Representative office Philippines
EtherCAT measurement terminals in vehicle development at Mercedes-Benz
Interview with Dr. Fabian Assion
EtherCAT measurement terminals in vehicle development at Mercedes-Benz
Interview with Dr. Fabian Assion
Efficiency, flexibility, and transparency are crucial for sustainable competitiveness. For production machines, the focus is on efficiency and reliability, while test bench technology requires flexibility in terms of interfaces, sensor technology, and actuators. Advanced test benches require dynamic control systems and precise, calibrated measurement data. Operators want to make their systems future-proof, for example through new safety technology, condition monitoring, or energy measurement to optimize consumption.
With our system-integrated measurement and testing technology, we provide you with a modular range of measuring hardware and software products for designing advanced, high-performance DAQ systems.
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System-integrated measurement technology increases the competitiveness of machines.
Dynamic measurement technology optimizes test benches in research and laboratories.
IIoT-enabled solutions offer transparency for machines and energy distribution.
With PC-based control, Beckhoff provides an open system solution for DAQ systems and all measurement and testing technology sectors. Scalable industrial PCs form the backbone of the system, paired with the TwinCAT software platform. Modular in design and scalable in terms of performance, variable hardware is available for all machine functions. This approach is also transferable to all tasks that are required in the metrological environment. Regardless of whether 5, 500, or 50,000 measurement channels are recorded, whether the task involves a massive accumulation of measurement data and complicated calculations based on this data, or whether eternal file storage in gigabyte dimensions is needed: all these requirements are no challenge for scalable PC-based control systems.
Your head start in measurement and testing technology:
Whether you need standard accuracy and resolution or high precision and extreme speed, you can create any measurement chain with the EtherCAT measurement modules from Beckhoff. This is ensured by interlinking hardware and software modules as effectively as possible: sensors at field level are connected to I/O modules that communicate with each controller via a fieldbus. Beckhoff Measurement Technology shows its full strength when combined with EtherCAT as a measurement technology fieldbus, which transmits large amounts of data to the control system in a time-synchronized manner. TwinCAT software is an engineering tool with comprehensive functions: PLC, measurement technology, analytics, motion control, robotics, safety, visualization, vision, and communication, including a wide range of database and cloud connections.
The benefits of control-integrated measurement technology:
EtherCAT technology was launched by Beckhoff in 2003 and made available as an open automation technology standard. Due to its outstanding performance, flexible range of topology, and simple configuration, EtherCAT is the standard in many industries. EtherCAT P creates additional synergies as a One Cable Automation fieldbus. With little wiring work, small and large measuring devices can be installed outside the control cabinet – distributed throughout the system – and used to collect measured values. In addition, technologies such as distributed clocks, oversampling, and synchronization with external time signals really set EtherCAT apart for use in metrological applications in laboratory or production environments, right through to particularly data-intensive applications with thousands of channels with sampling rates of 100 ksamples/s per channel.
The benefits for measurement and testing technology:
As an end-to-end development environment, TwinCAT 3 integrates all engineering and runtime processes for implementing all control tasks. Programming is carried out in accordance with the IEC 61131-3 programming standards with interfaces to C/C++, MATLAB®, and Simulink®. Even demanding tasks in metrological data processing can be easily solved with TwinCAT, supported by a wide range of measurement technology functions, e.g., TwinCAT Scope as visualization, TwinCAT Analytics for data analysis, and PLC libraries for filters, condition monitoring, power monitoring, vision, and machine learning. Microsoft Visual Studio is used as the standard workbench as it supports different version management systems and simplifies team-based programming.
TwinCAT highlights for measurement and testing technology:
With its portfolio of bus and EtherCAT Terminals, Beckhoff provides a comprehensive range of I/O modules with IP20 and IP67 protection ratings. A wide range of fieldbus systems is also supported. In addition to the usual signal types and combinations, many other I/O modules are available for special input signals: current, voltage, power, temperature, resistance, thermocouples, and measuring bridges right through to various encoder interfaces, fast pulse counters, and I/O terminals for controlling motors (compact drive technology). With the I/O modules from Beckhoff, you can configure your customized solution for measurement and testing tasks.
The highlights for measurement and testing technology:
ELMxxxx EtherCAT measurement terminals provide a lean control architecture both in the production environment and on the test bench. As part of the universal EtherCAT Terminal system, they supplement it with precise analog input terminals that offer high-performance measurement functions. The ELMxxxx EtherCAT Terminals are the ideal choice for measurements that require maximum measurement accuracy (0.01 %, 100 ppm) and fast, synchronous acquisition. The two series – basic (10–50 ksps per channel, simultaneous) and economy (1 ksps per channel, multiplexed) – turn the universal terminal system into a DAQ system that is flexible and powerful.
The benefits of system-integrated high-end measurement technology:
As part of a measurement chain, EtherCAT Terminals are also subject to special requirements with regard to the reproducibility and traceability of measurement results. Beckhoff supports cases like this with factory, DAkks, or ISO 17025 calibration certificates for certain EtherCAT Terminals from the EL3xxx and ELM3xxx series. The certificates specifically state the compensation points achieved and the measurement uncertainty of the compensation. These values can be used, for example, to increase the achievable accuracy in the application, which represents concrete added value. The certificate is issued for individual terminals and enables a more precise definition of the entire measurement chain down to the individual measurement channel, thus reducing measurement uncertainty. Each certificate is uniquely assigned to a terminal using an ID number. Recalibration at the Verl production site is also available on request.
