Siemens APACS..........anybody interested?

[lucifer]

Hi folks,

I've posted something regarding APACS few days before I got almost no response.........I would like to is the technology has really become obsolete?........Currently I am trying to simulate APACS project & I'll only discuss my doubts & findings only if sombody shows interest.......so guys who know better please come up.

On second thought, is it that APACS is more towards DCS side & PLCS.net is exclusively PLC forum? In that case please suggest me the right forum.

Thanx & Regards,

Mandar Joshi

 

[DesertDog]

Although it's a PLC site "most" visitors here are tolerant to subjects slightly off topic. I have been using Siemens PLC's for a couple years now but I am not familiar with the APACS acronym, what does it do and what does APACS stand for?

 

[harryting]

This is what I know:

Siemen took over Moore who had the APACS system. APACS is a PLC/DCS hybrid much like Delta V. I believe APACS is using a branded Wonderware HMI as their standard interface. I heard a few good thing about APACS except that Siemens is rumored to considering discontinue the APACS line (kill it).

Still not clear what you are looking for. Are your trying to install a new APAC system? What's your interest in them? Oh, nice alias, btw

 

[panic mode]

That's correct. APACS is entry level DCS developed by Moore Industries. Siemens bought it few years ago. I've done only one project with it and to be honest I don't recall too much. It worked. It took a while for manufacturer to fix some of the problems like fix the product to really have redundancy and replace repeaters (we happened to receive four that were listed as bad and got somehow "lost"). They used to be solid product before they started using Wonderware. Another pain with woderware (InTouch) was huge files and not exactly screaming performance. We didn't like that alarm acknoweledging was only local so after long talks with Moore we ended up writing numerous scripts to acknoweledge alarms at the controller so all stations would act as one. Most of this was supposedly fixed in future versions as integration of Woderware was more mature. The redundancy problem was traced to communication driver. It worked fine on P150 (yeah, it's an old project). On PII 233 it would work on ONE machine at the time but not together. Finaly they released unoffical driver version with NOPs making 90% of code. I really liked controller part (software was called 4mation if I recall correctly). Hot swapping and redundancy, forcing anything anywhere, multiple programmign languages (we used structured text, ladder and function blocks).
Anyway...

 

[Unregistered]

Hey Panic
This entry level Apacs system is running circles around our Fisher Provox system and for you PLC boys you should really punch a few buttons on a real system like Moore APACS/Siemens bought the competition. Well the I/O hardware is bullet proof saw an ford taurus park a wheel on the ACM then plugged it back in the rack and it operated our hydrogen plant just fine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[davidg68124]

As a convert in the making for DCS, I still stand by the fact that the line between PLC and DCS is so blurred now that the previous poster's advice

"you PLC boys you should really punch a few buttons on a real system like Moore APACS/Siemens"

is really annoying. I am punching a few buttons, so to speak, and yes, I do really like what I see, but to call it a real system and PLC's not, is snobbish and borish.

David

 

[mday]

lucifer

In the U.S, APACS is still a big seller for our process guys and is still being sold and will continue to be supported into the next decade. The focus on new projects is on PCS7, which is a Siemens product, where the APACS is a Moore product who was purchased a few years ago by Siemens.

Good luck!

 

[Hydro Power Guy]

APACS is slowly being migrated to PCS7. You see original APACS functionality now in PCS7 and also in the rest of Siemens land. The APACS quadlog system has been adopted and modified with S7 safety plc equipment. Sooner or later, Moore equipment will no longer be supported and the only "DCS" from Siemens will be PCS7.


PCS7 hardware is standard simatic hardware, although a small subset of the total offering. You basically have S7-400 & ET200m for extended diagnostics and any other profibus I/O without extended diagnostics. (They are in the process of expanding)

WinCC is also utilized. The main difference is the automated programming tools that link the PLC with WinCC. We have been using this system for years with very good results.

 

[briancr]

WOW....... Talk about a blat from the past. 11 year old thread being bumped up.

I wonder what the record is for the oldest thread to be brought back to life?

At least the search button works........