Siemens drives digitized production forward

At this year’s SPS IPC Drives industrial trade fair, Siemens provided a fascinating insight into the modern production worlds of the future: Worlds in which virtual processes for product and plant development will be increasingly integrated with real production. “The challenges posed by escalating product and production complexity can only be met effectively with integral industrial software.

The trade fair innovations unveiled this year represent important steps along the road towards integrated product and production life cycles, which will mean even greater speed and efficiency for our customers”, explained Industry Automation Division CEO Anton S. Huber. Alongside its acquisition of the Belgian software company LMS, the most important innovations featured by the Siemens Industry Sector at the SPS IPC Drives were the Simatic S7-1500 controller generation and the new version of its Totally Integrated Automation Portal (TIA Portal).

This engineering framework now also offers scope for engineering drive technology. “All-embracing efficiency in the digital engineering of plants can only ever be achieved once we have realized the seamless integration of drive technology. With the TIA Portal, this capability is now in place – setting us clearly apart from our competitors in terms of integration”, said Drive Technologies Division CEO Michael Franke.

Since acquiring UGS Corp. in 2007, Siemens has been the only supplier worldwide to cover the entire product development and production value chain with industrial software. As Anton S. Huber sees it, the continuous process of digitization in industry offers the key to greater transparency and efficiency in production. “It is not by chance that industrial software is the technology segment with the highest growth in modern production. Since 2007, we have invested over 4 billion Euro in acquisitions aimed at strengthening our industrial IT and industry software capability, all with the ultimate goal of achieving seamless integration across virtual and real processes”, said Huber.

With the recently agreed acquisition of LMS, Siemens aims to expand its mechatronic system testing and simulation software portfolio. This will offer Siemens customers the capability to simulate, test, optimize and manufacture their products in future using an integral database instead of having to change from one data format and software system to another with every new step along the value chain. Siemens also announced a strategic collaboration arrangement with Bentley Systems which will see the partners defining common data formats and content with the aim of creating greater integration between digital product development, production process planning and information models across the entire factory plant life cycle.

Siemens has also set out a number of key engineering milestones with an impressive lineup of its own internal new developments featured at the SPS IPC Drives 2012: The new Simatic S7-1500 controller generation and version 12 of the TIA Portal engineering framework. A next-generation controller family for medium and high-end applications, the Simatic S7-1500 comes with excellent system performance and an array of integrated motion control, security and safety functions as standard. Simple commissioning and configurable plant status diagnostic functions are just as much part of the new features package as TIA Portal integration for simplified engineering and minimized project engineering costs.

The new TIA Portal version also comes with a wide range of added functions. One example: V12 allows parameterization of all Siemens drives from the Sinamics G converter family using the TIA Portal. “Using Sinamics Startdrive V12, we are now able to integrate our Sinamics G converter family into the plant engineering concept. Intuitive, simple operation and smart functions have meant a reduction of engineering input, even for the most complex applications”, reported Ralf-Michael Franke. In addition, safety functionality in the TIA Portal has been upgraded, also for the control systems of the new Simatic S7-1500 family, while new security functions have meant improved intellectual property, copy and access protection.

Siemens showcased a wide range of new products at the SPS IPC Drives 2012 show.
Press releases on the Siemens trade fair portfolio are available on the Siemens press site

http://www.siemens.com/press/sps2012

The Siemens Industry Sector (Erlangen, Germany) is the world's leading supplier of innovative and environmentally friendly products and solutions for industrial customers. With end-to-end automation technology and industrial software, solid vertical-market expertise, and technology-based services, the Sector enhances its customers' productivity, efficiency, and flexibility. With a global workforce of more than 100,000 employees, the Industry Sector comprises the Divisions Industry Automation, Drive Technologies and Customer Services as well as the Business Unit Metals Technologies. For more information, visit http://www.siemens.com/industry

The Siemens Industry Automation Division (Nuremberg, Germany) supports the entire value chain of its industrial customers – from product design to production and services – with an unmatched combination of automation technology, industrial control technology, and industrial software. With its software solutions, the Division can shorten the time-to-market of new products by up to 50 percent. Industry Automation comprises five Business Units: Industrial Automation Systems, Control Components and Systems Engineering, Sensors and Communications, Siemens PLM Software, and Water Technologies. For more information, visit http://www.siemens.com/industryautomation

The Siemens Drive Technologies Division (Nuremberg, Germany) is the world's leading supplier of products, systems, applications, solutions and services for the entire drive train, with electrical and mechanical components. Drive Technologies serves all vertical markets in the production and process industries as well as the infrastructure/energy segment. With its products and solutions, the division enables its customers to achieve productivity, energy efficiency and reliability. For more information, visit http://www.siemens.com/drivetechnologies

Siemens AG
Corporate Communications and Government Affairs
Wittelsbacherplatz 2, 80333 Munich
Germany
Reference number: IIA201211.3502 e fp

Media Relations: Reiner Schönrock
Telephone: +49 911 895 79 99
E-mail: reiner.schoenrock@siemens.com
Siemens AG
Industry Sector – Industry Automation Division
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