Flexxbotics Updates Beckhoff ADS TwinCAT Connector Driver in Open-Source GitHub Project

Boston, MA – February 25, 2026 – Flexxbotics, the autonomous manufacturing platform leader, today announced further enhancements to the Beckhoff ADS TwinCAT transformer connector driver within the Flexxbotics open-source project on GitHub. The updated ADS TwinCAT capabilities expand many-to-many interoperability and high-performance, bi-directional control from Beckhoff TwinCAT PLCs and IPC-based control systems to machines and production systems running non-Beckhoff controllers.

The updated ADS TwinCAT connector driver is available now under the Apache 2.0 license in the Flexxbotics open-source repository at https://github.com/Flexxbotics/transformers

Using Software-Defined Automation to Extend Beckhoff ADS TwinCAT

Beckhoff ADS (Automation Device Specification) is the base industrial protocol used across Beckhoff TwinCAT PLCs and IPC-based control platforms deployed in high-performance automation environments. Widely adopted for its flexibility and real-time performance, ADS-based systems can require significant integration logic embedded in point-to-point custom interfaces to interoperate with non-Beckhoff machines, robotics, vision systems, inspection equipment, and IT systems.

Flexxbotics transformer’s expanded capabilities address these complexities by extending ADS TwinCAT interoperability within the Flexxbotics software-defined automation (SDA) runtime, enabling Beckhoff-controlled machines to seamlessly operate in autonomous manufacturing cells across mixed-vendor factory equipment with deterministic control.

The updated connector driver delivers:

• Expanded compatibility across TwinCAT 2 and TwinCAT 3 environments for non-Beckhoff controller interoperability
• Parallelized, multi-threaded data pipelines for high-performance data exchange
• Native interoperability with non-Beckhoff controlled automation, robots, inspection systems, test equipment, enterprise systems, and Industrial AI pipelines
• Consistent abstraction of TwinCAT symbol and variable structures with other Flexxbotics connector drivers for controllers and protocols
• Secure, bi-directional read/write access enabling autonomous variable updates and runtime control execution

“Beckhoff TwinCAT systems are widely used in high-performance automation, however integrating them into heterogeneous environments for autonomy still requires significant engineering effort,” said Tyler Modelski, CTO and Co-Founder of Flexxbotics. “With our ADS TwinCAT transformer updates, machines running Beckhoff controls can interoperate seamlessly with non-Beckhoff equipment, enabling autonomous process control across diverse factory assets.”

Achieving Autonomous Process Control Between All Types of Machines

The ADS TwinCAT transformer interoperates automatically with all other connector drivers loaded into the Flexxbotics software-defined automation runtime environment. This many-to-many interoperability model eliminates the need for custom, point-to-point integrations and enables new levels of manufacturing autonomy between Beckhoff-controlled devices and other plant equipment.

This capability enables autonomous process control scenarios including:

• Autonomous adjustments to changing production conditions, process drift, and tolerance deviations
• Coordinated orchestration across mixed-vendor automation cells and lines
• Run-time parameter setting and adaptive control logic for offset adjustments
• Automated compliance and traceability in regulated manufacturing environments
• Closed-loop quality control based on test, inspection, and measurement feedback

By contextualizing Beckhoff controller data with high-frequency data from other plant equipment, Flexxbotics enables digital thread traceability and optimization along with continuous data enrichment for Industrial AI and Physical AI inference.

Full Compatibility with the Flexxbotics Connector Driver Ecosystem

The ADS TwinCAT connector driver inherits compatibility with all other transformers loaded in the Flexxbotics SDA runtime including Siemens S7Comm, Heidenhain TNC, Rockwell EtherNet/IP Logix, FOCAS2, FANUC industrial robots, Universal Robots, Keyence, COGNEX, FOBA, OPC UA, and new transformers as they are introduced. 

This high-performance architecture enables: 

• Secure interoperability between Beckhoff PLCs and other factory machines, automation & robotics, inspection & test systems, vision, lasers, sensors, and more
• Multimodal data pipelines for aggregation, contextualization, and enrichment of TwinCAT data with data from other PLCs and controllers
• High-frequency plant data acquisition for factory AI model training
• Fault-tolerant orchestration across heterogeneous automation environments

Each new transformer added to the Flexxbotics runtime expands interoperability automatically, enabling Beckhoff-controlled systems to securely interoperate with the broader factory automation ecosystem.

“Increasing manufacturing autonomy requires all machines and equipment to operate as a unified system regardless of which vendors are involved,” said Tyler Bouchard, CEO and Co-Founder of Flexxbotics. “By further expanding the ADS TwinCAT capabilities in our open-source project, we’re enabling Beckhoff-controlled equipment to seamlessly communicate and coordinate with everything else in modern smart factories.”

Open, Permissive, and Commercially Friendly

The enhanced ADS TwinCAT connector driver is released under the Apache 2.0 license as part of the Flexxbotics open-source project on GitHub. Automation engineers, controls engineers, and system integrators can freely extend the transformer, implement custom automation logic in Python, and deploy commercially without licensing restrictions.

Flexxbotics encourages open innovation contributions focused on real-world plant deployments to drive continued advancements in transformer connector drivers. 

Availability

Flexxbotics Transformers (including the updated ADS TwinCAT connector driver):

https://github.com/Flexxbotics/transformers

Developer Studio & API Overview video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRUaRk_V0pk

Free Flexxbotics SDA runtime, Studio, and API (no time limits or feature restrictions):

https://flexxbotics.com/download/

About Flexxbotics

Flexxbotics autonomous manufacturing platform enables smart factory autonomy at scale. Software-defined automation provides interoperable communication and orchestration across plant equipment, robotics, and enterprise IT systems. More powerful, flexible and open, Flexxbotics digitalizes next-generation production environments for continuous operations. Visit www.flexxbotics.com to learn more and follow us on LinkedIn.