Beckhoff - Motion Control Tips

Kevin Barker selected as new president of Beckhoff Automation LLC

February 14, 2019 By Danielle Collins Leave a Comment

Barker to manage operations of US Beckhoff subsidiary

Kevin Barker (pictured) becomes the new president of Beckhoff USA, succeeding Aurelio Banda.

Beckhoff Automation is pleased to announce that Kevin Barker has been appointed the new president of Beckhoff Automation LLC to manage Beckhoff business operations across the US. Barker takes over the leadership role that Aurelio Banda has held for four years. Banda led Beckhoff Automation LLC revenue growth and business developments to new heights, finishing fiscal year 2018 with nearly $80 million in US sales, new field offices and more employees than ever.

As the new president, Barker will oversee all sales, engineering, marketing and administrative operations from the headquarters of Beckhoff Automation LLC in Savage, Minn. (Minneapolis area). This location also houses the main technical support hub and warehouse for Beckhoff customers in the US. Prior to joining Beckhoff, Barker worked at Yaskawa America, Inc. as the director of sales in the company’s motion division.

“As a proven manager of large, cross-functional teams, and an esteemed expert on motion control, EtherCAT and general automation technologies, Kevin Barker is well prepared to guide Beckhoff Automation LLC to the next phase of business development,” said Hans Beckhoff, managing director and founder of Beckhoff Automation. “Kevin’s expertise and abilities align very well with our philosophy to implement leading automation technology based on Beckhoff’s PC Control principles, in close collaboration with customers. As the leadership hand-off from Aurelio Banda is completed, Beckhoff Automation LLC operates on its strongest foundation ever with significant revenue growth, major investments in new regional offices and the hiring of numerous skilled employees across the US.”

Over an eight-year tenure at Yaskawa, Barker led multi-national sales teams with the responsibility to develop complex industrial markets, large sales channels and advanced motion control offerings, including the company’s lineup of EtherCAT servo drives. Barker, who earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Illinois Wesleyan University, also held director-level positions at Mitsubishi Electric Automation and Omron Electronics earlier in his career.

According to Barker, the prospects for developing the market in general automation technology and a rapidly evolving portfolio of motion control solutions were major factors in his decision to join Beckhoff Automation and lead the subsidiary into a new era.

“I have dedicated my entire career to helping machine builders, manufacturers and other high-tech companies succeed on a global scale with leading-edge automation technologies. Beckhoff Automation is the logical progression of my journey and an exciting new chapter,” Barker said. “I am honored to lead the US subsidiary of such a profoundly innovative automation company. Further, I am ready to take charge with a strategic vision that empowers all US-based employees, lifting the high bar set at Beckhoff Automation, the inventor of EtherCAT and pioneer in PC-based control technology.”

Barker succeeds Aurelio Banda who has served as CEO and president of Beckhoff in North America for four years and guided the company to consecutive double-digit profit growth. Banda was a driving force behind the Beckhoff growth across the US, Canada and Mexico. During his tenure, Beckhoff became the preferred automation partner for many highly recognizable Fortune 500 companies across numerous industries, such as packaging, entertainment, semiconductors, metal cutting and material handling/logistics. This has proven to be the catalyst for business success and a key point in Banda’s legacy at Beckhoff as he leaves on the best of terms.

“I have had the privilege to lead Beckhoff in North America, starting with a vision to expand our market, which has been shaped into the reality today of deeply entrenched market penetration with even more well-established US manufacturers and machine builders. My time with Beckhoff Automation has been an immensely rewarding experience that I will never forget,” Banda said. “I am excited now to pursue new endeavors, and envision Kevin Barker continuing to drive the momentum Beckhoff has built to date in numerous high-tech industries throughout the United States.”

Beckhoff Automation

New entry-level PC-based controller from Beckhoff

December 6, 2018 By Miles Budimir Leave a Comment

The new CX7000 Embedded PC from Beckhoff opens up the convenience and efficiency of the TwinCAT 3 software environment to highly compact, DIN rail-mounted controllers. This further enhances the scalability of PC-based control technology from Beckhoff – ranging from mini-PLCs to many-core Industrial PCs. An advanced 400 MHz processor and built-in configurable I/Os mean this Embedded PC delivers an ideal price/performance ratio.

