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SINAMICS Drives and Motion

SINAMICS drives in your TIA Portal project are set up in Studio itself: the Drive Editor shows and changes the drive objects of a drive, the Drive submenu of the Project Explorer runs the online functions, and the Hardware Connection submenu connects the technology objects of a PLC to drives and to I/O addresses. Every change asks for your confirmation first.

Requirements

  • TIA Portal V18 or newer with the drive package (Startdrive) installed for that version. Without it Studio says that TIA Portal offers no drive functions for the device and asks you to install the drive package and reopen the project.
  • A project connected to TIA Portal; a project opened offline from disk offers no drive functions.
  • Some functions need a newer TIA Portal version; the entry or the tab then says which one:
    • from V19: the safety checksums, drive security (user management and data encryption), the encoder types and adding a main telegram,
    • from V20: the full parameter list (All Readable), the parameters of a technology extension, the motor code, the switchable drive functions and the telegram sizes in bytes,
    • from V21: the acceptance test functions and the acceptance report, uploading the parameters of a drive and the interpreter mappings.

Plans: reading drives and changing them in the project (parameters, telegrams, motor and encoder, drive functions, user management, data encryption, technology extensions, hardware connections and interpreter mappings) is part of the hardware features of the Pro plan. The safety checksums, the acceptance test and the acceptance report need the safety features, also included from Pro. Everything that goes online to the drive (download, online values and online parameters, copy RAM to ROM, restore factory settings, the online motor and encoder functions, the encryption on the connected drive and the parameter upload) is part of online commissioning and is included from the Pro+ plan. The free trial unlocks all of them.

Opening the Drive Editor

Right-click a drive, or its control unit, in the Hardware branch of the Project Explorer and choose Drive > Open Drive Editor. You can also run TIA Portal: Open Drive Editor from the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) and pick the drive from the list. Each drive opens in its own Drive tab, which comes back after a restart.

The header of the editor shows the family and the type of the drive (SINAMICS G120, S120 or S210). A drive with several drive objects, for example an S120 with several axes, has a Drive Object list in the header; pick the drive object you want to work on. Refresh reads the drive objects and the current tab again. Drive > List Drive Objects in the context menu shows the drive objects of a drive with their number of parameters and telegrams and opens the one you pick.

The editor has seven tabs. A tab that the drive object does not offer, or that needs a newer TIA Portal version, says so instead of showing its content.

Parameters

The Parameters tab lists the parameters of the drive object with Name, Description, Value, Unit, Min and Max, 200 per page; use Previous Page and Next Page to move through the list.

  • Search by name (p1121, r2[1]), by number, by a range (1000-1100) or by a word of the description, then click Search.
  • Parameter Kind narrows the list to setting parameters (p) or display parameters (r).
  • Parameter List switches between Parameters, All Readable (from TIA Portal V20) and the parameters of an active technology extension. On a SINAMICS G120 the values of the full list cannot be read safely; Studio says so and you read the values in the standard list.
  • Show Bits expands parameters that consist of single bits.

To change a value, click into the Value cell and type it, or pick it from the list for parameters with fixed values. Studio checks every entry as you type: a display parameter cannot be written, an array is written element by element (p1121[0]), and a value outside Min and Max, of the wrong type or not among the allowed values is marked with the reason. A connector input takes a source parameter, such as r722.0.

Changed values are collected as a list of open changes. Apply Changes writes them all in one step after your confirmation; if TIA Portal refuses one of them, none is kept and the refused rows show the reason. Revert discards the open changes. Save the project to keep the new values.

Telegrams

The Telegrams tab lists the telegrams of the drive object with their type, number, input and output size, parameter channel and addresses. Add Telegram..., Change Telegram..., Change Size... (only for the free telegram 999) and Remove change them; the main telegram cannot be removed, and a drive object with a main telegram gets its number changed instead of a second one. Set Monitoring Time... sets the failsafe monitoring time of the safety telegram. Before every change Studio asks TIA Portal whether the change fits, and offers the confirmation only when it does; otherwise it tells you that TIA Portal does not allow the change.

