Main Content

EtherCAT

Real-time distributed control with EtherCAT® protocol

Ethernet for Control Automation (EtherCAT) is an open Ethernet network protocol for real-time distributed control. See www.ethercat.org .

To begin, configure the network by using an EtherCAT network configurator, and then load the configuration into the EtherCAT protocol blocks. The blocks connect to Intel® Ethernet boards that support the EtherCAT protocol and are compatible with PCI-standard bus architectures, such as PCI, PCI Express®, and PXI®.

Simulink® Real-Time™ supports the Beckhoff® TwinCAT® configurator and the Acontis EC-Engineer configurator.

The Beckhoff ET9000 configurator is an EXE file that is executable under Windows® XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 (32-bit). The EtherCAT configurator is not required if you use the TwinCAT 3 software from Beckhoff. For more information, see www.beckhoff.com/ET9000 .

For detailed information about the configurators, see the manufacturer documentation ( www.beckhoff.com and www.acontis.com/eng ). For detailed information about EtherCAT boards, see the manufacturer documentation.

See Modeling EtherCAT Networks.

Functions

slrealtime.etherCAT.filterNotificationsDisplay EtherCAT notifications in human-readable format

Blocks

EtherCAT InitInitialize EtherCAT Master node with data in the EtherCAT Network Information (ENI) file
EtherCAT Get NotificationsCollect notifications from the EtherCAT bus
EtherCAT PDO ReceiveReceive data from slave device represented by process data object
EtherCAT PDO TransmitSend data to slave device represented by process data object
EtherCAT Sync SDO UploadRead data synchronously from slave device represented by service data object
EtherCAT Sync SDO DownloadTransmit data synchronously to slave device represented by service data object
EtherCAT Async SDO UploadRead data asynchronously from slave device represented by service data object
EtherCAT Async SDO DownloadTransmit data asynchronously to slave device represented by service data object
EtherCAT Sync SSC/SoE UploadRead data synchronously from slave device represented by service data object
EtherCAT Sync SSC/SoE DownloadTransmit data synchronously to slave device represented by service data object
EtherCAT Async SSC/SoE UploadRead data asynchronously from slave device represented by service data object
EtherCAT Async SSC/SoE DownloadTransmit data asynchronously to slave device represented by service data object
EtherCAT Get StateGet state of EtherCAT network
EtherCAT Set StateSet state of EtherCAT network

Topics

EtherCAT Protocol Models

Modeling EtherCAT Networks

Learn about Simulink Real-Time support for real-time distributed control with the EtherCAT protocol.

Reference

EtherCAT Distributed Clock Algorithm

Learn about the EtherCAT master shift and bus shift modes.

Fixed-Step Size Derivation

Determine the fixed step size for the EtherCAT model and the sample times for key blocks.

EtherCAT Protocol Mapping

Learn about the relationship between the third-party configurator capabilities and Simulink Real-Time capabilities.

EtherCAT Configurator Component Mapping

Learn about the relationship between the third-party configurator components and Simulink Real-Time blocks and block attributes.

EtherCAT Data Types

Learn about the relationship between EtherCAT data types and Simulink Real-Time data types.

EtherCAT Init Block DC Error Values

Learn about the EtherCAT distributed clock error values that the EtherCAT Init block returns.

EtherCAT Error Codes

The Error output for EtherCAT blocks returns an EtherCAT error code.

EtherCAT Init

Related Information

Featured Examples

EtherCAT® Communication with Beckhoff® Analog IO Slave Devices EL3062 and EL4002

EtherCAT® Communication with Beckhoff® Analog IO Slave Devices EL3062 and EL4002

Communicate with EtherCAT devices using the Beckhoff® analog I/O terminals EL3062 and EL4002.

Open Script
EtherCAT® Communication with Beckhoff® Digital IO Slave Devices EL1004 and EL2004

EtherCAT® Communication with Beckhoff® Digital IO Slave Devices EL1004 and EL2004

Communicate with EtherCAT devices using the Beckhoff digital I/O terminals EL1004 and EL2004.

Open Script
EtherCAT® Communication - Sequenced Writing Slave SoE Configuration Variables

EtherCAT® Communication - Sequenced Writing Slave SoE Configuration Variables

Use SoE blocks and a simple state machine to write configuration values to variables that can only be written before going to EtherCAT Op state. For code needed to use the CoE blocks for slaves that understand CoE protocol, see EtherCAT® Communication - Sequenced Writing Slave CoE Configuration Variables.

Open Script
EtherCAT® Communication - Sequenced Writing Slave CoE Configuration Variables

EtherCAT® Communication - Sequenced Writing Slave CoE Configuration Variables

Use CoE blocks and a simple state machine to write configuration values to variables that can only be written before going to EtherCAT Op state. For code needed to use the SoE blocks for slaves that understand SoE protocol, see EtherCAT® Communication - Sequenced Writing Slave SoE Configuration Variables.

Open Script
EtherCAT® Communication - Detect EtherCAT network failure and reset

EtherCAT® Communication - Detect EtherCAT network failure and reset

Use the EtherCAT Notifications block to detect a failure in the connected network and to restart the network when the failure is corrected.

Open Script
EtherCAT® Communication - Motor Velocity Control with Accelnet™ Drive

EtherCAT® Communication - Motor Velocity Control with Accelnet™ Drive

Control the velocity of a motor by using EtherCAT communication. The example motor drive is from Copley Instruments. This drive uses the CIA-402 (Can In Automation 402) device profile common to many drives. The example can work with other CIA-402 EtherCAT drives if you generate an appropriate ENI file.

Open Script
EtherCAT® Communication - Motor Position Control with an Accelnet™ Drive

EtherCAT® Communication - Motor Position Control with an Accelnet™ Drive

Control the position of a motor by using EtherCAT communication. The example motor drive is from Copley Instruments. This drive uses the CIA-402 (Can In Automation 402) device profile common to many drives. The example can work with other CIA-402 EtherCAT drives if you generate an appropriate ENI file.

Open Script
Generate ENI Files for EtherCAT® Devices

Generate ENI Files for EtherCAT® Devices

Generate EtherCAT network information (ENI) files to use in Simulink® Real-Time™ with EtherCAT devices.

Open Script

Simulink Real-Time Documentation

Support

Try MATLAB, Simulink, and Other Products

Get trial now