Tab ‘EtherCAT Master - General’

Object: EtherCAT master

This tab is for the configuration of the basic settings for the EtherCAT master. The preset basic settings originate from the device description file.

Settings of the configuration parameters

Attention

The auto-configuration mode (Autoconfig Master/Slaves option) is activated by default and is adequate for standard applications. If the mode is not activated, all configuration settings for master and slave(s) must be made manually, for which expert knowledge is required! The auto-configuration mode option must be switched off for the configuration of slave-to-slave communication.

Autoconfig Master/Slaves

68cdfffc91be7a21c0a8640e00b77dc6_9a3f06830c0506c5c0a8640e012f0ace The greater part of the master and slave configuration is accomplished automatically, based on the device description file and implicit calculations. The dialog for the FMMU/Sync settings is not available.

Even if this option of the master is activated, an expert mode can be activated explicitly for each individual slave that permits the manual editing of the automatically generated process data configuration.
EtherCAT NIC setting
Destination Address

MAC address of the device in the EtherCAT network that is to receive the telegrams.

Options

  • Broadcast: no destination address (MAC) need be specified.
Source Address MAC address of the controller (target system) or network name (name of the card, i.e. PLC (target system))
Network Name Name or MAC of the network, depending on which of the following options is activated:
Select network by MAC 68cdfffc91be7a21c0a8640e00b77dc6_9a3f06830c0506c5c0a8640e012f0ace : Network is specified by the MAC-ID. The project then cannot be used on another device, since each network adaptor has a unique MAC-ID.
Select network by Name 68cdfffc91be7a21c0a8640e00b77dc6_9a3f06830c0506c5c0a8640e012f0ace : Network is identified by the network name and the project is device-independent.
Browse Scans the network for the MAC-IDs or names of the target devices that are presently available.
Distributed Clocks
Cycle time (µs) Time interval after which a new data telegram is dispatched on the bus. If the Distributed Clocks function is activated in the slave, the master cycle time specified here is transferred to the slave clocks. In this way a precise synchronization of the data exchange can be achieved, which is important in particular if spatially distributed processes require simultaneous actions. Simultaneous actions are, for example, applications in which several axes must execute coordinated movements at the same time. A very precise, network-wide timebase with a jitter of substantially less than 1 microsecond can be achieved in this way.
   
   
   
Options
Use LRW instead of LWR/LRD 68cdfffc91be7a21c0a8640e00b77dc6_9a3f06830c0506c5c0a8640e012f0ace Direct communication from slave to slave is possible. In place of separate read (LRD) and write commands (LWR), combined read/write commands (LRW) are used.
Send/Receive per Task 68cdfffc91be7a21c0a8640e00b77dc6_9a3f06830c0506c5c0a8640e012f0ace Read and write commands, i.e. the handling of the input and output messages, can be controlled with various tasks.
Automatically Restart Slaves 68cdfffc91be7a21c0a8640e00b77dc6_9a3f06830c0506c5c0a8640e012f0ace In the event of a communication breakdown the master immediately attempts to restart the slaves.
Master setting
These settings can be edited only if the Automatic Configuration option is deactivated, otherwise this takes place automatically and they are not visible here.
Image In Address First logical address of the first slave for input data
Image Out Address First logical address of the first slave for output data