Product description
The EtherCAT Automation Protocol (EAP) device enables the cyclic, highly deterministic exchange of any desired variables between PCs that are connected by Ethernet. Communication between EAP devices takes place according to the Publisher/Subscriber principle and is specified by the EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG) (ETG 1005 – see webpage www.ethercat.org).
The real-time Ethernet driver for TwinCAT must be installed for the TwinCAT EAP device in order for highly deterministic communication to take place.
Comparison with TwinCAT 2 network variables
The TwinCAT EAP device is based on the network variables (NWV) familiar from TwinCAT 2 and contains some extensions. Among other things the EAP telegram also slightly expands the NWV telegram. However, this expansion concerns only the contents of the telegram. The structure of the EAP telegram remains identical to the NWV telegram. For this reason network variables are compatible with the EtherCAT Automation Protocol and vice versa. Further details concerning EAP communication between TwinCAT 2 and 3 can be found in chapter EAP between TwinCAT 2 and 3.
Requirements
The full functional scope of the TwinCAT EAP device as described in this documentation is available from TwinCAT version 3.1 (build 4018.13) or higher.