Most users of GE's Genius I/O system love the technology and don't ever want to part with it.  But when a line is shut down or the machine is upgraded or a new PLC standard is introduced, the Genius blocks might get escorted to the back door.

But don't throw them away!  We will make sure that your old Genius blocks find a good home.  We will offer you a check or credit for used in Genius blocks.

Call me personally at 1-704-227-4604 or my buying cohort, Jim, at 704-227-4622, and we will get you an offer on your used Genius blocks right away.

On May 31, 2011, GE IP (formerly GE Fanuc) discontinued the 90-70 PLC product line.  Introduced in 1990, the GE 90-70 PLC line had moderate success around the world in mid- to large-sized PLC applications.  While a good deal of investment was made in the development of CPU Redundancy and the capabilities of the higher end CPUs, like the IC697CPX772, IC697CPX782, and the IC697CPX935, there were not a lot of changes in the product line over the past 10 years.

As we have written in the past, it is tough on a company when a manufacturer discontinues a key component of your automation scheme.  Because of the power of the 90-70, this PLC was more likely to be the core of more sophisticated, and critical, control schemes.  The manufacturer does their homework and creates a migration plan that moves the 90-70 user to the latest PLC, or PAC, solution.  Of course, that is not done for free - integration costs, new hardware costs, downtime, re-wiring of the I/O structure - all add up to a pretty major upgrade project.  And just because the manufacturer says its time to upgrade, it doesn't mean that it is in your budget this year, next year or five years from now.

So what do you do?

Realizing this burden on your business, Qualitrol has positioned itself to Extend the Life of your PLC system. Now is not the time to figure out how to fund a major PLC upgrade or conversion.  And if the system is working properly, why the need to change it now - it could conceivably continue to work flawlessly for many years to come. 

We have thousands of 90-70 parts in stock, tested through our unique quality process, and ready to ship today.  And we are committed to supporting this line for years to come.  We are still fully supporting the Series Six that was introduced in 1980 - and are equipped to do so until the last Series Six is controlling an application.  So you know we will be committed to the 90-70 for years as well.

Remanufactured parts (with a 2-year warranty), in-house repairs (with 3-5 day turnaround), phone support (from a former GE Hotline tech support specialist), field support thoughout the country, and programming tools make up our support offering for the GE 90-70.

So, we have you covered, for years to come.

One of the guys that used to work here would tell customers who had a troubleshooting question, "Read the book, don't wait for the movie!" (he was kidding, of course)

But, now, you can watch the movie - the troubleshooting movie, that is.

Qualitrol International has launched its Library of PLC Troubleshooting videos.  Topics covered include changing batteries in various GE 90-30, 90-70, and Versamax CPUs; setting up network communications for Allen-Bradley ControlLogix PAC systems; and many others. 

You can check our video collection on our PLC Tech Support Video page.

We have found that these short, concise videos are a great way to demonstrate some basic troubleshooting techniques.  Sometimes it can be difficult to try and explain techincal ideas over the phone - we've all been there.  And with the wealth of knowledge of our PLC engineers, it is a great way for them to show you how to do certain tasks and then make them available for you to use anytime.

We find that many younger maintenance personnel charged with supporting controllers in many factories are not familiar with even the simplest tasks in some older PLC systems.  It's not their fault - it's just that PLCs can last so long and they can stay in production for decades.  It's hard to expect an engineer who has only been out of school 5 years to know how to support a PLC that has been on the market for 20 years!

If you ever have question for our PLC techs, please call or email.  They are available to walk you through any troubleshooting situation.  Heck, they might even make a video about it.

Recently, we had a customer who wanted to upgrade from a GE IC693CPU364 to a GE IC693CPU374 because they believed the CPU374 had more password characters.  Here is our Senior PLC Engineer's answer:

No, it is not true. The maximum length of the password is 6 ASCII characters whether it is an IC693CPU364 or an IC693CPU374. The only length restrictions that I have found is if the user is using Logicmaster 90 or a Hand Held Programmer, both of which limits the length to 4 ASCII characters. I have done some testing and I have found that the password can contain any ASCII character except a space and a tab and it is case sensitive. I believe this will fulfill the complexity requirement for your applications.

