ESSENTIALS OF

EXTENDING TDC LIFECYCLES

A Control Essentials Guide, by the editors of Control

AT A TIME WHEN URGES FOR ENTERPRISE CONNECTIVITY AND INDUSTRIAL INTERNET OF THINGS (IIOT)
capabilities are becoming stronger, but concerns about cybersecurity are rampant, and truly open, secure process automation
systems seem just around the corner, many owners of legacy distributed control systems (DCS) are inclined to wait and see
how things shake out before committing to the expense and disruption of system migration or replacement. This is especially
true when the existing system is highly evolved and runs the plant pretty well.
But even when owners aren’t in a hurry to gain the latest capabilities, they still often run into limitations on functional-
ity due to communications capacity and speed, loss of vendor support as the systems are declared obsolete, and serious
issues with the reliability of aging components, many of which are now approaching 50 years old. These concerns apply
to all makers’ legacy systems and are quite prevalent for owners of Honeywell TDC 2000/3000 DCS and the connected
legacy field device protocol known as DE, which are among the industry’s most aged, enduring and widely installed.
Owners who shop the offerings of solutions to these concerns are presented with a wide array of alternatives, gener-
ally ranging from costly and repeatedly disruptive piecewise migrations to a very expensive and shutdown-intensive
rip-and-replace. Units that are running well on legacy systems often don’t generate the level of profits that would rap-
idly return that investment, so they continue to run as they are until it’s too late to avoid expensive unplanned shut-
downs due to system failures. Along the way, owners give up the increased profits that can be made possible through
incremental process improvements, avoiding minor failures and reducing day-to-day maintenance and repair costs.
REPAIR OR REPLACE?

I
t’s been said [www.controlglobal.com/articles/2007/
006/] that the most important control system migra-
tion best practice is knowing when to jettison the old in 6 IoT, smart machines
favor of the new. The leading reason for system replace-
ment is a lack of spare parts for the old control system’s 5 Big data analytics,
hardware. In essence, the vendor has made your system visualization
obsolete by its decision to discontinue support. 4 Web 2.0,
There are other reasons to migrate, including to obtain cloud, mobile

Cumulative capability
the capabilities of more modern technology. Legacy sys-
3 Web 1.0,
tems affect cybersecurity, can limit Industrial Internet of e-commerce
Things (IIoT) and Industry 4.0 initiatives, and affect overall ?
operational reliability. Examples include: 2 Client-server
• Computer operating systems: Typically, no support or and PCs 7 Artificial
patches after 10 years intelligence
• Automation, control and MES software: Lack of vendor
1 DCS
support or secure integration
• N etwork equipment (firewalls, switches, cabling):
Low bandwidth, lack of security tools and advanced
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030
features
• Remote access capabilities: Lack modern security
features
THE TDC 2000/3000 ADVANTAGE
I
f its functionality is mainly satisfactory,
TDC 2000/3000 owners have a choice
of ways to extend the lifecycle and im-
prove the reliability of their existing system.
They can secure a source of tested or recon-
ditioned components, upgrade to modern
versions of those components with higher
communication speeds and capacities, and, if
desired, even layer a modern virtual DCS on a
TDC 2000/3000 system, processors and I/O.
Tested & reconditioned components: A
significant business has grown up around the
need for a reliable source of obsolete compo-
nents for legacy systems. Plant investments
in engineering, programming, integration and
training in legacy systems has made many ob-
solete components worth more to them than
modern replacements. The key here is to line
up suppliers ahead of your need, to be sure
those suppliers are reliable and can find the
components you need, and that the compo-
nents themselves are tested and/or recondi-
tioned to be certain they are serviceable and
will last.
Remanufactured components: Modern ver-
sions of obsolete components may be avail-
able, some with improved durability, energy
consumption and capacity. Replacement elec-
tronics may have advanced components and
circuit designs to reduce both the number of
components on the card (to enhance reliabil-
ity and decrease power consumption) and the
number of different cards required (to reduce
spare parts requirements).
Layering on a modern DCS: To reduce the
trauma of migration and keep customers
loyal, several DCS manufacturers have de-
vised architectures and products that allow
many of the capabilities of a modern DCS to
be added to legacy systems by virtualizing
the legacy systems on servers. Users retain
the legacy I/O, wiring and marshalling, with
control duplicated and removed to a server,
where it can be integrated with modern capa-
bilities, web technology and IIoT.
SPECIALISTS IN TDC 2000/3000 SUPPORT
S
uppliers are now offering legacy system sup-
port as both parts and services. As an example,
for the TDC 2000 system, Azbil Corporation
(formerly Yamatake-Honeywell) offers a technol-
ogy refresh designed to address the most pressing
reliability, performance and support issues in a cost-
effective manner with minimal disruptions, while pre-
serving the existing investment in hardware enclo-
sures, field wiring, software and intellectual property.
Azbil was a co-developer and is a co-owner of many
of the technologies used in TDC 2000/3000 and
therefore has the ability and authority to redesign,
manufacture, and support these legacy products.
Azbil also manufactures pressure transmitters
and electromagnetic flowmeters that are unique in Azbil test facility
features including bilingual DE + HART communi-
cations. This bilingual feature supports TDC system life extension by pro-
viding a single part number solution capable of seamlessly covering both
legacy DE field instruments as well as newer HART systems and can be
applied in most industrial processes.
Azbil has released a service offering that uses specialized test equipment
to return the installed LCN networks used in TDC 3000 systems back to their
original performance, robustness and reliability. This service was developed
in conjunction with major end users of TDC
3000 equipment.
Today, Azbil can provide Data Hiway-focused
services (known as the Hiway Life Extension
Program or HLEP) through the year 2030
that include:
• The ability to redesign parts as needed
and to recertify used parts via a high-
quality factory refurbishment process to
bring the part up to the latest revision,
• Highly skilled regional engineers with
in-depth knowledge of the system and
its operation,
• The ability to perform a detailed analysis
of parts failures to determine if a failure
was atypical or simply due to aging,
• The ability to proactively analyze system performance and robustness
and provide recommendations for improvement,
• The ability to train and maintain detailed system knowledge from both
a supplier and site perspective through the term of the agreement,
• 24/7 access to knowledgeable resources,
• A cost-effective total solution with limited annual price escalation, and
• Willingness to work as a team with all sites, worldwide.
UPDATED SPARE PARTS

