Beckhoff is releasing TwinCAT/BSD as an alternative operating system (OS) for its proven PC-based automation platform. Ideal for applications across industries, TwinCAT/BSD combines the TwinCAT runtime with FreeBSD, an industrially tested and reliable open-source operating system. This additional OS is designed to increase options for customization, reduce license costs and eliminate distribution issues with third-party vendors, including licensing and eventual discontinuation of support.
In addition to multi-core support and a small software footprint, TwinCAT/BSD combined with the Beckhoff Package Server offers a simple option for installing TwinCAT functions and FreeBSD applications or updating the entire system. TwinCAT/BSD will support all TwinCAT runtime functions and additionally enable the use of the HTML5-based TwinCAT HMI on the same system. Of course, Beckhoff will continue to support Windows operating systems in new and already installed controller hardware.
While the alternative OS opens up new possibilities for the Beckhoff Industrial PC (IPC) portfolio, it does not fundamentally change the capabilities of the PC-based control platform. Engineering still occurs in the familiar TwinCAT XAE (eXtended Automation Engineering) environment based on Visual Studio from a Windows development computer or via a Web browser using TwinCAT Cloud Engineering.
Full customization remains possible with TwinCAT/BSD, along with an increased OS lifetime and availability for older devices. Simply put, the TwinCAT real-time kernel is combined with the open-source FreeBSD operating system to provide an additional OS option, when applications call for it, with the same reliability, security and openness delivered by the standard Beckhoff platform.
