AI for Beckhoff TwinCAT
If you're looking for AI for TwinCAT, PLC Assist is an AI coding agent built specifically for industrial automation. It connects directly to your TwinCAT 3 project, writes Structured Text into TwinCAT XAE, and compiles + fixes errors on its own — all from a chat sidebar in your browser.
PLC Assist talks to TwinCAT through its native COM interop (ITcSysManager and friends), so the same agent that runs against CODESYS and Siemens TIA Portal also runs against TwinCAT — no vendor-specific UI to relearn.
Under the hood, PLC Assist runs on Anthropic's Claude — the same model family that powers Claude Code — tuned for the patterns and pitfalls of industrial automation.
What PLC Assist does inside TwinCAT
- Writes code directly into your TwinCAT project. Creates POUs, function blocks, GVLs, methods, properties, and DUTs straight into TwinCAT XAE — no copy-paste, no manual scaffolding.
- Spec → TwinCAT code from a PDF. Drop a control specification (PDF or image) into chat. The agent reads it, picks the right TwinCAT libraries (Tc2_Standard, Tc3_Module, etc.), and implements the function blocks.
- Compiles and fixes errors on its own. Reads TwinCAT compiler output and iterates on the code until it builds. You see the result, not the back-and-forth.
- Reviews Structured Text for edge cases. Walks your code looking for race conditions, missing edge handling, and IEC 61131-3 anti-patterns — before they hit a real machine.
- Generates documentation. Produces docs for your function blocks, libraries, and project structure on demand.
Works on every TwinCAT 3 runtime
PLC Assist talks to TwinCAT 3 through its COM API on the engineering machine, so the runtime hardware doesn't matter — Beckhoff IPC, embedded controller, or third-party x86 running TwinCAT/BSD all work the same way:
- TwinCAT 3.1 (Build 4024+)
- TwinCAT 3 PLC
- TwinCAT XAE on Windows
- TwinCAT/BSD runtime
- Beckhoff CX series (CX5000 / CX9000 / CX2000)
- Beckhoff C-series Industrial PCs
- Third-party x86/x64 hardware running TwinCAT runtime
Why not just use TwinCAT CoAgent?
TwinCAT CoAgent and TwinCAT Chat are tightly integrated with TwinCAT XAE — which is great if TwinCAT is your only PLC platform. Most engineering services firms and OEMs work across multiple vendors though, and Beckhoff's AI doesn't leave TwinCAT's IDE. PLC Assist gives you one agent across CODESYS, TwinCAT, and TIA Portal, with the same prompts and the same compile-and-fix loop on each.
Looking for TwinCAT CoAgent itself? It's a fine option if TwinCAT is the only PLC platform you'll ever use.
One agent across CODESYS, Beckhoff TwinCAT, and Siemens TIA Portal — same prompts, same compile-and-fix loop on every platform. Read how the multiplatform agent works.
Frequently asked questions
How is this different from Beckhoff's own TwinCAT CoAgent / TwinCAT Chat?
TwinCAT CoAgent and TwinCAT Chat are Beckhoff products that only run inside TwinCAT XAE. If your team also touches CODESYS-based PLCs (Schneider, WAGO, Festo, Lenze) or Siemens TIA Portal, you need a separate AI tool for each one. PLC Assist is one agent across all three platforms — same prompts, same compile-and-fix workflow, same UI.
Which TwinCAT versions are supported?
TwinCAT 3.1 (Build 4024 and later). The bridge connects via TwinCAT's COM API (ITcSysManager / ITcPlcDeclaration) which has been stable across recent TwinCAT 3 builds. Older TwinCAT 2 installations are not supported.
Does it work with Beckhoff IPCs and Embedded PCs?
Yes — the bridge runs on the engineering machine that hosts TwinCAT XAE, not on the runtime hardware. Whether your runtime is a CX-series Embedded PC, a C-series IPC, or a third-party x86 box running TwinCAT/BSD, PLC Assist works the same way.
Is my code sent to the cloud?
Your code stays on your machine until the AI needs context. When you send a prompt, only the relevant slice of the project is sent to the model (Anthropic Claude) — not the whole project. We don't store code on our servers; sessions are not used for model training.
AI for Beckhoff TwinCAT — try PLC Assist free.
25 AI requests, no credit card. Connect to your IDE in 5 minutes.