Manufacturer Directory
PLC & IPC Hardware Families
Family-level orientation to the Siemens, Allen-Bradley/Rockwell, and Beckhoff controller and industrial-PC ranges — what each family is for, how the three ecosystems are put together differently, and how to decode the model suffixes.
Lifecycle claims expire. Every status below is a snapshot of what the vendor published as of July 2026. Product families are introduced, superseded, and discontinued continuously, and a family that was current when this page was written may not be current when you read it. Confirm lifecycle state, availability, and specifications against the vendor’s own lifecycle and ordering documentation before you specify anything. Naming a family here is orientation, not endorsement — see the directory notice.
Quick Start
- The three vendors are not three versions of the same thing. They differ in where the controller lives: Siemens keeps dedicated PLC hardware and PC hardware as separate platforms; Rockwell centres on a dedicated Logix controller reached over EtherNet/IP; Beckhoff treats an industrial PC running the TwinCAT runtime as the controller. That difference shapes the whole selection.
- Start from the application, not the brand — Boolean-and-timer duty, small networked machine, integrated motion or safety, plant-scale multidiscipline, or “Windows must run beside real-time control” each land in a different part of every vendor’s range. The selection flow below is organised that way.
- Suffixes carry the engineering meaning. On a Siemens CPU the F, T, R/H, S, and V letters are the difference between a standard PLC, a safety PLC, a motion controller, a redundant pair, and a software controller — see suffix decoding.
- A “smaller” family is not always the same family scaled down. Micro800 does not share the Studio 5000 project format with CompactLogix and ControlLogix — it is a different programming ecosystem, not a small Logix controller.
- These tables are family-level only. Terminal assignments, technical data, and firmware compatibility depend on the complete catalog/order number — get them from the official vendor documentation index.
The Three Architectural Models
Before comparing families, it helps to see how each vendor divides the problem. The distinction matters most when a project needs real-time control and general-purpose computing on the same machine.
Siemens keeps a dedicated PLC platform and a separate industrial-PC platform, with software-controller (S7-1500S) and virtual-controller (S7-1500V) options bridging the two. The boundary between “the PLC” and “the PC” stays explicit.
Allen-Bradley / Rockwell centres on a dedicated Logix controller with a modular EtherNet/IP architecture around it, and treats the computer platform (FactoryTalk software, ASEM hardware) as a separate concern. The CompactLogix 5480 is the exception: it puts a Windows environment and an independent Logix control engine in one device.
Beckhoff treats the industrial computer plus the real-time TwinCAT runtime as the controller. The form factor and performance change from a compact CX DIN-rail unit up to a C-series rack PC, but the PC-based control model does not.
The software consequences of this split — how programs are organised, how the scan works, what a tag or a DB actually is — are covered on vendor programming architectures.
Selection Flow
A starting point for narrowing the range, not a specification method. Work from the application requirement on the left to candidate families on the right, then verify each candidate against the vendor’s current ordering data.
flowchart TD
START([Application requirement]) --> Q1{Simple Boolean<br/>and timer control?}
Q1 -->|Yes| A1[Siemens: LOGO!<br/>AB: Micro810<br/>Beckhoff: BC/BX or CX7000]
Q1 -->|No| Q2{Small standalone<br/>networked machine?}
Q2 -->|Yes| A2[Siemens: S7-1200 G2<br/>AB: Micro850/Micro870<br/>Beckhoff: CX8200/CX9240]
Q2 -->|No| Q3{Integrated motion<br/>or machine safety?}
Q3 -->|Yes| A3[Siemens: S7-1500 F/T/TF<br/>AB: Compact GuardLogix 5380<br/>Beckhoff: CX5200+ with<br/>TwinCAT Motion / TwinSAFE]
Q3 -->|No| Q4{Large multidiscipline<br/>or plant-wide?}
Q4 -->|Yes| A4[Siemens: S7-1500 or S7-1500 R/H<br/>AB: ControlLogix 5590<br/>Beckhoff: CX20xx or C-series]
Q4 -->|No| Q5{Windows apps beside<br/>real-time control?}
Q5 -->|Yes| A5[Siemens: S7-1500S on IPC or<br/>ET 200SP Open Controller<br/>AB: CompactLogix 5480<br/>Beckhoff: CX/C/CP with TwinCAT]
Q5 -->|No| Q6{Virtualized or centrally<br/>managed control?}
Q6 -->|Yes| A6[Siemens: S7-1500V<br/>AB: controller plus separate<br/>virtualization infrastructure<br/>Beckhoff: TwinCAT PC-based<br/>virtualized architecture]
Safety functions are not selected from a flowchart. Reaching “integrated safety” above tells you which families offer a safety variant; it does not tell you which integrity level your application needs. That comes from the risk assessment — see ISO 13849-1 and IEC 62061 — and the certification documents for the exact hardware revision govern any integrity claim.
