kralcccyu

SIEMENS S7 STATION

4 posts in this topic

Dear All,

I am very new to S7 PLC programming (S7 Simatic Manager v5.5) and I wanted to know how to back-up a system consisting of multiple PLC Stations (S7-1200, S7-300, etc). I am able to upload station to PG but that will save only per station. How about saving the whole system? I am not sure if i am using the right terminology. As you can see, I was given a zip file for the S7 project and it contains the whole system. I am trying to see how the commissioning engineer was able to do it (don't ask why I am not asking him instead). How can I then use this project file to download the program to the PLC/system once I decide to restore. I am at loss and have been searching for references over the internet. Uploading and downloading per station is no problem. I cannot seem to know how to do it on multiple stations system.

I hope I have made some clear question or somehow you have managed to understand it. 

TIA.

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I think I understand what you are saying. I don't see the .zip file you included, so I can only guess what it contains. I'm guessing that when it is unzipped and opened you see every station (CPU) in the tree on the left. I'm also guessing that because you see every station in this tree you are lead to believe that the commissioning engineer was able to upload the entire system (multiple stations/CPUs) with a single keystroke. In other words, you have a single project with multiple CPUs. Am I correct?

The only way I know of is to upload each station individually from it's CPU. These can be collected together and stored in a single project. (The same feature is available in the TIA Portal software.) The benefit of doing this is that all of the CPUs, drives, HMIs, etc., can be kept in a single project, making project management much easier. One project file with 10 CPUs is much easier to track, store, retrieve, and manage than 10 individual project files. It also ensures that when passing the project to another colleague or vendor that there are no inadvertently missing project files.

A word of caution regarding uploads. Remember that in most cases, an upload will not extract symbolic names and symbolic addresses. Nor will it extract network comments. It also destroys any local variable names used in the FB (function block) interface and the associated IDB (instance data block) and replaces them with default identification. All of this lost information can be valuable, and can go a long way in reducing troubleshooting time. Please proceed with caution if you are uploading from the CPU.

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6 hours ago, pop29684 said:

I think I understand what you are saying. I don't see the .zip file you included, so I can only guess what it contains. I'm guessing that when it is unzipped and opened you see every station (CPU) in the tree on the left. I'm also guessing that because you see every station in this tree you are lead to believe that the commissioning engineer was able to upload the entire system (multiple stations/CPUs) with a single keystroke. In other words, you have a single project with multiple CPUs. Am I correct?

That is very correct. I am very glad you understood my question. 

6 hours ago, pop29684 said:

The only way I know of is to upload each station individually from it's CPU. These can be collected together and stored in a single project. (The same feature is available in the TIA Portal software.) The benefit of doing this is that all of the CPUs, drives, HMIs, etc., can be kept in a single project, making project management much easier. One project file with 10 CPUs is much easier to track, store, retrieve, and manage than 10 individual project files. It also ensures that when passing the project to another colleague or vendor that there are no inadvertently missing project files.

I very much agree with you. So, basically what you are saying is that this .zip project file with multiple cpu's can only be made when you have made the project itself and not by uploading from a network? 

6 hours ago, pop29684 said:

A word of caution regarding uploads. Remember that in most cases, an upload will not extract symbolic names and symbolic addresses. Nor will it extract network comments. It also destroys any local variable names used in the FB (function block) interface and the associated IDB (instance data block) and replaces them with default identification. All of this lost information can be valuable, and can go a long way in reducing troubleshooting time. Please proceed with caution if you are uploading from the CPU.

Well noted, sir. Another question is how to download this project file to different CPU's. Please do confirm this procedure clearly as I do not want to attempt doing this at my own understanding as I might be missing out some important points.

And thank you for taking your time answering my inquiry.

Best Regards,

 

Clark

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23 hours ago, kralcccyu said:

So, basically what you are saying is that this .zip project file with multiple cpu's can only be made when you have made the project itself and not by uploading from a network?

Each CPU program begins life as an individual project. But these projects can be grouped together in a single project. A lot like chapters in a book. You must select the desired (correct) CPU blocks folder for downloading or uploading.

Select the desired blocks folder in the project tree, open it up (click on the '+' signs or use [fn] * simultaneously) until you see the blocks folder for that project. You can click the blocks folder to highlight it and then download or upload. If you inadvertently upload to the wrong blocks folder or download from the wrong blocks folder . . . oh, I don't even want to think about it! Care must be exercised. Whether downloading or uploading. :-1 And yes, it is easy to make mistakes. Only from observation, of course. :slydog: NOT!

You can perform a comparison to check whether or not you are A.) connected to the correct PLC, and B.) whether or not you have selected the right sub-project/blocks folder. Execute the comparison by right clicking the desired blocks folder. A dialog window opens up and you select "compare blocks". Please let me know if you are not familiar with the continuation of this procedure and I will try to map it out for you.

57c88d1820754_CompareFromMultiplePLC.thu

23 hours ago, kralcccyu said:

Another question is how to download this project file to different CPU's. Please do confirm this procedure clearly as I do not want to attempt doing this at my own understanding as I might be missing out some important points.

You should be able to download over the network, or you can connect directly to the CPU - if there is a port available. If the connection to the network is not critical, i.e., the machine doesn't crash if the CPU is disconnected from the network, then you can disconnect the CPU from the network, connect directly to the CPU port, and make the download. Normally the selected program will download to the right CPU - if the CPUs in the project have been given unique network addresses.

I've tried not to assume too much in this explanation, so if you need additional clarification, please let me know.

 

Edited by pop29684
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