Controllogix simulation / development

[drluggo 0]

I have not been able to find a clear answer to this problem. I have a running batch process which spans across muliple Controllogix PLC's. I need to make changes to these and run recipes which run on units in each of these controllers. I want to make these changes and simulate the process in order to test and train operators. The recipe would need to run through each unit in entirely with multiple units running simultaneously. What is the best way to do this. From what I understand, Emulate and Softlogix require changing the processor from the real hardware and possibly moving slot assginments. This will cause permanent changes to the code that I do not want because I will be putting it back on real hardware. The other option is to purchase (5) L62 processors, QUITE EXPENSIVE!!! I cannot be the only one looking to do this. What do people do in these cases to take a running system, load it on a development platform, develop and test, then load back onto the target sytem for commissioning. Any help on this topic is appreciated.