Product Overview

The 6ES7 223-1PL22-0XA0​ is Siemens’ EM223 digital combo expansion module for the S7-200 micro-PLC platform, delivering 16 sinking/sourcing digital inputs at 24 V DC and 16 relay-form-A outputs in a single 156 × 80 × 62 mm DIN-rail housing that clips directly onto the S7-200 expansion bus on the right-hand side of a CPU 224, 224XP, 226, or another EM module. In the S7-200 catalog it sits at the high-density end of the mixed I/O spectrum—below it sit the 8 DI + 8 DO relay (6ES7 223-1HF22-0XA0) and the 16 DI + 16 DO transistor (6ES7 223-1BL22-0XA0) variants, while the 6ES7 223-1PL22-0XA0​ trades transistor speed for relay versatility: each of the 16 outputs is an electromechanical SPST (Form A) relay, 2 A rated at 30 V DC / 250 V AC, grouped into four isolated blocks of four outputs each, making it the go-to EM223 when the load side needs to switch 230 V AC contactors, solenoid valves, indicator beacons, or small heaters that a transistor output can’t touch. The inputs are optically isolated from the S7-200 backplane (one group of 16 shared), 24 V DC sink/sourcing, 4 mA per point typical, with a hardware filter (~4 ms) that handles typical plant-floor contact bounce without chewing CPU scan time.The 6ES7 223-1PL22-0XA0​ matters today almost entirely as a brownfield / obsolescence spare. Siemens discontinued the S7-200 family years ago (replaced by S7-200 SMART in China and S7-1200 G2 / 1212C/1214C globally), but there are still hundreds of thousands of S7-200 CPUs running small-machine OEM skids, conveyor zone panels, pump alternation controls, HVAC AHU sequences, and building-services sub-panels that were commissioned in the 2000s–2014 window when S7-200 was the default “too small for S7-300, too smart for LOGO!” choice. In those cabinets the 6ES7 223-1PL22-0XA0​ is frequently the only relay-output expansion on the bus, driving contractor coils for belt starters, damper actuators, alarm horns, and status lamps. When a relay welds or a coil opens after 15 years of cycles, the plant’s choice is either find a 6ES7 223-1PL22-0XA0​ on the legacy market or re-engineer the panel for S7-1200 + SB/SM—and the former is usually cheaper. For machine-OEM service departments and facility maintenance stores, the 6ES7 223-1PL22-0XA0​ sits on the critical-spares list alongside the CPU 224XP and the 6EP1331/6EP1332 SITOP supplying it.

Technical Specifications

Main Features and Advantages

16 DI + 16 relay DO in one S7-200 expansion slice.​ The 6ES7 223-1PL22-0XA0​ is the densest relay-output combo in the S7-200 EM223 sub-family—compared to the 8+8 relay variant (6ES7 223-1HF22-0XA0) you get double the points without doubling the width (still 156 mm, same as all EM223 variants), which matters when the S7-200 expansion bus is already crowded with an EM231 analog-in and an EM232 analog-out on the same CPU. For OEMs who standardized on CPU 224 (14 DI / 10 DO onboard) and needed another 16 DI for pushbuttons, E-stops, limit switches, and 16 DO for contactor coils and stack-light segments, the 6ES7 223-1PL22-0XA0​ was the clean one-slice answer. The DI side is 24 V DC sink/sourcing, so PNP and NPN sensor wiring both work—just watch the common-return polarity; the 4 mA per point means a 16-point scan draws ~64 mA from the 24 V rail, trivial for a SITOP 6EP1332 but worth noting on a small-battery-backed supply.Relay outputs for AC load switching.​ The 16 DO side is where the 6ES7 223-1PL22-0XA0​ earns its keep over the transistor sibling (6ES7 223-1BL22-0XA0). Each relay is Form A, 2 A @ 250 V AC resistive, which means you can directly switch a 230 V AC contactor coil, a 120 V AC solenoid, a 24 V DC indicator beacon, or a small 12 V DC stripline heater without an interposing SSR. Four isolation groups (4 outputs per group) let you mix 24 V DC and 230 V AC loads on the same module without common-mode grief—group 1 might drive 24 V DC stack-light segments, group 2 drives 230 V AC contractor coils for a conveyor motor starter, group 3 drives 24 V DC solenoid bank for pneumatic valves, group 4 drives a 120 V AC alarm horn. That flexibility is exactly why the 6ES7 223-1PL22-0XA0​ shows up on so many mixed-voltage OEM skids.S7-200 expansion-bus integration, zero config overhead.​ Clip the 6ES7 223-1PL22-0XA0​ onto the right of a CPU 224/224XP/226 (or onto the right of another EM module), seat the ribbon+power expansion connector, and STEP 7-Micro/WIN auto-detects it at the next I/O address after the CPU’s onboard points—no GSD, no device-name, no TIA Portal hardware catalog dance. The inputs land at Ix.y, the relay outputs at Qx.y, and the only “configuration” is the 4 ms hardware filter which is fixed (you can soften it in ladder with a timer if you need slower debounce, or live with it if you need faster). For maintenance techs who learned PLCs on S7-200 and have a drawer full of Micro/WIN projects, the 6ES7 223-1PL22-0XA0​ is plug-familiar.Relay life and load-type awareness.​ The 6ES7 223-1PL22-0XA0​ relays are rated 10 million mechanical operations, 100 k–300 k electrical (depends on load—resistive lasts longer, inductive kills faster). At 1 Hz cycled on a conveyor shuttle valve, that’s ~3 years to electrical end-of-life; at a pushbutton-triggered starter that fires twice a shift, it’s decades. For OEMs who know their duty cycle, the 6ES7 223-1PL22-0XA0​ is usually fine as-is; for high-cycle loads (linear actuator directional valve, 1 Hz continuous), interposing a 24 V DC SSR or a small ice-cube relay between the 6ES7 223-1PL22-0XA0​ DO and the valve coil extends life dramatically. Siemens docs recommend an RC snubber or flyback diode on inductive AC/DC loads to protect the relay contacts—worth calling out because a welded relay on a starter coil can fake a “PLC turned on the motor” when it’s actually stuck closed.Legacy posture.​ The 6ES7 223-1PL22-0XA0​ is listed as discontinued / phase-out by Siemens; active production shifted to S7-200 SMART (China market, EM DR32 16×24 V DC In / 16×Relay Out is the spiritual successor) and globally to S7-1200 + SM 1223 DC/RLY modules. For plants still running S7-200, the 6ES7 223-1PL22-0XA0​ is a “stock-it-while-you-can” spare—when distribution dries up, the only paths are aftermarket pulls (test carefully) or a panel rework to S7-1200 + SM 1223 DC/RLY 16×/16×, which is a bigger project than a like-for-like swap.