Product Overview
The 6AV3617-1JC20-0AX1 is Siemens’ SIMATIC OP17/C — the PROFIBUS-DP-capable variant within the OP17 family of character-based operator panels, aimed at small-to-mid complexity machine visualization on S7-300, S7-400, and M7 PLC platforms via MPI or PROFIBUS DP. Where the OP17/A and OP17/B are MPI-only, the “C” suffix in 6AV3617-1JC20-0AX1 adds PROFIBUS DP slave capability (up to 1.5 Mbps), allowing the panel to sit on the CPU’s DP master port (e.g., CPU 315-2 DP, CPU 416-2 DP) rather than consuming one of the limited MPI connections — a meaningful differentiator in cells where the MPI bus is already saturated by a PG, a second OP, and the CPU’s own PG port. The display is a 4-line × 20-character LC (switchable to 8 × 40 in software) with LED backlight (amber/green class), and the front face carries Siemens’ standard OP17 membrane key set: 16 user-definable function keys with LEDs, 22 system keys (cursor, ACK, menu, escape), plus a numeric/hex keypad zone, giving the machine builder enough I/O to navigate screens, acknowledge alarms, enter setpoints, and jog auxiliaries without a touchscreen layer.
Configuration is handled exclusively through ProTool or ProTool/Lite (not TIA Portal — the OP17 predates TIA by over a decade; WinCC Flexible cannot open ProTool projects without migration, and TIA cannot natively configure the 6AV3617-1JC20-0AX1 at all). This makes the panel a pure lifecycle sustainment buy: plants running ProTool-authored HMI layers on 15- to 25-year-old S7-300/400 lines keep the 6AV3617-1JC20-0AX1 on the BOM because rewriting the HMI into TIA/WINCC Flexible to jump to a KTP or Comfort panel is rarely justified for a single-cell legacy machine. The unit is 240 × 204 mm flush-mount, ~50 mm deep, IP65 front / IP20 rear, 24 V DC at 0.34 A (≈10 W), with 256 KB Flash/RAM user memory and an optional 3.6 V RTC backup battery (clock hold ≈4 years). The 6AV3617-1JC20-0AX1 has been discontinued by Siemens; current market availability is refurbished/tested-spares and new-old-stock, which is exactly the buyer profile this description serves.
Technical Specifications
| Parameter Name | Parameter Value |
|---|---|
| Product Model | 6AV3617-1JC20-0AX1 |
| Manufacturer | Siemens |
| Product Type | SIMATIC /C Operator Panel (Character-based, DP version) |
| Display | LC, LED backlit, 4 × 20 chars / 8 × 40 chars switchable, monochrome |
| Function Keys | 24 keys total: 16 programmable F-keys (with LEDs) + 22 system keys + numeric/hex keypad |
| Memory | 256 KB Flash / RAM |
| Supply Voltage | 24 V DC (19.2–28.8 V range, ±20%) |
| Current / Power | 0.34 A typ. / ≈10 W |
| Communication | MPI / PROFIBUS DP slave, up to 1.5 Mbps |
| Serial Interfaces | 2 × RS232, 1 × RS422, 1 × RS485 |
| RTC / Backup | Hardware RTC, optional 3.6 V lithium backup battery |
| Protection | IP65 front / IP20 rear (UL/CSA/FM Class I Div 2, EX Zone 2/22) |
| Operating Temp | 0 … +55 °C |
| Dimensions (W × H × D) | 240 × 204 × 50 mm (flush mount) |
| Config Software | ProTool / ProTool Lite V2.51+, RS232 download (no USB, no Ethernet) |
Main Features and Advantages
DP slave capability saves MPI headroom. The core differentiator of the 6AV3617-1JC20-0AX1 versus the cheaper /A and /B is the “C” hardware revision’s PROFIBUS DP slave port. On a typical S7-400 cell with a CPU 414-2 DP, the MPI side often already carries a PG, maybe an older OP27, and the CPU’s own PG port — leaving zero MPI connections for a second panel. By putting the 6AV3617-1JC20-0AX1 on the DP master port as a DP slave (1.5 Mbps), the MPI bus stays free and the HMI still reads/writes DB, M, I/Q, timers, and counters identically. For retrofit engineers inheriting a saturated MPI backplane, this is why the “C” suffix commands a premium over the “A” on the surplus market.
Physical-key durability for glove/shop-floor duty. The 6AV3617-1JC20-0AX1 is resolutely non-touch — 24 membrane keys with the Siemens tactile feel, F-key LED annunciation, cursor cluster, ACK/Escape, and a 0–9/A–F hex pad. Membrane life is rated ≥1 million actuations, and the front foil is IP65-rated against oil mist and spray — important in packaging, metalworking, and batching skids where a resistive touch would be blinded by coolant or flour dust within a season. Operators who have run the machine for 15 years know which F3 vs F7 does what without looking; migrating them to a KTP touch panel often slows them down, which is why plants keep buying the 6AV3617-1JC20-0AX1 as long as supply holds.
ProTool project continuity. Because the 6AV3617-1JC20-0AX1 configures only in ProTool/Lite (V2.51+), plants with archived .pdb files can clone a failed unit by RS232 download in under 20 minutes — no TIA license, no WinCC Flexible migration headache, no tag-count anxiety. The 256 KB user memory sounds tiny by 2025 standards but was sized for ‘s screen count (typically 50–100 screens, alarm buffers, recipe text blocks), and for legacy lines that scope is unchanged after two decades. The 6AV3617-1JC20-0AX1 also supports basic trending (f[t] curve vectors), alarm ACK, and printer output via the auxiliary serial ports — enough for a stand-alone filler, capper, or test stand that has no business case for a Comfort panel.
Certifications for hazardous-adjacent zones. The 6AV3617-1JC20-0AX1 carries CE, UL/CSA, FM Class I Div 2, and EX Zone 2/22 — meaning it can be specified in cabinets adjacent to classified areas (oil & gas skids, pharma solvent zones, grain handling) without extra enclosure uprating, something the later Basic panels dropped in some regional SKUs.
The 6AV3617-1JC20-0AX1 shares the same 240 × 204 mm faceplate and cutout as the /A (6AV3617-1JA20) and /B (6AV3617-1JB20), so a DP retrofit of an MPI-only /A is a like-for-like panel swap — gasket, clamp screws, and cutout all transfer. Only the back-shell DB9 + DP connector orientation changes, which the cabinet installer handles in five minutes.