In a rather unconventional and unexpected fashion, Siemens recently announced Sirius Act, its latest line of industrial control devices, with a so-called “mockumentary” or mock documentary as the marketing campaign’s centerpiece.
Sirius Act, the mockumentary’s main attraction, is a suite of modular command and signaling devices. It is part of Siemen’s industrial controls portfolio meant for use in industrial control systems or ICS. These systems are mostly used in industries such as electrical, water, oil, gas & data.
A 22mm plastic version with black plastic front ring, a 22mm plastic version with metal front ring, a 22mm shiny metal version with metal front ring, and a 30mm matte metal version with metal front ring are available as front-panel mountings. These could then be paired with a number of modules at the back-end. Up to three modules side by side and two contact modules stacked may be accommodated by a single front-panel mounting. The modules are available to feature either screw terminals, spring-type terminals or solder pin connections. Sirius Act is also available as compact units in which the electrical module is permanently attached to the holder.
From Siemens’ website, the manufacturer details the key advantages of Sirius Act as follows:
Design
- Improved look of the system
- Combination of design and functionality
Easy handling
- Self-explanatory and fast installation
- One-handed installation
- Components can be mounted with holder removed
- No special tools required
- Simple geometry for mounting holes
Ruggedness
- Media resistance
- Suitable for use in extreme environments
- Design stability according to use
Communication
- Connection to the most commonly used communication systems (PROFINET, AS-Interface, IO-Link)
- Simple integration into the PLC possible via TIA
- Integrated solution
A total of five videos, all supposedly created by the fictitious Sirius Act Productions, and are available at www.sirius-act.com comprises the mockumentary. The marketing stunt by Siemens, in our opinion, is refreshingly funny and witty, something that we completely do not expect from a company like Siemens, whose core portfolio of products are meant for enterprise & industrial use. Nevertheless, these videos are rather interesting and entertaining to watch.
This post is sponsored by Siemens but comments are all our own.