This driver provides the software interface and communication protocol between Xpanel and Siemens Simatic PLC (S5 and S7). It supports the following families of Siemens Simatic S5 system.
CP341 module is tested internally and operates successfully with Xpanel (the CP340 type is not supported).
S5: CPU 115U, 135U, or 150U via communication card CP524 or CP525.
S7: CPU 315-2 via the communication card CP341-1.
S7: CPU 412-1 via the communication card CP441-2.
Communication Setup: PLC
This section describes how to set up the Siemens Simatic hardware. Use the information in this section in conjunction with the Siemens publications associated with your PLC system.
The physical communication layer is performed via a serial RS-232C link connected to a Siemens CP524 or CP525 communication card.
The Siemens Simatic S5 system must contain an S5 unit of one of the following types: S5-115u, S5-135u, S5-150u.
Communication Setup: Xpanel
Create a new Device
| To create a new device, select [Tools] - [I/O Devices] or click on the  I/O Device Name: Give a device name. This name will be used in the Tag configuration window of the database accompanied by the ‘Station Name’. |
Select a device type | After selecting the [Ok] button on the previous step, the ‘Serial Communication Configuration’ dialog box will popup.  In this window, select ‘SIEMENS RK512’ as the ‘Device Type’ and configure the proper serial communication parameters. |
Create a station | Move to the [Station] tab of the ‘Serial Communication Configuration’ dialog box. In this dialog box, all the connected PLC stations can be configured and registered to the Xpanel.  Each field can be configured as follows: Station Name: S5 Give a name to the PLC. This name will be used in the database window accompanied by the ‘Device Name’. Station Type: SIEMENS Choose the type of connected PLC between "SIEMENS" and “SIEMENS-S7-300”. Network ID: This field has no effect. Station No.: This field has no effect. RK512 protocol has no station number. It is based on a 1:1 communication environment. 16Bit Data Swap: This option swaps bytes of all word- or double word-sized data. The following diagram shows an example of byte swapping.  Almost all of the data types will be influenced by this option except INT8/UINT8/BCD8/UBCD8. 32Bit Data Swap: This option swaps words of all double word-sized data. The following diagram shows an example of word swapping.  INT32/UINT32/BCD32/UBCD32/FLOAT data type values will be influenced by this option. Using Checksum: This field has no meaning in this driver. Comm. Error Message Pop Up: When this item is checked, Xpanel displays a communication error message box for every Rx and Tx error. Otherwise (unchecked), Xpanel does not display a message for communication errors. This message box will close automatically after a few seconds. |
icon in the main toolbar. The ‘I/O Device Configuration’ dialog box will pop up. Click the [New Device] button to open the ‘I/O Device Selection’ dialog box.Address Notation
The address of a Tag in Xpanel has the following format:
*Only 16 Bit (Word) type is supported, not 8 Bit (Byte). Only even numbers of addresses are supported.
Tag Type | Format | Example |
Analog | [Symbol][DB Number]:[DW number] | D10:1 |
Digital | [Symbol][DB Number]:[DW number].[Bit Number] | I:12.7 |
[DB Number]: decimal number (0..255)
[DW Number]: decimal number (0..255)
[Bit Number]: hexadecimal number (0..F)
Symbol | Area | Example | DB | DW | Type | Access |
D | Data Block | D1:120, D1:12.F | 0-255 | 0-255 | Word | R/W |
X | Ext. Data Block | X2:003, X2:3.F | 0-255 | 0-255 | Word | R/W |
F | Flags | F:12, F:12.7 | - | 0-255 | Bit | R |
I | Inputs | I:008, I:008.7 | - | 0-127 | Bit | R |
Q | Outputs | Q:004, Q:004.7 | - | 0-127 | Bit | R |