Cross-vendor mapping by system size
| System size | Siemens | Allen-Bradley | Beckhoff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Very small | LOGO! | Micro810 | BC/BX or CX7000 |
| Small networked machine | S7-1200 G2 | Micro820 / Micro850 | CX8200 / CX9240 |
| Medium machine | S7-1500 compact CPU or ET 200SP CPU | CompactLogix 5380 | CX51xx / CX52xx |
| Complex machine | S7-1500 | CompactLogix 5380 / 5390 | CX53xx / CX56xx |
| Large multidiscipline | S7-1500 high-performance CPU | ControlLogix 5590 | CX20xx or C60xx |
| High-performance motion | S7-1500T/TF or Drive Controller | CompactLogix / ControlLogix with Kinetix | CX20xx / C60xx with TwinCAT Motion |
| PLC plus PC workload | S7-1500S or ET 200SP Open Controller | CompactLogix 5480 | Any CX or C-series IPC |
| Virtualized controller | S7-1500V | Logix controller plus separate virtualization infrastructure | TwinCAT PC-based runtime architecture |
Rows are rough equivalences of role, not of performance. Two families on the same row can differ substantially in scan time, memory, and I/O capacity; compare the vendor datasheets before treating any pair as interchangeable.
Siemens — SIMATIC
| Family | Class | Form | I/O system | Typical use | Status (as of) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOGO! | Logic module | Compact DIN-rail logic module | Onboard I/O plus expansion modules | Small pumps, lighting, building services, simple standalone equipment | Current (July 2026) | Programmed in its own tool (LOGO! Soft Comfort), not TIA Portal. |
| S7-1200 / S7-1200 G2 | PLC | Compact DIN-rail PLC | Onboard I/O, signal boards and expansion modules; PROFINET to distributed I/O | Small standalone and networked machines | Current; G2 is the newer generation (July 2026) | The G2 generation extends the original line's communication, motion, and safety options. |
| S7-1500 | PLC | Modular cabinet-mounted PLC | Local rack modules; ET 200 distributed I/O over PROFINET | Medium to large machines, production lines, process skids | Current (July 2026) | Variant suffixes: F (fail-safe), T (technology/motion), TF (both), R/H (redundant high-availability pair). |
| S7-1500 F / TF | Safety PLC | Fail-safe variants of the S7-1500 line | Fail-safe ET 200 / rack modules alongside standard I/O | Standard and safety control in one CPU; TF adds motion technology functions | Current (July 2026) | Engineered with the safety option of the same tool chain; certification evidence per project. |
| ET 200SP CPU | PLC | CPU built into a distributed I/O station | ET 200SP I/O modules on the same mounting rail | Distributed machine control, tight cabinet space | Current (July 2026) | Places processing at the I/O station instead of a central cabinet. |
| ET 200pro CPU | PLC | IP65/67 machine-mounted controller | ET 200pro modules, cabinet-free | Conveyors and decentralized control without an enclosure | Current (July 2026) | High-protection-rating packaging for direct machine mounting. |
| ET 200SP Open Controller | Software controller | PC-based controller with local ET 200SP I/O in one device | ET 200SP I/O on the same rail | PLC, Windows application, and visualization combined in one unit | Current (July 2026) | Software-controller runtime plus a Windows environment in a distributed-I/O form factor. |
| SIMATIC Drive Controller | PLC | S7-1500 TF CPU with integrated drive control | PROFINET / ET 200 plus integrated drive interfaces | Servo-intensive, coordinated-motion machinery | Current (July 2026) | Combines a fail-safe technology CPU with drive-control functions in one housing. |
| S7-1500S (Software Controller) | Software controller | Real-time software PLC installed on a SIMATIC IPC | PROFINET / ET 200 distributed I/O | Real-time control beside Windows or high-level applications on one industrial PC | Current (July 2026) | Vendor documentation describes control continuing through an operating-system restart or failure — verify the isolation model for your version. |
