Electricity + Control June 2018

CONTROL SYSTEMS + AUTOMATION round up

Simulation for faster commissioning and operator training

Siemens has upgraded its Simit simulation platform for virtual com- missioning and operator training with a new release. Version 9.1 also enables Simit to be used for virtual commissioning and operator training in modular plants, speeding up actual commissioning by as much as 60 % and reducing unwanted standstill periods to a mini- mum, particularly during plant conversion and migration processes. Additionally, Simit can be used to implement a realistic operator train- ing system. Version 9.1 comes with an array of innovations designed to improve operating convenience, support simulation modelling and contribute towards improved efficiency, openness and flexibility. Simit enables real-time simulation and emulation for the com- prehensive evaluation of automation solutions. Testing and optimi- sation can be carried out either using a real or a virtual automation system, the so-called virtual controller. Connection to Comos en- ables an end-to-end data flow between engineering and simula- tion, and provides the basis for creating a plant's digital twin. For improved convenience, in the current version 9.1 the Simit Unit Ad- ministration has now been integrated into the Simit user interface. A mouse click is all it takes to change quickly and easily be- tween software- and hardware-in-the-loop at any time. Configu- ration of PLCSIM Advanced coupling has also been simplified. The data required for interface configuration is imported from the engineering data of existing Simatic projects. Using PLCSIM Ad-

ing using Simit by making available component types to the user, in particular for the simulation of pipeline networks in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. Simit Simulation Platform supports different communication interfaces and standards for extended data exchange between simulation and automation environments. Simit can use these to interact with other software applications or programs such as sim- ulation software, or to exchange data with hardware controllers from different manufacturers. Version 9.1 of Simit now also sup- ports the open communication standard OPC UA Client. To improve efficiency, openness and flexibility, Simit 9.1 sup- ports the current Simatic PCS 7 V9.0, Route Control for engineer- ing, control and diagnostics of material transport, and Safety Ma- trix, the management tool for every phase of the safety lifecycle. The virtual controller now also simulates the new CPU 410E, the entry CPU for small applications. Furthermore, the Simit Unit supports the distributed I/O sys- tem Simatic ET 200SP HA, Simatic Compact Field Unit (CFU), R1 Redundancy and PROFINET Process Alarm. Simit Unit documen- tation is available in XML format and can be simply and rapidly imported from third party engineering tools. FromVersion Simit 9.1 onwards, Windows Server 2016 is also supported. Enquiries: Kruben Bennie. kruben.bennie@siemens.com

vanced, virtual controllers can be generated to simulate Simatic S7-1500 and ET 200SP controllers and used to perform extensive function simulation. Simit offers various automatic modelling functions for simple, rapid simulation modelling. Simulation mod- els and components can be automatically generated, for instance with the aid of template-based imported data. As a result of automatic modelling, practically fault-free simulations can quickly be generated. At the same time, the models and components are automat- ically parameterised, substantially reducing the outlay of time and costs. A new feature of Simit 9.1 is the ability to perform bulk engineering using spreadsheet calculation. Depending on the selected hierarchy lev- el, it is possible to export the data to Excel. The Simit import wizard enables automatic simulation modelling based on the respective templates. The new Chem Basic Library is another new addition to Simit. It enables a rapid entry into project engineer-

Electricity + Control

JUNE 2018

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