Siemens introduces TIA software engineering framework

November 23, 2010 - Siemens Industry Automation Division introduced the Totally Integrated Automation Portal (TIA Portal). The software engineering framework enables users to develop and commission automation systems quickly and intuitively, which eliminates the traditional time consuming and costly integration of separate software packages. Designed for high efficiency and user-friendliness, the TIA Portal is suitable for both first-time users and experienced users. Furthermore, the TIA Portal will be the basis of all future software engineering packages for configuring, programming and commissioning automation and drives products in the Totally Integrated Automation portfolio from Siemens. Examples of this include the Simatic Step 7 V11 automation software for Simatic controllers, and Simatic WinCC V11 for Simatic HMI (human machine interface) and process visualization applications.For the design of the TIA Portal framework, Siemens studied many typical software engineering applications over several years and analyzed and evaluated its customer requirements worldwide. As an integral component of all software engineering packages from Siemens, the TIA Portal framework provides advanced shared services across all the configuration interfaces ensuring uniform navigation for the user and consistent system behavior. For example, all devices and networks in any automation system can now be configured within one shared device and network editor. Project navigation, library concepts, data management, project storage, diagnostics and online functions are standard features and made available to the user in the shared TIA Portal framework. This unified software development environment offers a high level of efficiency across the overall automation project and is comprised of programmable controllers, HMI devices and drives. Additionally, all data management for controller parameters, blocks, tags or messages now only need to be entered once, saving significant time and cost for software engineering of an automation project. The design of TIA Portal is based on advanced object-oriented software architecture and centralized data management, providing seamless data consistency by automatically avoiding data entry errors. Users can easily find data and program blocks across the entire automation project using a project-wide cross-reference system, which greatly reduces the time to troubleshoot and debug a typical software project.This single software framework will enable all Siemens Programmable Controllers, HMI operator panels and drives to be configured in the same development environment. This greatly reduces interfacing and configuration costs, for the common tasks of communications setup between controllers, drives and HMI devices. For example, the user simply drags and drops a tag from the programmable controller, such as the signal of an I/O (input/output) module, to the screen of an HMI device. The tag is instantly assigned within the HMI, and a controller-HMI connection is created automatically in the background with no manual configuration required.The Simatic Step 7 V11 engineering software, based on the TIA Portal framework, supports Simatic S7-1200 controllers, all the Simatic S7-300 and S7-400 controllers, and the PC-based automation system Simatic WinAC.Supporting this wide range of programmable controllers enables Simatic Step 7 V11 to provide the most scalable software engineering capabilities and performance requirements for an automation system. Benefits of this scalability includes transferring existing configurations of Simatic controllers and HMI devices to new software projects and greatly reducing the time and cost of typical software migration tasks.The Simatic WinCC V11 engineering software is also based on the new TIA Portal framework. This includes configuration of machine-level applications using HMI operator panels with support for current Simatic TP and MP model panels, support for the new Simatic HMI Comfort Panels, and for larger PC-based SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) process visualization systems. Configuration and commissioning of the Sinamics inverter drive family is planned in future TIA Portal enhancements.About Siemens: A division of Siemens Industry, Inc. (SII), the Industry Automation (IA) Division is a global leader in the fields of automation systems, low-voltage switchgear and industrial software. IA’s portfolio ranges from standard products for the manufacturing and process industries to enterprise-wide automation solutions for automobile production facilities and chemical plants. As a leading software supplier, IA optimizes the entire value chain of manufacturers – from product design and development to production, sales, as well as a wide range of maintenance services. With nearly 43,000 employees worldwide, Industry Automation posted worldwide revenues of $9.6 billion in fiscal year 2009.

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