Controller and simulator — on your site
The platform is installed inside the enterprise perimeter: a server, a box next to the equipment, virtual machines for units. Line data stays with you.
A unit runs next to its equipment
- The box is a computer next to the equipmentIt hosts isolated virtual machines with a real-time loop; on the bench it is a mini PC, specs below.
- Each machine has its own EtherCAT portA unit drives its own bus: the drives and I/O of its area.
- Configuration — from the twinThe controller receives it at every start; an edit on site does not create a second truth.
- Virtual axes or drives — by explicit choiceOne twin is brought up without hardware or on drives; the mode is visible on screen.
- The machine panel works without the cloudStart, stop and commissioning — on site.
Updates without internet and diagnostics without remote login are built into the installation design and are worked out in the implementation. What is known about the box is in the “Box and requirements” section; box installation instructions are available on request.
What is known about the box — from the live bench box
| What | Fact |
|---|---|
| Bench box | Mini PC: AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H processor (8 cores / 16 threads), 12 GB of memory available to the system |
| Operating system | Real-time OS |
| Installer | Designed for a real-time OS with hardware virtualization |
| Control machines | 4 virtual machines run at once on the live box: each is its own control machine — a machine tool or a unit with EtherCAT drives, or virtual axes |
| EtherCAT port | A machine with real drives gets its own physical network port, passed through into the virtual machine (PCI passthrough); cores for real time are pinned |
| Setup | One installer command with a binding code from your personal section of the platform; the box identity is kept on reinstall |
| Without the cloud | The box works without the cloud: control stays on site; the cloud is for remote development and tests |
| Developer workstation | There are installers that need no administrator rights — for a developer workstation, not for drive control |
| What | Status |
|---|---|
| Enterprise server for several boxes | as agreed during the implementation |
| Minimum box requirements | as agreed during the implementation |
| More than four machines per box | as agreed during the implementation |
| Certifications | as agreed during the implementation |
Specs were taken from the live bench box on 09.10. This is the test laboratory box, not a requirement for your hardware.
Server, box, virtual machine, test bench
| What | What it is | What it is not |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise server | The platform inside your perimeter: twins, programs, line projects, browser access within your network | Not where real time is computed |
| Box | A computer next to the equipment; real time is computed on it | Not a server and not the cloud |
| Automation units | Several automation nodes run from one box, split across EtherCAT bus segments | Each bus segment has its own EtherCAT port on the box |
| Test bench | What the platform sees on the other side: a box machine with its own bus | Many machines are bound to a test bench, but only the one brought up is current |
| Axis profile | The drive’s role on the test bench: servo parameters, sign, backlash, zero, speed ceiling | Not created automatically: no profile — the start is refused in words |
What runs on site on its own
Unit cycle
The package on the box is self-contained: the description of axes and channels, the loop profile and the current program are already there. The cloud receives facts but the cycle does not need it.
Machine panel
The local web panel on the box shows state and coordinates with the same channel names as everywhere else.
Drive commissioning
Jog, measurements, parameters — at the equipment. Parameters are written to the drive’s RAM, to its permanent memory — only with a separate button.
- ServerThe platform is installed inside your perimeter.
- BoxOne installer command with a binding code; unit machines.
- BusScan: drives and I/O of the area.
- ProfilesBus device → profile → axis.
- PurposeMachines and units are assigned to the test bench and brought up from the twin.
The first installation at a customer is in the implementation. The enterprise server, minimum box requirements and installation scope — as agreed during the implementation.
Discuss an implementation
Describe the unit or line — we will tell you what we will verify and in what time. Target indicators are fixed in the implementation specification.
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