EtherCAT Real-Time Bus
EtherCAT bus is an open real-time Ethernet bus that conforms to the international IEC 62407 standard and the Chinese national standard GB/T 31230.1-6. It is used for network communication between the master station and EtherCAT servos (COE) and IO devices.
Introduction
With the rapid development of the Internet of Things, Industry 4.0, and Made in China 2025, the EtherCAT real-time Ethernet bus will become an important foundation for smart manufacturing. It can be seamlessly connected with upper-level ERP and production management systems, playing an increasingly important role.
SoftServo has been researching and applying EtherCAT bus technology since 2008, possessing industry-leading experience in bus control applications. All master and slave station code is independently developed, enabling users to quickly analyze problems and providing optimal and fastest solutions for master/slave station configuration, selection, and troubleshooting. SoftServo software motion control connects the computer's network card and the servo or I/O device's bus interface sequentially via an RJ45 cable through the EtherCAT bus. It can simultaneously control up to 64 axes (and more I/O slave modules), with a servo control cycle as fast as 0.5ms. Simple configuration and universal cabling eliminate the need for hardware boards, making integration and maintenance highly economical and convenient.
EtherCAT Features
● Communication speed -- 100M real-time Ethernet communication.
●Fast – 64-axis servo control cycle as short as 0.5ms
●Easy wiring – daisy chain, no terminal connectors required.
● Use a standard Ethernet straight-through cable.
● It has built-in software tools that are easy to configure, diagnose, and maintain.
● Mature independent technologies and wide applications.
● Redundant wiring can be used to prevent the entire system from shutting down due to cable or node failure.
● EtherCAT devices from different manufacturers can be connected to the same network.
● It can achieve hot-swapping functionality.
● Provides a function library for developing EtherCAT applications in the .NET environment.
