S7-1500V -the controller for an adaptive production
Benefits of the virtual PLC for users
The virtual PLC is hardware-independent – in other words, no specific hardware is needed. Industrial Edge Management makes it possible to manage the virtual controller and other applications at a central level and adapt them flexibly to customer needs. Individual services can be booked and used in addition, so costs can be optimized. This kind of data-centered and software-based automation enables customers to respond more flexibly. “If the service specialists are not in the factory at a given moment, they will be sent a diagnostic message to say the controller has stopped, for example,” says Efrossini Tsouchnika, Vice President Control at Siemens. “The Industrial Edge Management System gives them the ability to access the virtual controller remotely. That means they can get the plant running again with no obstacles to action.”
Thanks to the virtual controller, PLC projects are easier to scale, and open data interfaces mean they can be readily integrated into other IT offerings. The Simatic S7-1500V is fully compatible with the TIA Portal portfolio. Customers can thus re-use projects and data already in the TIA Portal and reduce their level of investment.
Seamless integration with TIA Portal
The virtual controller is completely compatible with TIA Portal. You can rely on familiar tools and build on projects that are already created in TIA Portal. This integration also allows you to use OT solutions that you have previously employed in an IT environment and benefit from their advantages without giving up familiar structures.
Increasing convergence of IT and OT
Using the Simatic S7-1500V, Operational Technology (OT)-oriented users can continue to use their trusted structures while benefiting from the advantages of an IT-oriented environment. But users accustomed to IT can also work in a familiar environment using the digital controller. That simplifies the collaboration between automation engineers from the world of OT and software users in the IT field, and further advances the fusion of these two environments.
For further information on the Simatic S7-1500V virtual controller:
www.siemens.com/virtual-plc