PC-based control for woodworking from Beckhoff Automation.
At Ligna 2011, Beckhoff presented its PC and EtherCAT-based control technology as well as automation solutions for woodworking machines; every step in the woodworking process controlled via the open automation platform. Functions such as ‘flying saw’, ‘cam plates’ and CNC as well as industry-specific solutions such as ‘drill optimisation’ are either integrated in the TwinCAT control software or available as additional software modules.
TwinCAT 3 is the new PC-based control software which extends the standard automation world considerably. In addition to the object-oriented IEC 61131-3 extensions, the languages of the IT world are available with C and C++ and the integration of Matlab/Simulink enables the application in scientific fields. The modules are executable in the different languages in a common runtime under hard real-time conditions, using multicore technology and with 32 or 64-bit operating systems.
Due to the modular structure of the extended runtime and the predefined interfaces, TwinCAT 3 offers the possibility to instance the different controllers of the units of a woodworking line together on the machine’s central control hardware. These can be created independently of one another and in different programming languages.
TwinSAFE – the scalable safety solution
TwinCAT 3 also contains a new engineering concept for safety applications, which increases flexibility through the free choice of programming language: in addition to the familiar function block diagram language (FBD), programming can also be accomplished in the high-level C language.
TwinSAFE from Beckhoff is a safety solution with scalable software and hardware components. In addition to the familiar safety logic terminals for Beckhoff I/O systems, the TwinCAT Safety PLC also offers a pure software solution.
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