How to Implement Continuous Integration and Deployment for Siemens PLC?

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How to implement continuous integration and deployment based on Siemens PLC? These DevOps practices make your automation project development more efficient and agile!

Hello everyone, I am Hanhan. Today we are going to discuss an interesting topic – how to apply continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) from software development to PLC projects. Yes, that’s the fancy-sounding DevOps practice! Don’t think it’s absurd; it’s actually quite practical.

1.

Why use CI/CD in PLC projects?

Think about it, traditional PLC development often encounters these annoying issues:

• Code versions are messy, and it’s unclear which one is the latest.
• When multiple people collaborate, problems often arise, and it’s unclear who made the change.
• Every modification requires manually downloading the program, which is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and prone to errors.
• Unexpected bugs always pop up during on-site debugging.

If we could automatically test, build, and deploy like we do in software development, how great would that be! Believe it or not, there is such a thing – PLC CI/CD.

2.

How to set up a PLC CI/CD environment?

1. Version Control System: Use Git to manage your PLC programs. Yes, you read that right, PLC code can also be managed with Git!

2. Automated Build Tools: Choose a good PLC automation tool, such as Siemens’ Command Interface or TIA Portal Openness. These tools allow you to automatically compile PLC programs using scripts.

3. Continuous Integration Server: Jenkins is a great choice. It can automatically trigger builds, run tests, and generate reports.

4. Automated Testing Framework: You may need to build this yourself. Consider using Python to write scripts that simulate input signals and then read PLC outputs for validation.

5. Deployment Tools: Once again, use Command Interface or Openness, which can help you automatically download programs to the PLC.

3.

A typical PLC CI/CD process

1. The developer modifies the PLC program locally and then submits it to the Git repository.

2. Jenkins detects code changes and automatically triggers the build process.

3. Use TIA Portal Openness to compile the PLC program and generate a downloadable file.

4. Run automated testing scripts to simulate various input scenarios and verify that the PLC output meets expectations.

5. If the tests pass, automatically deploy the program to the test PLC.

6. Generate test reports and build logs, notifying the development team.

7. If everything is normal, manually trigger the deployment to the production environment.

# This is a simple PLC automation testing script example
import snap7
def test_plc_output():
    client = snap7.client.Client()
    client.connect('192.168.0.1', 0, 1)  # Connect to PLC
    # Simulate input signal
    client.write_area(snap7.types.Areas.MK, 0, 0, b'\x01')  # Set M0.0 to True
    # Read output
    output = client.read_area(snap7.types.Areas.PA, 0, 0, 1)
    # Validate output
    assert output[0] == 1, "Output signal does not meet expectations"
    client.disconnect()
test_plc_output()

Notes:

• Never deploy arbitrarily in the production environment! Establish strict review and verification mechanisms.
• Automated testing cannot completely replace on-site testing, especially for safety-related parts.
• Remember to back up! Always back up the current PLC program before automatic deployment.

4.

Benefits of PLC CI/CD

1. Clearer version management: No more worrying about finding the latest version or who modified whose code.

2. Increased development efficiency: Automated builds and tests save a lot of repetitive work.

3. Reduced human errors: The fewer manual operations, the fewer opportunities for mistakes.

4. Easier rollback: If something goes wrong? One-click rollback to the previous stable version.

5. Facilitates team collaboration: Everyone’s modifications are clear, and conflicts are easily identifiable.

5.

Common questions and solutions

1. PLC program incompatible with Git?Solution: Try using TIA Portal’s export function to export the program in XML format, so it can be managed with Git.

2. Automated testing coverage not comprehensive?Solution: Gradually improve test cases based on actual scenarios. Consider using simulation software to simulate more complex scenarios.

3. How to ensure safety when deploying to the production environment?Solution: Establish a multi-level review mechanism, set up environment isolation, so that only thoroughly tested and reviewed code can be deployed to the production environment.

4. How to migrate existing projects to CI/CD mode?Solution: You can gradually introduce it, starting with version control, then gradually incorporating automated builds, tests, and deployments.

Practical advice: Start by trying PLC CI/CD practices on small projects. Begin with simple automated builds and gradually introduce automated testing and deployment. Remember, to do a good job, one must first sharpen their tools. Choosing the right tools is crucial; try out several combinations to find the workflow that suits you best.

Don’t forget to stay vigilant; no automated system can do without human supervision. After all, we are dealing with industrial control systems, safety first, stability above all!

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