New Code Configurator for TF6500
Reduced engineering effort and IEC-compliant protocols
TwinCAT has supported communication compliant with IEC 60870-5-104 based on TCP/IP in the field of electrical energy systems since 2004. The serial companion standards -101, -102 and -103 have been added since then. PLC function blocks are available for all four protocols from the fields of telecontrol, energy metering, and protection device connectivity.
The sometimes sophisticated definitions of the objects to be communicated are made in the PLC with the help of functions that define data point type and grouping. With hundreds of objects, this is a significant undertaking that should not be underestimated. To significantly reduce engineering time, the TwinCAT Telecontrol Configurator, which is familiar from TF6510 TwinCAT 3 IEC 61850/IEC 61400-25, has been extended to include IEC 60870-5-10x. PLC code for these protocols can now also be generated automatically at the end of the configuration process.
In the new configurator, which will be integrated into TF6500 TwinCAT 3 IEC 60870-5-10x, it is possible to choose between the standards and a client or server configuration. For serial integration, dedicated Beckhoff interfaces are available for the configuration. These can be COM ports, EL6 terminals, or KL6 terminals. If the “-104” protocol is selected, the process continues directly with the TCP/IP settings for the IP address and port. However, it is when defining data point types that the most amount of time can be saved. Single-point, double-point, and measured values can be inserted in the monitor or command direction either with or without a timestamp. The object addresses can be automatically incremented for all data point types if required. General queries and group queries can also be predefined on a group basis. Simple copy-and-paste in the configurator also makes things easier. The CSV import, which imports all data point types into the configurator automatically, is even faster than the graphical configuration.
General data for the ASDU (Application Service Data Unit) can be configured and even entire sequences can be saved for initialization before the configuration is saved at the end or the corresponding PLC code for TwinCAT is generated. The generated PLC code is ready for use immediately. The only thing that might still have to be carried out manually is I/O mapping, but this is very easy to implement due to the transparency of the code. Code generation significantly reduces susceptibility to errors in the application and results in additional time savings.
Products
TF6500 | TwinCAT 3 IEC 60870-5-10x
TwinCAT IEC 60870-5-10x enables communication according to the IEC standard 60870-5-10x from the PLC. Both server and client operating modes are possible.
TF6510 | TwinCAT 3 IEC 61850/IEC 61400-25
Whether energy generators, consumers or storage systems: the devices in a smart grid must be able to communicate with one another. There are standardized communication protocols for this purpose. The IEC 61850 describes such a communication for protection and control equipment in electrical substations. The communication services and the basic data model are constructed in such a way that they make it possible to go beyond general station automation. This is achieved through industry-specific data models. Specific supplements are available for wind turbines, hydropower plants and other decentralized energy generation systems, such as photovoltaic systems or fuel cells.