The Sinamics S120 – our North Star of motion control from the extensive Siemens Servo Drive / Servo Motor range has now been succeeded. The new kid on the block is the S220 servo system from Siemens, which was released for sale & delivery on 21st of January 2026.
For you Siemens train spotters out there, you may say – I thought there were some S220 modules already in play? Your thought would be correct. There were some infeed modules, and some motor modules released already. But these were released with a compatibility mode to work with S120 controllers (The mighty Sinamics CU320-2, or the integrated CU320-2 controllers within Simotion D, Sinumerik 840DSL, Sinumerik One or Sinamics Drive Controller), and they did this by having dual firmware installed. One for S120 mode, and one for S220 mode. This S220 mode can now be utilised with the release of the CU320-3.
S120 has been a work horse for high performance production machines and machine tools since its release in 2004 onwards, when it replaced both the Simodrive 611 servo range and Masterdrive servo & vector control range. The original S120 range then had a major hardware revision around year 2010, when the CU320-2 and associated -2 hardware were released.
Figure 1: Over 5 Million S120 Axes Installed
Many may ask, why drop the S120 name for S220. The reason is simple, both the hardware within the S220 controllers and modules, and the software is totally new. It represents an evolutionary leap, not an incremental improvement. To reflect this, the new name was penned.
Insights into these evolutionary leaps are given in the sections below.
You will be pleased to know that the S120 system has not been discontinued yet, and will have some years to run before it starts it’s 10 year phase out stage. While there are a tonne of S220 options released already, not all have equivalent power and form factor S220 modules vs S120 yet. Only once the S220 range is nearing full completion will S120 phase out start.
The happy news for most of our New Zealand customers is that the released S220 range covers pretty much all of the S120 range you have been happily buying over the last 22 years. So you can start your transition now.
Those of you who like big kilowatts will also be please to know, that the S220 range has had a significant proportion of the chassis modules and cabinet modules released already. So fill your boots here too!
Figure 2: S220 Servo Drive Rack
FEATURES
I have a big rack, what’s in the S220 for me?
Well, you are in for a treat.
Those long racks of many many S120s take up multiple bayed cabinets, and for our OEM machine building customers, multiple bayed cabinets take up space on your customers' factory floors. Space is money – let's save your customers' money for the life of the machine!
Two things will make your rack shorter, using fewer bayed cabinets.
1. The CU320-3 can control twice as many axes as the CU320-2. The CU320-3 can nominally control 12 axes with a fairly high dynamic / computational load, up from 6 previously. In any case, you should halve the number of Sinamics control units you need. This is made possible by an evolutionary leap in processing power onboard.
2. Someone took a shrink gun to the motor & infeed modules! All new internal architecture and heat dissipation technology has made the majority of the motor & infeed modules narrower for the same current ratings. So shorter racks!
3. For all of you who run big infeed modules or big motor modules (in booksize form factor), with those large black external cooling fans sitting beneath them – in most cases they are gone. Replaced by fully internal fans – once again possible using cunning new energy efficient technology, coupled with advanced heat dissipation arrangements. So the vertical space required in your cabinet for these big current rated modules is reduced.
That looks cool, but I just tip over the edge of needing another cabinet to fit in my drive rack even with S220. What can I do?
Siemens have seen this coming, and for a little extra money, one can get ‘ultra slim’ S220 motor modules, currently available for 30amp single and 18A double motor modules. These have extra special IGBT and diode assembly arrangements, that are more expensive to manufacture. Hence not using this arrangement for the entire range.
Figure 3: 200A Motor Module - New Internal Fan
What power ranges can S220 give me?
For the following form factors:
Book Size = 3A to 200A (1.1kW to 110kW)
Chassis Size = 230Amp to 1518Amp (132kW to 900kW) – for 400V models – then up to 8 times parallel connection to 11,780A (6,984kW » 7MW)
Cabinet Size = 230Amp to 1518Amp (132kW to 900kW) – for 400V models – then up to 8 times parallel connection to 11,780A (6,984kW » 7MW)
Hang on – is there a copy and paste error above???
The ratings of Chassis size and Cabinet size are the same, as Cabinet size drives are made up of Chassis size motor modules within an industrial cabinet, plus many of the auxiliary components one would otherwise need to design and build oneself when using Chassis size modules. Hence the actual drive module is the same in both form factors.
Motion Control Safety
S220 is Safer
As one of the innovations within the S220 range, the internal drive safety architecture is entirely new. This has resulted in top-of-the-line safety ratings to:
PLe / SIL 3 / Cat.4.
This now means a consistent and very high safety rating across the entire Sinamics generation 3 portfolio, of S200, S210, G220 and S220.
