Working with TwinCAT 3 license dongles

Working with TwinCAT 3 license dongles 1:

TwinCAT 3 licenses for non-Beckhoff IPCs

If you use an IPC from a manufacturer other than Beckhoff (TwinCAT 3 platform level >= 90), a TwinCAT 3 license dongle is always required for licensing TwinCAT 3.

Working with TwinCAT 3 license dongles 2:

Supported operating systems

The use of a TwinCAT 3 license dongle always requires the TwinCAT Runtime (XAR), even if only one engineering function is used. The operating systems supported by the TwinCAT Runtime can be found here. (Please note: Windows Server 2012 is not supported by the Runtime!)

Working with TwinCAT 3 license dongles 3:

TwinCAT 3.1 Build 4022 or higher

With a TwinCAT 3 license dongle, TwinCAT 3.1 Build 4022 or higher should be used, in order to have the full functionality available.

Working with TwinCAT 3 license dongles 4:

Several system IDs

A TwinCAT 3 license dongle has no platform level of its own. This is dependent on the platform level of the connected computer. Since the platform level of the computer goes into the system ID of the dongle, a TwinCAT 3 license dongle can have several system IDs.

See also: System ID of TwinCAT 3 license dongles

TwinCAT 3 license dongles with memory function for the TwinCAT 3 license file are the default option for TwinCAT 3 licensing, as they can be used flexibly and are not tied to a fixed license configuration or customer-specific hardware. A TwinCAT 3 license dongle makes it easy to replace the control computer, as the new IPC does not have to be licensed.

The minimum version for the use of TwinCAT 3 license dongles is TwinCAT 3.1 Build 4018.26.

A TwinCAT 3 license dongle can be an EL6070 License Key Terminal or a C9900-L100 license key USB stick.

Working with TwinCAT 3 license dongles 5:

For technical reasons, the current TwinCAT version does not yet offer fully automatic detection of a license dongle. A license dongle must therefore always be configured in TwinCAT 3 Engineering. The configuration is saved in the project.

Working with TwinCAT 3 license dongles 6:

TwinCAT root directory <TwinCAT_ROOT>

Up to and including TwinCAT 3.1.4024: C:\TwinCAT
From TwinCAT 3.1.4026: C:\ProgramData\Beckhoff\TwinCAT

Creating a local working copy of the license file

TwinCAT 3 does not work directly with the License Response Files on the license dongle, but with a "working copy" of the files on the hard disk of the IPC (directory: <TwinCAT_ROOT>\3.1\target\license).

Note:

Initialization and position of the License Key Terminal in the EtherCAT bus

The License Key Terminal is not automatically detected in the current TwinCAT version. It must be initialized and set as license device once in the project.

The License Key Terminal must therefore always be positioned at precisely the location in the EtherCAT bus that was configured for the respective project.

Build initialization and slot for the license key USB stick

The license key USB stick is not automatically detected in the current TwinCAT version. It must be initialized and set as license device once in the project.

However, the license key USB stick is not tied to a specific USB slot.