Chiahung Hung, Product Sales Manager for @AdvantechCorp Europe’s IoT Automation sector, explains how @Codesys-AutomationSoftware turns standard industrial PCs into flexible, software-defined controllers that break the traditional proprietary PLC lock-in. By running the CODESYS runtime on x86 or ARM-based IPCs, Advantech can offer “soft PLC” functionality across its AMAX and MX controller families, letting machine builders decouple application logic from specific hardware platforms and adopt an Android-like model for industrial control. This opens the door to using the same IEC 61131-3 project on multiple devices, from compact edge controllers to panel PCs, with lifecycle managed as software rather than as fixed hardware generations, and more details can be found on the Advantech website https://www.advantech.com/
At the heart of the demo is an AMAX-5570 Atom-based edge controller, shown driving third-party servo motors in tightly synchronized motion control. The platform is optimized for CODESYS with a 1 ms real-time environment, supporting up to 32-axis motion control with 500 µs EtherCAT cycle times under Linux, plus SoftMotion and CNC/robotics libraries for more complex kinematics. The classic “pencil on two spinning shafts” test illustrates deterministic behavior under high speed, showing that even an entry-level controller can handle precise multi-axis coordination while remaining cost-efficient in the field, which makes it attractive as a general-purpose automation setup.
Beyond this single controller, Hung positions AMAX and MX as a complete CODESYS-ready portfolio, including UNO box PCs and AMAX panel controllers that combine HMI and control in one device with web-based visualization. In the video, an AMAX panel unit runs CODESYS Web Visualization as an HMI, reading live data from the UNO controller and rendering dashboards directly in a browser-like interface, which simplifies deployment of machine and factory UIs. Recorded at SPS 2025 in Nuremberg, the setup reflects Advantech’s broader focus at the show on open automation, Edge AI-ready hardware, and IT/OT converged architectures built around software-defined control.
A key step this year is that Advantech’s CODESYS platforms no longer target only Windows; Linux runtimes are now supported across selected AMAX controllers, with more SKUs being qualified as “CODESYS Enabled” over time. This Linux support matters for customers standardizing on containerized edge workloads and long-term LTS distributions in OT environments, where they can align PLC workloads with other edge services running on the same hardware. Hung also points out that Advantech is working toward full EU Cyber Resilience Act readiness across its controller portfolio by 2026, addressing concerns from OEMs who worry that embedding a PC-class platform inside machines might increase the attack surface, by integrating secure boot, TPM, and CRA-aligned hardening as part of the standard device compliance.
For machine builders, system integrators, and OT engineers, the message is that automation is becoming a software-defined layer running on standardized compute, not a collection of closed PLC islands. With CODESYS as the common runtime, Advantech edge controllers can scale from Intel Atom-based AMAX-5570 V2 units up to Core-powered panel controllers such as AMAX-PT800, while offering industrial Ethernet and fieldbus connectivity via EtherCAT, PROFINET, Ethernet/IP, CANopen, OPC UA, and Modbus TCP/RTU for both motion and process applications. This gives factories and infrastructure operators a path to adopt newer edge computing and AI capabilities without discarding existing engineering practices, effectively treating the control layer as a portable software asset instead of a fixed hardware portfolio.
I’m publishing about 50+ videos from SPS Nuremberg 2025 check playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7xXqJFxvYvgeW6Uf8MIlo7hpxuysbiCc I upload about 4 videos per day at 5AM/11AM/5PM/11PM CET/EST (from other recent events too)
