Open communication for Industry 4.0 with OPC UA

Open communication for Industry 4.0 with OPC UA

B&R continues to advance the integration of OPC UA in the B&R Automation Studio development software. With POWERLINK, openSAFETY and OPC UA, B&R offers its customers the perfect tools to meet the high demands of Industry 4.0.

Automation Studio supports OPC UA clients and servers directly on the controller, thus allowing vertical communication to SCADA, MES and ERP systems as well vendor-independent communication from PLC to PLC. With new PLCopen-compliant OPC client function blocks, this communication can be easily implemented in the application software regardless of the hardware being used. Through the support of OPC UA subscriptions, larger amounts of data can be transferred faster.

OPC UA is standardized in accordance with IEC 62541 and offers easy-to-use functions for vendor-independent data exchange. This helps software developers engineer complex systems with high data communication demands that help implement flexible and modular automation solutions more easily.

Business intelligence with APROL

Business intelligence with APROL

B&R has upgraded its highly advanced and flexible APROL automation platform by adding a powerful system component for business intelligence (BI).

The business intelligence solution enables systematic analysis of recorded operating and process data. Users can gain valuable information for the decision-making process with the help of standard reports, personalized interactive reports and ad hoc reports. Native iPhone and Android apps are available for mobile access.

Market interest for BI solutions is growing steadily due to the ineffective reporting and analysis functionality provided by conventional ERP and MES solutions.

Energy monitoring

Energy monitoring

Integrated energy measurement modules supply all the necessary electricity values and quality assurance data. Data is collected automatically from all energy sources (natural gas, oil, etc.). Energy management systems as defined in ISO 50001 are easily implemented with measurement and display of consumption and cost data. Historical data allows detailed analysis of energy consumption, making it easy to identify cause and effect.

Condition monitoring

Condition monitoring

Online vibration measurement integrated in the I/O module makes it possible to identify the mechanical condition of the machine and allows performance degradations to be detected early on so that serious damage can be prevented. Condition-based predictive maintenance reduces the number of unpredicted outages, thus keeping the costs associated with downtime and repairs to an absolute minimum.

Scalable, powerful and rugged industrial PCs

Scalable, powerful and rugged industrial PCs

PCs from B&R are designed to meet industrial customers' demands for maximum robustness, reliability and long-term availability. While it can be tempting to choose the cheapest price, when viewed over a product's entire lifecycle, the greatest value comes from high quality. Our PCs are specially designed for industrial use:

  • Fanless with IP65 protection
    To prevent pills from entering the housing
  • Robust with no internal wiring
    Extended service life through the use of solid state disk or CompactFlash instead of rotating hard disks

Especially suited to the textile industry are:

  • Box PCs
  • Panel PCs
  • Industrial monitors
  • SDL3 transmission technology
Custom HMI panels

Custom HMI panels

Get an HMI solution that is fine-tuned to your specific needs – technically optimized for your applications and customized with your corporate design. Development of custom HMI devices is part of B&R's core business. We have expert engineers who are 100% dedicated to customer-specific projects. Take time to discuss your unique requirements on-site with a local representative. This commitment to perfection during product development allows us to offer custom solutions with the familiar B&R standards of quality and service.

Maximum motion control performance

Maximum motion control performance

With the real-time Ethernet POWERLINK protocol and B&R's comprehensive range of motion control solutions, optimizing production lines is virtually effortless. B&R allows you to simultaneously boost both quality and productivity.

With a communication cycle of 400 µs and a current control loop of 50 µs, the ACOPOS series provides the extremely fast, event-based cam profile transitions that today's high-speed machines require. With no programming, the drive compensates for cam profile deviations every 400 µs. This outstanding performance is completely independent of how powerful the controller is or how many real or virtual axes are used in the application.

The touch probe inputs on the ACOPOS series are processed in the sub-microsecond range and are perfectly suited for applications such as rotary or fly cutting and quality control. This speed makes it possible to react in real time and perform smoother transitions between motion profiles – without significant additional effort in software development.

Compact and flexible motor and drive systems for modular machinery

Compact and flexible motor and drive systems for modular machinery

B&R offers hardware and software solutions for fast and easy development of mechatronic machines with options that can easily satisfy the requirements of the end user.

Scalable drives and motors with a small footprint include:

  • Servo motors with an integrated drive: ACOPOSmotor
  • Servo motors with a distributed IP67 drive: ACOPOSremote
  • IP67 and IP20-rated I/O, optional safety modules: X20, X67 I/O modules
  • Stepper motors: 80MP and ACOPOSmicro

B&R offers machine builders a comprehensive selection of motor types. The Generic Motion Control (GMC) concept allows the software to be developed independently of the motor type. That means, once programed, the GMC it works for every motor, drive or other mechatronic module in your machine. Thus, you can save time and resources and at the same time choose freely the solution that best fits your requirements.

