xPC Target Support for EtherCAT Master Devices

The Ethernet for Control Automation (EtherCAT®) is an open, high-performance Ethernet network protocol for real-time distributed control. The EtherCAT protocol provides:

• Deterministic and fast cycle times
• Inexpensive hardware cost

EtherCAT networks consist of one master node and several slave nodes. The xPC Target EtherCAT sublibrary supports only the master node of an EtherCAT network. In other words, you cannot emulate slave nodes using these blocks. However, you can prototype multiple EtherCAT controllers, with multiple Ethernet cards, using these blocks.

This feature assumes that you:

• Are familiar with Ethernet and EtherCAT networks
• Are familiar with CAN networks
• Are familiar with CANOpen networks
• Have access to and know how to use the Beckhoff® ET9000 EtherCAT configurator software

Review Before You Start for more information.

As of R2011b, EtherCAT Master blocks are included with xPC Target.

For EtherCAT Master blocks for R2010b and R2011a, contact Technical Support.