| S7-1500V (Virtual Controller) | Software controller | Virtual PLC deployed through the vendor's edge/management platform | PROFINET / ET 200 via the virtualization host's networking | Centrally managed, software-defined control | Current (July 2026) | Hardware-independent deployment; lifecycle managed centrally rather than per device. |
| S7-300 / S7-400 / ET 200S CPU / WinAC | PLC | Previous-generation modular PLCs and PC-based control | Classic ET 200 / rack I/O generations | Large installed base in machines and process plants | Older generations — vendor migration guidance points to S7-1500-era platforms; published availability windows apply (July 2026) | The vendor has published availability of the S7-300-era hardware into the early 2030s — verify current dates against the vendor lifecycle pages. |
| SIMATIC Box PC | Box IPC | Cabinet- or machine-mounted PC without integrated display | No native control I/O — pairs with a software controller or fieldbus interfaces | Gateways, HMI runtime, vision, data logging; host for S7-1500S | Current (July 2026) | Spans an IoT-gateway class through expandable high-performance units (GPU-capable at the top). |
| SIMATIC Panel PC | Panel IPC | Computer and display combined in one device | No native control I/O — pairs with a software controller or networks | Operator stations with local compute; HMI plus applications | Current (July 2026) | Panel-mounted and selected fully protected configurations published. |
| SIMATIC Rack PC | Rack IPC | 19-inch rack systems in client, workstation, and server classes | No native control I/O — server/network infrastructure role | SCADA clients, engineering stations, simulation, virtualization hosts | Current (July 2026) | Vendor splits the range into client, workstation, and server classes. |
Siemens suffix decoding
On the S7-1500 line the suffix letters, not the family name, tell you what the CPU actually is:
| Suffix | Meaning |
|---|---|
| F | Fail-safe (safety) CPU |
| T | Technology CPU with advanced motion functions |
| TF | Technology and fail-safe combined |
| R | Redundant system |
| H | High-availability redundant system |
| S | Software controller (runs on an industrial PC) |
| V | Virtual controller |
| D TF | Drive-integrated technology and fail-safe controller |
An F or TF CPU is capable of running safety logic; it does not by itself make an application safe. The safety function is engineered, verified, and validated against the applicable standard, using the certified hardware revision and its safety manual.
Allen-Bradley / Rockwell
| Family | Class | Form | I/O system | Typical use | Status (as of) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Micro800 (Micro810 / 820 / 850 / 870) | PLC | Micro PLC family, DIN-rail | Onboard I/O plus plug-ins and expansion modules | Relay replacement up to small machines, skids, and remote equipment | Current; Micro830 catalog numbers identified by the vendor as discontinued (July 2026) | Programmed in Connected Components Workbench / FactoryTalk Design Workbench — not the Studio 5000 Logix project format, so not simply a smaller Logix controller. |
| CompactLogix 5380 | PLC | Compact DIN-rail Logix controller | Compact 5000 I/O locally; EtherNet/IP to distributed I/O | Machine and skid control; motion and networking per controller model | Current (July 2026) | Process-focused variants published for process-library-oriented use. |
| Compact GuardLogix 5380 | Safety PLC | Safety variant of CompactLogix 5380 | Compact 5000 (incl. safety I/O); EtherNet/IP safety | Integrated standard and machine-safety control | Current (July 2026) | Published in SIL 2 and SIL 3 integrity classes — certification documents govern the claim. |
| CompactLogix 5480 | Hybrid PLC / IPC | Logix real-time control engine plus a parallel Windows environment in one unit | Compact 5000 I/O; EtherNet/IP | Machine control with co-located HMI, analytics, or custom applications | Current (July 2026) | Vendor documentation describes the Windows side running independently of the Logix control engine. |
