ABB Freelance DCS System

ABB Freelance DCS System

System overview: Freelance is ABB's control system for the process industry, offering ease of use, reliability, future-proofing, cost-effectiveness and compatibility. The 2024 version offers significant improvements in usability, connectivity, safety, compatibility and digitisation, support for a wide range of operating systems, easy installation on standard computers, a wide range of pre-configured components and multi-language support.

System architecture: Operator level, engineering tools, process level and system communications. The operator level is responsible for operation, monitoring and other functions; the engineering tools are used for system configuration and debugging; the process level consists of a variety of controllers, which can be connected to the field equipment; the system communication realises the data transmission between the levels through the control network, supports a variety of protocols, and is equipped with redundancy functions.

Controllers

AC 900F: It can support about 1500 I/O (PM 902F/PM 904F) or 400 I/O (PM 901F), has various communication interfaces, supports redundancy configuration, and connects with various field buses and I/O modules to adapt to different industrial scenarios.

AC 700F: Compact size, supports about 300 I/O signals, can directly connect 8 S700 I/O modules, also can connect remote I/O through PROFIBUS, suitable for small applications.

I/O modules: divided into S700, S800 and S900 series, S700 I/O can be used as direct or remote I/O with various module types; S800 Remote I/O is a distributed modular system with strong communication capability and low installation cost; S900 Remote I/O is used for intrinsically safe on-site signal connection and is suitable for hazardous areas.

Performance Advantages

High Reliability and Availability: Mature redundancy design proven over years of practice. At the hardware level, it supports redundant configurations of controllers, fieldbus modules, fieldbus lines and networks to ensure stable operation of the system in the event of partial component failures, reducing downtime and meeting the stringent requirements of industrial production on system reliability.

Good scalability: It is easy to expand from a small system with a few I/Os to a large system with thousands of I/Os. AC 700F is suitable for small applications and can support about 300 I/O signals, while AC 900F is suitable for large projects, such as the use of the PM 902F/PM 904F, which can support about 1,500 I/Os. Different types of controllers can work together in the same system, making it easy to configure flexibly according to project requirements.

Powerful communication capability: It supports a variety of communication protocols, such as PROFINET, PROFIBUS, Modbus, etc., and can communicate efficiently with all kinds of devices and systems. Through OPC server, it can realise data interaction with third-party devices, which is convenient for system integration. Support remote access and monitoring, convenient for engineers to carry out remote debugging and maintenance.

Technical Specifications

Controller: AC 900F controller has various CPU modules, such as PM 904F, PM 902F and PM 901F, with different numbers of Ethernet interfaces, memory and processing power. A wide range of fieldbus protocols are supported, such as PROFIBUS DP V0/V1, Modbus RTU and TCP, etc. The AC 700F controllers are compact, with a PM 783F central processing unit equipped with a high-performance processor, a 100 Mbit/s Ethernet network connection and two serial interfaces to support Modbus communication and diagnostics.

I/O Modules: S700 I/O modules are available in a wide range of types, including digital input/output, analogue input/output, etc., which can meet the acquisition and control requirements of different signal types. S800 Remote I/O system communicates with the controller through PROFIBUS, with a variety of modules, supporting a variety of signal types and functions. S900 Remote I/O is specially designed for intrinsically safe on-site signal connection, suitable for hazardous areas, providing a variety of input and output modules, supporting hot-swappable input and output modules and diagnosis. S900 Remote I/O is designed for intrinsically safe field signal connection, suitable for hazardous areas, and provides a variety of input and output modules, supporting hot-swap and redundant configuration.

Communication protocol: PROFINET is used to realise high-speed data exchange and is suitable for decentralised peripheral equipment connection in process control technology.PROFIBUS is a widely used fieldbus protocol, which supports a variety of equipment connection and has high communication rate and reliability. It supports the OPC protocol, which is convenient for data interaction and integration with third-party systems, and realises a wider expansion of system functions.