Return to Website

Lighthouse PLCs, Inc. : Automation Forum

THE PURPOSE OF THIS FORUM IS: AUTOMATION SOLUTIONS.  IF YOU ARE A PERSON INVOLVED IN SOME ASPECT OF AUTOMATION, HAVE AN APPLICATION YOU JUST CAN'T QUITE GET A HANDLE ON  - HAVE A PRODUCT QUESTION - OR MAYBE HAVE AN ISSUE WITH SOMETHING (EVEN IF IT IS WITH US    ), IT IS POSSIBLE YOU WILL FIND THE ANSWER HERE!!  

 OR,  IF YOU  ABSOLUTELY KNOW  THE ANSWER, OR EVEN THINK  YOU KNOW THE ANSWER, THEN JUST POST IT! MAKE THAT REPLY!
YOU ARE PROBABLY RIGHT ON THE MARK, AND MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP SOMEBODY OUT!!    

AND, IT COULD BE YOU THAT NEEDS HELP NEXT TIME. AFTER ALL...(REALLY?).. ARE WE NOT ALL "CHILDREN" - AT VARIOUS POINTS ON THE LEARNING CURVE OF TECHNOLOGY" ???  (I know I've still got a lot to learn and I've been at it for... well since 1970!)

Hopefully the information presented here will help provide solutions to some of today's automation challenges. Some issues are probably old, some are probably new. Many are products of the economy, the resultant reduction in manpower, exacerbated by aging equipment crippled by decreases in maintenance budgets.  The ULTIMATE goal here is that we all become more successful in our careers and chosen professions.

      MAYBE THIS FORUM CAN HELP!!! 

You know the rules - ADVERTISING IS NOT ALLOWED  ! 

This area is for we, :

No Offense Intended...the Fraternal Order of Propeller-Heads No Offense Intended

 You know the rest - no flaming ,  profanity, blatant advertising,  etc., etc., blah, blah, blah.  If you are 5 years old, or feel like acting 5 years old, you really need to go outside and ride your bike - OH, and seek some professional therapy.  Yea, that would be good, too!

OH!  BTW, if you don't feel like providing your name/company, just put "Anonymous" / "Withheld"/ "Not On File" or Anything!  I promise we won't tell !

Note:  For best viewing..
We suggest switching to "Board Style" (below) rather than "Threaded Style" !
Your choice!  

 

PLC and Inverter Forum
Start a New Topic 
Author
Comment
View Entire Thread
Re: Furnas 96K

In January of 1996, Furnas Electric was purchased by Siemens Energy & Automation. As Siemens manufactured its own line of PLCs, and Furnas only "brand labeled", they elected not to carry the Furnas PLCs. The Furnas PLCs were actually Hitachi and Mitsubishi. There are cross reference list from Furnas to Hitachi, and Furnas to Mitsubishi on our website under "Support".
There, you will find, that the Furnas 96KM40AA is indeed, the Mitsubishi F2-40MR-UL.

The F2-40MR-UL has been discontinued by Mitsubishi. Fortunately, there are replacement options available. The main problem you face at this point, is how to get the program that is running in your Furnas PLC, into a newer model. The reason this is a problem, is that the F2 Mitsubishi's required an "Interface" unit. This Interface plugged into the F2, converted its signal to one useable by your laptop PC. There were 2 or 3 versions of this device. Unfortunately, they all have been discontinued.

This means your options are limited. Allow me to list them, (as I envision them).

  1. The Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) of your car wash system may have an upgrade option - meaning a new PLC already loaded with the necessary program.

  2. If you have documentation (like ladder diagrams) of the program, you - or an "integrator" (company specializing in PLCs) can probably take the old program, convert it into something useable by a currently available PLC.

  3. An Integrator can come into your facility, and "reverse engineer" the PLC system.


Option #2 would be the least expensive. Option #3 would take the longest to accomplish. Option #1 would probably be the simplest.

I would suggest also checking with other car wash owners/operators that have your same system. They may have already gone through this process and could make things much simpler for you.

One other option worth mentioning (Option #4), depends on if your current PLC is still running (meaning the program is undamaged). If so, you could send the PLC to someone who could extract the program, then modify it as necessary and upload it into a new plc. Then you (or your electrical contractor or systems integrator) would re-install the new unit. Most times, a small amount of re-wiring is necessary to accommodate the new unit. Again, this option is only valid IF your exiting PLC has its program in good condition.

I hope this information has helped.
Timothy Davis