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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

Beckhoff to premier new EtherCAT solutions, compact embedded controllers at ProMat 2019

February 8, 2019 By Miles Budimir Leave a Comment

Beckhoff Automation will show multiple new technologies that bolster material handling and logistics operations at ProMat 2019 in Chicago. The North American product debuts include the ultra-compact CX7000 embedded controller and a preview of EtherCAT G gigabit industrial Ethernet technology. The 45,000 industry professionals from 115 countries expected to attend the trade show from April 8 to 11 will also find the latest innovations in space-saving distributed servo drive technology and flexible TwinCAT 3 automation software at the Beckhoff booth (S-4512) in the south building of McCormick Place.

Expanded EtherCAT offerings on display will include the EK1000 EtherCAT TSN Coupler and innovative EtherCAT G offerings. The EtherCAT TSN approach will assist distribution centers in the implementation of real-time systems. Ideal for new installations or retrofits, this flexible technology will keep pace with rapidly evolving networking methodologies in the material handling industry. Furthering this goal, Beckhoff also recently announced EtherCAT G and EtherCAT G10, which will provide communication at 1 Gbit/sec and 10 Gbit/sec, respectively, in conformance with the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standard. An innovative branch controller model will enable the parallel operation of standard 100 Mbit/sec segments with EtherCAT G or G10 as the main trunk, or vice versa, to provide the fast communication needed in today’s distribution centers.

The recently introduced Beckhoff CX7000 embedded controller presents a compact yet powerful EtherCAT controller, boasting a single-core, 400 MHz ARM Cortex-M7 processor. The DIN rail-mountable controller maintains minimum footprint with dimensions of just 49 x 100 x 72 mm. Along with the ability to directly connect to the full range of Beckhoff EtherCAT I/O modules via a backplane, it has eight 24 V digital inputs and four outputs built into the device. With a low price point and the ability to leverage feature-filled TwinCAT 3 automation software, the CX7000 extends the range of Beckhoff controllers to include both ultra-compact controllers that can act as distributed control devices on the EtherCAT network across distribution centers all the way up to powerful many-core controllers capable of controlling entire warehouses.

Also appearing at ProMat will be compact multicore automation solutions such as the C6015 Industrial PC (IPC) with an Intel Atom processor and the C6030 IPC available with Intel Core i-series processors. These are ideal for mid-range to complex machine control, but they can also be used for other functions such as edge computing and IoT gateway devices to connect existing systems to major cloud platforms, such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and SAP HANA. Both IPCs are among the fast-growing assortment of Microsoft Azure Certified industrial devices from Beckhoff.

For more information, visit www.beckhoff.com.

Real-time performance in PC-based control: Technology update

July 25, 2017 By Lisa Eitel Leave a Comment

Eric Reiner, Industrial PC Product Specialist | Beckhoff Automation

System performance hangs heavy on the minds of every machine builder when commissioning new projects — particularly when it comes to the control platform. That’s with good reason, as the controller is arguably the most important facet of a machine … and often the first place people look when fighting bottlenecks and performance issues.

Conventional PLCs have traditionally been the go-to option for engineers, as these devices provide hardened real-time control. But they also come with fairly steep replacement costs, as PLCs often implement proprietary operating systems and software; some also limit flexibility or scalability from platform to platform. So some engineers have begun applying other options for real-time performance in machine control systems. One option is PC-based control — increasingly common thanks in part to its expansive feature set and cost effectiveness.

Most PC-based controllers from Beckhoff include reliable and common Intel processors; some entry-level controllers integrate ARM-based processors. Core isolation in PC-based controls lets users assign specific tasks to each core within the CPU (as a way to optimize processing capabilities).

Two major benefits of modern PC-based systems are multi-core processor architecture and the core isolation that PC-based automation software enables. The latter lets designers assign specific control tasks to each core within the CPU as a way to optimize system processing capabilities while minimizing the times the system runs at maximum capacity. This in turn extends controller life and boosts efficiency, as the processor runs cooler (thanks to a lower CPU burden). What’s more, PC-based control systems leverage the newest and fastest processors. Case in point: Some advanced PC-based controllers incorporate reliable Intel processors; other entry-level controllers integrate ARM-based processors. That ensures consistent industry-leading performance but at the lowest possible cost for the hardware, software, networking, and total cost of ownership.

Other benefits of PC-based control are inherent scalability and flexible migration paths. Should an operation outgrow the performance level or scale of its current control system, migration to a larger system is simple. That’s especially true for PC-based controllers using a Windows OS and automation software to establish real-time control. This lets the PC operate deterministically and in real-time.

PC-based controllers abound, and many include powerhouse multi-core offerings. Case in point: Some from Beckhoff offer up to 36 processor cores and 2 TB of RAM. Complementing this hardware is TwinCAT software that runs as a real-time extension to the Windows kernel. In fact, TwinCAT software regulates how system resources are allocated. Normally the Windows OS has full control of the CPU, but if TwinCAT is installed (and its real-time kernel is running) it assumes control and allocates space within each tick for TwinCAT operations before handing control back to Windows. Kernel level PLC or C++ code deploy to a larger system via standard storage media; new systems can be setup and run in minutes.