Winding control

Winding control

Winding is a particularly sensitive process with regard to the mechanical properties of the fibers. If stretched too much, weak points can break easily. For such situations, B&R offers an out-of-the-box solution to ensure that the rolling cylinders apply the correct tension to the fiber. Perfect closed-loop torque control and compensation of mass inertia are embedded in ready-to-use libraries.

Save time and resources with intelligent incident reaction

Save time and resources with intelligent incident reaction

The intelligent B&R ACOPOSmulti motion control system automatically detects dips in the primary power supply and initiates an emergency shutdown. The kinetic energy that remains in the motors is used to maintain automation functionality until the system reaches a complete stop. The ACOPOSmulti's active power supply module generates 24 VDC for the controllers, I/O modules and drives – eliminating the need for a UPS. The intelligent solutions from B&R prevent production wastage and eliminate the time-consuming process of getting the plant up and running again after a power failure.

Controlling motion with optimal performance

Controlling motion with optimal performance

B&R motion control has the performance you need to get the best product quality at the highest production speeds. Using special function blocks for PLCopen, you can switch between position control and high-precision torque control within 400 µs.

Conserving energy with regenerative power supply

Conserving energy with regenerative power supply

In virtually every production cycle, machines are required to continuously accelerate and decelerate heavy loads. B&R's ACOPOSmulti drive system converts the kinetic energy generated during braking movements into power and then feeds it back into the mains supply. Up to 30% of overall energy consumption can be regenerated – for considerable cost savings.

Power regeneration prevents additional heat from being generated by braking resistors, making it no longer necessary to install and maintain expensive cooling systems. The integrated power regeneration system is not only highly efficient, but also environmentally friendly.

Temperature control

Temperature control

An extensive temperature control library with function blocks, PID controllers and HMI templates is the ideal solution for systems that require precise control of heating and cooling. The library supports:

  • Autotuning
  • Management of multiple temperature zones
  • Storage space for large amounts of data

And of course complete integration into the system goes without saying.

High-performance closed loop control

High-performance closed loop control

B&R has many years of experience developing industrial processes for textiles and offers a wide variety of libraries containing proven technology for control loops and autotuning procedures. Sophisticated closed loop control technology from B&R is based on the latest concepts to allow maximum machine performance and precision. Libraries for winding processes, temperature controllers and axis movements are just a few examples.

Synchronization in real time

Synchronization in real time

With POWERLINK, B&R achieves real-time synchronization even in decentralized systems. Controllers and distributed I/O run synchronously with a precision <100 ns. With weaving machines and different methods of weft insertion, for example, the elimination of specialized hardware means that speeds can be significantly increased with high processing quality and reduced costs.

Enhance efficiency with linear motors

Enhance efficiency with linear motors

A considerably more efficient alternative to the pneumatic cylinder is a linear motor, which uses electromagnetic forces to convert electrical energy directly into movement. A convenient side effect of linear motors is that, since they lack fluid components, they are much easier to install. This is especially relevant in cases where short linear movements are the only aspect of the machine that use pneumatics.

Like all electric motors, linear motors are extremely efficient by nature. This fundamental efficiency can be further increased using advanced drive technology such as ACOPOS servo drives from B&R, which can store braking energy in a DC bus circuit to be used for later acceleration. It is also relatively simple to return excess energy back into the power grid.

Register control

Register control

B&R's register control solutions are able to adjust longitudinal and lateral register with minimal waste using sensor signal processing. With the completely integrated system, diagnostics can be performed much more effectively than with isolated axis controls.

Safe motion control

Safe motion control

Ensuring maximum safety during maintenance requires safety functions that are implemented directly on the drive, including Safely Limited Speed (SLS), Safe Direction (SDI), Safe Operating Stop (SOS) and Safe Torque Off (STO). openSAFETY guarantees safe motion control up to SIL 3 in accordance with IEC EN 62061 or PL e, Category 4 in accordance with EN ISO 13849-1.

Water and sewage handling

Water and sewage handling

With B&R solutions for process controls systems, it is possible to use the acquisition, evaluation and archiving of relevant data from waste water and environmental verification for audit purposes. Redundancy maximizes system availability and guarantees stability, while the wide range of visualization options ensures intuitive and consistent operation.

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