Siemens has been years away from the launch of the S7-300/S7-400 series, and during this time, Siemens has continuously explored upgrade possibilities. The PCS7 was one such upgrade attempt that did not succeed. Meanwhile, Siemens aggressively promoted the Siemens TIA Portal series, namely S1200 and S1500, which ultimately proved successful. Here, S1200 corresponds to the S7-200 series, while S1500 corresponds to the S7-300/400 series. TIA Portal has been on the market for several years now, so what are the differences between the S1500, which is aimed at medium to large PLCs, and the S7-300?
1、
User-Friendly Display
- S7-300 only has status indicator lights for alarms; more detailed information requires connecting a programming PC to the CPU, which is quite inconvenient. In contrast, S1500 comes with an integrated display screen where much more information can be accessed directly, which is one of Siemens' more user-friendly features.
2、
Built-in Ethernet Port for Enhanced Networking Capabilities
- Most S7-300 PLCs do not have an Ethernet port, and the CP modules that add this functionality are quite expensive, costing thousands of dollars. This has been a common criticism for medium to large PLCs. The S1500 with its built-in Ethernet port makes programming and debugging much more convenient.
3、
More Comprehensive Control Functions
- Leveraging Siemens' PROFINET functionality and the PROFIdrive libraries, the S1500 can control servo drives without additional function modules. Furthermore, the S7-1500 PLC supports TRACE functions for all CPU variables, enhancing debugging efficiency and optimizing drive and controller performance. PROFINET also introduces various enhancements to Siemens' centralized control, like factory WiFi connectivity, etc.
4、
More Human-Centric Design
- The design of S7-1500 modules is more likely to be accepted by field engineers. They are slightly larger than S7-300 modules, with similar rack configurations but with better wiring connectors, dedicated power components, shielding brackets, and cable clips, making wiring more convenient and improving reliability.
5、
Hardware Capabilities
- From a hardware perspective, S7-1500 PLCs are faster, with better diagnostic capabilities and safety features. This not only saves costs and boosts production efficiency but also ensures safety and ease of maintenance, making it the preferred controller for factory clients and field service personnel. For example, compared to S7-300/400, the S7-1500 uses new backplane bus technology with high baud rates and advanced transmission protocols for faster signal processing. The modules in S7-1500 have integrated diagnostics at the channel level, allowing for quick and accurate identification of issues without additional programming, reducing downtime, which is unattainable with S7-300/400.
6、
Higher Configuration and Programming Efficiency, Easier Data Collection and Viewing
- S7-1500 PLCs are seamlessly integrated into TIA Portal software, making hardware configuration, network connections, HMI setup, and software programming simple and quick. In contrast, the dedicated configuration and programming software for S7-300/400 is the classic STEP7, with WinCC for HMI, which can be somewhat cumbersome compared to TIA Portal (e.g., each program block needs to be saved individually, and syntax errors prevent saving).
Given these advantages of S1500, does it have no shortcomings at all?
Of course not!
The TIA Portal series is most criticized not for its hardware but for its software. Firstly, TIA Portal integrates STEP7, WINCC, etc., and each component consumes substantial memory, making the software quite resource-intensive, often causing computers to lag. This puts many practitioners in an awkward position since typical programming PCs used by electrical engineers might be outdated and struggle to run TIA Portal efficiently. It's impractical to demand new hardware just because the PLC model has changed. Yet, without good tools, how can one achieve good debugging and maintenance?
Moreover, software versions within TIA Portal must match; if STEP7 is upgraded to V14SP1, WINCC must also be updated to the corresponding version, otherwise, it won't function properly. These issues pose significant obstacles to the future development of TIA Portal.
For industry, system stability is paramount. Early versions of TIA Portal, tested in Germany, had numerous issues, including random crashes and data loss, which engineers criticized. Although these problems have largely been resolved after years of development, the complexity of the system still poses a challenge for engineers. Siemens is hoped to continue optimizing TIA Portal software for broader adoption.