Beckhoff just released the latest version of TwinCAT – 3.1.4024. Typically, a major revision of TwinCAT is released every year. This time however Beckhoff took two years to add some pretty major new features to TwinCAT. This two year schedule will continue to be the trend going forward.
After reading through the new features and taking some for a test drive, here are some of the coolest new features:
TwinCAT Allows Multiple Programmers at Once
The latest version of TwinCAT allows multiple users to be online simultaneously and work together to make changes. TwinCAT Multi-User support utilizes built in git version control on the controller itself. When a user goes online with the controller, the online code is compared to offline code. If differences exist, the user is able to compare offline with online and merge changes before going online.
In addition to allowing multiple users, the source control behind the scenes also adds traceability. The programmer can view all historical changes to the program when connecting. This allows the programmer to easily move back and forth between versions and track changes.
Configure Multiple Hardware Configurations in One Program
There are many situations that it is necessary to have two very similar machines with small differences in hardware. For example, a machine builder may offer a base machine and then offer additional options for specific applications. In the past, each machine must have an entirely separate hardware configuration. However, Variants in TwinCAT fixes that. Hardware components can be grouped together and disabled or enabled on the fly. Logic in the PLC code can also vary based on which hardware is active due to conditional compile of the code. A programmer can write one set of code that fits the whole catalog of machines rather than making modifications to the code for each one.
Integrated MQTT Support
IIOT is allowing more data to be collected from industrial devices than ever before. This gives manufactures more insight into their process and brings tighter control of their process. Beckhoff’s new TF3500 Analytics Logger builds MQTT data reporting into the TwinCAT programming environment. This allows easy configuration and collection of data from a huge variety of devices. This data can then be securely transferred and displayed through dashboards to provide deep analytics of a process.
Miscellaneous Other New Features In TwinCAT
- Comparison window of offline and online code when performing online change. This minimizes inadvertent changes.
- “Go to Definition” is now available from the process image to the variable defined in the PLC. This simplifies troubleshooting for maintenance staff.
- Cross reference improvements, including smart search/filter of cross reference list.
- “Go to Instance” of function blocks to skip directly to referenced instance of the function block.
- F1 key now loads help file for specific function at infosys.beckhoff.com.
This release contained a huge amount of new features. See the full list here on Beckhoff’s website for an overview of every new feature released. Beckhoff also released a webinar which covers the features in more detail.
Read more about our Beckhoff expertise here.