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Beckhoff demonstrated its automation control solutions at Automatica 2014

PC-based control integrates robot kinematics and Motion Control applications on a uniform software and hardware platform.Photo by Beckhoff Automation GmbH

PC-based control integrates robot kinematics and Motion Control applications on a uniform software and hardware platform.
Photo by Beckhoff Automation GmbH

Beckhoff presented its control solutions for automation and robotics at Automatica 2014, in Munich, Germany. PC-based control from Beckhoff integrates PLC, Motion Control, measurement technology and robotics on a single platform. Doing away with separate CPUs and gateways allows universal engineering as well as improved synchronisation between PLC and Motion Control and – as a result of that – high accuracy and speed. The synchronisation of robotics and Motion Control applications represented the central theme at the Beckhoff trade fair booth. One of the new items that Beckhoff presented is the 6-axis kinematics for TwinCAT.

With Scientific Automation Beckhoff integrates robotics, measurement technology and Condition Monitoring into the standard control platform alongside PLC, Motion Control and safety technology. TwinCAT utilises the multi-core technology of modern processors, so that complex mathematical algorithms for robotic applications or measurement analysis can be performed on separate cores, without performance implications for the PLC. When configuring a PC-based controller with multi-core CPU, the TwinCAT user can define which cores are visible to the operating system and which ones are 100 % available to the TwinCAT runtime. This allows Robot transformations to be calculated on one core while the PLC is executed on another.

PC-based control integrates 6-axis robot kinematics into the standard controller

With TwinCAT kinematic transformation, various robot kinematics such as 2-D parallel kinematics, 3-D delta or Scara can be programmed either with DIN 66025 commands or with the PLCopen-compliant function blocks from the PLC. Beckhoff presented the implementation of 6-axis kinematics in TwinCAT as a new item at the Automatica. Visitors to the Beckhoff booth experienced the interaction between robots and the eXtended Transport System (XTS) in various demonstrations.

Universal multi-touch operating technology

Beckhoff provides for a uniform appearance at the assembly cell with a scalable range of active and passive panels featuring multi-touch operating technology. Display sizes from 7 to 24 inches as well as versions with different connections and processor powers provide the user with maximum variety and flexibility. Further advantages of the multi-touch panel series are gained from the use of CP-Link 4, a One Cable Technology for separating the control unit from the PC by a distance of up to 100 m: Video signal, USB 2.0 and power supply are carried by a standard CAT.6A cable. The user benefits not only from the higher flexibility, but from the reduced cable and assembly costs.

Acceleration and angle measurement directly in the field

Measures to optimise machine availability, e.g. Condition Monitoring, are becoming increasingly important in mechanical engineering. To integrate Condition Monitoring Beckhoff offers suitable I/O components and TwinCAT 3 libraries, and the latest addition to this product family is the EP1816-3008 EtherCAT Box. Equipped with two integrated 3-axis acceleration sensors and 16 digital inputs, it can be used for an easily installed and cost-effective implementation of vibration and shock/oscillation monitoring as well as tilt monitoring in longitudinal and transverse direction directly in the field. Thus you can acquire additional data on the status of robotic and gantry type applications with high precision and no great effort.

For more information, please visit http://www.beckhoff.de/