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Configuring the Rotary Encoder Using TwinCAT
7
Configuring the Rotary Encoder Using TwinCAT
7.1
Introduction
The following pages provide an example of how to configure a P Fuchs absolute rotary
encoder using the "TwinCAT" project planning and development environment from Beckhoff.
Version "TwinCAT 3 XAE" (eXtended Automation Engineering) is used for this.
To create the configuration, device description files for the devices used are required, so-called
ESI (EtherCAT Slave Information). They are available from the respective device manufacturer
in the form of XML files.
You can download the ESI file for your P Fuchs absolute rotary encoder from the
product details page at P Fuchs. To access the product detail page for the device, go to
http://www.pepperl-fuchs.com and type e.g., the product marking or the item number into the
search function. You can find the GSDML file in the
Software
area of the product detail page.
Prior to starting the configuration, ensure that the ESI file of the EtherCAT absolute rotary
encoder "Fuchs_ECAT_V01-05.xml" is in the TwinCAT installation directory.
For TwinCAT 3, the default for the installation directory is:
C:\TwinCAT\3.1\Config\Io\EtherCAT
7.2
Configuration with TwinCAT 3
There are two possibilities for the configuration of the EtherCAT absolute rotary encoder:
■
1.
Offline configuration
, for example, if the configuration is to take place before the plant
creation, e.g., on a laptop as a programming system
■
2.
Online configuration
via a scan of the existing network (preferred), if the control panel
is already connected to the EtherCAT system and all components of the EtherCAT
network are ready for operation.
Online configuration as an example
The following describes the online configuration only.
Here, all available slaves are automatically integrated into the EtherCAT network by the master.
