ABB / CP600 control panels

A CP620 and a CP620-WEB look identical and run completely different application models. Get that wrong and the panel powers up showing nothing useful.

CP600 is the ABB HMI range, sitting alongside AC500 controllers. Three tiers: CP600-eCo, CP600 and CP600-Pro.

The WEB suffix changes what the panel is

The most important thing on this page, because the two versions are otherwise the same hardware.

These are two different ways of building an HMI.

On a standard CP620 the application lives in the panel and is developed in Panel Builder. On a CP620-WEB the application lives in the AC500's web server and the panel just displays it.

Swap one for the other and there is nothing to show. A Panel Builder project will not load onto a WEB panel, and a WEB panel pointed at a PLC with no web server application displays nothing.

Check the label before ordering. If your project files are Panel Builder files, you need the standard version.

The CP600 range

All are TFT-LCD with 65536 colours.

A bigger screen is not always a higher resolution

Two things in that table catch people out.

The CP651 at 10.4 inches and the CP661 at 12.1 inches have the same 800 x 600 resolution. The larger panel is physically bigger with the same pixel count, so everything is simply larger. That may be exactly what you want on a machine viewed from a distance, but it does not fit more on the screen.

The CP665 at 13.3 inches has a higher resolution than the CP676 at 15 inches. 1280 x 800 against 1024 x 768.

So if you are upgrading a panel to get more on the screen, size and resolution are separate questions. A screen designed for 1280 x 800 on a CP665 will not transfer cleanly to a CP676.

The memory step

128 MB on the CP620, CP630 and CP635. 256 MB on everything above.

That applies to the -x and -x-WEB variants too. The CP635-Fx food variant is the exception in the small range at 256 MB.

If you are moving an application from a CP651 down to a CP635, memory is a real constraint, not just screen size.

The backup battery is not user replaceable

Worth knowing before you plan a maintenance routine around it.

ABB specifies a 3 V 50 mAh lithium rechargeable battery, model VL2330, not user replaceable.

So unlike a PLC battery, this is not a scheduled swap. When it fails the panel goes back for service or gets replaced.

The practical consequence: do not rely on a CP600 as the only place a configuration or recipe lives. Keep the Panel Builder project backed up.

The AC500 cable depends on which AC500

A specific ordering catch. ABB specifies different communication cables for the two AC500 families.

Different cable, different electrical standard. An AC500-eCo needs the RS-485 cable and an AC500 needs the RS-232 one. Ordering the wrong one gives you a panel that will not talk to the PLC.

The panel's serial port itself is software configurable for RS-232, RS-485 or RS-422, so the port is flexible and the cable is not.

Connections

Two Ethernet ports across the range, which is useful for keeping a machine network separate from a plant network.

The expansion slot count differs between the smaller and larger panels. If your installation uses two plug-in modules, that rules out the smaller sizes.

Touchscreen technology, and why the food variant differs

Resistive touch works with a gloved finger or a stylus by pressure. PCAP is the projected capacitive technology used in phones, and the food variant is specified as glove-operable.

That distinction matters in a chilled or wet environment where operators are always gloved.

The CP635-Fx food specification

Directly relevant to New Zealand food and dairy plant. ABB specifies the CP635-Fx with:

• Stainless steel bezel, grade 316 / 1.4401
• Food-compatible gasket
• Food standard sealing compliant with FDA 21 CFR 177.2006
• PCAP touchscreen operable with gloves
• Designed according to DIN EN 1672-2, food processing machinery hygiene requirements
• Designed according to the EHEDG Guideline
• 256 MB flash, more than the standard CP635

Variants include CP635-FB and CP635-FW.

A standard CP635 is not a substitute for a CP635-Fx in a food area. The bezel material, the gasket and the sealing compliance are the point of the part.

Note also that the CP635-FB and CP635-FW are not marine approved where the standard models are.

Marine approval

ABB publishes compass safe distances, which indicates marine type approval on most of the range.

Relevant for vessels, ports and offshore work. The food variants are the exception.

Panel cutouts

From the ABB operating instructions, for the larger panels.

The CP661 and CP665 share a cutout despite being 12.1 and 13.3 inch panels. So swapping between those two is a straight change with no panel work, which is useful if you want the higher resolution.

Tell us the model you are replacing and we will confirm the cutout before you cut anything.

Backlight life

LED backlight, 40,000 hours typical at 25 degrees C, at 150 cd per square metre brightness.

Forty thousand hours is around four and a half years of continuous running. On a 24 hour plant, a dim panel is an age problem rather than a fault, and it is worth planning for rather than diagnosing.

Generation mapping

The earlier CP600 generation used different numbers.

One digit apart and a generation apart. If you have a CP650, the CP651 is the current equivalent.

The other two tiers

The eCo range is the cost-focused tier and the Pro range the higher specification. All three are designed to work with AC500 controllers.

Software

Standard CP600 panels run PB610 Panel Builder 600, with the runtime included in the panel.

A replacement panel arrives without your application. Same point as every other configurable device on this site: the hardware is replaceable and the project is not.

If you run CP600 panels, confirm the Panel Builder project files are backed up. On a panel with a non-replaceable battery, that matters more than usual.

What we can supply

Current production. CP600-eCo, CP600 and CP600-Pro across the range, including WEB variants and the CP635-Fx food models. Plus TK681 and TK682 cables and plug-in modules. Quoted with a delivered lead time.

Earlier generations. CP650, CP660 and CP675, and older ABB panels. Surplus and tested used, which is usually the only like-for-like option.

Accessories. Communication cables, SD cards, plug-in modules and protective front foils.

We buy ABB panels

CP600 panels hold value, and earlier generations are worth more to a plant still running them than as scrap. See Sell To Us.

Related

ABB overview. AC500 controllers and PM processor modules for the PLCs these panels connect to.

For HMI from other brands see Siemens Comfort Panels, Allen-Bradley PanelView and Omron NS and NB.

Send us your model numbers

Check whether the panel is a WEB variant, because that decides the whole application model. If you are replacing a food area panel, check for the F in the designation. Quotes in NZD including GST.

Request a quote

Industech is an independent supplier of new, surplus and used industrial automation equipment. We are not an authorised distributor of, approved by, sanctioned by, or affiliated with ABB Ltd. ABB, CP600 and Panel Builder are trademarks of ABB Ltd. All trademarks, brand names and model numbers are the property of their respective owners and are used here for identification purposes only.