B&R / Power Panel, Automation Panel and industrial PCs

A Power Panel C-Series is the PLC as well as the screen. A T-Series is a terminal that needs a controller elsewhere. And an Automation PC may be running the machine too. Swapping one for the other is a control system change, not a screen replacement.

Power Panel is the B&R operator interface range, on European machine building across New Zealand. Automation Panel, Panel PC and Automation PC sit alongside it.

Terminal or controller

The first thing to establish, because it decides what the panel is doing on the machine.

What each one is

The T-Series has an embedded browser and can act as a Visual Components client. It displays; something else controls.

The C-Series is a controller with a screen on it. B&R states that additional controllers are not necessary, with cycle times down to 0.4 ms.

So on a machine with a C-Series panel and no visible PLC, nothing is missing. The panel is the PLC.

And a failed C-Series is a bigger event than a failed T-Series, because the application goes with it.

The C-Series has two processors

Worth knowing because it explains the specification sheet.

A 4PPC50.101E-13B carries:

The FRAM is the useful detail. It is non-volatile and needs no battery, so retained data survives a power cut without a consumable to maintain.

That is a real advantage over platforms where retained data sits in battery-backed RAM.

The display size is in the number

Take 4PP420.0571-K47.

The trailing variant code matters as much as the rest. A 4PP420.0571-K47 and a 4PP452.0571-75 are both 5.7 inch panels and are different products.

The CompactFlash card holds everything

The most important thing when replacing an older Power Panel.

The runtime and the application sit on the CF card. Panels such as the 4PP420 carry a single CF type I slot and boot in Automation Runtime mode.

A panel without its card is a screen with no software.

The card generations are not the same

B&R documents CompactFlash cards as 5CFCRD.xxxx-03 and 5CFCRD.xxxx-04, which are different generations.

An industrial CF card is not a camera card. Substituting a commercial card of the same capacity is a common and unreliable shortcut, because the wear characteristics and the temperature range differ.

Send us the existing card number and we will match the generation.

Cards wear out

Flash has a finite write life, and on a panel logging data that life is shorter than people expect.

If a Power Panel has become slow to boot or intermittently fails to start, the card is worth suspecting before the panel.

The backlight is a wear part on older panels

A specific and useful point for the installed base.

Panels of the 4PP420 era use a CCFL backlight. CCFL tubes dim with hours run and eventually fail, as do their inverters.

A dark screen on a machine that is still running is almost always a backlight. Shine a torch at the display; if you can see the image, the panel is working.

That is a repair rather than a replacement, and worth checking before ordering a panel that may no longer be available.

Older panel specifications

Useful when judging whether a legacy panel is worth keeping.

A 4PP420.0571-K47 is:

IP65 on the front is why these survive in wet plant. The rating applies to the front face when properly flush mounted, not to the back.

The current C-Series screens

Glove operation is the practical one for New Zealand plant. A resistive screen needs pressure and a standard capacitive screen ignores a gloved hand; these are built for it.

Clear and anti-glare are different parts. On a panel in direct light the anti-glare version is not a preference, it is the difference between readable and not.

Automation Panel is display only

A distinction that catches people, because they look similar.

An Automation Panel connects to a PC through a link module. B&R supplies SDL3 receivers, SDL4 receivers and DisplayPort receivers depending on the panel and PC generation.

The link module is a separate part and it is generation-specific. An SDL4 receiver and an SDL3 receiver are not interchangeable.

So when replacing an Automation Panel, tell us what PC is driving it and what link module is fitted.

Compatibility is documented per panel

B&R lists which PCs each Automation Panel works with. A 15.6 inch HD panel is listed as compatible with specific 5PP520, 5AP920, 5PC720 and 5PC820 units.

So a panel of the right size is not necessarily a panel that works with your PC. Send both numbers.

Automation PC and Panel PC

The heavier end of the range, and the part most often misquoted.

APC and PPC are the same platform in two housings

The generation numbers pair up. An APC2100 and a PPC2100 are the same machine in different packaging, as are the APC3100 and PPC3100.

So an APC in a cabinet driving an Automation Panel does the same job as a PPC in the door. Which one a machine has was a layout decision, and on a rebuild it can be revisited.

An APC910 is not one part number

The single most useful thing to know before quoting this generation.

An Automation PC 910 is built up from separate ordered components rather than supplied as one item.

So two machines both described as an APC910 can differ in every one of those. A quote against the family name produces the wrong machine, and a used unit may arrive without the option board the application needs.

Send the numbers off each component, or a photo of the labels. The compact generations from the APC2100 onwards are ordered as a configured unit instead, so on those the single article number does carry the specification.

The APC may be the controller

The same question as the C-Series panel, and it is easy to miss on a box in a cabinet.

B&R Automation Runtime can execute on an Automation PC, and the B&R hypervisor lets the real-time runtime and Windows run in parallel on the same machine.

A cabinet with an APC, X20 I/O and no separate CPU module is the second case. That machine should be spared like a controller.

Tell us whether there is an X20 CPU in the rack and we will tell you which you have.

Interface option boards are the part left off orders

The fieldbus and serial connectivity on an APC or PPC is on plug-in interface option boards, not on the motherboard. POWERLINK, CAN, X2X Link and serial all arrive that way.