Motor and Encoder

The Motor and Encoder tab lists the motor data, the optional motor data and the data of encoder 1 to 3 as a table you edit like the parameters. Set Motor Type..., Set Encoder..., Set Encoder Type... (from TIA Portal V19) and Equivalent Circuit Data... change the configuration; Apply Motor Data and Apply Encoder Data write the changed entries into the project. A SINAMICS G120 without a power module, or a drive that needs a motor from the hardware catalog first, is named in the message.

While the editor shows online values, Apply Motor Data to Drive... and Apply Encoder Data to Drive... write the entries into the connected drive. The online motor and encoder functions are offered for SINAMICS G120.

Drive Functions

The Drive Functions tab shows the activation state of the drive object, its type, the functions in use, the safety axis type, the motor code and the order number of a geared motor. From here you change the activation state and the drive object type, activate or deactivate functions such as the basic positioner or the technology controller, set the safety axis type (rotary or linear), the motor code from the rating plate and the order number of the geared motor. The tab also offers Download to Drive..., Copy RAM to ROM... and Restore Factory Settings... (see Online functions).

Safety

From TIA Portal V19 the Safety tab offers Update Safety Checksums: the reference checksums of the safety parameters in the project are replaced with those of the current safety parameters. Do this only after checking the safety settings, then save the project.

From TIA Portal V21 the tab also lists the acceptance test functions of the drive with a switch each. Apply Test Functions writes the switches into the project, Reset All Test Functions switches every function off, and Create Acceptance Report... saves the safety acceptance report of the drive as an Excel workbook (.xlsx). The report needs acceptance test data, so run the acceptance test in TIA Portal first; TIA Portal may need an additional licence for the report, and Studio says so. A SINAMICS G120 of the second generation offers no safety functions that these actions work with.

Security

From TIA Portal V19 the Security tab shows whether the drive offers user management and data encryption.

  • Activate User Management and Deactivate User Management protect the drive with the user management of the project, or remove that protection. The change is made in the project and reaches the drive with the next download.
  • Encrypt Drive Data... encrypts the configuration data of the drive. Studio asks for the password twice in a masked field. Remove Drive Data Encryption... asks for the current password once.

The password is entered only in these masked fields; it never appears in a message or in the chat.

Extensions

The Extensions tab lists the technology extensions available for the drive object with a switch each, and the extensions installed in TIA Portal on this computer. Switching an extension on or off changes the drive object in the project after a confirmation. Show Parameters opens the Parameters tab with the parameters of the selected extension (from TIA Portal V20). Install Extension... installs a technology extension from a .tec file into TIA Portal.

Technology Extensions in TIA Portal

Drive > Technology Extensions... in the context menu, or TIA Portal: Manage Technology Extensions in the Command Palette, lists the extensions installed in TIA Portal. Pick one to uninstall it, or choose Install from File... to install a .tec file. An installed extension is offered in every project on this computer, and uninstalling removes it for every project. When TIA Portal keeps an extension because it may be in use, Studio asks a second time with Uninstall Anyway.

Choosing the Online Connection

Every function that goes online to the drive first asks how this computer reaches it. Studio reads the interfaces of the drive and lists each one you can connect to, such as CU X127 at 192.168.0.20, together with the interface of this computer. The recommended entry comes first: an interface that carries its own address and is meant for commissioning. Enter the Connection Manually... at the end of the list lets you pick the interface of this computer and type the target interface of the drive (such as CU X127) and its IP address.

Before going online, Studio checks that the address is the one set in the project for that interface of the drive and that no other device of the project carries it. If not, no connection is made, and the message names the address that the project holds. When you enter the connection manually, the address field starts with the project address of the target interface you typed and checks your entry while you type, so a wrong address is pointed out before you confirm. No function goes online without an interface you chose yourself.

