WinCC Unified — CWC and Open Pipe

In previous articles we have separately covered two very powerful technologies in WinCC Unified: Custom Web Controls (CWC) and the Open Pipe interface. Today we combine them together with a Node.js application to achieve something genuinely practical: exporting data stored in the WinCC Unified SQLite database to SQL Server, with a custom visualization of the process directly in the operator Runtime.

The result is a real integration architecture where the visualization layer (the CWC embedded in the WinCC Unified Runtime), the communication layer (Open Pipe) and the data integration layer (Node.js exporting from SQLite to SQL Server) all work together in coordination.

A Custom Web Control is a custom control based on standard web technologies (HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript) that integrates into the TIA Portal graphic editor and runs inside the WinCC Unified Runtime.

It appears in the "My Controls" panel of the TIA Portal Toolbox and can be dragged onto any screen just like a native control. Its great advantage is that the developer has full control over its appearance and behavior — dashboards, charts, industrial gauges, custom animations… anything achievable with HTML/JS.

• Developed with an external web editor (VS Code, WebStorm, etc.)
• Packaged and installed in TIA Portal as a .zip file
• Exposes properties that can be bound to WinCC Unified tags via the scripting API
• Communicates with the Runtime through events and the WinCC scripting API

For more details on CWC development, see the article: WinCC Unified Custom Web Controls.

Open Pipe is a Windows named pipe interface that allows external applications to connect to the WinCC Unified Runtime. Communication happens over the pipe \\.\pipe\HmiRuntime by sending and receiving JSON messages.

With Open Pipe it is possible to, among other things:

• Read and write Runtime tag values
• Subscribe to tag value changes
• Subscribe to and manage alarms
• Trigger Runtime script actions

It can be implemented in any language that supports named pipes: Node.js, Python, C#, PowerShell, etc.

For more details, see the article: WinCC Unified Open Pipe.

The project idea is simple yet very powerful. The key element is a Node.js application that acts as a bridge between the process database and the WinCC Unified Runtime:

1. WinCC Unified stores process records in its local SQLite database.
2. The Node.js application reads those records from SQLite and exports them to SQL Server, enabling historical analysis or integration with MES/ERP systems.
3. At the same time, the Node.js application communicates with the WinCC Unified Runtime through Open Pipe (named pipe \\.\pipe\HmiRuntime), writing tags with the export status or results.
4. The Custom Web Control (CWC), embedded in the operator screen, reflects the data transfer status in real time through its custom HTML/JS interface.

The result is a real integration architecture: SQLite → Node.js → SQL Server, with real-time visualization through CWC + Open Pipe in WinCC Unified.

The video shows the complete integration in action: the Node.js application exporting data from the WinCC Unified SQLite database to SQL Server, while the CWC displays the operation status in real time inside the Runtime.

The demonstrated flow is:

• The Node.js application reads records from the WinCC Unified SQLite database
• Data is transferred and written to the SQL Server database
• Through Open Pipe, the application updates Runtime tags with the export status
• The CWC reflects that status in its HTML/JS interface on the operator screen