EtherCAT devices
Add your drives and I/O modules to the EtherCAT configuration and link them to the application.
less than a minute
Every drive and I/O module on the EtherCAT bus is a device in the EtherCAT configuration, which you edit in the ECAT tool. Devices are grouped in domains. This is the bus of the standard robot configuration; click a group to open its guide.
What to connect
CiA402 drives
Servo drives that follow the CiA402 profile. The application switches them on and off and sends them a target every cycle.
I/O devices
Digital and safety inputs and outputs, such as buttons, lights and a safety PLC.
Every device takes the same four steps
- In the ECAT tool, scan the bus and add the devices.
- Load each device’s ESI file, so the tool knows its process data.
- Check that the PDOs contain the entries the application needs.
- Link each entry to its Motorcortex parameter. A device can also get simulation links, so the application runs without it: see Simulating devices.
The guides above walk through these steps for each kind of device.
Next: Step 2: set the drive mode.