EtherCAT Technology Group: face-to-face events are back!

The first event was the trade fair SPS Italia in Parma, where the ETG has been presenting the EtherCAT technology at its booth for ten years. It became clear to EtherCAT what had been missing in the previous two years: although a lot of information can be shared online and one can also reach those who cannot come to the fair, a webinar cannot replace the direct exchange on site.

ETG was again at the Hannover Messe, which was postponed to the beginning of June: 48 co-exhibitors with more than 500 different EtherCAT products were represented at ETG Joint Booth. Although the strongly international event saw fewer attendees, largely due to the general travel restrictions, the number of visitors at the ETG booth was comparable to 2019.

At the Embedded World trade fair in Nuremberg, which was also postponed to June, there was again a real trade fair feeling: good attendance, many discussions, and great interest in EtherCAT also as an embedded bus system. The fair is a meeting point for developers, so the questions about EtherCAT are often very implementation specific. It is good that there are many technology experts in the ETG team who can meet the development engineers at eye level and support their projects.

The EtherCAT developer compatibility meetings – commonly called 'Plug Fests' – had to be replaced by online interoperability test weeks in 2021. The format, which alternated a full week of webinars, expert meetings and remote test sessions, was extremely well received by ETG members.

Nevertheless, the 45 attendees at the first 'real' Plug Fest since 2019 were happy to meet again face-to-face. The European EtherCAT Plug Fest took place in early July, hosted this time by Weidmüller in Paderborn, Germany. Further Plug Fests are planned this year in the USA and Japan.