2023.1.1344.2 Beckhoff TwinCat ADS

Overview

As with all adapters, an existing Logic Simulator is required.

Where to find the different Gateway Adapters

Where to find

To find the Beckhoff Twincat ADS adapter, go to the Inspector window of a Logic Simulator component.

Feature overview

Only the settings between the lines refer to the Beckhoff Twincat ADS Adapter.

Check the Logic Simulator documentation for more information on the other settings.

Gateway settings

Gateway settings
Adapter Target	Select a different adapter, please see Prespective documentation for more information
Adapter Setting (TwincatADSServerSettings)
XmlFilePath	File path to the policy file Warning : <Make sure to fill in a relative path to the Asset folder of the project and include .xml file extension>
ServerName	Is used as the an indicator in the XML policy file
AmsNetiD	Is the AMS NetID of the server.
Port	Port for ADS Server default is 851
Lifecycle settings	Not implemented for Twincat ADS

Configuration Export

Prespective enables you to update your Twincat project files based on the signal definitions. Setting the right Project Export Folder for your active twincat project should be enough to get the export function working for twincat 3 projects.

Configuration Export Settings

Configuration Export Settings
Configuration Settings (adapter-specific)
Project Export Folder	Path to the TwinCat Project
File Type Export Rules
Size	Amount of rules
GVL
File Type Name	Identifier for this rule (GVL)
File Type Suffix	File extension for this type (.TcGVL)
File Type Target Folder	Relative Folder where this type of files can be found
File Target Rules
Size	amount of target rules
{{ALL}}
Model Name
Result Model Alias
Injector Patterns
Size	Amount of injecting types
Element #	Starts at 0
Signal Direction	INPUT/OUTPUT/VAR
Selection_start	Variable definition start
Selection_end	Variable definition end
Include_selectors
injection_start	String from where the IO injection starts
injection_end	String from where the IO injection ends

Project Export Folder is the absolute folder where the TwinCAT plc project is. Make sure there is a GVLs and POUs folder.

File Type Export Rules are the definition for specific files. For now GVL and POU are supported to make a connection between prespective and Beckhoff twincat.

GVLs have one type (VAR), POUs variable declaration is specific for input, output and variable type. Each has its own rule.

By default the settings are targeted to update the GVL and component POU files.

Export results in something like this:

<GLV_APPLICATION.GVL>

Prerequisites

You need a (virtual) Beckhoff PLC that supports ADS communication.

The Prespective adapter is tested with a virtual PLC on Beckhoff TwinCAT v3.1.4022

There are some specific settings that need to be applied that can be found in the tutorials video below:

Twincat ADS Install procedure

Overview:

Set clock timer <TWINCAT_FOLDER>\3.1.\System\win8tick.bat as administrator “11:00”
Isolate Core: msconfig → advanced options→ isolate core “16:00”
Set used core in Twincat “22:00”

Set Task Tick timer to 1ms for realtime IO

Supported Types

BOOL
BYTE
SBYTE
WORD
DWORD
SHORT
USHORT
INT16
UINT16
INT32
UINT32
INT64
UINT64
REAL32
REAL64
BYTEARRAY
STRING
STRUCT

Naming Rules

Setting up the component works as like any other prelogic component. The thing you have to take into account is how the PLC Address Path Format (or implicit naming rule) is configured. The output of this Address is the path to the variable.

An variable can be from the GVL or from any program.

ie. GVLs.DrivenStepper[1].iPosition

GVLs is the instance name of the GVL list

Drivenstepper[1] the 1st item of the stepper motor array

iPosition is the variable name

WARNING : < Make sure both paths are unique >

Each defined input writes the value to the PLC address.

Each defined output reads the value from the PLC address.

The PLC path separator has to be '.'

< Spaces are not allowed >

For an overview of all variables for signal naming, please go to the prelogic component page.