#174 - How to migrate a project from STEP 7 5.x to modern TIA Portal

With time, the control system hardware and software become obsolete. That's why it is important to keep the systems running up to date with modern technologies, or, at least, not too far away from it.

#172 - Reminder about Data Types and Memory Addresses in Siemens

Bit streams:

BOOL, 1 bit, %M0.0

BYTE, 8 bits, %MB0

WORD, 16 bits, %MW0

DWORD, 32 bits, %MD0

LWORD, 64 bits, %M0.0

#171 - PLC conversions and operations

> Convert a Real value to a Time value:

DINT_TO_TIME(REAL_TO_DINT(#myValue * 1000)) //myValue entered in seconds

#170 - Questions when starting an automation project

Asking the right questions during an automation project can be very helpful. Here below a short list with some of the key points to be clarified when involved in a project with PLC programming:

#165 - Siemens PN/PN Coupler

The PN/PN Coupler is a great product from Siemens (ref. 6ES7158-3AD10-0XA).

It has two independent PROFINET cards that enable the data transfer between two different industrial networks, X1 and X2.

#153 - Article about IO-Link technology

Check out my contribution to ControlDesign.com with some hands-on insights regarding IO-Link technology.

#151 - Chat with Alexandre Ribeiro Silva

(English version at the bottom)

Tive o prazer de bater um papo com Alexandre Ribeiro Silva, engenheiro eletricista, consultor e instrutor de automação industrial. Conversamos sobre a sua trajetória profissional e as suas décadas de experiência trabalhando nesse setor.

#147 - PLC Programming Patterns in LAD and ST

There is a very good source of PLC programming design patterns in Ladder Diagram (LD). In this post, my intent is to convert them to Structured Text (ST) language.

#146 - Article about programming languages for industrial control systems

Check out my contribution to ControlDesign.com with some hands-on insights regarding programming languages for industrial control systems.

#142 - Debug PLC stop

1. Online Diagnostics 2. Diagnostics > Diagnostics Buffer (events are shown from last to first order) 3. Click on Button "Save as..." in the Details on event section to open in a text editor 4. Open the Diagnostics file and look for the event, such as: > "CPU changes to STOP mode" > "Temporary CPU error:" > "Programming error"

#135 - Checklist automation project in TIA Portal

HW:

> Upgrade all devices to the latest FW available > Register devices into Siemens Support IBase (Prod. n°, Serial n°) for Life-cycle Management > Register Drives for extended warranty > Create a Proneta report of the system (HW version, MAC address, FW version, etc) > Get product information on DT Configurator > Create UDTs and DBs to unit test devices (Encoder, sensor, IO link, flowmeter, etc)

#134 - TIA Portal Safety Programming Blocks tips and examples

It is recommended that the Safety Program follows a set of guidelines in order to ensure it properly works. Here below some of the points to remind when programming a Safety PLC:

Tips:

> Isolate the Access to the Safety Program via DBs (optimized block access), such as DataFromSafety and DataToSafety.

Source [1]

#132 - Siemens Safety PLC hardware configuration and wiring of EStop, SFDoor, FDBACK, SENDDP, RCVDP and Frequency Converter G120C

Wiring, Configuring Hardware and Tags of Emergency Stop, Safety Door and Frequency Converter G120C in TIA Portal:

#131 - Siemens Safety PLC configuration

Some points regarding Siemens Safety PLC configuration:

#127 - Link to Download the Siemens Libraries LGF, LBP, LSafe, Ramp, DriveLib, WeihStd and OMAC Template

 > Library of General Functions (LGF)

To import a Library (.al17) in TIA Portal:

Open Tab Libraries > Global Libraries: Click on Open Global Lib

Drag and Drop the desired FB/FC from the lib to the project

> Library of Basic Processes

#126 - Links to Download Siemens Firmwares

> FW 2.9.4 S7-1500 CPU and Display

> FW 4.7.13 Sinamics G120, G120C

> FW 4.2.0 ET200SP IM155-6 PN ST

> FW 2.0.2 ET200SP F-DQ (Select the "header.upd" file)

#122 - Chat with Diogo Mesquita and João Teratti

(English version at the bottom)

Tive o prazer de bater um papo com Diogo Mesquita e João Toratti, dupla campeã nacional que irá representar o Brasil na competição WorldSkills em Shanghai na categoria Indústria 4.0. Conversamos sobre a preparação dos campeões para ganhar as etapas nacionais, bem como o treinamento para enfrentar o grande evento internacional que ocorrerá em outubro de 2022.

#99 - Writing a Sequential Function Chart in Ladder Logic and introducing the PackML standard

 There are several languages available to write a PLC program, such as Ladder Logic, Function Block Diagrams, Structured Text, and Sequential Function Charts.

#88 - Top 20 PLC security coding practices

“Top 20 PLC security coding practices” is a very interesting project that recently went online and it is hosted by the ISA (International Society of Automation) Global Cybersecurity Alliance. An user can create an account clicking on the following link https://top20.isa.org and access the platform, which looks like a live forum about automation.

#86 - Siemens new firmware release for S7-1500 and ET-200 CPUs

A few days ago Siemens released a new firmware version v2.8.3 for their S7-1500 and ET-200 CPUs. The details and files can be found on the following link.