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SIMATIC is a series of programmable logic controller and automation systems, developed by Siemens. Introduced in 1958, the series has gone through four major generations, the latest being the SIMATIC S7 generation. The series is intended for industrial automation and production.
The name SIMATIC is a registered trademark of Siemens. It is a portmanteau of " Siemens" and "Auto matic".
Depending on the device and its connection modules, signals may be a simple binary value ("high" or "low") or more complex. More complex inputs, outputs, and calculations were also supported as the SIMATIC line developed. For example, the SIMATIC 505 could handle floating point quantities and trigonometric functions.
A year later, in 1959, the Simatic G was launched on the market, a system that could replace relay logic with a hard-wired programmed logic controller (based on the use of Germanium transistors). The system was launched under the name "Building-Block System for Solid-State Controls".
In 1964, the Simatic N (1964) was launched (hard-wired programmed logic controller) - based on Silicon transistors.
In 1973, the Simatic S3 was launched, the first microprocessor-based Simatic system that implemented programmable logic.
In 1979, the Simatic S5 series was launched, a series that was maintained until 2000. Automation systems based on Simatic S5 are still functional worldwide. S5 systems were programmed using the STEP 5 software system. In 1984 the Simatic S5 U (universal) programmable controller series is introduced.
In 1994, the Simatic S7 series was launched, a series based mainly on the S7-200 controllers (dedicated to simple automation systems), S7-300 (suitable for almost any automation system) and S7-400 (dedicated to large and very large automation projects). All controllers in these series allow networking, especially in Profibus or Industrial Ethernet networks.
In 1996 Siemens AG presented the concept of "Totally Integrated Automation", initially a concept referring to the interconnectivity of automation equipment.
In 2009, the S7-1200 series of PLCs was launched, a series that replaced the S7-200 series.
In 2011, the TIA Portal (Totally Integrated Automation Portal) software package was also launched, a software platform dedicated to the complex programming of automation systems.
In 2013, the S7-1500 series appeared on the market, a new generation of programmable logic controllers intended to replace the S7-300 and S7-400 series over time.
S7-1200 G2, a second generation of the S7-1200, was launched in December 2024.
Each chassis consisted of a power supply, and a backplane with slots for the addition of various option boards. Available options included serial and Ethernet communications, digital input and output cards, analog signal processing boards, counter cards, and other specialized interface and function modules.
The first generation of S7 CPUs were later succeeded by the S7-1200 and S7-1500, released in 2012. These models came with standard Profinet interface.
The original STEP 5 versions ran on the CP/M operating system. Later versions ran on MS-DOS, and then versions of Windows through Windows XP. The final version of STEP 5 was version 7.2 (upgradable to version 7.23 Hotfix 1 with patches).
In addition to STEP 5, Siemens offered a proprietary State logic programming package called Graph5. Graph5 is a sequential programming language intended for use on machines that normally run through a series of discrete steps. It simulates a State machine on the S5 platform.
Several third-party programming environments were released for the S5. Most closely emulated STEP 5, some adding macros and other minor enhancements, others functioning drastically differently from STEP 5. One allowed STEP 5 programs to be cross-compiled to and from the C programming language and BASIC.
To maintain maximum transparency, STEP 5 offers a number of structuring facilities:
Absolute or symbolic designations can be used for operands with all three methods of representation.
In LAD and FBD complex functions and function block calls can be entered via . They are displayed on the screen as graphical symbols.
There are several program editors, from either genuine Siemens, or from other suppliers. After Siemens discontinued support, other suppliers started to develop new STEP 5 version which can run on Windows XP, or Windows 7.
Some S5 PLCs also have block types FX (Extended Function Blocks), and DX(Extended Data Blocks); these are not distinct block types, but rather are another set of available blocks due to the CPU having more memory and addressing space.
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