1747-L552 Revision D

[Raydragon 0]

Does anyone know what the differences are between a 552 Revision C and a revision D?  ( SLC 5/05)

The revision D seems to be quite new and i haven't been able to find any information on the Rockwell website or even google in general what the differences are. 

There are significant differences between Revision B and C the relevant ones, for my purposes, mainly around the Ethernet abilities with the C being vastly improved over the B.

I'm looking at replacing 2 x B series 552's in a large Factory installation that are really struggling under the messaging load of the environment. I replaced one other one recently with a revision C that has been sitting on a shelf for a (long) while and the improvement was immediate and dramatic and am looking at doing the others now but would like a bit more information on what has changed beforehand as a "suck it and see" approach to replacing it may not go down well with the people that pay my wages if it all goes belly up   In the end it's still a bit like that regardless of any information you may provide in a complex network environment but perhaps someone on here has already located this information and can assist me in finding it?

[Ken Roach 194]

The terminology might be getting in the way;  I think you're talking about the Series letter.

In the A-B world, each "Series" is a major hardware or functional change.    The Series C hardware for the SLC-5/05 had an all-new Ethernet daughtercard with 10/100 MB speed and improved communication performance.

Sometimes RA designates a new Series because they are changing something important in the hardware (like if a major component goes obsolete) or in the manufacturing process (like when they've added CE marking) even if the functionality is exactly the same.

Unfortunately, I have not found any information about Series D.   The last published update to the SLC-5/05 that I can find is the 1747-RN013 release notes for the Firmware Revision Number 13 (FRN13) that applied only to the Series C hardware and was published in 2012.

So I figure a call to your local Rockwell Automation sales office is in order.    They'll know what's up with the new Series letter.

[Raydragon 0]

Thanks Ken.

You are right, I'm confusing my terminology. It's definitely a Series D however, as printed on the box and side of the processor itself.

The only place i have been able to find that references them is in the release notes for Rslogix 500 Version 10 which "supports" these new versions however Version 9 of Logix 500 happily (mis)detects them as the a "Series C, Firmware 10 or later" and works perfectly well.

 

From the release notes:

Quote

 

Support for SLC™ controllers:

1747-L531 F

1747-L532 F

1747-L533 F

1747-L541 D

1747-L543 D

7147-L551 D  (typo is in the release notes  )

1747-L552 D

1747-L553 D

 

The automation team is hesitant to install the update to Version 10 at this time , owing to the requirements to update Linx, FT activation etc that comes with it and the potential for breakage associated with updating those.

Without doing that it's hard to determine what Series D brings to the table myself, and as you suggest i might just get in contact with Rockwell to find out, as much for my own interest as anything else.

In the end I have gone for "suck it and see" and so far so good .. wasn't really expecting any issues but it can't hurt to find out whats changed because as you pointed out there is likely a reason it's jumped to a new series.

Edited 2 Jun 2016 by Raydragon

[Ken Roach 194]

If you do get an official answer, be sure to post an update back here.    Sometimes forums like this one and PLCTalk have better info than the RA Knowledgebase itself !

 

[Raydragon 0]

Got an Answer back from Rockwell Support:

Quote

 

Series D SLC 5/04 and 5/05 processors have a new main microprocessor due to component obsolescence but are functionally equivalent to Series C processors.

 

Similarly, Series F SLC 5/03 processors have a new main microprocessor but are functionally equivalent to Series E processors.

 

 

So nothing functional, It's just as you suggested Ken, a component change brought about due to component obsolescence. 

 

edit: they have also added it as a technote now:

https://rockwellautomation.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/864946

Edited 13 Jun 2016 by Raydragon