Beckhoff | New Automation Technology

Beckhoff implements open automation systems based on PC Control technology. The product range covers Industrial PCs, I/O and fieldbus components, Drive Technology and automation software.

Beckhoff solutions for wind power

 More than 15,000 wind turbines worldwide have been equipped with Beckhoff technology so far; that is more than 24 GW of installed power for the production of environmentally-friendly electricity ^[1].  The PC- and EtherCAT-based Beckhoff control technology integrates not only sequence control, HMI and Motion Control, but also safety technology, measuring technology and Condition Monitoring on a universal hardware and software platform. It is thus the optimal basis for the integrated control of a wind turbine, from operational management and pitch control through to farm networking. Beyond that, Beckhoff is increasingly operative as control suppliers in the entire supplier sector for wind turbines, i.e. for the manufacturers of pitch systems, brakes and converters. 

The openly designed control architecture, which supports all common fieldbus systems and a large number of signal types, fits the industry’s requirements like a glove: scalable power, modularity and signal variety, universality, integration of different functionalities such as safety technology and Condition Monitoring, flexibility, e.g. in the choice of the control topology, investment security through the use of industrial communication standards such as IEC 61400-25, Ethernet TCP/IP and OPC, and, last but not least: worldwide presence and competitive system costs. Today, PC-based control technology and automation components from Beckhoff are in use all over the world on wind turbines up to a size of 5 MW. 

Universal system solution for operational management, pitch control and farm networking

The EtherCAT real-time Ethernet system forms the basis for fast communication, with EMC-resistant fibre-optic connections in the wind turbine between the base of the tower and the nacelle and for farm networking up to a distance of 2 km (in multi-mode) or 20 km (in mono-mode). 

A flexible modular system, consisting of Industrial and Embedded PCs, controllers, displays, I/O components and automation software, enables the configuration of a power-related control platform for wind turbines. The Beckhoff standard controller for a wind turbine consists of an Embedded PC as the master computer (in the base of the tower), EtherCAT as the ultra-fast communication system and the connected Bus or EtherCAT Terminals. Using fieldbus master terminals, higher-level fieldbuses such as CANopen, PROFIBUS and Ethernet TCP/IP can be relocated to the field for the control of subsystems without a further CPU being required.

Compared with conventional solutions the PC-based control system from Beckhoff has the advantage that only one PC is required for control purposes, operator interface and data management. A multitude of software libraries for wind turbines supplements the extensive range of standard hardware components and allows, for example, connection to the control system via telecontrol protocols. Beckhoff’s package of solutions for the wind power industry is rounded off by bundled application know-how gained from ten years of experience in the control of wind turbines and the corresponding application software.

The safety functions of a wind turbine, which have gained increasingly in importance in recent years, are also integrated seamlessly into the control application via the Beckhoff TwinSAFE terminals, which are distributed to the various I/O stations in the base of the tower, the nacelle and the pitch controller.

Beckhoff Automation implements open automation systems based on the principle of PC-based control technology. "New Automation Technology" from Beckhoff stands for universal and industry-independent control and automation solutions that are used worldwide in the most diverse applications, from mechanical engineering to building automation. The company’s headquarters are in Verl, Germany; the competence centre for wind turbines is in Lübeck. Presence on the international market is ensured through 30 subsidiaries. Through worldwide co-operation partners Beckhoff is represented in more than 60 countries.

Beckhoff offers the complete construction kit for the automation and control of wind turbines, from individual components to the control system and application software. PC- and EtherCAT-based control can be universally applied, ranging from operational management and pitch control to wind farm networking. The open automation solution is in use worldwide in wind turbines up to 5 MW both onshore and offshore.

The flexible construction kit system for the automation of wind turbines consists of: Industrial and Embedded PCs, controllers, displays, I/O systems for EtherCAT and all common Ethernet and fieldbus systems and integrable safety functions. TwinCAT automation software offers the basis for software-based control as well as numerous function blocks for measurement technology and Condition Monitoring, for example.