Online Functions

The Drive submenu of the Project Explorer and the Drive Functions tab offer:

  • Download to Drive...: loads the configuration of the project into the drive, after you chose the connection and confirmed. The option Save the parameters retentively in the drive after the download is on by default. If TIA Portal asks a question before loading, Studio shows it in TIA Portal's own words; nothing is loaded yet, and loading continues only when you choose Agree and Continue.
  • Write Online Parameters...: writes parameters directly into the running drive, entered as p1082=1500; p1121[0]=2.5, and a connection as p840=@r722.0. The writes run in order and stop at the first refusal; the project is not changed.
  • Copy RAM to ROM...: saves the current parameters of the drive retentively, so they survive a power cycle.
  • Restore Factory Settings...: choose Parameters or Safety Parameters. Resetting all parameters is not offered by every drive family; on a SINAMICS S120 or S210, Studio says so before anything happens. Resetting the safety parameters asks a second time, because the safety functions of the drive stop protecting the machine until they are commissioned and accepted again; it also needs the safety features of your plan.
  • Drive Data Encryption on the Connected Drive...: switches the encryption on the connected drive right away, with the password in a masked field; the project is not changed.
  • Upload Parameters... (from TIA Portal V21): reads the parameters of the drive into the project, see Uploading the parameters of a drive.

In the Drive Editor, Show Online Values... in the header asks for the connection and then shows the values of the connected drive; Show Project Values switches back. While online values are shown, the changes on the Parameters tab are written into the drive, not into the project, again after your confirmation.

Hardware Connections of Technology Objects

From TIA Portal V18, right-click an axis, an external encoder, a measuring input, an output cam or a cam track among the technology objects of a PLC and open the Hardware Connection submenu:

  • Show Hardware Connections opens a tab with every connection of the technology object: the drive (actor), encoder 1 to 4, torque data, measuring input or output cam, with the connected target and its input and output address. Each row has the buttons Drive..., Address or Tag... and Disconnect.
  • Connect to Drive...: pick the connection, the drive and its telegram.
  • Connect to Address or Tag...: connect to a module, a channel of a module, an I/O address (byte, plus the bit for measuring inputs and cams), a data block member or a PLC tag. You choose whether TIA Portal accepts only suitable modules or every module.
  • Disconnect Hardware: removes a connection.

Every connection is confirmed first and warns you when it replaces an existing one. On TIA Portal V18, and for the torque data below V20, the telegram is connected through its input and output addresses, so the drive has to be assigned to the PROFINET IO system of the PLC first; the confirmation says so. The change is made in the open project; save it to keep it.

Interpreter Mappings

From TIA Portal V21, right-click an interpreter mapping technology object and choose Edit Interpreter Mappings. The tab lists the technology object mappings and the data block member mappings, each with its alias.

  • Add Technology Object Mapping... and Add Data Block Member Mapping... give a technology object or a data block member an alias for the interpreter program; for a member you also set its data type, its start index and whether the program may write it.
  • Edit... changes the alias or the target of a mapping, Delete removes it.

The changes are collected in the Unsaved Changes list, where Undo removes a single one and Discard Changes forgets all. Before saving, Studio checks for duplicate or unknown aliases, missing targets and the limit of 200 changes at once. Save Changes (or Ctrl+S) writes all changes together after your confirmation; if TIA Portal refuses one of them, none is kept. Closing the tab with unsaved changes asks whether to save them. On an older TIA Portal version, or on another kind of technology object, the tab explains why there is nothing to edit.

Asking the Assistant

The assistant does all of this on request: it lists the drives and their drive objects, reads parameters page by page, changes parameters, telegrams, motor and encoder data and drive functions, switches technology extensions and the user management, updates the safety checksums, changes the acceptance test functions and writes the acceptance report, reads and changes the hardware connections of technology objects and the interpreter mappings. Reading runs without asking; every change shows a confirmation in the chat first.

For everything that goes online to the drive (download, online parameters, copy RAM to ROM, restore factory settings, the online motor and encoder functions, the parameter upload) and for installing a technology extension, the assistant hands over to Studio: after your confirmation in the chat, Studio shows the same connection list and the same dialog as the menu entry, and only you can confirm it. Values the assistant proposes, such as the interface or the address, are preselected there for you to check. For the data encryption it never asks for a password: Studio asks you for it in a masked field, and the assistant never sees it. If you cancel a dialog, the assistant does not try again on its own.

Notes

  • The Drive Editor and the hardware connections show the project as TIA Portal reports it; use Refresh to see changes made in TIA Portal.
  • Changes to the project are made in TIA Portal but not saved; save the project to keep them.
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