Introduction
People have been talking about downloading applications and libraries for automation developments from an “app store” for years. It’s finally here now. TIA Package Manager is an external application for TIA Portal from SIEMENS that helps streamline the package management.
What’s more interesting is that with TIA Package Manager, everyone will discover the library packages that have been there but we didn’t know because they hide behind some links in the SiePortal website.
So let’s have a closer look.
How to Get It
TIA Package Manager is provided by SIEMENS and is free to download from the SiePortal website link.
After downloading and unzipping the compressed file, you should see something like below.
The .exe file can be run directly from your file system but it is better to configure it as an external application for TIA Portal.
Configure TIA Portal External Application
To configure the TIA Portal external application, start a TIA Portal instance and access the configuration UI like below.
The name is for your reference so name it your preferred way. The command is where you will select the application. In this case, select TIAPackageManager.exe.
You can leave the rest empty and add the external application.
You have configured TIA Package Manager as an external application of TIA Portal.
How to Use it
To start TIA Package Manager from TIA Portal, follow the below screenshot.
TIA Portal will give you a safety notice.
Then acknowledge the terms and conditions.
Log in with your SIOS / SiePortal account.
Now you can explore yourself.
Note that the application provides the latest link to download SIMIT and TIA Portal packages.
Some Recommended Packages
- Load Balance Lib. Useful if you need to do motor load balance applications like carousells in Airports.
- Palletize Pattern Generator. Useful if you want to provide palletize pattern as part of your palletizer’s recipe system.
- SIMATIC Communication Suite. Super useful communication library.
- STEP7 Engineering Assistant. Useful if you need to work on multiple instances in a project.
- VariableCleaner.
Conclusion
Though the TIA Package Manager is still at its starting stage, it offers lots of potential and we can benefit by simply checking it out from time to time as it consolidates the free resources from SIEMENS.