Siemens has developed the Gateway CM104 TSAA - a new migration solution for integrating Triconex fail-safe controllers into Simatic PCS 7-based control systems.
The Gateway enables existing systems to be expanded or modernised inexpensively and step-by-step, according to Siemens.
“Fail-safe controllers are one of the fundamental requirements for achieving high system availability. They process and monitor critical closed-loop controls and applications to ensure that modern production plants are fail safely,” the company said.
“Until now, these types of controllers have often been installed and operated separately from the process control system. That meant that they were frequently overlooked when it came to modernisation.”
Siemens developed the Gateway CM104 TSAA to bring both the process control system and the safety engineering up to the state-of-the-art standard at the same time, the company said.
It facilitates continuous communication between the Triconex, Trident or Tricon fail-safe controller, depending on the application, and the Siemens automation system.
The Gateway is completely integrated into the PCS 7 and can be laid out as a single or fully redundant link between the systems. It uses the Triconex TSAA protocol for this purpose. It is based on standard Industrial Ethernet components and also contains diagnostic functions with alarms visualised in PCS 7.
The new Siemens Gateway is used in the modernisation and migration to PCS 7 to form a link with existing Triconex fail-safe products. It can also be used in projects requiring communication to PCS 7 controllers.
The engineering is carried out with the aid of a standard PCS 7 or STEP 7, thus enabling existing systems to be expanded or modernised inexpensively, step-by-step with Simatic.