GE-Fanuc8K CMOS Logic Memory Module for Series Six Model 600/6000 PLC — 8K 16-Bit Words, External Backup Battery Required

Product Description

What this part is

This is an 8K CMOS logic memory module for the GE Series Six family of programmable logic controllers, covering the Model 600 and Model 6000 platforms. It is the component that actually holds your ladder program. Series Six processors do not store the program themselves — the CPU board executes, the memory module remembers — so a Series Six CPU rack needs both parts present and matched before it will run a machine.

8K words, not 8K bytes — and why the difference matters:
The published capacity is 8K of 16-bit words, which is a genuine point of confusion in the surplus market because plenty of listings write “8K” and let the buyer assume bytes. In word terms that is twice the storage a byte reading would suggest, and it is the figure that maps onto the Series Six memory map and onto the instruction counts in your program listing. If you are sizing a replacement against a program printout, count words.

This module is logic memory only. It carries logic memory as a single block. That distinguishes it from the higher-capacity in-family modules such as IC600LX648, which is specified as 32K logic plus 16K register. An application that needs register memory as a distinct allocation is served by those higher-capacity modules.

Battery backup

CMOS RAM is volatile. The program held on this module is retained while an external lithium–manganese dioxide backup battery keeps it powered. On Series Six the battery assembly is typically supplied with or mounted on the CPU rack rather than on the memory module itself, so the battery may already be in your cabinet. Confirm the battery part number against your own rack documentation or the GE Series Six installation manual before you commission this module.

CPU compatibility

This module is intended for the Series Six Model 600 and 6000 CPU modules — the IC600CB5xx processor family, which includes IC600CB502, IC600CB512, IC600CB515, IC600CB524, IC600CB525 and IC600CB526. Check the memory module against your specific CPU part number and your machine’s parts list.

Published data

Type: CMOS logic memory module, GE Series Six.

Capacity: 8K 16-bit words, logic memory only.

Platform: Series Six Model 600 and Model 6000 programmable controllers.

Backup: external lithium–manganese dioxide battery, sourced separately.

Revision: A suffix confirmed to exist.

Quantity and configuration

Unit Quantity: 1 memory module. The backup battery is a separate item, and the matching Series Six processor is a separate item; the companion CPU is the IC600CB512, SKU B-BL3#HU4ZAW.

GE, GE Fanuc or GE-Emerson — all the same part:
The IC600 series began as GE Series Six under General Electric, was sold under the GE Fanuc Automation joint venture from 1987, moved to GE Intelligent Platforms, and passed to Emerson in February 2019. Qualitrol and Emerson now label these parts “GE-Emerson.” A module marked GE, one marked GE Fanuc and one catalogued as GE-Emerson under the same IC600CM548A number are the same product under different corporate branding. This is worth stating plainly because buyers search all three names and sometimes conclude they have the wrong part when the silkscreen does not match the purchase order.

Upgrade paths

The IC600LR6xx and IC600LX6xx ranges are the higher-capacity in-family memory modules. They are upgrades: a different capacity means a different memory map, which means reconfiguration of the program allocation. To restore a working system to its documented configuration, the 8K part is the one to source.

Part number forms

Search forms include IC600CM548A, IC600CM548, IC600-CM-548-A and IC600 CM 548. Obsolete with no factory successor; supply is reman and surplus only.