Equipped with an ARM Cortex-M7 processor (32 bit, 400 MHz), the CX7000 Embedded PC makes considerably higher processing power available in the low-cost, compact controller segment. Plus, all the advantages of the TwinCAT 3 software generation can be used. The compact design of the CX7000, with dimensions of just 49 x 100 x 72 mm, ensures optimum scalability of PC-based control for small controller applications that typically require minimum footprint.

With multi-functional I/O channels directly integrated, the CX7000 features eight digital inputs, 24 Vdc, 3 msec filter, type 3, and four digital outputs, 24 Vdc, 0.5 A, 1-wire technology. These integrated multi-functional I/Os can be configured for other operating modes via TwinCAT 3, including the option to use fast counting or processing of analog values:

Counter mode: 1 x 100 kHz digital counter input, 1 x digital input as up/down counter, 2 x digital counter outputs
Incremental encoder mode: 2 x digital inputs for 100 kHz encoder signal, 2 x digital encoder outputs
Analog signal mode: 2 x digital inputs configured as analog inputs 0…10 V, 12 bit
PWM signal mode: 2 x digital outputs configured for PWM signal

If additional electrical signal types need to be processed, the CX7000 can be expanded easily on demand by adding EtherCAT Terminals or Bus Terminals to the integrated I/Os. Additional I/O terminals can attach directly to the CX7000.

The Embedded PC is equipped with 512 MB MicroSD flash memory (with the option to upgrade to 1, 2, 4 or 8 GB) and is suitable for operating temperatures between -25 and +60 °C. An Ethernet interface (10/100 Mbit/sec, RJ45) serves as the programming interface. This makes the CX7000 suitable for use as a cost-effective, stand-alone compact controller. In the CX7080 version, peripheral devices such as displays, scanners or weighing systems can be connected via an additional serial interface (RS232/RS485).

For more information, visit www.beckhoffautomation.com.

Beckhoff intros EtherCAT G for next-level gigabit performance

November 30, 2018 By Miles Budimir Leave a Comment

Beckhoff Automation’s new EtherCAT G gigabit communication technology takes EtherCAT performance to the next level by delivering the Gbit Ethernet speeds needed to support highly data-intensive applications. The latest industrial Ethernet technology expansion is not only compatible with the globally established 100 Mbit/sec EtherCAT standard, but also provides the same familiar ease of use. In addition, the new branch controller model for EtherCAT G enables efficient operation of multiple network segments in parallel.

EtherCAT G supports standard Ethernet transmission rates of 1 Gbit/sec; its EtherCAT G10 counterpart, already introduced as a proof-of-concept technology study, is even faster with data rates of 10 Gbit/sec. The sharp increase in transmission rates beyond the standard 100 Mbit/sec provided by EtherCAT significantly increases the possible data throughput. With propagation delay times through devices as a limiting factor on the one hand, but boosted by the newly introduced branch model on the other, EtherCAT G can deliver a two-to-sevenfold performance increase, depending on the application.

Though it’s not a substitute for standard EtherCAT, EtherCAT G shares the same characteristics, yet achieves even higher transmission speeds without changes to the protocol or the EtherCAT master software. Fully compatible with the globally established EtherCAT standard, EtherCAT G provides the same field-proven capabilities, including built-in diagnostics, high-precision synchronization and, most importantly, unrivalled telegram processing on the fly. It also conforms to the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standard.

The high performance offered by standard EtherCAT remains more than sufficient for the majority of today’s applications. EtherCAT G has been developed specifically in anticipation of extremely large-scale applications and greater use of highly data-intensive equipment, such as machine vision cameras, complex motion control systems and measurement equipment operating with high sampling rates.

