Checklist: Communication to TwinCat via BeckhoffNG driver

Checklist: Communication to TwinCat via BeckhoffNG driver

Time estimate: 30 minutes

Please go through all the points in the following checklist. If necessary, confirm with IT Department any information you cannot verify before contacting your local COPA-DATA Representative.
  1. TwinCAT ADS communication library is installed on the computer and the file TCADSdll.dll is either in the directory of the BeckhNG driver or in the search path.
  2. TwinCAT CP (Control Panel driver) is installed on the computer with Service Engine. The computer must be restarted after installing TwinCAT CP.
  3. In the AMS router on the computer with Service Engine, the AMS NET ID, the IP-Address and a Name for the device / PC with the TwinCAT PLC must be entered.
  4. After entering the route in the AMS router to the TwinCAT PLC, on the computer with zenon, the PC must be rebooted.
  5. In the AMS router on the device / PC with the TwinCAT PLC, the AMS NET ID, the IP-Address, and a Name for the PC with Service Engine must be entered.
  6. After entering the route in the AMS router to the PC / CE device, on the device / PC with TwinCAT PLC, the device / PC must be rebooted.
  7. Make sure that the correct port (according to your TwinCAT-Runtime) is set in the zenon driver configuration. Standard ADS-Port for TwinCAT 2.x is 801. For TwinCAT 3 the standard port is 851.
  8. Make sure the AMS NET ID in the zenon driver configuration matches the AMS NET ID of the TwinCAT PLC.
  9. Make sure the AMS NET ID for the TwinCAT PLC in the zenon driver configuration is entered as a remote computer in the AMS Router of the PC where Service Engine will be running.
  10. Make sure the net address at the variable matches the ID in the driver configuration.
  11. Make sure that the Beckhoff specific properties at the variable have not changed after import.
  12. Unless the option “use variable name” is not active in the driver configuration, make sure the variable name has not been changed after importing the variable.
  13. In the driver configuration make sure that it contains the correct variable name for communication. Variable identification or symbol name.
  14. Make sure that the option to generate symbols and download symbols is active in the TwinCAT project.
General information
  1. If the driver cannot find the TCADSdll.dll, the driver configuration will not open, and also the driver will not work in Service Engine. TCADSdll.dll is part of the TwinCAT ADS communication library, and can be installed from the zenon ISO.
  2. The BeckhNG driver communication is based on the variable name (by default) or the variable identification.
  3. When using the “import from .tpy file” mechanism at the driver, the import searches for an existing station in the driver configuration, based on the information in the .tpy file. If the .tpy file has not yet been saved, the AMS NET ID and the port number are “0”, and this may be entered in the driver configuration.
  4. The net address at the variable, links to the station ID in the driver configuration. The import adds a “S0_” to the variable name, for station “0” which is cut off when communicating to the PLC. This way it is possible to have a “S1_” for station 1 with identical name but from a different PLC. As an alternative, the newer option to use the variable identification as the communication key, can be used.
  5. TwinCAT CP can be installed through the normal TwinCAT Setup. When activating this option, only  a small portion is installed. TwinCAT CP consists of the TwinCAT system service, which is represented by an Icon next to the clock.
  6. The AMS router is part of the TwinCAT system service, and can be opened by right clicking on the TwinCAT icon next to the clock, and choosing properties. There is a page for the AMS router.
  7. The AMS router can be compared with an access control list. On the PC with zenon, it translates the AMS NET ID into a IP-Address, and on the PC / device with TwinCAT it regulates, which remote devices have access to the PLC.
  8. On Windows CE devices, there is no TwinCAT CP or TwinCAT system service. Instead the TCAMSremotemgr.exe (from the TwinCAT ADS communication library) can be used to create entries for the AMS router. It is not recommended to the TcAMSRemoteMgr.exe on the PC instead of TwinCAT CP. There are considerable differences in the Timeout in case of a connection loss. With TwinCAT CP the timeout can be configured, as low as 2000 ms, without TwinCAT CP the timeout is always the net timeout of the operating system (e.g. 45 seconds).
If the problem persists after completing this checklist and followed corrective actions, please contact your local COPA-DATA Representative providing a SIC-Reduced Report from the target computer(s) and the result of this checklist – please include any additional information or comments related with the points addressed you find relevant.
System Information Collector is a standalone COPA-DATA application that collects relevant data about the Operating System and zenon Software Platform for troubleshooting purposes. SIC is installed with zenon and can be started from zenon Startup Tool (Tools).