TIA Portal V13 SP1 Where is ACCU2?

[Manglemender]

TIA Portal V13 SP1 - first impressions
I've spent some time playing with TIA portal v13 over the last few weeks and on the whole, I like it. I would normally have avoided it for another 12 month until V14 is released with integration of the S series drive configuration tools (Totally Integrated... I don't think so!). Hands have been forced by Siemens by the discontinuation of HMI panels supported by WinCCFlexible; Thanks Siemens, your customers really appreciate that kind of thing.

Some things that I like:

• The ability to save a block that is only half written and does not yet compile
• Symbol selection extended to STL programming
• Better cross referencing

Some things that I don't like:

• Inability to export any block which contains ladder as a source file
• The need for an enormous screen - OK in the office but what about travelling and site work?
• Not being able to see Accu2, AR1, AR2 etc when debugging STL
• Lack of familliarity. My familiarity with Step7 has developed over 20 years and in another 20 years I will not care as I will have retired.

Does anyone know how to display ACCU2 etc when monitoring?

Nick

 

[L D[AR2P#0.0]]

The monitoring "appears" to be instruction context sensitive.
Put in a TAK for example and the monitoring display shows both accumulators but only for that instruction.

 

[Manglemender]

Thanks LD,

The extra column is useful. I'm just used to seeing the accu2 column. I was trying to teach some people about accumulators and registers but then I couldn't show them.

Nick

 

[Chris Hasler]

Dig around in the settings and properties, I think there is something to allow you to monitor the tags online in the STL editor. Or you can monitor the data block itself, which isn't as practical.

TIA is workable on site. There are a number of tricks you can use to get round the large screen requirements.

Improvements sneak in all the time, V13 SP1 Upd4 allows you to auto hide the project, properties and instructions tabs. This is very helpful for general on site work and even in the office. You can also undock the screens, and fill the entire screen with them by just clicking on the little symbols in the top right hand side.

TIA is also much better if you keep updating once every 3-6 months, and research which update is the next stable version. The service packs typically have a lemon or ten until one or two updates later, and every now and then an update will break everything or just that one thing you rely on.

I learnt my PLC programming on TIA Portal, so the bias is strong here. I hate using the older step 7 stuff, as it is not as easy to use for me, and most of the features I use constantly are just not there for the HMI programming.

 

[uptown47]

Hi Nick mate,

I did a course on Portal at Siemens earlier in the year. I've not actually used it since then (we only have a couple of Portal PLCs on site) however I will be tackling it in the next month or two.

My biggest bugbear was that you needed a 4ft square screen to see everything and a normal laptop screen meant you had to minimise / move sub-windows around constantly. It really slowed the workflow down for me.

Interesting to hear your thoughts on this though.

LD, how much exposure have you had with the new Portal?

 

[Manglemender]

Hi Uptown,

Trust all is well in the spirit world?

Things are getting better with regard to windows, as Chris says, but I've yet to try it onsite. I don't really write much software anymore but we have just built a replica of a machine that I did some years ago in Step7. The new replica has an S7-1500 PLC and our friends in Blackburn did much of the work but I ended up involved because I knew how it was supposed to work. It will be commissioned onsite in about 10 days' time so we will see how that goes.

Nick

 

[uptown47]

Things good in the spirit world (you make it sound like I'm dead!)

Hope all goes well with your first foray into TIA in the field. Fingers crossed Nick

Cheers

John