Browse by Editorial Category
Browse by Edition Date

August 2016

Skip Navigation Links.
Collapse Current NewsCurrent News
MSCI Designates September as National Voter Registration Month
Webinar on Order Fulfillment with Automated Storage and Layer Picking
Toyoda to Host Lunch n’ Learn August 4 at New Brighton MN Tech Center
Jergens to Hold Inaugural Event at New Tech Center
Global Forecasting andamp; Marketing Conference Announced
Industrial Cameras with Image Preprocessing
Many-Core Control for Automation
Bilz Tool Adds Denco as Manufacturers Rep
BISON Donates to Preservation of U.S. WWII Submarine
Building American Machine Tools With American Machine Tools
Small Flat Tape Layer System for Aerospace Composites
Danly Opens New Die Spring Distribution Center to Better Serve Western Customers
Rotary Screw Air Compressors
EMCO Announces Master Distributor Agreement
Expanded Series of 6-Axis Robots
Upgraded Compact Robot
Series of I.D. Grippers with Adjustable Holding Force
GMN USA Opens New Sales and Service Center
Samag Machine Tools Now Available in North America
WGS Motorized Linear Stages
Integrated Solutions Strategic Business Unit Launched
High Speed Sensors for Vision Systems
Precision Technology Displayed at IMTS EDM Pavillion
ITAMCO Receives DMDII Award
Jacobs Institute Partners with Stratasys on New Center of Excellence
Vacuum Media Filter
Improved Worker Ergonomics for Order Picking
Kaydon Bearings Celebrates 75th Anniversary
Micron-Level In-Process Inspection of Lead Frames
Scanning Laser Micrometer
Servo-Driven Wire Feeder for Robotic Steel Welding
Flexible Automation for Punch Presses
Matrix Design LLC Achieves Certified Servicing Integrator Status
Mazak Announces Organizational Changes
Couplings Absorb Vibration Allow High Misalignment
Mitutoyo Announces Grand Opening of Huntersville M3 Solution Center
Mitutoyo Announces Grand Opening of LA M3 Solution Center
Enhanced Toolmakers Microscopes
Collaborative Robot Technologies
New Neugart USA Headquarters
NIMS Announces Industry Standard for the 21st Century CAM Manufacturing Workforce
Enhanced-Capability Feather Probe Measurement Sensor
Okuma Donates CNC Machines to Central Piedmont Community College
Base Unit for Configurable Control Systems
PrecisionPath Consortium for Large-Scale Manufacturing Launches Survey
Reduce Hearing Loss Risk
New Plug and Play Motion System
Schaeffler Expands Facilities in U.S.
Manufacturing Summit Set for Middle Managers and Leaders
Tech Soft 3Ds HOOPS Exchange now Available from Siemens PLM Software
Line of Machine Vision Filters
Solar Atmospheres Receives First MedAccred Reaccreditation
Takumi USA Opens Indianapolis Showroom to Launch New Brand
Tom Paine Group Signs 5th Axis Workholding
September Open House New Manual Lathe Functionality Announced
United Tool andamp; Machine Acquires HRI Precision Tool Company
Endmill Higher Productivity in Titanium and Stainless Steel
ZEISS Opens Metrology Service Center in Nashville
Expand IMTS East Hall Product PreviewIMTS East Hall Product Preview
Expand IMTS North Hall Product PreviewIMTS North Hall Product Preview
Expand IMTS South Hall Product PreviewIMTS South Hall Product Preview
Expand IMTS West Hall Product PreviewIMTS West Hall Product Preview

show all editions →

Click here to watch Tutorial Videos >

Many-Core Control for Automation



Together with TwinCAT 3.1 automation software, the C6670 industrial server from Beckhoff is designed to integrate condition monitoring and energy management functions into the control system. Coupled with options for adding PLC, motion control, robotics and CNC functions, the C6670 is equipped to meet the demanding requirements of smart factory and Industry 4.0 applications.

"To meet the rising connectivity and control requirements of smart factories and implement intelligent machines and production systems, controllers such as the Beckhoff C6670 industrial server are becoming essential. To make the most effective use of this vast many-core computing performance, support from software, such as the TwinCAT 3.1 automation platform, is a necessity," said a company spokesperson.

While compatible in terms of hardware and software, computers with many-core architectures are notably different from conventional industrial PCs (IPCs). They feature multiple processors, also referred to as packages, and each is equipped with several cores. Their memory architectures also provide a notable difference. One technique, known as NUMA (non-uniform memory access), provides each processor with its own dedicated memory. Beckhoff has implemented this design with its C6670 industrial server that features two Intel Xeon packages, each offering 6, 12 or 18 cores and from 64 to 2,048 GB of RAM.

"This can only be utilized effectively, however, if the performance of each core is fully leveraged by TwinCAT 3.1 software," said the spokesperson. The flagship control software from Beckhoff can map the various machine and process workflows - designed for parallelization and distribution of different tasks as function modules.

With TwinCAT, users can implement individual automation tasks in the form of modules. Written in PLC or C++ code, these machine modules are assigned to individual tasks within the TwinCAT system and executed in user-defined cycles. The tasks can then be distributed over the real-time cores.

To define the execution sequence, the individual tasks can be prioritized. For reaching high levels of system performance, the diagnostic functionality of TwinCAT 3.1 individually analyzes the load of each core. Cores can also be assigned exclusively to the TwinCAT runtime process, in which case they are referred to as isolated because they do not execute any Microsoft operating system functions along with the TwinCAT real-time system. "This makes it easy to separate Windows processes from real-time processes," said the spokesperson.

"Since TwinCAT 3.1 was designed as a future-proof solution to run on PC-based hardware with up to 256 processor cores, it offers the ability to run automation applications on the complete spectrum of available processors now and into the future," said the spokesperson. Depending on the amount of computing performance needed, the system designer can configure the appropriate number of cores for the respective real-time applications.

For more information contact:

Beckhoff Automation LLC

13130 Dakota Avenue

Savage, MN 55378

877-TwinCAT / 952-890-0000

beckhoff.usa@beckhoff.com

www.beckhoffautomation.com

< back