Beau

We are in the middle of converting a process from PLC5 control to ControlLogix. Currently we are using messaging between the PLC5 processor and the ControlLogix processor to allow both processors to control the process. This allows us to periodically replace old RIO rack (and eventually the PLC5 processor) with Flex I/O without interrupting the process. I recently read that PLC5 processor can be configured as an RIO adapter. Has anyone done this in a situation similar to that described above? I am trying to decide whether or not to attempt this. Right now we are in a rush trying to convert everything and it would allow us to take our time retrofitting the Flex I/O units, but we cannot afford to have our process experience unscheduled downtime. 

@Joe E. thank you.  that makes sense to me. @pcmccartney1 looking at the physical wiring, yes i believe you are correct.  The schematics do not make that immediately obvious but after your comment i get it. Now i'm curious why they used it as an intermediate point because it would have been easier ( and the wire run would have been shorter) to come straight off the terminal block and skip the input module    Oh well.  Thanks for the replies everyone!

They are definitely 1771-IAD 120VAC Input Modules and they have been using them in a process that has been operational since early 2016. The line comes off the Tx secondary to an AB power distributions block, then to a fused terminal block before landing at the "A" terminal on the input modules.  There is also a second wire that is daisy-chained from the "A" input to terminal blocks in the MCC buckets that are associated with that input module. If they are never used for any reason why not manufacture the modules without them? Since they are included, I have a hard time accepting that there is no situation where they would be used. This is mostly a curiosity for me, but its driving me nuts.

What are the A, B, C, and D terminals used for on a 1771-IAD Input module? All the literature I could find just says that they "are not used" but we have a system in our plant that has 120VAC wired to terminal A in each module.

Is there an easy way to identify if analog inputs/outputs are used in RSLogix 5? Similar to the way digital input/output usage is shown with an “X” when you click on “Usage” in the input/output file.

Thank you! AdvancedHMI looks promising.

Currently, our SCADA setup uses Kepware, Wonderware, and Canary Labs data logger and historian. The data flow is as follows:  PLCs --> Kepware (on PC near process) Kepware --> Canary Data Logger (on PC near process) Canary Data Logger --> Canary Historian (on Server) Canary Historian --> Canary Axiom Viewer Client (on engineer's PC) We use Wonderware as an HMI on the Process PC to control the process. As many will know, this is very wasteful as Wonderware includes many other features and we are paying for all of them yet using only the HMI feature. Our goal is to cut Wonderware out of the equation (i am aware that Wonderware  could replace both Canary and Kepware with its data logger and OPC server features but this is the direction that was chosen so we are going with it).  My question is: Does anyone know of any simple and cheap (-er than Wonderware) PC-based HMI software that could replace Wonderware on the Process PC?

I want to create a database that keeps track of all of the different PLC and automation hardware (Remote I/O, Flex I/O, Robots, etc.). It would include data such as firmware version, when the backup battery was last replaced, location, etc. I have started doing this in MS Access but I was curious if anyone knew of an existing software that already does something similar?

This is awesome. Thank you for sharing. HUGE help.

  In a certain area of our facility we have several machine that manufacture a handful of products. These machines were built at random intervals starting in the late 80's and consequently have a range of different PLCs that are used to control them (SLC 500 to ControlLogix L61).   The other areas of our facility use a server that has a historian installed (Canary) and the client (Axiom) is installed on our computer so we can view data trends in real time.    I would like to network our PLCs mentioned in the first paragraph to this historian to gather production and maintenance data.   I know that I need to network these devices through an OPC server (which we have).   Several of these devices have been connected through DH+ and/or Ethernet networks in the past but are no longer connected.   We recently connected some of the DH+ Devices to the Ethernet network (just to see if we could) with a Prosoft AN-X2-AB-DHRIO.   My questions are:   Are there any best practices for networking devices with different protocols, i.e. DH+, Ethernet, etc.? Is the way we have it set up now (with the Prosoft DH+ to Ethernet bridge) a robust (scalable, etc.) solution? Is there a better way to do this? Is it worth getting EtherNet/IP cards for the PLCs that don't have them?   If anyone has any experience with a similar scenario, insights/advice would be much appreciated