Please choose an option below to view the application notes, success stories and case studies for PC-Based Control.
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Airport Terminal Operations FMC Technologies Airport Services oversees Continental Airlines maintenance at the George Bush International Airport in Houston, TX. Three areas of the facility that FMC manages have begun to age and needs replacement parts but, after looking into these parts, they were either too expensive or obsolete. “The failure of the communication ports are preventing critical information being passed to the PLC”, says Larry Buford, Senior Systems Analyst at FMC. The goal was to find a field solution allowing FMC to replace the outdated equipment running Windows NT and migrate to Windows XP and interface with Object Automation (OA) Software. Click here to read full article...
CANopen in Semiconductor Manufacturing Whilst fieldbus systems like Profibus and DeviceNet are generally chosen because the favourite control system comes with this interface, the
decision for CANopen is more technology driven. Engineers look for an open, reliable communication system that can be tailored for the
specific application needs and is easy to implement on special function devices that are not available with fieldbus connectivity yet. They are
fascinated by intelligent medium access control method and the built in error detection and control mechanisms provided by the Controller Area
Network technology and then look for an appropriate application layer. They find that CANopen takes advantage of the various CAN features
and is readily available in a wide range of devices. Click here to read full article...
Beckhoff Pass Saw Test at Koch As a manufacturer of woodworking machines based in the German town of Leopoldshöhe,
Koch Maschinenbau don‘t have a minute to spare if 1800 wooden drawers are to be
made every hour. The changeover from classical PLCs to PC technology was just as brisk.
The company are now fitting Beckhoff automation equipment to its machines. Click here to read full article...
Totally PC-Based Control In planning their new Controls generation, Husky - global supplier of injection
molding systems to the plastics industry- have embarked on an integral
approach based on an Industrial PC, fieldbus components and software from
Beckhoff‘s product portfolio. The challenge to be met by Beckhoff‘s solution
included a software PLC for machine control and a software NC for electrical
axes as well as integrated hydraulic drive and temperature control. Click here to read full article...
Fast Bus Terminals for Fast Delivery The Bertelsmann distribution centre, in Harsewinkel near Gütersloh, keeps large customers supplied at short notice
with printed advertising material, forms, and every kind of office material. Other specialities are represented by
POD printing, the dispatch of course materials and technical literature, and the distribution of mobile telephones,
accessories and replacement parts. Customers receive the product they have requested within 24 hours of receipt
of order. Innovative automation technology and precise project planning for the achievement of smooth package
flow is supplied by Beckhoff of Verl. Click here to read full article...
Functionality Increased and Expenses Reduced When the Windows PC changes its workplace and gets down to business, then mechanical engineers get a
multiple talent, for their design, to control, communicate and visualise. Thanks to this open application by
Beckhoff, the users can control the machine from their offices in future and bring them into the company
network through open interfaces. Click here to read full article...
PC Control for Flexible Packaging Machine controllers based on PCs opens up new dimensions for production output: This „guiding principle“ of automation has been consistently put into practice by Windmöller & Hölscher of Lengerich in Germany, with its redesigned "ARCOMAT® 2&l" gantry robot. The new series of palletising robots is fitted with universal, PC-based control technology made by Beckhoff, consisting of Industrial PC, fieldbus technology and PLC/NC software. Click here to read full article...
Beckhoff Building Automation Beckhoff implements open automation systems in almost any
industry sector worldwide. Due to its open interfaces based on
IT and Windows standards, the PC- and Ethernet-based control
solution from Beckhoff is inherently extremely well suited for
building technology. Traditionally, the integrated control technology
has mainly been used in offi ce buildings and industrial production
facilities for Industrial Building Automation, although more
recently Home Automation has become an expanding market. Click here to read full article...
PC-Control in the Office of the Future Even the market for technical building equipment is being seized by the PC and
the software revolution. The property developers FOM and the tenants Microsoft
of the new administrative headquarters of Microsoft in Germany have made
a trend-setting decision: PC-based control technology, Microsoft operating systems
and consistent Ethernet communication were chosen as the fundamental
technologies for the building automation. This new technology was implemented
using automation components from Beckhoff. Click here to read full article...
"Just in Time" The new Ford Mondeo is produced at the Ford factory at Genk in Belgium. Each
day more than 1,650 vehicles are said to roll off the conveyor belt in three shifts.
Depending on the order and equipment the expected estimated annual production
totals 350,000 units. Ford relocated a suppliers‘ park slightly on factory
grounds. The suppliers‘ park houses important ”Just-In-Time“ and ”Just-In-Sequence“
system components. Click here to read full article...
Fieldbus Power in Smart Tower Otto Nußbaum GmbH & Co. KG, of Kehl-Bodersweier, manufacture high quality lifting equipment, are
exploiting the electronic bus terminals from Beckhoff, of Verl, in their latest car parking system for the
Smart. The Nußbaum engineers are using the bus-independent terminals to implement efficient, CAN-based
control solutions for the Smart Tower. The value to the customer: The hydraulic transport procedure takes
only 2.5 minutes from searching to driving out. Click here to read full article...
Metal Injection Molding Process – Eliminating Metal Particles to Speed-Up Production and Delivery Metal injection molding is a relatively new process in part forming technology where several key technologies in material science, injection molding, and heated ovens all work together in the same location to produce molded metal parts of various metal properties. Finished parts are sintered to near full density; do not require machining, and meet surface finish and dimensional accuracy requirements not easily obtained with other part forming technologies. Click here to read full article...
How do we keep our Control Systems ahead of competition and provide enough flexibility with all the latest technology trends? Traditional control systems used by competition are either proprietary embedded controllers or a “closed” HMI married with a PLC. Most HMI products force integrators to use their HMI software, thus limiting their capability. Enhancements and updates are usually slow to come, making it difficult to keep up with technology. On the control side, PLC’s have evolved very little over the years. Support for scripting and larger function libraries help, but developing advanced & adaptive control algorithms are difficult to impossible on most PLC platforms. Click here to read full article...
All Wound Up - IRA Griffins Sizing Machine uses New Automation Technology In the making of textiles, fiber material is turned into yarn that is then weaved into cloth. IRA Griffin Sons, Inc., Charlotte, North Carolina, makes sizing machines that combine fiber ends and apply a chemical to protect the fiber and yard from stress damage during the weaving process. The company recently reengineered their machines to reduce costs, increase reliability and simplify the control systems. Click here to read full article...
OEM Uses High-Speed Industrial Network for Stand-Alone Machinery Has new Windows NT-based industrial PCs and industrial networks finally shelved standard PLC control for good? At least one forward-thinking Midwestern OEM thinks so. Click here to read full article...
