Title of the thesis: Integration of modern scanning technology into sawmill systems

Abstract

This thesis presents the integration of a modern Microtec Goldeneye scanner into an existing Dimter sawmill system by adapting TwinCAT 3 PLC software to process structured binary data. Unlike the previous scanner, which used a simpler data format, the Goldeneye transmits complex, multi-field packets over Ethernet. To support development in the absence of physical hardware, a Python-based simulator was created to generate scanner-equivalent packets and transmit them to the PLC via the ADS protocol. The core contribution is the complete redesign of the FB_ServerApplication function block into a state-machine parser capable of decoding variable-length packets and mapping their content into structured user-defined types (UDTs). Supporting function blocks were also developed to manage data buffering and coordinate parsing. The simulator played a critical role in enabling testing and validation without access to the actual scanner hardware. Simulation-based validation demonstrated that the implemented parsing logic performs reliably under both standard and edge-case conditions. The solution provides a modular and maintainable foundation for full deployment once physical hardware becomes available. Future work will focus on enabling live socket communication, optimizing performance, and extending compatibility to other scanner models.