Branch controller model enhances variety of supported devices and minimizes propagation delay
EtherCAT and EtherCAT G can be combined within a heterogeneous network. This means that EtherCAT G slaves can operate in a 100 Mbit/sec EtherCAT network, and vice versa. In both instances, EtherCAT G equipment falls back to the 100 Mbit/sec rate. With the new EtherCAT G branch controller model, though, EtherCAT branches can be set up to enable the parallel operation of 100 Mbit/sec segments within a 1 Gbit/sec network through a conversion of transmission rates. For instance, the upcoming EK1400 EtherCAT G Coupler can create a branch that steps the data rate down from 1 Gbit/sec to 100 Mbit/sec, making available the wide range of standard EtherCAT Terminals for use as I/Os on an EtherCAT G network. Based on the branch controller capabilities of the EK1400, the 1 Gbit/sec data rate on the EtherCAT G trunk remains unaffected.

Another advantage of the EtherCAT G branch controller system is that it minimizes propagation delays. The new CU14xx branch controller series is designed specifically to interconnect EtherCAT and EtherCAT G segments and enable parallel operation. This setup significantly reduces signal propagation times and, thus, shortens communication and cycle times, because telegrams coming back from a given segment travel straight from the branch controller to the master at the higher transmission rate of 1 Gbit/sec, independent of other network segments.

For more information, visit www.beckhoffautomation.com.

Beckhoff opens new office in Laval, Quebec

August 31, 2018 By Miles Budimir Leave a Comment

Beckhoff Automation has increased its direct sales and support presence in Canada by opening a new office in Greater Montreal, located in Laval, Quebec. As the second Beckhoff Automation Ltd. office in Canada, the 2,223-square-foot facility sits within the country’s second largest metropolitan area, boosting the ability for Beckhoff to supply and support manufacturers, machine builders and tech companies throughout the region.

The Laval office establishes an automation solution center for Beckhoff customers in Quebec, located conveniently within driving distance from downtown Montreal and Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. The facility boasts collaborative space for Beckhoff customers and employees to develop innovative automation and control projects. A dedicated training room is available for customers to increase their engineering knowledge of Beckhoff PC-based control solutions and to enhance programming expertise in areas such as PLC, motion control, safety technology, IoT connectivity and more.

“Beckhoff strives to meet customers where they are to provide expert service on an individual level,” said Calvin Wallace, managing director of Beckhoff Canada Ltd. “The strong legacy of manufacturing in Greater Montreal, and Quebec in general, spans a number of industries that increasingly rely on PC- and EtherCAT-based control technologies. Flexible, high performance solutions from Beckhoff are perfectly suited for all manufacturers in the region, from machine building, to automotive assembly, consumer products and more.”

Ted Sarazin, regional sales manager for Quebec and eastern Canada, runs day-to-day activities at the Laval facility. “We are excited about all the new opportunities that the Laval office now makes possible,” said Sarazin. “Customers across Canada, and regionally here in Quebec, have recognized the benefits of control systems that feature PC-based hardware, EtherCAT networking and TwinCAT software technology. This office location makes direct interactions with customers more efficient as we provide local product support and application engineering to help their business operations grow.”

The Laval office opening is just the most recent step in an ongoing expansion of Beckhoff facilities across North America. “Beckhoff will continue to increase its regional office footprint into 2019 with additional new North American facilities planned in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Florida and in the Mexico City area,” said Aurelio Banda, CEO and president, Beckhoff Automation LLC.

www.beckhoff.com

Beckhoff touch panels with 10.1-in. widescreen displays

March 16, 2018 By Mike Santora Leave a Comment

Beckhoff Automation has announced the release of the CP6x00 Control Panels and Panel PCs with 10.1-in. widescreen displays. The expanded line of entry-level panels from Beckhoff, first launched with 7-in. displays, has been expanded by three new cabinet-mounted devices, each with a 10.1-in. widescreen display. PC-based control technology in the cost-sensitive, lower to middle performance range can now be scaled even more precisely in line with individual application requirements.

