EC-Win EtherCAT Windows Real-Time Platform

EC-Win - Windows EtherCAT real-time platform

	Open Win32 based Real Time platform for Windows
	Integrated Class A EtherCAT Master Stack including timer synchronization and diagnosis

EC-Win provides a professional open real-time EtherCAT platform for Windows systems. Thus it is possible to create extremly fast, deterministic real-time solutions that are based on the more and more popular EtherCAT technology. Typical applications are motion controllers, PLC controllers or real-time measurement applications with cycle times up to 20 kHz. Core component of EC-Win ist the powerful EC-Master Stack which was specifically optimized to match with the proven and realiable acontis Windows Hypervisor and real-time technology, respectively.
Customers get a perfectly matching, powerful real-time EtherCAT programming environment; a one-stop, single-source solution with an attractive price.
Typically, multicore systems will be used as hardware platform. Windows then runs on separate CPU cores as the EtherCAT master and real-time application run. Fast and optimized drivers for Intel and Realtek network controllers ensure highest possible performance. Also integrated into the EC-Win hypervisor platform is the option to synchronize EtherCAT slaves with the real-time application; the local PC timer will run synchronously with the EtherCAT slaves that are using Distributed Clocks. EC-Win is complemented with the EC-Lyser diagnosis and monitoring tool.
Microsoft Visual Studio is used as integrated development and debug environment for both, the Windows part as well as the real-time/EtherCAT part of the application.
Using EC-Win customers get a means to avoid costly plug-in cards as well as separate hypervisors or Windows real-time extensions.

real-time platform

	Integrated hypervisor: Windows and the real-time part (operating system) are safely separated. Protection against Windows system failure (blue screen).
	Using the Win32 programming paradigma for the real-time part (preemptive multitasking, threads, events, semaphores, mutexes, ...).
	Fast high resolution system timer (resolution below 10 nanoseconds). Interrupt frequencies up to 25 kHz can be achieved.
	Using multiple CPU cores for both, Windows and/or the real-time part is possible (SMP: symmetric multiprocessing). This is especially important for quad core CPUs etc.
	Virtual TCP/IP network between Windows and the real-time part. Thus the full functionality of the EtherCAT diagnosis features can be used.
	Comfortable development and debugging environment using Microsoft Visual Studio. Remote debugging via Ethernet is possible.
	Powerful graphical real-time analyzer tool.

EtherCAT Master Configuration

	Support of the standard EtherCAT configurator ET9000.
	Configuration files of the standardized ENI format (EtherCAT Network Information) are supported, all compatible configurators can be used.
	Option: ET9000 plug-in for direct communication via TCP/IP with the EtherCAT master stack (e.g. to configure EtherCAT safety devices).

EtherCAT master runtime

	EC-Master Stack SDK with Class A functionality.
	Fast and optimized drivers for Intel and Realtek network controllers. These drivers don't require interrupts which on one side provides excellent real-time behavior and on the other side smoothly integrates into the Windows/real-time environment.
	Standard mailbox protocols: CoE - CanOpen over EtherCAT, SoE - Servo Profile over EtherCAT, AoE - ADS over EtherCAT, VoE - Vendor over EtherCAT.
	Distributed clocks with propagation delay measurement and compensation, synchronization of the local real-time timer and EtherCAT Distributed Clocks reference clock, continous drift compensation. This feature is important for many EtherCAT motion applications.
	Slave to slave communication via master.
	Bus scan with topology detection, analysis and verification.
	EEPROM programming (read and write).
	Comprehensive and proven diagnosis.
	Integrated EC-Master feature pack "Remote Access Server". Using the virtual network connection a simple remote access to the EC-Master stack is provided.
	Option: more EC-Master Stack Feature Packs are provided for an attractive price.

EtherCAT Master Diagnosis

	EC-Lyser: Graphical application which was developed to analyse EtherCAT field bus systems that are controlled by the acontis EC-Master Stack. One development license is included into EC-Win.
	Option: ET9000 plug-in for direct communication via TCP/IP with the EtherCAT master stack (ET9000 online functions can be used).

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