Beckhoff Setup Basics: IPC Configuration Steps

Summary

This is the first installment of a three-part blog series covering all you need to know about getting started with a Beckhoff PLC/HMI. In this blog, we’ll be covering how to initially set up your Beckhoff IPC to run PLC code and a TCHMI server.

Within DMC, we often find ourselves setting up a new IPC, and it has proved very helpful to have a standardized guide to start with. So, we’ve compiled this guide to serve as a resource both within our organization and externally, and we’ve updated it for TwinCAT build 3.1.4026. Some key steps have changed significantly with build 4026, so if you are using an earlier version, please consult the version notes on the package install steps.

Note: If you aren’t planning to use TwinCAT HMI, you may disregard any steps specific to it. If you find yourself needing to use it in the future, you can perform those steps at any point.

The process below was developed and documented on a Windows 10 development machine, but the process will be functionally identical for Windows 11.

Term Definitions

Throughout this blog series, we refer to two devices repeatedly. For clarity, those devices are as follows:

1. “Beckhoff IPC”– The industrial PC that will run the PLC and HMI server. Device configuration will occur on this device. Beckhoff sells these directly. Third-party IPCs can also be used, but licensing is more expensive.
2. “Programming Computer”– A computer, such as an engineer’s laptop, where the TwinCAT XAE development environment is installed. Programming happens on this device, as well as some of the configuration of the Beckhoff IPC.

Power-On and Connection

Most Beckhoff IPCs do not have a power button; rather, they power on as soon as power is supplied. When ready, supply power. A keyboard, mouse, and monitor will also be useful for first power-on and initial configuration.

Beckhoff Device Manager

If your device is a Beckhoff IPC, Beckhoff Device Manager will generally run on startup. For a basic setup, you can step through the wizard with default options, and on the last page, uncheck the box that says “Run Beckhoff Security Wizard on next startup,” so it won’t run on startup in the future.

Change NIC Settings

We’ll begin with some basic network setup. Open up the IPC’s adapter settings by right-clicking on the Network Icon in the system tray and selecting “Open Network & Internet settings”.

From this window, select “Change adapter options” (“Change adapter settings” on the left side of the window in Windows 7).

This window should display the Network Interface Connections (NICs) available on your Beckhoff IPC. There are often two (though there may be more or less) – one that you can use to connect a programming computer and another that can be used to connect to IO racks/devices. Before you proceed, identify which NIC you will be using for each purpose and the IP addresses that you’d like to assign to these NICs. A helpful (but optional) step is to rename each NIC to describe its purpose.

To do this, right-click on a NIC and select Rename. In this example, Programming Port will be used for programming, and EtherCAT Master will be used to connect to IO.

To change IP addresses for these NICs, right-click on them and select Properties. Then navigate to Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and select Properties. You can then input your selected IP addresses. For advanced network configurations, the subnet mask can also be changed at this point.

For this tutorial, we will be using:
Programming Port: 192.168.42.42
EtherCAT Master: 192.168.43.43

(Optional) Rename PC

While this step isn’t necessary, it can be helpful to rename your PC so if it’s connected to a network in the future, it can be easily identified. To do so, navigate to Start Menu > Settings > System > About > Rename PC.

After you rename your IPC, it will prompt you for a restart. You may postpone this to save time, as some of the following steps will also require a restart.

Install Chrome or Firefox If Using TwinCAT HMI

Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox work well with TwinCAT 3, and we’ve seen issues with other browsers in the past. So, we recommend you install one of these browsers if you’re going to be using TwinCAT 3 HMI on this IPC.

If you’re working on an IPC that cannot be connected to the internet during setup, you will need a standalone installer.

• Chrome requires a special installer for this.
  • At the time of writing, Google does not make it clear on the webpage whether the installer is standalone or not.
  • The downloaded file from the given link should contain “Standalone” in its filename, which confirms it is correct.
• Firefox install files are generally standalone by default.

Download or transfer the install files to the IPC and follow the instructions in the installer. Once installed, you may want to launch the browser and disable distracting features such as suggested homepage links or password-manager prompts.

