Siemens installation and setup
This setup manual guides you through the setup between Pickit and a Siemens PLC. The setup consists of the following steps:
Before starting, download the Pickit Siemens source code (.scl) here.
Note
Pickit is compatible with the Siemens S7-12XX-X PN and S7-15XX-X PN CPUs. The CPUs must have a Profinet interface/network socket onboard (PN-notation). The provided source code is built and compiled by TIA Portal version 15. This version and upwards are compatible.
Setting up the connection
Pickit communcates with other devices over the TCP/IP version 4 protocol. The advised setup connects the PLC directly to Pickit by the designated port. Connect the network cable between the ROBOT port on the Pickit processor and the desired Profinet (PN) socket on the PLC. It is possible to use a router between the Pickit and PC/PLC for uploading the TIA project onto the PLC. But again, it is advised to use a direct connection in production mode. When using a router for uploading, please enable this setting into the device properties in TIA Portal.
In the Pickit settings, navigate to “ROBOT” port settings and set the desired IP address for the Pickit system. The default value for the IP addess and subnet mask are 169.254.5.180 and 255.255.0.0.
Warning
The LAN port on the Pickit system uses the address range 192.168.XXX.XXX by default. That means that the ROBOT port can only be configured within this address range when the LAN port is set for an alternative range first.
The TIA Portal configuration
In a new or active TIA Portal project under Project tree, add the desired CPU by selecting Add new device. Navigate in the device tree to External source files. Upload the corresponding source file pickit_3d_comm_v1.1.scl here. Next, right-click on the source file and select Generate blocks from source. The Pickit blocks will now be available in the device program under Program blocks. In total, two blocks will appear:
The Pickit communication Function Block (FB) “Pickit_3D_communication” (required).
The Pickit robot command Function (FC) “Pickit_3D_robot_commands” (optional).
Note
In case TIA portal outputs an error when generating the blocks, please contact support.
Add the communication function block into an empty network in Main (OB1). TIA Portal will request generate an appurtenant Data Block (DB). Next, in the Device configuration under the Ethernet addresses section, change the IP address and subnet mask of the corresponding Profinet port to the desired values. The default values are respectively 169.254.5.182 and 255.255.0.0.
Note
It is not mandatory to add an unspecified device into the hardware configuration manually to represent the Pickit system.
Verify the connection
Once the block is inserted into OB1 we can verify that the communication is working. Firstly, compile the project and upload it to the CPU such that it has the correct IP address configured. Now inside the Pickit software in settings, navigate to “ROBOT” port settings => Check robot IP connection` and enter the IP address of the robot. By pressing the check-button you are executing a ping from the Pickit processor.
Note
If the ping is unsuccessful, validate the IP address settings on both the Pickit and the PLC.
After a successful ping from Pickit to the CPU, we can establish the socket communication. After uploading the entire project to the PLC, it will try to establish a connection immediately based on the IP address entered in the Pickit communication Data Block (DB).
The default value is 169.254.5.180 and the remote port value is 5001 (fixed).
Pickit will show the connection checkmark in the UI when there is a connection established.
You can also validate the initial handshake request that has been sent out by the PLC which can be seen under “LOGS” Log raw data from robot. This initial handshake is a rc_pickit_check_mode() command, the actual mode of Pickit is not of importance (robot, idle or calibration mode).
Note
When connecting or switching network cables after powering on the PLC, the block will fault as no connection could be made. When you need to switch cables when uploading through a router you can memory reset the PLC MRES (cold start).