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Regulatory compliance

With a view to meeting the requirements of

regulatory authorities such as the American FDA

(Food and Drug Administration) or the EFSA

(European Food Safety Authority), Freelance 800F

provides a series of features that facilitate the

validation procedure. Examples include:

•  Encrypted log and trend data

•  Audit trail functions

•  Access rights and user administration

(security lock)

Lifecycle Management

With the Automation Sentinel Program you can

keep control software up-to-date and maintain

a flexible path forward to new system software

technology. Automation Sentinel helps manage

automation software assets with timely delivery

of the latest system software releases, thus

providing you better productivity, lower support

cost and simpler software management. Evo

lution from traditional control systems to

Freelance 800F enables ease-of-use and

lower maintenance cost.

You get technology that lasts and comprehensive customer service

High availability

The technology has proven its worth in industrial

use over several years and meets the toughest

requirements regarding availability. The hardware

can be structured redundantly at all levels –

including redundant fieldbus device gateways,

network redundancy, controller redundancy

and, last but not least, redundancy in relation

to the control level and bus systems.

Scalability

From small units with 8 signals to major systems

with more than 10.000 signals: Freelance 800F

grows with your plant and can be extended to

meet requirements at any time.

Versatile communication

You can use the following as required: OPC,

Ethernet, TCP/IP, PROFIBUS, FOUNDATION

Fieldbus, MODBUS, HART, voice output for

instructions in the event of an alarm, video

integration or Internet connection.

The time to change technology

The freedom of choice is not restricted to the

fieldbus type. You are also free to choose the

point in time for the technology changeover –

from traditional 20mA instrumentation to digital

fieldbus technology. If you operate conventional

I/O modules in parallel with fieldbus devices,

you can begin by gaining experience with minor

extensions on a fieldbus basis and then gradu

ally proceed to replace legacy devices with

modern fieldbus technology.

At the operator level, too, the user is free to choose

Two different solutions are suitable here, de

pending on requirements and on the

situation in the company:

DigiVis meets all standard requirements relating

to process operation and observation at an

attractive price. Amongst other things, DigiVis

offers the following visualization options: dual

monitor operation, free graphic displays that

besides standard graphic elements support Bit

maps and 3D macro library, clearly structured

faceplates for operator interventions (including 

group displays), trend displays including historian,

an automatically generated system display for

hardware diagnosis, alarm pages for specific

plant areas, sequence control displays, shift

logs, event logs and data archiving. DigiVis con

figuration is fully integrated in Control Builder F.

An optional batch package based on 800xA

Batch Management can also be integrated.

Advanced Information Management functions

are available when using PGIM 800F.

800xA Operations – the connection to 800xA

Operations provides the user with advanced

operator functionality such as four-monitor

operation and a client-server architecture with

up to 40 workstations. In particular, 800xA

Operations also makes it possible to group

several Freelance islands under one operator

interface. Additional functions such as Batch

Management and 800xA Information Manage

ment can also be integrated.

Other supported operator interfaces:

Power Generation Portal, SCADAvantageTM, Conductor NT.

The structure of the field level

For the field level, ABB offers an extensive

selection of devices that are fine-tuned to meet

the needs of the relevant area of use. Thanks to

established communication standards, integra

tion into the process level is quite simple.

Using Profibus connected with the AC 800F

controller, it is also possible to implement

remote I/Os. In the form of its S800 and S900

I/O systems, ABB provides the ideal means of

connecting a large number of sensors and actuators.

The choice of fieldbus type

In accordance with the concept of plug & pro

duce, exchangeable fieldbus modules make it

easier to implement quick adjustments. Free

lance 800F allows the integration of all impor

tant fieldbuses – leaving the user free to choose.

The following are supported:

• PROFIBUS-DPV1/PA

• FOUNDATION Fieldbus HSE/H1

• HART via remote I/O

• MODBUS Master and Slave

• CAN for Freelance Rack I/O

• Telecontrol protocol IEC870-5-101

Various types of fieldbus can even be operated

in parallel in a single AC 800F controller. This

proves to be a real advantage if the task at

hand specifies, which fieldbus type is to be used in each case.

It’s now over to you The engineering

Freelance 800F allows you to enjoy consistent

configuration, commissioning and diagnosis –

from graphics to the field device – using just

one engineering tool. All five programming lan

guages specified in IEC 61131-3 are available.

Users especially appreciate how quickly they

are able to familiarize themselves with the tool.