| CompactLogix 5390 | PLC | Next compact-controller generation, reduced footprint | Local PointMax I/O per vendor announcement | Higher-performance compact machine control | Announced — vendor-published availability stated for Q4 2026; not a generally shipping replacement for 5380 yet (July 2026) | Verify shipping status and I/O availability before specifying. |
| ControlLogix 5580 | PLC | Chassis-based modular controller | 1756 chassis I/O; EtherNet/IP to distributed I/O (e.g. POINT I/O) | Large machine, plant, process, and motion control | Current — remains an active platform after the 5590 introduction (July 2026) | Process, redundant, extreme-environment, conformally coated, and no-stored-energy variants published. |
| GuardLogix 5580 | Safety PLC | Safety variant of ControlLogix 5580 | 1756 chassis and networked safety I/O | Standard plus integrated safety at plant scale | Current (July 2026) | Certification documents govern the integrity claim per configuration. |
| ControlLogix 5590 | PLC | Newest chassis-based generation | Chassis architecture combining controllers, network modules, and I/O interfaces | Discrete, motion, process, and multidiscipline control | Current — newest chassis generation (July 2026) | Vendor states it is configurable for standard, safety, redundant, and safety-instrumented-system applications. |
| Older / legacy Logix and predecessors (ControlLogix 5570, CompactLogix 5370 / 1768 / 1769, SLC 500, PLC-5, MicroLogix) | PLC | Previous-generation compact and chassis controllers | Generation-specific (1769, 1746, 1771, etc.) | Installed base; migration planning | Older / legacy — some catalog numbers discontinued; vendor migration guidance generally targets 5380/5580-era platforms (July 2026) | Check each catalog number's lifecycle state individually — the families migrated at different times. |
| ASEM 6300B | Box IPC | Box PCs from entry to performance class | No native control I/O — computing platform | HMI, gateways, data logging, general industrial computing | Current (July 2026) | Subfamilies span compact, book-mount, wall-mount, and performance classes with ECC options at the top. |
| ASEM 6300P / 6300PA | Panel IPC | Panel PCs; 6300PA is the on-machine IP-rated variant | No native control I/O — computing platform | Operator stations with local compute; on-machine HMI | Current (July 2026) | Positioned around the vendor's visualization and thin-client software stack. |
| 6300T / 6300M / 6300MA | Thin client / monitor | Box thin client; panel- and machine-mounted monitors | None — display/terminal role | Centrally managed visualization endpoints | Current (July 2026) | 6300T is a managed terminal, not a local HMI server; 6300M/6300MA are monitors, not computers. |
| 6181X | Hazardous-location IPC | Display and non-display PCs certified for hazardous locations | No native control I/O | Computing and visualization in classified areas | Current (July 2026) | Certification scope per model — verify area classification against the certificate. |
| VersaVirtual | Rack IPC / virtualization appliance | Preconfigured industrial virtualization appliance | None — infrastructure role | Consolidating multiple industrial software workloads onto managed compute, network, and storage | Current (July 2026) | An infrastructure product, not a PLC. |
Micro800 is a separate ecosystem, not a small Logix. It is programmed in Connected Components Workbench / FactoryTalk Design Workbench, not in the Studio 5000 Logix project format. Code, tags, and AOIs do not carry across, so a project that may grow into a Logix controller is worth sizing accordingly at the outset rather than porting later.
Beckhoff
In this ecosystem the runtime is the controller. The TwinCAT 3 runtime provides PLC, motion, CNC, robotics, and safety communication; the hardware families below are the platforms it runs on, scaling from a compact DIN-rail embedded PC to a rack-mounted industrial PC without changing the control model.
