Motorcortex-ECAT

Build the EtherCAT configuration of your application in the ECAT tool: scan the bus, group devices in domains, configure each device and deploy the result to the controller.

  3 minute read  

The ECAT tool is where you build the EtherCAT configurationThe file master.xml in the io folder of your config package. It lists the devices on the bus, the process data each one exchanges with the controller and the parameters that data is linked to. of your application: which devices are on the bus, how they are grouped in domainsA domain is a group of EtherCAT devices whose data Motorcortex exchanges together. Each domain can be simulated or switched off on its own. , which data each device exchanges and which parameters that data is linked to. The tool runs in your browser. It reads the bus and the current configuration from the controller and deploys your changes back.

Click a part of the diagram to open its page.

Your browser: the ECAT tool Top menu bar Top menu bar connect, fetch, deploy, load, download Domains configuration panel Domains panel domains and their devices Device configuration panel Device panel process data, SDOs, start-up list, clock, links to parameters Controller EtherCAT service scans the bus, returns and replaces the EtherCAT configuration HTTPS, port 443 Motorcortex server the parameter tree you link to Request 5568, Receive 5567 Deploy Fetch, Scan Bus parameter tree for links Load or download a configuration file master.xml on your PC Load Configuration, Download Configuration EtherCAT port Add a device to the bus EtherCAT devices drives and I/O modules on the bus

The tool talks to two services on the controller. The EtherCAT service scans the bus and returns or replaces the configuration: that is what Fetch, Scan Bus and Deploy use. The Motorcortex server gives the tool the parameter tree, so you can pick the parameters to link device data to. The connection indicator at the top right shows the state of that second connection.

Open the tool

  1. Log in to motorcortex.io with your Email and Password, and press Log in. No account yet? Register first.

  2. In the sidebar, under Tools, click Ecat. The ECAT tool opens in a new browser tab. It needs your motorcortex.io log-in, and asks you to log in if you are not.

  3. Open the main menu ( ) at the top left, choose Connection and enter the address of your controller, for example controller_ip_addressThe IP address of your controller. In most cases 192.168.2.100.. See Top menu bar for the other fields.

The three areas

  • The top menu bar connects to the controller, fetches and deploys the configuration, and loads or downloads it as a file.
  • The domains panel on the left lists the domains and the devices in each. Here you add domains and devices, and set each device’s position on the bus.
  • The device panel on the right shows the device you clicked: its process data, SDOs, start-up list, distributed clock and the links to your application’s parameters.

Where to go next

Add a device
step by step

Add one device to the bus of a running application, from scan to deploy.

Add a device

Simulating devices
no hardware needed

Run on real devices, simulated ones or a mix, and link each drive for all three.

Simulating devices

Troubleshoot
when the bus does not start

Find out why a device or domain does not reach its working state.

Troubleshoot EtherCAT