Design of Collaborative Communication System for Data Acquisition and Offline Simulation of Pipe Bending Processing Based on Qt

Abstract

To address the issues of offline simulation systems being unable to access real-time PLC status data and the communication security and protocol compatibility challenges associated with direct device connections in automated pipe bending production lines, this paper designs and implements a layered collaborative communication system based on Qt. The system adopts a dual-communication architecture consisting of a Snap7 client and an OPC UA server. The host computer periodically collects data from a Siemens PLC via the Snap7 protocol, acquiring equipment status information, bending process status, and alarm messages. Meanwhile, an OPC UA server is deployed to push the collected real-time data to offline simulation software, achieving data synchronization between the physical sites and the virtual environment. The software adopts a modular and multi-threaded architecture, incorporating reliability mechanisms such as automatic reconnection after disconnection and data validation. Engineering test results show that the system has stable communication and low latency, which effectively supports robot offline trajectory simulation and program debugging, and significantly improves the safety and debugging efficiency of production line operation. The scheme has both versatility and engineering applicability, which can provide reference for data interaction of industrial heterogeneous equipment and host computer development.