Communication and Fieldbus
Fieldbus
Typically, this connection is referred to as a factory automation network connection.
Motion Bus
Motion requires the controller to frequently update the drive with new trajectory setpoints.
The bus involved in the motion control requires it to be able to handle rigid jitter and timing demands including high data throughput and low latency.
Ethernet
Ethernet is certainly the most popular communications bus today because it is used in most computer networks.
- Motion control devices using Ethernet allow high-speed connections to computers without requiring special hardware.
- This reduces the cost and time required to make high-speed connections.
EtherCAT
The EtherCAT technology overcomes the system limitations of other Ethernet solutions.
- The Ethernet packet is no longer received, then interpreted and copied as process data at every connection.
- Instead, the Ethernet frame is processed on the fly.
- Each slave node reads the data addressed to it, while the telegram is forwarded to the next device.
- Similarly, input data is inserted while the telegram passes through.
- The telegrams are only delayed by a few nanoseconds.
See Also
