Someguy37 (Customer) asked a question.
Allen-Bradley/Rockwell PlantPAX and C-More HMI's
Does anyone know if the newer Allen-Bradley "process" specific controllers will work with a C-more HMI? Rockwell is pushing their PlantPAX, DCS system which uses a bunch of premade objects in their HMI and premade, un-editable function blocks in their PLC.
I wouldn't need to be able to fully control their PLC but it would be nice to use headless C-more's for dashboards and things like that.
We cannot say for sure because we have not tested it. Maybe someone will chime i with their experience.
Looking online it looks like the PAX is a ControlLogix PLC with features added. I may not be correct on that. But if that is the case, I would expect the Tag based ControlLogic EtherNet/IP driver to work.
I like the idea of using the CM5-RHMi as a dashboard for the system. Here is s shameless plug. Look at the new C-more CTM industrial monitors that work with the CM5-RHMI.
C-more Industrial Display: 21.5in, color TFT LCD, touch screen (PN# CTM-22W-M-PM) | AutomationDirect
From what I understand they have created unique version of their PLC's with special "Function Blocks" that similar to an AOI add-on instruction or UDI user defined instruction but are not editable.
They have then pre-made HMI objects that connect to these special function blocks. I have not personally had the opportunity to use it.
I work at a plant during my day job that transitioned from a traditional DCS to PlantPAx. PlantPAx AOIs are just that, AOIs. You should be able to hit any piece of the AOI to display on a CMore. For example, motor running status would be something like Motor1234.Sts_Running. This is a boolean within the PlantPAx motor AOI. Also, PlantPAx aren't special function blocks. They're just AOIs that have been developed by Rockwell with global HMI objects with faceplates, and they are editable.
It sounds like originally that's how it was, but the newest version it's dedicated hardware.
Either way, do you feel the plantPAX format is worth switching to?
This is only the P versions of the L8 & L9 controllers. The L7 and non P L8 & L9 controllers don't have embedded PlantPAx AOIs. I also just re-read your original post and you did call out the process controllers specifically, which would be the P version controllers. In my opinion, it's not worth the extra cost to go with the P controller unless there's something that your process specifically needs from those controllers. I would rather import just the PlantPAx objects that I need. There are plenty that I don't use, and they are large AOIs. Furthermore, I have had to customize a couple of AOIs for our Limitorque MOVs, and also for some cooling tower fans that are Reversing and 2 speed.
As for your question. That depends. It is nice to have global objects that can be utilized over and over. I mean, I typically create global objects for things that I'm using multiple times anyways, but it's nice to have the PlantPAx objects. The vast majority of our operator interactions are through FactoryTalk View SE consoles located in the control room which works well with the objects. I do have a few HMIs in the field for particular remote processes. Typically when I do set up an HMI, I'll call on the AOI tags directly. Meaning I don't typically use PlantPAx HMI objects for my remote HMIs. I guess my answer would be yes, if you are on a Rockwell platform, I think it's worth switching to PlantPAx. The faceplates are nice, and how they embed permissives, interlocks and alarms into the AOIs are nice. It just cleans up a lot, until you actually look at the AOI logic that is 😅 . With all that said, this really is going to be process dependent. Maybe PlantPAx won't work for you, but if you're currently using global objects with faceplates, I think it would be worth looking into.
And back to your original question, I don't see why the CMore HMIs wouldn't work. I would definitely recommend this for monitoring your process.