Siemens KP700 review.

Hi all.

I have just received a new Siemens KP700 panel.
I am going to test this extensively, as I (and my colleagues) have high hopes for that we can standardise on this panel.
I will report my findings in this thread.
The review will be a prolonged affair and will be extended over several posts, and probably for several months. This because it can only be programmed with the new TIA Portal / WinCC v11. Since my first test of TIA Portal I have stopped working with it, since I found that it was not finished enough to make a real project - at least for my patience.
For this KP700 however, I will make a small project that has to be finished in 4-5 months. WinCC v11 was also a bit more finished than STEP7 v11, so I have hopes for that it will go OK.
(will continue my TIA Portal review as well).

On to the KP700 review ......

Simply from examining the specs, and considering the price, I think this panel can be a world-beater. Of course, if it is a dog to program, or totally unreliable, it will fail.

The KP700 is the latest in a long series of graphical panels that started with the OP25. The KP700 will fit in the same panel cut-out as the OP25, and its later replacement panels, OP27-6..OP270-6..OP277-6..MP277-8.

See the attached pictures.
I have laid an MP277-8 next to the new KP700, to show the differences. Visually there are not so many differences.

The KP700 has an almost all-metal body, as opposed to the MP277 that has a plastic body. This is probably Siemens response to critique that the plastic frame on the x77 panels was not solid enough. Some users have experienced cracked frames after tightening the mounting hasps. I havent experienced any cracks though.

The entire body of the KP700 feels much more substantial and heavier than the MP277.

There are a lot of onboard ports. Noticably, the ethernet port is now a 2-port switch. There are two USB-host ports, and a USB-device port. There are two SD card ports, one for backing up the panel incl. operating system, the other for datalogging.

On the front, the KP700 LCD is slightly bigger than the MP277, with a slighly higher resolution as well. The LCD is widescreen format, as opposed to the older 4/3 format on the MP277.

Just by using the onboard keyboard, the panel feels really snappy and responsive.

That is how far I can go today. I shall continue later with how the programming and the use of the panel goes.
stay tuned .............................

The review continues...

Now I have worked with it a bit more. I have converted an older OP277-6 program to the KP700, and the difference in resolution is very significant.

The attached picture does not give the KP700 enough credit. The display is really crisp, and the colors are bright and vibrant.
Changing screens is really fast, and overall the responsiveness is satisfying.
I havent done any scripting or archiving, so I cannot comment on that.

There is not much to report, apart from that the panel works as advertised, which is pretty fine given the impressive functionality put into the panel.
There is the possibility to install a flashcard in the rear to install both OS and RT project, to make it easy to move both to a replacement panel. Havent tried it, and the panel works fine with no flash-card installed.

In the meantime I have also experienced the cracking of the plastic frame on the older panels (it was an MP277 that cracked). So I am pleased with the metal frame on the new panel.

The only negative to mention is that the KP700 can only be programmed with TIA Portal / WinCC v11. Very similar to WinCC Flexible, except for some niggles that I have mentioned in the TIA Portal review. The biggest issue is that changing the editing language is really cumbersome. So much that I have given up on it, despite that I actually need it for this project. This is the only real negative so far, and is not because of the panel itself. Hopes that Siemens reads this and fixes it pronto !

Overall, this panel is a world-beater !

Siemens TIA review

Hello,

Has there been any more progress on the WinCC v11 for the TIA portal?

Our office are considering installing it and to replace MP277 with the TP1200 Comfort.

However, if the TIA portal part which is WinCC is not sufficient to make a proper configuration, then we can't go ahead...

Any comments on that, as far as any experiences?

By the way, do any of you know for how long Siemens will deliver the MP panels?

brg
Andreas:handball:

There was a recent update - SP2 - which most notable improvement was support for Win 7 64 bit.

I think you can certainly use WinCC v11. There are some minor niggles, but it is much more finished that STEP7 v11. Biggest problem is if you use multi-language and need to edit several languages a lot. It is still possible but it is a bit cumbersome.

Siemens havent announced when the MP panels are to be discontinued. When they do, they usually support them for another 5 years - as opposed to 10 years for PLC parts.

One of the few reasons for the existense of all the "Multi Panels" is WinAC MP. And WinAC MP has already been discontinued by Siemens ! You can still get it, but officially it is discontinued. That could point to that the MP Panels will be discontinued soon.

The replacement for the MP panels will be the "Nano" IPCs with touch screens. They will have the same screen and build dimensions as the Comfort Panels.

Siemens KP700 review

Yes, we are currently testing IPC 227D that comes with those panels.

Do you know if there will be a conflict if you run a Step7 v5.4 sp5, hotfix 8, together with the WinCC v11 on a XP machine?

Would like to run WinCC v11, but not very practical if you need two machines for each guy in the office...

brg
Andreas

I have both STEP7 v5.5, WinCC Flexible 2008 SP2, and TIA Portal v11 on the same PC under Windows XP.

Nice review Jesper - thanks for posting!

Orense, are you using the IPC277D with WinAC RTX ?
Do you have a list price for the IPC277D, with/without WinAC RTX bundle ?

The review is very much appreciated Jesper!

Certainly interested in hearing on the how Scripting goes.

Siemens KP700 review

Hello,

Not sure about the prices. We borrowed it from Siemens for testing.
Will look into it....

Andreas

Does the new WinCC software intergrate into old S7 projects like WinCC flexible does?

If not can you browse a S7 V5.5 projects for tags?

STL??? said:

Does the new WinCC software intergrate into old S7 projects like WinCC flexible does?

If not can you browse a S7 V5.5 projects for tags?

Click to expand...

No, the new WinCC v11 integrates into TIA portal and thus with STEP7 v11.

You can port old STEP7 v5.5 projects (but you must adapt the old project somewhat) to STEP7 v11. And then you can browse the PLC tags from WinCC v11.

I think that further discussions in this direction should be in the TIA Portal Review.

Hi Jesper,
Great review.
Can I have WINCC Prof. V11 SP2 in a PC with WINCC V7.0 SP2?

This might be of some help to some people, but not to me.

https://support.automation.siemens....=en&objid=50204569&Datakey=47071380&caller=nl