More engineers adopt PC-based control systems

More and more control system designers are finding that PC-based control systems offer levels of versatility, performance and value for money that simply cannot be matched by traditional systems.

With more and more control system designers finding that PC-based control systems offer levels of versatility, performance and value for money that simply cannot be matched by traditional proprietary PLC solutions, Beckhoff's unique TwinCAT software, which is available in the UK and Ireland exclusively from Hayes Control Systems, is now being used worldwide in more that 10,000 control systems every year.

"While few engineers have ever doubted that PC-based control systems offer outstanding value, some have, in the past, had concerns about stability and reliability," said Stephen Hayes, of Hayes Control Systems.

"Now, with 10,000 systems a year being installed, many for demanding users such as Volkswagen and Ford Motor Company, it's clear that, with TwinCAT, those concerns can be forgotten." "PC-based systems are undoubtedly the future of control," continued Hayes, "and these latest figures clearly demonstrate that specifiers are rapidly turning their backs on expensive and inflexible proprietary PLCs." Beckhoff TwinCAT, from Hayes Control Systems, is specifically designed to offer totally dependable deterministic real-time performance in demanding control applications, and it runs under Microsoft Windows NT, 2000 or XP, on standard or industrialised PC hardware.

A single PC running TwinCAT provides all of the functionality of up to four independent PLCs, and can also operate simultaneously as a multiple axis motion controller.

Programming is carried out using familiar IEC 61131-3 programming languages, eliminating the need for control system designers to learn new software techniques, while extensive diagnostic facilities, including criterion analysis, make program debugging and system commissioning fast and straightforward.

Input/output facilities for control systems based on TwinCAT software are easily provided using the Beckhoff range of modular bus terminals.

These are available in versions to suit all major fieldbus protocols, including Profibus, DeviceNET, Modbus, Ethernet and Lightbus, and to cater for virtually all types of analogue and digital inputs and outputs.

Hayes Control Systems is the leading UK expert in the design and supply of complete automation solutions based on open-architecture PC technology.

The company is the exclusive UK and Ireland distributor for Beckhoff, whose products include fieldbus-independent input/output systems, industrial PCs, and soft programmable controllers which use standard PC hardware, and which can also provide sophisticated motion control functions.

In all of its product areas, Hayes Control Systems champions an open-systems approach, which avoids the technical limitations, high costs and restricted availability associated with proprietary equipment.

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