Creating a TIA Portal Project from Scratch: PLC, HMI, VFD, and S7 Classic Proxy Integration

This field reference walks through building a complete TIA Portal project from an empty workspace: configuring an S7-1500 CPU, programming alarm handling for three SINAMICS VFD-driven pumps and several temperature regulators, integrating a Comfort Panel, and bridging an existing S7-300/S7-400 (S7 Classic) controller into the same HMI through the device PLC proxy. The procedures map to the official Siemens TIA Portal documentation model and to the latest published manuals for STEP 7 V20 / WinCC V20.

1. Project Scope and Engineering Decisions

Before opening TIA Portal, lock down the following decisions. Each one drives the hardware list, licensing, and how alarm classes propagate from the controller to the HMI.

2. Prerequisites

2.1 Software

• TIA Portal V20 with STEP 7 Professional, WinCC Comfort/Advanced, and SINAMICS Startdrive option packages installed. See the official TIA Portal V20 - Creating a project reference page.
• SINAMICS Startdrive V20 for direct G120, G120C, G120P, G130, G150, S120, S210 parameterization from inside the TIA Portal project tree.
• License keys transferred to the Automation License Manager for STEP 7 Professional, WinCC Comfort (panel), and Startdrive (drive).
• GSD/GSDML files for any third-party PROFINET device used in the project. Install via "Options > Manage general station description files (GSD)".

2.2 Hardware (Reference Bill of Material)

2.3 Network Plan

Reserve a fixed IP scheme. For a typical line with one PLC, one HMI, and three drives on PROFINET:

• PLC: 192.168.0.1 / 255.255.255.0
• HMI: 192.168.0.2 / 255.255.255.0
• Pump 1 G120: 192.168.0.10
• Pump 2 G120: 192.168.0.11
• Pump 3 G120: 192.168.0.12
• S7 Classic (S7-300 CPU 315-2 PN/DP): 192.168.0.20

3. Step-by-Step Project Creation

3.1 Create the Project

1. Open TIA Portal.
2. In the portal view, click "Create new project". Alternatively use the project view menu path: Project > New.
3. Enter the project name, author, comment, and storage path. Confirm with "Create".
4. The new project appears in the project tree; the device view is empty.

3.2 Add the S7-1500 Station

1. Double-click "Add new device" in the project tree.
2. Select "Controllers > SIMATIC S7-1500 > CPU > 6ES7516-3AN02-0AB0".
3. Click "OK". The device view opens with the CPU rack.
4. Open the hardware catalog, drag the AI and AQ modules into slots 4 and 5 (CPU occupies slot 1, PS slot 0).
5. Right-click the CPU PROFINET interface and assign the IP 192.168.0.1, subnet 255.255.255.0; tick "Use IP router" only if you have a layer-3 PN/IO router.

3.3 Add the SINAMICS Drives

1. Double-click "Add new device" again.
2. Select "Drives > SINAMICS G120 > CU240E-2 PN".
3. Repeat for pumps 2 and 3, then position them in the network view.
4. Connect the PLC PROFINET port X1 to each drive port via drag-and-drop on the topology. TIA Portal automatically creates a PROFINET IO system and assigns device numbers 1, 2, 3.
5. Open each drive, set the IP address, device name (must match the PROFINET device name in the project), and tick "Assign device name during PROFINET startup" if you are using topology-based commissioning.

3.4 Add the Comfort Panel

1. Add new device → "HMI > SIMATIC Comfort Panel > TP900".
2. In the HMI device configuration, set the HMI IP to 192.168.0.2.
3. Under "Connections", add an HMI connection to the S7-1500 (the default once the HMI is in the network view near the PLC). Add a second HMI connection; change the partner to "S7-300/400 PLC (Proxy)".

