Top menu bar

Connect the ECAT tool to your controller, fetch and deploy the EtherCAT configuration, and load or download it as a file.

  5 minute read  

The top menu bar holds everything that moves the EtherCAT configuration in or out of the tool: the connection to the controller, Fetch and Deploy, and loading or downloading the configuration as a file. Most actions are in the main menu behind the button at the top left. Click a button in the diagram to jump to its section.

Main menu: open the list below Main menu your motorcortex.io name Motorcortex AI: shown only while an AI assistant is connected Motorcortex AI Fetch: read the configuration from the controller Fetch Deploy: send the configuration to the controller Deploy Connection indicator Connection Connection Add Devices Add Devices New Configuration New Configuration Load Configuration Load Configuration Download Configuration Download Configuration Preview and Deploy Preview & Deploy Settings Settings Dark mode switch Dark mode switch Version of the ECAT tool Colours sends the configuration to the controller reads from the controller works in your browser, or sets up the connection shown only while an AI assistant is connected

The main menu

Press at the top left to open the main menu. Next to the button is the name of your motorcortex.io account, or Not logged into portal. The last line of the menu shows the Version of the ECAT tool.

Connect to the controller

The tool reads the parameter tree from the controller, so you can link device data to parameters. Fetch, Deploy and Scan Bus also go to the host you enter here.

  1. Open the main menu and choose Connection, or click the connection indicator at the top right.

    Connection dialog with the fields Host and its TLS switch, Request, Receive, Username and Password, and the Confirm button

  2. Fill in the fields and press Confirm.

Field What it does Default
Host The address of the controller, for example controller_ip_addressThe IP address of your controller. In most cases 192.168.2.100.. You can also enter host:request/receive to set both ports at once. empty (required)
TLS Connect over a secure connection. A Host entered as an https address switches it on. on
Request The request port of the Motorcortex server. 5568 with TLS, 5558 without
Receive The receive port of the Motorcortex server. 5567 with TLS, 5557 without
Username Your log-in on the controller, if it asks for one. empty
Password The password for that log-in. empty

The connection indicator shows how the connection is doing:

  • a green dot: connected,
  • a red dot: not connected; the tool tries again every few seconds,
  • a spinner: connecting.

Next to the dot, a closed lock means TLS is on, an open lock that it is off.

Fetch and deploy

Fetch and Deploy, at the top right, move the whole configuration between the tool and the controller.

  • Fetch reads the EtherCAT configuration the controller has now and shows it in the tool. If the tool already holds devices, it first asks you to confirm, because the fetched configuration replaces them.
  • Deploy sends the configuration in the tool to the controller and asks it to restart the application with it. If the configuration is empty, the tool asks you to confirm first.

While a button works it shows Fetching or Deploying, then Completed or Failed.

Preview before you deploy

Preview & Deploy in the main menu opens the Preview Configuration window. It shows the XML the tool will send, so you can check it first.

Preview Configuration window with the Deploy button, the Restart checkbox ticked, and the start of the XML: Motorcortex Version 2.0, FieldBusList, FieldBus EtherCAT and the first Domain

Press Deploy in the window to send it. With Restart ticked, which is the default, the controller restarts the application, as with Deploy in the top menu bar. Untick Restart to send the configuration without asking for a restart.

Start, load or download a configuration

These three work in your browser only. Nothing goes to the controller until you deploy.

  • New Configuration clears the tool and starts again with one empty domain called Default. If the tool holds devices, it asks you to confirm first.

    Confirmation dialog asking whether to replace the current configuration, with the buttons No and Yes

  • Load Configuration opens a configuration file from your PC, for example the io/master.xml of a config package. It replaces what the tool holds, after the same confirmation.

  • Download Configuration saves the configuration in the tool as master.xml in your browser’s download folder. It is not available while there are no domains.

Add devices

Add Devices opens the window in which you add devices from a bus scan, a configuration, device description files or by hand. The devices go to the first domain. To add them to another domain, use the next to Devices in that domain instead. See Domains configuration panel.

EtherCAT service settings

Settings sets how the tool reaches the EtherCAT service on the controller, which does the scan, the fetch and the deploy. You only change these if your controller runs the service somewhere else. Reset restores the defaults.

Field What it does Default
Port The port of the EtherCAT service on the host from Connection. The service is reached over HTTPS. 443
Timeout How long the tool waits for an answer, in milliseconds. 7000
scan bus The endpoint that scans the bus. /services/ethercat/scan-bus
deploy bus The endpoint that receives a deployed configuration. /services/ethercat/set-config
get config The endpoint that returns the current configuration. /services/ethercat/get-config
get esi list The endpoint for the list of ESI files. /services/esi/get_config_list
get version The endpoint that reports the service’s version and features. /services/ethercat/api/version

Dark mode and version

The switch with the moon ( ) in the main menu turns dark mode on and off. Below it, Version shows which build of the ECAT tool you are running.

Motorcortex AI

The Motorcortex AI badge appears in the top menu bar only while an AI assistant is connected to the tool through the Motorcortex EtherCAT MCP server. When the assistant works in another browser tab, the badge is dimmed; click it to move the assistant to this tab.