Honeywell, in conjunction with Yamatake, introduced the Multifunction Controller in 1980 for TDC 2000^®/TDC 3000^®/TotalPlant^® Solution (TPS). The Multifunction Controller enhanced the capabilities of the Basic Controller by providing new I/O and logic control capabilities. It also enabled the unique functionality of peer-to-peer networking. The Multifunction Controller followed on the successes of the Basic and Extended Controllers as part of the world’s first commercially available Distributed Control System (DCS).

After nearly 16 years of production, Yamatake decided to withdraw the Multifunction Controller and offered an extended “Last Time Buy” period for spare parts. However, in addition to concerns around spares availability, control system needs change, process improvements are ongoing, and there comes a time when it makes economic sense to replace existing controllers with something new.

Today, Experion™ Process Knowledge System (PKS) controllers deliver control functionality far beyond what was originally provided in TDC 2000. Experion is a next-generation process automation system that unifies people with process, business and asset management to help you increase profitability and productivity.

To facilitate your migration to Experion, two key functions are required. First, existing field signals must be easily and quickly moved to the new control system. Existing control schemes must also be migrated (and preferably improved) when implementing the new control system.