Beckhoff Controllers
Beckhoff TwinCAT 3 offers an extremely powerful PC-based industrial automation platform with the reliability of a standard PLC. Beckhoff TwinCAT 3 resides within the Microsoft Visual Studio shell which provides a freature-rich integrated software package to program both the PLC code and HMI. Connecting to the Beckhoff TwinCAT controllers is easy, here’s how.
How to Connect to Beckhoff PLCs Using TwinCAT 3
- Download the appropriate version of TwinCAT 3 by clicking here
- Connect the PLC to the same network as your PC or directly connect the two devices.
- Be sure to use the Ethernet port and NOT the EtherCat port on the Beckhoff controller if they are specified.
- If the controller has a static IP address assigned, set your PC to an IP address on the same subnet as the PLC.
- Once TwinCAT 3 has successfully been installed, a blue icon with a gear will appear in the lower right hand corner of your screen in the system tray. This icon gives a quick snapshot of the current operating mode for TwinCAT 3. Below is a screenshot of the icon.
- Right click on the TwinCAT 3 operating mode icon and hover over Router. Click Edit Routes. A window will appear called TwinCAT Static Routes. This window shows the Beckhoff PLCs in which communication routes have previously been established.
- In the bottom left corner press “Add…” to create a new route. A window called Add Route Dialog will appear. Enter an IP address in order to search for a specific device. The figure below shows where to type in the IP address and where it will appear. Once the correct route has been chosen, click Add Route.
- Alternatively, clicking Broadcast Search will show all devices currently found on the network. This is a useful for controllers configured to DHCP or to find the devices with unknown IP addresses.
- After searching for the Host Name / IP or using the broadcast function, select the route and press the Add Route button.
- Default login settings are: Username: Administrator Password: 1
- The Add Route Dialog window will now display an “X” in the Connected column. You are now connected to the PLC.
Note: If the “X” does not appear disable windows firewall and try again. - Close the window and you will see the new route appear in the TwinCAT Static Routes window.
- You have now connected to your Beckhoff TwinCAT PLC. Utilize the TwinCAT XAE to upload PLC code and go online with the device.
Contact us if you’re looking for assistance with a Beckhoff project, or learn more about our Beckhoff services.