Can Step7 S7-300 programs be convert to TIA Portal or is TIA Portal only for S7-1200 and S7-1500?
Beware: Brain Dump Follows
Portal supports the pretty much all the current PLC's: 300, 400, 1200, 1500, WinAC. Simotion can even use it for the HW config portion. 1200/1500 are ONLY supported in Portal. 300/400/etc are all supported (including safety), except the 300T and 400H. S7-200 is no longer sold, so it isn't included, and apparently Logo, as a smart relay, isn't cool enough to be part of the Portal family. The important thing to know is that while a lot of the new features of the Portal are available in the old PLC's, some of them require the newer PLC's. I don't think they changed the compiler for the 300 between Simatic Manager and Portal, but at least it still gets the new user interface. 300 still can't index arrays in ladder, but at least it gets the drag and drop UI. Also, beware: ALL THE HOTKEYS ARE DIFFERENT. I'm a mouse programmer, so it doesn't bother me, but most of my colleagues are keyboard guys, and it burns them.
When they launched Portal, Siemens said it would only support HW that they were actively selling in 2007. While that sounds like a decent window, I wouldn't recommend it for end users with an existing install base, only for OEM's using current product, or End Users who have only recently switched to Siemens. If you have an existing install base, odds are its too old. I heard even my local Siemens distributor had to upgrade all its training racks to be able to use Portal for training classes; not even to show off new products, just getting more updated versions of the cards it was already using.
It is possible to migrate a Simatic Manager project to Portal, but once there, you can't go back. The migration tool is one way. Portal has a few useful import tools, but it is missing a lot of export options that Simatic Manager had (at least for the 1500).
Licensing wise, Step 7 basic covers the 1200, Step 7 Professional covers all PLC's. Safety is still an option package. CFC and Hi-Graph are no longer available.
Using Portal with the 300/400 PLC's can be a little frustrating for an experienced Siemens programmer at first, DB downloads work completely differently. From what I hear, most users sticking with the 300's stick with Simatic Manager until they switch to the 1500. Here in Detroit, the Big 3 are all sticking with Simatic Manager for now, for any projects that go Siemens.
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