Plus processor end-of-life doesn’t make system architecture or software obsolete. By incorporating more functionality into software and running that on a standard Industrial PCs, users can simply replace aging equipment with a new IPC without changing to the balance of the control system — especially the software.

In short, PC-based control systems deliver real-time performance to supplant traditional PLCs. They also enable advanced features and streamline optimization and scalability. One might even reverse the usual question for companies seeking a control solution and ask: Can real-time operating systems on PLC-based controllers deliver the necessary performance to keep your operation competitive? For some, the answer is no.

For more information, visit beckhoff.com/ipc.

PC-Based AGVs support warehouse renovation

February 2, 2017 By Mike Santora Leave a Comment

Relying on PC-based PLC system from Beckhoff, America in Motion’s iBOT Automatic Guided Vehicles break new ground with path planning system.

When one thinks about automated guided vehicles (AGVs), their imagination often stirs up images from science fiction. Tiny robots, scurrying about and completing the menial tasks of their human bosses. Today, we are seeing a technological renaissance where these formerly fantastical concepts have become reality. Take, for example, the autonomous vehicles and drones being developed by Google and Amazon. AGVs in today’s large-scale warehousing operations bear a striking resemblance to the way we may imagine them in this context – autonomous devices conveying products in flurry of a high-tech activity.

America in Motion, based in Charlotte, N.C., continues to evolve with new PC-based Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs).

America in Motion (AIM), a Charlotte, N.C.-based builder of AGV systems, designs and manufactures just such devices, integrating new technologies to provide tailored application solutions. Rather than building a line of homogenous AGVs and hoping customers can accept them, AIM builds custom solutions, as Tommy Hessler, CEO at AIM explains: “Because the needs of each AGV installation are so varied, our team takes great care to guide customers through the process to discover solutions that are best suited for their automation needs.”

An AGV is a mobile robot that follows markers or wires in the floor, or uses vision, magnets, or lasers for navigation; for industrial applications, they are most often used to move materials around a manufacturing facility or warehouse. Though they all adhere to a basic level of functionality, there is an incredibly wide variety of AGV types, sizes, and price points based on the needs of the application. Whether handling products, delivering mail or performing other automated jobs, these robust, flexible machines can be infinitely configured to complete many tasks.

AGVs provide a lift to upgraded warehouse operations

Compact, yet robust, AGVs from America in Motion move product back and forth in warehouse applications with little or no operator intervention.

Approximately three years ago, AIM was approached by a leading home improvement retailer to help expand their distribution facilities with an AGV system tailored for their new storage and shipping centers. The company specified their preferred mechanical platform and asked AIM to apply an automated guidance system to this existing platform. Traditional AGV automation systems lacked the flexibility and robust operation necessary to accomplish this task, leading AIM to ultimately seek out a PC-based control system from Beckhoff.

As a result, the newest iteration of AGVs at AIM is the iBOT series which uses both Kalman filters and odometry for navigation, as well as the Dijkstra algorithm, a mathematical process for finding the shortest path between two points. Instead of using a proprietary, AGV-specific control system, AIM uses standard PC-based control technology to equip these vehicles with modern path-planning functionality, similar to any number of navigation apps used on smartphones. The advanced iBOT series is growing in popularity and, in just one example, has found a home with this large home-improvement retailer, working in the company’s distribution facilities by moving pallets of stock keeping units (SKUs) to locations throughout the facility for storage or outbound shipping. These AGVs use all the typical functions of a forklift, such as forward motion, steering and mast control.

For this application, AIM engineers designed an entire fleet of what are essentially automated robotic forklifts shunting SKUs to various stations within a distribution facility. Each AGV is totally autonomous, carrying out instructions with minimal operator input.

This is deceptively simple, as the nature of the pallets varies from operation to operation. Hessler explains: “As you can imagine, people don’t buy a whole pallet’s worth of products. Each pallet contains a mix of products, so the size and weight of each pallet is constantly changing. The vehicle picks up the packed pallet and drives it to one of several stretch wrappers and drops it off, all while automatically avoiding warehouse shelves, human workers, and the seven other AGVs.”

The scale of the project was daunting, as the 1,200-ft long warehouse necessitated mapping of thousands of positions, and for the system to track order numbers and individual products on the pallets, all while relaying this information back to the central computer for collection and monitoring. Complicating matters further, the fleet of AGVs receives around 80 orders at a time, so it is important to optimize the operation of the AGVs by minimizing distances and travel times, which also ensures error-free operation.

The future of AGV controls, guided by PC-based PLC system

For much of AGV history, a dedicated, hard-coded system running some sort of path-planning algorithm provided the motion control of the robotic system. Hard-wired controls and general system complexity made programming and commissioning these vehicles a time and labor-intensive process.

