Published in: Open Automation 06/2023, VDE Verlag, www.vde-verlag.de
What are the secrets to success for Beckhoff Automation? Technological innovations, high levels of reliability, and great support. In an exclusive interview with Ronald Heinze, editor-in-chief of Open Automation, Managing Director Hans Beckhoff provides insights into current economic developments and introduces a whole range of new products as well as further developments that will be presented at the SPS 2023 trade show.
In today’s era of technological innovation and digital transformation, companies that specialize in automation and innovative solutions have become true leaders in the industry. Beckhoff Automation is one of these pioneers, setting itself apart with its outstanding achievements and long-term success. With a remarkable history dating back to 1980, Beckhoff has revolutionized the way we look at automation and control systems.
“It’s difficult to make predictions in times like these,” says Managing Director Hans Beckhoff, but he is pleased that there is likely to be positive business growth to report for Beckhoff Automation in 2023. He forecasts that sales trends will be up in the double digits, but also points out that incoming orders have decreased drastically and that he expects development to be significantly weaker next year. For Beckhoff, this is an international phenomenon, not something specific to Germany.
Hans Beckhoff goes on to explain that the previous sharp rise in incoming orders led to a bubble in the order backlog, as is typical, but this is starting to fall back again this year. There are various reasons for this drop in orders, including shorter delivery times and a reduction in stock levels as customers had built up reserves due to parts shortages – a global effect, according to Hans Beckhoff. He is convinced that this will be offset in the first quarter.
When it comes to the various industries, the managing director explains that most customers in machine building are optimistic about the future. The process industry is also showing positive signs for Beckhoff, especially in new areas such as the hydrogen economy, where the company engages in many projects. However, Beckhoff is seeing a reluctance to invest in the building automation market.
The Chinese market, which is very important to Beckhoff, is expected to show less growth in 2023 than in the past. “We believe in China and want to continue investing there,” he continues. “Up to now, we have produced all our products for the Chinese market in Germany. Now we are planning to manufacture directly in China as well.” Certain Beckhoff products are due to start being produced locally next year. Hans Beckhoff is an advocate of the notion of “change through trade” and sees China as an industrialized country with a huge domestic market. The company is preparing for the increasingly fierce Chinese competition and has launched special development projects for products on the Chinese market. Hans Beckhoff expects this competition to be exciting and is optimistic about future prospects in China.
A combination of success factors
It is rare to find an automation company that can show such sustained success as Beckhoff Automation. But what is the secret to this success? Physics graduate and company founder Hans Beckhoff’s answer is fascinating: “We are a technology company and our technical ‘revolutions’ are the reason we are where we are today. What’s more, automation is a compelling matter – it’s highly technical, yet extremely human. Good cooperation between suppliers and users is just as crucial when it comes to advancing innovative technology together.” For Beckhoff, its long-term relationship with many customers is another key to joint market success.
Over the years, Beckhoff Automation has launched an impressive series of technological revolutions every five to seven years. These milestones include PC-based control itself, TwinCAT, bus terminals, EtherCAT, embedded PCs, XTS, XPlanar, and the current MX-System. Hans Beckhoff is extremely enthusiastic about these achievements: “Each of these technological innovations has brought us new customers. Our customers appreciate the fact that they can always rely on innovations from our company. If an electronics supplier does not promote development, this blocks innovation and hinders its customers’ market success. We want to encourage our customers to drive technology forward with us and therefore come out on top in the market.”
However, the managing director emphasizes that it is not enough to offer great technology – you also need to be able to sell it successfully. Beckhoff Automation has therefore also developed a global customer-focused sales organization supported by local engineers. Around 2,200 of the company’s more than 6,000 employees now work in sales or sales-related areas.
In short, the secret to Beckhoff Automation’s success is the combination of technological innovation, a high level of reliability, and first-class customer support. Hans Beckhoff adds: “When it comes down to it, we combine traditional family values with openness. We advocate an open and fair way of working with one another.”