3.5 Insert the S7 Classic PLC Proxy

1. Project tree → "Devices & networks" → switch to network view.
2. Drag "PLC > S7-300 > CPU 315-2 PN/DP" from the catalog into the network view but DO NOT add a new device. Instead, drag the "SIMATIC S7-300/400" entry under "HMI connections > S7-300/400 PLC (Proxy)" to bind to the existing remote S7-300.
3. Set the S7 Classic partner IP to 192.168.0.20, slot 2 (CPU slot), rack 0.
4. Tick "Establish active connection" if the HMI is to initiate; otherwise the S7-300 establishes it (default for S7 routing).

4. PLC Program Structure

Use the standard STEP 7 (TIA Portal) program blocks layout. For a project with three VFD pumps and several temperature regulators, the typical layout is:

4.1 Pump FB Interface

Define the FB so the instance DB becomes the HMI tag carrier. This avoids creating parallel HMI tag lists.

FUNCTION_BLOCK "PumpCtrl"
VAR_INPUT
  i_bStart : BOOL;          // from HMI start button
  i_bStop  : BOOL;          // from HMI stop button
  i_rSpeedSP : REAL;        // 0..100.0 [%]
  i_tRunTimer : TIME;       // min run time
END_VAR
VAR_OUTPUT
  q_bRunning : BOOL;
  q_bFault   : BOOL;
  q_wFaultCode : WORD;      // maps to drive r0947 / ZSW1 bit 3 + custom codes
  q_rSpeedAct : REAL;
END_VAR
VAR
  s_instCtrl : SINA_SPEED;  // SINAMICS standard block, FB285
  s_tStartTimer : TON_TIME;
END_VAR
BEGIN
  // Interlock + ramp logic
  // Drive telegram 1 (PZD-2/2) via s_instCtrl
  // Fault latch + clear
END_FUNCTION_BLOCK

4.2 Temperature Regulator

Drop PID_Compact (FB 1139 in the TIA Portal library) into the program and configure:

• Setpoint scaling: 0..100 °C maps to 0..27648 raw.
• Output: REAL 0..100 % → drive speed SP via FB100 interface, or analog output via AQ module.
• Anti-windup: enable; integrator feedback on output saturation.
• Tuning mode: "Pretuning" once on cold start, then switch to "Auto" after ramp completion.

4.3 Alarm Handling

S7-1500 supports two complementary alarm models.

4.3.1 Bit Alarms (legacy WinCC)

Create an alarm tag of type "BOOL alarm", assign trigger tag (e.g., "PumpCtrl_1".q_bFault) and message text. Bind it to an alarm class ("Failure", "Warning", "Message"). This is the simplest method and is the only method that matches PCS7 message conventions one-for-one.

4.3.2 ProDiag Alarms (recommended for new builds)

ProDiag (firmware ≥ V2.0 on S7-1500) generates categorized alarms automatically from PLC code annotations. Open the program block, place the cursor on a wire, and use "ProDiag overview > Add supervision". For each supervision, configure:

Compile the block and confirm ProDiag FB is generated automatically in the project tree. The HMI alarm view will populate with the categories without manual tag binding.

4.4 Classic → TIA Tag Bridge via PLC Proxy

To expose a Classic DB tag (e.g., DB50.DBD10) to the Comfort Panel:

1. Open the HMI tag editor.
2. Click "Add new tag".
3. Connection: the S7-300/400 PLC (Proxy) connection you created in step 3.5.
4. PLC name: the proxy symbol assigned (default "PROXY_DB").
5. Address: DB50.DBD10 as REAL.
6. Acquisition cycle: 500 ms.

5. HMI Screens

5.1 Screen Hierarchy

5.2 Tag Interconnection Pattern

Bind every HMI tag to the S7-1500 instance DB first; never duplicate tags as panel-internal variables. This guarantees one source of truth and lets the alarm viewer query the same DB fields the program uses. For the Classic DB tags, use the proxy connection only where absolutely required; convert where feasible to a structured data block on the S7-1500 and use GET/PUT to pull values from the S7-300 (slower, but avoids panel-side proxy complexity for non-critical data).