As far as the CPU364 is concerned, it would be better if they were replaced by CPU374s because the CPU364 has been discontinued for a few years. The programs in the CPU364 are directly transportable to a CPU374. All that would be needed would be a configuration change in the folder. The primary ‘gotcha’ in converting to CPU374s is that the CPU374 will use up the standard battery after 5-6 weeks of power-down time (versus 6 months for the CPU364). I would recommend that if CPU374s are installed, an auxiliary battery (IC693ACC302) should be installed with each one. This will provide 15 months max. power-down backup capability. An alternative to the CPU374 would be to use the CPU372, which has half the memory capacity at a lower price. However, this would require converting their programming s/w from VersaPro to Proficy Machine Edition (VersaPro does not support the CPU372) and making sure that a high capacity power supply is used with the CPU (Proficy requires that a high-capacity p/s be used with the CPU372 and CPU374).  (To learn how to install an IC693ACC302 for use with an IC693CPU374, go to our video library).

In addition, Qualitrol International will buy any used IC693CPU364 modules that you take out of a system.  Simply call us at 1-800-784-9385 and we will give you all of the details. 

Another GE Series Five IC655CPU500 technical question from a Series Five user answered by one of our Senior PLC Engineers:

Question:  We have a GE series 5 PLC running a section of our plant. The other day, after power was cycled on the IC655CPU500, a handfull of forces (but not all forces) had changed state. For example I 102 is found Forced OFF when previously it was Forced ON. I have never seen this happen and power has been cycled many times before. In the manual, GFK-0023B pg. 4-10 at the top, it says "The ladder diagram logic cannot change overides; however, non relay functions can change the state of an overriden reference". Can you eleborate any on this? Do you know of any explanation for the states of some forces being changed?

Answer:   

The GE Fanuc Series 5 maintain 3 separate tables for its Boolean references.

• Status table – stores the states of the references
• Override table – has a bit for each Boolean reference that indicates whether or not the reference is overridden, Applies only to those reference types that supports overrides. Ladder logic cannot add or remove an override.
• Transition table – keeps track of Boolean references when they transition from 1 to 0 or 0 to 1. This information is used by one-shots and counters and is not accessible by the user.

In the case of overrides, no coil type (output, latch, one-shot, timer or counter) can change the state of a reference that is overridden. However, data moves, table functions, math function and other similar functions (AKA mnemonic functions) can change the state of an overridden reference. This is because these functions deal with bytes and words and any Boolean reference assigned to the output of one of these functions is being treated as part of a larger block of data and overrides become irrelevant. To check for this type of scenario, you must perform an implicit search for the reference. An explicit search will not find a bit in the middle of a block of data in a mnemonic function.

As far as the references that changed due to a power cycle, this problem could be due to a piece of logic that may not have been enabled or disabled on previous occasions when power was cycled. Another possibility is that there were power or ground transients that occurred during the power cycle. However, I would expect additional problems with data corruption in this particular case and that did not happen, even though it is possible that only certain data areas were affected. It is also possible that the memory chip and/or its supporting ICs may be having an issue.

Also, it is possible that an outside device communicating to the GE Series 5 via the serial ports on the CPU or a CCM may have written directly to the data table. An HMI/SCADA system typically cannot check if a bit is overridden. This would mean that the event occurred during/after a power cycle was purely a coincidence.

Further documentation on the GE PLC family batteries:

Battery Part Number for VersaMax PLC

Refer to GFK-1503C page 4-11:

The CPU module is shipped with a battery already installed. The battery holder is located in the top side of the CPU module. Before the first use, activate the battery by pulling and removing the insulator tab.

