ABB extends PLC reach with AC500 PM595 launch
23 February 2015ABB has built on the success of its AC500 PLC with the launch of the “high-performance” PM595, which features a multi-processor system that can handle the most demanding machinery and motion automation tasks, according to the manufacturer.
The AC500 PM595 optimised for robust, high performance industrial control, and is built around a 1.3 GHz processor with four 32-bit RISC processors as well as an embedded double-precision floating point processor, 16 MB of user program memory and a large array of communications interfaces.
Wangelis Porikis, product marketing manager at ABB, explains: "Machinery and motion control applications are becoming much more complex as machinery becomes more capable, smarter and safer, and as demands for more sophisticated human interfaces and communications grows.
"The sheer computational capability of the AC500 PM595, with its rich feature set and versatile communications capability, provides enormous flexibility for automation builders. It provides a controller that can handle virtually any application, but also one that is highly software-configurable - giving OEMs a single control platform for a very broad range of applications."
The AC500 PM595 PLC is compatible with the range of AC500 expansion modules that provide "unlimited flexibility" for industrial control and monitoring applications while users can also build systems with integrated functional safety, by connecting ABB's safety PLC directly onto a second expansion port.
Porikis adds: "PM595 offers control engineers a single platform for today's and tomorrow's applications. The associated Automation Builder engineering tool completes the solution for developers and owners - providing the means to simplify control engineering and standardise on one development platform for all projects - regardless of scale."