The new widescreen variants have a Thin Film Transistor (TFT) touch display with a resolution of 1024 x 600 WSVGA, which paves the way for comprehensive operator interface and visualization options. Added to this is superior display quality with 16.7 million available colors on the 10.1-inch diagonal screen. The latest additions to the entry-level class from Beckhoff include two fanless Panel PCs and a purely passive Control Panel. These devices permit the cost-effective implementation of control and visualization tasks for small and medium-sized machines, production systems and buildings.

The three new widescreen TFT touch Panel PCs from Beckhoff are:
˗ CP6600 Panel PC with 1 GHz ARM Cortex A8 CPU and 1 GB DDR3 RAM memory
˗ CP6700 Panel PC with Intel Atom processor (up to 1.91 GHz, four cores) and 2 GB DDR3L RAM (optionally extended up to 8 GB)
˗ CP6900 Control Panel with DVI/USB Extended technology for operation at a distance of up to 50 m from the Industrial PC or Embedded PC

Equipped with a robust metal housing consisting of an aluminum front bezel and a sheet steel rear cover, the panels offer higher quality and durability than the plastic panels typically offered in the low-cost, entry-level segment. In addition, the high-quality materials and a rounded front bezel lend a modern and appealing look to the panels, which can be used in the most diverse production and building environments at operating temperatures from 0 to 55 °C.

Beckhoff
www.beckhoff.com

New space-saving AMP8000 distributed servo drive system from Beckhoff

December 7, 2017 By Miles Budimir Leave a Comment

Beckhoff Automation’s new AMP8000 distributed servo drive system breaks new ground for modular machine concepts. The space-saving AMP8000 integrates a servo drive directly into a servomotor and features an ultra-compact design. By relocating the power electronics directly into the machine, a control cabinet only needs to house a single coupling module in order to supply power to multiple servo drives with a single cable via the distribution module. This results in significant savings in terms of cost, space, materials and installation effort.

With the AMP8000, space requirements for drive technology inside of electrical cabinets are reduced to a single coupling module. Via EtherCAT P technology, which provides EtherCAT signals and power over one cable, such a coupling module can control up to five distributed AMP8000 Servo Drives via an IP 67 protected AMP8805 distribution module. Because the entire AMP8000 system is cascadable, even complex motion systems can be implemented with a remarkably simple topology. Beckhoff also offers preassembled cables that simplify logistics considerably and minimize wiring errors. Fewer and smaller cable routes to the motors significantly reduce installation efforts.

The drive integration concept of the AMP8000 features an exceptionally compact design. Since the power module is conveniently located at the back end of the motor shaft, the attachment dimensions of the new distributed servo drives are identical to those of the proven standard AM8000 series servomotors. The only dimensional change is to the overall servomotor length, which is extended by approximately 7 cm. For the machine builder, this means that only a little additional space is needed at the motor end, so adjusting the overall motion control concept is easy, and existing machine designs do not need to be otherwise altered.

The AMP8000 distributed Servo Drive system is available in flange sizes F4 and F5. Various models are available with power ratings from 0.61 to 1.23 kW and standstill torque ratings from 2.00 to 4.8 Nm (F4) or power ratings from 1.02 to 1.78 kW and standstill torque ratings from 4.10 to 9.7 Nm (F5). STO and SS1 safety functions are integrated into the AMP8000 series by default, and a range of additional safe motion functions are in preparation.

For more information, visit www.beckhoff.com.

More Beckhoff PC-based controllers earn Microsoft Azure certification

July 5, 2017 By Miles Budimir Leave a Comment

To provide plants, factories and machine builders with even more system-integrated solutions for Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), Beckhoff Automation has announced Microsoft Azure™ certification for the C6015 Industrial PC (IPC) and CX5140 Embedded PC. All certified devices from Beckhoff can be found in the Microsoft “Azure Certified for IoT” device catalog, providing customers with an easy-to-reference guide for Azure-compatible devices. Both the C6015 IPC and CX5140 Embedded PC offer a powerful set of features and can help implement cloud connectivity in a wide range of industries.