In addition, the entire company is committed to making the world a better place through technology. “Our motto is: Engineers must save the world,” emphasizes Hans Beckhoff. The company takes this principle very seriously, because only through technological innovations will it be possible to create a sustainable world in which prosperity is possible for everyone.
Continuous expansion of customer service
Beckhoff Automation’s international sales network is constantly being expanded. New sales offices were recently opened in Lithuania and Estonia to strengthen the company’s presence in these regions. However, due to political developments, the subsidiary in Russia had to be closed. According to Hans Beckhoff: “We have opened additional sales offices in various countries and as sales numbers increase, so does our international workforce.”
The next expansion plans are now directed at the African continent. At the moment, Beckhoff is only represented with subsidiaries in Egypt and South Africa, which have significant machine building industries. “We plan to expand our presence in Africa by opening more subsidiaries,” explains Hans Beckhoff.
The ambition to drive automation technology forward is evident again this year at the upcoming SPS trade show, where many new products and innovations from all of the company’s product areas of the company will be on show.
Automation software with relevant further developments
One highlight at the SPS trade show will undoubtedly be the numerous TwinCAT innovations. “We will present the highly anticipated Build 4026, which brings a wealth of new performance features, an optimized internal structure, and innovative control features,” announces Hans Beckhoff. There is a big focus on the user mode runtime for Windows, which allows multiple runtime versions to be run simultaneously on a single PC, making it particularly useful for system simulations.
“We are also presenting the next generation of our motion control software, which will offer multi-core and multi-tasking support and bring with it a 30 % increase in performance,” he enthuses. He adds: “Once again, we are pushing forward the limits of performance. As a result, applications in which 100 axes and more are correlated and moved in hard synchronization are possible – completely effortlessly. This innovation shows the full strength of calculating all motion sequences centrally.” And that’s not all – the new performance package can be used in parallel with existing TwinCAT Motion solutions.
“TwinCAT CNC, which is increasingly being used in machine tools, is also doing very well,” emphasizes Hans Beckhoff. “This was also demonstrated at the last EMO in Hanover.” More and more machine tool manufacturers are using TwinCAT CNC, including for traditional metalworking machines. TwinCAT 3 CNC Milling now provides a comprehensive package of different CNC cycles for three-axis milling and drilling for this purpose. It facilitates programming for these machines by encapsulating the required processes in parameterizable and reusable modules. The new CNC cycle package supports a variety of different drilling strategies, ranging from simple centering and deep hole drilling to helical milling, tapping, and thread milling. These can also be combined with the included cycles for drilling patterns to facilitate efficient programming for multiple drilling in various arrangements.
TwinCAT is the universal platform from Beckhoff for all aspects of automation technology and the company will exhibit both minor and major advances in nearly all areas at SPS, including TwinCAT HMI. “For this, we are presenting an audit trail that meets the requirements of FDA 21CFR for applications in the pharmaceutical and food/beverage sectors,” the managing director continues. “However, this can also be used in other industries, for example, to securely log changes to machine parameters.”
The use of AI
Hans Beckhoff tells us about the ongoing improvement of the integration of Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT in TwinCAT. This also opens up new areas of application: For example, it can now be used to create TwinCAT HMI projects automatically. The usability and features for PLC programmers have been significantly improved. “We have further optimized and refined the integration of ChatGPT into engineering,” explains Hans Beckhoff.
He emphasizes that the outcome of a ChatGPT response depends largely on the wording of the question, which is known as prompt engineering: “It's about incorporating targeted information into the question. To make this easier for our users, we’ve included pre-written commands and questions in ChatGPT.” This approach is constantly being developed.
Specifically for machine learning, the C6043 ultra-compact Industrial PC is equipped with state-of-the-art Intel® Core™ processors and an external, factory-fitted GPU/graphics card with highly parallelizing GPU/graphics chips. According to Hans Beckhoff: “This can be used to implement highly complex AI tasks; our GPU-based solution is about 18 times faster than a conventional Windows computer.”
