See your machine through your software.
Build a kinematic model of your machine, run motion sequences, and connect your PLC to see how it responds. Import your CAD and configure mechanisms, cams, and synchronized axes in your browser.
No account needed to explore. Live PLC connectivity requires Pro and the Windows PLC Connector.
- Explore without an account
- Editor and simulation in your browser
- Projects stored locally on your machine
Use cases
What will you investigate…
Coordinate machine motion
Inspect how cams and synchronized axes move together through a machine cycle.
Inspect PLC-driven behaviour
Connect your PLC signals to the model and observe the resulting motion.
Explore a sequence before assembly
Use simulated variables and state machines to examine a machine-motion concept.
Workflow
How it works
Prepare the geometry
Import GLB, STEP/IGES, or FBX geometry. Prepare heavy assemblies in the browser by reducing triangles, filtering small geometry, and compressing the saved model. Geometry is the starting point; you configure the kinematic model separately.
Define the motion
Configure kinematic chains, state machines, electronic cams, and synchronized axes. Run the same model in Simulation before connecting a PLC.
Connect the software
Map Siemens S7, TwinCAT ADS, or OPC UA values to the variables that drive the model. Live PLC data requires Pro and the Windows PLC Connector.
Capabilities
Build and explore machine motion.
Configure mechanisms
Build 4-bar linkages, cranks, path followers, and robot arms directly in the scene. No scripting required.
State-machine editor with live graph view
Configure states, actions, and transitions with structured controls, then follow the active state in the graph while the simulation runs.
Cam profiles & synchronized axes
Build master/slave cam profiles and coordinate axes from shared masters for flying shears, rotary knives, cross sealers, and more.
Connect PLC variables
Map OPC UA tags or S7 variables to Machinery Twin variables, then bind them to scene motion and state.
Built-in Structured Text runtime
Write and run cyclic Structured Text programs in the browser, binding tags, inputs, and outputs to twin variables that drive the model.
Start from a template
Open a pre-built flying shear, conveyor, or pick-and-place template and adapt it to your motion or PLC project.
Works with the tools you already use
Siemens S7, TwinCAT ADS, and OPC UA. PLCSIM Advanced connects directly; PLCSIM Basic requires a bridge such as NetToPLCSim.
PLC values flow into the twin to drive the model.
Beyond software development
Use the same model to explain and explore.
Presentations and marketing
Show a machine cycle in motion to explain your concept to customers and colleagues.
Education and training
Make mechanisms, cam profiles, and motion sequences visible while explaining how they work.
Mechanical concepts and prototypes
Explore mechanism geometry and movement sequences before committing to a physical prototype.
These studies describe kinematics: geometry, positions, and motion. They do not evaluate forces, loads, or process physics, and standalone simulation does not emulate a vendor’s PLC runtime.
Explore all capabilities
A complete toolkit for building, simulating, and commissioning machine motion — grouped by what it does.
Modelling & geometry
Import your CAD
Load GLB, STEP/IGES, and FBX models. Use the geometry you already have, no re-modelling.
In-browser CAD preparation
Preview and control triangle reduction, filter small geometry by size, and compress the saved model without leaving the import workflow.
Scene hierarchy & attachments
Parent objects into assemblies; attach parts to moving links of a mechanism so they inherit its motion.
Motion & mechanisms
Kinematic mechanisms
Slider-cranks, 4-bar and 5-bar linkages, path followers (linear/arc/closed loops), all configured in the scene.
Robot kinematics, built in
Configure DH serial manipulators and 3-DOF Delta robots in joint or Cartesian workspace with built-in inverse kinematics.
Motion profiles with continuity insight
Shape master/slave motion with Poly5, Poly3, cubic, and straight segments, then inspect position, velocity, and acceleration together.
Synchronized master/slave motion
Coordinate axes from a shared master for repeatable machine sequences such as flying shears, rotary knives, and cross sealers.
State-machine editor with live graph view
Configure states, actions, and transitions with structured controls. Follow trapezoid moves, timers, and threshold conditions live in the graph.
Variables & logic
Variable engine
Drive any object property — position, rotation, scale, colour, visibility — from computed variables: constants, functions, sine, interpolation, and cam profiles.
Signal trace
Walk the full dependency graph of any variable or object: see its upstream drivers and downstream consumers, with live values and validation.
PLC connectivity
Live PLC connection
Connect to Siemens S7, PLCSIM Advanced, PLCSIM Basic through NetToPLCSim, Beckhoff TwinCAT (ADS), or OPC UA.
Hardware-in-the-loop
Map PLC values through twin variables and watch the virtual machine respond live as your PLC code executes.
Simulate without a PLC
Run the same motion and kinematic model with simulated variables before connecting control hardware.
Workflow & sharing
Templates
Start from a pre-built flying shear, conveyor, or pick-and-place and adapt it to your motion or PLC project.
Runs in your browser
The editor and simulation run in the browser. Pro adds the Windows PLC Connector for live PLC data.
Local-first projects
Projects stored on your machine; export and import as a single archive to share or back up.
Remote runtime connection
Run the visualization on a GPU-capable machine while another Windows PC hosts PLC connectivity on your network.
Built by automation engineers, for automation engineers.
Machinery Twin was built by industrial automation engineers with over a decade of experience developing software for machinery OEMs. It grew from the need to inspect machine motion while developing the software that drives it.
Plans
Pricing
Free
Explore motion with small projects
- 3D model import
- Kinematics configuration
- State machines and motion cams
- Simulation mode (no PLC)
- Up to 10 objects, 5 cams per project
- Local project save
Simulation
Build complete motion studies and presentations
- Everything in Free, plus:
- Unlimited objects, cams, state machines
- Serial Manipulator and Delta 3D robot kinematics
- Built-in PLC-style Structured Text runtime
- Full template library
Pro
Connect your PLC to your machine model
- Everything in Simulation, plus:
- Live PLC connectivity (Siemens S7, TwinCAT, OPC UA)
- Windows PLC Connector
- Hardware-in-the-loop simulation
Need an offline deployment? Discuss your requirements. Offline licensing is planned.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Build a kinematic model to inspect mechanisms, cam profiles, synchronized axes, and motion sequences. Use it to understand how machine software relates to movement, or explore a motion concept before assembly. The model describes geometry and motion; it does not calculate forces, loads, or process physics.
Contact
Does your machine fit?
Ask about your machine, PLC setup, or evaluation needs. You can also request a feature or report a bug.
Explore your machine in motion.
Start with the browser editor. No account needed to explore.
Try Machinery Twin