PLC.Commissioning.Lib

This repository was developed for the purpose of automating the testing of PROFINET sensors as part of a diploma thesis by @vformi at Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU), within the Open Informatics program specializing in Software Engineering.

Overview

This repository contains the main library for commissioning PLCs and includes links to manufacturer-specific libraries as Git submodules. The structure is designed to enable modular, automated testing across different PLC manufacturers, with each submodule providing manufacturer-specific functionality.

Prerequisites

• Operating System: Windows (required)
  • The TIA Portal is "only" supported on Windows, so this library requires a Windows platform to function properly.
• TIA Portal and TIA Portal Openness: TIA Portal (with TIA Openness enabled) must be installed on the system, as the library interacts directly with the TIA Portal software for PLC commissioning and testing.
  • Ensure that you have the necessary permissions, including membership in the Siemens TIA Openness Windows group, to allow programmatic access to TIA Portal functionalities.

  Note: The library was developed on TIA Portal V17, but exploratory testing was conducted against versions ranging from V17 up to V20. While not a deep test of all methods, the core functionality was verified to work in these newer versions, suggesting it should be compatible in most cases.

This repository contains the main library for commissioning PLCs and includes links to manufacturer-specific libraries and other functionalities as Git submodules. The structure is designed to enable modular, automated testing across different PLC manufacturers, with each submodule providing manufacturer-specific functionality.

Repositories Structure

The project is divided across several repositories:

• PLC.Commissioning.Lib (this repository)
• PLC.Commissioning.Lib.Abstractions
• PLC.Commissioning.Lib.Siemens
• PLC.Commissioning.Lib.Siemens.Webserver
• Further manufacturers (Rockwell, Beckhoff) in development

Cloning the Project

To clone the main repository with all submodules, use:

git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/vformi/PLC.Commissioning.Lib

To update the submodules later, use:

git submodule update --init --recursive

Solution Overview

dt.PLC.Commissioning.Lib.sln

• This is the main solution containing all projects, including the core library, abstractions, Manufacturer-specific implementations, tests, and the PLC.Commissioning.Lib.App project.

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Use this solution if you want to:

• Explore the full source code of the library.
• Run comprehensive examples via PLC.Commissioning.Lib.App, which demonstrates most of the library’s features in an executable application.
• Contribute to the library or customize it for your needs.

Usage

using PLC.Commissioning.Lib.Enums;
using PLC.Commissioning.Lib.Abstractions;

var controller = PLCFactory.CreateController<IPLCControllerSiemens>(Manufacturer.Siemens);
// Configure, initialize, and start your PLC operations

For further usage examples see PLC.Commissioning.Lib.App as advised above.

dt.PLC.Commissioning.Lib.Standalone.sln

This solution focuses on showcasing the library’s standalone capability as a single DLL (PLC.Commissioning.Lib.Merged.dll).

• PLC.Commissioning.Lib.App.Standalone: A full-featured example demonstrating extensive functionality using the same DLL.

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Use this solution if you want to:

• See how to integrate and use the library as a single DLL in your own projects.
• Test the standalone deployment without needing the full source code.

For further usage examples see PLC.Commissioning.Lib.App.Standalone as advised above.

Which Solution Should You Choose?

• For Developers and Explorers: Open dt.PLC.Commissioning.Lib.sln in editor to access the complete library source, including the PLC.Commissioning.Lib.App project for detailed examples.
• For End Users and Integrators: Open dt.PLC.Commissioning.Lib.Standalone.sln to see how to use the pre-built PLC.Commissioning.Lib.Merged.dll in standalone applications, with minimal examples provided.

Troubleshooting

Engineering Security Exception

If you encounter the following error:

[12:25:45 ERR] EngineeringSecurityException: Ensure the user 'USER' is a member of the Siemens TIA Openness group.

This indicates that the user running the application is not a member of the Siemens TIA Openness Windows group, which is required for accessing certain TIA Portal functionality. To resolve this issue:

1. Add the User to the Siemens TIA Openness Group:
   • Open Local Users and Groups by pressing Win + R, typing lusrmgr.msc, and pressing Enter.
   • In the Groups section, locate Siemens TIA Openness.
   • Right-click on Siemens TIA Openness and select Add to Group.
   • Add your user to the group.
   • Save and close, then restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
2. Refer to Siemens Support Detailed Guide:
   • For more information, refer to the Siemens Support Detailed Guide.

FileNotFoundException: Siemens.Engineering.dll

If you encounter the following error:

Unhandled exception: System.IO.FileNotFoundException: Could not load file or assembly Siemens.Engineering, Version=17.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=d29ec89bac048f84 or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified.

This indicates the required Siemens.Engineering.dll file is missing. To resolve:

• Verify that TIA Portal is installed and matches the required version.
• Ensure the Siemens.Engineering.dll file is properly referenced in your project.
• You have the following options to start the TIA Portal with a TIA Portal Openness application:
  • Use an application configuration file (recommended in most use cases).
  • Use the "AssemblyResolve" method (recommended when you use copy deploy etc.).
  • Copy the Siemens.Engineering.dll in the TIA Portal Openness application directory.

For more information, refer to the TIA Portal Openness Documentation (Page 81). You can take a look at the PLC.Commissioning.Lib.Standalone.sln where you can see how the copying of the Siemens.Engineering files is handled.

Single dll publish workflow

1. Install ILRepack

dotnet tool install -g dotnet-ilrepack 

2. Ensure your project and all dependencies are built successfully and output DLLs are in the bin\Release\netstandard2.0 folder:

dotnet build -c Release

After running the build, a ilrepack.rsp file will be created in the bin\Release\netstandard2.0 directory. This file contains the list of all .dll files to be merged, excluding the already merged output.

Steps to reproduce

1. Navigate to proper directory

cd PLC.Commissioning.Lib

2. Build the project:

dotnet build -c Release

3. Navigate to the output directory:

cd bin\Release\netstandard2.0

4. Run the ilrepack command:

ilrepack /out:PLC.Commissioning.Lib.Merged.dll "@ilrepack.rsp"

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Note: The merged DLL (PLC.Commissioning.Lib.Merged.dll) includes only this project’s code and MIT-licensed dependencies. Proprietary Siemens Openness DLLs (e.g., Siemens.Engineering.dll) remain external and must be provided by the user’s TIA Portal installation.