Is it time for a PLC migration?
Qualitrol provides continuing support for all your legacy Emerson/GE PLC products. Since Emerson/GE Genius’(IC660) line of products went obsolete in June 2017, we’ve been providing Genius customers with the support they need to continue moving forward with their machinery. From start to finish, Qualitrol is ready to provide you with everything you need to optimally run your legacy systems for as long as you’re able.
But eventually, it becomes time to upgrade to newer technology. Spare parts become scarce, DOS programming software no longer runs on your Windows-based laptop, and the burden on your team to maintain the old technology is too risky. Modernizing your PLC system becomes necessary for every organization at some point.
Benefits to Maintaining your Legacy PLC
Cost: Migrating is expensive and If your budget just isn’t there yet, Relying on Qualitrol for parts and maintenance is a very good choice. We have purchased a huge inventory of Emerson/GE parts that are no longer available to the general public.
Support: For over 30 Years, Qualitrol has been providing quality repairs of GE PLC parts, and is officially authorized by GE to repair 90-70, Rx7i, Field Control, QuickPanel and Series Six PLC's. What does this mean? GE Automation & Controls has discontinued these series and named Qualitrol as the only factory-approved repair center in the world for PLCs and HMIs.
Avoiding Unscheduled Downtime: Qualitrols’s Automation Risk Assessment Program is designed to help you avoid downtime by accurately pinpointing and mitigating risks before unplanned downtime occurs. Through a careful analysis of your PLC’s unique performance requirements, equipment type, environmental conditions, and other factors, we will evaluate your total system and provide a detailed plan to safeguard your operations. In the process, you’ll gain useful knowledge - and assurance - regarding your PLC’s condition, remaining life, and options for maintaining peak performance for years to come.
Benefits of a PLC Migration
Regardless of what reason drives you to upgrade your control systems, there are a number of benefits to modernizing your PLCs, whether in part or in full, including:
PLC Performance: Today’s PLCs are based on the latest processor chip-sets that are the fastest to hit the factory floor. Sophisticated redundancy algorithms, robust programming tools, and fast I/O buses provide huge performance upgrades in a much smaller footprint. And it’s also a great time to make efficiency improvements in the performance of the machine.
Enhanced Communication and Information Sharing: With built-in communication standards like Ethernet, Profi-Net, and others, today’s PLCs can easily connect to other plant systems and get easy access to information for optimized productivity. Network connection allows cross-communication between PLCs and can be connected to a data collection system for real-time machine information.
Spare PLC Parts: Of course spare parts will be readily available for years to come for the new system you select. But getting rid of the old system may allow you to get rid of (expensive) spares held just for that system. In addition, if you migrate to a controller family that you already have running elsewhere in your plant, you can leverage your existing spare parts inventory.
Avoiding Unscheduled Downtime: The chances that a newly upgraded machine with the latest PLC technology will fail is much lower than that of a machine with legacy controls. And who can’t use a little more sleep at night?
PLC Support: You will receive the best hardware and software support with newer PLCs. And if your maintenance team is already trained on the new platform you have chosen, you’re that much further ahead of the game.
Qualitrol engineers are trained and experienced with all of the Emerson/GE legacy products we are here to help you make the right decision on whether to migrate or maintain your PLC’s. Call us at 800-784-9385 and find the support you need.
