Exporting SINAMICS G120 Parameters to CSV in Startdrive

Overview: Startdrive Parameter Backup Methods

Siemens SINAMICS Startdrive is the engineering environment integrated into the TIA Portal that configures, commissions, and diagnoses the SINAMICS drive family — including the G120, G120C, G120D, G120P, G110M, S110, S120, S210, and V90. A recurring commissioning task is preserving the drive's parameter set to a file on the engineering PC so it can be archived, restored, compared against a baseline, or handed off to maintenance. Unlike the legacy STARTER tool that exposed a single "Save to PG / Download to Filesystem" command, Startdrive splits the workflow into three distinct actions, each with a specific scope and a specific online-state requirement:

• Export parameter list (CSV) — reads the parameter view and writes a comma-separated file for documentation, spreadsheet analysis, or version control.
• Upload to PG — copies the parameter image currently held in the drive's non-volatile memory into the TIA Portal project on the engineering station, so the offline project mirrors the as-installed drive state.
• RAM → ROM (Copy RAM to ROM) — persists the volatile working parameters to the drive's non-volatile memory card or internal flash, so the drive retains its current configuration across a power cycle.

Each action addresses a different data lifetime. The right choice depends on whether the engineer needs a document, an editable project copy, or a non-volatile drive state. The remainder of this article walks through the three flows, highlights the online/offline constraints that confuse first-time users, and clarifies the differences from the legacy STARTER toolchain. For SINAMICS Integrated drives on a SIMATIC Drive Controller, the same procedures are documented in the TIA Portal help under Backing up data with SINAMICS Startdrive.

Prerequisites

Before attempting any of the parameter export flows, confirm the following items are in place. Each prerequisite prevents the most common Startdrive commissioning errors.

1. TIA Portal installation with the Startdrive option. Startdrive is a separately licensed option (article number 6SL3072-4KA02-0XA0 for the basic package) that must be installed on top of the TIA Portal STEP 7 base. The Startdrive version must match the TIA Portal version (Startdrive V13 with TIA V13, Startdrive V15 with TIA V15.1, Startdrive V16 with TIA V16, Startdrive V17 with TIA V17, etc.). Mismatched versions will refuse to load the drive device.
2. Device inserted into the project. The G120 must already exist in the project tree as a configured device with a Control Unit and one or more Power Modules / Motor Modules. Right-click the device folder and choose Device configuration to verify the topology before exporting.
3. PROFINET or PROFIBUS connection established. For TCP/IP-based access, set the PG/PC interface to the appropriate network adapter; for PROFIBUS, configure the CP on the programming device. The G120 Control Unit (e.g., CU250S-2 PN, CU240E-2 PN) advertises itself via DCP on PROFINET.
4. Access level (expert password) known. Some parameters (Service, Expert, Manufacturer only) are hidden behind access level 4. From the parameter view, click Access level and enter the expert password if your export needs to capture all parameters including commissioning-level p05xx drive functions.
5. Firmware version aligned with the project. The most frequent export error is "Firmware version of the online drive does not match the offline project". Right-click the device in the project tree → Properties → General → Catalog and align the configured firmware with the connected drive, or use Upload to PG (covered below) to let the tool reconcile the versions automatically.

Exporting the Parameter List to CSV

The CSV export is the most common "save drive setup to PC" request. It produces a human-readable, spreadsheet-friendly file that lists every parameter visible in the parameter view together with its name, value, unit, and access level. The procedure is the same in TIA V13 through V17.

Procedure

1. In the TIA Portal project tree, expand the SINAMICS G120 device until the Drive subnode is visible. Drive subnodes include the Control Unit, the Infeed, and the Vector / Servo / Drive object.
2. Double-click the Parameter node inside the drive. The work area opens a commissioning overview.
3. In the upper right of the commissioning work area, open the Parameter view tab. This is the tabular list of all parameters, grouped by parameter number (r0000, p0003, p0010, etc.).
4. Click the Filter listbox at the top of the parameter view to narrow the list (e.g., to Expert or Commissioning access level).
5. Click the Export to CSV button — the second button to the right of the Filter listbox. The icon is a small table with an arrow pointing out of it.
6. Choose the destination path and filename (e.g., G120_Unit_01_2024-11-26.csv). The CSV is written using the system locale's decimal separator and field delimiter.

The resulting CSV contains the following columns by default:

The CSV file is read-only in the sense that Startdrive does not re-import it back into the project. It is a snapshot intended for documentation, audit, or comparison against a baseline. To load a saved parameter set back into a drive, use the Upload to PG / Download to device flow described in the next section.

Upload to PG: Mirroring the Online Drive into the Project

The legacy STARTER tool exposed a single command Save to PG / Load to PG that pulled the live parameters from the drive into the offline project. Startdrive preserves this functionality with a renamed command accessible only when the project is online with the device.

