Until the end of September 2009, Siemens offer discounts on two SIMATIC PCS 7 engineering packages, the Engineering basic package designed for small applications, and the Efficient engineering package for advanced users of the Siemens process control system.
The Engineering basic package with hardware and software is a suitable starter package for small projects, test purposes and training, while the Efficient engineering package is a professional tool at a price appropriate to starter solutions that enables application of the asset management system integrated in SIMATIC PCS 7, as well as efficient configuration.
The Engineering basic package is a suitable introduction to the world of automation with SIMATIC PCS 7, a combination of standard engineering software and automation hardware at a favourable price is suitable for automating smaller applications.
The basic package is suitable for test purposes and training or for automating package units across all industry segments. It contains standard engineering software and basic hardware and can be used to configure automation systems (AS) and operator systems (OS). An AS Runtime license for 250 process objects (PO) is included, meaning that the package is ready for full use. Project-specific I/Os can be connected over PROFIBUS, and parameterised using the SIMATIC process device manager (PDM).
Based on a single software solution, this engineering tool permits the processing of more than 1200 devices from Siemens as well as more than 100 global vendors using a uniform GUI. Display of the device parameters and functions is uniform for all supported devices, and independent of their communication link.
The visualisation software for sequential functional charts (SFC-Visu), which is also included in the package, allows operator control and display of the configured sequential controls without additional configuration overhead.
Functional tests of user programmes created with CFC/SFC can also be carried out on a PC using the S7-PLCSIM simulation software, independent of the availability of target hardware. This can transfer programme debugging to an early phase of development, and thus can accelerate commissioning, can reduce costs and can increase programme quality.
The Engineering basic package contains the following elements:
- AS/OS engineering software, including AS/OS Runtime license for productive use
- SIMATIC process device manager (PDM)
- SIMATIC PCS 7 SFC visualization
- S7-PLCSIM
- AS 416-2 including CP 443-1 and 4MB RAM
An extended range of tools for efficient configuration at the price of a standard engineering software package is provided by the Efficient engineering package. Various tools are integrated, such as the SIMATIC version cross manager. This permits easy detection of differences between different versions (releases) of a complete single or multiple projects.
The import/export assistant (IEA) is responsible for rational engineering of mass data. Its function is based on the repeated application of measuring-point types and example solutions. S7-PLCSIM allows the configured application to be tested using a simulated controller. Furthermore, the package includes the industry-independent SIMATIC PCS 7 asset management system. This provides users with an option for preventive and predictive diagnostics, maintenance and servicing of plants. All functions relevant to the asset management can be automatically generated using engineering data which is already available. The diagnostics data is displayed on uniform faceplates whose contents are determined by the intelligence of the respective components.
The automation system, which is also included, is suitable for tasks in the process industry involving high quantities of data. It has a powerful CPU for use in the top performance range.
The Efficient engineering package contains the following elements:
- Engineering system with unlimited number of process objects (PO unlimited)
- SIMATIC version cross manager
- Import/export assistant
- S7-PLCSIM
- SIMATIC PCS 7 asset management engineering