We have about 20 machines that came in from 1 OEM in Taiwan that use Beckhoff. Their code is locked but visible and they used their own proprietary HMI program. They're...ok. Our newest line (from Turkey) is all Beckhoff as well but at least they used the native HMI and left that part unlocked. It's a large system with a LOT of IO including a bunch of servo drives and 3 ABB robots and peripherals from 2 other brands (IPG and Danfoss) along with the Beckhoff servos. So, we definitely need to get a handle on it.
So you're forced to call the OEM anytime there's a problem with one of the machines?? The company I work for is in that situation with MTS. With all of our MTS machines, the code is not accessible, and the GUI is proprietary so we can't get in there either. It's
VERY expensive anytime there's a problem with one of the MTS machines. They quoted us $150k just to come in and upgrade two servo motors and drives on just
one machine! This is why we started designing and building our own machines in-house about 9 years ago. My boss did a whole lot of nit-picking and comparing of the major vendors (AB, Siemens, Omron, Beckhoff) over several weeks, and then we ultimately settled on Beckhoff because their platform was capable of doing the things we needed, that the others couldn't do, particularly high-sampling frequency analog I/O, and real-time comms (EtherCAT). Since then, it's only gotten better with all the new I/O and multi-core CPU's Beckhoff has released since then. We've never looked back. TwinCAT-3 is where it's at though. TC3 was a game-changer for Beckhoff when it was released. I wouldn't bother with anything TC2. If your Beckhoff machines are >= 12 years old, then the software is likely TC2.
Apologies to the OP for hijacking the thread. Take a look at Beckhoff and their line of vision hardware/software (
TwinCAT Vision). They've got cameras and supporting hardware (lighting) as well.
For anyone looking for an integrator for help in coding and/or full machine design and build, I highly recommend checking out
DMC. They are a bit pricey compared to others, but you get what you pay for and they can deliver anything you need, on any platform (Beckhoff, Rockwell, Siemens, etc). We needed a highly specialized product testing machine to do high-frequency sound and vibration analysis. We also specified that the machine must be able to classify pass/fail using full-fledged machine learning and "learn" with each new part tested. Lastly, the machine must only use Beckhoff hardware and software in the control system, nothing else. DMC delivered within budget and on-time. I have no reservations recommending them.