Siemens / SIMATIC S7-1500

Every S7-1500 CPU across both hardware generations, plus displays and the number decode. Current production.

The S7-1500 is the current SIMATIC rack platform and the successor to the S7-300 and S7-400. We quote it as a distributor with a lead time to your site, and we also handle used and surplus units for anyone matching an existing generation.

How to read an S7-1500 article number

The number is almost fully readable once you know the scheme, and nobody publishes it plainly.

Take 6ES7516-3FN02-0AB0.

The variant letter. A is standard. F is fail-safe. T is technology and motion. U is technology fail-safe. C is compact with onboard I/O.

The memory letter, ascending. K is roughly 150 to 225 KB. L is 300 to 450 KB. M is 500 to 900 KB. N is 1 to 1.5 MB. P is 2 to 3 MB. Q is 4 to 6 MB. T is 12 to 18 MB.

The generation digits. 00, 01, 02, 03, 10 and so on. Higher is newer, and later generations carry more memory for the same CPU number.

So 6ES7516-3AP03-0AB0 is the same CPU 1516, standard rather than fail-safe, one memory tier up, generation 03.

Two things that must be checked before you buy

Every S7-1500 CPU requires a memory card

Siemens states it in the ordering data for every single CPU. Without a SIMATIC Memory Card the CPU will not run the user program. A used S7-1500 bought without a card is not a working CPU.

This is the single most common cause of a replacement CPU not starting. Ask the seller. If you buy from us we tell you whether the card is included.

The display is a separate part

It clips onto the front and can be removed, lost or damaged without stopping the CPU. A CPU with no display still runs, but you lose local diagnostics and the IP address readout.

Displays turn up loose in stripped panels and are exactly what someone needs to complete a used CPU. If you have spares, we buy them.

Standard CPUs, earlier generation

Standard CPUs, later generation

Compact CPUs

Technology CPUs

The wider T range runs 1511T through 1518TF including PN and PN/DP variants. Send us the number and we will quote it.

Digital modules

What BA, ST and HF actually mean

Siemens grades S7-1500 modules by feature level, and it is not cosmetic.

• BA is Basic. Lowest cost, no channel diagnostics.
• ST is Standard.
• HF is High Feature, with channel level diagnostics and finer parameterisation.

A BA module will not report a channel fault. Swap an HF for a BA and you lose diagnostics and the CPU configuration no longer matches. This applies right across SM 521, SM 522, SM 531 and SM 532.

If you are substituting, send us both numbers and we will tell you whether it will work.

Full module families in the range: SM 521 digital input, SM 522 digital output, SM 523 digital combined, SM 531 analog input, SM 532 analog output, SM 534 analog combined. Technology modules TM Count 2x24V, TM PosInput 2, TM Timer DIDQ 16x24V and TM PTO 4. Weighing SIWAREX WP521 and WP522 ST. Communication CM PtP, CM 1542-5 and CP 1543-1.

SIPLUS, and a second prefix to watch

Standard SIPLUS uses 6AG1 in place of 6ES7.

But the rail-approved variants use 6AG2.

So the prefix itself carries meaning. 6ES7 is standard, 6AG1 is SIPLUS extended environment, 6AG2 is SIPLUS rail. Someone searching 6AG1 for a rail part will find nothing.

ET 200MP uses these same modules

An ET 200MP station is an IM 155-5 interface module plus the S7-1500 modules listed above, exactly as ET 200M is an IM 153 plus S7-300 modules. If you are chasing a module for a distributed rack, everything on this page applies.

Migrating from S7-300 or S7-400

The S7-1500 is the successor to both, and neither is a drop-in. Different rack, different power supply, new front connectors, and a hardware reconfiguration in TIA Portal. Budget it as a project.

We can supply the new hardware, keep your S7-300 or S7-400 running through commissioning, and take the decommissioned racks away afterwards. That combination is hard to get from a supplier who only handles one end of it.

Send us your article numbers

CPU, display, modules or memory card. Tell us whether you need the memory card, because the CPU will not run without one. Quotes in NZD including GST.

Request a quote

Industech is an independent supplier of new, surplus and used industrial automation equipment. We are not an authorised distributor of, approved by, sanctioned by, or affiliated with Siemens AG. All trademarks, brand names and article numbers are the property of their respective owners and are used here for identification purposes only.