Create a Beckhoff Account

If you do not already have a Beckhoff account, you must register so you can download software. Beckhoff generally requires an account for any software downloads, so this will be useful going forward as well. Go to https.www.beckhoff.com, where you can register for an account as shown below.

Setup Packages

The installation process has changed significantly for build 4026. Package Manager is a new feature that streamlines downloading and installing packages, and it must be used when working with 4026.

Legacy 4024 installation notes

If you are using 4024, you have two options. You may install legacy packages through Package Manager. Or, you may follow the legacy installation procedure using EXEs.

The legacy installation procedure:

1. Visit https://beckhoff.com/, log in, and navigate to Download finder > Software and tools.
2. On your programming PC, you will need eXtended Automation Engineering (XAE) and the engineering versions of any TwinCAT functions.
3. On the Beckhoff IPC, you will need eXtended Automation Runtime (XAR) and the runtime versions of any TwinCAT functions.
   • Note: If you require a build of 4024 not available on the website, you will need to reach out to Beckhoff support for assistance.
   • TwinCAT Functions are Beckhoff-developed applications that allow for special functionality on the PLC. They will have their own separate EXE to install.
   • Common TwinCAT Functions include the following–install the ones required based on your project; you can install more functions later if required.
     • TF2000: TwinCAT HMI
     • TF3300: TwinCAT Scope
     • TF5000: TwinCAT NC PTP
     • TF6100: OPC UA Server
     • TF6250: Modbus TCP
     • TF6255: Modbus RTU
     • TF6310: TCP/IP
4. For any Engineering EXEs, install them onto your programming PC.
5. For Runtime EXEs, transfer the EXEs to your IPC, then install them. Install XAR first, then the remaining packages.

You cannot use the legacy EXE installation along with the newer Package Manager-based installation. If you need to upgrade or change versions, you must carefully follow the instructions in this Infosys page before installing the other version.

Install Package Manager

You will need Package Manager on the IPC–it should come preinstalled with Beckhoff 4026 IPCs. You will likely also need Package Manager on your programming computer.

Once you have registered or logged in on Beckhoff.com, go to Download Finder as boxed in the figure below.

Package manager should be the first option at the top of the page; if it isn’t, search for it in the download finder.

Download the available version as an EXE, and install it on your programming computer and IPC if it is not already installed.

Configure Feeds

Feeds are repositories of packages that Beckhoff provides. Beckhoff provides a Stable Feed, Outdated Feed, and Testing Feed. We recommend using the Beckhoff Stable Feed for any production systems. See this Infosys page for details on each feed.

If your IPC is (or can easily be) connected to the internet directly, you will likely find it easiest to download and install your required packages from the online feeds.

If the IPC cannot be connected to Beckhoff’s servers, then you can follow these instructions from Beckhoff to transfer the packages onto your offline IPC. Beckhoff supports using a file directory with package files as a personal feed. Beckhoff also supports a compressed file containing all selected packages, transferred from a programming computer.

To configure the feeds, launch Package Manager.

Click the “+ Add new feed” button to add a new feed.

As discussed, you may enter the Beckhoff online feeds if connected to the internet, or if offline, you may use any local folder as a feed.

If selecting the outdated feed, you may get a disclaimer as shown. If you are comfortable with the disclaimer, you may accept it by clicking “Yes,” and the feed will be added.

Multiple feeds can be added, as necessary, and will be used in the priority order displayed.

Package Manager will next ask to integrate with Visual Studio (if installed), or XAE Shell or XAE Shell 64-bit. XAE Shell 64-bit is a more modern, faster version of XAE Shell, newly added with the release of 4026.

Select a location to install the TwinCAT Packages.

Note: This is a different default location than legacy 4024 XAE/XAR installations.

Use Package Manager to Install TwinCAT Packages

Once Package Manager is set up, we can now install packages onto the IPC.

If the IPC is connected to the internet and can access the Beckhoff-hosted feeds, you will see a list of available packages to install.