| Family | Class | Form | I/O system | Typical use | Status (as of) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TwinCAT 3 runtime (XAR) | Software controller | Real-time runtime installed on supported Beckhoff PC hardware (or supported virtualized architectures) | EtherCAT (typical), plus other supported fieldbuses | PLC, motion, CNC, robotics, safety communication on one platform | Current (July 2026) | In this ecosystem the runtime — not the box — is the controller; the hardware families below are the platforms it runs on. |
| BC / BX Bus Terminal Controllers | PLC | Bus coupler with integrated control runtime | Bus Terminals attached locally | Small decentralized fieldbus controllers or intelligent fieldbus devices | Established, installed-base oriented — new TwinCAT 3 projects more commonly specify CX hardware (July 2026) | BX offers more memory and interfaces than BC; both sit below the CX class. |
| CX7000 | Embedded PC | Compact DIN-rail embedded PC, Arm-based entry class | EtherCAT / Bus Terminals attach directly to the controller | Small machines and local automation at low cost | Current (July 2026) | Entry point into TwinCAT 3 on dedicated hardware. |
| CX8100 / CX8200 | Embedded PC | Compact fieldbus-oriented embedded PCs | EtherCAT / Bus Terminals locally; fieldbus interface per model | Distributed machine, building, and utility control | Current; CX8200 is the newer Arm generation (CX8000 is the older generation) (July 2026) | Chosen where a compact controller doubles as a fieldbus node. |
| CX9020 / CX9240 | Embedded PC | Compact Arm-based embedded PCs | EtherCAT / Bus Terminals attach directly | General machine control | Current; CX9240 is the newer generation (July 2026) | The general-purpose compact class between CX7000/CX8xxx and the x86 ranges. |
| CX51xx – CX56xx | Embedded PC | Midrange x86 embedded PCs, fanless / modular | EtherCAT terminals attach directly; expansion modules per series | PLC plus HMI and moderate motion; data-heavier machines at the top of the range | Current (July 2026) | Performance steps up through the series numbers; defer processor specifics to the vendor datasheets. |
| CX20xx (CX20x2 / CX20x3) | Embedded PC | High-performance modular embedded PCs, up to server-class processors | EtherCAT terminals attach directly; modular interface options | Large PLC systems, multi-axis motion, CNC, visualization, multi-runtime control | Current — top of the DIN-rail embedded-controller range (July 2026) | Where requirements exceed this class, the C-series box IPCs continue the range. |
| C60xx | Box IPC | Ultra-compact cabinet PCs | EtherCAT via network ports; no rail-attached terminals | PLC, motion, vision, IoT, and machine control as a compact box | Current (July 2026) | Internal performance groups step from entry/IoT class up to GPU-capable units (C601x–C604x). |
| C65xx / C69xx | Box IPC | Fanless built-in and compact cabinet PCs | EtherCAT via network ports | Behind-panel installation; general scalable machine control | Current (July 2026) | Form-factor variants of the same PC-based control role. |
| C70xx | Box IPC | Ultra-compact IP65 machine-mounted PC | EtherCAT via network ports, cabinet-free | Local computing directly on the machine without an enclosure | Current (July 2026) | The cabinet-free counterpart to the C60xx class. |
| C66xx | Box IPC | ATX-based expandable cabinet PC | EtherCAT via network ports; PCI/PCIe expansion slots | Vision, specialized plug-in hardware, expandable control PCs | Current (July 2026) | Chosen when card slots are the requirement. |
| C5xxx / C6670 | Rack IPC | 19-inch rack PCs and an industrial server | Network infrastructure role | Plant engineering, SCADA, high-compute and virtualization workloads | Current (July 2026) | The server end of the PC-based control range. |
| CP2xxx – CP7xxx / CPX | Panel IPC | Built-in and IP65 machine-mounted panel PCs; multi-touch and single-touch generations | EtherCAT via network ports | Operator stations that can also run the control runtime | Current; CP4xxx/CP5xxx are the newer multi-touch generation, CP6xxx/CP7xxx the established single-touch lines (July 2026) | CPX27xx/CPX37xx are the hazardous-area (Zone 2/22) variants — verify certification scope per model. |
| TwinSAFE | Safety PLC | Safety logic and safety I/O terminals within the EtherCAT terminal system | EtherCAT (Safety over EtherCAT) | Integrated machine safety alongside any TwinCAT controller | Current (July 2026) | Safety is added as distributed terminals plus safety logic rather than as a separate safety-CPU hardware family. |
Industrial PCs Are Not Controllers
An industrial PC in these ranges is a computing platform: it hosts HMI runtime, vision, data logging, gateways, or engineering tools. It becomes a controller only when a real-time runtime is added — a Siemens software or virtual controller, or the TwinCAT runtime on Beckhoff hardware — or when the product combines both engines in one device (CompactLogix 5480, ET 200SP Open Controller).