The benefits of calibration for measurement and testing technology:
Data from machines, systems, or test benches is valuable and must therefore be stored reliably and securely. This is exactly what the TwinCAT Database Server provides by executing a high-performance data exchange between TwinCAT and various database systems: in addition to relational databases such as Microsoft SQL, Oracle, MySQL, or SQLite, NoSQL databases such as MongoDB are also supported, which come into their own for varying measurement activities. Working with the TwinCAT Database Server is just as flexible as the database connection: From the simple NoCode configuration and the PLC Expert mode for programmers who do not want to create SQL commands, right through to the SQL Expert mode with maximum flexibility for SQL specialists.
The benefits for measurement and testing technology:
In many laboratory applications, LabVIEW™ is established as the program language, recipe management system, and HMI. Nevertheless, no one has to do without the advantages of a TwinCAT system with its diversity and real time: via the bidirectional TwinCAT 3 Interface for LabVIEWTM, the operator can conveniently access all TwinCAT data via the familiar LabVIEW™ interface and integrate it into the LabVIEW™ application. There are several transmission modes to choose from to enable fast response times or high transmission bandwidths. ADS client VIs for LabVIEW™ are provided for data exchange with the TwinCAT runtime. An NTP client VI ensures the synchronization of both systems.
The benefits in measurement and testing technology:
(LabVIEW™ and NI™ are trademarks of National Instruments®. Neither Beckhoff, nor any software programs or other goods or services offered by Beckhoff, are affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by National Instruments®).
Artificial intelligence (AI) is an effective technology for automating processes. Machine learning (ML) as an AI method is ideal for detecting patterns or anomalies in large amounts of data. However, there are often not enough AI experts to be able to implement artificial intelligence on a broad scale.
With the system-integrated TwinCAT Machine Learning AI range, programmers can develop high-quality AI models based on their processes without any AI expertise and have them executed in the machine controller in real time.
TwinCAT Analytics is a product family for the comprehensive analysis of machine data, from a single local machine to many machine parks distributed across locations. Several tools map the complete workflow, from raw data acquisition and evaluation with various algorithms to the archiving and display of live and historical machine data, e.g., in TwinCAT Analytics One-Click Dashboards.
Since on-premises applications are increasingly being moved to cloud systems, there is also a need for machines and systems to feed their production and status information into these systems. TwinCAT IoT provides the necessary connectivity via OPC UA, MQTT, or REST.
MATLAB® and Simulink® are established programming environments in science and industry. With TwinCAT Target for MATLAB® and Simulink® as well as TwinCAT Interface for MATLAB® and Simulink®, Beckhoff supports deep integration of both tools in TwinCAT.
Starting from engineering in Simulink®, instantiable TwinCAT Object Models (TcCOM) can be generated, which are triggered directly via a real-time task or called via other TcCOMs. This allows, for example, observers or virtual sensors to be created that can be executed in real time or the behavior of non-existent components (hardware-in-the-loop) to be simulated in real time. With TwinCAT Target for MATLAB®, the functions developed in the MATLAB® scripting language can be translated into C/C++ code using MATLAB® Coder™ and used in TwinCAT.
The advantages of proactive maintenance are undisputed: the reliability of the systems increases, maintenance costs fall, and production output remains at a consistently high level.
Beckhoff’s flexible measurement technology program and the TwinCAT condition monitoring library provide all the necessary tools for implementing highly effective machine condition monitoring based on proven PC-based control technology and high-performance communication via EtherCAT. Our condition monitoring products have also been used to monitor wind turbines for many years.
OTI Lumionics, a Canadian company, has accelerated the slow validation process for new materials with automation technology from Beckhoff.
Baumann GmbH, Amberg, develops turnkey automation systems for the automotive supply industry and electronics, pharmaceutical, and medical technology industries, as well as other sectors. These systems range from robot cells to fully automated production lines. The product range includes the MTS (Modular Test System), a flexible way to implement test applications for cell, module and battery test benches as well as for power electronics and more. PC-based control from Beckhoff provides the basis for compact design and system openness, in particular with the EtherCAT plug-in modules from the EJ series and the EtherCAT measurement terminals from the ELM series.
Increased energy consumption and huge expansion of renewable energies often lead to destabilization of electrical grids. In order to prevent power fluctuations or failures, dLaboratory Sweden AB has developed a technology with our measurement solution. Rickard Jacobson, CEO of dLaboratory Sweden, explains how it works.
EtherCAT is by far the fastest Industrial Ethernet technology. Nevertheless, the data acquisition process at Kraus & Naimer’s cam controller test benches called for an even shorter bus cycle. To achieve the required performance, Beckhoff specialists reduced the previous cycle time from 100 μs to 20 μs.
Dimac designs and develops innovative solutions for 100% inspection of fasteners and small metal parts. The company has identified EtherCAT and PC-based control from Beckhoff as the mainstays of the next generation of sorting machines, which will make the La Mille concept machine – the thousandth Dimac project – even faster, more powerful, and open to the integration of additional systems.
When Innerspec Technologies was commissioned by a major aerospace end user to develop a non-destructive testing (NDT) system, the company opted for flexible automation with PC-based control from Beckhoff. The open control, motion and networking technologies of the robotic solution facilitate the inspection of a wide variety of part geometries combined with a greatly increased throughput.
You can find our brochures, videos, and webinars on measurement and testing technology here.
EtherCAT measurement terminals for versatile and high-performance data acquisition (DAQ) in the industrial and test field.
The integrated power measurement enables network monitoring, process control and power monitoring in the I/O system.
Smart automation solutions for power generation and distribution.
