Hi All

We have a set of Siemens S7-300 PLC with CPU-315-2 and CP-342-5 and some other input/output modules. We are required to setup a central PC for monitor and control of the plant.

For this application, the following component we will apply:

CP 5613
S7 5613/Windows
OPC Server for Simatic Net

Does the planning work?

We read in the OPC Serer Manual, which said that Communication is also possible with office applications such as Microsoft Excel. Does it mean we can monitor and control the the data via Excel?

Furthermore, Can we create a interface in C++ or VB to monitor and control the data? Which one is better?

Best regards,
Gary

 

Gary,

Give WinCC at look. You will have a graphical
interface and still be able to read and write
data to excel (if that is what you are trying to do) The tag data can all be transfered from your
Step 7 project to WinCC.

 

And if you don't want the expense of a full blown SCADA then take a look at Simatic ProTool/Pro.

The answer is yes to all of your questions.

 

Hi Gary,

It all depends on what kind of monitoring and control you are looking for.

If you are looking for Control of the plant through a HMI with graphic screens etc. you should go in for WinCC/Protool-PRO. Which one to use out of this again depends on the size of project. Pro-toolPRo may suffice for small systems (limited functionality) otherwise u will need WinCC.

With WinCC you get lots of features like Alarms,Archiving,Redundancy,Trending etc. but then all that comes for a price.

If your system is very simple (no graphics), control and monitoring with just text boxes,list boxes, command buttons etc., then you may even write it in VB/VC++/Excel.

Going for Excel will be an economical option but with Visual Basic you will have greater flebiluity in designing screens,archiving, reporting etc. Again it depends on your application requirements. VC++ is not advisable beacuse of the steep learning curve and the only advantage of coding in VC would be a better timing performance from the system as compared to VB or Excel.

We have developed an OPC compliant reporting tool that allows monitoing, archiving and reporting (in Excel) of process data (NO CONTROL). You can download details and demo version from http://www.egenietech.com/Download.htm

Vipul