When working with any legacy system it’s important to understand naming conventions of the part numbers and how those part numbers may have changed through various part runs. AX Control sells many legacy systems, including several of the Speedtronic series like the Mark I-II, Mark IV, the Mark V, as well as the Speedtronic Mark VI and Mark VIe series boards.
When we look at GE’s Speedtronic Mark VI and Mark VIe as an example, we can see how this works. They have designed their part number so it gives the user a significant amount of information–if you know how to break down that information properly. Let’s look at one example.
If we take the above IS200AEAAH1CPR1 board, we can break the number down into several different parts that will each tell us something about the board: IS/2/00/AEAA/H/1/C/PR1
GE has a long history of providing industrial control systems for gas and steam turbines.
Speedtronic turbine control from General Electric is one of the world’s most reliable turbine control systems. Find out more below.
Cross-section of a GE industrial gas turbine
A History of Turbine Science
Gas turbine theory is not new to the world; in fact, Leonardo Da Vinci designed a reaction-type turbine. While nothing like the turbines of today, Da Vinci’s chimney jack’ used hot air rising from a hearth to turn an axial rotor attached to a roasting spit located over the fire. In this way, food on the spit turned without need for an attendant, harnessing the power of burning gases.
Early History
GE was one of the first modern companies to understand the power of turbine applications. High-profile projects like Niagara Falls (1918) and the Grand Coulee Dam project (1942) used GE turbines. The first gas turbine used to generate electric power in the US came from General Electric. It was a 3.5-MW unit installed at Belle Isle Station, Oklahoma City, OK, in 1949.
Expansion of Products
GE’s gas turbine division is now over a century old. It has advanced gas turbine jet engine design along with commercializing industrial gas turbines for the first time. GE turbines are also used for power generation. You can find them in nuclear power plants, combined-cycle gas turbine plants, and in steam turbine systems and boiler systems.
Download a high quality pdf of these characteristics.
Beginning in the 1960s and continuing through the early 2000s, GE developed and sold sophisticated turbine control systems for their gas and steam turbines. These systems sold under the SPEEDTRONIC trademark name. Speedtronic systems started with the Mark I series, continuing through the release of the Mark VIe.
While each system had significant improvements, many Mark I and Mark II control systems are still in active use around the world today. The longevity of these systems is attibutable to GE’s adherence to specific gas and steam turbine control philosophies. These emphasize “safety of operation, reliability, flexibility, maintainability, and ease of use, in that order,” according to company documents. The gas philosophy maintains:
When you’ve had equipment for years, it’s easy to misplace the manual.
Imagine: you need to make a complex repair on a legacy system, but no one in your facility has any experience with the job.
Sometimes, all you need is that one piece of information to make everything work the way it should. But what happens when you’ve lost the manual that goes with your legacy system and the OEM no longer supports that model? You know your equipment will work exactly as it should if only you can track down that one setting.
What are Legacy Systems?
Legacy systems are made up of older technology no longer supported by the original equipment manufacturer. They make up the backbone of thousands of companies around the globe. Replacement of these systems can be very expensive and challenging. And because of the inherent robust nature of industrial equipment, it often seems wasteful to remove a system in good working order.
Industrial-Strength | adjective
marked by more than usual power, durability, or intensity.
Merriam-Webster.com
How Can I Get Documentation?
If we carry parts for your legacy system, we may be able to help with documentation replacement with your orders. While our in-house experts are knowledgeable about all things related to automation, they like having the manuals at their disposal, too. We’re happy to help your in-house experts have the same advantage. Just ask when you call to place your next order.
So we….well, we’ve developed hoarder instincts when it comes to legacy documentation: if it’s going to be useful at some point down the road, we’ll grab a copy and keep it safe.
That’s not a bad instinct if you think about it. With manuals at our side, we check every reconditioned unit leaving our facility. That way, when those Directlogic PLC , Reliance drive,or Reliance Automax PLC components reach you, they’re in excellent working condition.
So if you need documentation, let us know when you place your next order. For now, I’m going to end this post with a link to the User’s Manual (GFK-1065F) which is for one of our more popular items, a GE Fanuc Series 90 Micro PLC. It has full chapters devoted to the subjects of installation, configuration, and diagnostics, along with additional links to an ABB PVI-3.0/3.6/4.2 inverter.
AX Control specializes in legacy equipment. We carry industrial automation replacement parts from GE, Fuji, and Reliance, to name just a few. Let us know what we can help you with today.
You must be logged in to post a comment.