Access to 'Twincat Cloud Engineering' is easy via the Beckhoff website, which means that no additional software components are required apart from a web browser. In this way, registered users can even work with the Twincat development environment via previously unsuitable platforms, such as tablet PCs.

According to Sven Goldstein, Product Manager Connectivity & IoT at Beckhoff, communication from the virtual to the physical world with real control hardware can take place either via Secure ADS or ADS-over-MQTT: "The data connection is secured via standard security mechanisms such as TLS with certificates."

The only difference between cloud-based engineering and the conventional approach is the use of a virtual machine instead of a local engineering PC. This means that users do not have to get used to a new software environment, but can continue to work in their familiar development environment. Another advantage of the solution is that there is no need to install and maintain different software versions tailored to the individual machine generation on the user's own PC. Instead, various cloud engineering instances with different versions can be used; they can be accessed remotely and as required.

A source code control repository, which can be accessed directly from engineering, serves as a project repository. Goldstein comments: "Git-based systems can be easily connected via modern source control functionalities and used to manage the automation project. The multi-user function enables simple and seamless access to the source control repository without the need for in-depth user knowledge."

One click to the dashboard

Increasing engineering efficiency is also the aim of another innovation from Beckhoff: the One-Click Dashboard for Twincat Analytics. With a simple click, a complete HTML5-based analysis dashboard is generated on the basis of the PLC code and loaded into the selected Analytics runtime. The user receives the corresponding network address where the dashboard can be queried via a web browser - without having to write a single line of code or do any graphic design themselves.

This function is based on Twincat 3 HMI and offers at least one separate HMI control based on the latest web standards in a modern tile design for each analytics algorithm. The available controls can be selected in the respective properties of the algorithms with a corresponding control preview. Several algorithms can also be combined in one control.