ABB / Jokab safety

On a Pluto, ten safety sensors can go in series on one input and still achieve PL e. And unlike almost every other programmable safety device, a replacement can arrive with the program already on it.

Jokab is the ABB machine safety range: Pluto safety PLCs, Vital controllers, Eden non-contact sensors, Tina adapters and Smile E-stops. Order numbers start 2TLA or 2TLC.

The dynamic signal concept

This is what makes Jokab different from every other safety range on this site, and it changes how a system is sized.

A conventional two-channel safety circuit uses static signals, plus 24 V or 0 V, and needs two input channels per device to reach the highest safety level. String several devices together and the input count climbs fast.

Jokab uses a dynamic pulsed signal instead. ABB states that in a dynamic signal system, up to 10 safety sensors can be connected in series to one input channel while maintaining Category 4, PL e and SIL 3.

ABB makes the comparison directly: up to 10 sensors on one input, against two inputs per device for other manufacturers.

So a Pluto that looks small on paper may be doing a very large job. If you are quoting a replacement against input count alone, check how the inputs are actually used before assuming a competitor unit of the same size will do.

Dynamic and static inputs are configured, not fixed

ABB specifies that the kind of signal Pluto expects at each input terminal is determined in Pluto Manager, the programming software.

That means the input configuration is in the program, not the hardware. A replacement Pluto without the correct program will not interpret the inputs correctly, even though the wiring is right.

IDFIX can carry the program

The most useful thing to know about replacing a Pluto, and genuinely unusual.

ABB describes IDFIX as an identification circuit unique to each device on the Pluto bus, carrying an identification code and allowing a PLC program to be distributed across the network.

With an IDFIX-PROG fitted, replacing the Pluto module does not mean reprogramming it. The program lives with the station rather than the controller.

That is the opposite of the AC500, PNOZmulti and CP600 situation covered elsewhere on this site, where a replacement always arrives blank.

So when a Pluto fails, do not discard the IDFIX. And when ordering, tell us whether you need the IDFIX as well, because it is a separate part.

The error IDFIX-PROG program mismatch indicates the program on the IDFIX does not match what the controller expects.

Reading a Pluto model number

The number is the I/O count. A B20 and an S20 are the same 20 I/O controller, one with a bus connection and one without. Same for B46 and S46.

Fit an S where a B was and the unit cannot join the safety bus. On a single machine that may not matter. On a multi-station system it does.

The families

Confirmed order number: Pluto B46 v2 is 2TLA020070R1700.

Pluto AS-i connects to an AS-Interface safety network rather than the Pluto-bus. Pluto D45 combines process and functional safety.

System scale

Every Pluto decides for itself

An architectural point worth understanding. ABB states that each Pluto makes independent decisions, and a single point of failure will not cause the entire system to crash.

There is no master. Each unit runs its own program and shares state over the bus. So a modular machine can have one Pluto per module, and losing one does not take the plant down.

The 600 m bus length matters on a large site. That is enough to link separate machines in different parts of a building without a gateway.

Two processors inside

Pluto achieves its safety rating with two processors that both read every input. ABB's diagnostics include the fault condition processor A and B read an input differently, which is the redundancy doing its job.

That is also why analogue inputs on a Pluto can be used for safety: ABB notes the analogue inputs are read by both processors and can therefore be used in safety applications, with the value readable in system registers.

Pluto D20 analogue inputs

The D20 has 4 safe analogue inputs, IA0 to IA3, each configurable three ways.

SIL 3 on analogue needs two sensors

ABB is explicit: for an application to reach SIL 3 or PL e, two sensors in parallel with one input each are required.

A single analogue sensor on a single input does not achieve SIL 3, however safe the input is. Same conditional-rating point as the MACX Analog on our Phoenix signal conditioner page and the AC500-S on our AC500-S page.

If a specification calls for SIL 3 on an analogue measurement and someone has quoted one transmitter, that is worth catching before installation.

Eden, Adam and Eva

The Jokab non-contact safety sensor, for interlocked gates and hatches.

ABB describes the operation: a coded signal is transmitted from the Vital controller or the Pluto safety PLC, via Adam to Eva, which modifies the signal and sends it back.

Adam and Eva are ordered separately. If a guard has been rehung and the alignment is out, you may only need one half. Tell us which.

The 15 mm sensing distance is the number to check when a gate starts nuisance-tripping. A sagging door or a shifted frame takes the gap outside tolerance, and that is cheaper to adjust than to replace.

Same practical point as the F3S gap on our Omron safety page.

The DYNlink device family

Devices designed to sit on a dynamic circuit and chain in series.

Tina adapters are the bridge. They let a conventional switch, light curtain or E-stop join a dynamic chain rather than consuming two static inputs. If a system is running short of inputs, Tina adapters are usually the cheaper answer to adding devices.

Confirmed order number: an adapter unit for dynamic circuits with detachable terminal blocks, Pluto series, is 2TLA020054R0700.

Vital

Vital is the non-programmable dynamic safety controller. Where Pluto runs a program, Vital provides the dynamic circuit and monitoring without programming.

Eden sensors work with both. If an application does not need logic, Vital is the simpler and cheaper option. If it needs modes, muting or sequencing, that is Pluto.

Gateways and accessories

The gateway is how safety data reaches a standard PLC. It does not carry the safety function itself, so a gateway fault does not compromise safety, but it will blind the standard control system to what the safety system is doing.

Diagnostic codes

Useful when a customer describes a fault over the phone.

Er40 and Er41 usually point at the field wiring rather than the controller. Worth checking before condemning a Pluto.

Unsupported program version means the program uses instructions only supported by a later firmware. That is a compatibility problem, not a fault, and it matters when fitting an older replacement unit to a newer program.

Important: safety replacements

Safety components are certified as part of a machine's safety function, with a rated Category, Performance Level or SIL.

A like-for-like replacement of the same order number preserves that assessment. A substitution may not. An S in place of a B removes the bus, a static input configured where a dynamic one was expected changes the achieved level, and a single analogue sensor does not reach SIL 3.

We will supply the exact part you specify. If you ask us to suggest an alternative we will tell you what we think is equivalent and what differs, but the decision on whether a substitution is valid for your safety function belongs to whoever is responsible for the machine's safety assessment. We are a parts supplier, not your safety engineer.

What we can supply

Current production. Pluto safety PLCs across the 20 and 46 families, Pluto AS-i and D series, gateways, encoders, IDFIX tags, Eden sensors, Tina adapters, Smile E-stops and Vital controllers. Quoted with a delivered lead time.

Discontinued variants. Earlier Pluto generations and older Jokab devices. Surplus and tested used.

The halves and the small parts. Adam and Eva separately, IDFIX tags, programming cables and CAN bus cable.

We buy Jokab

Pluto units and Eden sensors hold value. If you are decommissioning a machine, do not scrap them, and keep the IDFIX tags with them. See Sell To Us.

Related

ABB overview. AC500-S safety PLC, which is the ABB safety platform integrated with AC500 rather than standalone.

For safety controllers from other brands see Pilz PNOZmulti, Omron G9SP and NX-SL and Allen-Bradley Guardmaster.

Send us your part numbers

The 2TLA or 2TLC order number is definitive. Tell us whether you need the IDFIX tag as well, because on a Pluto that is where the program may live. Quotes in NZD including GST.

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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, Jokab, Pluto, Vital, Eden, Tina and Smile are trademarks of ABB Ltd. All trademarks, brand names and order numbers are the property of their respective owners and are used here for identification purposes only. Information on this page is for identification and does not constitute a safety assessment.