“You can view an AGV just like any piece of equipment, as each consists of 3 different component categories: mechanics, electrical wiring, and electronic controls with software,” said Hessler. “Most end users have the experience to address any mechanical or electrical issues on an AGV, but when it comes to the controls and the software, they are often boxed in and have no choice but to rely on a single source vendor for support.” This makes an AGV system a less attractive option for many users, as their operation will be dependent on a single vendor. Hessler continues: “With the iBOT series, we now have an AGV based on a PLC system from Beckhoff that makes breaks down that barrier. Suddenly, an AGV can be supported just like a traditional PLC system with standard parts, enabling easy replacement of components.”

A look “under the hood” of the iBOT AGV shows the space-saving design of the onboard controls architecture.

Again, AIM chose a different path and implemented a PC-based control system in their iBOT series, in this case CP6606-0001-0020 Panel PCs running TwinCAT software. These systems enable AIM to program PLC functionality in software creating a PLC in software while being able to integrate numerous other features into the Windows system. A step up from the previous version using a separate control panel and Embedded PC, the new system features an integrated Panel PC which provides all the necessary processing power in the iBOT systems. The device features a 1 GHz ARM Cortex-A8 CPU, Windows Embedded Compact 7 operating system, 1 GB of RAM, fanless operation and no rotating components. The Panel PC is integrated directly on the AGV, handling the iBOT system HMI display and reducing control component count.

In addition, four stationary display panels, in this case 19-in. Stainless Steel, IP 65-rated CP7703 Panel PCs, are mounted at various locations around the home improvement retailer’s distribution facility. Each device displays the positions and traffic statistics of the eight AGVs and tracks performance, loads per hour, and any errors or performance inadequacies.

The iBOT AGVs perform their tasks automatically, but can also be controlled via a handheld remote.

Traditional onboard navigational systems use laser sensors and an algorithm to determine X, Y and T (angle) of the vehicle in relation to obstacles in a warehouse. Through the TwinCAT automation platform running on the Embedded PC, this functionality can be accomplished in software and carried out in real-time via the EtherCAT industrial Ethernet system. TwinCAT 2 currently provides the programming environment and runtime for the automation system, enabling PLC functions in software and adding a measure of accessibility to the system. TwinCAT TCP/IP server provides a layer of communication between the AGVs and the end users’ corporate networks and facilitates communication between the controller and the onboard third party navigational system components. The processes handled by the controller are time critical, as the navigation system needs to know where the vehicle is at all times to avoid potential crashes and damaged product. A selection of EtherCAT I/O terminals provides fast onboard communication for the AGVs.

The I/O system also provides flexibility in communication to non-EtherCAT devices via EL6751 CANopen terminals and EL6021 RS422 terminals, which serve as interfaces for routing back to the navigation controller. In addition, an EL6224 IO-Link terminal provides communication for height sensors on the AGV forklift mast. “Precision is key for the height sensors, given the nature of the application,” said Hessler. “For example, say the tines of a fork need to travel over a height of 30-ft to reach a pallet located on a shelf. Misalignment of only one or two percent is enough to miss the pallet entirely, which is completely unacceptable in a time-critical application such as this. We tried several alternative options, but IO-Link components from Beckhoff remain the easiest way to remove any noise or faulty information from the operation.”

An array of Beckhoff EtherCAT I/O terminals provide the communication necessary for complex path-planning operations.

The iBOT series AGVs also monitor the onboard battery, offering an automatic “quick charge” system that can replenish the battery in just 6 minutes after an hour of running.

AGVs with “shortest-path optimization” ̶ the strongest link in the supply chain

Click To Tweet Said Hessler, “This is a huge step toward to position the AGV as a mainstream material handling and logistics solution. By removing a significant portion of the cost and by making the programming much more accessible, more customers accept highly automated systems, thereby growing our business.”

By using this new PC-based control architecture, AIM was able to slash around 40% off the cost of a traditional PLC-based AGV control system. According to Hessler, this is primarily a function of the economies of scale. “Traditionally, AGV control system volumes are relatively low, often around 100 or so orders for any series, making each unit much more expensive. We reduced our costs dramatically by moving to a standard system with PC-based hardware and an economical automation software platform like TwinCAT ̶ savings we pass along to our customers,” said Hessler.

A Beckhoff CP6606 series Panel PC installed on the iBOT provides streamlined vehicle control and display of the HMI.

Hessler continued, noting that AIM is fully onboard with the PC-based control philosophy, as it is the standard platform for every AGV and AGC (automatic guided cart) the company manufactures. AIM also intends to further implement advance the PC- and EtherCAT-based platforms in future AGV and AGC offerings. “There is still incredible potential with the PC Control platform and with the ability to program path-planning and PLC functionality in software. We have several new projects in the works with large customers that will also feature the iBOT system, and look forward to continuing our progress with the PC-based platform in these applications.”

As consumer product orders from large retailers, both online and brick and mortar, continue to grow unabated, automation will play a significant role to meet demand, satisfy customers and boost profitability. The increased adoption of AGVs and other automated warehousing systems is a primary example here. The fantasy that once typified robotics in science fiction has become a tangible reality today, and companies like America in Motion and Beckhoff maintain a solid foothold in this growth market, ideally positioned to provide the next generation of automation solutions.

Beckhoff
www.beckhoffautomation.com