Multi-protocol devices updated to support EtherCAT

16th April 2015

Barney Scott

0 0

Datasheet

Innovasic has announced updates to its fido5200 REM Switch chip and the RapID Platform Network Interface solution, supporting EtherCAT. The fido5200 REM Switch chip is configured via software driver as an EtherCAT Slave Controller (ESC) that supports cycle times down to 12.5µs. The RapID Platform – EtherCAT Network Interface is delivered as a module or embedded design that supports cycle times down to 250µs.

The fido5200 REM Switch chip provides eight SyncManager entities, eight FMMU entities, and resources to utilise Distributed Clocks. The Network Interface makes use of these features to support the Modular Device Profile (MDP). MDP allows easy definition of I/O modules to represent the size and type of process data for an application.

In this way, the Network Interface is easily customised to represent all of the data an application produces or consumes via EtherCAT. In addition, all of the parameters defined in an MDP profile are available for access via the CAN over Ethernet (CoE) mailbox protocol, adding flexibility to the end product. The Network Interface also provides an embedded webserver so users can view network parameters and I/O data via customisable webserver content using the Ethernet over EtherCAT (EoE) mailbox protocol.

“EtherCAT is a particularly challenging Industrial Ethernet protocol to implement in a multi-protocol Ethernet device”, says David Alsup, Chief System Architect, Innovasic. “However, the fido5200 REM Switch chip not only meets this challenge, it exceeds the performance of any other standalone EtherCAT slave controller by also supporting other time-critical protocols like PROFINET IRT and SERCOS III.”

The fido5200 REM Switch chip and RapID Platform – EtherCAT Network Interface module / embedded design, both certified to the latest version of the EtherCAT Conformance Test Tool, can be ordered now and will ship in June 2015.