Product Overview
The Siemens 6DP1614-8BB is an IM 614 interface module — the DP slave gateway that lives in a Siemens S5-era ET 100U (European-format) or ET 200U (domestic-format) distributed periphery rack and connects that remote I/O rack to a Profibus DP / SINEC DP master. While the S5-115U/135U/155U central rack carries its own IM 3xx on the master side (IM 314 for SINEC L2 DP, IM 308 for SINEC L2, IM 324 for SINEC H1), the remote side — the ET 100U/ET 200U that sits meters or hundreds of meters away from the central cabinet — needs the 6DP1614-8BB to speak DP. The IM 614 occupies one slot in the remote rack, draws 24 V DC from the rack’s backplane (fed by the remote rack’s own PS 951 24 V / PS 952 24 V+115/230 V), and bridges the DP telegram to the ER 701-2 backplane so the actual I/O modules (EB/AB digital, EM/AM analog, FB/CM counter/positioning) in the remote rack can exchange process data with the master.
The Siemens 6DP1614-8BB specifically is the -8BB variant, which means it carries two 9-pin D-sub connectors: one for the DP bus (inbound/outbound, standard Profibus A/B wiring with termination resistor) and a second for PG/OP access — a programming device (PG 710/720/740) or an OP (operator panel, e.g., OP 37, TP 270 over DP) can plug into this port and talk to the DP master through the IM 614, or in some configurations act as a DP diagnostic tap. The -8AA0 variant drops the PG/OP port to save cost; the 6DP1614-8BB is the preferred SKU for plants that still commission S5 remote racks with a PG or that hang an OP 37 locally on the remote skid. DP speed runs 9.6 kbps up to 12 Mbps, with the 6DP1614-8BB auto-negotiating to the master’s set baud; typical S5 SINEC DP deployments run 1.5 Mbps or 12 Mbps depending on cable length.
In the S5 distributed-periphery architecture, the master-side IM (e.g., IM 314 in an S5-115U rack) initiates the DP cycle, the Siemens 6DP1614-8BB in the ET 100U/ET 200U remote rack answers as DP-V0 slave (some FW revisions add DP-V1 diagnostics), and I/O data shuttles: master output bytes → IM 614 → ER 701-2 → AB/AM modules; EB/EM input bytes → ER 701-2 → IM 614 → master input image. A single ET 100U/ET 200U remote rack supports up to 8 I/O modules (including the IM 614 occupying slot 1), giving a practical ceiling of ~128 DI/DO or ~32 AI/AO per remote rack depending on module density. Multiple remote racks (each with its own 6DP1614-8BB) hang on the same DP daisy chain — typical S5 deployments run 4–8 remote racks per master IM 3xx, with total DP slave count within the S5-115U’s DP stack limit (~32–64 slaves depending on CPU).
Lifecycle: the Siemens 6DP1614-8BB is PM500 / discontinued — S5 itself went end-of-production decades ago, and the IM 614 is spare-demand only. The forward path for a remote S5 I/O rack is ET 200M with IM 153-1/IM 153-2 (S7-era) or ET 200SP (modern), but that requires rewiring the field cables from the ER 701-2 slot-backplane connectors to the ET 200 terminal blocks — a non-trivial job on a skid with 200+ field wires. Hence plants keep 6DP1614-8BB spares to keep legacy remote racks alive while the central S5-115U slowly migrates to S7-400 (the S7-400 with CP 342-5 or integrated DP can still talk IM 614 slaves, so the remote S5 racks don’t have to move on day one of a central migration — this “mixed S5-remote + S7-central” is the dominant brownfield pattern).
Technical Specifications
| Parameter Name | Parameter Value |
|---|---|
| Product Model | 6DP1614-8BB |
| Manufacturer | Siemens |
| Product Type | IM 614 Interface Module – SINEC DP / Profibus DP Slave for ET 100U / ET 200U |
| Rack Compatibility | ET 100U (European format), ET 200U (domestic format), S5 distributed periphery |
| Backplane | ER 701-2 (remote rack I/O bus) |
| Supply Voltage | 24 V DC (from remote rack PS 951/952 backplane) |
| Current Consumption | ~300–500 mA (from rack backplane) |
| Communication | SINEC DP / Profibus DP, 9.6 kbps … 12 Mbps |
| DP Profile | DP-V0 (slave), some FW DP-V1 diagnostics |
| Interface Connectors | 1 × 9-pin D-sub (DP In/Out, bus connector with term.), 1 × 9-pin D-sub (PG/OP, 8BB only) |
| Max. I/O Modules per Rack | 8 (including IM 614 in slot 1) |
| LED Indicators | PWR (24 V), BF (bus fault), SF (slave fault), possibly DP activity per variant |
| Operating Temperature | 0 … +60 °C |
| Storage Temperature | –40 … +85 °C |
| Protection Class | IP20 |
| Dimensions (W × H × D) | S5 single-slot (~20.3 mm wide, 160 mm insert height) |
| Mounting | ET 100U / ET 200U rack slot (ER 701-2 backplane edge connector) |
| Compatible Masters | S5-115U/135U/155U + IM 3xx master-side; S7-300/400 + CP 342-5 or integrated DP |
| Lifecycle Status | PM500 – Discontinued, spare-demand only |
Main Features and Advantages
DP slave bridge for S5 remote I/O racks
The defining role of the Siemens 6DP1614-8BB is keeping S5-era distributed I/O alive on a Profibus DP plant network. An ET 100U remote rack might sit 200 m down a conveyor line, carrying EB 101 (16 DI), AB 104 (16 DO), EM 103 (4 AI), AM 103 (2 AO) for a zone panel — the field wires (sensors, valves, VFD run-enables) all land on those S5 modules via the ER 701-2 front connectors, and nobody wants to re-terminate 120+ wires to an ET 200SP just because the central S5-115U is being retired. The 6DP1614-8BB lets that remote rack stay exactly where it is: the DP cable from the new S7-400 master (CP 342-5) lands on the IM 614’s 9-pin D-sub, the IM 614 answers slave telegrams, and the EB/AB/EM/AM modules keep exchanging data over ER 701-2 as if nothing changed. For plants in phased migration (S5 central → S7 central, S5 remote → stay), the 6DP1614-8BB is the enabler.
PG/OP channel — the 8BB differentiator
The Siemens 6DP1614-8BB (-8BB) carries a second 9-pin D-sub labeled PG/OP, absent on the -8AA0. This port lets a Siemens PG (programming device, e.g., PG 720/740 running STEP 5) or an OP (operator panel, e.g., OP 37, TP 170, or even a WinCC Flexible panel with DP-Master/Slave config) tap the DP segment without breaking the bus or stealing the master’s PG port. On a bottling line where an ET 200U remote rack sits on a filler carousel skid 50 m from the central MCC, the maintenance electrician can wheel a PG to the skid, plug into the 6DP1614-8BB PG/OP port, go online to the S5-115U master through the IM 614 (the IM 614 forwards the PG telegram on the DP), and monitor/EB/AB states without walking back to the MCC. The PG/OP port also supports hanging a local OP 37 right on the skid — the OP talks DP to the master via the IM 614, showing zone alarms and motor currents without a separate MPI/PN drop. For plants still running STEP 5 commissioning on live lines, the -8BB is worth the premium over -8AA0.
