Ease of use is of great importance to Pharmabotix, which is why Bürgin and the team did not use existing templates on the Simatic HMI panel, but instead created an exact twin of the system using the WinCC visualisation software. This allows for intuitive operation. “We had a kind of ‘iPhone experience’ in mind,” explains Stutz. “The system parts – such as robots or linear axes – can be tapped and then operated or configured as required.” The Pharmabotix systems are usually intended for use in clean rooms and thus require a space-saving design due to the expense associated with operating these rooms. “The fact that Siemens products have a compact design is an enormous help here. Furthermore, the Profinet connection of the system parts keeps cabling to a minimum as multiple signals can be sent via a single cable,” explains Bürgin.

With the Simatic Robot Library – the interface between robot control and system control – robots from different manufacturers can be programmed and operated in the TIA Portal, and all without the help of external specialists. Based on technological objects, the expanded Motion Control functions of the Simatic S7-1500 T-CPU simplify the programming, commissioning and diagnosis of Extended Motion Control functions and can trigger kinematics with up to six interpolating axes.