Rockwell Automation, Inc. | Global Headquarters — Local services in Milwaukee

Mixed emotions. I both love and hate RA. Great Products, High Prices, Too Big, Arrogant, Apathetic. RA software products are incredibly painful to install. Downloading updates is improving but has so very FAR to go. Website is a labyrinth of dead-ends and useless information enemas. Users have to pay exorbitant annual fees just for the privilege of doing THEM the favor of pointing out problems. As humans, Tech Support personnel vary greatly and each will have a different answer for the same problem. Some Techs are great while others are… Get a different Tech, in a different country, with a different solution with each callback. Like sleeping with a gorilla. Everything is done on their terms and usually painful. To survive the relationship, you’d better close your eyes, think of England, and try to enjoy the...

I my recent experience, sadly, it is virtually impossible to speak to a sales representative to inquire about their products: phone trees, operators that send you back to phone trees, disconnections: How this company can succeed in a technologically advanced society I do not know. If their ability to connect people with money to the products they are selling is any indication of how bug and hassle free their offerings are, I'd say, "stay away from Rockwell. They can't automate their phone lines adequately: You think they can automate your manufacturing facility?". And you have to set up an account to make an inquiry!

Ha ha. But it...

I like AB / Rockwell Products but they're way overpriced for what you get.

Bad: You pay a fortune for software that constantly crashes, has files getting corrupted and have endless version compatibility issues. I spend more time trying to recover PLC/HMI files than I do actually programming. You then need to pay more money to get support for their stuff that never worked right to begin with. FIX YOUR BUGS BEFORE ADDING MORE FEATURES.

The Ladder Logic interface is by far the best (when it works). FactoryTalk View ME is easy to use (but crashes and gets corrupted more than any...