The main software used for Siemens HMI programming and configuration is Siemens TIA Portal (Totally Integrated Automation Portal). TIA Portal is an all-in-one engineering platform developed by Siemens that allows you to design, program, and monitor both Siemens PLCs and HMIs in a single environment. It provides a user-friendly interface where engineers can easily create visualization screens, alarms, trends, and communication settings for SIMATIC HMI panels.
Within TIA Portal, the WinCC (Windows Control Center) component is specifically used for HMI configuration. Siemens offers different versions of WinCC depending on the application size and complexity:
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WinCC Basic – used for programming Basic HMI Panels like KTP400 and KTP700.
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WinCC Comfort – used for Comfort Panels and provides advanced visualization features.
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WinCC Advanced – designed for PC-based HMIs and standalone visualization systems.
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WinCC Professional – for large-scale SCADA applications with centralized monitoring and control.
TIA Portal with WinCC allows you to create graphical screens that display real-time data from the PLC, manage alarms, log historical data, and control machine parameters. It supports easy drag-and-drop configuration, reusable templates, and multi-language support — all of which simplify engineering and reduce project development time.
In simple terms, Siemens TIA Portal with WinCC is the standard software used for all Siemens HMI development. Whether you’re programming a small Basic Panel or a large Unified Comfort Panel, the same platform lets you visualize processes, connect with PLCs, and design intuitive operator interfaces. It’s a powerful, integrated tool that makes Siemens automation systems efficient, flexible, and easy to maintain.
The software used to program and configure a Siemens HMI is called SIMATIC WinCC. It is part of Siemens’ TIA Portal (Totally Integrated Automation) platform, which provides a common environment for both PLC and HMI programming. With WinCC, you can design screens, create process graphics, set alarms, and configure communication between the HMI and PLC. It allows you to build a complete visualization system that operators can use to monitor and control industrial processes. Depending on the application, Siemens offers different versions like WinCC Basic, WinCC Comfort, WinCC Advanced, and WinCC Unified.
The latest version, WinCC Unified, uses modern web technologies such as HTML5, SVG, and JavaScript, making it compatible across PCs, panels, and mobile devices. This ensures flexible and responsive visualization for Industry 4.0 environments. Once the project is designed in TIA Portal, it is transferred to the HMI device where the WinCC Runtime software runs it in real time. This runtime handles all operator interactions and displays live process data from the connected PLCs. In short, SIMATIC WinCC is the core software used for all Siemens HMI systems, offering scalable, user-friendly, and powerful visualization tools for any industrial automation project.