guides

SIMATIC S7-1200 vs S7-1500: What Actually Changes (and When It Matters) “Should we use an S7-1200 or jump straight to an S7-1500?” looks like a catalog question. In real projects, it’s rarely about brand loyalty or a neat feature checklist...

SIMATIC S7-1500 Compatibility Matrix: What Actually Has to Match (CPU, I/O, Firmware, TIA Portal) Compatibility on S7-1500 projects rarely fails because someone “doesn’t know PROFINET.” It fails because one layer of the stack quietly drifted: a spare CPU arrives with...

SIMATIC S7-1500 CPU Comparison Table: What Changes (and When It Matters) Most “CPU comparisons” are just spec dumps. In real projects, the CPU choice is a bet on the next 18–36 months: Will the machine grow? Will you add more...

SIMATIC S7-1500 Communication Planning: Build a Network That Survives Commissioning, Maintenance, and Expansion S7-1500 systems rarely fail because someone chose the “wrong PLC.” They fail because the communication plan was never written down: who talks to whom, over what protocol,...

SIMATIC S7-1500 I/O Planning: Turning a “Signal Count” into a Maintainable, Buildable Design Most S7-1500 projects don’t go sideways because the CPU is “too weak.” They go sideways because I/O planning was treated like a spreadsheet chore. When that happens,...

SIMATIC S7-1500 Power Budgeting (24V Load Planning): How Engineers Stop “Mystery Resets” Before Commissioning In automation, 24 V DC is the quiet backbone of everything you care about: PLC, remote I/O, sensors, network switches, relays, IO-Link masters, and all the...

Capacitor Safety Discharge Guide: What Engineers Check Before Calling a Cap “Safe” In industrial automation and power electronics, “power off” does not automatically mean “safe.” DC bus capacitors in drives, bulk electrolytics in SMPS, and even EMI X capacitors can...

Wire Gauge Sizing Guide: What Engineers Check Before Trusting “Ampacity Charts” Wire gauge selection looks simple until you’ve seen the same failures repeat in the field: long runs that “should be fine” but brown out a load, control panel wiring...

Battery Life Estimation Guide: What Engineers Check Before Trusting “mAh ÷ mA” Battery life estimates fail for one reason: the calculator used the wrong model. Real devices don’t draw a steady current, batteries don’t deliver a fixed mAh under all...