F
or Honeywell Data Hiway-based systems, Azbil offers a line of newly designed electronics that
use advanced components and circuit designs to reduce both the number of components on
the card (to enhance reliability and decrease power consumption) and the number of different
cards required (to reduce spare parts requirements). The electronics plug into existing TDC racks and
pack considerably more processing power, are more reliable, consume far less electricity, and offer
more functional features. This significantly reduces the number of different spare parts required for
any given system.
Azbil has currently redesigned 62 legacy Data Hiway part numbers with current technology. These
newly designed controller electronics and analog I/O cards utilize advanced components and circuit
designs to reduce both the number of components on the card to enhance reliability and the num-
ber of different cards required to reduce spare parts requirements:
Voltage regulator

•R
 egulator Card (VREG): Aging voltage regulators have the highest failure rate of any Hi-
way circuit board. Failing regulators can cause intermittent issues in both the Hiway devices
and the Hiway network before complete failure. To ensure proper operation of the Data Hi-
way, Azbil has created a new maintenance-free voltage regulator using the latest DC-to-
DC technology.

• I ntegrated Common Electronics (ICE) Card: Data Hiway interface cards, CPU and memory
cards contain numerous obsolete components. Today’s technology can provide reduced size,
increased performance (used for new diagnostic capabilities), and reduced power consump-
tion. The new ICE combines these functions into a single new card. Integrated common electronics
UPDATED SPARE PARTS (CONTINUED)

•R
 CD Solid State Switch (RSSS): Aging electromechanical relay-based switch
cards are prone to stick in one position or may fail to switch entirely. Many
sites do not perform the recommended preventive maintenance procedures
and are therefore unsure if their uninterrupted automatic control (UAC) sys-
tems are working properly. Azbil redesigned the new RSSS cards with cur-
rent solid-state relay technology to provide virtually unlimited service life.
(The company is on a path to also upgrade other Data Hiway cards that use
mechanical relays to solid-state technology, with priority based on customer
requests.)
Solid-state switch PWA

•A
 zbil Robust Output Card (AROC): The new AROC is a redesign of the original
output card utilizing current technologies. It provides low battery voltage de-
tection to prevent outputs from going full-scale when the supply voltage from
a battery backup unit (BBU) or uninterruptible power supply (UPS) becomes
too low. The AROC also annunciates open output circuits and provides en-
Output card
hanced internal diagnostics.

•T
 he Battery Backup Unit (BBU) Cutoff and Hiway Coupler Repeater Module
(HCRM) are additional spare parts seeing increased customer demand.

A/D multiplexer card

SERVICES & TOOLS

A
zbil also offers Data Hiway maintenance tools such as the
Loop Standby Manual (LSM08), a redesign of the existing
Loop Standby Manual (LSM04). The LSM08 replaces two
of the LSM04s and uses a PC/Pad for user interactions to provide
manual control of eight output loops while performing mainte-
nance or repairs on controllers.
Like its bigger brother for diagnosing LCN network perfor-
mance service, Azbil currently provides a similar service for us-
ers of the Data Hiway. The service is based on a hardware and
software solution to evaluate the health and performance of
Data Hiway systems.
According to Azbil executives, the company’s Hiway Life
8-loop standby manual
Extension Program (HLEP) offering helps users maintain sys-
tem uptime and improve system robustness and reliability. The
company reports proven cost savings of over 30% at partici-
pating sites. And perhaps most importantly, this option pro-
vides owner-operators with an opportunity to observe emerg-
ing technology developments from the sidelines, without having
to commit to any particular platform until they absolutely are
ready to do so.
Integrated Hiway evaluation & analysis tool
MADE POSSIBLE BY

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