The compact C6015 IPC opens up new application areas for PC-based control technology, especially those with pronounced cost or space restraints. Fully suited to industrial applications, the cabinet-mounted IPC with Intel Atom processor options (1-, 2- or 4-cores) is compact, measuring just 82 x 82 x 40 mm. The larger CX5140 Embedded PCs are equipped with 4-core Intel Atom processors and feature a direct backplane connection to the Beckhoff I/O system (EtherCAT Terminals or Bus Terminals).

TwinCAT automation software from Beckhoff establishes the IoT connectivity for these PC-based control devices. When running TwinCAT, the same hardware device used for IoT can handle all aspects of machine automation – from PLC and motion control, to visualization and HMI functionality – all in a compact format for cabinet mounting or DIN rail mounting.

Beckhoff has maintained a long-standing development partnership with Microsoft. This began with the company’s early commitment to deploy standard Windows operating systems for industrial applications across all product lines. With the rise of IoT, IIoT and Industrie 4.0 concepts, Beckhoff continues to work closely with Microsoft to certify PC-based control devices for use with Azure cloud services.

The recent inclusion of these two additional Beckhoff devices in the Azure Certified for IoT device catalog assures Azure cloud connectivity and eliminates the need for compatibility testing on the part of end users. Users will know immediately that their Beckhoff devices will seamlessly connect to Azure cloud systems and deliver the required functionality.

For more information, visit www.beckhoffautomation.com.

Catching up with Beckhoff at ATXEast

June 20, 2017 By Paul Heney Leave a Comment

I had a great chat with Beckhoff’s Daymon Thompson at last week’s ATX East trade show at New York’s Javits Center. The PC-based machine controls company features a range of processors, from an ARM processor all the way up to an industrial server with 36 cores and two terabytes of memory—possibly the biggest PLC on the planet.

“At this show we’re showing EtherCAT P, so it’s basically Power over Ethernet, except on the industrial scale,” Thompson said. “It’s an open standard from the EtherCAT technology group. We’re the first ones to launch a product against it, but many companies are building products for that power over EtherCAT standard.”

Another big theme with the show was IoT—in fact, there was a whole session track dedicated to it at the conference. Thompson said he felt that there was a lot of good content.

“We talked about our solutions for IoT and taking the communicate-to-cloud-based services like Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, whatever they might choose for the implementation strategy. We’re able to do that from the PLC, using PLC function blocks with a programmer, and then connect to the cloud without having to be an IT programmer, just a PLC guy,” he said.

“We also talked a lot about our analytics workbench that we’re developing. The idea there is to be able to stream data from a machine, sort things with every scan of a PLC, and then be able to go back in the same environment as the PLC programming and really analyze the data to figure out how to optimize the machine, make it run faster, find any weird anomalies in it.”

During set up, Thompson explained, one mode in this work bench allows you to optimize the system to make it faster and optimize the cell. You drag in tools you need, but beyond that, you may want to continue to monitor things. Maybe the timing on a loading sequence is continually growing. You can put the timing through a timing analysis block, and then put that through a rate of change block and set a threshold. Click the button that says “generate code” and it will actually generate a PLC code so that it continually monitors things.

“We’ve also developed, with our IoT suite of products, a function block library for a PLC programmer,” he said. “He can decide he would like to send this data or this message to an iPhone or an Android. It’s a free downloadable app, so if you tie all the products together, we can run real-time analytics on the machine—kind of edge computing. Then, if something changes like the loading sequence time, if it has increased over time in a certain rate of change, then we send a notification to say a production manager or a maintenance guy. Then a little alert shows up on his smartphone, that says that machine is having increased loading time.”

“When we want to build the analytics tools, it literally looks like a toolbox on one side that says ‘I want to do trigger analysis,’” Thompson said. “I drag in a trigger analysis and then drag in one of the PLC variables for, say, a Boolean. Now I want to know how many times do I go from high to low, low to high, and then when that happened? So, I drag in some other tools and will be able to correlate all kinds of different events in the machine.”

