Getting Started with RF166C in TIA Portal (S7-1500)

1. Introduction

Starting with STEP 7 Basic/Professional V13 SP1, TIA Portal integrates SIMATIC Ident profile and Ident instruction blocks into the programming instruction set. This allows for the operation of industrial identification systems using these instructions with S7-300/400 and S7-1200/1500 PLCs.

The RF166C communication module, supporting the Profibus DP protocol, is used to connect RF200/RF300 series RFID readers. It can be programmed using S7-300/400, S7-1200/1500 PLCs.

This guide demonstrates using an S7-1500 PLC with the Profibus DP module CM1542-5 to connect the RF166C and RF340R GEN2 reader. It utilizes the TIA STEP7 V16 software to achieve communication with the Siemens industrial identification system and perform read/write operations on RF340T tags using Ident instruction blocks.

System Configuration:

The system configuration involves:

• CPU1511 + CM1542-5
• Network Cable
• DP Line
• RF166C
• RF340R
• RS422 Line
• RF340T

RF166C Module Interfaces:

• Ethernet Interface
• DP Bus Input Terminal
• DP Bus Output Terminal
• Terminal Resistor (required when RF166C is at the end of the DP bus)
• Power Interface (input/output for cascading multiple devices)
• DP Address Setting

Hardware and Software Used:

Note: Order numbers for related connectors and cables can be found in the RF166C manual.

2. Device Configuration

2.1 Creating a Project

Create a new project in TIA STEP7 V16. Name the project 'RF166C' as shown in Figure 2-1.

Next, select 'Add New Device -> Controller', choose CPU1511, and name the device 'PLC_1' as shown in Figure 2-2.

In the 'Device View', select the CPU's Ethernet port, add a subnet, and set the IP address as shown in Figure 2-3.

Add the CM1542-5 DP interface module from the hardware catalog, add a DP subnet, and configure the address as shown in Figure 2-4.

2.2 Adding RF166C in 'Network View'

Switch to 'Network View'. Locate the RF166C hardware under 'Hardware Catalog -> Detection and Monitoring -> Ident System -> SIMATIC Communication Modules'. Drag the RF166C to the network view and assign it to PLC_1.CM1542-5. Configure the DP address for the RF166C's network port as shown in Figure 2-5.

Important Note: If only Reader_1 channel on the RF166C is connected to a reader, the Reader_2 channel must be deleted. Otherwise, the RF166C will report an error after downloading the configuration (Figure 2-6).

2.3 Downloading Configuration

After connecting the network and DP cables, select the S7-1500 PLC station to download the configuration, as shown in Figure 2-7. The online status indicates that the Profibus DP communication between RF166C and the controller has been established.

3. Adding a Technology Object

Using the SIMATIC Ident technology object allows for the configuration of RFID reader parameters to be associated with the S7-1200/S7-1500 controller's program. This helps prevent errors during manual device parameter assignment.

Steps:

1. Open the 'Technology Objects' folder and double-click 'Add New Object' to add a 'SIMATIC Ident' object (Figure 3-1).
2. In the technology object's 'Configuration -> Basic Parameters' properties, select the IID device from the distributed I/O. In 'Reader Parameter Assignment', select the correct RFID reader type (Figure 3-2).
3. In the technology object's 'Configuration -> Reader Parameters' properties, select the Tag type (Figure 3-3).

4. PLC Programming

4.1 OB1 Programming

In the TIA STEP7 V16 'Instructions' tab, under 'Optional Packages', find the operation instructions for Siemens industrial identification systems. Open the PLC programming interface and add instructions to the program by double-clicking or dragging.

The SIMATIC Ident instructions include:

• Read: Reads user data.
• Read_MV: Reads data from optical readers.
• Reset_Reader: Resets the reader.
• Set_MV_Program: Changes optical reader (MV) programs.
• Write: Writes user data.

This example demonstrates the usage of the SIMATIC Ident instruction blocks by performing read and write operations on RF340T tags. For more detailed information on instruction operations, refer to the SIMATIC Ident system standard function manual.

When adding instruction blocks like Reset_Reader, Write, and Read, the required function blocks and PLC data types will be automatically added to the project file (Figure 4-2).

Example:

1. Open the PLC_1 program block OB1. Drag the Reset_Reader instruction block into program segment 0. A background DB block will be automatically generated. Drag the technology object DB1 (created in Chapter 3) to the 'HW_CONNECT' pin (Figure 4-3).
2. Create a global data block DB3. Add two 100-byte arrays: 'write' for writing data to the tag and 'read' for reading RFID data into the PLC (Figure 4-4).
3. Call the Write and Read instructions. Write the first 10 bytes of data from the 'write' array in the data block to the tag starting at address 0. Then, read 10 bytes of data from the tag starting at address 0 and store them in the first 10 bytes of the 'read' array in the data block (Figure 4-5).

4.2 Testing

After completing the above operations, download the project to the CPU.

(1) Initialization

First, initialize the reader by providing a rising edge signal to M0.0. The LED indicator on the RF340R GEN2 will turn green from blue, indicating successful initialization.

Then, place the tag on the reader. The reader's LED indicator will turn yellow when a tag is detected.

(2) Write Operation

In the 'Monitor and Force Table', provide a rising edge signal to M0.1 to execute the write operation. This writes the first 10 bytes of data from the 'write' array in the data block to the tag, starting at offset address 0 (Figure 4-6).

(3) Read Operation

Next, in the 'Monitor and Force Table', provide a rising edge signal to M0.2 to execute the read operation. This reads 10 bytes of data from the tag, starting at offset address 0, and stores them in the first 10 bytes of the 'read' array in the data block (Figure 4-7).

5. Related Manual Download Links

Refer to the following links for related manuals:

• SIMATIC Ident System Standard Function Manual