5.3 Alarm Display Configuration

1. Drop the "Alarm view" control on screen 4.
2. Configure the columns: Date/Time, Severity, Acknowledged, Source, Event text.
3. In the alarm view properties, enable "Show pending alarms" and "Show acknowledged alarms".
4. For ProDiag: the alarm class is automatically generated; no extra configuration.
5. For bit alarms: assign the same alarm class names used in the Classic project (PCS7 standard: "Alarm", "Warning", "Failure", "Tolerance", "Process Message") to preserve operator familiarity.

6. SINAMICS Drive Parameterization

6.1 Startdrive Online Commissioning

1. Right-click the G120 in the project tree → "Go online".
2. Select the PROFINET interface as access point.
3. Click "Assign IP" if blank, then "Assign PROFINET device name". The name must match the project (default: g120p-1).
4. Open the parameter tree, execute "Factory reset" once if the drive is new, then "Upload parameters to PG".
5. Run the Startdrive commissioning wizard: motor data from nameplate, application class "Standard drive" (p0501 = 1), control mode "Speed control without encoder" (p1300 = 20) for centrifugal pump load.

6.2 Key Parameters for Pump Service

6.3 Fault Code Mapping

The most common G120 pump-service faults and their handling in the S7-1500:

Capture the active fault via SINA_SPEED input Fault (WORD) and copy into the pump FB output q_wFaultCode so the HMI faceplate displays the standard Siemens drive diagnostic number, not a custom code.

7. Compile, Download, and Verification

7.1 Compile Order

1. Right-click PLC → "Compile > Software (rebuild all)".
2. Right-click HMI → "Compile > Software (rebuild all)". This forces the HMI to read the latest tag database and rebuild the runtime.
3. Resolve any "Address in use" warnings before downloading.

7.2 Download Sequence

1. PG/PC interface: select your PROFINET or Ethernet adapter, set access to the subnet 192.168.0.0/24.
2. Online → Accessible nodes. Verify all devices appear.
3. Assign PROFINET device names in this order: PLC, drives, HMI, Classic proxy only after the PLC has the S7 routing enabled.
4. Download to PLC: include program blocks, keep current hardware config or replace fully (replace deletes existing programs and DBs; keep preserves current online values).
5. Download to HMI: enable "Overwrite existing user administration" if migrating from PCS7 user list.

7.3 Verification Checklist

8. Troubleshooting Matrix

9. Field-Commissioning Notes

Three habits make commissioning faster and prevent late-site surprises:

1. Compile before device swap. Always "Compile > Software (rebuild all)" after editing a single block and before touching a drive parameter. The cross-references across PLC, HMI, and Startdrive are interconnected and a partial compile can hide HMI tag changes until the next full build.
2. Use the TIA Portal Openness interface for large IO. If the plant has more than 200 alarms, export/import via Openness (C# or VB.NET script). Manual entry is error-prone beyond that scale.
3. Mirror Classic alarms into the S7-1500 DB. Even with the PLC proxy active, copy critical Classic alarm bits into the S7-1500 DB on each cycle and present them as bit alarms on the new HMI. This decouples the new HMI from any future Classic hardware change and gives the operator a single, consistent alarm list.

10. Migration Path from PCS7/WinCC Classic

If the question comes from a PCS7 or WinCC Classic background, the table below maps the familiar concepts to TIA Portal equivalents.

11. Demo Projects and Templates

Siemens publishes demo projects that can be opened directly in TIA Portal to jump-start a new build:

• "S7-1500 with PID_Compact and HMI Comfort Panel": covers the FB200 faceplate pattern used in section 4.2.
• "SINAMICS G120 Startdrive Commissioning": full wiring of SINA_SPEED to a G120 over PROFINET, including fault-code decoder.
• "HMI ProDiag Function Blocks": source FBs for generating categorized HMI alarms from ladder/ST code.