human-machine interfaces (HMIs). The EtherNet/IP protocol with CIP Symbolic support is used for simplified Allen-Bradley PanelView Component HMI connectivity. Tags created while configuring the HMI screens can easily reference the variable names in the Allen-Bradley Micro800 program.

I/O flexibility in the Micro850 PLC is one of the keys to successfully minimising the cost of a machine. With support for up to five plug-ins, machine builders can customise the functionality of the controller with additional I/O, special functions, and serial ports without increasing the physical size of the controller.

If more I/O or higher-performance analog I/O is required, the Micro850 controller supports up to four side-expansion I/O modules, including high-density digital I/O and high-accuracy analog I/O, for a total of 132 digital I/O points.

The enhanced Micro830 (via a firmware and software upgrade) and Micro850 controllers support up to three motion axes using pulse output to stepper or servo drives.

Machine builders can use intuitive motion function blocks, including Home, Move Velocity, Move Absolute, and Move Relative to make single-axis moves easy. For applications where precise positioning is required at high speeds, the Touch Probe function block has special hardware to achieve exact-position registration.

A single, free-of-charge, programming software Connected Components Workbench simplifies the installation, configuration, connectivity, and maintenance of machine devices, including the series of Micro800 controllers, Allen-Bradley PowerFlex AC drives, and PanelView Component graphic terminals.

The single Connected Components Workbench software saves machine builders time and associated costs when compared with using a different programming tool for each device.