Tab 'EtherCAT Master - General'

Object: EtherCAT Master

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

Settings of the configuration parameters

Settings of the configuration parameters

Notice

The auto-configuration mode (Autoconfig master/slavesoption) 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

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 Settings
Target address (MAC)	MAC address of the device in the EtherCAT network that is to receive the telegrams. Options Broadcast: A Target address (MAC) does not have to be specified. Redundancy: Enabled when the bus is constructed in a ring topology and redundancy is to be supported. With this function the EtherCAT network remains functional even in the case of a broken cable. If this function is activated, the parameters must be defined in the Redundancy EtherCAT NIC Settings area.
Source address (MAC)	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	: The network is specified by the MAC ID. The project then cannot be used on another device, since each network adapter has a unique MAC ID.
Select network by name	: Network is identified by the network name and the project is device-independent.
Scan	Scans the network for the MAC IDs or names of the target devices that are presently available.

Redundancy EtherCAT NIC Settings
These settings are shown only if the Redundancy option is selected. Here the parameters of the additional device are defined in accordance with the description to EtherCAT NIC Settings.

Distributed Clock
Cycle time (µs)	Time interval after which a new data telegram is dispatched on the bus. If the Distributed Clock 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.
Sync offset	Parameter for setting the delay time between the DC time base of the EtherCAT slave and the cycle start of the PLC. With the default value of 20%, the PLC cycle starts 20% of the bus cycle time after the sync interrupt of the slave. This means in the case of `FrameAtTaskStart` = `FALSE` when the EtherCAT data is sent at the end of the PLC cycle: The PLC cycle may require 80% of the bus cycle time minus the delay time in the runtime system, and this without the master no longer placing the current process data on the bus in time (assuming that the EtherCAT slave expects the new data exactly with the sync interrupt). `FrameAtTaskStart` = `TRUE` (default value when using CODESYS SoftMotion): For the controller program, nearly 100% of the cycle is always available. Here the Sync offset determines only when the EtherCAT data of the master is exchanged to and from the slaves relative to the time base of the EtherCAT slave.
Sync window monitoring	Synchronization of the slaves can be monitored.
Sync window	Time for Sync window monitoring. If the synchronization of all slaves lies within this time window, then the variable `xSyncInWindow` (`IoDrvEthercat`) is set to `TRUE`, otherwise to `FALSE`.

Options
Use LRW instead of LWR/LRD	Direct communication from slave to slave is possible. Instead of separate read (LRD) and write commands (LWR), combined read/write commands (LRW) are used.
Messages per task	Read and write commands, i.e. the handling of the input and output messages, can be controlled with various tasks.
Automatically restart slaves	In the case of a communication breakdown, the master immediately attempts to restart the slaves.

Master Settings
These settings can be edited only if the Autoconfig master/slaves 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