Faster Option than MPI adapter for programming an S7 PLC

Hi all,

I'm standing in on a project for commissioning on an S7 IM171-7F fail safe PLC.

I was told it had Ethernet Interface onboard but when I arrived I discovered it didnt, only MPI/Profibus.

I have no serial port on PC and was able to get comms up and running with a USB to serial converter and an MPI PC adapter. The speed of it was so slow and I kept getting thrown offline. I switched to a USB PC adapter which while stays online is draining the life out of me with speed.

Last time I used an S7 (8 years ago) we used CP5512 cards for programming which were quite good. I'm told there are not supported on VM machines and some dont even work on modern laptops? Is this true?

That being the case what is the best programming cable option available for S7's. I 'll get some ordered so this dosen't happen again.

Now my real question......

Also in the project I found a Hilscher NetX NL50-MPI adapter. Could this be what was meant by Ethernet interface? It appears to allow one program the PLC via TCP/IP through the MPI port?

Has anyone ever used one of these and if so would it enhance the speed? I have tried installing the drivers but I cannot get the Hilshcer application to even recognise the device to give it an IP address. I need to do this presumably before Simatic Manager will recognize it?

Any help greatly appreciated!

The Hilscher adapter will allow you to go online with MPI/DP PLCs via Ethernet. No experience with it. Try it yourself and tell us how it goes ! As far as I have heard about several of these 3rd party ethernet-to-MPI/DP adapters, the setup isnt trivial. There must be a manual that you must follow precisely.

CP5512 is a PCMCIA card, and that is not supported with VMs.
Modern laptops generally only have an expresscard slot, no PCMCIA.

There is a faster USB interface called CP5711, but it is expensive and clunky.

It seems that the hardware is already decided, but I would have replaced the IM151-7F (not IM171-7F) for an IM151-8F. This one has ethernet and is generally more performant.

Got the hilscher adapter working but it was useless. Vat tables etc wouldn't update and had to force an update anytime I changed anything.

Wouldn't allow me to disable the safety function of plc to force variables and kept crashing. Couldn't figure out what the hell was causing it until I changed back to USB pc adapter.

Do not waste 600 euros on this!

So it appears buy a plc with Ethernet interface or be prepared for some frustrating commissioning

This is why I would NEVER buy a PLC with a proprietory programming interfaces.
I agree with your last comment, buy a PLC with an Ethernet interface. In the long run you will save the time to pay for the Ethernet enabled PLC.

@Morphius

Is there other equipment than the PC connected?
MPI or DP profile?

Kalle

KalleOlsen said:

@Morphius

Is there other equipment than the PC connected?
MPI or DP profile?

Kalle

Click to expand...

Hi kalle,

Dp profile, just PC connected. Tomorrow it will be a slave on a melsec dp network.