Innovative control solutions and technological know-how from Beckhoff are universally used throughout all markets and industries: from factory automation to wind power and building automation. PC-based control technology is the ideal foundation for Integrated Industry, or Industry 4.0, the lead theme of this year’s Hannover Messe. The openness in technology, application and design characteristic of Beckhoff systems is reflected in the company’s multiplied presence at Hanover Messe 2013 with three booths of its own and as a partner of various associations and companies at seven further booths.
The main Beckhoff booth can be found in Hall 9, at the centre of the leading trade fair “Industrial Automation.” At the “Wind” and “Metropolitan Solutions” fairs the focus is on the application-specific portfolio of Beckhoff: PC-based control for wind power in Hall 27, and urban automation in Hall 1. In addition, Beckhoff will be represented as partners of EPLAN, the EtherCAT Technology Group, the OPC Foundation, PLCopen and the PROFIBUS Nutzerorganisation. At the Leading-Edge Cluster “it’s OWL” and the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) booth, Beckhoff will show the innovative XTS transport system as an example of an Industry 4.0 application.
Industrial Automation: PC Control as the foundation for Integrated Industry and Industry 4.0
Under the lead theme “Integrated Industry,” Hannover Messe2013 will focus on the crosslinking of all industrial markets and the integration of IT and automation technology. As a pioneer of PC-based control technology, Beckhoff has pursued the convergence of these technologies from early on and has introduced corresponding solutions to the market, such as Scientific Automation and TwinCAT 3. The concept of Integrated Industry will play a key role in future developments and is much discussed under the term Industry 4.0. PC-based control from Beckhoff even now enables universal vertical, horizontal and cross-company integration and thus provides the ideal basis for future Industry 4.0 solutions.
At the company’s main booth in Hall 9, Beckhoff will present its complete product range and many new products on more than 1000 m². One of the highlights in the booth will be CP-Link 4, the new connection technology for operating panels positioned up to 100 m away from the Industrial PC. The single-cable solution can be used to transfer video signals, USB 2.0 and the power supply in a standard CAT 7 cable, thus reducing cable and installation costs. The new Beckhoff multi-touch panel series supports the CP-Link 4 technology.
A further highlight is the release of TwinCAT version 3.1 which is integrated in the new Visual Studio® 2012 and enables the use of 64-bit operating systems for runtime tasks. The latest TwinCAT release is fully supported by the new CP22xx multi-touch Panel PC series equipped with 3rd generation Intel® Core™ i processors and display sizes starting with 12 inches. Another new product is the compact CP26xx Panel PC series with ARM Cortex™A8 processor from 7- to 24- inch.
10 years of EtherCAT: global standard celebrates anniversary
EtherCAT, the ultra-fast communication technology, is a key focus for the whole product range and the trade fair booth. The Ethernet fieldbus was presented for the first time at Hannover Messe 2003 and has since then become an established standard in numerous industries worldwide. Meanwhile, the international user and manufacturer association, the EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG), has more than 2,300 members that support and disseminate EtherCAT technology and drive future developments. The foundation of the ETG and the publication of the specification as a global IEC standard were important milestones the group is celebrating this year. Meanwhile, a large and steadily increasing number of companies have followed the active invitation to implement EtherCAT.
Wind: PC-based control for wind turbines
At the co-located Wind 2013 trade fair in Hall 27, Beckhoff will present its integrated range of solutions for efficient control and fast networking of wind turbines which are already installed in more than 25,000 wind turbines worldwide with capacities of up to 5 MW. Based on PC- and EtherCAT technology, Beckhoff offers an integrated control solution that combines all wind turbine components, including operational management, pitch, generator, converter and brake control, condition monitoring and wind farm networking on a single platform. Current highlights include ultra-fast wind farm networking with response times of less than 1 ms, the EL2595 LED terminal for obstacle lights and the multi-functional EP8309 EtherCAT I/O box as a compact solution for brake systems in wind turbines.
Metropolitan Solutions: PC-based control for urban environments
With Metropolitan Solutions 2013, the key future global theme of urbanisation has found a new platform concurrent with the Hannover Messe event. The new Beckhoff booth in Hall 1 will feature PC-based control technology for buildings, infrastructure, and water and energy supply. The strong points of the open, standards-based automation solution provide the following benefits for urban automation: the security of guaranteed long-term availability, flexibility through high scalability and fully harnessing energy-saving potential. For planners and system integrators developing future-proof concepts for the urban environment, Beckhoff offers robust and efficiency-optimising control concepts that can be used in a wide range of urban applications, including integrated building automation, process data acquisition and processing in water and wastewater treatment. Since it supports all common communication standards, Beckhoff control technology is particularly easy to integrate in all urban applications, from the command level to the field level.
Beckhoff trade fair booths
Main Booth: Hall 9, Booth F06
Wind: Hall 27, Booth E40
Metropolitan Solutions: Hall 1, Booth C10
Beckhoff at partner booths:
German Ministry of Education and Research: Hall 2, Booth C24
EtherCAT Technology Group: Hall 9, Booth D18
EPLAN: Hall 7, Booth C12
OPC Foundation: Hall 9, Booth F79
it’s OWL: Hall 16, Booth A04
PLCopen: Hall 9, Booth G77
PROFIBUS Nutzerorganisation: Hall 9, Booth D76
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