Thompson said they know that even with the toolbox that they’ve developed, there’s going to be other use cases that come up. Beckhoff wants it to be extensible, and they’ve built a tool with MATLAB Simulink from Mathworks. This resulted in some incredibly powerful tools, such as data analytics tools, and machine learning.

“In there, you can design your extended algorithm, whatever it might be, for your use case, compile it, basically hit a button and it compiles it, puts it in our platform, and then runs it in real time in our environment. We want to build it abstract,” he said. “We wanted to make it not too application specific and make it extensible. So, for a use case you can come up with, we think we’ve built a product that can really solve it. Or at least help, give you the tools.”

Beckhoff Automation increases sales by 9.5%

May 3, 2017 By Paul Heney Leave a Comment

Beckhoff Automation generated global sales of 679 million euros in 2016, an increase of 9.5% over the previous year. This success can be credited to the company’s development of new products, broad market penetration and improved distribution network coverage.

“We are very pleased with these business results. Although the growth rate was moderate compared with last year’s 22% increase, it is very respectable relative to the much slower growth of the automation industry as a whole,” said Managing Director Hans Beckhoff. “If you combine the last two years, we averaged an outstanding 15% sales increase.”

Europe was the region with the strongest growth for Beckhoff in 2016, particularly in the central European countries of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy, with sales increases well above industry averages. This is a good indicator for renewed European growth, as Asia had been the main growth driver in recent years. “Beckhoff expects business to continue growing on all continents. Despite recent political challenges and conflicts, the outlook is positive for a stable and growing global economy,” said Hans Beckhoff. All in all, a continuation of the very positive development in Europe can be expected for 2017, according to Beckhoff.

Beckhoff also continues to expand its worldwide distribution network. Earlier this year, the company acquired its Dutch distributor, so customers in the Netherlands can now be served directly by Beckhoff. Currently, Beckhoff has 35 subsidiaries, with offices and distributors located in 75 countries. This means Beckhoff provides local service to all major markets. “We are confident that our ever more tightly knit global sales organization, coupled with development of new technology markets, will enable us to further increase sales,” said Hans Beckhoff. Most of this growth centers on the PC-based automation technology developed by Beckhoff, which is employed in a wide range of industries and applications. “With our technologically diverse portfolio, we are well-positioned to serve customers with wide ranging requirements,” said Hans Beckhoff.

By systematically advancing all product families, Beckhoff is continuously opening new markets and applications. The company took another important step at this year’s Hannover Messe (the world’s leading industrial trade fair in Hanover, Germany) by introducing new products designed specifically for process technology applications. The new ELX series EtherCAT Terminals and CPX series Control Panels for use in hazardous areas feature a modular design and exceptional robustness, which are ideal for meeting the requirements of the process industries. Hans Beckhoff remains optimistic: “The processing industry market is generally considered to be larger than the discrete machine automation market, which is the traditional domain of Beckhoff. Thus, our new products should provide us with excellent opportunities for additional growth.”

This year, Beckhoff engineers proudly presented what is ostensibly the world’s smallest Industrial PC. Measuring only 82 x 82 x 40 millimeters, the new C6015 features a quad-core CPU for extremely compact and powerful control solutions.

Even more advanced in terms of power density is the DIN rail mounted CX2000 series, which pushes the envelope for intelligent applications to entirely new levels with Intel Xeon CPUs that have up to 12-cores. “More intelligence in the machine improves efficiency, conserves energy and minimizes raw materials usage. This kind of performance increase makes machines more profitable and improves their ecological footprint. In this way, our engineers play a small role in making the world a better place,” said Hans Beckhoff.

Moreover, Industrie 4.0 and the Internet of Things play an exciting role in today’s world of automation, because they help users realize new functionalities and capabilities. Connecting controllers directly to the cloud makes it possible to outsource functionalities and/or integrate cloud-based services into the machine. “Our customers can now employ highly-advanced technologies based on AI such as ‘deep learning’, for example. In practical terms, this leads to solutions such as predictive maintenance, which help increase the availability and efficiency of production systems. Virtual control applications in the cloud can be useful for many purposes – simulations and analytics come to mind. Machines can also employ cloud-based image processing or voice recognition,” said Hans Beckhoff.

