Beckhoff continues to write a new chapter of success for EtherCAT: New chips and technology products inject strong impetus into the global EtherCAT technology community, driving continuous product upgrades.
Without including the number of bus terminal module nodes, EtherCAT firmly holds the leading position in the market with approximately 100 million installed nodes. This technology, developed by Beckhoff and launched in 2003, has won the favor of customers with its outstanding performance and unique ultimate simplicity. EtherCAT is well-deserved to be hailed as the top industrial Ethernet fieldbus. Users particularly appreciate the powerful self-configuration capability of the EtherCAT system: there is no need to set node addresses, and the topology is not restricted by the switched industrial Ethernet system.
One of the unique selling points of Beckhoff technology lies in its stability. Although the functions are constantly increasing, the existing features remain unchanged. This means there will be no version compatibility issues: Today’s devices can run perfectly in the EtherCAT system from 2005, and vice versa. This compatibility also extends to the new EtherCAT slave controller chip (ESC) and IP core. Despite undergoing significant upgrades, it still maintains backward compatibility and can even directly replace the previous generation of products. The newly developed source code significantly enhances the performance from the Process Data Interface (PDI) to the main controller, while supporting a second PDI that can be used in parallel. In addition, the power consumption of the ET1150 chip has been reduced by up to 80%. This generation of chips continues to use the 100 Mbit physical layer, which is also the cornerstone of EtherCAT technology. With its unique working principle, EtherCAT still performs better than gigabit systems based on switches even at a rate of 100 Mbit. In addition, the 100BASE-TX physical layer has advantages such as greater robustness, stronger anti-interference ability, simplicity and higher cost-effectiveness compared with the gigabit physical layer.
Therefore, as a gigabit extension of EtherCAT, EtherCAT G is only targeted at a very small number of application scenarios that require higher bandwidth, such as Beckhoff’s XPlanar intelligent conveying system. However, EtherCAT G is not a new version and has not caused a technological gap. With the innovative branch controller technology, 100 Mbit network segments can be seamlessly integrated into gigabit networks and performance improvements can be achieved through parallel processing. Beckhoff ensures that EtherCAT technology can meet the development needs of the next 20 years and seize the opportunities brought by the growing global market demand for this technology.
About Beckhoff of Germany
Beckhoff is a German-funded enterprise specializing in new automation technologies. It was founded in 1980 and its headquarters is located in Weil, Germany. As a global driver of automation technology, Beckhoff has defined many standards in the field of automation and is a formulator and promoter of international standards. The industrial PCS, fieldbus modules, drive products and TwinCAT automation software produced by the company form a complete and mutually compatible control system, which can provide open automation systems and complete solutions for various industrial control fields. After 40 years of development and efforts, Beckhoff has established over 30 branches around the world. Coupled with its global partners, its business covers more than 70 countries and regions.
Beckhoff entered the Chinese market in 1997. Its China headquarters is located in the North High-tech Industrial Park of Shanghai. Currently, it has 300 employees and offices in 30 major and medium-sized cities across the country. Innovative products and solutions are widely applied in numerous fields such as wind power generation, semiconductors, photovoltaic solar energy, electronic manufacturing, metal processing, packaging machinery, printing machinery, plastic processing, tire processing, wood processing, glass machinery, logistics transportation, and building automation.
The EtherCAT real-time industrial Ethernet, which the company has been vigorously promoting, became a national recommended standard in China in 2014 and has been included in the “National Intelligent Manufacturing Standard System Construction Guide” of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. As a technology-driven company, Beckhoff has always been committed to seeking breakthroughs and innovations in technology and enjoys the reputation of being an “innovation engine” in the industry. Beckhoff’s PC-based control technology features excellent openness. IT supports all mainstream industrial communication protocols and perfectly integrates IT technology, the Internet and automation technology, laying a solid technical foundation for the realization of Industry 4.0 and intelligent manufacturing.
