Beckhoff now offers an add-on to TwinCAT 3 automation software that enables easy and efficient communication with Siemens S7 controllers. This option provides closer integration with other machines and equipment while simplifying implementation to reduce engineering time, effort and costs. The openness of PC-based control and the resulting array of connectivity options with other systems are among the fundamental advantages of TwinCAT automation software from Beckhoff.
TwinCAT 3 offers numerous options for connecting TCP/IP-based third-party systems to the main control program: OPC UA, MQTT, HTTPS and Modbus are some prominent examples of the comprehensive range of supported communication protocols. The TwinCAT S7 Communication (TF6620) function now expands this broad spectrum to include the S7 communication protocol.
This product implementation enables reading and writing of variables from an S7 controller. The PLC application program carries this out directly – either via dynamically parameterizable PLC function blocks or via easily configurable I/O mapping. No additional hardware is required, and the local TCP/IP network serves as the transport medium.
