Siemens launches Totally Integrated Automation (TIA) Portal

The new portal enables users to develop and commission automation systems quickly and intuitively, thereby reducing the traditional time-consuming and costly integration of separate software packages and cutting the time needed to get products to the marketplace.

Designed for high-efficiency and user-friendliness, the TIA Portal is suitable for both first-time and experienced users. It will be the basis of all future software engineering packages for configuring, programming and commissioning automation and drives products within the Totally Integrated Automation portfolio from Siemens. Examples of this include the new Simatic Step 7 V11 automation software for Simatic controllers, and Simatic WinCC V11 for Simatic HMI (human machine interface) and process visualisation applications.

Approaching the design of the TIA Portal framework, Siemens studied many typical engineering applications over several years and analysed 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 behaviour.

Improved engineering efficiency

As an 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. Such a unified software development environment offers a high level of efficiency across the overall automation project and is comprised of programmable controllers (PLCs), HMIs and drives.

Additionally, all data management for controller parameters, blocks, tags or messages now only need to be entered once - which saves significant time and cost for software engineering on automation projects. The design of the TIA Portal is based on advanced object-oriented software architecture and centralised data management, providing seamless data consistency by automatically avoiding data entry errors. Users can simply 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 typical software projects.

The new single software framework enables all Siemens' programmable controllers, HMI operator panels and drives to be configured in the same development environment. This reduces interfacing and configuration costs for the common tasks of communications setup between controllers, drives and HMIs. For example, users can drag-and-drop a tag from a 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 new 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 visualisation systems. Configuration and commissioning of the Sinamics inverter drive family is planned in future TIA Portal enhancements.

Meeting the needs of customers

Simon Keogh for Siemens Industry Automation and Drive Technologies, comments: "Siemens IA&DT is extremely pleased to offer this exciting new software engineering framework to the marketplace. Its development has been based upon significant research to ensure that it will meet the needs of users, and can measurably play a central role in linking together the varied elements of the product lifecycle, from product development and planning through to engineering, commissioning and operation.

"At a time when companies are facing increasing competitive pressures, the ability to speedily create, manufacture and deliver products to market will be crucial to success, and we believe the TIA Portal offers significant advantages in terms of operational efficiency gains and cost reductions to support modern automation and drive technology applications. The TIA Portal is redefining how users can approach tasks and is a major step towards a state of simultaneous engineering - a position which will provide companies with faster product turnaround, increased competitiveness and help them address their future market demands."

Follow the link to take a look at the new TIA Portal now.