July 2012

Smart® Gateways help preserve your investment in A-B PLC's & I/O . . . and allow easy PanelView, Drive & other RIO device upgrades

Example Scenario:  You have an existing Allen-Bradley PLC system that utilizes Remote I/O (aka "blue hose").  That represents a tremendous investment in not only hardware and cabling, but also in the PLC programming.

Example A-B RIO Network

Let's say that the PLC and I/O are working just fine, running your machine or process, but one of the devices on the RIO network need to be replaced or upgraded - such as a drive or HMI.  The RIO compatible device may be obsolete, or you decide to improve the system by using a different product. Most new equipment does not support A-B RIO (or does at high cost), and for new equipment Ethernet is the preferred option.

SoftPLC Corporation's Smart Gateway is the perfect solution!

A Smart Gateway can act as a virtually invisible protocol bridge.  On one side, the Smart Gateway is an  A-B RIO Slave, appearing to the A-B PLC as the original RIO drop(s). The PLC program doesn't need to be changed!  The Smart Gateway communicates to the new Drive, HMI or other equipment over Ethernet, serial or a variety of industrial networks. 

And that's not all!  A single Smart Gateway can be configured as up to 32 Adapters.  Thus, you can also use the Smart Gateway as a way to expand the original A-B PLC system - adding more I/O and devices from a wide variety of vendors.

Contact us to learn more!

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The Next Steps - Use your Smart to upgrade the rest of the control system!

As budget and time allow, you can upgrade (migrate) other components of the control system from the aging A-B equipment to contemporary products.

A Smart SoftPLC can also replace the PLC CPU!

Acting as a Remote I/O Master, not only as a Gateway but also as a PAC (Programmable Automation Controller), the Smart SoftPLC can take over the logic and control functions of the A-B PLC, leaving the I/O and other RIO devices in place.  In nearly every case, the logic and documentation import 98% or better.

Replace I/O and other devices, too!

The Smart SoftPLC supports I/O and other devices from hundreds of vendors on a variety of industrial networks, including SoftPLC Corporation's own Tealware I/O, which is a modular rack based I/O system.  The Smart SoftPLC can support up to 12 racks of high speed local Tealware I/O and/or more racks on Ethernet.

Contact us to learn more!

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