Getting burned on CompactLogix Safety Processors

[plcgeek 0]

Just a quick note to Rockwell designers: My company just dodged a huge bullet on our design specifications. We specified CompactLogix 1768-L43S Safety PLCs to be used with our CompactLogix 1768-L43 PLCs. When you examine the 1768-L43S documentation from Rockwell, it states that the processor supports both Ethernet/IP and DeviceNet. But SURPRISE! No revision of the CompactLogix platform supports the DeviceNet-Safe networking. Period. It only works with Ethernet/IP-Safe networking. We had to specify a GuardLogix 600 to do the DeviceNet Safe networking and use it to explicit message back to the CompactLogix 1768-L43 over EtherNet for our Safety comms. Our local Rockwell team was shocked. This was something that is NOT AT ALL obvious in the documentation for the CompactLogix line. We had to get Rockwell support to verify...and it took them a few minutes. We almost got burned for hundreds of thousands on that Rockwell oversight. Don't get burned! Edited 28 Jan 2011 by plcgeek