Control cabinet-free automation: samples now being delivered
“For our MX-Systems for control cabinet-free automation, we will be presenting the three-row system design with a corresponding baseplate as the basis at this year’s trade show,” Hans Beckhoff tells us. Specific function modules include the main switch with an infeed of up to 125 A, the supply module with 600 V DC and up to 40 A, and the axis module with a nominal current of 28 A. “At the trade show, we will demonstrate how a large control cabinet can be divided into several MX-Systems, among other things,” he explains. “Earlier this year, we introduced the option to integrate pneumatic modules from Festo and SMC, as well as 48 V power supplies with 40 A and connections for AMI, XTS, and ATRO,” he adds.
“We are also thrilled that we can now deliver samples of our control cabinet replacement system to customers,” underlines Hans Beckhoff. “The EMO trade show in particular, which has just ended, has once again highlighted the huge amount of interest in this system. Machine tool manufacturers also recognize this disruptive innovation and what it can mean for their machines.”
IPCs at the heart of the PC-based control philosophy
Together with associated software, industrial PCs in different shapes and forms are at the core of a wide range of diverse automation tasks such as control of machines, processes or logistics systems, networking of system components, data acquisition, or image processing. IPC company Beckhoff provides industrial PCs and panel PCs for all applications. It’s probably the only company out there to launch innovations for industrial computers this consistently. And 2023 is no exception.
Hans Beckhoff starts his list of IPC innovations with a promising announcement: “With the introduction of the new CPU generation on Intel Atom® Elkhart Lake motherboards, we will significantly increase the performance of our compact embedded PCs.” These motherboards will serve as the standard for small controllers from now on and Elkhart Lake will be the new Atom® platform for CX, IPC, and MX. The performance is expected to increase by 20 to 30 % compared to Apollo Lake. These computers will have two or four cores and offer significantly improved graphics.
For IPCs, the phased introduction of the next CPU generations will be completed at the beginning of 2023. By the end of 2023, almost all IPCs and panel PCs will be equipped with a new motherboard generation.
One real highlight is the Speed Shift technology, which is available for all IPCs with Intel® CoreTM i-CPUs from the 11th to 13th generation. “Speed Shift makes it possible to switch one or even two processor cores from their master clock to the turbo clock frequency in real time,” explains the physics graduate. “This is a really good feature of our products. The result is the ability to run individual fast programs on the appropriate core.”
The compact C60xx industrial PC series has a new addition in the form of the C6043 model. This is not only equipped with 12th and 13th-generation CPUs but will also feature an MXM slot for integrating corresponding GPUs/graphics cards. The aim is to integrate GPUs/graphics cards ex factory, which is particularly beneficial for machine learning and XPlanar applications. The company owner claims: “The C6040/43 series boasts exceptional performance in a very compact design, while offering excellent value for money. High speeds for demanding industrial applications!”
Moreover, series production of the CX5620 Embedded PC with a 2-core AMD R1000 CPU running at 1.2 GHz and the CX5630 with a 2-core AMD R1000 CPU running at 2 GHz will start in October. These embedded PCs come above the Atom® series in terms of price and performance, in the same sort of ballpark as the CX2033, according to Hans Beckhoff.
Expanding the signal variety in the I/O range
The extensive Beckhoff I/O portfolio includes products for all application areas and environmental conditions. Beckhoff Automation will also present an impressive range of innovations in this area. “We now offer the PS97x1 DC/DC converters specifically for battery-powered systems in the 24/48/750 V range that can be converted to 24 V,” Hans Beckhoff tells us. The company is also introducing the cost-effective EL4374 analog EtherCAT multi-functional terminal, which offers two analog inputs and outputs each with 10 V/20 mA.
“We are constantly expanding our range of EtherCAT plug-in modules and terminals, especially in the TwinSAFE SC portfolio,” says Hans Beckhoff. “With this TwinSAFE single-channel technology, it is possible to use standard signals for safety tasks.” The EJ5101-0090 plug-in module, for example, is specially designed for 5-V differential encoder signals. The EL3314-0092 terminal makes it possible to connect thermocouples with galvanic isolation between the channels. In addition, speed measurement has been integrated into the EL5001-0090 (SSI master) and EL5031-0090 (EnDat 2.2 interface) terminals.
