Open Control Architecture integration for seamless communication with professional audio systems

Media and control technology on a single platform

Beckhoff at Prolight + Sound: Hall 3.0, Booth B72

For the sixth year running Beckhoff will be exhibiting at the Prolight + Sound trade show in Frankfurt and will present its PC and EtherCAT-based control technology for stage and show technology. The innovations that Beckhoff will be showing include support for Open Control Architecture, the vendor-independent standard for professional audio systems, the one-cable solution EtherCAT P for the field level, the new user interface TwinCAT HMI, and TwinCAT Analytics for the continuous storage and analysis of process data.

The open and modular control platform can be used in all areas of stage, show and concert technology, such as movable objects, lighting, AV and media technology and automated building systems. Manifold interfaces for integrating AV multimedia and lighting systems allow optimised connections to media technology, lighting control, building automation and control logic.

Open Control Architecture integrates audio systems into PC-based control

Support for Open Control Architecture, DMX, SMPTE TimeCode, Crestron, Bang & Olufsen, Art-Net™ and Streaming ACN (sACN) enables all the devices and systems used in stage and media technology to be integrated into the universal Beckhoff automation platform. For building technology applications the system can also incorporate KNX/EIB, DALI, BACnet, M-Bus, MP-Bus and SMI bus. By implementing Open Control Architecture, Beckhoff has further extended the interoperability and reliability of its PC Control platform.

Simple, open and HTML5-based: TwinCAT HMI

The new TwinCAT HMI heralds a paradigm shift in the area of HMI software: instead of using proprietary engineering and communication systems that call for specific operating systems, Beckhoff employs IT standards such as Visual Studio^® for engineering, HTML5 for design and Websockets and HTTPS for secure communication. No programming is required; the convenient graphical editor makes the configuration process very straightforward, and the handling is as adaptable as the configuration is easy. The user interface can run on any HTML5-enabled browser, regardless of operating system, resolution or display technology.

EtherCAT P: Ultra-fast communication plus power on a single cable

EtherCAT P integrates EtherCAT communication and power supply to system and peripherals into a single cable. In addition, EtherCAT P enables power to be directly transmitted via the subscribers. Providing the same combination of high performance and flexible and unrestricted topology that is characteristic of EtherCAT, this one-cable solution represents the ideal bus system for sensors, actuators and measuring technology: it reduces hardware and installation costs and minimises the space needed in control cabinets.

TwinCAT Analytics: Complete acquisition and analysis of process data

Stage and show technology make numerous demands on systems’ condition monitoring and diagnostics: online and offline condition analysis, predictive maintenance and long-term archiving of data. You can use TwinCAT Analytics for the continuous and cycle-synchronous storage and analysis of process-related data. This data is then available as needed – stored in a standardised compressed process data format – either locally within the controller or as a cloud-based solution on a server in either your own corporate network or a public cloud.