The EP1258 EtherCAT® Box should improve the performance of I/O systems installed in wet, dusty, and harsh locations. With this I/O device, the eXtreme Fast Control® technology (XFC) is now available in a rugged and compact IP 67 housing for installation outside of control cabinets.
The EP1258 XFC box detects digital input signals with a resolution of 1 ns directly on the machine. Reaction times are short — independent of the control cycle — and fast events are detected and processed without special hardware.
It supports XFC in compliance with the time stamp method. Signal curves can be precisely reproduced in terms of time and placed in relationship to distributed clocks in the EtherCAT system. The reactions, which are equally spaced in terms of time, are thus independent of the cycle time of the controller, so that even in the case of a short PLC cycle, signal acquisition and processing is possible in the nanosecond range.
As an EtherCAT slave, the EP1258 XFC box can be integrated directly in 100BASE-TX EtherCAT networks. It features eight digital inputs, of which two are designed for applications with a time stamp. The IP 67 module is optionally available with M8 or M12 screw-type sensor connections. Measuring just 126 x 30 x 26.5 mm (H x W x D), the EP1258 retains EtherCAT’s high performance of 100 Mbit/s down to each IP 67 box.
Beckhoff Automation LLC
www.beckhoffautomation.com
::Design World::
Filed Under: I/O modules, CONNECTIVITY • fieldbuses • networks • gateways