To replace the battery, use a small screwdriver to gently pry open the battery holder.

Replace battery only with one of the following:

GE Fanuc IC200ACC001 --- CPU battery and Holder

Panasonic BR2032

Battery Part Number for VersaMax Micro PLC

Refer to GFK-1645C page 9-23,

For the 23 and 28 point Micro PLCs, a lithium coin cell can be installed in the battery holder and inserted into the front of the Micro PLC behind the removable door. Its purpose is to protect the RAM memory contents of the PLC when the PLC power supply is removed or turned off. It also backs up the CPU’s real-time clock.

Replace the battery assembly with one of the following:

GE Fanuc IC200ACC403

Hitachi-Maxell CR2032WK

Battery Part Number for S9030 PLC

IC693ACC301 --- Battery lit for 9030 CPU and PCM (qty 2)

IC693ACC302 --- External Battery Module

Battery Part Number for S9070 PLC

IC697ACC701 --- Battery lit for 9070 CPU and PCM (qty 2)

Battery Part Number for PACSystem RX7i

IC698ACC701 --- A three-cell lithium battery and spare door

We came across this document today that we thought might be helpful in understanding the capacity of Battery back-up and Capacitor back-up of programs in GE Versamax PLCs,  GE 90-30 PLCs, GE 90-70 PLCs, and PAC systems:

GE PLC Battery and Capacitor capacity

For VersaMax CPUs

Refer to IPI of VersaMax CPU modules:

• Battery backup for program, data, and time of day clock
• Super capacitor provides power to memory for 1 hour
• Over 1 hour, backup battery protects memory contents up to 6 months.
• Backup battery has shelf life of 5 years when not in use.

The part number is IC200ACC001.

For VersaMax Micro 23/28 point PLC

Capacitor backs up RAM and the Time-of-Day clock for at least 30 minutes.

Lithium battery (IC200ACC403, optional battery):

Shelf Life: Up to 5 years typical at 30 °C, Up to 3 years typical at 55 °C

Installed: 4 months battery backup time (powered down) minimum at 55 °C

For VersaMax Micro 14 point PLC and Nano PLC

Capacitor backs up RAM for at least 3 days.

There is no optional battery for 14 point Micro and Nano PLC.

For Series 9030 PLC

Super Capacitor:

The PLC power supply supplies 5 VDC to the memory circuits, including the super capacitor. Therefore, when PLC power is turned off, the super capacitor has an initial 5 VDC charge. If the battery is also disconnected shortly after PLC power is turned off, the super capacitor will begin discharging from the 5 VDC level until its charge reaches 2 VDC, at which time memory contents will be lost. When used this way, the super capacitor can maintain memory contents for a minimum of 1 hour.

The memory backup battery supplies 3 VDC to the memory circuits, including the super capacitor. Therefore, if PLC power has been turned off for an hour or more and only the battery is powering the memory circuits, the super capacitor has a 3 VDC charge. Then, if the battery is disconnected, the super capacitor will begin discharging from the 3VDC level until its charge reaches 2 VDC, at which time memory contents will be lost. When used this way, the super capacitor can maintain memory contents for a minimum of 20 minutes.

Battery: IC693ACC301 battery lit for 9030 CPU and PCM (qty 2)

A battery that is used continuously (supplying current to memory circuits with PLC power off), if used at room temperature, has an estimated average life as follows:

The voltage threshold for the BATT LED to come on in a 90-30 powers supply is 2.5V DC +/- 5%

External Battery Module (IC693ACC302)

This module provides long-term battery backup for all modular Series 90-30 CPUs. Its two-foot cable plugs into the power supply battery connector. The External Battery Module maintains RAM contents on a CPU374 and NIU004 for 15 months. CPU models 331—364 maintain RAM contents for approximately 75 months.

