Drives are commissioned twice: once quickly, and once properly after the quick version causes a mystery. Here is the properly, in order.
The sequence
- Project the drive in Startdrive (inside TIA Portal) with the exact article numbers — control unit and power module firmware matter for feature availability.
- Enter nameplate data character by character. Voltage, current, frequency, speed, cos φ, connection (star/delta!). Half of all later weirdness is a delta motor entered as star.
- Run motor identification — standstill minimum, rotating if the load can be uncoupled.
- Set the protection floor before any optimization: current limits, torque limits, thermal model or PTC evaluation, minimum/maximum speed, ramp times that the mechanics survive.
- Configure the interface deliberately — telegram type to the PLC, or terminal control; document which bit does what.
- Then optimize: speed controller autotune where applicable, manual refinement against real load using the trace.
- Archive twice: upload into the TIA project and keep a drive-only backup (card image or file). Label with machine, date, firmware.
The habits around the sequence
Change one parameter at a time and write down why. Use the drive’s comparison view against factory defaults to generate the deviation list — that list is the commissioning document. Leave the machine with the trace configured for the most likely future fault; your successor will bless you.
FAQ
Startdrive or the BOP/IOP panel? Panels are for service tweaks; commissioning belongs in Startdrive where it produces an archive and a diff.
Firmware upgrade during commissioning? Only with a reason (needed feature or fixed bug), only before optimization, never on a Friday.
Zone Otomasyon hands over drives with deviation lists and archives, not just spinning motors. Commissioning services.