Multinational electronics and electrical engineering group Siemens has officially introduced its new range of Simatic S7 controllers for medium-size to high-end machine and plant automation onto the South African industrial market.

The new controller, launched with the latest version of Siemens’ integration software, the TIA Portal, is aimed at lowering customers’ operating costs and boosting productivity as well as global competitiveness and profit.

The controllers feature improved system performance and a host of new functions – including motion control, enhanced security and easily implemented safety applications – that are now integrated as standard to the product.

Focusing on efficiency and increased usability, the Simatic S7-1500 was designed for simple commissioning and safe operation, which is exemplified in its configurable diagnostic functions for the monitoring of plant status and its compatibility with the TIA Portal, making for simple engineering and lower project costs.

The new controller is, therefore, geared for performance and efficiency. In terms of overall performance, the product’s technology, security, safety and system performances have been improved, while further developments have been made in design and handling, system diagnosis and engineering with the TIA Portal – all to increase operational efficiency.

Because the new Simatic S7-1500 controller is integrated into the TIA Portal engineering framework, it offers a standardised operating concept for controller, human–machine interface and drives, shared data storage and automatic data consistency throughout a project, as well as powerful libraries covering all automation objects.

“This enables savings of up to 40% in engi- neering time,” says Siemens industry automation and drive technologies division head Dan Moodley.

He adds that 18 000 Siemens customers worldwide are already reaping the benefits of the TIA Portal owing to the consistency and ease of integrating the full range of tools onto one platform.

“The TIA Portal, first launched in 2010 as Version 11, unites engineering, commissioning and maintenance in a single common framework in the pursuit of usability,” says Moodley.

“With the next development – TIA Portal Version 12 – we wanted to expand the dimensions of the portal and are now focusing even more on performance and efficiency, bringing automation and drive technology together.”

TIA Portal Version 12 is characterised by greater functionality, automatic system diagnostics, integrated safety functionality, process field network (Profinet) communication, integrated security and enhanced programming languages.

However, Siemens has also ensured that the new S7-1500 is compatible with older software, which means that existing projects can be reused and programs transferred by means of a copy function, says factory automation unit head Francois Venter.

“It enables you to use your older systems with the new system on one plant, integrating all the components to work seamlessly together, ensuring usability.”

Venter tells Engineering News that using the same brand of equipment on a single platform ensures that information flows and integrates seamlessly onto one engineering platform, though it is also possible to integrate different brands of equipment using Siemens’ TIA Portal, as long as a single communication standard, such as Profinet or process field bus (Profibus) is used.

Siemens automation systems business unit manager Sanjay Palad adds that the new TIA Portal enables users to perform automation and drive tasks quickly and intuitively as the software architecture has been designed to be both highly efficient and user friendly, making it suitable for both first-time and experienced users.

“We are progressing further into the realm of digital software, programming and controllers,” says Palad.”