The company’s growth is accompanied by a steadily rising workforce. Beckhoff currently employs roughly 3,350 people worldwide. Almost 2,300 work in Germany, with about 2,100 located at the company’s world headquarters in Verl. Around 1,100 of these employees are trained engineers, which means the company is always recruiting highly qualified experts. With a total of seven professional training fields and two practice-oriented degree courses, Beckhoff is strengthening its position as a technology-oriented training organization. In addition, the company functions as a ‘training engine’ at its Verl location, employing 100 apprentices and 90 university students at present.

According to Managing Director Hans Beckhoff, the company invests about 3.5 million euros annually into these training initiatives for junior staff. The practice-oriented college education concept has proven highly successful and will soon be expanded. Starting in the 2017 winter semester, Beckhoff plans to offer training for master’s degree programs at the University of Applied Sciences in Gütersloh, in addition to its bachelor programs in mechatronics/automation. “We want to give technologically-oriented young professionals incentives to stay in the region,” said Hans Beckhoff.

To ensure that production capacities keep up with Beckhoff’s rapidly rising sales, roughly 30,000 sq-m of manufacturing and assembly space are being added at the company’s Verl headquarters. With Industrial PC production already taking up approximately 10,000 sq-m of floor space, I/O production will occupy another 10,000 sq-m in a new building scheduled to open in mid-2017. Circuit board and motherboard production will also be expanded with another 10,000-sq-m building expansion.

For its drive technology business, Beckhoff is building a new mechanics manufacturing facility to supply the servomotor production at its Marktheidenfeld, Germany location. Ground has already been broken for the new building, which will cover 3,500 sq-m.

Beckhoff
www.beckhoff.com

Beckhoff intros new many-core, embedded PC control hardware

December 1, 2016 By Miles Budimir Leave a Comment

First revealed at the SPS IPC Drives 2016 trade show in Nuremberg, Germany, the CX2000 Embedded PC series from Beckhoff is being expanded with many-core control technology versions. These powerful yet compact CX20x2 devices will integrate Intel® Xeon® D processors, each with 4, 8 or 12 CPU cores of the 5th generation Intel® Core™ microarchitecture, and manufactured using 14-nm process technology. They will be available in a DIN rail-mounted controller format.

Beckhoff originally demonstrated many-core control technology in the C6670 series industrial servers for cabinet installation. For the new Embedded PC many-core control format, three units are being introduced, which differ in terms of the CPU used:

CX2042 | Intel® Xeon® D-1529 @1.3 GHz, 4 Cores

CX2062 | Intel® Xeon® D-1539 @1.6 GHz, 8 Cores

CX2072 | Intel® Xeon® D-1559 @1.5 GHz, 12 Cores

The 4, 8 and 12 processor core options provide ample processing power and parallelism, even for extremely demanding automation tasks. Optimal multi-core support via TwinCAT 3 automation software from Beckhoff makes it possible to distribute the individual tasks of a control process across the many available CPU cores. This means that the computing load can be planned in fine detail to achieve the best-possible processor efficiency.

Another important feature is the separate graphics card. Since Intel® Xeon® CPUs do not incorporate graphics cards, the CX20x0 devices integrate a separate graphics card, equipped with 2 GB RAM. Separating the CPU RAM from the GPU RAM prevents unwanted interactions between the two computing units. The high power density created by the CPU and GPU makes it necessary to incorporate a fan for heat dissipation. A cable-free plug-in connection facilitates easy fan replacement if required, and the regulated fan speed can be queried in the PLC software.

All standard interfaces of the CX2000 series are also available for use with the new many-core units: 2 x GBit Ethernet, 4 x USB 3.0, DVI-I (including VGA) as well as the flexibly configured, factory-fitted multi-option interface. All existing CX2000 plug-in modules – those attached from the left and right – can also be used with the new devices to ensure maximum flexibility.

For more information visit www.beckhoff.com.