The packages can be filtered by Engineering Packages and Runtime Packages:

• Engineering Packages are meant to be installed on your programming computer and will allow you to connect, modify, or control the PLC.
  • Common examples include:
    • TwinCAT Standard
    • TwinCAT XAE Shell / XAE Shell 64-bit
    • TE9000: Safety Editor
    • TE1300: TwinCAT Scope
    • TE2000: TwinCAT HMI
• Runtime Packages provide applications that will run on the Beckhoff IPC.
  • Common examples include:
    • TwinCAT Standard
    • TC1000: TwinCAT ADS
    • TF2000: TwinCAT HMI Server
    • TF3300: TwinCAT Scope Server
    • TF5000: TwinCAT NC PTP
    • TF6100: OPC UA Server
    • TF6250: Modbus TCP
    • TF6255: Modbus RTU
    • TF6310: TCP/IP
    • Beckhoff Device Manager

Select all the packages that you need for your system. Then either click Install (Blue Download button) to install locally, or Download to send to an offline IPC (Press 3 dots button, then “Download”).

Once all the packages are selected, either click “Apply Modifications” to install them locally, or click “Start Download” or “Start Download as a Zip”. Please refer to Infosys for more information on installing offline feeds.

Install the Beckhoff Real-Time Ethernet Driver

Next, you will need to install the Beckhoff Real-Time Ethernet Driver on the NIC to which you plan to connect your IO. This will allow the Beckhoff IPC to communicate with said IO.

Navigate to C:\TwinCAT\3.1\System and run TcRteInstall.exe.

In the Compatible devices section, select the NIC that you will use for IO (EtherCAT Master if you configured your NIC settings as described earlier) and click Install.

After the process is completed, the NIC should move to the Installed and ready-to-use devices (real-time capable) section. You can close out of the application.

Set Firewall Settings

It’s important to maintain secure firewall settings on industrial devices to avoid allowing unwanted access to an industrial network, especially if said devices will be connected to the internet. But we must allow communication to the TwinCATTwinCAT runtime/HMI server via a programming computer to download code. To do this, we will enable a few rules within the firewall. Beckhoff will pre-configure certain ports on IPCs, but we recommend going through these steps to confirm that no traffic will be blocked. You may also need to refer to this section if firewall settings are inadvertently changed or reset.

Navigate to Start Menu > Settings. In the search bar, search “firewall” and open Windows Defender Firewall.

In the window that appears, select Advanced Settings on the right.

In the Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security window, select Inbound Rules on the left and click New Rule on the right.

Details on important TCP/UDP ports required for TwinCAT Services can be found on Infosys, but in our experience, the most important ports are:

• TCP 48898 (TwinCAT ADS Not Secure)
• UDP 48899 (TwinCAT ADS Discovery)
• TCP 8016 (TwinCAT ADS Secure)
• TCP 1010 (TwinCAT HMI <=1.12 Local)
• TCP 1020 (TwinCAT HMI <=1.12 Incoming)
• TCP 2010 (TwinCAT HMI >=1.14 Local)
• TCP 2020 (TwinCAT HMI >=1.14 Incoming)

Step through the wizard, using Port as the rule type, and add rules for all required ports.

Change AMS Net ID

The AMS Net ID is used by the TwinCAT XAE programming suite to identify specific PLC runtimes, and to connect to that runtime. It is made up of 6 values from 0-255, period-delimited. At DMC, we usually set the AMS Net ID to be the same as the IP address of the programming port of the Beckhoff IPC, followed by “.1.1”, for instance, “192.168.42.42.1.1”. This makes it easier to remember than using an entirely different number (though any value technically works).

Click on the TwinCAT gear icon in the system tray and select Router > Change AMS Net ID. If this gear icon does not appear in the system tray, you may need to restart your IPC first. After typing in your selected AMS Net ID and confirming, you will be prompted to restart. Now is a good time to do so.

Legacy Troubleshooting Steps

In the past, when using build 3.1.4024, we have sometimes seen an error message when trying to put the PLC into Run Mode:

Init4\RTime: Start Interrupt: Ticker started >> AdsWarning: 4115 (0x1013, RTIME: system clock setup fails)

We have not seen this yet with build 3.1.4026 but have preserved the resolution here. If you encounter this error, you can navigate to C:\Program Files (x86)\Beckhoff\TwinCAT\3.1\System and run win8settick.bat as administrator. This sets some TwinCAT-required clock settings and resolves the error.