For Series 9070 PLC

IC697ACC701 battery lit for 9070 CPU and PCM (qty 2)

A battery that is used continuously (supplying current to memory circuits with PLC power off) has an average estimated life of 6 months, if used at room temerature.

The voltage threshold for the BATT LED to come on in a 90-30 powers supply is 2.5V DC +/- 5%

For PACSystem RX7i PLC

IC698ACC701 --- A battery that is used continuously (supplying current to memory circuits/calendar with system power off) has a minimum estimated life of 40 days.

If want to keep program forever, write HWC and Logic into Flash memory.

Another GE technical support solution from one of our in-house PLC experts:

Question: The GE PLC battery died over shutdown.  The electrician had to reload the program.  The re-loaded program didn't have the register values.  I don't think I know all I should know about saving programs in ME.  Can you put me in touch with an ME subject matter expert?  

Answer:  When you are online with a PLC, and you want to make a backup that will include the register values, you should go to the top level menu Target, and under this select Upload “Target1” from Controller (Note- if you have renamed the Target, the name will show in the “ “).  When you click on upload, a pop-up window will give you options to select of Hardware Configuration and Motion, Logic, and Initial/Forced Values.  All of these selections should be checked to get a complete upload.  The Initial/Forced Values selections will make sure that the register values are uploaded.  After the upload is complete, you can go offline and close the project using the File-Close Project command.  If you choose to you can then use the File – Backup Project to put the project into a zip file tat can be easily stored or transferred. 

From this point, if you want to load the project to a PLC, you would open the project, go online with the PLC, and with the PLC stopped, select the Target – Download “Target1” to Controller .   This will pop up an options window, where you can select Hardware Configuration, Logic, and Initial/Forced values.  If you choose all of these, after the download is completed the register values will contain the values from your backup.

Here is a question from one of our GE PLC and GE Cimplicity ME users and the answer from one of our in-house PLC engineers:

Question:  In Logic Developer – PLC/Cimplicity ME, I would like to save the project on CD for our customer.  How would I find the files to copy, or does the backup retain all project data (symbols)?

Answer: If you use the backup function in  Machine Edition it will save everything, including logic, configuration, symbols, etc, in one zip file.  You can create a backup in Machine Edition a couple of ways.  With Version 5.9 or later, with your project open, under the File commands there is a selection that says save and backup project.  This will save the project and let you designate where the backup zip file will go.  You can also open Machine Edition and without a project open, you will see in the Navigator a list of projects on your computer.  If you right click on a project name, you will get a pop-up window and one of the selections is Back Up.

No PLC User likes to hear that the PLC that he has standarized has reached mature status and that the manufacturer will stop producing it in the next several years.  Immediately, contingency plans are created and the questions begin to fly - What is the migration path that the manufacturer is offering?  Should I change out all of the mature PLCs for a newer platform? If I'm going to have to make a wholesale change, should I just change vendors?  Or, can I hang in there for the next several years hoping that I can still get parts and find someone to fix the old system even after the vendor stops supporting the product?

In these days of tight capital budgets and uncertain demand, footing the bill for an unplanned PLC changeout is just not in the cards.  While migration is inevitable, you might be able to postpone it longer than you think.

For years Qualitrol International has been in the business of extending the life of obsolete, Legacy PLCs.  Whether it is the GE Series Six, Series One, Series Three or Series Five, the Allen-Bradley PLC-5, Allen-Bradley SLC 500, or the Siemens Simatic S5, Quailtrol combines quality repair services, millions of dollars of remanufactured and after market PLC parts, and knowledgeable field and phone support resources into a support network for your aging PLCs.  We provide years' worth of spare parts, high quality repair services for 20-year-old PLCs and have the manuals, software and documentation to get you out of trouble until you are ready to convert, not when the manufacturer tells you to. It's what we like to call a Soft Landing.

So when your PLC vendor of choice decides to pull the plug on your critical PLC line, rest assured that Qualitrol will provide the Soft Landing.