Two consequences worth carrying into a design review:
- A general-purpose operating system is not a control platform on its own. Where a vendor states that control continues across an OS restart or failure, that isolation is a property of the specific runtime and version — verify the isolation model rather than assuming it.
- A thin client or an industrial monitor is neither. In the Rockwell range, a 6300T is a managed terminal and a 6300M/6300MA is a monitor; neither runs the visualization application locally.
| Form factor | Siemens | Allen-Bradley | Beckhoff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compact box PC | SIMATIC Box PC (compact configurations) | ASEM 6300B (compact) | C60xx |
| General / expandable box PC | SIMATIC Box PC (expandable configurations) | ASEM 6300B (higher-end) | C69xx / C66xx |
| Integrated-display PC | SIMATIC Panel PC | ASEM 6300P | CP2xxx / CP4xxx / CP6xxx |
| Machine-mounted, IP-rated | SIMATIC PRO Panel PC variants | ASEM 6300PA | CP3xxx / CP5xxx / CP7xxx or C70xx |
| Hazardous location | Selected certified SIMATIC configurations | 6181X | CPX27xx / CPX37xx |
| Rack PC / server | SIMATIC Rack PC | VersaVirtual architecture | C5xxx / C6670 |
Hazardous-location certification is per model and per zone/division. Confirm the certificate scope against the area classification — see IEC 60079.
Common Mistakes
- Treating a lifecycle status as durable. Root cause: a family table (including this one) is a snapshot. Designing in a family that entered phase-out between the concept and the purchase order leaves the installed base short of spares. Check the vendor’s lifecycle page per catalog number, not per family — families migrate at different times.
- Assuming an announced family is available. Root cause: announcement and general availability are different events. As of July 2026 the CompactLogix 5390 is announced with a vendor-published availability date rather than shipping as a general replacement — a schedule can slip, and a design that assumes it will ship has no fallback.
- Buying Micro800 as “a small ControlLogix”. Root cause: the name and the catalogue adjacency suggest one ecosystem; the project format proves otherwise. Migration means rewriting, not converting.
- Reading a suffix as a trim level. Root cause: F, T, R/H, S, and V change what the CPU is, not how much of it you get. Ordering a standard CPU where the safety function needs an F-CPU is a scope error, not a downgrade.
- Specifying an IPC and calling the control problem solved. Root cause: the IPC is the platform, the runtime is the controller. Without a real-time runtime, an industrial PC provides no deterministic control at all.
- Sizing on family name rather than on the requirement. Root cause: the cross-vendor rows above equate roles, not performance. Scan time, memory, axis count, and I/O capacity vary widely inside a single row; the datasheet settles it.
- Designing wiring from a family-level document. Root cause: terminal assignments and pinouts depend on the complete order number. Use the equipment manual or installation instructions for the exact article — the vendor documentation index explains the lookup.
Practical Checklist
- Application requirements written down before a vendor range is opened
- Candidate family confirmed against the vendor’s current lifecycle status
- Catalog/order numbers — not family names — used for every specification
- Safety integrity requirement derived from the risk assessment, and the certified hardware revision matched to it
- Motion, redundancy, and communication options confirmed on the specific CPU model, not the family
- Engineering-tool version confirmed compatible with the hardware and firmware revision
- For an IPC: the real-time runtime (and its licensing) specified explicitly
- For hazardous locations: certificate scope checked against the area classification
- Spare-parts and support availability checked for the expected service life
- The manual revision designed against archived with the as-built package
Related Pages
- Official vendor documentation index — the manuals and portals for these families
- Vendor programming architectures — how the software model differs across the same three vendors
- PLC / PAC manufacturer directory — the broader vendor landscape
- PLC software fundamentals — the vendor-independent groundwork these ecosystems sit on
- PLC wiring guide — the field practice these families end up in
- Manufacturer directory
Trust Boundary — Engineering Judgment Required
This site is an independent educational reference for industrial automation standards. It paraphrases and organizes guidance in original language; it is not a substitute for the official published standards, professional engineering judgment, or legal review, and content has not been independently verified against current published editions.
Items marked Review pending await technical review against the identified edition. Items marked Planned have no reviewed source material behind them. Do not rely on this site for compliance determinations, safety-critical design decisions, or legal interpretation.