Beckhoff at “Wind”: Hall 27, Booth D10

Open automation solutions for wind power

Beckhoff is present at two leading trade fairs at Hanover Fair from 20 to 24 April 2009: at the main booth in Hall 9, Booth F06, at “Industrial Automation” as well as in Hall 27, Booth D10, at the new leading trade fair “Wind”. Beckhoff offers PC- and EtherCAT-based control technology for wind turbines, which is used in onshore and offshore wind farms worldwide.

Manufacturers of wind turbines now face the task of retaining maximum flexibility in face of the continually changing demands of the market in order to keep their products competitive. Beckhoff offers such flexibility with its PC-based control technology, which is today used in onshore and offshore wind turbines worldwide.

This openness of the Beckhoff automation solution in relation to the software and hardware interfaces enables the plant manufacturers to adapt their systems to varying demands both in the first draft design and also for later system expansion or modification at low cost.

Open and scalable TwinCAT automation software is a software PLC for PCs. Programming in accordance with the international IEC 61131-3 standard guarantees the turbine manufacturers high investment security. The utilisation of technological standards based on the Windows operating system opens up numerous expansion options and allows the user to benefit from the rapid development of the computer industry. It also enables the universal use of one technology for all types of turbines.

Data provision and data management in particular occupy a key position for control and evaluation of turbine performance both vertically (from the machine to the central control room) and horizontally (between the individual intelligent components and subsystems of the turbine and also between the turbines within a wind farm). Local data banks as a basis for the higher ranking data backup and data preparation do not pose any problems for the PC whatsoever. Porting all functions to PC hardware also simplifies data transfer – generally via Ethernet – to the production databases and ERP systems.

EtherCAT: High-performance communication system for the tower/nacelle and the control room

Beckhoff supplies a complete range of fieldbus components for all common I/O and fieldbus systems. The Bus Terminals and EtherCAT Terminals available are sufficient for the complete range of signal types and fieldbuses that are of relevance for wind power.

EtherCAT, the fast Ethernet-based fieldbus, offers optimum real-time properties for time-critical process requirements without the need for special hardware in the central processing unit. The EtherCAT Terminal system offers flexible topologies for optical transmission media. With XFC technology (eXtreme Fast Control Technology) a time resolution of
< 100 ns is possible with the time stamp technique. Sensor signals can be read with sampling times of less than 10 μs.

Integrated safety using TwinSAFE

In recent years, operational safety and work safety have played an ever larger part in machine construction. With TwinSAFE, Beckhoff offers an integrated system solution with optimum synergy between automation technology and safety technology. TwinSAFE integrates safety functions in the existing control architecture and in particular helps to significantly reduce the wiring costs for the higher-level hard-wired safety chain in the wind turbine.

Innovations presented at the wind showcase fair include new controllers with smaller form factor, new measurement I/O modules and new software features for wind energy.

www.beckhoff.com/wind