In the IP67 range, the EP6224-0092 TwinSAFE SC Box module – a 4-channel IO-Link master – deserves a special mention. The new IP67 products include the EPP6224-0522 EtherCAT P Box, which is a 4-channel IO-Link master with timestamp and eight digital I/Os. “The precise EtherCAT timestamp can be used when synchronizing sensors via IO-Link,” emphasizes Hans Beckhoff. The new EP3751-0260 digital I/O box has an integrated gyroscope. Besides the low-noise 3-axis accelerometer, its additional sensor (acceleration, direction of rotation) makes it possible to detect complicated movements, for example for AGVs, cranes, and robotics. “This is another step toward integrating modern sensor technology into the industrial environment,” adds the physics graduate. As the successor to the EP9300-0022, the EP9320-0022 I/O box acts as a gateway to PROFINET networks, thereby supporting the openness of PC-based control.
IT/OT convergence: understanding manufacturing and machines better
“The introduction of IoT and Industrie 4.0 represented a groundbreaking decision,” Hans Beckhoff points out. The activities related to this, some of which are state-sponsored, have massively advanced the integration of IT and automation technology. This feels like home ground for Beckhoff Automation, having had PC-based control technology in its product range since 1986. “So this development was not necessarily new for us,” he adds. “Integrating IT and automation has been standard practice at our company for a long time now. Nevertheless, this development has shown positive results.” Nowadays, seamlessly connecting IT and automation is considered to be the cutting edge.
IoT has undoubtedly also made a positive contribution to business growth at Beckhoff. “Our smaller IPCs in particular are often used as IoT gateways,” says Hans Beckhoff. He sees great potential for IoT applications in the actual production control logic: “Providing macroscopic modeling data for optimization is a promising approach. However, this data usually comes as aggregated data from the control and is not derived directly from the individual sensor, from the PC in our case, which can therefore easily take over the edge function.”
Motion innovations at SPS
Beckhoff will present a wealth of exciting new products in the Motion division. These include the ASI8100 stepper motors for NEMA 17 protection, which have integrated electronics. “These stepper motors complement our AMI8000 integrated servomotors and are priced lower,” the company leader explains. “With their EtherCAT P connection, they can be seamlessly integrated into EtherCAT-based systems.”
Hans Beckhoff also tells us about the new AM83xx-series water-cooled motors with up to 274 Nm standstill torque. “These powerful motors allow two to three times more torque than convection-cooled variants,” he states.
The new AX8820 regenerative power supply unit for 7 kW is being introduced for the AX8000 and AX5000 Servo Drives. By connecting these units in parallel, up to 21 kW of power can be achieved and stored in the DC link. All necessary inductors and filters are already integrated. “The regenerative power supply is sinusoidal and significantly reduces grid distortion,” explains Hans Beckhoff.
Another highlight is the new AX8128 axis module with silicon carbide power amplifier. The modern power amplifier technology reduces power losses and therefore enables an extremely compact design with a module width of only 60 mm. With a nominal current of 28 A and a peak current of 50 A, this drive system offers impressive performance.
The AL8000 linear motors are now equipped with an integrated OCT (One Cable Technology)-compatible EnDat 3 encoder. “The encoder head is pre-aligned and mounted directly on the coil unit, and an OCT cable connects the linear motor and sensor to the amplifier,” notes Hans Beckhoff. As a result, only one cable is required for the power supply, the feedback system, and the thermal sensor.
New tiles will be presented for the XPlanar system, including the APS4244 XPlanar tile measuring 320 x 320 mm, which enables 2-track operation for APM43x0 XPlanar movers and therefore cost savings in this mode. New is also the APS4224 XPlanar tile for 1-track operation of the APM43x0 XPlanar mover. These new tiles offer improved precision through higher sensor density, reduced minimum mover spacing due to the optimized coil design, and integrated Safe Torque Off (STO). In addition, the powerful integrated power supply provides greater dynamics.
