The SIMATIC® 505® family of PLC's includes a full range of CPU's and I/O providing cost effective control solutions for a typical machine to a large process plant. There are 4 different CPUs to chose from which can be installed in any of three different chassis that can hold 4, 8 and 16 modules in addition to the power supply and CPU. An 11 slot chassis is also available that provides for redundant power supplies. A Remote Base Controller or RBC can be installed in place of the CPU in any chassis to convert it to a remote base for operation on either PROFIBUS-DP or the standard 505 I/O channel.

All 505 CPUs have the same form factor, use the same programming package and are programmed with the same instruction set. Since the programs you write for the smallest controller are totally upward compatible, you only have to learn one programming method and you can easily upgrade to a larger controller when needed. Also, this emphasis on compatibility gives you the added advantage of being able to easily migrate from previous PLC generations such as the Series 500 and 560/565.