Controllers Add Features to Simplify System Configuration

As machine level communications become increasingly important in industrial facilities, design flexibility and enhanced functionality become essential. Siemens Industry, Inc. continues to advance with this in mind, simplifying automation system configuration by adding Shared Device, Intelligent Device (I-Device) and Media Redundancy Protocol (MRP) Profinet functionality to its SIMATIC S7-300 and S7-400 controllers. The enhancements deliver leaner and more versatile topology architectures... Read More

SIEMENS IO-LINK: Completely integrated in Totally Integrated Automation (TIA)

IO-Link is a point to point open communication technology designed to reduce installation and commissioning costs for OEMs while providing increased diagnostic and parameterization capabilities for end users. IO-Link was originally designed for use directly out on the machine to connect smart sensors and actuators. However, Siemens is the first and only manufacturer to provide IO-Link devices for use inside the control cabinet. IO-Link has been seamlessly integrated into the... Read More

New Modules Connect Optical and Electrical PROFIBUS Networks

Siemens Industry has released two new optical link modules specifically designed for PROFIBUS networks. The new modules, the OLM P22 which is designed for use with plastic fiber optic cables (FOC) and the OLM G22 which is compatible with glass FOCs, make it possible for users to employ more redundant and reliable network topologies, such as rings and stars, that ensure higher network availability, says Paul Ruland, Siemens marketing manager. “They also offer enhanced diagnostics... Read More

Simatic S7-1200 Firmware Update Expands Communications Capabilities

Siemens Industry has dramatically expanded the communications capabilities available on its Simatic S7-1200 controllers with new PROFINET, PROFIBUS and telecommunications service giving end users more flexibility with their control system architectures and driving more efficiency into manufacturing processes through greater integration. Says Brian Shebs, Siemens product marketing manager, new CPU firmware enables communication with PROFINET IO devices while two new communication... Read More

Transitioning from Fieldbus to Ethernet: Benefits and Requirements for the Plant Floor

Ethernet long ago became the de facto network standard for enterprise office networks on the strength of its performance, wide availability, openness and cost-effectiveness. For many of the same reasons, Ethernet has been finding its way to factory floor networks, a fact that may give pause to plant engineers who have long relied on fieldbus technology to foster communications among their various machines and devices. While any kind of change can be cause for concern, the transition... Read More

New SIPLUS Extreme Controls Block Dust, Moisture Out

Siemens Industry Automation Division has considerably expanded the range of applications of its ruggedized SIPLUS extreme control and communication products. The devices are now also certified for use in toxic atmospheres according to ISA-S71.04 GX, which addresses airborne contaminants. The new parts are now certified for offshore deployment in environments with salt mist and for environments with high mechanical active substances in dust atmospheres often referred to as “Arizona... Read More

Automation Users Prove Software Framework Integrates PLCs, HMIs and Networks

This is the third in a series of three articles outlining Siemens new TIA Portal software framework.  For more technical details, please go to http://www.engineering-redefined.com. In November 2010 Alpharetta, GA-based Siemens Industry Inc., released the TIA Portal, a software framework designed with comprehensive Integrated Development Environment (IDE) principles and architectures to introduce unprecedented degrees of integration and ease-of-use to industrial automation. TIA... Read More

Safekick and Siemens Form Strategic Alliance to Develop Sophisticated Well Control System for Oil and Gas

Siemens Industry and Houston, Texas-based oil and gas specialist Safekick Americas have joined forces to develop a new well control system that will automatically control the choke manifold of an oil/gas well by measuring the flow and pressure of the fluid on strategic points and for influx and loss detection. “Oil well control events can go seriously wrong so it’s imperative that sophisticated safety systems are deployed to regain control of the well immediately,” says... Read More

Realizing the Potential of Automation Integration

Integrating control systems used to be an ongoing exercise in jury-rigging bridges between islands of automation. Different processes would have disparate controllers, often with disparate control logic packages leading to a near endless state of troubleshooting and massaging systems so they would get along. Every time you added a new system or piece of equipment you would have to revisit your integration efforts to make sure you hadn’t compromised something. “Even today,... Read More

Terminal Blocks Reliably Deliver Power

Reliable electricity is a key requirement for industrial sites. Ensuring that this electric flow reaches every necessary point throughout a large facility requires a huge range of components, going down to the terminal blocks that connect various pieces of equipment to power sources. The 8WH6 In-Push-Out (iPo) Terminal Blocks from Siemens Industry Automation meet these requirements, providing reliable contacts for a wide range of systems. The plug terminal connection family comes... Read More