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DNMControls &
Automation

Expertise

Five controller platforms, four SCADA systems, five drive lines

A plant rarely runs one brand. The utilities are Siemens, a packaging line is Omron, and the chiller skid arrived with whatever its OEM used. Filter by what you have installed.

Filter by controller

Allen Bradley

Rockwell Automation

The most common installed base in semiconductor and pharma utilities, and the most common source of an obsolescence problem — PLC-5 and SLC-500 lines still running plant that has to keep running.

Controllers
ControlLogix · CompactLogix · MicroLogix · SLC-500 · PLC-5
Engineering software
Studio 5000 Logix Designer · RSLogix 500 · RSLinx
Operator interface
PanelView Plus · PanelView 800
Networks
EtherNet/IP · ControlNet · DeviceNet
Paired SCADA
FactoryTalk View / RSView · Wonderware / AVEVA

Siemens

SIMATIC

Where most migrations land. The S7-300/400 to S7-1500 path is the single most requested upgrade DNM handles, and it is rarely a like-for-like conversion.

Controllers
S7-1500 · S7-1200 · S7-300 · S7-400 · ET 200 distributed I/O
Engineering software
TIA Portal · STEP 7 Classic
Operator interface
Comfort Panels · Basic Panels · WinCC Unified
Networks
PROFINET · PROFIBUS DP · Modbus TCP
Paired SCADA
WinCC

Schneider Electric

Modicon

Strong in water, wastewater and building services. Modbus everywhere, which makes it the easiest platform to bring third-party instruments into.

Controllers
M580 ePAC · M340 · Quantum · Premium
Engineering software
EcoStruxure Control Expert (Unity Pro) · Machine Expert
Operator interface
Magelis HMI · Harmony GTU
Networks
Modbus TCP · Modbus RTU · EtherNet/IP
Paired SCADA
Citect SCADA

Mitsubishi Electric

MELSEC

Machine-level control on imported OEM equipment. Usually arrives with no documentation and no source, which is most of the work on a retrofit.

Controllers
iQ-R · iQ-F · Q Series · FX Series
Engineering software
GX Works3 · GX Works2
Operator interface
GOT2000 · GOT SIMPLE
Networks
CC-Link IE · CC-Link · Modbus
Paired SCADA
Wonderware / AVEVA · Citect SCADA

Omron

SYSMAC

Motion and packaging lines. EtherCAT changes how the machine is commissioned, and it is worth saying so before the job starts.

Controllers
NX/NJ Machine Controllers · CJ2 · CP1
Engineering software
Sysmac Studio · CX-One
Operator interface
NA Series · NB Series
Networks
EtherCAT · EtherNet/IP
Paired SCADA
Wonderware / AVEVA

SCADA and HMI

Supervisory platforms

Including the migrations. Every one of these has a legacy version still running plant somewhere, and none of those migrations is an import.

FactoryTalk View / RSView

Rockwell Automation
  • FactoryTalk View SE
  • FactoryTalk View ME
  • RSView32
  • Site edition distributed servers
  • Alarm and event historian
  • Trend and datalog configuration
  • VBA display scripting

Pairs natively with the Logix family. RSView32 migrations are common and are never automatic — the display set has to be rebuilt.

WinCC

Siemens
  • WinCC Professional
  • WinCC Advanced
  • WinCC Comfort
  • WinCC Flexible (legacy)
  • Tag logging and archiving
  • Alarm logging with acknowledgement paths
  • VBS and C scripting
  • Report generation

The WinCC Flexible to TIA Portal path is a rewrite, not an import. Budget for it explicitly.

Wonderware / AVEVA

AVEVA
  • InTouch
  • System Platform
  • Historian
  • Galaxy object model
  • ArchestrA graphics
  • Historian tag archiving
  • Multi-node deployment

The right choice when the plant needs one object model across several machines from different OEMs.

Citect SCADA

AVEVA / Schneider Electric
  • Citect SCADA
  • Vijeo Citect
  • AVEVA Plant SCADA
  • Cicode and CtAPI
  • Redundant server pairs
  • Alarm and trend servers
  • Native Modbus and OPC drivers

Heavily used in water and wastewater. Redundancy configuration is where most inherited Citect systems are found to be wrong.

Drives

Variable frequency and servo drives

Usually the first thing replaced in a phased retrofit, because it is the lowest-risk window and the highest-obsolescence risk.

SINAMICS / SIMOTICSSiemens

SINAMICS G120 · SINAMICS V20 · SIMOTICS servo drives

Servo and general-purpose, commissioned over PROFINET from the same TIA project as the PLC.

PowerFlexAllen Bradley

PowerFlex 525 · PowerFlex 753 · PowerFlex 755

Add-on profiles in Studio 5000 make drive parameters part of the controller project, which matters for backup and recovery.

AltivarSchneider Electric

Altivar ATV320 · Altivar ATV630 · Altivar ATV930

Process drives on pumps and fans; ATV630 is the common choice on RO and wastewater duty.

VLT / VACONDanfoss

VLT AQUA · VLT HVAC · VACON 100

Dominant on HVAC and water duty, with pump-specific firmware functions worth using rather than reimplementing in the PLC.

FRENICFuji Electric

FRENIC-Ace · FRENIC-Mega · FRENIC-Eco

Frequently found on imported machinery. Direct replacement is usually cheaper than adapting the machine to another brand.

Networking

Protocols and fieldbus

Bringing a third-party device onto the network is most of the integration work on any mixed-vendor plant.

  • EtherNet/IP
  • PROFINET
  • PROFIBUS
  • Modbus TCP
  • Modbus RTU
  • CANbus
  • ControlNet
  • DeviceNet
  • OPC UA
  • OPC DA

Standards

How the work is structured

IEC 61131-3PLC programming languages
The programming standard the brief names. Ladder, function block, structured text and SFC, applied deliberately rather than whichever the last engineer preferred.
IEC 62443Industrial cybersecurity
Segmentation, remote-access discipline and account handling on OT networks. DNM works to its principles; it is not a certification claim.

Next step

Tell us what you have installed

Controller brand, SCADA platform, roughly how many I/O. That is usually enough for us to say whether the job is straightforward or not.

An engineer responds within one business day.

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