Supported by a uniform data basis throughout

the system as well as extensive reference func

tions, the Control Builder F enables you to con

duct the entire configuration quickly and easily –including:

• Configuring and parameterizing the field devices and I/Os

• Setting the bus topology and parameters

such as transmission rates and addresses

The task of configuring and displaying the field

devices is also user-friendly because using

FDT/DTM eliminates the time-consuming task

of integrating device GSD files. Graphical parame

terization dialogs supplied by the device manu

facturers – which are referred to as Device Type

Managers (DTMs) and are incorporated in a

similar manner to printer drivers in Windows –

transmit all specific signals and parameters to

the control system’s engineering tool. The master

is simultaneously configured. These DTMs are

available for most of the important field devices.

AC 800F – process station with fieldbus management

The AC 800F controller handles process and

diagnostic data from up to four fieldbus gate

ways. If required, it can also work with various

fieldbus types – in addition to the usual tasks

performed by a “conventional” process station.

Thanks to its compact and sturdy design, the

AC 800F is suitable both for installation in the

control room and for use in junction boxes directly in the field.

Easy engineering

ABB’s Freelance 800F control system combines

easy engineering with an open, modern system

architecture. In detail, this means:

•  Only one tool for engineering, commissioning and diagnosis

•  Field devices completely integrated into

control system engineering

•  Central access to all field information

•  Potential savings in engineering,

commissioning, testing, service and maintenance

•  Assembly close to the field and thus reduction

of field wiring and space requirements

AC 700F – the controller to enhance scalability

AC 700F is a process station with direct S700 I/O

modules in a small footprint.

It is suitable for very small applications from 16

to 256 I/Os and thereby widens the Freelance

800F application area ranging from very small to

midsize projects with several thousands of signals.

AC 700F provides superior functionality and

ease of use, with the option to expand the

system size. Like AC 800F, AC 700F offers

powerful engineering options and convenient

visualization capabilities. The engineering tool

is the same as for AC 800F including the advan

tage of ease-of-operation with DigiVis, pre

engineered visualization components such as

faceplates, module diagnosis, extended trouble

shooting capabilities, ready-made system com

munication, event list, alarm line, trend displays

or automatically generated sequence diagrams.

These components can be used straight out of

the box, eliminating time-consuming, manual configuration.

Easy engineering

ABB’s Freelance 800F control system combines

easy engineering with an open, modern system

architecture. In detail, this means:

•  Only one tool for engineering, commissioning and diagnosis

•  Field devices completely integrated into

control system engineering

•  Central access to all field information

•  Potential savings in engineering,

commissioning, testing, service and maintenance

•  Assembly close to the field and thus reduction

of field wiring and space requirements

The AC 800F controller handles process and

diagnostic data from up to four fieldbus gate

ways. If required, it can also work with various

fieldbus types – in addition to the usual tasks

performed by a “conventional” process station.

Thanks to its compact and sturdy design, the

AC 800F is suitable both for installation in the

control room and for use in junction boxes directly in the field.

What you simulate is what you implement

Straightforward engineering workflow

In the traditional development process, system engineers

would define the specifications, which software engineers

would then interpret – a time-consuming and error-prone

process that also reduced the likelihood that the resultant

software would correspond to the original specifications and concept.

The AC 800PEC development workflow uses MathWorks®

tools for model-based design as a single development

platform for the entire development process.

Simulink® is used to run system simulations. Real-Time

Workshop® then automatically generates and downloads

controller code from the Simulink® models to the AC 800PEC

controller, eliminating the need to translate the models

manually into C-code.

The use of Real-Time Workshop® allows interactive debug

ging of the software on the controller. Specification and code

are synchronized throughout the development process by

using Simulink® models as executable specifications.

Parameters can be changed and optimized on the PC, and

code can be generated automatically from the models and

then transferred to the controller directly via an Ethernet connection.

Precision for optimum quality – the AC 800PEC for industrial processes

The most demanding function in a rolling mill is thickness

control. By using the powerful AC 800PEC controller and its

ability to implement C-Code beside the standard IEC 61131-3

program level, a new thickness control solution for cold

rolling mills has been developed based on an MIMO (Multi

Input Multi-Output) control concept. The benefit to the

customer is an improvement in thickness deviation by up to 50 percent.

The modular architecture of the AC 800PEC not only greatly

reduces the complexity of the overall system, but thanks to

redundant subsystems also provides increased reliability. In

the case of a problem in one subsystem, the main controller

switches over to the remaining subsystems, which are scaled

in such a way that the overall task can still be fulfilled. Should

the main controller fail, a second controller is available in hot-standby.