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.

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

See Modeling EtherCAT Networks.

Functions

`slrealtime.EtherCAT.filterNotifications`	Display EtherCAT notifications in human-readable format (Since R2020b)
`slrealtime.EtherCAT.getSignalNames`	Display EtherCAT notifications in human-readable format (Since R2020b)

Blocks

EtherCAT Init	Initialize EtherCAT main device node with data in the EtherCAT Network Information (ENI) file (Since R2020b)
EtherCAT Get Emergency	Collect emergency messages from the EtherCAT bus (Since R2023b)
EtherCAT Get Notifications	Collect notifications from the EtherCAT bus (Since R2020b)
EtherCAT Get Scanbus Error Data	Detects when an EtherCAT device in the model is not responding (Since R2022b)
EtherCAT PDO Receive	Receive data from subordinate device represented by process data object (Since R2020b)
EtherCAT PDO Transmit	Send data to subordinate device represented by process data object (Since R2020b)
EtherCAT Sync SDO Upload	Read data synchronously from subordinate device represented by service data object (Since R2020b)
EtherCAT Sync SDO Download	Transmit data synchronously to subordinate device represented by service data object (Since R2020b)
EtherCAT Async SDO Upload	Read data asynchronously from subordinate device represented by service data object (Since R2020b)
EtherCAT Async SDO Download	Transmit data asynchronously to subordinate device represented by service data object (Since R2020b)
EtherCAT Sync SSC/SoE Upload	Read data synchronously from subordinate device represented by service data object (Since R2020b)
EtherCAT Sync SSC/SoE Download	Transmit data synchronously to subordinate device represented by service data object (Since R2020b)
EtherCAT Async SSC/SoE Upload	Read data asynchronously from subordinate device represented by service data object (Since R2020b)
EtherCAT Async SSC/SoE Download	Transmit data asynchronously to subordinate device represented by service data object (Since R2020b)
EtherCAT Get State	Get state of EtherCAT network (Since R2020b)
EtherCAT Set State	Set state of EtherCAT network (Since R2020b)
EtherCAT Get Device State	Get state of EtherCAT network (Since R2021b)
EtherCAT Set Device State	Set state of EtherCAT network (Since R2021b)

Topics

EtherCAT Protocol Models

Modeling EtherCAT Networks

Learn about Simulink Real-Time support for real-time distributed control with the EtherCAT protocol.
- STEP 1: Hardware Setup Requirements for TwinCAT 3
- STEP 2: Install EtherCAT Network Tools TwinCAT or EC-Engineer
- STEP 3: Configure EtherCAT Network by Using TwinCAT 3
- STEP 4: Install EtherCAT Network for Execution
- STEP 5: Configure EtherCAT Main Device Node Model

Reference

EtherCAT Distributed Clock Algorithm
Learn about the EtherCAT main device 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 Protocol with Beckhoff Analog IO Subordinate Devices EL3062 and EL4002

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

Open Script

EtherCAT Protocol with Beckhoff Digital IO Subordinate Devices EL1004 and EL2004

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

Open Script

EtherCAT Protocol Sequenced Writing SoE Subordinate Device 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.

Open Script

EtherCAT Protocol Sequenced Writing CoE Subordinate Device 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.

Open Script

EtherCAT Protocol Detect 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 Protocol Motor Velocity Control with Accelnet Drive

Control the velocity of a motor by using EtherCAT communication.

Open Script

EtherCAT Protocol Motor Position Control with Accelnet Drive

Control the position of a motor by using EtherCAT communication.

Open Script

Generate ENI Files for EtherCAT Devices

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

Open Script