The performance features required of the system included the shortest possible production times in combination with maximum precision, integration of the remote diagnosis functionality as well as making all production data available across the company network. This was implemented with the TwinCAT automation software, which integrates PLC, NC (motion control) and CNC functionality.
In terms of the electromechanical control of the plant, it had been necessary to consider that, even in just one machine, more than 40 air cylinders are to be controlled by sequential logic pressure change and temperature PID controllers at 5 heating points in 3 movement axes. In order to implement fully automatic motion control it was also necessary to use frequency converters to regulate the speed and position of various AC motors along the whole production line.

Transmission of the process and material data relating to the current process to the subsequent process was also automated. When a partly finished workpiece is passed to a subsequent machine, the new controller must make use of the received data to choose the tool and set the appropriate processing data needed to execute its process. An interface to a database was also integrated. Its data, gathered from different machines, is used along with functions for the automatic transmission of material data for demonstrations and simulations of the tool movements. It is, additionally, possible for the production line to be linked to the Internet in accordance with the customers’ requirements, so that diagnostic data can be transferred.

Using the TwinCAT ADS interface, INSOFT implemented a powerful link between the real-time controller program (PLC and NC), the HMI, the database for tool and materials management and the customer logs with their production data. The TCP/IP network functions integrated into TwinCAT, and the standard LAN cards fitted in the PC, support online data exchange between varied plant components and a network based on the TCP/IP protocol. The data necessary for processing a workpiece can be transferred between the individual plant components and the network for the production line. Alternatively, information can be transferred from the PC responsible for real-time control back to the server for the company platform, and linked with the ERP system. This provides a considerable improvement to the management and use of the production data.

With the aid of Windows NT and TwinCAT, INSOFT were able to specify the mechanical and electrical design, to program the real-time controller and the HMI for the entire production plant, providing a functionality that embraces everything from the logical PLC control, through pinpoint multiple axis motion control (TwinCAT NC PTP) up to the complex synchronized control of multiple axes (TwinCAT NC I). Since the database functions are also available for use at the automatic production line, an installation was created offering coupled network functionality and a high level of automation. From the economic point of view, the combination and integration of a production plant with PC systems enables the plant’s user to achieve a significant improvement in competitiveness. The TwinCAT controller platform represents an effective tool for shortening production development times and for extending system features.

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