AKD SynqNet | 5 Installation and Setup
Typical CAT5 cable propagation delays are roughly 0.005 microsec per meter. Actual values are affected by
cable construction and will vary, but the variation will be small for any reasonable cable. The propogation
delay can be estimated by a cable propagation velocity of 70% the speed of light, using the formula:
delay = meters * (1,000,000 / (0.7 * 299,722,458))
Length (meters)
Time (microsec)
1
0.005
10
0.048
25
0.119
50
0.238
100
0.477
5.4 LED functions
The communication status is indicated by the built-in LEDs. SynqNet LEDs will BLINK to indicate a fault (or
undiscovered network). A drive with no blinking LEDs is in normal cyclic operation (without faults). Each Syn-
qNet port has two LEDs. And each LED has a particular function, which is described in further detail below.
Connector
LED
Port
Meaning
Function
X5
LED1
IN
Network activity
ON = running (cyclic phase)
OFF = not running
BLINK = discovery phase
LED2
IN
Link activity
ON = link active
OFF = link inactive
X6
LED3
OUT
Network activity
ON = running (cyclic phase)
OFF = not running
BLINK = discovery phase
LED4
OUT
Link activity
ON = link active
OFF = link inactive
5.5 SynqNet Interconnection
5.5.1 String Topology
The String Topology is the most basic network configuration. Packets are sent downstream from the con-
troller to the nodes. Each node repeats the downstream data to the next node. Packets are also sent
upstream from the nodes to the controller. Each node repeats the upstream data to the next node. If a cable
breaks, the nodes downstream from the break will no longer be able to send/receive packets to/from the con-
troller.
Due to the un-terminated nature of a String Topology, discovering a topology of this type requires a timeout
period to detect the end of the string. Therefore, more time is needed to discover an un-terminated String Topo-
logy than other network types. To reduce the discovery time, add a Loop-back Connector to the end of the
topology (String Topology with Termination).
A String Topology has nodes connected to the controller’s OUT port or the controller’s IN port, but not both. A
Dual String Topology has nodes that are discovered on both the controller’s OUT port and IN port.
The String Topology does NOT support fault recovery.
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Kollmorgen | kdn.kollmorgen.com | October 2020
