The class I am enrolled in at college offers some basic Allen Bradley PLC programming, interested in gaining further knowledge I looked around for some low cost alternatives for training. The problem for myself, and most students in this field, is the cost of the RSLogix500 software, at $500 its priced way out of my budget. Add the cables, then the PLC….far too expensive.
However, there is some good news, although Rockwell are not shouting it from the rooftops, the software is actually free for formal and informal training. You just need to know where to look on there website and jump through a few hoops, but its all legal.
First of all, you need to register for free at Rockwells support section…
http://www.rockwellautomation.com/support/
Once registered you need search for two seperate part numbers…
9324RL0050ENE - RSLogix500 Software
9355WAB100ENE - RSLinx Software
http://support.rockwellautomation.com/WebUpdates/product_list.asp
So once downloaded and installed you have saved yourself a full $500, but there has to be a catch, right? Well, there is, the software on the site is designed only to communicate to the 1761-L10BXB PLC. The good news is that this PLC is very low in price, around $100 or less, and has enough inputs (6) and outputs (4) for some basic training applications. I have also heard that this software will actually work on all 10 point (number of I/O) 1761 PLC’s although I cannot confirm this myself.
Additionally you will also need the cable, again, expensive at around $30 - $50 however its possible to make your own. A standard 9 pin D connector for your RS232 port and a 8 pin mini DIN for the PLC end, all parts should be in your RadioShack store and cost around $5. The pin-out is below….
Instrumentation
allen bradley, free, plc, rslogix500
