Every hour of logic debugging moved from the machine to the office is an hour bought at one-fifth price. PLCSIM Advanced is the tool that moves them.
Beyond basic PLCSIM
Basic PLCSIM tests logic against manually poked inputs. PLCSIM Advanced instantiates a virtual S7-1500 with a real communication interface: HMIs connect to it, OPC UA clients read it, and — the key feature — external simulation models drive its I/O through an API. The virtual PLC runs the genuine compiled program, timing quirks included.
What we simulate, pragmatically
Full physics models are for robots and packaging lines with budgets. The pragmatic middle tier already pays:
- Signal-level plant models: a conveyor becomes a transport delay between photocells; a valve becomes a travel-time between limit switches. An afternoon of modeling exposes the majority of sequence bugs.
- Fault injection: stick a virtual limit switch and watch the recovery logic — the test nobody dares run on real hardware.
- HMI acceptance: customers click through screens against the virtual machine weeks before FAT.
On a recent line retrofit, the changeover weekend held zero logic surprises — every sequence had already failed, and been fixed, virtually.
FAQ
Does the PLC program need changes for simulation? Ideally none. Keep hardware-specific addresses behind an I/O layer and the same project downloads to virtual and real CPUs.
What does the co-simulation API require? PLCSIM Advanced exposes a documented API (C#/C++); simple signal models are a few hundred lines. Dedicated tools (SIMIT, NX MCD) exist when models grow serious.
Zone Otomasyon offers virtual pre-commissioning on new machine software — fewer site surprises, shorter FATs. Ask how much of your commissioning can move indoors.