Allen-Bradley Ultra3000 Servo Drives were discontinued by Rockwell at the end of 2016. The Ultra3000 has been a valuable work horse for Rockwell Automation customers. These drives were able to do standalone indexing as well as ride on both DeviceNet and SERCOS networks. However, the discontinuation means manufacturers should start planning migration away from Ultra3000 to Kinetix.
The new Kinetix 5500 and Kinetix 5700 platforms are around half the cost of the Ultras and have a much smaller footprint. If your Ultra3000 drives were commissioned on DeviceNet, we would recommend using a different network going forward. If your Ultra3000 drives were commissioned on SERCOS, there is a potential migration path through the K6200, but it would not be the most cost effective. If the Ultra3000 was commissioned through CIP motion over EtherNet, then the transition will be both easy and cost effective with the K350, K5500 and K5700 drive offerings.
Manufacturers can obtain cost savings through upgrading by reducing panel space and maintenance compared to supporting the aging Ultra3000 drives.
The migration guide on our download page contains step by step instructions on transitioning from Ultra3000 to a Kinetix 5500. Let us know if you have questions on how to create the most cost efficient migration plan by sending us a note at sales@automationnth.com.