Simulator Hardware

Guys,

Does anyone know where I could source a simulator for plc training. We had an on-site course where the instructor had a "miniature conveyor system" with sensors, forward reverse motors etc. I never thought of asking him where he got it and can't contact him. I know this is irrelevant but he used S7. Maybe it was supplied by siemens. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Barry

To simulate Siemens S7 PLCs, you can get an add-on to Step7 called "PLCSIM". It runs in the background on your Step7 workstation and Step7 thinks it's talking to an actual PLC. You can watch it and set I/O and WinCC can talk to it as if it were a real PLC.

One step up from that in the Siemens world is a product called "SIMBA". It's basically a PC that sits downstream of the PLC CPU and simulates all the I/O and can be programmed to respond the way the real plant responds. As far as the CPU is concerned, it's talking to real I/O. The advantage is, you can run your real project on it and it thinks it's running on your actual plant. It's VERY pricey, but still cheaper than replicating all the plant I/O in a training or lab environment.

http://www.industrysolutions.siemen...it/en/PRODUCTS/DIAGNOSTICS/SIMBA_PROFIBUS.HTM