Get to Know Siemens Features in ET200SP Remote I/O

Cost or function? That's the choice many design engineers have to make when it comes to I/O. With products like Siemens ET200SP Remote I/O, you can strike a balance between cost and function for the best possible result.

Finding the Features You Need

Many Siemens Bus Couplers come in two or more versions with respective features. High Feature Bus Couplers allow a larger amount of I/O on a particular drop, for instance, than the Standard variant of the same module.  At the individual I/O module level, these variations are more prevalent, and depending on the application requirements, can give the design engineer the means to optimize the cost of the system against the features needed.

To draw the distinction, here is a quick comparison of an 8-point digital input module (24VDC) in Basic (BA), Standard (ST), and High Feature (HF) versions.  

Common features for all modules are diagnostic events associated with a module failure, the ability to disable individual channels, and individualized channel input delay (de-bounce) times.  The real differentiators are how much detail is available for additional diagnostic situations.

The 8xDI BA module (Basic) offers module diagnostics in the form of indication of lost supply voltage. 

The 8xDI ST module (Standard) also offers lost supply voltage diagnostics.   It adds short circuit to ground and wire break diagnostic indications if so desired (select to activate).  These are an all-or-none selection, meaning that you enable short circuit and/or wire break detection for all of the inputs or none of them.

The 8xDI HF module (High Feature) also offers lost supply voltage diagnostics.  Short circuit to ground, and wire break diagnostics are also present with this level but now they can be configured on a point by point basis.  So some inputs could have wire break detection activated, and others wire break plus short circuit to ground, etc.

Using the Standard series 8xDI 24VDC card as a cost benchmark, the Basic (BA) version runs about 5% lower in cost and the High Feature (HF) version runs about 15% higher in cost.  Other types of cards will follow suit in general direction, though the cost difference will vary depending on the module.

Here is an abbreviated chart from Siemens on the breakdown for the I/O modules in the ET200SP family:

And here is an abbreviated chart for the Bus Couplers (Interface Modules):

Part numbers used in this example were:

• 6ES7131-6BF00-0AA0 ET 200SP, DI 8X24VDC BASIC
• 6ES7131-6BF00-0BA0 ET 200SP, DI 8X24VDC ST
• 6ES7131-6BF00-0CA0 ET 200SP, DI 8X24VDC HF

Finding the optimal variation of product for your project ensures reliable operation for years to come.

To learn more about Siemens products or discuss a project, contact one of our experts at ACD.

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