Rockwell Automation has extended its control offering for machine builders with the launch of Connected Components, helping to meet today’s requirements for sophisticated control on stand-alone machines in an affordable, easier-to-implement method. Combining a simple, yet powerful control core with a full suite of associated components and a dedicated set of class-leading application development tools, Connected Components gives machine builders what they need to address their control requirements in the shortest possible time.
Connected Components is built around a core of MicroLogix PLC’s, PowerFlex 4 class drives and the newly developed PanelView Component HMI. With these come the Connected Components Building Blocks - essential tools that make it quicker and easier to implement common control tasks as part of the machine design. The Building Blocks include pre-written blocks of application code for the PLC that can be modified to help meet the precise needs of a given machine, pre-written HMI programs to make setting up the operator interface easier, and pre-configured drive parameter files that take the strain out of implementing speed control tasks. The Building Blocks also help with product selection, panel layout and wiring diagrams, and with generating a bill of materials for the project.
Complementing the control core, the Connected Components offering extends to a complete suite of Rockwell Automation starters, motors, pushbuttons, sensors, safety products, power supplies and other essential control components. Freed from the need to source different components from a number of different companies in order to meet their precise control requirements, machine builders can take advantage of a single source of supply with the associated quality of the Rockwell Automation name.
With the Building Blocks, an associated ‘Quick Start’ guide and a full set of application briefs, Connected Components represents much more than a ‘catalogue of components’. Instead, it provides a complete, standalone control package for applications where price and simplicity of set-up are as important as power and flexibility. Connected Components delivers cost-effective options for speed, position, temperature, safety and other control requirements.