40 40th Anniversary
thAnniver yras
under £100, at a time when alternatives were costing thousands of pounds. Suddenly small and medium sized manufacturers had the same access to the power, flexibility, speed and reliability as their much bigger competition. It changed the game." During his 15-year career as a systems
integrator away from Siemens, Pickles witnessed first hand the longevity of S5. "It is remarkable that decades later I am still
opening cabinets in plants and finding S5 beavering away, given the advances we have made in automation. I suspect I’ll still be finding units that have been forgotten about in years to come.” For 16 years S5 made progressive strides,
paving the way for its replacement, the first generation SIMATIC S7 in 1994. Its arrival heralded the beginning of the
network era and another leap forward for automation, offering more power, speed, flexibility, open communications and architecture, and faster, intuitive diagnostics. Hot on its heels in 1996 was another quantum leap in automation technology with the advent of Totally Integrated Automation (TIA), a Siemens concept that covers the entire production chain from receipt to shipping. While the onward advance of automation has continued with SIMATIC S7-1200 Basic
Controller, which set new flexibility standards with extensive expansion and adaptability when it arrived in 2009, and the SIMATIC S7-1500 Advanced Controller series, a new milestone in terms of performance and efficiency since 2013, the reliable S5 has continued to drive the wheels of industrial production. “It is a testament to the
robustness of S5 that after 40 years it is still a favourite among engineers across industry,” Norbury said. “I attribute that to its power, flexibility, modularity and structured programming. But it is now the time to move forward onto the next chapter in automation.” As to what the future will bring, Norbury believes the next stage for automation is artificial intelligence controlling production robots that solve new tasks autonomously and factories that continuously optimise themselves. “When I look back to the start of my career focused on relays, contactors and push
Opposite: The SIMATIC S5 in 1983, and above: The SIMATIC S5/S7 family
buttons, through automation and into software and virtualisation, I couldn't have imagined that we would be where we are today. “Siemens has been at the leading edge of
automation technology which has transformed industrial production for 60 years. I have no doubt we will be reaching new heights for another 60.”
Siemens
www.siemens.com
PLCS – 40TH ANNIVERSARY
PC-DEC20-TLX.indd 1
20/01/2021 15:39 DECEMBER 2020/JANUARY 2021 | PROCESS & CONTROL 41
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