An otherwise identical PC without the right option board will boot and will not talk to the machine.

So when a PC is replaced, either the existing boards move across or they go on the order. Check what is in the slots before quoting, and keep them when a machine is stripped.

The PC logs its own condition

Genuinely useful and almost nobody uses it.

B&R industrial PCs carry a maintenance controller that monitors temperatures, fan speeds and operating hours and records them on the machine.

So before condemning a PC that has been shutting down, read the log. A clogged filter and a worn fan look exactly like a failing computer, and both are cheap parts.

The same data is worth reading on a used machine before it goes into service.

The HMI Service Center

Worth knowing exists.

B&R supplies an HMI Service Center USB flash drive carrying hardware diagnostic software, in versions for APC910 and PPC900, PPC1200, APC2100 and PPC2100, and other generations.

So a panel PC that is behaving oddly can be diagnosed before it is replaced. The tool is generation-specific, so tell us the generation if you want one.

The parts that wear out

A clock that resets every shutdown is a coin cell, not a dying machine. All of these are cheaper than the PC and most are cheaper than an hour of downtime.

The software generations

A Visual Components application does not move to a mapp View panel unchanged. So replacing an older Power Panel with a current one is a screen redevelopment, not a swap.

That is the main argument for a like-for-like legacy panel, and it is what we are set up to supply.

The legacy ranges

Power Panel 300 units with BIOS ran Windows CE or XP Embedded, which let them work as web terminals or thin clients with standard SCADA packages.

If a machine has a Power Panel talking to a third-party SCADA system, that is likely why.

What to send us

The full part number including the trailing variant code.

Whether it is a T-Series or C-Series, if the panel is current generation.

Whether you have the CF card or a backup.

What PC drives it, if it is an Automation Panel, and what link module is fitted.

On an APC910 or PPC900, the numbers off each component. System unit, CPU board, drive and interface boards.

Whether there is an X20 CPU in the rack, which tells us whether the PC is the controller.

Whether the fault is the screen, the backlight, the fan or the card. All are separately addressable.

Before ordering a replacement

Shine a torch at the screen. If the image is there, it is the backlight.

Check the CF card or drive if the unit is slow to boot or fails intermittently.

Read the maintenance log on an APC or PPC before condemning it. Fan hours and temperature history usually explain a shutdown.

Check the fan and the filter. Thermal shutdown is rarely the computer.

Check whether the machine is still running. On a T-Series or a display-only Automation Panel it will be, because the controller is elsewhere.

Check the link module on an Automation Panel before assuming the display has failed.

Check what is in the interface slots before quoting a replacement PC.

What we can supply

Current production. Power Panel T-Series and C-Series, Automation Panel, Panel PCs and Automation PCs across the 2100, 2200 and 3100 generations, link modules, interface option boards, CFast and CF cards, fan kits and mounting accessories. Quoted with a delivered lead time.

Discontinued. Power Panel 300, 400 and 500, the earlier PP ranges, APC620, APC810, APC910, 5PC720, 5PC820, PPC900 and PPC1200. Surplus and tested used, which keeps an existing Visual Components application exactly as it is.

Individual components. CF cards, drives, link modules, interface boards, fan kits and backlights, which are often the actual fault.

We buy B&R panels and PCs

Power Panels hold real value, particularly legacy units that let a plant avoid redeveloping an HMI application. Automation PCs and Panel PCs hold value for the same reason, and their interface option boards are worth money on their own.

Keep the CF card or drive with the unit where the application is not confidential, keep link modules with Automation Panels, and keep interface boards in their slots. All of it adds value. See Sell To Us.

Common questions

Can you get a part that is not listed on your site?
Usually. The site shows what we hold, not what we can source.

My screen is dark but the machine is running.
Shine a torch at it. If the image is there, it is the backlight, which is a repair.

Is an APC2100 the same as a PPC2100?
Same computer. The PPC has the display and touch built in.

Is my APC the PLC?
It may be. Automation Runtime can execute on an APC. If there is no X20 CPU in the rack, it probably is.

Do you supply used equipment?
Yes, where new is not available, tested and clearly described.

What is the lead time?
Ex stock items ship the next working day within New Zealand. Configured units carry a build lead time, which we give you with the quote.

Do you quote in NZD?
Yes, in NZD including GST for New Zealand customers.

Related

B&R overview, X20 CPUs and modules and ACOPOS servo drives.

For HMI from other brands see Siemens SIMATIC HMI, Allen-Bradley PanelView, Mitsubishi GOT, Omron NS and NB, Schneider Magelis and ABB CP600.

For industrial PCs from other brands see Siemens SIMATIC IPC, Beckhoff industrial PCs and Omron NY.

Send us your part numbers

Include the trailing variant code. And if the screen is dark but the machine is still running, shine a torch at it before ordering anything. 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 B&R Industrial Automation. B&R, Power Panel, Automation Panel, Automation PC, Panel PC, Automation Studio, Automation Runtime, mapp View and Visual Components are trademarks of B&R Industrial Automation GmbH. POWERLINK is managed by the Ethernet POWERLINK Standardization Group. Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. All trademarks, brand names and part numbers are the property of their respective owners and are used here for identification purposes only.