Procedure

1. Go online with the G120: select the drive device in the project tree, then click Go online in the toolbar (or press Ctrl+K). The status indicator next to the device turns orange/green when online.
2. Right-click the drive device (or the Control Unit node). The context menu shows a number of upload actions. In Startdrive V15 and later, choose Upload to PG (German: Hochladen in PG). In Startdrive V13 / V14 the menu wording is Load to PG/PC with identical behavior.
3. Confirm the upload dialog. Startdrive copies the parameter image from the drive's non-volatile memory into the offline project, then reconciles any device-version mismatches automatically.
4. After upload, click Go offline, then save the project (Ctrl+S) so the freshly mirrored parameters are persisted in the TIA Portal project file (.ap16 for V16, .ap17_1 for V17, etc.).

Use Upload to PG whenever a drive's existing parameter set is unknown, when commissioning history is lost, or when a service technician has changed settings directly at the drive's BOP-2 or IOP-2 operator panel and the engineering project needs to be re-aligned with reality.

RAM to ROM: Persisting the Drive State

All parameter changes made through Startdrive's online mode, the BOP-2, or the IOP-2 land in the drive's volatile RAM and are lost at the next power cycle unless they are written to non-volatile memory. The G120 Control Unit contains an internal flash memory; a CU250S-2 with a plugged-in SD card additionally provides a removable non-volatile store. The Copy RAM to ROM command (also referred to as Save to non-volatile or RAM → ROM) commits the current RAM image.

Procedure

1. With the project online, open the parameter view and navigate to parameter p0971 (CU save objects of drive object), or use the toolbar action Copy RAM to ROM if Startdrive exposes a button for it (V16 and later).
2. Set p0971 = 1 and click Write. The drive writes its parameter image to the configured non-volatile memory. The process can take from 1 s for a small image to over 30 s for a fully configured multi-DO system.
3. Wait for parameter p0971 to be automatically reset to 0 by the drive, indicating the save completed without error.
4. Verify with parameter r0967 or by power-cycling the drive and reading the parameters back.

Always issue Copy RAM to ROM immediately after the final commissioning change. The legacy STARTER "Save to ROM" button had identical semantics.

Online vs Offline: Why the Export Button Is Greyed Out

Many first-time Startdrive users report that the CSV export button is visible but disabled. The cause is almost always an offline project state. The parameter view can be opened offline, but the values shown are the offline project's last-known values — not the live drive values. To force a refresh from the live drive, the view requires an online connection, which in turn enables the Export to CSV action with the most current values.

If the firmware mismatch error appears, perform Upload to PG first. The tool reconciles the offline device with the online device, after which the Export to CSV button becomes available.

Differences from Legacy STARTER Software

Engineers migrating from the pre-TIA STARTER tool (article number 6SL3072-0AA00-0AG0) often expect a single "Save to PC" command. The mapping is:

For users who require the legacy "Download to Filesystem" workflow — for example, to generate a standalone parameter file that can be loaded into a drive without a TIA Portal project — the supported path is to keep using STARTER for those specific projects, or to use the SINAMICS Webserver / DCC tools where applicable. There is no Startdrive command that writes a deployable drive file outside the project context.

TIA Portal Version Compatibility

The CSV export and Upload to PG functions are stable across all currently supported Startdrive versions. The TIA Portal version determines which G120 firmware versions are exposed in the catalog.

If a project was originally commissioned on TIA V13 and is now opened in TIA V16+, perform an upgrade that retargets the device catalog to the new firmware. The CSV file produced in V13 opens cleanly in any spreadsheet regardless of TIA version — the format is stable.

CSV File Format and Re-import Considerations

The CSV produced by Startdrive is a snapshot, not a re-importable configuration. To restore a drive to a previously archived state, use one of the supported flows:

• Project-based restore: Open the TIA Portal project that contains the matching device configuration, then use Download to device to push the project parameters into the drive.
• Project archive restore: If the original project was archived to a .zap16 / .zap17_1 file (File → Archive), extract the archive and open the project.
• Manual CSV-to-parameter import: Read the CSV in Excel, identify the parameters that differ from the live drive, and write them individually using the parameter view's Modify action. This is a slow fallback, not a supported primary workflow.

The CSV uses the locale-specific list separator configured in the Windows Region settings. If you open the CSV on a workstation with a different region, set the field delimiter explicitly in Excel (Data → From Text/CSV) to avoid columns being merged into a single cell.

Troubleshooting Matrix

Security and Commissioning Notes

When archiving drive parameters that include a safety configuration (SINAMICS Safety Integrated, firmware ≥ 4.7), keep in mind the following:

• Safety parameters (e.g., p9601, p9602, p9610, p9620 for STO/SS1) are part of the standard parameter set and are included in the CSV export and the Upload to PG operation. Treat the resulting file with the same care as a safety certificate.
• Know-how protection on the TIA Portal project does not extend to the CSV export. The CSV is plain text. If the parameter set contains confidential tuning data, store the CSV on a restricted-share folder.
• UMAC (User Management and Access Control) introduced in TIA V17 restricts which user roles can perform Upload to PG. The required permission is Drive commissioning engineer or Drive engineer.
• For SINAMICS Integrated drives on a SIMATIC Drive Controller, the same export procedures apply, with the additional consideration that the drive's non-volatile memory shares a partition with the PLC's data — see Backing up data with SINAMICS Startdrive in the TIA Portal help.

Quick Reference Command Map