d-subrahmanyam/dcs-platforms

Major DCS/PLC Platforms Reference

Platform Overview

| Platform | Vendor | Primary Use | Engineering Tool | HMI | |----------|--------|------------|-----------------|-----| | Freelance | ABB | Small-mid process | Control Builder F / EWP | DigiVis | | PCS 7 | Siemens | Large process | SIMATIC Manager + CFC/SFC | WinCC | | TIA Portal | Siemens | PLC/HMI unified | TIA Portal | WinCC Unified | | DeltaV | Emerson | Process DCS | DeltaV Explorer + Control Studio | DeltaV Operate/Live | | Experion PKS | Honeywell | Large process | Control Builder | HMIWeb |

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ABB Freelance

Key Characteristics

• Compact DCS for small-medium plants
• FBD/LAD primary programming
• File-based engineering (PRT, DMF, CSV)
• BST_LIB (standard) + BST_USER (custom) function block libraries
• MSR points as primary addressable entities
• DigiVis for operator displays
• DIGI protocol for internal communication

Motor Control: IDF_1 + MOT_T1

MOTOR1 Structure (11 signals):
  IN:  AC (auto cmd), PR0 (safety), MA (req auto), MM (req manual)
  OUT: ILK (interlock), RDY (ready), RUN (running), LOC (local), AUT (auto), FLR (fault), SDS (shutdown)

Automation Approach

• PRT file templating (text replacement)
• CSV project parsing/generation
• No public API (file manipulation is the standard approach)
• Checksum can be set to 0; Freelance recalculates on import

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Siemens PCS 7

Project Hierarchy

PCS 7 Project
  +-- OS (Operator Station - WinCC)
  +-- AS (Automation Station - S7-400/1500)
  |     +-- CFC Charts (Continuous Function Charts)
  |     +-- SFC Charts (Sequential Function Charts)
  +-- Hardware Configuration
  +-- Plant Hierarchy (technological view)
  +-- Process Tag Management

Motor Control: MotL Block (APL)

Inputs:  ModLiOp, AutModOp, ManModOp, FbkRun, Protect, Intlock01, CmdStrt, CmdStop, MonTiRun, MonTiStp
Outputs: ModLiOp_Out, StartOut, RunOut, StopOut, Trip, SwiToLoc

Other APL blocks: MotR (reversing), MotSpdL (speed), VlvL (valve), PIDConL (PID), Intlk02/04/08/16 (interlock), MonDi/MonAn (monitoring)

File Formats

• .s7p / .s7l - S7 project/library
• .pdl - WinCC display
• .xml - SimaticML block export (proprietary schema)
• .aml - AutomationML (PCS 7 V9+)
• .scl / .awl - ST / IL source

Automation: TIA Portal Openness API (.NET)

using Siemens.Engineering;
TiaPortal tia = new TiaPortal(TiaPortalMode.WithUserInterface);
Project project = tia.Projects.Open(new FileInfo(@"Project.ap17"));
PlcSoftware sw = device.GetService<PlcSoftware>();
sw.BlockGroup.Blocks.Import(new FileInfo(@"Block.xml"), ImportOptions.Override);

Capabilities: create projects, import/export blocks as XML, create tags, generate HMI screens, compile, download.

HMI: SiVArc

Rules-based auto-generation: "For every MotL instance, create a faceplate." Reads PLC structure, generates WinCC elements.

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Emerson DeltaV

Architecture

DeltaV System
  +-- Plant Areas
  |     +-- Control Modules (CM) - individual loops
  |     +-- Equipment Modules (EM) - sequences
  |     +-- Phases - ISA-88 batch
  +-- Controllers (M-series, S-series)
  +-- I/O Subsystem
  +-- Module Templates (reusable designs)

Motor Control: DC (Device Control) Block

Inputs:  MODE_BLK.TARGET, IN_D1 (running fbk), IN_D2 (stopped fbk), IN_D3 (fault), IN_D4 (available), INTERLOCK, PERMIT
Outputs: OUT_D1 (start), OUT_D2 (stop), SP_D (setpoint), PV_D (process value)
Config:  IO_OPTS, FBK_STRATEGY, FBK_TIMEOUT

Automation: Class-Based + Bulk Edit

• Module Templates: Define once, instantiate many. Change propagation on template update.
• Bulk Edit: Export to Excel, modify, import back.
• FHX Files: Text-based config format, parseable and generatable.

