1. History of ALLEN BRADLEY
2. ALLEN BRADLEY in industry
3. Robotics seen by Allen Bradley                          

History of Allen Bradley

The story began in 1901, after Lynde Bradley, then an engineer for Milwaukee Electric, invented the compression rheostat, a speed controller for electric motors. Two years later, the latter left his job and founded, with the support of Dr. Stanton Allen, who obtained a $1000 investment, the Compression Rheostat Company. Lynde's brother, Harry Lynde Bradley, joined him in 1904. In 1909, the company was renamed the Allen-Bradley Company.

With the United States entering World War I in 1917, the company experienced monumental growth and an expansion of its factory, then based in Milwaukee.

In 1924, as radio skyrocketed, the octagon logo brand newly trademarked as an Allen-Bradley brand, manufacturers ordered millions of rheostats. Ten years later, a new technological revolution appeared at Allen-Bradley, the solenoid starter with one moving part. In the process, the following year, engineers invented hot molded fixed resistors.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the United States entered the second major conflict of the century. Consequently, Allen-Bradley is called upon to supply components for walkie-talkies, radars, combat aircraft or even defense factories.

Lynde Bradley died in 1942, her brother Harry took over the management of the family business.

In 1951, the UNIVAC (UNIVsersal Automatic Computer) was created, it became the first commercial computer made in the United States. Inside this computer, there are the Allen Bradley resistors. A few years later, Allen Bradley continued his breakthrough by equipping all computers and all color television sets with ferrite magnets.

End of the 1960s, the era of the conquest of space. Allen Bradley participates in this advance by launching the Sonic Sifter product, a moon dust sieve that will be used by NASA during the Apollo 11 mission. 1970, Allen-Bradley launches the programmable logic controller (PLC) and 9 years later, Data Highway, a breakthrough that replaces miles of cabling with a remote LAN. Following its cooperation with NASA for the Apollo mission, the latter still calls on the brand to equip its fleet of space shuttles with Allen-Bradley components.

It was in 1985 that the firm took a turn when it was bought out for more than 1.6 billion dollars by Rockwell International. Rockwell Software will be created later with the merger with ICOM.

In 2001, Allen-Bradley specializes in automation and joins the Rockwell Automation division.

Allen-Bradley in industrial environment

Allen-Bradley appeared in the industrial world initially by supplying their electronic components and mainly resistors for machine tools. They are found in the oil, water treatment and agri-food industries such as McCain.

Then, with its programmable logic controller (PLC), we find the brand at the heart of automation. From the original PLC programmable logic controller to scalable, multidisciplinary, information-using PLC programmable logic controllers, Allen-Bradley addresses the simplest to the most complex problems and application program requirements.

These different controllers are offered by Standard Exchange Industry as the 1756 or 1771 CPU range. In addition, obsolete control systems such as the SLC 500 are available from stock. But it is possible to migrate to more recent systems such as the CompactLogix 5380 or 5370. Note that other programmable controllers for remote applications will no longer be manufactured at the end of 2023, in particular the Micro830 controllers.

Find Allen Bradley PLCs here.

Allen Bradley has diversified into functions other than automation, namely speed variation. They offer a wide selection of PowerFlex® variable frequency AC and DC drives and Kinetix® servo drives that are all designed to provide flexibility, increase productivity and ease of use. Their variable frequency drives can handle low and medium voltage applications, with a wide range of power ratings. Kinetix servo drives are sized and featured for a wide range of applications, from single-axis drives to multi-axis modular drives. For demanding applications, Allen Bradley has engineered the Amor PowerFlex drive, a new generation of motor control solutions.

The PowerFlex line of drives offers a wide choice of control modes, features, options, packaging, voltages and power ratings. PowerFlex Compact-class AC drives provide an economical and versatile solution for applications that require speed control and simple system integration.

Find them at Standard Exchange Industry, in particular the PowerFlex 523 range with for example the 25A-D6P0N104.

PowerFlex Architecture-Class AC drives offer a wide range of features and parameters to suit every application. These drives are ideal for applications that require speed, torque and/or position control.

Find them at Standard Exchange Industry, in particular the PowerFlex 70 range with for example the 20AC5P0.

The Allen-Bradley PowerFlex line also includes DC variable speed drives. They are designed for DC motor applications and provide up to 6000 HP/4000 kW.

Allen-Bradley is also involved in Human-Machine interfaces. Their graphic terminals offer robust electronic interface solutions in various sizes, operator input methods and configurations. These robust devices are completely ready to use (hardware, software and communications). They are recognized for their high resistance to shock, vibration and temperature. Standard Exchange Industry provides its panels including the Panelview range (2711-T6C10L1).

Robotics seen by Allen Bradley

Through Rockwell Automation, Allen Bradley is modernizing robotics with its slogan “Go faster and do more with integrated robots”.

Production teams are expected to do more, whether through higher frame rates, faster time to market, or greater product adaptation. But scaling up is a tall order when robots are on the edge. To remain competitive, therefore, robots are needed that are fully integrated into the control system and constitute its heart. And this integration should be as simple as possible.

Nowadays, smarter production operations benefit from integrated robots in the following ways:

• Accelerate deployment with a simplified ordering system.

• Build and validate programs faster using digital engineering tools and in a single integrated design environment.

• Generate faster and more flexible production through better integration of robots and motion control devices.

  • Improve the protection of operators by taking charge of certain parts of dangerous or tedious tasks.

Integrated robotics can be organized according to two approaches. Either via an EtherNet/IP network, or combine them into a single unified system.

  - EtherNet/IP connection: connection of a dedicated robot controller to a Logix PLC via the standard, unmodified Ethernet protocol. EtherNet/IP communication is widely used for industrial robots. This makes it easier for you to meet different application requirements while allowing access to the Logix platform.

  - Unified robotic control: use of a Logix PLC and Kinetix® drives to directly control the manipulator arm. Unified robotic control allows for a simpler approach. It is no longer necessary to have dedicated robot controllers and programming environments. On the contrary, Unified Control makes communications seamless and synchronization possible between all devices in your automation system.