Siemens special features over other brands

Dear PLC experts,

Please share to me if anybody knows a certain special features of SIEMENS PLC's/HMI/SCADA which other brand does not have.

I would say:

1. Configuration in RUN (CIR) is a feature changing or appending hardware without going RUN->STOP->RUN

2. more than one programmer can be attached to a PLC. For example two programmer
are editing and beeing online at different FCs or FBs at the same PLC.

...will be continued.

Frank
 
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For the HMI, specifically touchscreens:

1. The development software WinCC Flexible is very very good, the best package I've used out of AB, GE, Exor.
2. The hardware is very reliable.
3. Standard features include recipes which can be easily transfered by the end user to a USB flash drive.
4. You can log and create .csv files which can be sent over the network to a PC or transferred locally to USB flash drive.
5. Optional license for web server enables end users to connect to HMI via web browser.
6. Stick a MMC card in the touchscreen, do a backup from the desktop of the HMI. Now take MMC card out and put in new touchscreen. Upon boot it will prompt you if you want to restore. Do this and it will come up exactly like the first one. Great for field replacement by customer or just sending new program. I don't have to send MMC card, I can copy contents of my MMC card and make available for download by customer via FTP or web browser. Then he uses card reader to put files on his MMC card. Very nice feature.

The list goes on and on...
 
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I can go on and on

I am not sure about the CIR.

Other brands allow multiple people editing. That seems dangerous though

I am sure about these features.
1. You need to worry about the time stamps and do consistency checks.
2. You need to learn STL to do indirect addressing because indirect addressing is almost impossible to do in LAD.
3. You must worry about keeping a symbol table updated.
4. You must learn about ANY pointers.
5. You must learn about opening data blocks.
6. You must learn how to go to about 6 different screens to configure a Profibus device.
7. You get to spend a few extra weeks of your time writing the equivalent of a Rockwell MSG block. Even after all that time resulting code will be bigger and slower and still be unable to queue up Ethernet commands. Those Rockwell messages blocks really spoil things by making too easy. You don't get a badge of honor programming Rockwell message blocks, they are simply to easy.
8. You get the privilege of programing using Step7
9. You get to spend more time messing with the tool instead of getting real work done.
10. You get to boast "I am a Siemens PLC programmer and I am not insane yet!".
11. You get to use MPI cables or leads for programming.
 
You need to limit the question a little bit. I can compare Siemens "features" to the feature set of other specific PLCs or HMIs. But I can't think of a specific feature that Siemens supports that cannot be found in any other PLC or HMI on the market.

And, as Peter was trying to say in as many words as possible, one man's "feature" is another man's torture.

Keith
 
I am sure about these features.
1. You need to worry about the time stamps and do consistency checks.
and so on...

And with the "so good" AB-stuff everybody is need to worry
about to have the right RSLogix5xxx-Version. Otherwise you
you have no chance to communicate and programming at all.
(yesterday I had that special "AB"-feature)

Forget about!

This thread is about the advantages and not bashing someone else.

Frank
 
I am not sure about the CIR.

Other brands allow multiple people editing. That seems dangerous though

I am sure about these features.
1. You need to worry about the time stamps and do consistency checks.
2. You need to learn STL to do indirect addressing because indirect addressing is almost impossible to do in LAD.
3. You must worry about keeping a symbol table updated.
4. You must learn about ANY pointers.
5. You must learn about opening data blocks.
6. You must learn how to go to about 6 different screens to configure a Profibus device.
7. You get to spend a few extra weeks of your time writing the equivalent of a Rockwell MSG block. Even after all that time resulting code will be bigger and slower and still be unable to queue up Ethernet commands. Those Rockwell messages blocks really spoil things by making too easy. You don't get a badge of honor programming Rockwell message blocks, they are simply to easy.
8. You get the privilege of programing using Step7
9. You get to spend more time messing with the tool instead of getting real work done.
10. You get to boast "I am a Siemens PLC programmer and I am not insane yet!".
11. You get to use MPI cables or leads for programming.

Let me translate this.

It is not Allen Bradley it is Siemens and you need to know the system and methods Siemens employ. (y)
 
I cannot find some undebatable advantages that Siemens has, and other do not have.

For example, I believe that ControlLogix also has CiR.

Overall, we use Siemens almost exclusively now, but for a number of reasons, and not because of some unique advantage to Siemens.
 
For example, I believe that ControlLogix also has CiR.

Are you sure?
..
I am actually start with my first RS5000-Project after a break of 13 years not using AB.
My first expirience was the crazy V17.01 CPRxxx-something firmware version download problem.


Frank
 
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No, I am not sure. I dont have experience or need for it.
But I beleive that it was one of the features that was touted when ControlLogix was launched, and I put a note of it back in my mind. Also look here:
http://samplecode.rockwellautomation.com/idc/groups/literature/documents/wp/logix-wp006_-en-p.pdf

edit: your example of problems with a firmware update is irrelevant in this respect.
CiR means changing the configuration of i/o during runtime.

Thanks,

I know, that are two different horses.
I had to make a line feed between this issues!

Frank
 
Siemens pre

Me and my collegues have found it very convenient to program process projects with CFC (y). We use the CFC whenever we can, from the 313C and 151-8 up to 417H (PCS7). Exceptions can be machine and motion control. Not all brands have the CFC option.

K
 
I like this kind of "driving nowhere" thread where peoples say why they like or not one brand vs another...

I have tried many different plc brands during my short 12 years of being in this industry. Sometimes i used few different plc programming software for the same plc brand and out of that only 2 brand comes up with good and easy way to make it work and these 2 brands are Siemens and Allen Bradley standing on the same first step of my personal appreciation stage....

I did of course a little bit more of them so i got some ease of use by time but i also did more of them because more peoples wants them for sure some good reasons....

What else i can say....i got easiest and free support from Siemens but we can get a very good support here for maybe all the brands as far as i read now....

In 2010 most of the goods brand can do almost everything so usually you know 1, you can use most of them the same way after a little bit of research and try and throu....

I prefer the ladder programming of Siemens because i see faster what is going on when i connect online, it may be only because i'm use to do it....
 
We often do projects where equipment suppliers use either Siemens or Allen Bradley. In my experience it's very dificult to get the two talking together, neither vendor wants the task and neither wants to switch, we usually end up with linking a few discretes.
From an end user point of view this sucks.
Prosoft make a good Profibus module for AB
 

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