MODULE TEMPLATE "MT_MOTOR_1SPD" /
  MODULE_CLASS = DEVICE /
{
  FUNCTION_BLOCK "DC-1" / DEFINITION = "DC" /
  { ATTRIBUTE MODE_BLK.TARGET = AUTO ; ... }
}

Tag Structure

Area/ControlModule/FunctionBlock/Parameter
Example: PLANT/M_101/DC-1/PV_D

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Honeywell Experion PKS

Motor Control: MOTOR Block

Inputs:  SP (cmd), MODE, INTLK, FB_RUN, FB_STOP, FB_TRIP, LOCAL
Outputs: OP (output), STATUS, ALARM
Config:  FB_TIME (monitor time), STRATEGY

Programming

• CL (Control Language): Proprietary ST-like language
• FBD: Graphical function blocks
• Custom Algorithms (CA): Complex logic

Automation

• CSV/Excel bulk point import
• COM-based API (Experion PKS API)
• OPC DA/UA interface

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Cross-Platform Motor Block Mapping

| Concept | ABB Freelance | Siemens PCS 7 | Emerson DeltaV | Honeywell | |---------|--------------|---------------|----------------|-----------| | Block | IDF_1 / MOT_T1 | MotL | DC | MOTOR | | Start Input | AC | CmdStrt | SP_D | SP | | Run Feedback | RUN | FbkRun | IN_D1 | FB_RUN | | Fault | FLR | Protect/Trip | IN_D3 | FB_TRIP | | Interlock | ILK | Intlock01 | INTERLOCK | INTLK | | Auto/Manual | AUT/MA/MM | AutModOp/ManModOp | MODE_BLK | MODE | | Local/Remote | LOC | ModLiOp | IO_OPTS | LOCAL | | Monitor Time | Lz (T#5s) | MonTiRun | FBK_TIMEOUT | FB_TIME | | Data Structure | DBS:RECORD (MOTOR1) | Instance DB | Module params | Point params |

Cross-Platform Function Block Mapping

| Function | ABB Freelance | Siemens PCS 7 | Emerson DeltaV | Honeywell | |----------|--------------|---------------|----------------|-----------| | Motor | IDF_1 / MOT_T1 | MotL / MotR | MOTOR_BASIC / DC | MOTOR | | On/Off Valve | VLV_1 | Valve | DEVICE_DISCR | DVALVE | | Mod. Valve | VLV_2 | AnlgValve | DEVICE_AO | AVALVE | | PID | PID | PIDConL | PID_PLUS | PID | | Analog In | M_ANA | MEAS_MON | AI | AI | | Digital In | M_BIN | MON_DIGI | DI | DI |

IEC 61131-3 Support Comparison

| Language | ABB Freelance | Siemens PCS7/TIA | Emerson DeltaV | Honeywell | Schneider | |----------|--------------|------------------|----------------|-----------|-----------| | LD | Yes | Yes (KOP) | No | Via ControlEdge | Yes | | FBD | Yes (primary) | Yes (FUP/CFC) | Yes (primary) | Yes | Yes | | ST | Yes | Yes (SCL) | Partial (CALC) | CL (similar) | Yes | | IL | No | Yes (AWL) | No | No | Yes (deprecated) | | SFC | Limited | Yes (S7-GRAPH) | Yes | Yes | Yes | | OOP | No | TIA V16+ | No | No | No | | PLCopen XML | No | Partial | No | No | Yes |

Bulk Engineering Comparison

| Approach | ABB Freelance | Siemens TIA | Emerson DeltaV | Honeywell | |----------|--------------|-------------|----------------|-----------| | Primary | PRT file templating | Openness API (.NET) | Class-based + Bulk Edit | CSV point import | | File format | PRT/CSV (text) | XML (SimaticML) | FHX (text) | CSV | | API | None (file-based) | TIA Openness (.NET) | COM API | COM API | | Scripting | Python file manipulation | C#/VB.NET | Python + FHX | VBScript | | HMI gen | DMF templating | SiVArc rules | Auto-faceplates | Template displays |