Configuring EtherCAT cable redundancy.
The embedded PC has two independent Ethernet interfaces, which can be used for EtherCAT cable redundancy. Cable redundancy offers resilience for the cabling. Interruptions of the EtherCAT communication due to wire break or unplugged LAN cables are avoided.
Interference at the individual terminals is not intercepted by the cable redundancy.
Type | Description |
|---|---|
Embedded PC | Is the EtherCAT master in the example. |
EK1110 Bus Coupler | EtherCAT extension can be used to extend an EtherCAT segment by up to 100 m. |
EK1100 Bus Coupler | The Bus Coupler relays the EtherCAT signal to connected EtherCAT Terminals. |
EtherCAT Terminals | Any number of EtherCAT Terminals can be connected to the Embedded PC and the Bus Coupler. |
Requirements:
- In TwinCAT 3 the supplement is already included and only has to be licensed.
- Hardware wired as EtherCAT ring (see Fig.: Smallest possible configuration for EtherCAT cable redundancy) and added in TwinCAT.
Configure EtherCAT cable redundancy as follows:
- 1. In the tree view click on the EtherCAT master.
- 2. Click on the EtherCAT tab, then Advanced Settings.
- 3. Click on Redundancy in the structure tree on the left.
- 4. Click the Second Adapter option and then the Search button.
- 5. Select the appropriate LAN connection according to your cabling at the embedded PC.
- 6. Confirm your settings with Ok.
- You have successfully configured cable redundancy. The EtherCAT slaves configured for cable redundancy are displayed in the Online tab.
The state of the individual EtherCAT slaves can be found in the State column. If, for example, the cable connection between the EK1100 and EK1110 Bus Couplers is interrupted, the status of the Bus Coupler changes. The message "LINK_MIS B" and "LINK_MIS A" then appears in the State column.
Although the connection between the Bus Couplers is interrupted, the EtherCAT Terminals connected to the EK1100 Bus Coupler do not have a fault.
If the cable connection is interrupted at the same point without cable redundancy, a fault is displayed for the terminals in the State column.