“Never touch running firmware” and “always stay current” are both wrong. Drives deserve the same firmware policy as any critical embedded system: upgrade for reasons, with a procedure.
Valid reasons
- A documented bug you are actually hitting (Siemens release notes name them).
- A feature you need: a safety function variant, encoder support, communication improvement.
- Component replacement forcing alignment — new spare hardware sometimes requires newer firmware than the lineup runs.
- Security fixes on network-exposed control units.
“Newer exists” is not on the list. Every upgrade is a controlled change to a validated machine.
The lineup subtlety on S120
Control unit and component firmwares interlock: CUs support component firmware ranges, and mixed states cause the topology acceptance dance. The clean pattern is upgrading the CU and letting the automatic component update bring the lineup to a coherent set — deliberately, at a planned stop, never discovering it because a spare motor module walked in with the wrong version on a breakdown night. Keep one firmware-matched spare set per critical lineup; that is what actually saves the 3 a.m. intervention.
The procedure
Backup first (project upload and card image), read release notes for behavior changes (defaults occasionally move), upgrade on the bench or at a planned stop, re-verify safety functions if the safety firmware version changed — that re-validation is mandatory, not paranoia — run the machine through a full cycle, archive again, and record the new versions in the machine dossier.
FAQ
Can firmware upgrades change drive behavior? Rarely but genuinely — controller detail improvements and changed defaults are in the notes. That is why notes get read and machines get test cycles.
How long does an S120 lineup upgrade take? Budget an hour plus a test cycle for a typical lineup; the backup and verification, not the flashing, consume the time.
Zone Otomasyon manages firmware baselines for machines under service contract — with matched spares on the shelf. Fleet care.