Description

The 3ADT309600R0002​ is a control board manufactured by ABB, marketed under the ABB Type Designation SDCS-CON-2A​ and explicitly labeled “CONTROL BOARD WITHOUT SOFTW.” It belongs to ABB’s SDCS (System Drive Control System) platform, serving as the central processor/logic PCB for ABB DCS800-series DC drives and ACS800-series AC drives. Classified as a drive-internal control board, it carries the industrial-grade microprocessor, communication transceivers, and I/O conditioning — but ships without firmware/software pre-loaded. The drive-specific software resides on the companion SDCS-PIN-52 piggyback module (or is loaded via DriveWindow), which means one 3ADT309600R0002​ hardware spare can serve both a DCS800 DC drive and an ACS800 AC drive depending on which PIN/firmware you pair it with.

Application Scenarios

At a steel-service center running a 500 A ABB DCS800 DC drive on its roughing-mill main motor, the Friday afternoon shift threw a “CON Board Fail” alarm — the SDCS-CON-2A had taken a surge from a crane-startup voltage dip on the MCC bus, and the rolling mill went down mid-coil. The plant’s storeroom didn’t carry a DCS800-specific “with-software” CON board (lead time 12 weeks), but they did have a 3ADT309600R0002​ “without softw” on the ABB spares rack — bought two years earlier as a universal hedge. The drive tech cracked the DCS800 control cubicle, unlatched the old CON-2A, transferred the SDCS-PIN-52 firmware/parameter module (the small piggyback PCB that carries the drive’s software image and the mill’s tuned PID/field-weakening parameters) onto the new 3ADT309600R0002, seated it on the same DIN/bolt mounts, and powered up. The DCS800 booted, recognized the PIN’s firmware, and the rolling mill was back online in 18 minutes — no re-commissioning, no re-characterization, no crane standby. This is precisely the value of the “without softw” label: the 3ADT309600R0002​ is a hardware canvas; the SDCS-PIN-52 carries the brains. One spare, two drive families, zero drama.

Parameter

Main Parameters	Value/Description
Product Model	3ADT309600R0002​ (ABB Type: SDCS-CON-2A)
Manufacturer	ABB
Product Category	Drive Control Board (SDCS platform, “without software”)
Replacement / Successor	3ADT220072R0012 (new order code for SDCS-CON-2A)
Supply Voltage	24 V DC (±20 %), typical ≤15 W
Core Processor	Industrial-grade high-speed microprocessor
Communication Interfaces	CAN bus (250/500/1000 kbps), RS-485 (Modbus RTU), Ethernet (Modbus TCP)
I/O Interfaces	Digital input/output, Analog input/output (drive-signal conditioning)
Firmware Carrier	External — SDCS-PIN-52 piggyback module (not included)
Operating Temperature	-25 °C to +70 °C
Storage Temperature	-40 °C to +85 °C
Protection Rating	IP20 (control-cabinet install)
Mounting Method	DIN rail + bolt fixing (SDCS rack format)
Status LEDs	POWER, FAULT, COM
Weight	0.41 kg
Certifications	CE, UL, CSA

Note: “WITHOUT SOFTW” means the 3ADT309600R0002​ ships as bare hardware — no DCS800 or ACS800 firmware flashed. You either transfer the existing SDCS-PIN-52 from the failed board (recommended) or load firmware via DriveWindow/commissioning PC. The successor code 3ADT220072R0012 carries the same “without softw” designation.

Technical Principles and Innovative Values

• Innovation Point 1: Hardware/Software Split via SDCS-PIN-52 Piggyback.​ On most drive control boards, firmware lives on the main PCB — swap the board and you either clone the old one (requires the old board alive) or reload from a laptop (requires the drive offline and a comms cable). The 3ADT309600R0002​ pushes firmware + drive parameters onto the detachable SDCS-PIN-52 module. Swapping the 3ADT309600R0002​ is literally “unscrew PIN → screw PIN onto new board → seat → boot.” The DCS800/ACS800 doesn’t know the CON-2A changed. This design turns a potential 4-hour reload into a coffee-break swap.
• Innovation Point 2: One “Without-Softw” SKU Covers DCS800 AND ACS800.​ Because the 3ADT309600R0002​ carries no firmware, the same physical board becomes a DCS800 DC-drive controller when you click on a DCS800 PIN, and an ACS800 AC-drive controller when you click on an ACS800 PIN. For plants running both drive families (very common — DCS800 on DC mill motors, ACS800 on AC aux/slug/roll drives), stocking the 3ADT309600R0002​ eliminates the need for two spare codes. That’s the commercial differentiator versus “with-software” boards that lock to one drive type.
• Innovation Point 3: Triple-Interface on a 0.41 kg PCB.​ The 3ADT309600R0002​ packs CAN (for the SDCS internal drive bus — talking to the AINT/AINP power-stage interface, the AGDR gate driver, etc.), RS-485 Modbus RTU (for HMI/PLC talking to the drive), and Ethernet Modbus TCP (for modern DCS integration) onto one small board. No external gateway needed for basic drive-level telemetry — the 3ADT309600R0002​ itself is the protocol bridge between the power stack and the plant network.

 

Application Cases and Industry Value

A mining concentrator running ABB ACS800 drives on its primary crusher main motor (1.2 MW) and DCS800 drives on the downstream conveyor DC motors standardized the ABB 3ADT309600R0002​ as the “drive brain spare” across the haul-truck loader circuit. Previously the site carried one “with-software” CON board per drive family — three ACS800 spares + two DCS800 spares, all locked to specific firmware versions. After a 2023 crusher-drive CON failure where the “wrong” spare was pulled (ACS800 firmware on a DCS800 board — didn’t boot), the E&I superintendent switched the storeroom to 3ADT309600R0002​ “without softw” + a disciplined SDCS-PIN-52 labeling protocol (each PIN bagged and tagged with its host drive’s full type). Post-change, one spare covers all seven SDCS drives on the crushing/Conveying line. Fourteen months later, a DCS800 on Conveyor 3 took a CON-board fault — the 3ADT309600R0002​ came out of the bin, the Conveyor 3 PIN transferred over, and the belt was back in 22 minutes. The superintendent’s math: cutting from five spares to one 3ADT309600R0002​ freed ~€2.8 k in storeroom capital, and the PIN-labeling discipline eliminated the “wrong firmware” misfire entirely.In a second case, a paper-machine calender stack running DCS800 800 A DC drives used the 3ADT309600R0002​ during a drive-control upgrade — the plant wanted to move from DCS800-A to DCS800-B firmware for better field-weakening on the calender roll. They bought 3ADT309600R0002​ blanks, loaded the new firmware via DriveWindow onto fresh SDCS-PIN-52 modules on the bench, then did a staggered swap (old CON+old PIN → new CON+new PIN) during low-production windows. Zero drive-parameter re-entry, because the PIN carried everything. The 3ADT309600R0002‘s “blank canvas” nature made the firmware migration clean.