ICP DAS has tested the performance of its Win-GRAF controllers and compared the results with similar PLCs from Siemens. A basic performance comparison is presented in the figures below, while a more detailed comparison is available in the file. The testing included controllers with support for the Win-GRAF programming environment, which in turn supports the IEC 61131-3 standard and allows you to create algorithms in industrial languages LD, ST, FBD, SFC and IL.
Comparison of PLC hardware characteristics:
| Name | ICP DAS | Siemens | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model name | EMP-9x58-xx* | EMP-2848M | RPAC-2658 | XP-8x38-CE6 |
WP-9x28-CE7 WP-8x28-CE7 |
S7-300 |
S7-1500, (S7-1200) |
| Communication ports | |||||||
| Ethernet | 2xRJ45 | 1xRJ45 | 3xRJ45 | 2xRJ45 | 2xRJ45 | - | 1xRJ45 |
| COM | RS-232/485 | RS-232/485/422 | |||||
| USB | 2 | - | |||||
| EtherCAT | 1xRJ45 | 1xRJ45 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Profinet | - | - | - | - | - | - | Profinet |
| Profibus | - | - | - | - | - | RS-485 | |
| Slots | 2 | - | - | 7 | 8 | 21 | 8 |
| Maximum number of discrete and analog signals | |||||||
| DI | 16384 | 4096 | 1600 | 1824 | 1824 | 256 | 16 384 |
| DO | 16384 | 4096 | 1600 | 1824 | 1824 | 256 | 16 384 |
| AI | 2108 | 2048 | 1600 | 1712 | 1728 | 64 | 1 024 |
| AO | 2108 | 2048 | 1600 | 1712 | 1728 | 64 | 1 024 |
| Support for industrial protocols | |||||||
| Ethernet | Modbus TCP/IP | Modbus TCP/IP | - | Modbus TCP/IP | |||
| EtherCAT | Profinet, Profibus | ||||||
| Serial | Modbus RTU, ASCII | Profibus | Modbus RTU, ASCII, | ||||
|
Modbus TCP/IP Server |
✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | - | ✔ |
| TCP/IP Client | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | - | ✔ |
| RTU Slave | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | - | ✔ |
| RTU master | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | - | ✔ |
| OPC UA Server | ✔ | - | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | - | ✔ |
| OPC UA Client | - | - | - | - | - | - | ✔ |
| Web server | - | - | - | - | - | - | ✔ |
| Redundancy | - | - | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
EMP-9x58-xx controllers are still under development and testing, stay tuned for updates on our website.
Comparison of PLC software features:
| Name | ICP DAS | Siemens | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model name | EMP-9x58-xx* | EMP-2848M | RPAC-2658 | XP-8x38-CE6 |
WP-9x28-CE7 WP-8x28-CE7 |
S7-300 |
S7-1500, (S7-1200) |
| Development environment | Win-GRAF | SIMATIC STEP7 | |||||
| IEC 61131-3 support | LD, FBD , ST, IL, SFC | LAD, FBD,STL, SCL, GRAPH, HiGraph | LAD, FBD,STL, SCL, GRAPH | ||||
| Log. functions | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Timers | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Counters | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Comparators | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Math. functions | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| PID | PID | PID | PID | PID | PID | PID based functions |
PID Compact PID 3-step PID Temp Autotune |
| Data logging | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | - | ✔ |
| Motion control | ✔ | ✔ | - | - | - | ✔ | ✔ |
CPU processing time comparison:
| Model Name | Bit | WORD | Fixed point | Floating point |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EMP-9x58-xx* i5 | 4.6 ns | 4.7 ns | 5.3 ns | 5.0 ns |
| EMP-2848M | 17.76 ns | 13.83 ns | 18.94 ns | 19.74 ns |
| RPAC-2658 | 44 ns | 45 ns | 62 ns | 63 ns |
| WP-9x28-CE7 | 38 ns | 43 ns | 54 ns | 112 ns |
| XP-8x38-CE6 | 29 ns | 29 ns | 32 ns | 61 ns |
| WP-8x28-CE7 | 38 ns | 43 ns | 54 ns | 112 ns |
| S7-300 (CPU 312) | 100 ns | 240 ns | 320 ns | 1100 ns |
| S7-400 (CPU 412-2 PN) | 31.25 ns | 31.25 ns | 31.25 ns | 62.5 ns |
| S7-1500 (CPU 1515-2 PN) | 30 ns | 36 ns | 48 ns | 192 ns |
The main difference between the ICP DAS controllers is the different CPU performance, installed OS and the ability to install expansion modules. Having multiple cores improves PLC performance and allows multiple tasks to be performed at the same time, and the ability to expand with modules allows multiple I/O signals to be processed directly on the PLC without the need to poll remote devices.
Comparison of ICP DAS controllers:
| Controller | CPU/Performance | OS | Reservation/Switching time | I/O extension | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EMP-9x58-xx* i5 | Intel Core i5-8365UE, 4.1 GHz, 4 cores | Windows 10 IoT | No | e9K, I-9K, I-97K | Win-GRAF, VS.NET 2008 |
| EMP-2848M | Cortex-A53, 1.6 GHz, 4 cores | Linux Kernel 4.14.98 | No | No | Win-GRAF |
| RPAC-2658 | i.MX6, 1 GHz, 4 cores/522 |
Linux Kernel 4.1.15 |
Yes, 200 ms | No | Win-GRAF, C |
| XP-8x38-CE6 | R3600, 1 GHz, 2 cores/199 |
Windows CE 6.0 |
Yes, 3 с | I-8K/I-87K | Win-GRAF, VS.NET 2008 |
| WP-9x28-CE7 | AM3354, 1 GHz, 1 core/115 |
Windows CE 7.0 |
No | I-9K/I-97K | |
| WP-8x28-CE7 | No | I-8K/I-87K |
The test results showed that the main characteristics of the Win-GRAF controllers from ICP DAS are similar or even superior to PLCs from Siemens. Of course, PLCs from ICP DAS cannot be considered full analogues of Siemens PLCs, but in most cases, the capabilities of Win-GRAF controllers are enough to solve the main tasks of automated process control systems, instrumentation, scheduling and production automation.