The release of the S220 now brings this safety level to Siemens/ common DC bus servo range.
Safety Functions
The following safety functions are supported to the aforementioned PLe / SIL 3 ratings:
1. STO (Safe torque off)
2. SS1 (Safe stop 1)
3. SS1E (Safe stop 1 extended)
4. SS2 (Safe stop 2)
5. SS2E (Safe stop 2 extended)
6. SOS (Safe operating stop)
7. SBC (Safe brake control)
8. SBT (Safe brake test)
9. SLS (Safe limited speed)
10. SLA (Safe limited acceleration)
11. SSM (Safe speed monitor)
12. SDI (Safe direction)
Three additional safety functions are planned with future firmware releases / once they have TUV certification.
All of these functions are available for control via ProfiSAFE, from your safety controller of choice. A good choice is the S71500 or S71200 PLCs or Siemens IPCs of course!
Another advantage is that full safety configuration can be completed offline now, instead of the online/offline sequence one used to have to do on S120.
The safety configuration wizards have also been simplified, to enhance the commissioning experience and reduce time required.
Communications & Additional System Components
DRIVE-CLiQ Express
The S220 heralds the release of a new, and 10 times faster version of DRIVE-CLiQ, called DRIVE-CLiQ Express!
DRIVE-CLiQ Express is currently available on the CU320-3 and the S220 infeed and motor modules.
Most peripheral DRIVE-CLiQ modules have not been released in S220 version yet, so older DRIVE-CLiQ modules, such as terminal modules, encoder modules, DRIVE-CLiQ encoders, and the DRIVE-CLiQ ports on Siemens Simotics Servo drives can be plugged into DRIVE-CLiQ Express, they will simply run at their old network speed. Not full Express speed.
Replacement terminal modules will be released over time, but there is no issue using the existing Terminal Modules so don’t expect them soon as using the existing ones does not limit functionality. New versions are likely only to be released when internal componentry gets difficult for Siemens to procure from sub-suppliers.
DRIVE-CLiQ Switch
The only peripheral DRIVE-CLiQ item one must not use with S220, is the old ‘DRIVE-CLiQ Hubs’.
For this reason, Siemens have released the DRIVE-CLiQ Switch unit - the DMC20-3.
For our customers in New Zealand, these units were not commonly used, as intelligent wiring in the majority of cases would make then un-necessary. But to simplify wiring in some instances, particularly to remote cabinets or to reduce the number of DRIVE-CLiQ Cables running through a drag chain, the DMC20-3 could be of use.
CU320-3 Operator Panel (SDI S220)
You can see from this blog post image, that one can add a flash looking Operator Panel (OP) to the CU320-3, including giving a degree of in situ tracing. The S220 is also compatible with all G220 operator panels (of note the SDI Pro 5.5’), as well as the Wi-Fi connection unit (Sinamics Smart Adaptor), so one can use any tablet as a drive operator panel for diagnostics etc. This may avoid in some situations the requirement to diagnose ones drive system with a laptop with Sinamics Start Drive installed (The full commissioning PC software).
Figure 4: CU320-3 with SDI Showing a Trace
Does This Drive Like The Cloud?
Well yes – yes it does. So much so, it has a dedicated ethernet port (X128) on the CU320-3 that is designed for connection to cloud systems, including cloud based predictive maintenance systems. OPCUA runs out of the box on this X128 interface. So deep insights from the drive can be one’s middle name if so desired. (As well as sending high speed data to edge computing analytics).
Cooling Fan Upgrade
All S220 booksize and chassis size modules now come equipment with a speed-controlled fan. The advantages of this are:
1. Decreased wear on the fan – longer life
2. Decreased noise in most scenarios.
When the S220 powers on, the fan will boost up to 100% speed, then drop down to 20% speed, and from then will vary its speed based on cooling demand from the device in question.
Cyber Security
The S220 range has been architected using Siemens ‘Defence in Depth’ architecture, to give multi-layer / multi-facetted cyber security right down to the servo drive level.
The S220 has also been architected to comply with the up-and-coming European Union “Cyber Security Act”, so you will have the facilities to protect yourself and your customers from attack on every level of your machine. (However you can turn it off, if you handle your cyber security in another way, but easy wizards have been supplied to smooth your path to security).
CONCLUSION
If you need a full featured, high performance servo system, with best-in-class safety, call CNC Design Ltd to discuss how Siemens’ Sinamics S220 will benefit your machine design or factory upgrade.
In this way you can experience both the best servo drive / servo motor technology on the market, coupled with the highest level of technical consultancy, design and support for servo systems / motion control in New Zealand.
Enjoy the next 20 years plus with Sinamics S220!