Phoenix Contact Ethernet APL banner ad Phoenix Contact Ethernet APL banner ad

Industry News

Latest industry news on Industrial Ethernet networking, the IIoT and Industry 4.0.

the ISASecure mission is to provide the highest level of assurance possible for the cybersecurity of industrial automation control systems.

ISASecure to Develop Certification Scheme for Commercial Components 

The ISASecure mission is to provide the highest level of assurance possible for the cybersecurity of industrial automation …

Learn More
Dijam Panigrahi, Co-founder and COO of GridRaster says that recent enterprise research found that nearly 75% of organizations expect to deploy agentic AI within two years, yet only about one-in-five currently have a governance model mature enough to manage systems that act on their own.

Manufacturers Adopting Agentic AI Without A Governance Plan

Dijam Panigrahi, Co-founder and COO of GridRaster says that recent enterprise research found that nearly 75% of organizations …

Learn More
Frederik Kok, Senior Cyber Security Expert at Mitsubishi Electric Europe is urging machine builders to act now to ensure that they are ready for the Cyber Resilience Act’s (CRA) upcoming vulnerability reporting deadline.

Machine Builders CRA Vulnerability Reporting Deadline

Frederik Kok, Senior Cyber Security Expert at Mitsubishi Electric Europe is urging machine builders to act now to …

Learn More
Beckhoff Celebrates 40 Years of PC-Based Control From a technological revolution in 1986 to a global standard in automation today SAVAGE, Minnesota, July 28, 2026 – When Beckhoff elevated the industrial computer to central control system status four decades ago, it was a paradigm shift in automation technology. For 40 years now, PC-based control has put the power of IT standards and Moore’s Law for integrated circuits directly into the hands of machine builders and automation engineers. By bundling PLC, motion control, and technologies such as measurement technology, robotics, and machine vision on a single integrated platform, PC Control users today benefit from outstanding performance combined with significant cost and space savings. In the 1980s, industrial manufacturing was dominated by the traditional, hardware-based PLC. The omnipresent PLC was considered reliable, but it was also inflexible, expensive, and offered limited computing power compared to personal computer (PC) technology. In 1986, Beckhoff responded to the limitations of hardware PLCs by delivering the first industrial PC-based machine control system, which gave the target application – a double miter saw – a significant boost in power and productivity. Separation of PLC and hardware boosts flexibility PC Control Page 2 of 5 The decisive technological step was the abstraction of the PLC function from proprietary hardware to a highly flexible solution based on industrial IT components. These were design decisions made in the 1980s, and today the industry refers to this as “software defined automation”. Beckhoff ensured deterministic behavior by developing its own real-time software extensions for standard operating systems – mainly Windows initially, but also others since then, including TwinCAT/BSD and Linux®. Machine builders benefitted directly from the rapid innovation cycles in IT and increasing processor performance. Ethernet communication opened up new possibilities in production and for integrating production into databases, ERP systems, and IoT solutions. Today, PC-based control forms the basis for physical AI everywhere from the factory to the distribution center. High-speed communication removes bottlenecks Appropriate I/O systems were required to leverage the ever-increasing computing power of industrial PCs up to field level. Beckhoff therefore flanked PC-based control with its own communication systems. Initially, data transmission took place via the fiber optic-based Lightbus. And in 2003, EtherCAT launched into the industrial marketplace to change the fieldbus and industrial Ethernet landscape forever. EtherCAT has since become a global standard that is deployed by users across all industries and markets today. In parallel, the TwinCAT automation environment – which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year – provided the basis for the software in PC-based control technology. Since its market launch, TwinCAT has developed into a universal solution that combines all automation functions into a single integrated software platform. In addition to classic PLC logic and motion control, the spectrum of functions also includes safety and measurement technology, HMI, and IoT connectivity, as well as vision, robotics, and industrial AI tools. The optimum synchronization of all processes via the PC- PC Control Page 3 of 5 based controller gives users huge advantages to ensure high dynamics and precision in automation systems. Greater scalability, fewer interfaces From today’s perspective, PC-based control is so successful because of its exceptional scalability and significant reduction in interfaces. “A high-performance industrial PC, an equally powerful fieldbus with connected peripheral devices such as sensors and actuators, and control software with real-time capabilities for motion and logic control – that’s all it takes,” sums up company founder and Managing Director Hans Beckhoff. This approach provides the capability to consolidate all machine functions – from a simple PLC to highly complex robotics – into a single controller. This not only saves space, time, and money, it also eliminates latency between distributed controllers. In line with the Beckhoff philosophy, the company has been developing and manufacturing all electronic assemblies and motherboards in-house in the Westphalia region of Germany since the 1980s according to the highest quality standards. This not only offers users security and long-term availability, but also enables them to continue implementing the latest IT standards and processor generations in machine building. Foundation for physical AI Four decades after the launch of PC-based control, the industry is increasingly turning away from proprietary black box solutions in favor of open, standardized systems. After all, PC-based control technology provides the ideal basis for IT/OT convergence as well as for emerging technologies such as machine learning and physical AI. As the technology celebrates its 40th anniversary, PC-based control from Beckhoff has the credibility to assert itself as a future-proof and high-performance foundation for automation in manufacturing and other high-tech industries. PC Control Page 4 of 5 www.beckhoff.com Link to high-res photo: https://www.beckhoff.com/media/downloads/press/2026/pr182026_beckhoff_ us.zip Press picture 01: Picture caption: For 40 years, PC-based control technology has laid the technological foundation for all Beckhoff automation components and solutions.

40 Years of PC-based Control for Automation

Beckhoff celebrates 40 years of PC-Based control from a technological revolution in 1986 to a global standard in …

Learn More
Belden and Tulip help manufacturers act on data from legacy equipment for measurable OEE gains. Operations and quality teams can now act on real-time production data without replacing equipment or disrupting lines.

Legacy Equipment Data Produces Measurable OEE Gains

Belden and Tulip help manufacturers act on data from legacy equipment for measurable OEE gains. Operations and quality …

Learn More
Ahead of 16 July, ByteSnap Design warns cloud isn’t a cure and argues that real innovation is happening at the Edge, not in the cloud.

ByteSnap Design Urges Engineers to Embrace Decentralised ‘Edge AI’

Ahead of 16 July, ByteSnap Design warns cloud isn’t a cure and argues that real innovation is happening …

Learn More
Wi-SUN FAN Becomes First Wireless Mesh Network Standard Adopted by ISO/IEC.

Wi-SUN FAN First Wireless Mesh Network Standard Adopted by ISO/IEC

International recognition as ISO/IEC/IEEE 32857:2026 removes procurement barriers for utilities and smart cities, accelerating adoption of standards-based wireless …

Learn More
The energy transition is not a power generation challenge. It is a grid challenge, according to Christoph Dorigatti, Vice President Global Business Development at COPA-DATA.

An Expert View on Energy Dependency

The energy transition is not a power generation challenge. It is a grid challenge, according to Christoph Dorigatti, …

Learn More

Sponsored

Te Connectivity Single Pair Ethernet banner ad
Contemporary Controls Switches Designed for Automation
Edge Computing July 2021 issue
Industrial Network Security Solutions - IT Level Security Built for OT Networks

Free Subscription

Receive email with each new issue of Industrial Ethernet, plus a weekly email digest of industry news, technology features and new products. Subscribe today!

Subscribe for Free
Ad image

Industrial Ethernet News and Technology Updates

Sign up today for the latest news from the worlds of Industrial Ethernet automation and machine control networking, the IIoT and Industry 4.0.

Subscribe Now