TwinCAT Analytics from Beckhoff offers a low-code approach to facilitate the evaluation of machine data by means of very simple engineering, providing various configuration options in addition to automatic PLC and HMI dashboard generation. Now, in a bid to expand the analysis options further still, the algorithms of the TwinCAT Vision library have also been integrated.
The TwinCAT Vision library is extremely comprehensive, with a wide range of algorithms ranging from color image analysis, segmentation, and contour analysis through to object measurement. With the integration into the TwinCAT Analytics workflow, these functions are now available in a non-real-time environment as a configuration solution, meaning they can be used even without programming in the IEC 61131-3 languages.
The Vision algorithms can be conveniently dragged and dropped into the analytics interface and combined with other algorithms to form an analysis chain. As for input and output images, these can be visualized in no time via the quick view. If images of different analysis levels are to be compared with each other, the image gallery offers the possibility to freely place several images in a single interface. These are continuously updated during the recording and can then be edited with appropriate tools, whether that involves manual measuring, determining positions and colors, or adding texts and symbols. Individual images or entire image groups can be exported to common image formats so that they can be used in resources such as PDF reports.
A major time-saver is the automatic PLC code generation, which can be used to convert the graphically configured image analysis chain into transparent PLC code based on the TwinCAT Vision library. This can be loaded either directly into the machine controller or onto a remote device for continuous execution and monitoring.