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Get to Know Siemens Features in ET200SP Remote I/O

Written by GCG Automation & Factory Solutions | Dec 28, 2015 5:00:00 AM

Cost or function? That's the choice many design engineers have to make when it comes to I/O. With products like Siemens ET200SP Remote I/O, you can strike a balance between cost and function for the best possible result.

Finding the Features You Need

Many Siemens Bus Couplers come in two or more versions with respective features. High Feature Bus Couplers allow a larger amount of I/O on a particular drop, for instance, than the Standard variant of the same module.  At the individual I/O module level, these variations are more prevalent, and depending on the application requirements, can give the design engineer the means to optimize the cost of the system against the features needed.

To draw the distinction, here is a quick comparison of an 8-point digital input module (24VDC) in Basic (BA), Standard (ST), and High Feature (HF) versions.  

Common features for all modules are diagnostic events associated with a module failure, the ability to disable individual channels, and individualized channel input delay (de-bounce) times.  The real differentiators are how much detail is available for additional diagnostic situations.

The 8xDI BA module (Basic) offers module diagnostics in the form of indication of lost supply voltage. 

The 8xDI ST module (Standard) also offers lost supply voltage diagnostics.   It adds short circuit to ground and wire break diagnostic indications if so desired (select to activate).  These are an all-or-none selection, meaning that you enable short circuit and/or wire break detection for all of the inputs or none of them.

Using the Standard series 8xDI 24VDC card as a cost benchmark, the Basic (BA) version runs about 5% lower in cost and the High Feature (HF) version runs about 15% higher in cost.  Other types of cards will follow suit in general direction, though the cost difference will vary depending on the module.

 

Here is an abbreviated chart from Siemens on the breakdown for the I/O modules in the ET200SP family:

Basic (BA)

Standard (ST)

High Feature (HF)

High Speed (HS)

Optimized for price

Optimized for low stock keeping

Optimized for rapid error location

Optimized for short reaction times

For basic requirements

For standard requirements

For high requirements

For rapid data exchange

Basic diagnostics

Diagnostics per module

Diagnostics by channel

Extensive diagnostics

Field of application

Flexible utilization

Flexible utilization through high adjustability via parameters

Flexible utilization through high adjustability via parameters

   

Alternative operating modes and extended module functions

Alternative operating modes and extended module functions

 

And here is an abbreviated chart for the Bus Couplers (Interface Modules):

Basic (BA) only PN

Standard (ST) only PN

High Feature

Optimized for small stations

Optimized for standard configurations

Highly flexible utilization

For basic requirements

For standard requirements

Advanced functions for additional requirements

Max. 12 modules
(all except PROFIsafe)

Max. 32 modules
(all modules + 16 x ET 200AL)

Max. 64 modules (DP:32)
+ 16 x ET 200AL

Max. 32 bytes per module and station (inputs and outputs)

Max. 798 bytes per station and 256 bytes per module (inputs and outputs)

PN: Max. 1440 bytes per station and 288 bytes per module (inputs and outputs)

DP: Max. 244 bytes per station and 244 bytes per module (inputs and outputs)

Update time: 1ms (RT)

Update time: 1ms (RT, IRT)

PROFINET, synchronous as from 250µs

Single Hot Swap (one module can be removed and the station continues to run)

Single Hot Swap (one module can be removed and the station continues to run)

Multi Hot Swap (multiple modules can be removed and the station continues to run)