Help with FW upgrade of SIMOTION D410-2

[darkgray]

Hello everyone!

I'm currently working with SIMOTION D410-2 with a CF Card labeled with SIMOTION D410-2 V5.3 SP1 HF9 + SINAMICS V5.2 HF6

From what I've read, SIMOTION CF Cards come pre-installed with a specific FW version, and I'm guessing this CF Card should be installed with V5.3, as its label states. However, I have verified upon checking the CONTENT.txt and with TIA Portal that the firmware that is actually installed in this CF Card is V4.4. I have a feeling that one of the previous engineers did this by accident.

I am still very new to SIMOTION and I would appreciate any help to answer some of my questions. It's okay if you cannot answer everything or anything. Any insights are very much appreciated.

1. If you downgrade a CF Card made for V5.3 to V4.4, will that cause any problems?
2. Is it possible to know if a CF Card contains a program? Is there a file that I can look for? I don't need to read or edit it. I just want to know if it's there.

When I tested the machine on-site, SIMOTION can go to "Run" state when I press the ON button in the HMI. Some buttons in the HMI can also trigger the alarm tower that is connected to the PLC. So my current assumption is that there is still a program in the PLC.

3. Is it possible to upgrade the FW without deleting the program? Or rather, is the program (in whatever format) stored in the CF Card? Can I also copy it back after a FW upgrade?

4. If I create a backup of the current contents of the CF Card, can I simply put it back if the firmware upgrade to V5.3 fails?


P.S. I also checked the webpage of this SIMOTION device and saw fault 1005 which is apparently a firmware mismatch between the SIMOTION and DRIVE-CLiQ component.

P.P.S. My main problem is that the SIMOTION cannot go to RDY state. For now, I'm trying to check if FW is the problem.

 

[bkottaras]

This is a CF card for an older Simotion D410.
D410-2 should be similar, nothing changed with the structure of the CF card files/folders.


IMPORTANT: Whatever you do DO NO DELETE the "KEYS" folder.
If you do use "gear", "cam", etc. those are your stored licenses.


Make a backup of the current CF contents.
Delete everything but "KEYS" from the CF.

You can pick the firmware you need and copy all folders/files to the CF.


This will allow you to load different firmware versions to eliminate the Drive-Cliq issue.
Yes, you can downgrade firmware as long as your Sinamics hardware allow it (up or down to a certain supported version).



As far as I know, check out the "USER" and "OEM" folder for saved programs and data (it could also be a different folder not shown here).



If you have a stored project on the CF and you change the firmware, it won't work if loaded back up as the firmware won't match the saved project setup.
I would use Scout to do the firmware changes and save the working project (assuming you have a project on your PC and Scout software).



Compare to the attachment and see what you have.



Hope this helps.

 

[darkgray]

Hi bkottaras! Thanks for the response. Really helpful to know that downgrading the SIMOTION FW is possible as it pointed me to the right direction (I think).

I found out that the firmware mismatch is not caused by wrong SIMOTION firmware but by a corrupted program. The drive object for the DRIVE-CLiQ component failed to generate during the last download, which made it impossible for SIMOTION to install the appropriate firmware for the DRIVE-CLiQ component.

Anyway, I don't have a copy of the project but I was able to retrieve a backup from the webpage (SIMOTION IT). However, it's in a format that is only compatible with the webpage so I can't edit it using SCOUT.

I'm looking for a way to somehow fix the program by working with the backup file but I'm not sure if that's even possible.